we still have time to act. i'm doing with his subscribe or more with ah ah, this is the w news coming to you live from berlin in ukraine. the battle for buck mode is entering a crucial fate. the head of the wagner group, mercenary, says, units have almost completely surrounded the city and there's only one road left out, while ukrainians troops dig in residence or packing and leave it. also in the

program with a day of vocal protests picked up in sydney as thousands of young people prepared to take to the streets around the world to demand urgent action to counter climate change. plus unseasonably. low rainfall in europe is exposing some rarely seen signs, but the current drought could harold, another devastating year for crops and energies one. 0 lou. hello and terry martin, thanks for joining us. the founder of russia's mercenary wagner group has claimed his fighters have nearly surrounded the eastern ukrainian city of buck moved. new trenches have appeared in villages surrounding the battle city as ukrainian forces prepare for rushes, advance. residents living in the area have also started to leave their homes for

thursday. this video was posted online reporting to show wagner soldiers celebrating a top of a ruined building in the easter east of the city. it's not known when this footage was filled with the issue, a guy walk, wagner, unit city have almost completely surrounded buffalo program. well, there is only one road out left. yes, there is pincers. you have come together. john. i know guy. if previously it had been the professional ukrainian army who fought with us boys to day, we see more and more and elderly people and children lazy belief, height comes god, but their life in back moot is very sure. one though, 2 days by cumulative water, let them leave the city. it is almost surrounded,

withdrawn. while we're joined now by our corresponded nick connelly, who's in the crating casualty of nick is just a matter of time before russian forces take bachman. me 1st off is important to stress that this wagner group is known for pretty at tall tales, and never knowing understating their achievements. but it does seem like a ukrainian controlled withdrawal could be on the called finally after weeks and months of full starts. we'd heard in recent days other so story about this one route out being left and that up seat very, very difficult situation to be in. and the pundits talking about the fact that strategically, but what isn't that crucial? it is a lot less important as it is like slogans, comma towards, which is still safely within ukraine health territory. and that this is of see now a crucial kind of symbolic when for the russians of the months of setbacks on their part. so their sense that this might now be the beginning of the end for ukraine

control in buffalo for now we've just in the last couple of minutes, had some news that some ukrainian air drone surveillance units have been ordered to leave city. but of these kind of pullouts take time, they need to be safe. they need to get positions of can have 5 power to protect soldiers leaving. so i think realistically, we're going to hear confirmation from the ukranian side of any to botch. obama when it's basically already happened. you mentioned a drone units. nick, there are numerous reports of a parent drone attacks inside russia, which moscow blames on ukraine. what are you hearing about them? what's been pretty extraordinary. look at the map, the geography of these attacks. they're basically all across european russia. there was a bought instant and even in st. petersburg, which is a long way away from ukraine's borders places within about a 100 glimpse of moscow and then also all along russia's black sea coast for now the ukrainians aren't confirming, but often you see, you know, official source meter council,

the ukrainian army of the official bodies posting pictures that purport show these attacks with all kinds of smileys and other emoji. so there is a said that they are hinting that they are behind this. and even if we can't quite gauge how successful these attacks have been, some of the damage done is already have an effect. forcing russia to pull back its air defenses deep into its hinterland, to basically deprive its troops hildebrand and kind of that protection. and it's also having a significant impact on public opinion back in russia. it seems like most russians were convinced that they were safe, especially if they win moscow. that basically this was a war that was far away and didn't have any impact on them unless they were being called up to fight. but now this is really having impact people really worried about quite how able vega is to protect them from potential ukraine attack. so it mccraney point of view, it is already having opposed effects already evening, kind of the olds and all this and forcing russia think about defending it simpler. nick, thank you so much. that was our correspondence in the crating capital. nick conley

sake looked out, some of the other stories making headlines around the world today. better and human rights activist and nobel peace prize winner, others via leanne ski has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by court in battle ropes. he was charged with smuggling od cash into bell rose to allegedly fond opposition activities. his supporters have called it a fake trial. thrown a cambodian opposition figure kim. so car has been sentenced to 27 years house arrest after being found guilty of treason cam. so car is a fierce critic of long time prime minister one sin the u. s. has condemned the case as politically motivated. you as jury has found prominence, south carolina lawyer, alex murdock. you're guilty of murdering his wife and son. the jury deliberated for less than 3 hours before finding him guilty of 2 counts of murder. he faces 30

years to life in prison. the trial drew worldwide attention. a global day of climate action has begun, including hundreds taking to the streets in australia. o unions, workers and other supporters of the fridays for future movements have joined students in march across sydney, demanding that no more coal, oil, and gas project be approved. similar marches are expected to take place across asia, us, and europe. the protests come as fears grow about the long term impact of severe winter drought sigs being experienced across europe. rainfall is sharply down in many countries with wide ranging consequences for agriculture, energy and more. this is what winter drought looks like across france, spain and italy, lakes and rivers,

far below their normal level or dried up entirely. farm fields dry and dusty. this used to be an island in italy's lake. garda no longer no yard we took with at least he for 18 years and i've never seen the lake say dry. i used to come here by beds, but now i can walk, let type for rain. hey chuck. this year france side's longest winter period without rainfall on record $32.00 days. the alps have seen about half their usual snow. and italy's river po that feeds much of the country's agriculture is down 61 percent from normal. just one example, italy's rice harvest is threatened for the 2nd year in a row seat. you know consistent. there are problems you preventing, allowing the soil is so hard that the plows can cut through the earth for many no

has come up and the data. farmers are the only ones worried. the lack of snow means less snow melt, flowing into lakes and rivers in the coming months that will translate into less hydro power from dams, as well as less cooling for nuclear reactors. france is developing an action plan to save water at the national level of is one 5th nation needs to do with water. what we have done with energy, a kind of sobriety plan. we all pay attention to this resource that is becoming rare. it's the end of abundance fund, fundable don't don't. but no matter how much people conserve more rainfall is necessary, the spring months will be crucial and meteorologist don't know how much rain will fall. if there is not enough. europe may be set for yet another devastating dry season. or for more on this we have a general john from d w environment here in the studio. tell us how this drought is impacting people's

lives. so when you have these really dry conditions taking winter away, you don't expect that the much more rain and wetness generally in europe. it's a big alarms, warning sign for farmers, particularly. it means that you're expecting you're starting the year off with what levels running low. i mean, you got riverbeds drying up and that means that then when rain actually does fall, the ground is so hot that it country so cut the water. and so the problem really getting trench from the very beginning of the year and continue throughout the year . but they also stretch well beyond just, i mean, food is one big aspect of it, but it goes everything from nuclear power plants that need water cooling are going to struggle hydropower electricity from from damn. there's also going to be an issue. so you get the massive impacts that we're just starting to see the warning signs all up at this stage in the year we heard the french president in that report

we just watch calling for reduction in water usage. what else can government do to deal with this? so yeah, where the early stage of government plan, i think it leaves the agriculture minister, proposed that they would get some aqueducts. i mean, if you're famous, i guess in raymond, time for the big projects, we're talking more about pipes to get what, from places where that might be a bit more of it. places where there's a lot less. but beyond that, the things that governments can do, and i mean on the one hand, you've got stuff in climate change to prevent droughts picking mediterranean reed and getting was on the other hand, adapting to the effects and the damage that's already causing is important. well, already 1.2 degrees hotter than it was before we start buying fossil fuel. and that's also something where we need to, to adapt to the new world that we're living in. now we seem extremely dry conditions here in europe ha, throughout the past year and even longer. how are things looking as we move into

spring and summer? if i think to find with, from the europe, copernicus, satellites, climate monitoring center this morning, who told me that there, it's one of the problems with wind droughts? is that an increase of the risk of severe spring and summer droughts? which if you bring back to the kind of image as we saw last summer of wildfires raging through france and spain and portugal and it link underlay this. it could really be very severe on top of that. even have the problem that having a bad summer drought increase of the strength of the wind to drought the following year. and so this is all very connected, the less what we have in the place where it needs to be the 100 for these communities to adapt. doesn't look good angie to thank you so much for our environment. correspond as raja now some sports and formula one racing has not featured in a female driver since 1976. now,

the sports organizers are trying to change that with a new formula, one academy, and all female racing series to help young women move up to the up, the motor sports ladder soon. the sport good. see women competing for the for real one world championship alongside men. maria graziano la la lombardi is the only woman to ever score points in formula 1975. when bardy scored a championship point in the spanish grand prix. she was considered a trailblazer in several women later entered f, one in many rolls, but none ever started to raise. now formula one wants to grease the tracks for women drivers with an all female f one academy series. the aim is to develop young women drivers for the very top. want it to be as full one should be in the future. well should be now, but will be in the future. so i want to see female mechanics. i want to see what

we would love to see a female driver. we haven't got that point just yet, but that's why not there's never been a regulation, preventing female drivers from competing in formula. one song from other series, such as jamie chadwick, have said that financial support is a greater obstacle than gender. therefore, a formula one will subsidize each female driven car with the budget of 150000 euros young female driver's face. many barriers when entering the f one pyramid. now they'll have the best opportunities to reach their potential. this is d w news coming to you from berlin. just reminder the top stories were pauling for you this hour. the head of the russian back, ogden of mercenary group, says it's units have almost completely encircled the eastern city of buff mood. he appeared in a video urging present lensky to allow ukrainian troops to leave the area. and the fridays for future climate movement has kicked off

a day of global protests to call for urgent action. and the australian city of sydney, students were joined by unions, workers, and other supporters, calling for an end to the cold oil and gas industry. coming up after the break, german chancellor sholtes heads to washington to talk to ukraine, but also trade. steven beardsley from a business desk will be here in just a couple of minutes with that and much more on terry morley. i sure ah of i was just rescuing data from a farm this one this body globeop. i found it like this and i couldn't just leave it there. i should meet.