by following for you this, our russian missiles have struck several parts of you kind, including a hotel in the eastern city of back elsewhere. russia says, you kind bomb, the jail. i'm yaki pine done. it's raging, killing at least 40 prism is a ball at climb. cannot be verified. that's all from us for now. next is duck filled with the california legacy hunting down islamic state scientists and getting the more news you can always find the latest headlines and analysis on our website or on twitter. i'm rebecca, written in berlin for me and the entire team here. thanks very much for working with a issues with all say well, great, a new

mm hm. this is irish camp in northeastern syria since the fall of the so called islamic state arabic, kurdish forces have in turned over 800 women here captured former i. s. members. among them are $200.00 french citizens and their children. they live at precarious conditions, waiting to be sentenced and possibly return to france. we were able to interview one of the women here 33 year old seda comes from lunel, near the southern french city of montpellier. since she came to the camp, she no longer wears a kneecap face veil. her story is similar to that of many women who once swore allegiance to ins. only denise curse in may 2015. i was in contact with people

through facebook. griswold, i asked about syria and the islamic state, because i had a lot of problems and i wanted to disappear for awhile and i decided to come to syria. it's happened in the space of a week very quickly. and also i didn't think about it was about if i stayed 2 or 3 days in the center for women, and then i got married. that horrible way of financially site. i tells us that after 2 years in syria, she managed to escape the so called us la mic state. she was quickly arrested by kurdish authorities and spent 6 months in prison before being taken to the camp. last year, after a long struggle with the authorities, she was able to send her 2 children to france, mitchell college, and of course i regret coming here home. i've hurt my family, had you got, i don't feel radicalized or anything. it's been a big punishment to spend 2 years with i. yes. and 3 years in the camp has been

hard to love and i just want to go back to my normal life to see my children again . uh huh. you know, like many handle for i'd like to return to a new normal life school in norman can cita and those like her be trusted or pose a danger to society. it's difficult to say for its part the french government considers these women enemies of the state and doesn't want to let them return for hundreds of french and other western jihadists, men and women. there is little hope of leaving kurdish prisons anytime soon. not all former i as members have been arrested far from it. where are the others hiding in the middle east or in european countries like france and germany? a handful of men have made it their mission to find these fugitives. in october 2014, the so called islamic state, i asked for short, reached the peak of its power. it controlled vast areas of syria under rock. for 4

years. the terrorist organisation committed numerous crimes like mass murders and other heinous acts of violence. the self proclaimed caliphate was soon beaten back by airstrikes carried out by nations, including the us, britain, and france. it effectively collapsed after us forces killed its leader. a bull backer. album daddy died like a dog. he died like a coward. the world is now a much safer place. mm mm. the caliphate may have been destroyed, but its supporters are still at large. no harm is as syrian journalist. he fled from i s and 2014. for the past 2 years, he's been in contact with a secret network of private individuals who have made it their mission to track

down former i s members around the world and make them pay for their crimes. much like the nazi hunter is after world war 2, these investigators mostly operate under ground. i. as fighter, as fleeing syria often passed through greek refugee camps before going into hiding can i get to germany or france is among us if they have money under to lose all yanine, let loose during the war a lot of syrians applied for asylum and europe. many i, as fighters took advantage of that or minimal to day, they pretend to be completely different. people, there are lots of fake panels. got to kind of put a gun. yeah. how many members of the terrorist group has managed to get into europe? are they still a threat? the i as hunters risk their lives tracking these people down across several

european countries this is southern turkey were on route e. 90, also known as jihad road. from 2012 onward, thousands of europeans travelled this route to join i. s and syria and iraq, them 33 year old i'd ramada heads an organization that tracks down. i asked criminal's la la, i'm on my way to go deal with several cases for one in particular or there's a criminal believe to be in germany right now. he was in, he was a leading figure in the islamic state, organizational where hub supposedly every year. ahmad regularly publishes the results of his investigations online. his networks website lists

dozens of wanted people as well as calls for witnesses, the brew publishes suspects identities, age place of birth, and function within the i s terrorist organization. behind these mat, hands are about 30 investigators, journalists, and activists. many are volunteers. they've all suffered at the hands of the so called islamic state law library, the other se i'll go to the board is not far from here. 20 or 30 kilometers away. it's handy because our guys can enter syrian territory, for example, to find out who has left the country. but in terms of security, it's a dangerous area for them. they regularly receive threats. i'm the only one in the network, uses my own name to travel and shows my face so obviously hard. after a 12 hour drive from e stumble, we arrived in san luis, far

a border town with $800000.00 inhabitants. it's a hub for traffic to and from syria. ahmad is meeting an informant here in a secret location. we have to disguise the man's identity. i off model, are you? well, yes, yes, and you love stone. come in. once inside, we can start filming, having our cameras out on the street would have endangered the 2 men. the informant wanted me to come here in person to hear some very sensitive information to share it online or over the phone would have been too dangerous. pleasure. well, a lot of trouble, so about the guy in germany would still show open to we got this video where he appears we started inquiring about the victim, the more jo rosenberg all see. the victim's hat was count on one foot in

a new one. and there's one in the video that the informant acquired a young this law mc state recruit, holds the head of a syrian army soldier. he has apparently just a capitated the man, brutal images like these are the hallmark of the islam ec state. yeah. the i, as hunter's got their hands on the video through a relative of the perpetrator, who is from deresa in northeastern syria. ahmad, at his informant are also from that city. it's thanks to their connections there that they're able to obtain so much information on the shuttle all along. we know this guy went to germany and we believe he's a sort of sleep, oddly, who's waiting to be reactivated. we have a photo of him. so one of our informants has promised to find his residence permit

. now they have this video evidence, the investigators will track down the ice fighter. the man is living undetected in germany. much like around 500 other i s militants, who according to our mod, currently reside in europe. one months later we meet ahmad again, this time in istanbul like thousands of syrians, he sought refuge here 3 years ago. i lo, how are you? oh, good. and here before he began hunting down, i asked criminals he suffered the repression of leshar. i'll assad's regime on a b sharla failed launch. hello, here i'm talking to the demonstrators. oh, well, just not at the beginning of the arab spring. we demonstrated for freedom every friday. after the revolution began in syria,

we were thrown into prison. after my release, i had to leave damascus in secret and go to de s o. in the northeast of the country, i stayed there until the ice came. a few months later, my father was murdered by the jihadists and i fled the city. after losing his father off mud also lost his brother, who was likewise killed by islamic state fighters. since then, i might have searched for their killers day and night above all on social networks, and the dark web, which is a gold mine for information. oh, oh, it's a battle being thought on many fronts of mat himself took great risks for months, filming ice activities and interviewing victims. the members of his group continue to investigate for him. they try to collect as much incriminating evidence as

possible, such as photos, videos, and other documents. other he is a member of the i s police. he also takes witness statements. oh, the joy said once he's made sure the evidence has reliable mat publishes it on his website that's often led to dramatic captures. like the case against yourself. i'll maroon an important ideas. figure out though, when we are members of the islamic state, we are the muslims, the jihadists who believe in only one god in the world will get to know us. the syrian appeared regularly in islamic state propaganda videos. thanks said the i. s . hunters who documented his many crimes, he was arrested by special forces in turkey in 2020 the arrest was reported by local media,

has thousands of horrifying images and disturbing threats saved as evidence on heads, hard drives. well i'm sure what's it like watching these videos? and i shouldn't have clear live, i mean, i'm almost used to it. we've seen so many things. we've carried the bodies of our relatives and friends. this is a war mascot and i can't deny that it gets to me. my wife goes on, has my share. sure. are you doing this work to avenge the deaths of your father and brother a whole and all the,

it's not about revenge. it's about justice. we might, is waiting for more detailed information about the younger hottest, who played with a severed head in the video. he saw, he hopes to track him down in germany. he's also working on another case, which is much farther along. this man was an active i. s member. will call this fighter muddied keith. i don't talk on my dad's when we have loads have been full minute day as we've been observing him for months. he was in charge of procuring weapons of medicine, which he collected at the turkish border just before the defeat of he fled to turkey and, and to europe. where is no germany ammonia? another case in germany, we leave is stumble with many questions still unanswered. but we're determined to get to the bottom of these stories. in paris,

we start piecing together the puzzle of muddied, he's very active on social media and seems to live a good life in germany. the ice hunters put us in touch with one of the witnesses from their investigation. he agrees to talk to us as long as he can remain anonymous. and i come from the same region where margie is from. i've been living in germany for some time now and i know maggio personally while we've met more than once. i'm ready to testify in a criminal court on the witness will give us key details on my ged background. she is, la mac state, took control of the dairies, all region on june 20th 2014 moggi. and his group had formed a battalion within the free syrian army, but they became supporters of the islamic state. they supplied,

i asked with ammunition heavy weapons, chemical fertilizers to make explosives and even surveillance, drones a to having heard this testimony, we had to the roar an industrial region in western germany. hi, how are you? fine, thanks for little a little league, al, and we'll be with you in 2 minutes. and i did on vicky. anybody they did. we're meeting with a syrian informant who's investigated, maggi the most for his protection will call him hello plight. come in like all of the i, as hunter's towel, rack has lost loved ones. his cousin was hanged and public by islamic state

fighters and many of his friends were shot dead as a refugee in germany. he's been tracking muddied for 5 years. during the hall waterloo, but it wasn't oil order bumper. he arrived with his family in europe under the same conditions as ours. working on an inflatable boat law. the only difference is he had money to pay for all the travel expenses weren't. once he got out of syria, he set up a money transfer company to bring huge amounts of funds out of the caliphate territories. also not assume high level. i asked members recovered the money once. they'd reached turkey or euro's talking on public. almost all those go through our network. we obtained this photo of the money transfer office, he'd sent up in the turkish city of l. a. z or this is his office. when, when he arrived in our organization published an article that was picked up by the bills newspaper victor, good o money. the german tabloid reported maggi to rest and release in 2015

balise, arrested a suspect and a refugee shantay, an owner on thursday afternoon. the syrian is said to have worked for islamic states, finance ministry. the 31 year old man was released from police, custody. authorized could not prove he was a member of the terrorist organization. the man arrived about a week ago with his sister and her husband, who has had a leg amputated. this image from 2014 shows, a man said to be my jade's brother in law, in an ice military uniform. and here, a few months later, with his leg amputated as a result of a coalition air strike much each stands next to him with his finger raised a symbol of loyalty to i ass. magic now lives under the radar in germany. that

fact may be shocking to many that are rec, isn't really surprised in walking along the germans say that he's not a danger to them. how he supposed to be helping them obtain information in their fight against. i asked him for his brothers are still in the organization. last who do you think the authorities are protecting? hello. hello. yes. ready it's a serious accusation, but the i s hunters won't be deterred. they've continued to investigate, muddied, since his brave detention torak has just obtained some important new information. a few months ago, the suspect opened a massage parlor while high up mud. how are you? it's a surprising lead and he wastes no time telling us mad. the head of the investigation network jackal shooting. remember the person who told us maggie had come to germany a long you?

yes. oh no. so i saw a job in the hold and he just called and told us that my jeep has opened a massage parlor in germany. the old one you hear about how can i is condra. we fled to europe and only gets 3 or 400 years in social benefits per month. we started projects like that to me earlier. we'll have to find out. oh, oh boy. oh boy. oh hm. see. especially since my information shows he also owns full or 6 cars without license plates, and that he has them parked in front of his house to sell them on the original. it would be good to use a hidden camera here. let me know if you're able to film. i shall. this issue despite the risks in a few days, towel rack will track down, muddied and film had with the hidden camera. so meanwhile, there's new information about the other case identified in germany.

the investigators have sent us pictures of the young to hottest who they say the headed, his victims we'll call had samir pictures of him taken and both syria and germany were found on his facebook account in the so on the left, he just turned 17. today. he's $23.00, he's grown, but it certainly seems to be the same person. another crucial piece of information is his passport issued by german authorities in 2015. a member of the network of i as hunter's got her hands on the document after seducing him online and winning his trust. she eventually asked him for a photo of his passport, so she could send him money. ahmad team also collected for incriminating witness testimonies. one of the witnesses was prepared to talk to us. he was

a childhood friend of samir. for sure. beforehand joined the islamic state in 2014. he was a kid who was always playing around on a motorcycle. them with when i asked took over the dare as all area in 2014. he pledged allegiance to them, you know, the conflict club. and then he underwent 6 months of training in iraq. but with after he got back from iraq in early 2015. his financial situation had changed dramatically. i could be, he was driving in a nice new car and didn't seem to want for anything. but just a couple weeks ago, looking to when he was fighting in the airport area, he used to cut off the heads of enemy soldiers hold their heads

a lot and brag about it. sometimes he'd bring these heads into the city center and play soccer with them, but yeah, corner, these horrifying tendencies are said to have allowed him to rise quickly in the hierarchy. as one of the terrorist groups intelligence agents. he left the arizona for turkey at the end of 2015. from there he went secretly to europe in early 2016 . but 6 months later he returned without any problems to syria, to darrow's arg was sure mm. sonia was indeed in syria and lay 2016 as this picture shows. there was unseasonal snow in derossi's that winter. even the local press covered it. the northern syrian province of death as or has experienced heavy snowfall and freezing conditions for the 1st time in 25 years. according to the witness, samuel left syria for good in 2017 and returned to germany.

this information helped us to locate the suspect in botton thornburg, a german state for during france. he lives in an outer suburb of a large city. he's taking driving lessons in order to get his truck drivers license for safety reasons. we prefer to approach him on the street on his way home. protocol, excuse me, can i ask you something? oh yes. and then i'm doing a report on the street. and it does. you have a minute, you know what i would say about it. it's the university on cobra. how much has the current virus changed your life here? after gaining has trust, we're able to talk with the alleged former. i asked fight her for quite a while level come, which part of syria you from language should you know, did is or where is that does need the border with iraq or yeah,

the man is from dairies all the former economic hub of the islamic state, which we learned was this boil everywhere, this would you uh about the spot on, on the oil was under i asked control yet brought up until. ready the operators was, everything was under, i is control with coca cola, soon as i saw a so you had to work for them by the of as a transport with the available to no. but i had to buy oil from them and go push this from from michigan, so i don't was sammy or doesn't admit to having worked for ins, but he does make a shocking admission when all the, the swan i was with the police back home and it was the police, your jobby? my hobby was right. it's a chilling hobby in light of the barbaric acts that a mads team accused him of. in this 1st meeting, we don't mention the decapitation video that we have.

rec father. well, why did you leave this area for chose hubble, sharon? oh york, my only choice is were to die well more to fight against masha all assad or to fight for him with the judicial mcguigan portfolio. so what if i wanted to survive? oh i would have had to kill people rushed toward the machine on either side and i didn't want to have blood on my hands. oh, home. to listen to him, you wouldn't think saw me or has a guilty conscience for 45 minutes. we have a relax conversation with him. thank you. by next time we see him, we'll confront him with the video. marcell, february 2020, musty naima,

a 32 year old syrian student was arrested in the no a district the arrest made headlines and france, musty name are also known by his nom de, gail, islam. i lucian was a big fish. he was the spokesman of chase, alice lamb, one of the many g, a hottest groups in the syria conflict with me in the name of god, the merciful. this is a statement from the chief of staff of the j. o. islam group. france accused him of war crimes. his group used caged civilians as human shields, to avoid being bombed by the assad regime. with men of we pray that the regime and the russian air force stop swimming us. we are innocent, mother of the people here and the children have not committed any sin with habits to live in 2016 sama. those fled syria for e stumble, where he created a new identity for himself. he got a degree in political science,

specializing insecurity and terrorism. he arrived in france in november 2019, and was arrested 3 months later by the central office for combating crimes against humanity and hate crimes. we managed to get an exclusive interview with the head of the authority that arrested is lamar loose. for the 1st time, the officer shares details of the operation yesterday, diaries will tell you toya because when he arrived on french soil, he had a conversation using his turkish number and then used a french number of all we'll know, eva. we quickly managed to find his address in more se i thought it was from that moment on a new could we asked surveillance officials in marseilles to set up and carry out 24 hour monitoring it under no circumstances. was he to leave france kit today. talk with surveillance, set up authorities waited 2 days before the suspect finally left his home

puzzlement all over. so it was very early in the morning about a quarter past 6 that he thought he had a suitcase and a backpack, especially if we didn't know where he was going or what he was planning to do. the agents on the ground determined that he was going to the mosque. so we let him pray . he saw them was he came out of the mos heading for the central train station. this then was, it is a police decided to arrest him. they are on the street, he follows you. it seems islam allusion was about to leave france was he warned. and if so, by whom the police operation was a success. but it wouldn't have been possible without the work of a syrian and geo, based at a hidden location in paris. in the small office, 15 exiled syrian lawyers work to build cases against alleged war criminals, so that they can be tried in european courts. within the n g o

motor seem is in charge of the islam a loose investigation. he tells us how the former spokesman of the jihad, his group was recognized by a syrian refugee on the streets of marseilles. a muscle, the hustle mercado from know how the shots, that's how we learned he was in france, a full bush, so he got in touch with the victims and witnesses of the crimes. he committed or hustling. and then we gave all that evidence to the ministry of justice and that would be more now a couple of god. what does seem says, there are countless cases like islam, alicia's across europe. 100 to missouri, yanine, luring the wall, a lot of syrians applying for asylum in europe at so many of these guys took advantage of that a few. today they make themselves out to be completely different people with fake osborne's porter, than they tried to disguise them past more, but they can't hide it completely. mothers. how many former jihadists has managed

to slip through the cracks, legally or otherwise? how many of them are now living incognito in europe? back in germany, we meet with i s hunter tar wreck. this morning he is going to take a risk at covertly film the suspected geo hardest. now running a massage parlor window, aren't you afraid to do that? after all, he is a former i as member on the run go on fusion report for 2 years have gotten more, but we are in germany. sure. you know, that reduces the risk mercantile government still, he can't be trusted for boy. he still potentially dangerous control of so we have to be ready for anything. and so unless you believe this is a hidden camera, i hope all goes well. yes. so look a little clear there's no going back now. after

a short drive, we reached the address. a few minutes later marguerite arrives. this is the moment of truth to rec is also from deresa. like the suspect. there's a chance he could recognize him, excuse me. and i was told that there was a massage parlor in the neighbourhood. yes, i run into the house. oh, it's yours. oh, let me just pock my car. sure. finally tal rick is face to face with a man. he's been hunting down for the past 5 years. muddied, accused of running logistics and finance for the islamic state. doesn't seem to suspect anything. wow. how are you? good. you're the physiotherapist. yes i am. he's just a friend, come in, the massage parlor is almost empty. it's cold, with almost no decor. the folders seem to still

be in there. packaging with no patient records inside. the massage parlor could be a cover for something else. and okay, do you do copying here? yes, we specialize in islamic physiotherapy and i see where did you learn italian lives in august while studying sophomore holland in germany. noah. oh yes, i studied here and i also graduated in syria. if he stays tarik might have to take off his shirt revealing the hidden camera aware of the danger he decides to find an excuse and leave. would you like to make appointments? oh no, it's better if i call you next week. okay, good. uh huh. fall, thanks l i'm actually up the graph. is that was that your name on the card? hello? yes, that's me. support. okay. so you just

don't wanna be talked to you. do you think he recognized you? one thing i don't think so. i would have noticed shove, he was with a friend, i'm sure i know him, but he didn't recognize me. so i think we must have met about 5 years ago, but i was on. that's probably why he didn't recognize me. thank and more for the meeting has made to rec, fearful, and he decides to stop his investigation. it's up to us to take over a few days later we go back to the massage parlor. there's no answer. we don't have maggi to address, but we do have his phone number. oh

my how do i how are you? good, dr. margie dealer. yes, that's me. and as a loan diego, i'm staying in a hotel near your massage parlor. ned land may at a debate degnan, i'm having back pain and i saw the sign for the parlour on my mity lick, marked, and i thought you could maybe help me, danny. shove to let the pharmacy won't, can it? sorry we have the mobile whatever your questions are as a journalist, i'm happy to answer them over the phone. to our surprise, muddied, knew the real purpose of our cow. was he tipped off by whom or no, no my mod. listen when we have information that you were part of, i asked that you worked with them. i was shabby, surely. i my mom who told you that i might scan it to him and i got

several people and witnesses said you were working for the group facial hold command. i can look into going to the my in my drawer lisa lies. i left syria in 2013 before is lemay state had a presence in syria, but you didn't come to germany alone in though of your brother in law came to also he has an amputated leg and is said to have fought for ins, loosing what you saying doesn't make sense, you're making it up on the wrong. muddied doesn't know that we have this photo of him with his brother in law. according to the i s hunters. it was taken in syria in 2014. this story is from 5 years ago. if there really were witnesses or a photo as proof, i'd have been charged in court a long time ago. these witnesses exist and are ready to co operate with the german justice system. but so far there is no official investigation against magic

. so you weren't with ins, didn't transfer money between turkey and syria, and your brother in law wasn't with iowa. it's not true. i only speak for myself. despite my ged denial, all the information we've gathered seems conclusive and relevant to public safety. we decide to inform the german authorities but after an e mail and as a mess, exchange, and 2 meetings with german officials in paris, nothing happens. is magic being protected as the i s hunter suspect. we may never know, but right now in the eyes of german authorities, he's done nothing wrong. but our investigations at germany aren't finished yet after muddied. we now want to confront sammy, or the man accused of cutting off the heads of his enemies to minimize the risk we arrange to meet him in a public place,

a train station near his home. we immediately tell him why we've come back on, but i have a question here. i've done some research and i have information that you were part of. i answer in syria into a song at prior from viet jealous? no. that's what the police thought you were questioned by the police. what? yes, at my home, they took my phone and searched the apartment. they asked me if i knew certain people. well, i told them i didn't know the people george, to our surprise. some here has already been investigated by german police. so you're not the samir, we're looking for medical more. i don't know him. the police said they had a video from a government agency and i thought i was the person in the video. they showed it to me and i told them very clearly that it wasn't me hosted, there was governor, it's time to show him the video with

a severed head. that's not you. sure you think he lives like me? i don't know if you think that guys made isn't he? definitely not familiar. sure. that's not you. oh yes. certain. i think it's the same face. if i wasn't innocent, i wouldn't have stayed here. i've a clean conscience solved. the man calmly denies everything. it's strange. how did you have information? give it to the authorities and we'll see. great. okay, thanks bye. mm hm. when we leave samir, we are at a loss. we call the young man who's prepared to testify against him. people, how are you? good and you are the man measure. fine. thanks. but the set of college i want to ask you something about samira. i'm a look the problem. ok. i filmed him with a hidden camera or go and he denied he was in the video. he's all right. yes.

really talk when he was 16, he was already taller than me and i'm older for several minutes. the young man studies the hidden camera footage. so he has a beard now, but his eyes, his face, his voice. it's him no doubt, even if he denies it. was there any, are you really sure it's him? i have no reason to falsely accuse him. it's 1000000 percent him. we have one final car to play facial recognition software that has already proven useful and numerous investigations. comparing pictures of the man then, and now we get results that leaves little room for doubt. the software designer say a score of more than 0.6 means you can assume it's the same person. most of our results are around 0.8.

even so, sammy isn't subject to any legal proceedings before finishing our investigation. we hear that something disturbing has happened to ahmad the leader of the ice hunting network. a week earlier, he received a photograph showing him playing with his young daughter in an east humble park. the picture came with a blunt threat to you, the heretical appetite, infidel, off mad ramadan, we swear before god that we are always on your tail. the lions and wolves of the kind of fate can't wait to approach you and kill you to please god. this picture is just the tip of the iceberg. oh yes, i can run you. as soon as i got the thread, i moved house. the thing that made the match was that i published my research about

the woman who was in charge of the lumber police, the women under right? yes. i mean, 2 days later they sent me this young man to the doctor because i'm not worried about his family. he's also disillusioned to problems that i work rarely lead to any consequences. like with my ged and some governments want to video, what did you, how does sitting next to daddy? otherwise they don't think it's for prosecution. it's a real problem for us. you know, it's possible that our fleet soon or maybe i'll put this job on hold for a while then who will have the courage to continue the work of the mud and his team? how many former militants will face justice?

how many will remain free? one thing is certain in iraq and syria, islamic state is rebuilding itself underground and carrying out bloody attacks again and again. the hunt is far from over me. ah ah, if the end of the panoramic insight we show what it could look like a return to normal and we visit those who are finding it difficult

with success in our weekly coping 19 special in 30 minutes on d w. m, the future of human kind depends on saving me care in an increasing number of authors and artists are convinced of this in their recording their experiences with their books. save the world. 90 minutes on d. w. come on, let's be honest, summer break. it just doesn't really much, does it without the bundis legal? well, don't worry. it will all start up again, soon. owned as legal, football, action, goals,

all in on kick off, who's the oldest 9 here on d, w. finally? ah ah, this is b w. news live from violet. ukraine steps up its efforts to retake occupied occupied territory while russian missiles, coals destruction into countries. east analysts say ukraine is making gains against the invasion in the south. meanwhile, ukraine.