from berlin, you can find much more on our website, d, w dot com. ah, marshall law in a war zone flooding reporting cause it's a technicality. ukrainian official say for them it changes nothing, but to days decree is bound to expand the powers of the forces illegally occupying bast, regions of ukraine and paved the way for restrictions on movement force, relocation, and conscription of the civilians living under russian control. but that control is partial and increasingly fragile. the strategically important area of her son is slipping through rushes fingers in preparation for a ukrainian counter offensive putin's puppets. there have called on tens of thousands to evacuate. keith accuses russia of staging the evacuation as a cover for its troops. retreat. i'm nicole foolish,

and this is the day. ah, i have signed the decree on the introduction of martial law in these 4 regions of the russian federation. president putin has made it very clear what the pseudo referendums and the occupied territories that he's not looking for a way bath brush, especially on a person, is maybe one of the tremendous problems. only person who cannot right. know in the won't is, this is a word that content right now today. if is let me put, wanted to, this is his work. he started this war also on the show back in terror on the iranian climber who caused a stir for a competing abroad without a headscarf appears in public for the 1st time. was she siding with anti government demonstrators and will she face consequences after claiming it was all an accident?

i. hello, so i, i apologize to the iranian people, the comment because i created problems for them as my uncle and they were concerned about me in with us when i go back. oh, thanks for joining us. it's a law from 2002, one that had never been invoked until now. flooding reputed has declared martial law in territories that do not belong to his country, and that are in big part not even under his control. this gives his proxies in the occupied regions, sweeping emergency powers, and could have devastating consequences for the civilians still living there. but potent says, really, it's just a formality with this is, you know, we'll never let me remind you that martial law was an effect in the donuts people's republic to lew hans people's republic in the hair, sun, and upper regia regions

d. ever since their entry into the territory of russia is just num, yep. and now it is therefore necessary to apply this law within the russian legal framework. therefore, the more i have signed a decree on the introduction of martial law in these 4 regions of the russian federation. now it's unclear of what the declaration of martial law will mean in practical terms and those illegally annexed regions. the commander of russian troops in ukraine has been forced to acknowledge difficulties on the front lines. moscow is struggling to maintain its hold on several strategic positions. there. a fierce battle for control over her san looms again of her social. it was one of the 1st ukrainian cities to fall to russian forces at the start of the war. now russia says ukraine is preparing to take it back. images posted on social media by a russian installed official claim to show fortifications outside the city. allegedly, pro kremlin regional leaders are urging civilians to leave in order to avoid

casualties one and to give the russian army room to maneuver what i want to do about our so what i ask you to interpret my word seriously as a cold to evacuate quickly. we won't abandon the city will stand until the end when i get back on foot. since issuing the evacuation order, the russian appointed administration said it had decided to move across the nipper river. but vowed that moscow's forces would fight to the death. keeping harrison will be the 1st big test for general sergey sir of egon in his new role as commander of russia's forces in ukraine. the man known as general armageddon, admitted the battle for his son would not be easy villiers on a ship blow. now, further actions and plans regarding the city of his song itself will depend on the military tactical situation at hand. well, i will say this again. it is already very difficult as of today this morning, but also as for the 10s of thousands of people,

moscow says are fleeing the city. russia has promised them housing certificates if they wish to leave ukraine. but it's unclear how many are leaving under their own free will. since the started the invasion, keith has accused moscow of forcibly resettling thousands of ukrainians to territories inside russia. far from home. and earlier i spoke to investigative journalist and latter catherine belton. she works for the washington post. she's also the author of the 2020 book putin's people. i began by asking what she thought the strategy was behind put in declaring martial law in the annex territories. and he's obviously very worried about this ukrainian counter offensive. it doesn't look like the very, very clear it's not taking care. so and, and he's sort of making steps to make it clear to his population that this is your cranes, aggression, not russians, aggression. and in fact, an advisor to the defense ministry has said that he's worried that the russians are

doing the, preparing the ground for a kind of a mis inflammation campaign. he's worried that this evacuation is requiring the ground brought some kind of bombing attack, which then the russians could blame on the cranium. so there's all kinds of shuffling going on. but really, the bottom line is the last to reach in is going to be very big blood. every little mace is a further escalation of things. is he just digging a deeper and deeper hole for himself? or can he actually turn the tide of the war? you know, it's very difficult, obviously he's already been backed into sourcing the mobilization of his own people . you'd always promised that he was never going to have to do that. it's a deeply and popular step which really undermines the foundations of his own presidency. his legitimacy is president, is based on his popularity and ready by bringing the war home to russians. now,

bringing it not, not like it was popular women russians because they were watching on this as if they were watching a football match on tv. but now they're risking the life of the ones. people who might not come back from the front will going to be badly trained and equipped to fight mean craniums. and really he never want to measure that. he never wanted to take, and it's already on the thinking very vulnerable to purchase within his neat and by declaring martial law is also in a way of admitting that russia is in fact at war something that he's trying to avoid until now, by labeling it a special military operation, hasn't he? what could be the domestic repercussions of this? you know, i think, i mean, with each stage over the past month, as russia has lost more and more territory, the ukrainians. put in that is sort of preparing the ground. it seems with the

recognition of what he called his special military operation as a war. first, you have mobilization now the marshal who are in the ukranian regions and kind of a semi marshal status even within the russian regions itself on the borders of ukraine is going to be strict and always in for an economic mobilization to support the effort though the wireless, it's creeping closer and closer to that and really having a big impact on his standing in the lead on among the population. there was a recent opinion by the criminal make public opinion foundation, which found that 70 percent of russians and now very, very anxious about what's going on. he's really bringing, bringing the the stage. you know, we're seeing divisions emerge within me around and of course there are hard liners who are pressing pretending to act as or against ukraine.

i mean, he, himself, or sees this war that he began almost by accident because he believes that, you know, at the sight of russian troops, president lensky of reclaimed, would just run away. i didn't think he ever. and because then vintage that a month on, he's still be fighting this war but has gone on. he's backed into a corner or a hard liners such as your guinea, pretty goods. and he's a long time i let his from st. petersburg, who has sent his own messen, me into the site and ukraine. there is another whole cold nikolai potter ship, who is the head of versus security council, who was very instrumental in and paving the way towards that's more in ukraine, he told, pretend just days before. and now infamous security council meeting the, the us with using ukraine as a platform to destabilize russia and undermine it. and he told or put in that we

are a task, is to defend a russia sovereignty and territorial integrity. they pretty much have includes what to do. so he's definitely a whole. but there are definitely those within versus economic. and now who are becoming more and more, a gasket? what's going on in the summer? they were perhaps content to that the will rumble on in east ukraine. they were hoping to divert trade, those china and india, and avoidance of western sanctions. but that's becoming ever more difficult and seeing who to lose territory. and that's not just a loss to his popularity it's, it's kind of a loss to his standing within the leaks and suddenly he is coming back. game has been going to great lengths to place the blame for russian defeats on his defense minister. but he is the commander in chief of the russian armed forces. so are

people starting to point fingers on him? well, we seen some reporting out in the us, i think from some some colleagues who said that to, to have, with personally taking command of the army that he was actually issuing orders himself trying to sort of, kind of been bagel himself into the day to day operations, so at some point it's going to come back to bite to, i mean, since all, most of the criticism has been directed at his military chief, but i think that's getting harder and harder to keep the lid on, especially as we see this constant retreat. catherine belltime, investigative journalist and writer, let her speaking to you tonight. thank you so much. i think that latimer prudent finds himself in an incredibly difficult position.

and what reflects to me is seems his only tool available to him is to brutalize individual citizens. you can choose to try to intimidate them and to capitulate the knock i was use president job. i'm saying a lot of recruitment is running out of options in ukraine, and washington has played a big part in that since february the u. s. congress has approved tens of billions of dollars to help ukraine defend itself against russian forces. and so far that funding has enjoyed strong bipartisan support. both in the senate and the house. the us, along with as western allies, has promised to back ukraine for as long as it takes with weapons and humanitarian aid. but with the u. s. midterm elections less than 3 weeks away, and the republicans likely to take control of congress. there are

a signs that cross party support might be starting to wayne. this week, the republican house minority leader, kevin mccarthy, gave this warning and an interview. he said, i think people are going to be sitting in a recession and they're not going to write a blank check to ukraine. they just won't do it. it's not a free blank check. and i want to talk about all of this with our washington correspondence. so he, so must gondo, so he, so good to see you at so is kevin mccarthy really saying the republicans will cut the funding for ukraine if they win control of congress nickel. that's a question. a lot of people have been asking in washington to day because this really is the 1st time that we have publicly heard a leading republican signal doubt about the resiliency of us support for ukraine. and kevin mccarthy, of course, is the house minority leader. so that means he's the top republican in the house of representatives right now. and as you said, this is an issue that until now has gotten broad bipartisan support. i mean,

both parties have been very eager to show that they are firmly behind ukraine. the white house is set on multiple occasions that they see this war as fundamental to us security as well. congress has approved tens of billions of dollars of humanitarian aid at the white house, a cent, of course, billions of dollars worth of military equipment as well. so these comments have raised eyebrows. nicole and i thought it was interesting what the white house said . they were asked about mccarthy's comments and the press secretary, karen, john pierre didn't really address it. and she thanked congress for its bipartisan work and supporting ukraine. and she said, quote, the white house will continue to monitor those conversations on these efforts and support ukraine as long as it takes. so this is the 4th time we're hearing something like that uttered in public. but how popular is that opinion among the g o. p, maybe even behind closed doors. it's hard to tell nicole. i mean, i think 1st we have to dig down into what kevin mccarthy said. and if you,

if you look at the quote, he said it is not a free blank check. and that, i think is in part a nod towards a growing sentiment among many republicans that there needs to be more oversight of how money is spent. i mean, we are talking about billions of dollars of military equipment. and republicans are essentially saying many of them are saying there's not enough close monitoring of exactly how that money's being spent, where it is going. if it's ending up in the right hands, if it's supposed to be ending up, where it, where it was intended to end up. and the u. s. has been delivering weapons and aid at such a fast speed that it is an easy to track where it's all going. so republicans, as an answer to that have offered amendments to assistance packages that would create a special inspector who would monitor us funded aid into ukraine. as a way to, to amend this that might be what kevin mccarthy was signaling. but nicole, i think there's something else to look at here that is a divide in the republican party for the most part. as we said, congressional republicans have stood behind ukraine. but if you look at the hard

right wing of the party, so the republicans who were tied to former president trump, they have expressed more pro russian and pro putin sentiment in the past. so i think we're seeing in part a question about where 8 is going and also a rift in the republican party at the u. s. is the biggest supporter of ukraine's war effort? is this an issue, voters are worried about going into the mid terms? i think it's important to say there is still broad support for ukraine and of rejection of russia, but that interest and concern has waned. and i looked at a study from the pew research center. they pulled americans in september. and that study showed that the share of u. s. adults who were concerned about ukraine losing this war. it is down to 38 percent. it was 55 percent in may. so that number is dropping. and interestingly enough, or cold, there's a partisan difference. so, democrats are more likely than republicans to express a high level of concern about issues related to the war. so it's safe to say it's

not a major issue heading into these mid term elections, but the economy is inflation as high gas prices have picked up again. and that is something to biden administration, a struggle to address it. we've talked to plenty of voters, me and my d. w colleagues here who say the economy's top of mind. so what kevin mccarthy is touching upon here is how long that this broad spending for ukraine can continue with. so many americans struggling economically, and i know that's a question being asked there in germany and europe as well. but combined with mid term elections, it does have some observers concerned. and one more note in that nicole, remember, republicans are expected to win back the house of representatives in these upcoming mid term elections. so will, could really have an impact, what we heard from kevin mccarthy. exactly, sumi sum westcan to thank you so much. always great speaking to you. ah. only a couple of days ago,

not many people knew about l nasir copy, but after the rain in climber participated in a competition in south korea without a he job. her name made international headlines. she was applauded for her bravery for her show of support towards the protest movement and then disappeared. last night she received a heroes welcome and terran, but fears are she might yet face punishment. mm. competitive climate illness recovery is back in a ram greeted by a bouquet of flowers and cheering crowds outside terren air force. wood. it's unclear whether any of this is staged and water fate is now. she appeared without a headscarf june, a competition in south korea the weekend. you know, they, these lamps, republic mandates that all female athletes where the he job recovery his claim competing without the head jab was unintentional and she denied report. she'd gone

missing for around a day after the event i was unexpectedly called and i had to compete. i was busy putting on my shoes and technical gear. and that caused me to forget to put on the job i had to where. then i went to compete with, fortunately, i come back to iran with peace of mind. although i went through a lot of tension and stress so far. thank god, nothing has happened with the last comment as spark speculation that her statements may have been coerced. even the wind has spoken out about her case. we are aware of that case and we are following it closely. i'm concerns are being raised her with the authorities as well. and what we have to stress is that women should never be prosecuted for what day, where i'm there to should they should never be subjected to violations such as

arbitrary detention or, or any kind of violence with regards to what they were anti government protests in iran. spot for the death of a woman in the custody of the country is notorious morality. police. i've entered a 5th week. now the authorities, treatment of another woman, will be closely watched. and i can now speak about this case with key, so nea. she's a human rights lawyer and director of the atlantic council strategic litigation project. ms. nea, thanks for joining us on the day. again, it's a very much speculation at this point still, but what do you make of this incident? and the claims that it was all an accident. well, i think it's pretty clear that it's not an accident and not being forced to say this, the video that has come out of her saying that it's an accident. i think it's pretty clear that her voice is low. she appears very fearful,

and we have to understand that there's amik republic of iran has a very long history of forced confessions with political prisoners to our interrogation. there are multiple attempts to get them to forcibly confess to things that they haven't done and haven't said. and a lot of times these confessions have been televised and then broadcast for a global audience on press tv. and also of course, i'd be in the country, but you know, that's the state run media and i think it's, it's pretty clear she's being forced to say both around promises. she won't how to fear consequences to does that do anything to quell concerns about her safety. while the reports that we were initially receiving was that after her incredible act of bravery, that she would be taken straight to prison when she landed. when she landed at the airport in teheran, there was actually a big crowd of people waiting to greet her,

sharing her on and calling her a champion. that was very heart warming to see. i can't get in the head of the authorities, but perhaps the calculation was bad if they did indeed arrest and imprison her. that would lead to a lot of discontent among the population. but i'm sure she's going to be put under strict control and monitored. and of course, this is something that they have a long history of doing. let's not forget that. just back in august, before these protests began, a writers that rational was detained for define the state mandatory, her job policy on a bus and to her arm. and she would be in, in state custody. and you know, we just see that happening from span. so there's a lot of, there's a, there's a steep penalty to pay for the women who essentially just want to be able to have

the right to dress dress as they please. and freedom and bodily autonomy recovery is being held as a national hero by the protesters that accident or not does that make her life more dangerous. i think that one of the most important things that everybody can do across the globe is actually share and amplify the profile of individuals who are being threatened in such a manner. we believe that it gives a bit of paul to the authority. there are plenty of people who are killed. torture is detained, really under cover of silence and secrecy, and you know, they might not be household names and so people never know what actually happens to them. and that's why we also don't have accurate number accounts on that number of debt. so much of this happens in the secret. so i think calling attention to what she is facing is important actually. and it may be one of the reasons that she

wasn't taken directly to prison last night. indeed, or earlier, if indeed that was the plan. so the theory, the un and the us have all said that they are watching very closely how around trees are from here on out at do you think this international attention really makes or any fee for we've seen instances in the past of prominent athletes. you know, facing punishment despite international pressure to pardon them. yeah. like naveed ask ari world champion wrestler who was executed on the public several years ago. i know that there's been called to, you know, not just those institutions, but also international brock climbing federations and, and that kind of support. we think it's important for that international attention

to be there. we think that it makes a difference. as i said, a lot of individuals are tortured, arrested, killed under secrecy, in a cover of silence for nobody knows their names. so it's very important that we are aware of what is happening to us and make sure that she's safe. but this is part of the long history of forcing individuals who dare to just exercise their basic rights of freedom of expression. this is a long history of silencing these individuals, forcing them to confess, or make up a story that will cover up what we're gonna have to leave it there as mobilizing the public. thank you so much for speaking to us. thank you. and that's our time for today, but as always, the conversation continues. our line follows on twitter and join us again tomorrow . thank you so much for being with

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