t w's global media forum. i asked, what did you do before? i change the channels. fantastic. ah, she survived. oh, schmidt's thanks to music me. he was the nazis favorite conductor. to musicians under the swastika documentary about the sounds of power and inspiring story about survival. music in nazi germany, watch now on youtube. d. w documentary as april draws to a close, the clock is ticking for ukraine's military, which has signal time and time again, plans to launch a counter offensive against russian forces. this spring, the head of russia's private wagner militia, which has thousands of soldiers in this war, says an attack by ukraine is inevitable. next month. and today, ukraine's defense minister said preparations are almost complete the new weapons in

place. and most important, he said, we're ready. i'm break off in berlin. this is the day. ah, be the little the preparations for a counter offensive are coming to an end table, but the counter offensive is coming. we are prepared for by new things in a global sense. we are ready. i hope it will be successful and we can regain our territories if we will do it as soon as that is god's will the weather and the commanders decision. oh, also coming up you as president biden. it says that he hopes to win a 2nd term. he would then leave the white house at the age of 86, but one of his republican challengers says biden's days are numbered. i think that

we can all be very clear in and say with the matter of fact, that if you vote for joe biden, you really are counting on a president harris because the idea that he would make it until 86 years old is not on is not something that i think is likely it, ah, which you, our viewers watching on tv, as in the united states, into all of you around the world. welcome. we begin the day with ukraine's military ready for the order to attack. for months now, the open secret in keith has been a counter offensive against the russian invaders will start in the spring on friday, ukraine's defense minister said that his forces are on schedule pepper ations are almost finished. $32000000000.00 in new equipment and weapons are in place, and that includes western battle tanks, which soldiers tell us performed best on terra firma, dry, solid ground. mother. nature can certainly play a decisive role in this conflict. the end of winter and the start of spring, while it tends to come later in ukraine. monday is the 1st day of may and according

to the weather, the calendar and the generals. spring has sprung. draining near the front, these ukrainian soldiers are getting ready for the big battle to come. no, thank you. my goal is gone more or less ok with some difficulty. so we will work on that and get rid of the problems. what we found the mines up, we'll over her again and then it will be fine. at the bottom of a lot of getting ukraine's forces ready has been no small undertaking. many of the country's most experienced soldiers have died or been wounded in over a year of grinding combat with russian forces. that means the counter offensive will also rely on fresh recruits who have anything battle. and there's another big problem. more than one in irving either. so that's a moment there is

a significant ammunition shortage either. we lack high explosive, incendiary shells. so tanks and artillery are unable to work effectively. estimate if high explosive shells have a much more destructive power and the damage radius is much bigger than armor piercing shells. and i just look at it, even anybody, anybody filling the ammunition gap will be key and will take time. but ammunition is just one part of a much bigger and more complex machine. the ukrainians must coordinate tanks, infantry artillery air power, and engineers relying on communications and quick decision making. but they're up against considerable obstacles. if, as expected, ukraine pushes to the south to cut russian held territory and half, they have to cross the denise bro river. they'll face mine fields and concrete obstacles known as devils teeth, and that's before they reach rush and trenches shown here in satellite pictures.

while the russians will likely be shooting at the ukrainians the whole time. that kind of push requires equipment and may explain the longer than expected build up to the counter offense of this month. so they've really been arming their military from the ground up. so regina was anti tank guided missiles, then it was artillery than it was infantry fighting because then it was tanks. your listeners, remember you view a story, will remember all the tanks that go plays the beginning, the. and so each stage ukraine receives what it wants and look, i would the exact same thing, it's always in that position. and then it asks for the next level of support. the problem for ukraine is that western support is not likely to last forever. the spring counter offensive, which may end up happening in the summer, has to show concrete gains to keep ukraine's backers happy and to keep the weapons coming over more to i'm joined by liam collins. he's

a retired colonel. he served in the u. s. army for 27 years, he's also the founding director of the modern war institute at west point. kernel is good to have you with us. and me ask you before we talk about the, the russian challenge here. let's just talk about the weather is mother nature. working out for the ukrainian military considering it wants to launch this event. so this counter offensive in the spring. yeah, i mean, i think it's gonna work out. i mean, everything raises and we saw last last year in russia to sanity evasion right. during the rainy season, that was that a good strategy. but really, what's delaying ukraine isn't the weather. it's really getting the ammunition and supplies and getting all those things in position. so that's really the bigger factor, more so than whether is that the biggest challenge you see right now confronting the ukrainian military? yet without a doubt, that's it. that's the biggest challenge. i mean we've seen when they're armed effectively, they have the ammunition and weapon systems,

which like i said last fall, right. they had this, it's highly successful counter offensive and hers on, in harkey, bo blast. they were able to do that. so as long as they're able to get those weapon systems, ammunition, then they're going to have success, at least were russia is not densely populated with their forces. we know that nato and its partners have delivered lots of military equipment to ukraine. i think we're talking about $32000000000.00 worth of tanks armored vehicles. ammunition. ukraine says it's trained 9 brigades for a counter offensive. can we expect a tactical shift here? yeah, i mean, once they conduct this counter offensive, they will, i would expect that ukraine will have some success with it. and without a doubt, more success in russia. his ad over the last 3 months getting marginal gains in inbox lou. right? the wave of able to take of a single city. but i don't think we're going to see the game that we saw last fall, you know, massive amounts of territory as they were deliberate in, in hark, even in hers i just because rushes again more concentrated into the territory that

they have. so i don't think when you see the massive territorial gains, we're seeing the satellite images that show russian fortifications along parts of the front line in eastern and southern ukraine. and at the same time, we know that russia is continuing its efforts to take full control of bach moot. what would you say? what are the criminal priorities yet without a doubt, kremlin priorities or bach mood. i mean, this is where they thrown everything they sacrificed. you know, hundreds of thousands of their own people. ready massive amounts of artillery, they absolutely have to take that to try to even claim any kind of success when the reality is, if it takes them 9 months to obtain a city of no tactical value, that's really just shows really the ineptness of them. so that's where russia is going to prioritize if they lose other territory, or then they'll trade that off. what do you think would be the most likely direction that this counter offensive will take? yeah, i mean, i don't think they're going to go at the heart of, you know,

the bach mood area where you know that they've done boss area that rush control prior to conflict. i think you're going to see kind of like we saw in the fall. you're either going to see that up to the north by pushing past the hers are that the harkey bo blast or down in the south, maybe to the east. uh you know kind of in between the dunbar and hers on area. i just think trying to cross across the river will be extremely challenging as a massive obstacle to try to get across that. and so i think it can be, will a really tough offensive to make it i want to get your opinion about what we heard today from the head of the wagner, the mercenaries. these are soldiers who are fighting for russia in eastern new creed. he said that he thinks that a counter offensive from ukraine is inevitable. he's even predicted that it will happen. may, 9th, which happens to be the day that russia marks its victory over nazi germany. he also says that will be the day that they will take bach boot completely. is that bluster or how do you read that?

yeah, i mean, a lot of times we, we put too much, you know, there's only $3.00 to $65.00 days in a year. almost every month there's some kind of a, you can attribute it to something. so if it happens around that date, i don't think so. now you know what russia now if they are about to, you know, take over by mood. i could see them stalling or be more aggressive to do it on that certain date. but, you know, i don't think the offensive is going to be tied to a specific date is gonna be tied to the conditions that ukraine is able to do it. whether supports the supplies or a position that will drive it more than an arbitrary gate. ok, but we will definitely follow the where the forecast is will as the the progress and the front lines retired. you as colonel, liam collins, colonel. we appreciate your time and your valuable analysis tonight. thank you. thank you. ah, i think there's a few issues here. you know, he's announced is i know that he's running again in 2024. and i think that we can all be very clear and, and say with a matter of fact,

that if you vote for joe biden, you really are counting on a president harris because the idea that he would make it until 86 years old is not is not something that i think is likely it will. that was a republican u. s. presidential candidate nikki haley. they're predicting that the life of u. s. president biden, if he wins, reelection will probably end before his 2nd term does. let's go to washington. our corresponded mckellar curved or she joins me and she's full of life by the way, because i want to ask you as a reporter, i have tried to get her to smile. there is a reporter, but also as a human being. how did nikki hailey's comment about biden's age? it may be his impending death if you will. how did that hitch? well, it didn't go down that, terry, while i was for a moment afraid i shouldn't. you've been asking my age that it didn't go down to be well at the same time, it really strikes a chord with vote as both sides of the aisle because it's 70 percent of americans,

according to polls don't when he want to biden, to run his present only half of democrats and the overarching concern that the site to time and time again is his age. so nikki haley didn't make it up there. at the same time, we will have to make our own personal decision on how tasteful it is to essentially speculate that the present would be unable to serve another food. you touch pamela harris, the vice president of who was having even lower popularity ratings than to bide, not really having been able to even fill the profile. she was given as vice president, given rather tricky portfolios, like the whole migration debate. but she reason in recent weeks picked up a bit in terms of those popularity ratings hovering just above a 40 percent. so, and she is still seen as a viable candidate study by due by who included her in his announcement last tuesday that he would run again. she was prominently figured in that video. she is

going to be on his ticket once again. that's if he makes the nomination, but that it's pretty much set now. yeah, and in case our viewers are wondering, president biden. he has offered his thoughts on his age, what your take, listen to what he said this week. i can say number done register with the only thing i can say is that one of the things that people don't find out series, i'm going to judge whether or not i have her don't have. i respect him taken hard look good. i take a hard look at his low to little hard look on to deploy decided to run. and i feel good. makella mean it seems understandable that bike would down play his age, but me, he is the oldest u. s. president in american history. and i think there may be 2 issues here. there's biden's age and biden's, vice president are americans, are they concerned that biden is too old? and are they more concerned that come on, the harris could end up president in the next 4 years. kelley

harris isn't that particularly of popular though, no matter who you asked, she really hasn't been able to live up to the profile she was expected to have. and i think it's rather telling that here this was actually a question that was put to him while he was standing there with south korea's president. it was all about nuclear deterrence of north korea is a really heavy weight issues. and yet he gets a question over his age and it does raise the question, how big an issue would this be looming into a 2nd presidency when you have a president who's health is continuously in doubt. the democrats happened but once before, and they saw it on fassman elected in pennsylvania as a prominent candidate from the democrat side who had a stroke before his health issues continued. and that weakens the democrats dance in that particular and the key swing state there. so would you really want to take doubts of a health to a nasa to a presidential level?

many democrats said no, there was a campaign even lot trying to dissuade a dubai and from bun again. but now that he has declared, just watch and observe as the democrats, as potential candidates, like california's a governor newsome. now all line up behind do biden's bid to beat donald trump because after all, that's the task beating trump. if he is going to be nominated once again, which looks pretty sure on the republican side. all right, so i want to get from the courage president and vice president to a former vice president president talking about my pins. he testified this week about his former boss, donald trump's role in the january 6th attack on the u. s. capital now trump tried unsuccessfully to stop pants from, testified in pent, did his best as well to avoid having to take the stand. what do you think he so shy about telling the truth?

because there's nothing in it says mike pence and he's seeing donald trump way ahead in the polls. and he's not even making the double digit figures to match trumps popularity in his own posse. so mike pence knows he has to be very careful where he treads in attacking donald trump a. but what donald trump has seen, and this can be seen as a defeat, is that his claims of executive privilege that seems to be exhausted when it comes to this key investigation into january 6th. he is facing a whole host of court cases. it was still waiting for the big one to be opened in georgia away. he asked infamously awesome to be given those 11000 votes that the secretary of state should find before him as the exact was that he uses. and so, yes, this is the day we're going, we don't know is that what he said? we expect as this all to come out over the coming months suddenly at head of the

election. so we may be in for a big surprise on that key investigation into what actually happened and what donald trump said behind closed doors. and henry 6th did last, but certainly not least. fox news parted ways this week with its controversial anger tucker carlson. carlson's primetime, sure with remind people in the worst was a radio winner. it was an advertising, revenue, money maker. i want you to listen to what he said on line on monday. that was the day that he found out that he'd been fired. when honest people say what's true calmly and without embarrassment, they become powerful. at the same time, the liars have been trying to silence them, shrink, and they become weaker as the iron law of the universe true things prevail. where can you still find american sang true things. there are many places laughed, but there are some and that's enough. as long as you can hear the words there is hope. see you soon. see you soon. michaela tucker carlson there. he

said nothing about fox. nothing about being fired. i mean we have to remember he was the poster boy for america's maga, republican base for several years. is he now history? i mean, what will american politics and the upcoming presidential campaign? what would they looked like without it? i didn't think they're going to take place without him and he's simply too popular . he has millions of followers. the thought that video clicked more than 60000000 times here in the united states. tucker carlson is the overarching face of fox news even after having left and his so which was filled in by a different hosts. now last, almost 50 actually more than 50 percent of it's your ratings and just this week after he left the tucker carlson. if anything is a very strong brand,

despite the fact that several advertises and dogs actually a posting advertisement and, and with a significant loss of rent revenue for fox news. and over tucker carlson saying something different on ad than he was actually saying privately and particular also about the election outcome. so when tech calls and says what's the space in this going to new, something's going to come next. everybody has speculating whether he might move to the news max, which is another conservative outlet here, or whether we may see a loss in importance for cable news. network launch has its own platform. but what we also know is that a lot of lawyers are talking in the background now certainly of a settlement money. so i would expect him to wait that one out until he makes any big announcement. yeah, yeah. i know, and i don't think he's in a dire need of cash at the moment. let me ask you this. we got a little bit more time. what about the possibility of tucker carlson? actually going into politics would be the pose of said he is incredibly popular,

especially the voters who voted for donald trump, but maybe even a broader base would vote for tucker carlson or what are you hearing yeah, i mean that's an interesting question. but his, his ability to basically and draw audiences and tell them what they want to hear. and he does face the accusation that he didn't necessarily go into what is going on. that he was very good at telling audiences what they want to hear, which is also but then subject of course, of that dominion settlement between dominion and fox news and dominion. basically seeing folks for the lying of january 6. that was a lead that was settled. we're not going to find out what the outcome of that court investigation was. so he certainly is a big brand. he is a big brand than fox news,

potentially, if he was to sift into politics. but i guess that would be something that he would need to liaise with his dear friend donald trump has donald trump said he doesn't want to see another rival on the horizon as he tries to potentially defeat one desantis, the governor of florida who me once backed and he is now living up to becoming a rival of the republican presidency. that's right, donald trump calls him. what is it, ron sanctimonious, we can go from there with this week's wrap up from washington. mikaela, thank you for this month, according to the united nations in the of surpassed china as the most populous country on the planet, is now home to more than 1400000000 people and growing in the is expected to hold this tied on for the rest of this century, but there are some worries with this. will india be able to provide enough housing

and jobs for a population? this big then be said that the population is exploding. we have been best then, but the population is increasing because the people are living longer. so 1950 people have avenue the age of expectancy of life. was that on 50? but now it is that on 72, i say the percentage of youth that is present enough population. that is one of our biggest fan. since we have a lot of consumer, the lot of talent, if we were to use their smartly, we could actually occupy a much better place in the world than we got into the need to hook up kick on it other ways or the progresses that companies me in the countries making of his, of his in technology and that's a unemployment that by with him in as it is, especially of, of the progress the, i mean, some vision, some planning focus on the right things and prioritizing with the vision is what

india must move forward and the direction, because if we don't, then we have we, we could have trouble times white for more. now, i'm told by john will muzzy director of the united nations population division, which announced india's overtaking of china in terms of population. it's good to have you on the program, john, i want to ask you, i read that both india and china. they had programs to control population growth with china, the one child policy, for example, the policy worked. and now china has declining numbers in india. the, the policy just was not, i guess, was an executed. was it enforced? now, you know, there are number one in, in the world is india's title as the most populous country. is it a title that it's gotten almost by accident? well, i don't know if by accident that's really correct,

but it india was the 1st country to establish a national family planning program in the early 1950 s. and, you know, it has made a long, there's a long effort to reduce the size of the pipe, which is slow, the growth population, not really to reduce the size but to slow its growth. and it has been successful. but slowly, over many decades, the growth rate has come down. the birth rate fell very rapidly in shiner starting in the early 970 even before the one child policy over a period of 7 years. it dropped by by half from about $6.00 to $3.00 children per woman in less than a decade. and in india took 3 decades for a similar type of change. so the change is similar in both places. it's just much more gradual in india. and the result is that the growth has slowed down in both

places. it's really a similar pattern in both countries. the slow down of growth that due to the reduction of fertility. but it's just happened so much faster in china and has led to now negative growth since 2022. the chinese population has been decreasing in size. i've got really unfortunate just 30 seconds. i want to ask you, we expect india's population to continue growing until what 2060, what's going to happen in what's going to make that population stop growing? well, continued reduction of the fertility rate. even now it's recorded, the number of births per woman over a lifetime has fallen below $2.00, which is the threshold to ensure 0 growth in the long run without migration. so it's already at the point where the fertility level is low enough, that growth will stop, it's better to look a level as maintained over the next few decades. growth will stop. all right, john, we appreciate your time. unfortunately, we're elder time, but will be following the stories. i'm sure you will. thank you. thank you.

well, the day is almost done, the conversation continues online. you'll find us on twitter either at the w news, you can follow me on twitter at brent golf tv. every member, whatever happens between now and then tomorrow is another day, have a good weekend. everyone will see you again, right here on monday with with

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the universe, and kind of like a superpower. our series 42, the answer. almost everything for this week on t w. ah, ah, ah, this is the w news live from berlin tonight, ukraine's president condemns a night of terror as russia. it launches its biggest air strikes in weeks. 21 civilians are killed in one apartment building alone, but keep says that its forces are almost ready to begin a long awaited counter offensive. also coming up.