for a new one years a go look back into the future. it been slowly in february dw ah ah, this is the w news live from berlin. ukraine is pressing for more heavy weapons, including fighter jets. as russia starts, a new offensive cave will be making the demands, the 2 key me things of its allies in brussels today. and the un says the rescue phase of last week's devastating earthquakes is now coming to

a close of the focus. now, switching to player in rubble and helping survivors. ah, i manuscripts macon and welcome to the program. nato defense ministers, the meeting in brussels right now to discuss further military assistance to ukraine . ministers from the 30 member states adjoined by representatives from non nato countries, also aiding ukraine. speaking a head of the summit, nato secretary general young stoughton burg warned that an anticipated russian offensive in easton ukraine has already begun. he says you cranes back as in a logistical race to supply it with weapons and ammunition. the u. s. secretary of defense, lloyd austin earlier gave the opening remarks at the ukraine defense contact group

. his dozens of members coordinate, military assistance to keep. let's take a listen to some of what he had to say. kremlin is still betting that it can wait us out. but when you're on, we are as you and that's your result will help us find your crazy momentum and the crucial weeks. and hope your pray, travel, the challenging road, the wise looking around this room today. i know that our unity will only grow. we all understand the space in russia is war of choice. this isn't just about ukraine, right? to live in peace and security. it's also about the find a world that our children one here. and we can bring in d, w, b, or chief alexander fun nom than in brussels. he's covering that story for us. alexander, a strong message of support that by the us defense secretary confirming that the u

. s. and nato allies will back ukraine in the long term and that more military support is on its way. well, i think that's the case. nato officials here told us that we can expect to him more pledges to increase military support for ukraine. and his opening remark secretary austin, emphasize that this is a crucial time and he pointed out what allies and there are partners have already promised to deliver modern western battle tanks, for instance, or patriot missile defense systems. and i think the understanding here is dad said miss island air defense systems are really important right now for ukraine to defend the territory and other people. and what is also very high on the agenda is ammunition. according to estimates ukraine fires every day around

$5000.00 artillery. i mean, i mean, nation and at that is roughly as much as a small european country orders in the urine peacetime. so at that is a definitely an urgent request and needs that ukraine has right now to the, to be delivered to get more ammunition. you've mentioned the tanks, obviously the ammunition is a, is a huge issue. and, but there is no agreement. is that about ukraine's request for fighter jets can, can we expect any movement discussion of this during this meeting? the discussion is underway, according to nato secretary general, eons tolten back. so allies are speaking about that, but he right there is no agreement yet. and, for instance, the dutch defense minister,

he told us that something like that would not be discussed in public. we know that some allies are more open into this to this idea. some others fear that delivering a fight, a jobs to ukraine would lead to an escalation of the conflict. and our author pointing out that fighter jets are very complex when it comes to supply chains. when it comes to training. what is important right now are many are pointing out is to live up to the promises already made. for instance, to deliver those modern western battle tanks to ukraine. we had a chance to visit a training center in poland, one of 3 training centers in europe, a were ukrainian soldiers are being trained to be able to operate leopard to tanks . let's have

a listen. leverage to tanks in action showing what they are capable of at a military site. in western poland. the 1st ukranian soldiers have started to train here. fish of shadowed ski is one of their instructors. she's only a her. we don't need to motivate the soldiers at all. in fact, we have to hold them back a bit to let them learn a bit by bit. i'm over to the book. they are highly motivated and want to learn everything motor needed to operate or the tanks over mcgonigal junior, not schubert. normally the training takes 2 months, but instructors here say they can cut it in half. the polish government has been one of the staunchest supporters of ukraine calling time and again for deliveries of more advanced weapons. president angie, daughter himself has come from war. so to visit the training center level just now,

we hope that these modern weapons will help them strike back against russia. stronger than before the people considered one of the best tanks in the west arsenal. the leopard too, is also one of the most widely used that makes him such a good fit for keith. experts say tanks and known wouldn't be a game change on the battlefield, but they could help ukraine to go on the offensive again. only days ago, major that him hot dog and his tank brigade were fighting on the front lines, intent on at screeching. now they are here in poland. were yet the girls emir sure . i think these tanks will be a great helicopter and great support for our army reserve would at the game were with 3 manion luxury army when we learned how to operate them and begin using them in battle. but i'm, you know, we're, you're, we're home. this will have a big wrangler. oh yeah, i don't wish that they would have to have really great effect with ukraine has been

waiting for western tanks for months. now. the 1st ones are expected to arrive on the front lines at the end of march. alexander, we saw in your report that the training is underway, but we know also that the new russian offensive is also underway. so will this training happen and will the, the tanks and other equipment be delivered to ukraine fast enough to, to, to help keep the russians a bay that's, of course, the key question here, and many defense ministers told us that tom is of the essence here. and they are willing to speed up the process, but in practical terms, it is difficult and it's taking more time than anticipated. so it's still an open question. what are ukraine will get? what they need in time to be ready for more russian troops on the battlefield. alexander, thank so much. let's d w's, brussels bureau, chief, alexandra phenomena. okay,

the latest now in last week's devastating earthquakes and syria and turkey, the combined death toll from both countries now stands at more than $35000.00. and that number is rising as rescue is discover ever more bodies. the un says that the rescue phase is drawing to a close and that resources will soon start to focus on the needs of the survivors that emergency workers are still managing. to save some people, a moment of joy and relief, a young girl is pulled out to lie from the rubble. after 7 and a half days trapped under collapsed building. the girl named mary was found in a town in southern turkey by groups of rescue workers tirelessly digging to find remaining survivors. it is difficult and often dangerous work, sire. the super dangerous the collapse. so you cannot just go inside and

you should be really careful. sonata harm, if you believe me, i like kind of you say and talking hard thinking with our nail one by one floor is slowly, slowly but over a week after the earthquake devastated parts of turkey and syria, the chances of finding people still trapped alive, dwindles with each passing hour there is a sign of hope for the millions of earthquake victims in north west syria. after the country's president, bashar al assad said he will allow 2 new crossing points for the much needed humanitarian aid to reach the rebel health region. and move welcomed internationally. the assad regime has, are consistently argued against additional humanitarian crossings are but if the regime is serious about this, and if the regime is willing to put those words into action, that would be a good thing for answering people. immediate help is needed for millions of people

in both syria and turkey. as rescue operations for survivors enter their final days, the death toll from the devastation is predicted to rise dramatically. now and tack here is the center of the province of hot tie, which is among the hardest hit by the quakes. and our correspondent julia han joins us from there. now, julia, can you give us a sense of, of what you're seeing of the scale of the destruction there or the destruction caused by the quakes here in an takia is massive. it's unimaginable when we drove into town earlier today, we saw hardly any building, still standing, 70 percent of an takia that are the estimates are gone. where you can see here, where we are, this is the old city of on takia. there is a hotel right behind me and we are going to show you around

a little bit. they used to be a bakery here, homes, a mosque. we are actually standing on a pile of rubble. they used to be part of a mosque and, and takia used to be home to more than 400000 people. it is a city with a rich cultural heritage, a multi cultural, multi religious city. and now this is what's left of it. the architectural damage is colossal to landmarks as well. turkeys, oldest mosque has been heavily damaged churches, the cities synagogue, and the people we speak with here. the people who are still here, they are in so much pain. everybody here has lost someone, people are grieving for their loved ones and they are grieving for their city. we do still see search and rescue teams. crisis response teams, both from turkey, but also from abroad, from mexico, from australia. they are walking the street. they're trying to hear voices or

noises from under the piles of rubble. a team from the estimable fire department told me that they aren't going to give up looking for survivors, no matter how small and slim the chances. now are of still finding people alive with the problem is the main roads here and, and takia are now accessible, but many small roads are. and so the search and rescue teams haven't even been able to access many of the collapse buildings you do, you talk about that, that the pain of the people can you describe to us the humanitarian situation? what situation all these people in who have survived this nightmare? well, a most of the survivors that is our impression have left on takia to nearby cities to villages, so to elsewhere in turkey, they have been evacuated, others and i think is easily thousands are now staying in makeshift,

a tent camps that have been set up here some of the 10s are going to be replaced with containers within this week we hear, but we've been talking to 8 workers and many of them are actually volunteers. they told us that people here need absolutely everything. they need food, water heating, electricity, they need hygenic products. there are almost no toilets around. they need underwear, they need everything. and they also need a cycle legit. psychological help because many people here as you can imagine, they are absolutely traumatized you live. i can just ask you briefly what happens now? what are the next steps? well i, i can't answer that question for you and because i think that people here don't know what's next for them in the next few days, weeks, or months. the government has promised a financial aid to the survivors to the victims of this crisis. they have promised to provide permanent housing within the next year. but from where i'm standing

right now in the destroyed old city, that's very hard to imagine. this city has a history of more than 2000 years and that has been wiped out within minutes. but these deadly quakes you, johan reporting from untouched in turkey. thank you so much for the update. and with that, you are up to date, business is coming up next with kate ferguson, a magnificent can and thank you for watching 3 people and trucks injured when trying to free the city center more and more refugees are being turned away at the border families playing on the tax in syria for the credit on.