♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: pediatric surgeon. volunteer. topiary artist. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. brook: these are people who are trying to change the world. startups have this energy that energizes me. i'm thriving by helping others everyday. people who know, know bdo.

narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and ter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. announcer: and now, "bbc news". ♪ >> hello. you ar watching "the context" on bbc news. >> the decision is to make sure we train violence so if we are able, if we will decide, to send fighter jets that is already prepared. >> for now, the western alliance is united despite the talk of occasional concerns. >> i think the merit of ukraine taking their time now, russia is on the defensive. they have time. they can build up better

supplies and proceed. ♪ >> welcome to the program. russia is preparing for a major ukrainian offensive with vast offenses set of in key areas in the south of the country, including crimea. we have the details from our new bbc verified te -- team. also on the program today, the latest updates on the search for madeleine mccann who disappeare in southern portugal in 2007. police are to around a reservoir near where the british three-year-old girl went missing. a look at the political headaches, on -- and sunak's return from the g7. the prime minister met with his ethics advisor of what to do. the home secretary was caught

speeding in 2022 and asked for a civil service on originate private speed awareness course. president biden returns to the negotiating table in washington for talks with the republican house speaker kevin mccarthy about raising the debt ceiling. there are 10 days until june the first deadline. if there is no agreement, the u.s. wildefault on its debts. first, lets focus on events in ukraine. russia has claimed the transferor fighter jets will raise -- fray, president biden said washington would support the liberty of the advanced jets to kyiv by allowing western allies to supply them. today, russia's ambassador to the u.s. with bond and saying there is no infrastructure for the operation of the f-16s in

ukraine. the needed number of pilots and maintenance personnel is not there, either. he added any ukrainian strike on crimea will be considered a strike on russia. he says it is important the usb fully aware of -- u.s. the fully aware of the russian response. there was a lot of support for the f-16 plan for the foreign meeting brussels with the dutch foreign minister, saying the training of ukrainian pilots should start sooner rather than later. >> the decision we have now made is make sure we train violence so we -- train pilots so if we will decide to send fighter jets, that is already prepared. that is a separate decision we are not scuffing today. -- not discussing today. i am only going to rept what >> on the ground, there are conflicting claims about who controls the eastern city of back route. ukraine's deputy defense

minister says troops are still advancing on the outskirts of the devastated city and have a small foothold inside bakhmut itself. in a video posted saturday, the founder of the moscow backed group claimed s fighters who led the russian assault on the city were in full control. what exactly do we know about what is happening on the ground? what exactly can we believe? bbc newlaunched a new way to check and verify those claims. this, called bbc verify and brings together forensic journalists and experts from across the organization. they have been looking at the extensive defensive being belt by russia as it prepares for a ukrainian counterattacked. with the details, our analysis editor. >> ukraine expected to launch an offensive soon. bbc verifies been looking at how russia has been bolstering its defenses. near the front line with

russian-controlled territory marked in red, we have highlighted this city because it has hosted some of the fiercest fighting of the war. both sides have been using trenches, this is a ukrainian soldier. we know the trenches are port of fortifications russians have built along the front line. that process has been mapped by an open-source analyst with each black dot marking a new russian fortification. we can focus on a couple of locations. this is a small but strategically important city. you can see it athe bottom of this satellite image. ukrainian positions will be further to the north. look what the russians have done. they for -- a first offensive line, a second offensive line, a third defensive line around the city. ukrainian media reports civilians are being removed from this city by the russians in order to further fortify the city. we can understand fortifications better by looking at this image.

furthest from the front line our artillery positions, the bench network from soldiers, dragon's teeth, concrete obstacles to stop tanks and their tracks. also targeting tagging -- tanks are these ditches. you can the anti-tank ditch is the first line of defense. that is one location, here is another one bbc verify has examined on the crimean peninsula and by -- and expire russia in 2014. this image shows as a beach on the west coast of crimea. dragon's teeth running up along the shore of the black sea.this trench runs around 15 miles. there's piles of wood for the russians to reinforce the trenches they are taking. this is ongoing work. i've highlight this fortification which shows an area where a tank or armored vehicle could be placed, firing out to see.

it is far from clear if ukraine has the ability to attack crimea. in terms of fortifications through the winter, to see if ukraine attacks. >> thais our analysis editor. retired colonel brandon kearney spent more than 30 years in the u.s. marines and is now a military affairs analyst. i am hoping you can hear us. let's talk about some of those preparations by russia. i am interested in what that tells us about what might happen next in this war. >> thanks, it is good to be with you. the russian defensive positis are pruned. they are trying to anticipate where the ukrainians are going to attack. your analysts have certainly highlighted four possible areas that could be targets of a ukrainian offense that we have been waiting for so anxiously for months.

however, i would postulate, just throw out there, i think ukrainians are going to place -- are going to attack somewhere differently. focus on what not the immediate offensive, it is what is their long-term objective. that will be key to where they are going to conduct initial offensive actions. >> when we talk about back moved -- bakmut, there are people that would suggest the city has little strategic value for moscow. if it was to capture it, it would be a symbolic when. is that how you see it? >> yes, i completely agree. it will be a symbolic win. two days after they declare victory, we will havmoved on. the ukrainians will have moved on and the russians will be forgetting about it. the ukrainians have them right now at the horns of a military

dilemma. the russians have got to defend a very long piece of terrain in eastern ukraine. the ukrainians are going to pick a place, the time, and launch an offense. the russians cannot be comfortable with trying to anticipate where that is going to take place. >> russia is trying, is it not, to ctrol a bigger swathe of the at at -- of the annexed region. bakhmut being one of four key areas they would like to control, therefore a significant win could help it. >> yes, it could. it is a significant win in the eyes of the beholder. to the russians, it is important. to the ukrainians, they have used bakhmut as a meatgrinder.

the ukrainians have lost an awful lot of their own forces there, but it is to the ukrainian advantage that the russians have wasted so many resources there on an area that is tactically questionable. certainly, tactically questionable, poses no strategic value whatsoever. again, the russians have wasted resources in that offensive to gardeners something that is not going to help them in the long run. >> as you said, uss would suggest 20,000 russian soldiers killed their. another 80,000 wounded, describing it as a relentless, of men there. of sending waves the aim is to try to erode kyiv's resistance, but if anything, it seems to have done the opposite. >> exactly. you know, more, when you are

in the defense, when you -- everything has been happening in your favor and you have to go into defense like the ukrainians have had to do around bakhmut, that is the ideal situation for any military organization that has got high morale. they can survive that. the russians have poor morale, awful morale. they are now in defensive posture awaiting this ukrainian offensive action. this has got to be wearing and tearing on their troops. logistically, it is a hell of a challenge for them. this war is very much an ukrainian hands right now. it could change, but frankly, i doubt it. >> what did you make of the claim of russia's head of the group? they said they would hand over the city to russian forces on june the first. in some respects, it seems there are three players in this war. there is russia, the russian group and ukrainian forces and

they seem to have different aims and objectives. >> you are exactly right. they all do have different claims and objectives. i can tell you that ilitary operations, one of the hardest things that you can do is what is called the relief in place. that is where you have a plan and you go ahead and you- and you are taking forces, your offensive or defensive lines and you have friendly forces coming in behind you. in this particular case, the walker group and russian military are not on friendly terms. i think that is clear from open source reporting over the last months. to conduct a relief in place, under pressure where the ukrainians are fighting, is probably one of the most difficult military operations that b ceanoned cif it is condut are familiar with each other, that know each other, that respect each other, you can pull it off.

it is this type of situation where it is the walker group who is at odds with the russian military, good luck. this will be interesting to watch. >> we have talked about what a victory in bakhmut would mean for russia. i wonder what a loss of bakhmut would mean for the crane in terms of morale and motivation of troops who have, up until now, been able to defend it. >> hi see very little or no impact,. to be honest i see them having conducted a heroic and brilliant defense of bakhmut against very, very significant attacks by the russian military, albeit by the wagner group. they can walk out of this with pride. it simplifies their tactal situation because now, they can concentrate on the offensive operations that they he been preparing for all along while

this separate has been going, going, gone in bakhmut. >> i am grateful for your insight and being on the program with us. thank you, fascinating to talk to you. we will talk about that more later in the program. , news police and portugal are investigating a new lead in the disappearance of madeleine mccann, the british three-year-old who disappeared while on a family holiday in southern portugal. specialist teams will carry out a search of a reservoir. parts of the area have already been pardoned off with what appear to be forensic tents set up. it is not clear if the search will concentrate on the land around the reservoir or in the water itself. it follows a request by police in germany whoave tracked the moves of this man back in 2007. he is the german national who was made a formal suspect by portuguese police last year. he has denied any involvement

and has never been charged in connection with the incident. he is known to have been in portugal when the mccanns were on holiday there. they say their daughter went missing from their ground-floor room, which has a window facing onto the streets, while they were eating with friends at the hotel restaurant. local media reports say detectives will begin a search in the man-made reservoir around 50 kilometers -- there has been no official comment from the portuguese, german or british police. the mccann family has not released any new statements. our reporter has the details. >> 16 years after madeleine disappeared, a new hunt for answers. local media reported this area was sealed off ahead of the search expected to start tomorrow morning. it will be the first major search in this case since 2014. madeleine mccann disappeared

days before her fourth birthday. no one has been charged in connection with her disappearae. her parents have always maintained hope of finding their daughter, but german police who are leading the investigation, are treating it as a merger inquiry. madeleine mccann vanished from her room at the ocean club on the third of may, 2007 as her parents were in a restaurant 100 yards away. despite months of searching, no trace was found. in 2008, a private search of the reservoir funded by a portuguese lawyer found a bag of small bones, but they were not sd to be of interest in the case. it is here police will search again tomorrow. the surrounding area ofhe dam is around 50 kilometers away from wherehe family was staying and is a place said to have been visited by this man. christian is being treated as a

suspect by portuguese and german police. he is currently serving seven years in for the rape of a woman in portugal in 2005. was never charged for madeleine's disappearance and has denied involvement. he lived near there when the mccann family waon holiday. the last significant search was nine years ago and was led by british police as part of the investigation that cost more than 10 million pounds. madeleine mccann would have bn 20 this month. the search for the little girl who disappeared 16 years ago continues. >> our correspondent is in berlin. he has more on why german prosecutors have ordered the search of the reservoir. >> the major search of the reservoir in portugal and surrounding area is the first time in almost a decade there is a large-scale search in portugal to be carried out in connection to the disappearance of mattie mccann.

german prosecutors appear to be driving this, driving the investigation into the prime suspect, a german citizen who is in prison in germany for a separate conviction, the rape of a 72-year-old woman in portugal in 2005. he says he is innocent, but german state prosecutors say he is guilty and believe he is connected to the disappearance of mattie mccann. they have not found enough evidence to press charges. they say they've got including phone data connecting him to the place where mattie mccann disappeared at that time. it is not enough to press charges. that is why the state prosecutors,.the race is on they want to find evidence to press charges before his current prison sentence runs out. that is the danger, that is why time is of the essence. >> damien mcginnis in berlin. around the world and across the

u.k., this is bbc news. let's bring you some stories that are making news across the u.k. junior doctors in england announced a new 72 hour walk out in june after the latest round of government pay talks broke down. the strike will take place wednesday, june the 14th until saturday the 17th. the british medical association union which rep is in's doctors and medical students in the u.k. said the government's offer of a 5% increase w not credible. the labor leaders has pledged to get t nhs off its knees by tackling waiting lists and deaths from heart disease and stroke. he has been setting up plans for the health service should labor when the next general election. his speech earlier he acknowledged his plans could take up to 10 years to achieve. a report says many of the young survivors of the manchester arena bombing have failed to receive adequate psychological support in it's six years since the attack in which 22 people died and more than 900 were

injured at an ariana grande concert according to a report by the national emergency trust. we are live with bbc news. u.s. president biden and u.k. prime minister richie sunak were in hiroshima alongside other g7 leaders this week. they discussed the war in ukraine and what further support western allies could provide to president zelenskyy and his troops. away from the summit, both leaders have returned home to domestic challenge more on e biden's debt crisis later. let's start with richie sunak's homecoming gift, a speeding offense committed by his home secretary. swell a graph from and was caught speeding in 2022. she asked the civil service for advice about arranging a private speed awaress course. she was attorney general, the government's top legal office at the time. she says nothing happened, but our position -- but opposition

party says she should quit if she is found to have breached the ministerial code. today, the prime minister met with his ethics advisor. downing reet said he is currently availing himself of all information on her situation before making any decisions. in an interview, she was challenged over her actions. >> last summer, i was speeding. i regret that. i paid the fine and took the points. we are focused now on delivering for the british people and working for them. >> did you ask civil servants to put you on more than one speeding case? >> i am focud on delivering for the british people, do my job. what i will say, in my view i am confident nothing has happened. >> you have broken rules before. you have admitted now to breaking or having a speeding violation, you are accused of breaking the code for the second time. how good a look is it when senior politicians be this constant rule breaker?

>> i got a speeding ticket. i paid the fine and took the points. nothing untold has happened. >> a lot of views tre. it is up to her boss, the prime minister richie sunak on what he will do. the leer of the opposition says doing nothing is not an option. >> it is clear that if you break it, you are first to go. i do not want to get ahead of myself. i do not know all the facts. it looks as if some of the facts are still emerging. the right thing to do is a proper investigation. >>et's speak to lucy fisher, author and editor for the financial times. is this a gift to her political rivals or a distraction? >> look, i think it is a tricky situation for her to be in, for the government to be in, particular when we cast that to the first words rishi sunak set outside that famous black door

on downing street that he wanted to restore integrity, professionalism and accountability to the heart of government. this is yet another scandal that threatens to undermine that pledge. in that way, it is a gift to the labor park it and dems who seized on it over the weekend. today, they have been demanding an investigation. we are past 8:00 p.m. and rishi sunak has a major decision, whether he is going to launch a probe or not. it feels like he is in for another news cycle of difficult headlines. it is unclear so far whether he wants to tough it out and avoid calling this probe, or whether he will submit to pressure and announce one. >> we saw he was somewhat rattled when questioned about this, having just returned from the g7 summit, keen to talk about that and not what they think on trivial matters. it throws the spotlight into how

he may handle it and how he will cope with discipline in the conservative party. >>. there has been--that is right. the party surpassed its worse case scenario forecast. it lost more than 1000, lost more than 50 councils and has led to a sense of panic in some quarters of the party among some of its mps who are now very worried they are going to lose their seats and the party faces a opposition at the next election. i think that is why we have seen some take two public podiums effectively criticzing rishi sunak's program for government, suggesti he changes tactics to try and boost the parties poll ratings. with the specific row, you have to look at the context. what else is happening this week?

thursday, we are going to get challenging migration figures for the government. there is a lot of concern in some parts of the government that she could end up resigning at some point over the migration strategies she herself last week took to a podium to say that net migration really needs to fall, placing pressure on rishi sunak. there are already tensions between the prime minister and secretary before the latest claims about her handling of this speeding offense arose. >> it draws the line that often in politics, it is about perception, not about reality. we perceive the politicians we elect. >> that is right. trust is the core value at the heart of politics that needs to be protected. that is why the ministerial code is clear, there cannot be any conflict of interest or conceived conflict of interest between a ministers public duties and private interests. that is why we have heard from the likes of the former

permanent secretary at the brexit apartment, saying on the face of it, he believes she has potentially breached the code. >> really good to talk to you, thanks for being with us. you are watching "the context" on b news. stay with us. ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. man: bdo. accountants and advisors. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contribions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ ♪ narrator: you're watching pbs.

♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: pediatric surgeon. volunteer. topiary artist. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. brook: these are people who are trying to change the world startups have this energy that energizes me. i'm thriving by helping others everyday. people who know, know bdo.