ah, news ah ah ah, this is d w. news coming to you live from berlin. russia moves in on cities in eastern ukraine. it's a better done yet because hit by intense shelling as moscow aims to claim victory in its attempt to capture the don boss region. and we meet a mother and daughter from ukraine now living in berlin. one wants to return to her

homeland. the other isn't sure. plus another horrific mass shooting prompts renewed calls for gun control with the united states. as texas grapples with america's worst school shooting in a decade, president joe biden says he's sick and tired of the vine. ah hello, i'm terry martin. good to have you with us. russia continues to pound ukraine's eastern don boss region. moscow has made, taking the industrial hark land, its main objective. after failing to capture the ukrainian capital, kia russia says it will continue the pensive until it achieves its goals. ukrainian forces are doing their best to push back russian troops despite heavy shelling in this village now back in ukrainian hands. residents tell of their fears

as the russians arrived. but i don't think you can. we try to keep out of the way with, i mean maybe we should go back to the basement. she says that a little bit as a team of associated press film, russian artillery, keep up the bombardment along the road. more evidence of the fighting rushes objective is to cease to don best provinces done yet in the hands in the east. at least 12 people were killed by shelling as heavy fighting continues in and around civil to nits. the local governor says the russians have taken 3 towns in the genetic region. russian troops are gaining ground

in the east. these are frontline positions now abandoned by ukraine. but further away from the fighting in areas where the ukrainians have regained control, residents are determined to start over over 34 that other people are returning home, even though it's safer to wait further away. but it seemed to teach us who was personally miss. so who devoted that to the 3, the me people are coming back to their houses and starting to rebuild the helping our military new school. what we asked the battle for done best intensifies, many more lives will be lost. i correspond mathias bellinger is in eastern ukraine. he joins been troops are concentrating her attacks on a few key areas of the don bus region. now what makes these places so significant mathias? well, they're big cities before the war. each of them,

they're big. these 2 cities, they used to be one city and then administratively now they're 2, but they're very close by each other. each one sits on one side of the river. so both of them had about 100000 inhabitants before the war. so they're big cities. they the last part of the la hans district that are still remaining in ukrainian hands and a and then of course there is a significant amount of the of, of soldiers and equipment, but from the ukrainian army. they're defending them. so the russians are trying to pocket them and to surround them, and thus they gain control over them. it would be a major when it would be 2 major cities that they have under control. they haven't made a good price or they haven't been able to secure many cities. there's more you, paul, this hassan and a cities south of murray upa. but mostly they have been unable to get into cities.

i've heard about the pro law of the beaches in the it's difficult to predict anything in war time. it's been exactly 3 months since the beginning of russia's full scale invasion ration after dinner. hans griego is holding the defensive line . although throughout the 3 months our positions have been under fire, daily. e. anything is possible and what we're, we're good, but we're witnessing the russian army trying to completely destroy yet yet at the network of their shelling the whole place. and they don't care if there are civilians there or whether there's a hospital or a school luca destroying old building, switch a roster renewed, see within tears. what about the people still living in these towns that are under bombardment? are they facing a similar situation to mar you poll were thousands of civilians were trapped for weeks in desperate conditions while that sir comparison as often drawn them?

that's what i have asked the governor of the region whom we have just seen um, but there are of course differences. right now the road that leads into these 2 cities is under heavy shelling. it's very dangerous to get there. evacuations often cannot leave the city and if they can leave only in armored vehicles, but the road is still under ukrainian control and it's still possible to get equipment into these cities and soldiers into the city. so that's a major difference with my you for that has been surrounded very early in the war and basically was cut off supplies. we have heard from a presidency lensky, that the only way to supply my are you, paul was via helicopters and that 90 percent of the pilots. who did this, these flights into mar, you, po, did not survive. so that's a major difference. but of course, the fear is that it might end up like murder, you put, if russians gain control over the streets, or if it, if they are going, if they anyhow,

make it impossible to enter their cities via the streets. that's what the wife writing is. so intense now, because russia is trying to do precisely that, and ukraine is trying to prevent precisely that bel, ukraine is relying on weapons being supplied above all by the u. s. and european countries. can you tell us mathias, if those weapons are actually being delivered? and if so, are they making a difference on the battlefield? when we talk to soldiers, they are saying that they make a difference. a few dozens of the m 777 houses have already been delivered. the already been used and what we're hearing that some of the successes of the ukrainian army are exactly due to the use of these how it is they have a further reach than the russian how it is. so ukraine is, has an advantage when they use them. on the other hand, what they are saying is that it's by far, not enough,

because russia has really thrown a lot of are of arms into this battle, a lot of soldiers. and they are constantly shelling the ukrainian positions they have. it seems much more firepower. and also what we are told here is that ukraine can only win if they have a lot more of these houses or the french caesar or these modern houses that they are now asking for in the west. but he is thank you very much. our correspond mathias spelling of their in chrome. i talked in eastern ukraine the united nations estimates that sir nearly 7000000 ukrainians have left their homeland since the invasion. half a 1000000 of them have come here to germany. we went to meet an mother and her daughter who are now staying with a host family in berlin. shenise, northeast of keith. after month of heavy russian,

selling much of the city is destroyed. it is anna and such as hometown. in march, the mother and daughter fled to berlin, but their thoughts are still with their family and friends in ukraine. in my living here, i thought i said my friends stayed in shania. if i, my classmates were, i can't bear the thought that they did not have the chance to escape, even though they wanted to. i think it's terrifying what and even though i'm doing well here, it's hard because i can't help them. back in ukraine and i was finishing up high school. sasha walked in a call center than the attack started. now they live with mountain and cornelia young english. he's an entrepreneur, she's a doctor. the couple drove to the polish ukrainian border to help any refugees and

take them to germany. here. and the and susan's, it's honestly, humans are social beings. if someone folds down next to you, you bent down and picked them up again. it's completely natural for this person to day and an sasha at the social welfare office. like all ukrainian refugees in germany, they can apply for financial aid. to day they receive that fast monthly payment, $350.00 euros. each only will spend less nick on lloyd, want to save up and send some money to grandmother so she can prepare her roof. the skin which was destroyed in the wool, but me listen and then such, i want to integrate quickly. they have signed up for a german language course. a charge congregation organizes it for free hub in the community. do you have children? i have been, i am 2 children. it's a little that if you go home, but it's okay. it did so yes,

we wouldn't. we want to start until monday. i play at them. so this is why i, that's why we lose that. all of it, you know, my, me a wagon the mother and daughter i slowly finding that bearings in berlin. and i could even imagine studying in germany. and also i wanted to come back to ukraine to see my family members. but i think about leaving in germany of my life. yeah. and if don't both of us, if the lu i'm to oh, to completely overturn my former life or my relatives on ukraine and my house to do i want and that to decide for herself whether she wants to st. germany over 20 ukraine little. but i want to go home sunday. you live there, listen, i yell at syllable little to them why? but bullshit. but at the moment,

they have no idea how long that will take don't get out the rest and present. joe biden is leading calls for a stricter gun control in the united states. that's after a teenage gunman killed 19 children, and 2 teachers in texas. police later shot the attacker dead. hugs and prayers were everywhere in you vall, day on wednesday. as the town comes to terms with the murder of 19 children, but behind the displays of grief and empathy. anger and indignation a rippling through america and are we must ask when in god's name will we do what needs to be done to if not completely stop fundamentally change the amount of the carnage goes on in this country. joe biden will travel to

texas in the coming days to meet grieving families. sierra are his men day is one of those relatives. her niece, 10 year old eliana garcia, was killed in the a talk. i just don't know how the book itself tebow again to kit, to an 18 year old. like what did you get to use it for but for that purpose, out of your out of line democrat, better. oh, rock. publicly confronted the texas governor greg albert, you know, he accused the republican of being directly responsible by liberalizing state. good laws, sir. you're right. you came to my hometown of old houses after 23 people were slaughtered. he said he was gonna do something that he did nothing. in fact,

the only thing he did was make it easier to buy a gun. the only thing he did was make it easier to carry a gun in public. and he bragged about the fact that there would be no background check, no training, no vetting whatsoever. as the political arguments continue to rage. more details and now emerging of those killed in the attack. these just some of the innocent lives cut needlessly short. the w correspond, shed upon siemens is at the scene of the shooting of course is pain, trauma shock and all of this. but they somewhat of a permanent and overreaching moment of silence. people here are withdrawn now it seems they're going inside. they stay inside. they don't want to talk, they don't want to interact, they're pretty much alone with their pain and with their frustration and with the

trauma they experienced. and perhaps this is about to last for quite a while. now what's happening in washington, of course, is the healthy debate. now, progressive democrats propagating more change, tougher gun control, tougher restrictions. republicans on the other side, perhaps i suspect it won't have, it won't touch it. for them. it's all about the 2nd amendment in the constitution that every american can bear arms and has the right to bear arms, and this should not be touched with. you're watching dw news, i'm terry martin. thanks for being with us. with i closely listen carefully. don't know.