venture full of hardships and death. but julian's journey around the world starts january 19th. ah ah ah, this is dw news live from berlin. russia's defense ministry says it's or says have taken control of sola. dar ukraine denies the claim and says it's troops are still there. the eastern ukrainian town could be strategically important for russia in the don bass region. also coming up on the show, an explosion hit

a key natural gas pipeline. in central lithuania, the operator says no one was injured, and there is no immediate evidence of an attack. ah, hello, i'm clear, richards and a very warm welcome to the show. russia claims its forces have captured the town of sola dar in eastern ukraine. if true, it would mark a rare victory for moscow. after months of setbacks for its troops, ukraine's military leaders have rejected the claim saying its soldiers are holding the russian advanced and the battle is ongoing. amid ukraine's freezing winter soldiers and solid up face oblique battle to fiend off rushes constant attacks. the fight here is proving bloody and brutal. russia is

determined to take control of this small mining town. a rear pushed forward after numerous setbacks. it's defense forces already claiming victory or the learning of a complete control. so it makes it possible to cut off the supply lines of the ukrainian forces located in the southwest of back moot then to block and enclose the ukrainian units located there in a pocket. when actually those claims have been swiftly rejected by ukrainian forces who say their soldiers are holding the line. the loss of solid tao would be a major setback for ukraine after months of successes and retaken towns and territories. but the fighting comes at a high cost. it's close gone, but we have gunshots. yeah, we have for grenades,

shrapnel wounds and so on. so this kind of wounds in the increased russia claims to have killed hundreds of ukrainian soldiers in the battle for solider. but they have been no confirmed death tolls. there are reported to be more than $550.00 civilians still in the town, living in horrific conditions with no running water or electricity. while marina myron is a defense analyst at king's college, london. and earlier she told us about sola darr's military significance. the 1st of all, for russia, it was politically important to take full adar, because that will increase the morale of the army after so many setbacks. and in military terms, the plan was to take solid are and then to take buck moved to basically cut off and ukrainians, logistics,

and advanced the words from doris. cancel events. so some russian military analysts point out that there are tillery, you would be able to reach from a tourist. it remains to be seen. i don't think that it's within the range, however, it would give them a stronghold there. and at the same time, as has been pointed out to the defenses of the ukrainian, a forces might suffer a collapse in that region because that's right in the middle. so they will have to fall back to other position. and so, militarily, it would be a sad back and also it would, the facts and morale of the ukrainian forces, especially because the korean government says it's all it wasn't that important. and then the question is, why were those troops there? and why hasn't the illusion it withdrawn the troops as he wanted to, but the landscape didn't let him do that. so there are

a lot of questions in terms of how the ukrainians will handle it, and what impact it will have. well, an explosion has damaged a key natural gas pipeline in northern lithuania, flames, up to 50 meters high, were seen shooting from the amber grid pipeline. its operator set its are no indications of sabotage, but that supplies to northern lithuania and to neighboring lava could be disrupted . no injuries have been reported by a nearby village has been evacuated. indeed, your correspondent konstantin anger is following the story for us from villainy asked. we asked him what else could have caused the blast if it wasn't sabotaged? well, i think that the investigation will show it. but indeed, what the, what the operator said immediately is that no sub with our respect suspected because in lithuania, which is a frog lance, they bouldering put in friendly bella rues. this kind of idea is the 1st thing that

comes to mind. uh, but uh, what the or operator of the company called ember. greet are described is that the pipeline is quite old. it was built in 1978 and it's it is a it hidden on the ground so essentially sabotaging it will demand quite an effort . you know, to dig up and, and minded. so while they are saying is that they suspect some kind of for now more technical reason. also what they're saying is that the impact will not be failed. because basically like a kilometer to nearby. there is another pipeline which kind of doubles up as a supply route. so basically northern lithuania and southern lat via will probably as the operators a says will not be affected. also, there is not far away. there is a gas storage tank which will probably palm gas ah,

into the neighboring regions, while the main line is being repaired. i was did these konstantin exits speaking to us earlier from vilnius. now we can bring you up to speed with some other stories that are making headlines around the worlds. the german government has called on russia to provide urgent medical assistance to jailed kremlin critic alec st. of only his family and supporters say they are increasingly distressed about his health and that he is being denied care. volney is serving a 9 year sentence at a penal colony north of moscow. a court in greece has dropped espionage charges against a rescue. workers who saved migrants from drowning in the mediterranean sea. the defendants faced up to 8 years in jail for spying and forgery. the case was widely criticized by human rights groups. the united nations said it set a dangerous precedent. and federal prosecutors in brazil have asked the supreme

court to investigate former president j your bull scenario for allegedly instigating last sunday's riots at the capitol hill. snar as supporters ransacked government buildings in brasilia under the false belief that last year's presidential election was stolen. wilson aro, has never publicly acknowledged rival religious silva's election. victory lay, teenager shaw during anti government protest improved died on thursday, bringing the death toll from a month of violent unrest to $49.00 people. since december supporters of austan president, pedro castillo, have marched and barricaded streets in peru, demanding new elections, and the removal of current liter dina boulevard a. the carried more coffins and effigies of their unwonted leaders in jail cells. thousands of noisy protesters hit the streets of the capital lima to demand the resignation of their president. then

that is the most of indignation, pain, and suffering. it's having a psychological impact on those of us who are following what's happening in the provinces, especially our brothers and sisters there who have been killed. it's a total massacre. my 2nd book back in poo poo the ancient capital of the ink empire. the caskets were real. locals bid a public farewell to a killed protector. elsewhere in the city, clashes blue coat yet again. please fire tear gas. protestors responded with stones on slingshot fire. by night, the violins escalated. the turmoil was triggered by the arrest of former president pedro castillo last mano, feel in a page after he tried to seize emergency powers to evade impeachment,

over sleeves allegations. the insuring crisis has rocked the country. mark cause kish baker was protesting at the airport when he was killed. was these young ladies, but actually shot em? i don't know who gave the orders illegal, that now we want those responsible for his death to pay for us homeless by him. but somebody like marcus most of the victims, hail from working class heart lungs loyal to casteel communities united in recent weeks in protest or in grief. and sometimes both while after 33 years, international football has returned to iraq. fever band arrive from hosting international matches. after leader saddam hussein ordered the invasion of kuwait in 1990, the band was left at last year. and now a rock is hosting the much watch gulf cop tournament this month.

ah, after decades of waiting, iraqi fans are celebrating the return of international football. iraq is hosting the gulf cup for the 1st time since 1979. the year it won. its 1st of 3 titles in the competition. panica zarbara, one who lives here in bus at all was so excited about the gulf cup. that when the tickets were posted online, they were sold out in just a few hours clean. and i sat in a dent fee for a band iraq from hosting internationals. after the invasion of kuwait, the band was only fully lifted last year. and now locals in the host city. boshra are excited to show the world a brighter, lighter side of life in a country emerging from 3 decades of other people. playing phone had been known all along. we want to show the world our life is more than just war and another in the heart of our life. and lisa marie presley, the only child of rock'n'roll legend elvis presley has died at the age of $54.00.

the singer songwriter who inherited her father's estate reportedly suffered cardiac arrest. lisa marie presley pictured at the golden globe awards just this week. the 54 year old, apparently in good health. thank you. only days before she was at graceland, the home she inherited from her father elvis presley, crowd said, gathered to mark what would have been his 88th birthday. you keep saying you're the only people that can bring me out of my house. not to lisa marie presley was born in february 1968, exactly 9 months after her parents, elvis, and priscilla married, they later divorced and when their daughter was just 9 years old,

elvis died. it was a traumatic start for the only child. presley was married 4 times including to singer michael jackson. but that ended 2 years later her marriage to act and nicholas cage lasted only a few months. she had 4 children in total, one of her sons, benjamin, died by suicide in 2020. ah priestly for wished her own singer songwriter career, but she could never escape her father's iconic status. i feel that he would have been proud bride thing 3 also would have understood sort of the path that i had to lead to find myself here. like the 1st 2 arms needed needed their place just because i needed to know and that i had my own audience. i needed to find my own,

my own kind of voice, and try on different things from myself. um, i think you would have understood the path. i got to tell you, lisa marie presley was very close to her mother priscilla. in a statement following her daughter's death, priscilla described her as the most passionate, strong and loving woman i have ever known. and europe has a new gateway to space today. the e. u inaugurated its 1st orbital launch pad on the european mainland is the latest sign that the space race is heating up in europe. the new e u facility and arctic sweden will compliment europe's other spaceport in tropical french guiana. it's designed to launch small satellites, which can be used to track natural disasters in real time, or to monitor active conflicts like the war in ukraine. it is a news update at this hour after a short break. my colleague christy plots will be back with the business headlines

and a look at why teslas just become a little more affordable statement for that or check out our website for more news and analysis at d. w dot com. thanks so much for watching. ah ah ah, every journey is full of surprises. we've gone all out to give you some tips with all the red ribbon.