ah ah ah ah, this is the w news alive from berlin. i'm sarah kelly, and you are watching our special coverage marking one year since russia invaded ukraine. the war has devastated ukraine and its impact has rippled around the world . we have team coverage here. the u. n. has recorded more than 8000 civilian deaths from the fighting, but says the real figure is likely to be far higher. around

a 3rd of ukraine's population has been displaced with millions needing humanitarian assistance. russia has suffered repeated setbacks on the battlefield, but still controls nearly a 5th of ukrainian territory. there will be ceremonies around the world commemorating the anniversary, and we will be bringing you live coverage of some of those events. joining me now here in the studio as dw correspondent max sander, what's expected today. max right sara. so one of the 1st ceremonies rubel looking we will be looking at this morning will take place in estonia and the capital tell in today's, not only the 1st anniversary of russia's full scale invasion of ukraine on 24th of february $22.00, but it also marks the independence day of estonia. so the nato sector, generally in short book together we,

you commission president's was enough on the line and the estonian prime minister call us will be in the capital. in estonia, there will be a military parade in the capital, and there will be a reflex germany. so we can expect some speeches later on to commemorate the state max. and we're just looking at live pictures. we have to say is that their money gets under way and we're going to go to it and as it as it progresses. but you've been to ukraine many times over the past year. just walk us through what has stood out to you in your reporting. right, so the 1st time i went to ukraine for me, what really stood out was just to train rides away from berlin. you can see all this destruction. you can really see what the war actually does. in terms of this destroyed, destroyed buildings, destroyed bridges. and that kind of infrastructure comes if you go to the capital key, if i was there for the 1st time last year in may and where life seemed having come

back to normal at the time. but once you leave the capital, you go to the, the outskirts to butcher hostile mail to airplane, these outskirts that have been, become infamous for heinous war crimes of the russians committed there. you can really see what the, what the war did to these locations and to the people living there. so this is like one of the 1st impressions i had, i guess i'm living with a daily air raid sirens with air attacks with rocket attacks experiencing the, the shelling, the outgoing artillery fire. if you were reporting from close to the front lines. occasionally being on the receiving end of that of mortar fire, for example, as we experienced in places close to the russian border, for example, that is or something that, of course, is very different from europe every day reporting you do in other parts of europe. but would really, i think anybody talk to anybody from her team, what stuck to their memory within the last 12 months of reporting about this war?

it's the experience of the people, the ukrainians radians, that are fighting every day, each being a printer, the trains that are going through so much and matter with resilience. i'm just going to interrupt you because we're, we're looking at live pictures here. we can just throw those live pictures up please, for our viewers. a replaying ceremony and helene in estonia, you're watching the prime minister there. as you can see, also president is that nato secretary general against oldenburg commission president are still a founder line as well. for this week we're new to laying ceremony max. i mean this is, this is among the many events that, that are happening today. ukraine, very much high on the mind of everybody. me today, one year since the russian invasion began. just walk, walk us through how important, how critical this moment is right now. i know it's,

i know it's alice ellie. definitely a big day in a way that this ward has been going on for such a long time. if you remember the beginning of the war, you had yet analysts, military experts saying that keith would fall within just a few days. that everything would go according to the russian war plan, that within a month of the east and the south of ukraine would be occupied by russia, the russians would be able to install a puppet regime a key if none of this actually happened according to plan. so it is a special moment that a year after still the ukrainians are on their feet and, and fighting and resisting, putting up a remarkable fight. but at the same time, this war has gone on for quite a long time. and it has been, it has taken huge toll among the ukrainian population. millions have been displaced . ah, hundreds of thousands,

not millions are living under occupation. and the hundreds, thousands of people continue to die every week. i'm fighting this war. so this days, this day is a day like any other in ukraine, this or the war is not going to be different tomorrow than today than it was yesterday. one of the big questions we have been asking this here at the w and ears of all the major politicians that we encounter is how this world will end next. what have you been hearing? that is very difficult question. i'm afraid i don't have a clear answer to that. i know that the west western countries, european union, united states, and many, many other allies, are doing a lot to assist ukraine doing a lot to help the you was working on the 10th sanctions package right now. so they have been sanctioning russia over over oil over gas over technology. the

sections have had effect so far, but it not the desired effect yet the russian economy shot by nearly 2 percent last year. the russians are finding ways to circumvent the sanctions. so more needs to be done and that, that regard. but then also this, this war is not just is this, this war will be decided for a large part also. right now at least on the battlefield. so the ukrainians need more support. they have been asked there, been lobbying for months for tanks. finally, they have been getting tanks from countries like germany and other other nato countries, though not as many as expected. they're asking for more assistance. right now there was a huge ammunition shortfall. so they needed, they need 155 millimeter rounds for their artillery to keep on going. and they need a rapper production here in europe. the russians have already done that, but okay, max out, we just want to remind our viewers of what they're looking at right now. we are looking at pictures coming in from tallying estonia, where

a reflex ceremony is just beginning. we just heard from prime minister katya collis, also present our nato secretary general young stilton, bergen, you commission president ursula funder lion. this re playing ceremony is at the monument to the war of independence. they are entirely in estonia. we understand. ah, that secretary general stone, burke will also attend a military parade at the freedom square on the occasion of estonia, independence day, and meet with ukrainian soldiers who are training in estonia. max, just tell us, because, you know, we've, we've been discussing the conflict in ukraine. this obviously a very symbolic day, followed me as the lens is peace plan calls for russia is complete withdrawal, the legal prosecution of all russian war crimes and international security guarantees. just walk us through where things stand right now and you know what people are thinking when they see those demands indeed from zalinski book. right?

so you could argue that these are very reasonable demands of the ukranian president is asking for the invading forces to withdraw from his country, and those who have committed war crimes or have committed crimes of aggression to be prosecuted. and he wants security guarantees rate. this is something that has been on the table, the long before the war crane has been asking for, for nato membership was, was never, never granted it. out of fear mostly too were to provoke russia and the russian, the russian president there. so we took them adults, but at the moment these, none of this seems very realistic that this is going to happen anytime soon. but this is a dynamic situation. and as i said, the ukraine was about putting up a fight like that. one, as them depends on what happens in rural politics, obviously, but also what it, what exactly happens, how the situation plays out on the battlefield. this might be for right now, something the ukrainian president is asking for something that he's leading with

mike or it might turn out into. it's really at some point in the future, but it really depends on it's a very dynamic situation to want to train changes every day. and, you know, there was a lot of conversation obviously about this over the weekend at the munich security conference maximum. and one of the questions that was asked was, you know, is the world now bracing for a forever war between i, you know, as russia tries to make further inroads, indeed, in ukraine, just just walk us through you know, within ukraine's partners what the, the sense is right now, in terms of the resolve to keep supporting ukraine in its efforts to repel the russian invasion. wrote me. you see the ceremony that is happening right now in estonia. these leaders are there for a reason to show reiterates. we are here with ukraine. we are

standing side by side, and there have been commitments made in the past. president u. s. presidential biden was in poland a just a few days ago to follow reiterates we are here. we have a, we have an eye on the situation. we are here with our eastern european partners, but also with ukraine. he visited the capital, one key of a surprise visit. we had that members of the e commission, including the commission president, was from the line in keith last month to bring this exact message again. we are standing by your side, you have the prospect of becoming a e, u e, and they were of the european union. we want you in the european family. so there have been commitments made and it seems like that everybody is gearing up for this to. yeah, body to take to take, to take a while and there in for it. how quickly could that half at max,

how quickly could you crane become a member of the the, at that site a process? is it, it is quite a process. yes. so usually this is a process that takes quite a few years and so far, no e country has become a member. while there were foreign boots on the ground, while there was an act of conflict in the country. so this is actually something that might hinder ukraine becoming a member, as long as russian forces are present in the country. this is actually something that i asked the vice president of the european commission, and mister finds tim a months can ukraine when he went, when he wasn't keith i, i met him there and asked him, can you, can you try and become a member of the european union, whether so russian puts in the body said no, definitely night. so this is, this is one of the main issues there, but then become a member of the european union. requires lots of work, lots of lots of assessments, of legal framework, lots of reform,

processes. and the case of ukraine where there also are other issues apart from the war ratios, corruption, for example, everything has to be put up to brought up to standards. and this could take many years. the french presidency model mccaul said this could take 1015 years. okay. max and or are you going to be with, with us throughout the morning, we have to say as we see various ceremonies such as the one that we're watching right now taking place, just to tell our viewers what they're seeing. we're looking right now at helene estonia, where a riffling ceremony is just beginning just taking place. we have seen their prime minister katya collis it. o secretary general against burke and e. u. commission, president ursula funder lion. it's at the monument to the war of independence. there in telling estonia and today also happens to be independent stay there. in estonia, we understand that the secretary general will also be meeting with ukrainian soldiers who are training in the country when a look at the ceremony now. and then we'll have some analysis and reflections thereafter.

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to go with a reminder of you, or if you're watching a re signing ceremony, they're entirely estonia on this day, which also happens to be independence day in a stony. it is also of course, marking one year since the russian invasion of ukraine began. max, you know, show solidarity here, and we have to mention, of course, quite symbolic. estonia being one of the baltic countries, the baltic countries have long warned, of the threat posed by that vladimir putin to russia, from a security perspective. many of them, you know, wondering, worrying, especially in the early days of this invasion, if they might indeed be next. just walk us through what,

what people in the baltics might be thinking today as we mark these anniversaries. right? yes, you're, you're absolutely right. so the people in the baltics were members, as former former soviet republics as well. and they know what, it's what it's like to live under the thumb of moscow. so to say, and naturally they've been watching very closely what has been happening ukraine and we've heard eastern, where the baltic leaders many times. a warning that if putin is not stopped and ukraine, that they may be next. and afterwards, or other countries such as poland may be threatened in a similar way perhaps even attacked by, by russia. so they have been doing a lot. they have been lobbying a lot for, for support by nato for, for you sanctions. and they have been giving a lot, according a,

in regard to their, their g d, p. quite high number of military aid and financial aid to support the fight in ukraine. and we have seen now on your commission president or so the founder, lion, can go up to these rates. we're now looking at nato secretary general, again, stilton burke as well. paying tribute their entire lean, estonia, max. we have heard over and over again from, from nato allies, that they are vowing to protect. and this is the quote here, every inch of nato territory. they keep repeating line every inch of nina territory . how much is that? does that mean to, to people looking on in the baltics, especially because, you know, for years they have been calling for more reinforcements from, from more support from their nato partners. they're, they're finally starting to get some of that. right. just just walk us through.

that's looking no that, that, that is correct. so i mean the fears in the baltic, sorry, they're very small countries with small populations and in small military's with limited capabilities to defend themselves. so they are off course like any other european natal member. they depend on, on the, the alliance as a whole and protection of the united states. so they have been issuing, this is warnings. they happened. they have been lobbying from work or supports. what has happened over the last year actually is that nato has bolstered, has adhered to. this cause has bolstered the eastern flank over the last decades or so. and nato was more busy with managing crisis conflicts and other parts of the world. now it came back to it's more you could argue, came back to its intended purpose in protecting the natal member states,

also here in the eastern eastern flag of europe. so we're, we're, we're seeing is that they have been, the security has been beefed up on the use are folks that have been additional battle groups and they used to be only in north eastern europe in the baltic states and, and poland. now we're seeing additional battle hoops as securing the, there's the southeastern line in the, southeastern european countries. nato countries, of course, are among the most important and the biggest contributor is when we look at partners of ukraine in its fight to repel the russian invasion. just walk us through how, how important that support has been for ukraine itself and also, you know, max, one of the, the big questions here is what the threat of contagion might be as well, how russia is seeing that support which has been flowing ukraine's way. right, so how russia would be reacting that was that was,

that was the center of this question or center of this, this issue even even before the i'm, that's probably also one of the major reasons why ukraine was not never became a member of nato. when the natal member states, european countries did not want to provoke russia. right. so, can one even say logically what that might be provoking russia to provocation of rash . and i think it's, it's hard to say right, because they have been treating very carefully in the beginning, supporting ukraine in the beginning. we had is yet in germany was providing helmets to, to ukrainian forces that they later stepped up their game a little bit. so we had an anti aircraft defense defense weapons. we had anti tank weapons then. they brought in heavier, heavier weapons, that they noticed at some point that the situation was escalating in ukraine,

regardless of what the western support would have been. but the fear always has been that russia could, or that the russian president could act more radically and perhaps even use it a nuclear weapon on the battlefields in ukraine. okay, and max, what do you think when you see a family like what stood out to me just in the beginning when i saw the, the soldiers laying down the wreaths. there is there are quite a few people with his still in flags in the crowd, but some of the soldiers were wearing the gold and blue stripes on, on their jackets. so it appears to me, this is not just about, obviously not just about the stone independence, but this is very much about but ukraine and commemorating this day and

showing a strong signal of support there aren't max and her as we've mentioned. we have been looking at the ceremony and telling estonia were a leak ring. lang ceremony has just been beginning the prime minister there kaya collis nato secretary general against dalton burke. you commission president marcella on the line and we're going to get more coverage of everything that is happening today. indeed. and as we mark this, ah, one year since russia began its invasion of ukraine. i'm. we're headed now to your ever shadow who is joining us from latvia. he was d. w as moscow bureau chief, up until the early weeks of the war. when d. w was kicked out of russia for it's critical reporting of the invasion. he joins us from the latvian capital, riga. i'm tell us your 8, you were covering the war now from the ball text. just walk us through what you

have been watching while i'm the fear here in the bowl to conscious is bigger than ever. they had to rush in, i could invade a lot via estonia, all this raina. so nato troops here are very important for the people living here. another aspect to authors is one here for voice that all 3 bolt countries, estonia, lithuania, and lot. there have been facing economic difficulties since the beginning of the what higher energy prices have been driving fight inflation here in lot fear. for example, up to 20 percent. nevertheless, sarah, people, he also felt an enormous wave of solidarity and it's not just the ukrainian flex on many buildings. he and rigo and talent on values, but also practical aid lot via sent one per cent of its g. d, p, as military aides to ukraine. also, there has also been a change with the locked in society. i would say are the number of those who

supported put in a year ago is now significantly fewer. and he unlocked via one 3rd of the population speak russian. i'm many of them have russian passports and many of those with the russian passport. say that before the war, they failed. they were russians in latvia, but they were changed that and they now want to become lot dance. so that is integrate into a lot of in society and apply for life in citizenship. let's talk about the perspective also and yuri from russia because you were in moscow exactly one year ago. i talk with us about what you noticed in the beginning of the war or it came as a shock to me as well as to 1000000 of people around the world. but it was also a shock for 145000000 russians, sarah, because neither in the west nor in russia did any one expect booting to stop this war. so the 1st day in moscow war, emotionally cow arctic, i would say suddenly everything that this city had to offer. and what moscow was

proud of was unimportant, great culture, great infrastructure, great service, all of that suddenly went under in the fear that something very, very bad would happen. not only in ukraine, but also in russia. moscow, many critical thinking people in russia realised that the war was, is that it tried the g, not only for you grin, but also for them. are hundreds of thousands if not millions, who didn't agree with put ins, policies a. so there was an oppressive silence in the, in a shock and the fear of the unknown. why do we not see people on the street theory de rushes to russians now support the war? well look, when the 1st report from the front came the bad russian troops making successful progress and came closer to keith. many putting supporters felt happy about it. and the russian propaganda machine has, of course, contributed to the fact that the mood in the country for some people are swept from shock to optimism. and people believed in the success of the russian but military and began to rejoice. but that was only part,

the other part felt exactly the opposite. and so tens of thousands of russians took to the streets in the beginning to protest against civil and many paid for it with their freedom a very quickly the law was passed in russia. punishing mention of void still called a special military duration in russia. and the law punishes the so called discrediting of the russian armed forces. hundreds of russians are now in jail for protesting openly against the war. ok, max select to turn to you know, here in the city and talk with, you know, how the world got into this situation. obviously a decision was made by letting me put an end or his inner circle. you know, one of the reasons which is, is cited as the creeping threat of nato. he's now getting more nato as allies like, like to highlight, in fact, just to walk us through what must be going through the calculus now. right now in moscow. right, so the idea of invading ukraine most likely is to to

get key if under moscow's thumb, again to widen moscow's influence and ukraine, and keep the country from drifting too far towards, towards western western europe. right. so, and at the same time we, we were hearing these claims by the russian president that he was seeing that nato was eastern expansion as a threat to, to his territory, to, to russia. the outcome of all this is, he invaded ukraine. he tried to take the country so far, it did not succeed, but nato countries have reacted. so as we spoke about earlier, already, nato has been bolstering. it's used to flap receive additional battle groups on the southeast to flag additional troops and the eastern european nato countries. you have countries like sweden and finland that used to be neutral,

that are in the process of joining nato at the moment. so yes, nato is growing and it's becoming more strong and it is certainly not what the russian president wanted. ok mac center here in the studio. you're a we're shadow. joining us from rica. thank you so much to both of you on now. ukrainians as we have been hearing are marking one year to the day since russian president vladimir putin launched a full scale invasion of their country. it was about 5 in the morning when putin's military fired off the 1st in a series of missile attacks targeting locations around keith as well as the city of car heave close to the russian border. they planned to take the entire country in days, but a year on a grinding war of attrition has said in along a 1000 kilometer front line. let's take a look now at how moscow's initial plan faltered and what the next steps might look

like. as it ramps up a new offensive one year ago, russia are attacks ukraine from 3 sides in the north. armored units came over the border from russia's ally, belarus. there were air and land attacks from russia itself in the east and from the south. forces flowed from russian occupy crimea. russia's navy also attacked from the black c o ukrainian soon showed that the russians had underestimated them. a massive column of russian tanks heading towards key if was stopped in its tracks. the battle for keith was lost and it was clear that wouldn't be the quick victory for moscow. that many expected, by april russian troops had retreated from the north. they regrouped to focus their efforts on the east, on the south. the strategic southeast and port city it since the early

days of the war. and in may, it finally fell to russian forces. the city that had been home to 450000 people, lay in ruins. but russian victories remain few and far between. in september, ukraine's military surprised russia with a lightning offensive that took back the city of hark, if, as well as hundreds of square kilometers of territory, ukraine then proceeded to liberate the city of cas on 2 in a major humiliation for the russian army, russian troop morale was said to be low. meanwhile, ukraine was benefiting from an increasing flow of high tech western weapons, including the high mars multiple rocket launcher. this allowed key of forces to hit far behind enemy lines, cutting off supply routes and hitting ammunition depos. since retaking har give and her son, the front line has been mainly stable with russia focused on capturing the city of back mort.