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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 contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. announcer: and now, "bbc news". >> ukraine says it in the offensive in its war against russia. we will have the latest from kyiv. especially among women and girls, it has become the most recent catastrophe to hit the nation. apple's view of the future or so it hopes. it rolls out its augmented reality headsets.

the price tag is high. ♪ welcome to world news america on pbs and around the globe. we start with ukraine where there are questions about what's happening on the front line. with claims and counterclaims on both sides. russia's ministry of defense is reporting fighting in a string of locations across southern and eastern ukraine, and appears to be a significant escalation in conflict. russia claims to have thwarted attacks in several regions, inflicting heavy casualties. ukrainian military sources have confirmed that a series of small-scale armor defensive operations are underway, including in the eastern city. but there's no official confirmation as to whether this is the start of a long anticipated ukrainian counteroffensive. in a moment, we will look at the

response from moscow, but first our ukraine correspondent has sent this report from kyiv. >> in a war of words, a call for quiet from kyiv. when it comes to its anticipated counteroffensive, ukraine has reveled in trying to confuse russia. this video came with the caption "plans love silence," but today, words have been followed by actions. in another produced video, kyiv claims its troops are events and close to the eastern city of bakhmut and says that is not all. troops are moving to offensive actions on the eastern front said the defense minister. even russia's defense ministry talked about three major counterattacks which it says it repelled. it released of this footage. bbc verified it was most likely filmed there. we don't know when.

>> the enemy launched an unsuccessful attempt at a large-scale offensive, said its military spokesman. so, has ukraine's counteroffensive started? if you look at the heightened language from both sides as well as the military movement, it looks to be in the early stages, but what will take longer to answer is the question of whether it will be successful. any potential liberation must continue political support, today coming in the forte of the u.k. foreign secretary with an exchange of pleasantries with president zelenskyy. >> we will continue backing you and your country until you are victorious in your m it when we said we would do more and go further. >> it is about opening training

missions for our partners. >> kyiv has always managed to straddle defending with diplomacy. you can be sure the talking won't stop. james waterhouse, bbc news. >> in russia, president putin did not comment on the claims when he made a public appearance today, so it is the view from the russian capital? steve rosenberg sent this report. >> the claim why moscow is ukraine's army had a major attack in the donetsk region which failed. these images from the russian defense ministry have not been independently verified, but russia has been expecting a counteroffensive by kyiv for weeks now. in the russian capital, a stark contrast to the battlefield. in the cathedral of christ the savior, a masterpiece returns.

the holy trinity is one of russia's most precious icons, but its display here has sparked controversy. for a century, the fragile 600-year-old painting had been kept in stable conditions in moscow's gallery, but the kremlin ordered its transfer to the church. part of a group of experts who advised against that, fearing major damage to a unique work of art. >> this decision was someone's personal whim. the gallery's restoration council was categorically against this. this is a political decision. those in power here are looking to the heavens and hoping for help from above. >> or at least the help from the church in continuing to justify russia's war in ukraine. >> this icon returned to the

church at a time when our fatherland is confronting massive enemy forces. it returns so that we can ask god to help our country and pray for our orthodox president, vladimir putin. >> these are uncertain times for russia. the war in ukraine has not gone according to plan. now, all this talk of a possible ukrainian counteroffensive. amid such instability, the kremlin relies increasingly on the orthodox church to sustain public support, both for the special military operation and for the president. more icons, this one vladimir putin gave to his commanders fighting in ukraine. >>this is not about christianit, real christian values. this is cruelty, not christian values. in that sense, putin is a

follower of a very specific kind of religion. >> in moscow, those looking to see the holy trinity icon are hoping for miracles. it is difficult now with a special military operation, valentina says. we pray for victory. any sensible person would hope the conflict ends soon, says antonina. i think god will help. russia's orthodox church paints the war in ukraine is a holy war, to make russians think that god is on their side. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. >> here in washington, white house officials stepped gingerly around the question of ukraine's counteroffensive today, refusing to weigh in on whether it is actually begun or not. they reiterated u.s. support for ukraine. >> we don't encourage, we don't enable, and we don't support strikes or attacks inside russia. our effort, and we have been

exceedingly plain with this, our effort is this worth in their self-defense and defending their territory. that is what has been violated here by mr. putin in russia. >> i'm joined by brad bowman, senior director at the foundation of defense for democracy. also, formerly a top defense advisor in the senate. so, thank you so much for joining. you have that military experience. based on what you are seeing right now, is this the preamble to a counteroffensive or do you think it has actually begun? >> yes, it is a great question and it is harder to answer that it might seem at first because there's a lot of misinformation going on. initial reports are often inaccurate. we know throughout the war, going back to february 24 of last year, russia has employed a lot of misinformation. when i look at three things, it suggests to me we are in the early phases of the much discussed ukrainian

counteroffensive. you look at the size of the forces involved, their activity and composition. are we talking about platoon or company size moving? or battalion and brigade? we are seeing some of the latter which suggest we are seeing activity. are they probing or just trying to exploit successes and breakthrough? we are seeing probing. i am waiting to see if we will see the exploitation of those successes. finally, composition. are these infantry movements or are they working in a combined way? i mean by that, combining tanks, artillery, drones, and infantry. we are seeing some of that. based on some of those three factors, i do think we're are probably in the early stages of the counteroffensive. but, we will have to wait and see to know for sure. >> adding to all of that is the fact that ukraine has not told u.s. officials whether it is actually begun or not. when it comes to international support though, how important is

it for ukraine to show some success and gains? >> it is very important. i think american support for ukraine is a wise investment and not charity. i think we should support them for as long as necessary. the reality is from a political element, we provided billions of dollars, tens of billions of dollars in security assistance, and it is reasonable to expect results from that. obviously, president zelenskyy is eager to show those results. this has been an incredibly costly war for ukraine. when you go on the offensive, it is difficult. the russians have had time to dig in. going offensive is more difficult than defense. this is going to be difficult. it may take a lot longer than people expect, but i think ukraine is eager to show success. they are also eager not to reveal their hand too much. >> there is that major summit, a bit of a deadline to show some success as well.

the u.s. secretary of state antony blinken said any piece has to include territorial integrity for ukraine, as well as russian reparations and accountability for war crimes. do you think that is actually feasible? >> i hope so, but there's a great problem here in that based on the atrocities the kremlin has committed against ukrainian men, women and children, there's a great political desire to evict the invading russian forces from all of ukraine, including crimea. that is easier said than done. it will take a lot of combat power. any thing less than that i suspect will be politically unpopular in ukraine. i wish ukraine success, but i do fear and worry this will be a long haul. but, if they can get some initial successes, and you have russian forces starting to retreat, given the poor command and control we have seen among russian forces, stopping a retreat is very difficult. you could see one thing leading to another and you can see russian forces collapsed into

someplace. i am not predicting that but that is the dynamic that could evolve if you could have some of these combined arms exploitive success. >> right. i spoke to an advisor to ukraine's defense minister and he said they truly hope this work in end in 2023. looking at what's going on, do you think that is possible? >> i hope so. here's the thing i don't think we can say too much. this work could end tomorrow if vladimir putin has the invading russian forces leave. you showed he is trying to incorporate religious symbols. he started this war, he could end it. now, he is trying to maintain some level of support among the russian public, which a lot of the deaths are coming from socioeconomic groups that are not the elite. he's eager to bring in anything he can to maintain popular support. anytime the ukrainians have difficulty, they will try to magnify it.

we can expect them to continue misinformation. >> thank you so much, brad bowman. now, let's turn to afghanistan. doctors have told the bbc there is a catastrophic mental health crisis, particular among women and girls, and they report a sharp increase in cases of suicide. the united nations has raised concerns about the latest trend, while official members are not available from the taliban regime. the bbc has traveled to different parts of afghanistan to investigate what's going on. >> i just want someone to hear my voice. i'm in pain and i am not the only one. most of the girls in my class have had suicidal thoughts. we are all suffering from depression and anxiety. >> in her 20's, this afghan student told us why she tried to enter life -- to end her life.

we are hiding her identity to protect her. >> going to university and meeting my friends was the only comfort and happiness i had in my life. when it was banned, i started spending a lot of time alone at home with just one thought on my mind. that nothing was ever going to be ok again. oen nigh -- one night, i tried to take my own life. >> her words given insight into a less visible, yet urgent crisis facing afghanistan. particularly, its women. in a patriarchal society, especially one worn out by a long war, one in two people, most of them women, suffer from mental health issues even before the taliban took over. now, experts tell us the situation is worse than ever before.

i'm really sorry for your loss. can you tell us what happened? we spoke to the father of a girl who took her own life on the first day of the new school term this year. he's in a remote province. >> the schools would eventually reopen but when it didn't happen, she could not cope. he became extremely distressed and took her own life. >> why mpeg hasn't had on you and your family -- impact as it had on you and your family? >> our life has been destroyed. we are at the lowest we have ever been. >> five other families also told us their daughters killed themselves for similar reasons. we started looking into this issue because we saw an increasing number of articles in the local news reporting suicides from different parts of the country.

partly because of the stigma associated with it, and partly because the taliban are not recording numbers, official figures are not available. in the absence of that, we have been speaking to families in different provinces who have lost loved ones to suicide in recent months. we have spoken to people who have attempted to take their own lives. we have seen recent research that suggests two thirds of afghan adolescents, mostly female but also male, are suffering from depression and parts of the country. we have asked numerous mental health professionals to give us their assessment of the scale of the crisis. we met this teenage girl in the presence of her psychologist who has been treating her since she tried to take her own life. >> staying at home without an education or future, it feels ridiculous.

i feel exhausted and in different to everything. education is the only hope we had it has been taken away from us. there's nothing left for us now. >> hundreds of miles away, this is one of the psychologists we met. she receives seven to 10 new calls for help each day. >> we have pandemic of suicidal thoughts, mental health issues in afghanistan. people rarely think of, rarely people talk about. as you are, we are like this. >> she said, the economic crisis is another major reason and men are also affected. the taliban did not respond to questions about a surge in

suicides since they took power. for the first time in 40 years, no part of this country is at war, but its people are not at peace. bbc news, kabul. >> much more on our coverage of afghanistan on our bbc news website. in the u.s., the race for the republican nomination for president is getting crowded. president trump still leads the field in the polls with ron desantis trailing behind the former president as a favorite. other contenders in the lineup are former vice president mike pence who formalized his run by filing papers with the federal election commission. pence will launch his campaign at an event on wednesday in iowa. nikki haley is also a contender. the longshot shot from the list includes senator tim scott. i'm joined in the studio by our north america correspondent. president, former president, and former vice president against each other. how do maga voters feel about

mike pence right now? >> some of them like him, particularly those that are the evangelical christian are keen on him. he wears his christianity very much on his sleeve. he has been very forthright about saying he's a christian first, conservative second, and republican third. there's a big part of the base which is important part of the primary process that will like him. however, there's a big part of the republican base that likes donald trump a lot and they don't like mike pence for not helping donald trump overturn the last election. january 6, 2021, when the capital was attacked, some of them shouted "hang mike pence." you can see he divides opinion >> he did testify against president trump in the grand jury trial earlier this year as well. you mentioned he's a christian.

a devout christian. do you think that will be the focus of his campaign messaging? >> i think that will be really important in the primary. there are always two stages to becoming president. win the party and then when the country. those are two different battles. during the primary, he will focus also on his time under president trump and the achievements he thinks that he got in place. things like tax cuts, handling the pandemic, ending the iran d eal. all these things that will be popular with certain parts of the base. he does have administrative experience. he was in congress and governor of indiana. he has nationwide name recognition. he will be able to raise money. all of these things are in his favor, but at the moment, he's in a distant third. 5% pulling at the moment compared to ron desantis at about 21%. donald trump way out in front at

52%. >> thank you so much. let's take a look now at a hotly anticipated event. apple has unveiled its own augmented reality headset called the apple vision pro. its apple's first big move into a new product category since the introduction of the apple watch years ago. it does not come cheap. at almost $3500, that is more than it was rumored to cost. our technology correspondent joins me now from california, home to apple hq. thank you so much for joining us. what world is apple trying to create for us right now? >> apple is just trying to replace the iphone and the mac with the idea that you can wear ar set of goggles and put them on in the morning, and it is essentially your computer. you can ring people, you can use the internet, use the computer on it.

they think this might possibly replace the iphone and the computer. a lot of people think that is for the birds. vr has not even revolutionized gaming, let alone how we interact with people. i think the markets have looked at this, the share price has gone down since the announced this. apple won't be particularly happy with the way this has landed. frankly, i think a lot of people were expecting a little bit more from this product. frankly, everything now is leaked before this launch came to pass. there were no real surprises at all. we know the goggles has an independent battery unit which makes it more slimmed down. it has cameras facing frontward so you can see outwards. really, it was a slightly underwhelming launch. >> right. so, with that price tag, have to mention the price tag and the whole ski goggle look. who is their target audience

exactly? >> that is a really good question. i am trying to pick my brain of who would buy this. $3500. the meta quest 3, meta's version of this, it's vr, it is on the market for $500 so it is way more expensive. apple wants to show that we have this product now, you make games , make interesting apps that makes this device usable. but at the moment, it does seem like a really crazy price point. i just wonder how many they will sell going forward. >> yeah, last one, there's a lot of criticism when it comes to vr about how it will isolate everyone from each other. they do have this eyesight feature. can you tell us more about that? >> yeah, i love this. apple has come up with this concept called eyesight. i thought we already have this. the idea that these goggles will actually show your eyes when you

are looking out so people can see you wearing goggles and they know they are looking -- you are looking at them. i have -- we have not been able to use it yet. we asked apple, can we please use this? they have not shown us this product. we have no idea if it is any good at all and it seems a little bit odd that they have invented this idea called eyesight. that is what they are pitching. they think this will revolutionize ar/vr. to be fair to apple, they are usually right about these things so we have to wait and see. the bbc has not been able to see this product yet. >> ok, that is a shame for you. but, i am sure you will be getting your hands on it at some point. thank you so much, james. before we go, the first human being to run 100 meters in under 10 seconds has died. u.s. sprinter jim himes set the mark in 1968 at the u.s.

championships, running the distance in just 9.9 seconds. he then broke his own record while winning gold at the 1968 olympics. his record held for nearly 15 years. he ended his running career soon after the olympics and joined the national footballgu then ka. 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 contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ ♪

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♪ geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on the "newshour" tonight, india begins its official investigation into the train crash that killed hundreds. a disaster that highlights the country's aging and dangerous rail infrastructure. geoff: journalists at newspapers owned by gannett walk off the job to protest the media company's pay and working conditions. amna: and a small town in texas finds itself embroiled in controversy as national politics fuels local pushback against lgbtq rights. >> literally just children doing crafts and art, and having fun and existing, and they still show up to protest just their existence and them gathering. ♪