is taking shape around the world and how we can all make a difference. knowledge grows through sharing. download it now for free. ah ah, this is d w. news live from berlin. russia's defense ministry says it's forces have taken control of solar dar. ukraine denies the claim and says its troops are still there. the eastern ukrainian town could be strategically important for russia in the don best region. also coming up flood ravaged california braces for even more

heavy right forecast as a warning of the potential for disastrous flooding as powerful storms take aim at the state. yet again, foss, europe takes a big leap forward in the space race opening its 1st satellite launch port on the european mainland. ah, i'm all on soccer. welcome to the program. russia claims its forces. have taken the town of solid dar in east new crime. if true, it would mark a victory for moscow after months of battlefield setbacks. ukraine's military leaders rejected the claim saying it soldiers are holding the russian advance, and the battle is ongoing. amid ukraine's freezing winter soldiers and solid um face oblique battle to fend 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. its defense forces already claiming victory was the leader of a complete control. so it makes it possible to cut off the supply lines of the ukrainian forces located in the south, west of back, moot van to block and enclose the ukrainian units located there in a pocket. typically 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 increased russia claims to have killed hundreds of ukrainian soldiers in the battle for salida, but they have been no confirmed death tolls. there are reported to be more than $550.00 civilians still in the town, living in hereford conditions with no running water or electricity. dw, russia. analysts constant in aga jones. men are from vilios causes in both sides, still claim to have control of solid. dar who is winning this battle well has to be on the ground to testify. but i think that judging by the

interviews that are given by our colleagues of those ukrainian soldiers that fought in saudi dar, it is well fairly accurate to assume that 3 thirds of solid are under the control of the russian army. or rather, the russian mercenary group, the so called wagner group. it is also maybe clear that there are pockets are great resistance inside the city. so the battle continues. but for now, it seems, i will say very, very provisionally that the russian forces are gaining the upper hand. russia has been sharing a lot of resources on taking solid. are you also mentioned the wagner group, the why so much for such a small town? well, because solid are, is seen as a particularly important strategic point that is opening the road towards

encircling a much larger ukrainian for forces or in the area of bar moot, at which the russian sources continue to go by the soviet name are your mosque. and this could lead to an isolation of the main ukranian battle group that is a poise to inflict damage on the russian forces in the don't boss area as a whole. so in a sense, the russian seed as an important stage towards eliminating ukrainian threat to don boss, that's how it's seen from moscow and your friends. western allies are promising on the vehicles and training for ukrainian soldiers within the next few months. how might that change the pace of the war? look, this is the question, not only of this battle, this is the question of 2023. as such. what we have is essentially the

russian federation, conducting a barbaric, early 20th century war in which a thousands and thousands and thousands of untrained recruits. and sometimes just criminals lifted from prisons being thrown at the front. and basically no regard for human cost. on the other hand, but russia is a huge country, it's a 140000000 countries still have significant resources of this. if i may say so, it's very rude, common food that put in things you can throw at the front. on the other hand, you have you agree and forces which are much smaller and will continue to be smaller just because the countries much smaller, armed with sophisticated western weaponry which is very dangerous to the russian forces. and today what essentially we have is a confrontation between 1021st century technology and early 20th century methods. a war i, i think that 2023 will show whether ukraine has enough weapons from the

west to actually win this 21st century war against those who fight a war which, which is essentially a 100 years old. konstantin, thank you very much for your insight. that's d w. russia analyst constantine, i get in the less now a powerful explosion. has it a gas pipeline in lithuania, close to the latvian border? the blast sent huge pillars of flames into the sky, but no injuries have been reported. the pipelines operator is investigating the blast at this point. it says it does not suspect sabotaged. flames up to 50 meters high, spiral from the damaged pipeline into the lithuanian night sky. the blaze prompted the evacuation of a nearby village boomers door gosh, i was about 300 meters away, a shampoo and i was outside at the time for jordan. and when the explosion took place, look up suddenly the whole area lit up and it was like daytime. i realized the gas

pipeline had exploded water for bravo code with probability christmas. when the government played don't any suggestion of sabotage. while i think we are talking about the technical failure, i mean the pipeline itself is quite old. we're talking about the pipeline which is about 40 years old. so i think it's a very likely that is a technological failure. and of course, we cannot rule out, no other possibilities. the pipelines operator amber grid, said there had been no signs of outside interference. the cause of explosion will be clarify it under after the investigation and to and the investigation that has already started. so we expect to have the answers in the next 30 days. the pipeline carries gas from lithuania to neighboring lot via amber grid, said supply would be restored within hours. the pipeline blast happened on the day that vilnius marked the anniversary. the failed attempt in 1991 by soviet troops to

over through it's nearly independent government with you any i was the 1st you nation to bond the input of gas from russia following its invasion of ukraine. let's have a look now at some of stories making headlines around the world. the german government has called on russia to provide urgent medical assistance to jailed kremlin critic alexei in a volley. his family and supporters say they're increasingly distressed about his health and that his being denied care pneumonia serving a 9 year sentence at a penal colony north of moscow. brazil supreme court says it will investigate former president diable so narrow for allegedly inciting last sunday's riots in the capital was in our supporters, ransacked government buildings and brazilian under the false belief that last year's presidential election was stolen of an hour himself has never publicly acknowledged president louis election victory perused president dina velocity has

made a televised apology for dozens of death course and protests in recent weeks, but says she will not resign. she also swore in 3 new cabinet members, offer a string of resignation. supporters of ousted precedent. pedro castillo. are demanding new elections and the removal of black thing in the united states, republicans in congress have launched an investigation into the trip withdrawal from afghanistan in 2021 k. as a rough day when the u. s. pulled out of the country and the taliban re to control a bomb attack at the couple airport killed more than $170.00 african civilians. and 13 us soldiers forecast as our warning that disastrous flooding could hit. parts of california this weekend, the u. s. state has been battered by a series of storms that have killed at least 19 people near reco rainfall over the

past 3 weeks has left the ground in many areas waterlogged and unable to absorb any more rain. the water level at this river in north western california continues to rise. the public is on alert. as authorities warn of more rounds of stormy weather, the ground is saturated. it is extremely, extremely dangerous, especially in these high vulnerable areas. and that water can continue to rise well after the storms have passed. so our message is clear, please know your surroundings. this fear thousands of acres of crop land could be inundated by the overflowing rivers. heating the warnings, farmers dig out, drainage ditches and officials work to stop rivers from breaking their banks. operational priority in preparation for that is to ensure that the water stays within its banks. so if we were assessing some of the levy structure where we're,

we're assessing what we can do to, to fight the flood. the relentless and powerful storms have caused devastation in many areas cause in homes, remain submerged, and thousands remain under evacuation orders. the rains have ease, extreme drought in the state, but a huge cost. scientists say climate change is responsible for more frequent and intense storms. you're passing you gateway to space. that's after e officials on friday inaugurated the 1st orbit, a launch pad on the european mainland. the new facility and arctic sweden will compliment europe's other spaceports in tropical french, guiana, as the sign to launch small satellites, which among other things can be used to attract natural disasters or to monitor active conflicts like the war and you crank oh,

in the vast expanse of futons, frozen wilderness, a space boat launch satellites for the european union, new doors to space are opening. at this free space center in sweden, european officials inaugurated the arbiter launch complex, the european space. it's a big moment for europe. it's a big moment for europe, space industry, the 1st arbiter launch site on european mainland. this space port offers an independent european gateway to space. it is exactly the infrastructure we need. officially, i hopeful the new facility will help strengthen youth security. the current geopolitical situation, not least, of course, the russian invasion of ukraine has demonstrated how important it is,

but the european union has access to space. the 5th board will also allow the you to better monitor climate change pollution deforestation. and to track natural disasters, that data can help countries and taking better deficiency and devising environmentally friendly strategies. the fact that like light is expected next year, and that would make food in the 1st country in europe, besides russia, to lodge a satellite from its land. dancing enthusiasts have descended on vienna. as the famous winter bull cease and gets into full swing again in the austrian capital after being postponed for 2 years, due to coven 19 restrictions. oh, the 2000. and don says, how was the noise away? at the flower bowl? in the, in a city hole, one of hundreds of bulls hosted in the austrian camp. so each season, the fallible show his eye catching. floral arrangements organizes say

a bull season is making a roaring come back after it's enforced absence. that's it for me. coming up after a short break is sports life. stay tuned for that. don't forget, you can get used and analysis around the clock on d, w dot com. allow soccer in berlin for me and the team here. thanks for watching. with every journey is full of surprises. we've gone all out with i'm.