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life well planned. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news" >> hello. i'm sarah campbell. you are watching the ctext on bbc news. >> since the beginning of today troops advanced one-two kilometers in some directions. >> the danger for vladimir putin is the longer this continues the greater the pressure will be on russian leadership and potentially the greater the damage to his image. >> it becomes more clear day by day for the ukrainians to, through military means, which will evolve into political

means, to push mr. putin back to the negotiating table. >> ukraine says its troops have pushed even further into russia in one of the most surprising developments of the war and captured over 100 russian servicemen today, the biggest performance incursion into russia since the second world war. we are live where ukraine launched its offensive to dive into how ukraine's strategy has worked so far and what it could be planning next and we will take a closer look at how russian state media is covering the situation. tonight, could cease-fire talks in doha take place and be fruitful? the u.s. is pushing for both sides to come to an agreement.

israel says it will send a delegation but hamas declined. ukraine says its troops have pushed further into russia capturing more than 100 russian servicemen in the biggest foreign incursion into the country since the second world war. the offensive began over a week ago. president zelenskyy insists it's a temporary move aimed at easing pressure in into conflict with russia. as for putin it's not clear what his response will be. here is our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse. >> no border checkpoint on this cross into russia, just a burnt out russian tank. a different assignment forhis ukrainian war reporter natalia. it is a historical moment, she tells the camera, in the city of sudzha. such a claim it might be

premature but ukraine is talking up the landgrab while it can. it is providing humanitarian aid and organizing evacuations. there are even plans to set up military offices. and on the battlefield, success always comes at a cost as this injured soldier attests. >> veer, at -- fear, adrenaline. you realize when we entered their territory how much we have suffered, how much are women and children have suffered. now it is their turn. >> the head of the ukrainian armed forces is having even more regular meetings with the president. >> since the beginning of today, troops have advanced around one-two kilometers in some directions. >> after the starting glow of losing territory russia is moving resources to try to take it back. fighters drop bombs.

kyiv complained -- claims to have shot one down. kyiv is trying to change the politics of the war by shaking up the fighting itself. s it has certainly done the latter. james waterhouse bbc news sumy region. >> we will speak to the defense editor at the guardian that is currently in the northeast of ukraine close to the border with russia and where the ukrainian offensive what's -- was launched from. thank you for joining us. clearly the incursion took russian forces by surprise. where were you when you got the sense something was developing? >> you got a sense relatively quickly. this started tuesday of last week when the ukrainians surged across the border i think at about 8:00 a.m.. across a very lightly defended part of the international border

where the war had not been for a couple years. there had been cross-border shelling but no serious fighting. it took the russians by surprise. there were no serious defenses or anything. it was not something you picked up immediately. but by the end of the day you were hearing -- actually, one of the best sources of the news and in the first week of the war was a semi-independent military bloggers published on the telegram social network popular in russia and ukraine. often, though they are pro-russia, pro-war, program one, -- pro-kremlin they are a fairly reliable source of information. they claimed the ukrainians seized a village here and a village there so you quickly realized there was something to this. we published our first report late on a tuesday. and you could see it's more than a raid that ukraine had gone in

five kilometers the first day, then 10. there were battles taking place as deep like 30 kilometers when the ukrainians blew up a russian convoy. scenes from the early days of the war being repeated this time on russian territory. it was clear it was more than a raid within a couple days. it is only in the last day or two, as your report indicated, that ukraine itself has been talking about it and acknowledging it and president zelenskyy has been referring to kursk and talking about at least some medium-term or longer-term humanitarian deployment in the occupied region. >> you have been speaking to people there. amongst ukrainian service people and the ukrainian population, how has this changed the attitude, the mindsets of people you have been speaking to?

>> it is interesting on the civilian side. the civilian administration says as soon as the incursion started the russians retaliated with heavy bombing and the is an immediate evacuation order for people within five-10k of the area already subject to an evacuation order. they want to evacuate about 7000 people. it's a lightly populated area of agricultural villages here. i saw some displaced people in sumy city, about 45 minutes from the border. what is surprising is that in not all but most cases these are people faced from the reality of leaving their homes and perhaps never going back very strongly supportive of the incursion.

they thought it was the right thing to do, in effect saying ukraine had to do something, that attack was the best form of defense. among the regulation of ukraine it has gone down well. the military side there is more operational security and secrecy around this. though, there are some bits and pieces that come through from social media it is more restrained than in other conflicts. other conflicts, flag raisings over a few villages. however, again, i think, here, in this part of the country, the military are very happy and excited by what is going on. the final question is, what else is going on elsewhere in the war?

a bit more of a complicated picture. in the east towards the city. one of ukraine's strategies. how to deflect russian forces away. soldiers stepped off at that part. the world would really like some of the elite forces, if you

will, that have gone over into ukraine. >> nato analyst and defense expert at the university of bath. >> villages. as it had to state, what he called, the exchange fund. i think that might have been the overarching strategic objective to try to get some russian territory, may be ideally the best course of action, the kursk nuclear power plant that the lead got within 30 kilometers of and hope to exchange them. either in negotiations if they were to be forced on ukraine under a trump presidency, or maybe in a quick trade for the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant held by the russians. there are possibilities. of course at the operational level trying to draw off the pressure that ukrainians are

facing in donetsk. and also, giving a morale boost to the ukrainian army that has been under a lot of pressure and the people at home, the domestic audience. anthere is the fact that getting onto russian territory isn't a good look for president putin at all. it is difficult pr wise when he has presented himself as essentially mr. security. ukraine is shaking up russia politically am trying to undermine putin in the short and medium-term. that's another objective from this. >> what do you make it a fact we have seen western military hardware part of the incursion? some german, some u.s. military hardware. in the past, western forces have been slightly squeamish about their equipment being used on russian soil. that does not seem to ha been the criticism this time around. i was just looking at a quote from latvia 's foreign minister

saying ukrainian self-defense covers at the right to counterattack >>. >>absolutely. and the is still uncertain. we don't know how it will indoor what the lessons will be, but i think a couple will hold whatever happens. first, the western kit has been used in russia. german tanks, american stryker vehicles. the bradleys, an important piece of the kit as well, used to good effect. the whole western air defense systems. you put a bubble over mechanized forces and made it more difficult for russians to counterattack them. that's one bid lesson. we can use this kit. it works well and we can use it well. with the summer 2000 and 23 offensive they were going against very well prepared russian defensive lines and it was very difficult to use the kit. now they have proven it works and it's useful and they can use it well.

and even inside russian territory there's not much escalation. it raises questions. what about the missiles? what about f-16s? we are using around ukrainian jets to use close air support in russia. what about l -- what about f-16s? it starts to open those questions and that is really important on the other thing that shows is even if it fails, not that the ukrainians can regenerate the force out of nowhere, but the parts of the border where there is no fnt line could be fair game and under threat. >> good to talk to you. thank you. now, as we have been discussing, it seems ukraine's offensive has caused moscow off guard. if you were to look through the advertisements on some of the russian job websites you might get a similar impression. this is one of a number of job offers in the kursk region preparing shelters, digging

trenches, and antitank barriers for a second line of defense paying $5,000 u.s. per month. that time the work is not dangerous. it ends "let's stand up for the glory of our motherland." hosts and guests on russian state tv continue to play down the ukrainian games. --gains. >> russian soldiers again prevented ukrainian army groups from breaking through deep into the kursk region. >> the situation in the kursk region continues to be difficult. but it is already clear the enemy is beginning to run out of steam. the most it is now doing is actively using drones. our units are actively eliminating the enemy that has entered the kursk region. gradually it will move backwards. >> ukrainians have not succeeded with their main objectives. despite the ukrainian armed forces attack on the kursk

region pressure continues to advance in donbas. the morale of ukrainian soldie continues to fall. >> with me as francis starr. he watches russian state tv as part of our ppc monitoring team. thank you for joining us here. that is the question. what are russian audiences hearing about? what is going on in the kursk region? >> media in russia is very tightly controlled by the state. the tv channels, some of which we have just been watching have been taking their lead from president putin who has been keen to downplay the significance of the situation. he is not referring to it asn invasion or incursion by using words like situation or circumstances. earlier today the defense ministry released its daily statement saying russian forces continue to repel attempts, suggesting they had a hold on the situation. on tv channels, earlier today a war correspondent spoke of ukrainian forces running out of steam. and it said it russian troops

were actively eliminating them. they have also been keen to create an image of a country coming together in unity against an invading force. there have been reports of thousands of people coming together providing aid and assistance to those that have had to leave their homes. other more independent reporting on the ground suggest some people felt they had almost been abandoned by the state and no real evacuation had been organized for them. they had been left to their own devices. >> the image for someone like vitamin putin so important. -- vladimir putin is so important. he is used to being seen as the protection of mother russia. it has been explained on state medithat there have been foreign troops on their soil for the first time since the second world war. this must have created some sort of skepticism among the audience. >> i think so. but really it is a massive blow to president putin's image.

when he started the war he decided it was a decision aimed at securing russia as a safety from what he described as an aggressive west. he said the west was popping up this so-called regime in kyiv. it is very hard to gauge what ordinary russians are thinking, especially now when there is very little independent media, if any, left in the country. of course, people have been forced to recognize this is a serious turn of events and regardless of how it concludes, something russian state media can't spin in a positive way in any way, shape, or form. >> we are watching pictures that were broadcast on state media a couple days ago of an emergency meeting. i have hea other commentators say that vladimir putin came over seeming quite tetchy and angry. i am wondering how his body

lauage is interpreted and viewed. >> he interrupted the acting regional governor that began speaking about the milary situation and said 28 settlements had been taken by ukrainian forces. the figure given by ukraine is higher. putin said you need to concentrate on helping people. it's not your business. it is the defendant -- business of the defense ministry. the meetings are televised and highly choreographed. putin wanted to demonstrate he had a hold on the situation and it wasn't out of control and it was not a minor slip upn the grand scheme of his so-called special military operation. many people, as you pointed out, have seen this man was deeply angry and annoyed by what happened. >> thank you. around the world and across the u.k., its bbc.

b >> you are watching "the

context" on bbc news. the u.s. is stepping up pressure on israel and hamas to reach cease-fire in gaza. there are hopes a new round of discussions in qatar tomorrow could help move the needle. israel will send a delegation and the director of the cia william burns will be there but hamas won't. a senior hamas official told the bbc the group wanted a roadmap for implementing the agreement and would not engage in negotiations for the sake of negotiations in order to provide cover for israel to continue its war according to an official. he reiterated the romance should be based on the desk the roadmap should be based on the proposed deal outlined by u.s. president joe biden at the end of may and accused israel of adding new conditions. it is reported that hamas negotiators will be briefed about the meeting after talks in qatar that comes amid ongoing

concern about the conflict spiraling into a wider regional conflict. s. secretary of state antony blinken with that to travel to the region tuesday. the trip was canceled. u.s. special envoy amos hochstein has been visiting lebanon. after meeting the levity speaker of parliament he said that a cease-fire deal must be agreed to now. >> there is no more time to waste. there are no more valid excuses from any party for any further delay. >> no more time to waste. no more excuses from any party. those worries about an imminent attack by iran mean the stakes cannot be higher. let's speak to a fellow from the harry s truman institute for the advancement of peace at the hebrew university of jerusalem. thank you for joining us on the context. it has been two weeks since

ismail haniyeh, the political leader of hamas was killed on iranian soil with iran blaming israel and so far there has not been a response. can you explain the thinking in tehran at the moment? >> yes. good evening and thank you for having me. ron -- i ran is in a great dilemma. on one hand it needs to save its honor and show its proxies and its own population that it isn't as vulnerable as it seemed when an -- when ismail haniyeh and other commanders were taken out in lebanon. that is a very important consideration. on the other hand, iran doesn't want to be dragged into a regional war that will test its limits and i think it is also concerned about in american/israeli retaliation

that would turn into an all-out attack against its own nuclear facilities. >> in april we saw a drone attack from iran. a huge a drone and missile attacks that caused relatively little damage. no one was killed. it is that the response you would expect? what options are on the table for iran? >> ron -- iran opened another option. it's how i would imagine anna writing in response. -- ann iranian response. in recent days ran leaked seeing a cease-fire between israel and hamas as an iranian achievement gaining its pride back without being vulnerable to attacks from israel or the u.s.. >> what do you think are the chances of those cease-fire

talks bearing fruit? they are set to hopefully begin tomorrow. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken was set to attack but want to now. hamas says they won't attend. israel says they will. what are the chances of success? >> again i would say it's a great guest to take it, but so far things don't look great, to say t least. hamas did not even send a delegation. that means it is either trying to play a hand here or really does not see this is feasible. if i could guess, hamas will eventually send a mission to cairo to try to get the deal. that way, to defuse the whole situation. because both hamas, hezbollah, and iran really want a ladder to climb down with. >> you think they want de-escalation. clearly a lot of people are worried about escalation.

but your assessment is, actually, as far as iran is concerned it de-escalation is preferred? >> for sure. from an iranian perspective this is very much the case. not less so for hezbollah. for hamas it's a different decision because hamas is fighting for its life. and hamas is really with it's back to the wall. but, he also has to justify everything that has happened in the last 10 months to the people of god's appeared -- to the people of gaza. but with both hezbollah and iran i think the leaders want de-escalation as quickly as possible because in both countries in different ways the situation is really getting out of hand. >> the stakes are certainly quite high. the talks are due to begin tomorrow. we expect in doha and a cutter -- in doha, qatar.

thank you. >> thank you. >> after our break we will be finding out a little more about those two astronauts that went into space for eight days and might be there for eight months. announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: "usa today" calls it, "arguably the best bargain in streaming." that's because the free pbs app lets you watch the best of pbs anytime, anywhere.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... woman: a successful business owner sells his company and restores his father's historic jazz club with his son. a raymond james financial advisor get to know you,