brent: this is dw news live from berlin. tonight, there's the war in ukraine is expanding, russian missiles have hit the airport at the western city of l love eveviv -- city of lviv. also coming up, today, a rare public appearance by russian president vladimir putin complete with unfounded claims

of genocide in ukraine. and answering ukraine's call for foreign fighters -- 1000 germans have reportedly voluntarily risk their lives and maybe fighting the russians. and it has been only 100 day since germany's new government took office but many government plans have been put on ice. why, and why it matters. ♪ i'm brent goff. to our viewers watching a pbs in the united states and all of your around the world, welcome. we began on this friday with words the russian invasion of ukraine is expanding deeper into the country. today in western ukraine, russia missiles hit an area near lviv's airport, damaging a military aircraft maintenance facility. lviv is less than 100 kilometers

from the polish border and has been spared major attacks until now. reporter: lviv raises the alarm. the city's mayor says an aircraft repair plant close to the airport was hit by russian missiles. residents fear the work could be coming closer. >> we fled to kyiv because of the attacks. but now, they are starting to bomb around here. there are assignments of the morning, but that -- but now, they have started to strike after the sirens. these were the strongest explosions i have heard since the beginning of the war, and i didn't really know what to do. first i went into the corridor, because it is supposed to be the safest place for it was a time to go down to the bomb shelter. reporter: people in lviv go

about their days as much as they can't come but the atmosphere have started to shift -- has darted to shift. >> the enemy strike against lviv is further proof they are not fighting ukrainian troops, they are fighting ukrainian population, women, refugees. nothing is sacred to them. reporter: lviv has so far been a safe haven and gateway for ukrainians fleeing the war. it has also been a vital hub for food and medical supplies. from here, they are transported to other areas desperate for humanitarian aid. meanwhile, outside of lviv, ukrainian soldiers have been training. they want to be prepared for the worst-case set aria -- scenario. brent: correspondent matteo sperling is in lviv at we asked

him, has the attack changed the general feeling there? >> the people i spoke to said they were not surprised and they did not see this as a -- as changing the situation on the ground. but of course, everybody takes this in a different way. and of course, the people who were closer there, even if you know this could happen, it is different if you already read you see it that if you just know it, that is for sure. and everybody here at new the city has never been out of limits, out of reach, but still, it continues functioning as a major hub for refugees and is still a place where people who find -- where people find refuge. the people i have spoken to say they want to return to the places they come from that are under threat, but they do not want to leave the country. it is a very next feeling on the ground, but i would not stay --

would not say that this has shifted so dramatically. brent: that was a report from lviv. russian forces are tightening the besieged port city of mariupol, which has suffered some of the worst attacks but local officials say as much is 80% of the homes there have been destroyed and 350,000 people remain trapped in the city. rescue workers are still working to clear the rubble of the city theater that was sheltering hundreds of civilians when it was hit wednesday night by russian airstrike. there is still no word on casualties. it is very hard to know exactly what is happening inside mariupol. dw correspondent nick connelly made contact with a 19-year-old who sent us this message. >> right now, i hear planes.

i hear shooting every five or 10 minutes. the sound of fighting never goes away. it has been days since intense shelling started here, where i am now. ukrainian and russian forces are fighting, and i haven't been able to leave my house. this is the fifth day i've been stuck inside. i have seen people dead on the streets with my own eyes. nearby house, there is a shop, i was nearby when it was hit by a shell. i went to see what happened and saw four bodies. they were probably hit by shrapnel. the bodies were only picked up two days later.

three or four days after the war began, people started running out of food. the shops were shut, and people started reading shops that had been damaged by shelling, in search of food. three or four days later, people were so hungry, they started breaking into shops that had stayed undamaged because they needed to eat. our city is gone. it doesn't exist anymore. it has been destroyed. the shops have been smashed up by hungry people, and our buildings have been pulverized. my friends went around the city and saw five-story buildings where only the cellar was left. over time, you get used to all the explosions.

you are not really scared anymore. when something hits nearby, i have stopped running into the cellar. it just becomes normal. i want -- already managed to get to germany. all i think about is getting out of here to see her. the explosions and shooting aren't as scary anymore as losing touch with the people you love. brent: the last that we heard from yuri's that he was able to escape mariupol. while the situation in mariupol is particularly bad, other besieged cities in ukraine are also seeing major food shortages. there are reports of people in the city of nikola rating shops

for food. many stores and warehouses are now empty on the world food program warns that food and water supply chains are collapsing because of a lack of police and security. unh convoys have been unable to reach ukraine's besieged cities. martin frank is director of the world food program's global office here in berlin. today, we talked to him about the situation in besieged ukrainian cities and how his organization is trying to help the people who are trapped inside. >> we are trying to get access to bri food in, and how urgent that need is and yet there hasn't been a possibility to bring in food in a humanitarian convoy. we are delivering food to cities who are not entirely circled. we have now built up food stocks for more than 3 million people

for 30 days, but we are still pressing for humanitarian corridors, particularly for mariupol, where it is impossible to getting. it has been days now that the humanitarian corridors have been promised, and we are still waiting for them. we also see shockwaves iterms of wheat prices, food prices worldwide as a consequence of the ukraine war. while we speak, 20% of the 2021 ukraine production of wheat has been stuck in ukraine, and the global market price for wheat is going through the roof. we have 66% higher prices now than a year ago, at 33% were only addedince the ukraine war started. so, this i directlaffecting some of the poorest countries in the world and is pushing families in these countries

toward poverty and hunger. brent: that was martin frick with the world food program. here is a look at other headlines in ukraine. the white house says u.s. president joe biden warned chinese president xi jinping that there will be consequences if beijing provides russia with material support in its war in ukraine. the two presidents spoke today for two hours and a video call. china's foreign ministry says xi told biting the war must end as soon as possible. the united nations says the fighting has displaced nearly 6.5 million people inside ukraine come on top of the more than 3 million refugees who have left the country. in total, these numbers mean about a quarter of ukrainians have had to flee their homes. britain's media regulator has revoked the license of russian television channel rt over its coverage of the war. rt described the band as unfair

and accused the regulator of being a tool of the british government. the european union issued a similar ban on rt earlier this month. in a phone call to russian president vladimir putin, german chancellor olaf scholz today pressed for commitments to a cease-fire and improvement in the humanitarian situation in ukraine. the kremlin says putin told the german chancellor that ukraine is stalling peace talks with unrealistic proposals. three russian cosmonauts have blasted off, headed for the international space station, where they will join a mission that includes u.s. astronauts. what ration in space is continuing for now despite u.s.-russia relations hitting their lowest point in decades because, course, of the war in ukraine. back here on earth, russian president vladimir putin held a rally in moscow today to mark eight years since the illegal annexation of crimea.

putin praised what he is calling his country's special operation in ukraine. and he again pushed his narrative that this is a mission to rid ukraine of neo-nazis. tens of thousands were inside the stadium today, but there are some reports that people working in the public sector may have been pressured to attend. reporter: so many turned up for the event that they couldn't all fit into the stadium. organizers must in some of the participants, urging them to support the russian army in its military operation, as it is referred to in russia. the term war is not allowed to be used. >> our army is liberating the people, fighting the nazis and fascists and the banned groups. the civilians are receiving humanitarian aid and are being rescued. this isn't against the ukrainians, it is against the fascism there, just like when we

fought fascism in europe during the second world war. inside the st. nick -- the stadium, a traffic songs in support of the soviet union. lenin and stalin, that is my country, this supporter says, then, president putin takes the stage, referring to what he called a genocide of russians in the don boss and naming krait -- in the donbas and naming crimea as part of russia. then, the unthinkable. putin was cut off mid speech. instead of putin, a pop singer was shown. what happened is unclear. the tent -- the kremlin said it was a technical problem. putin's speech was later repeated, this time uninterrupted. brent: ukraine's president vladimir zelenskyy is calling

for military support not only from other governments, but also from foreign fighters. after the war broke out, he formed an international legion for volunteers willing to help the ukrainian army fight russian forces. the zelenskyy government says 22,000 men have signed up, an estimated 1000 of them from germany. reporter: it is 3:00 a.m. at a bus station in berlin. 34-year-old pascal fought with german forces in afghanistan. now, he is gng to ukraine as a volunteer fighter. he said farewell to his thr daughters. >> in a way, i am protecting my children even if i am over there, i would say. if i wait until it comes here, it might be too late. but if i go there now, i could try to end it before hand. reporter: he is heading to a war zone. it is not clear how many germans are fighting alongside the ukrainian army. it is estimated to be about 1000. the german interior minister is

not stopping people joining the war, unless they are known to be extremists. >> those who have extremist ideology want to train in the u.s. -- in the use of weapons, for instance. we try to stop them from leaving germany through legal proceedings. reporter: the ukrainian president has called a people from all of the world to fight for ukraine your ukraine even put out videos. the battle against russia is the battle for your future, they say. >> the defense of ukraine is waiting for you. reporter: but experts warned that foreign volunteers could worsen the conflict. >> having lots of volunteers from the outside in some ways plays into putin's has because he is trying to tray this war not as russia conquering ukraine, but as russia defending itself on the west. reporter: at russia has shown it makes no exception for foreign fighters. this month, and airstrike it a military base new the polish

border where foreign fighters had spent time trading. at least -- training. at least 35 people were killed on the airstrike on the barracks. whether foreign fighters were among th is unclear. this volunteer fighter from germany says he was inside the barracks during the attack. >> the sound of a missile striking 50 to 100 meters away from you, or 200 if you managed to run away, is something that is hard to forget. reporter: he complains his ukrainian superiors did not mourn him and his comrades of the airstrike. other soldiers were able to flee to the bunker. >> i am still ready to risk my life for europe's freedom, but i am not ready to foolishly sacrifice my life and say ok, just kill me. reporter: the former german soldier has now left ukraine. he says the decision was consensual, but other germans still want to fight and are now heading for the war zone. brent: well, it has been

confirmed that russian football fans will have no team to cheer on at the men's football world cup in qatar this year. the court of arbitration for sport held the decision by the football world governing body fif to cyst -- body fifa to suspend all russian football teams and clubs because of the ukraine asian -- the invasion of ukraine. russia was due to play poland and a worlcup qualifr next week. there is a at other headlines. the former zambian president has been laid to rest and moussaka. he died of cancer last week at the age of 85. he had been involved in politics for decades and served as president from 2008-20 11. hindus in india and pakistan are celebrating the holy week festival of colors. devotees mark the festival by

smearing each other with bright colored powder, dancing and singing. the festivities are larger because of the dipping coronavirus cases. the wod health organation says that the covid-19 pandemic isar from ov. spokesperson margarette terrace says, after a month of decline, global cases have now increased. she is blaming thepread of highly transmissible variance like omicron, and the lifting of public health measures, for the changes. germany's parliament has voted to relax most coronavirus restrictions despite an increase in new cases. beginning this sunday, mask and testing rules will be dropped apart from on public transport and in facilities such as nursing homes. it has been 100 days since angela merkel stepped down as germany's chancellor and a new coalition led by social democrat olaf scholz took office. but after a short if any honeymoon, scholz's

government is confronted by the biggest european crisis since the second world war. it has led to a stunning reversal of many new government policies. >> this modern germany of ours is strong. we do not have the slightest reason to fear the future. reporter: how it is going? >> reporter: february 24, 2022 marks of turn important in the history of our continent. reporter: olaf scholz became chancellor in december, leading a new kind of government, a pre-party coalition of social democrats, greens and free-market liberals. their slogan was, dare more progress, and they had big plans for climate change, transforming the economy and unleashing potential. how it started? >> germany must be climate neutral by 2025.

reporter: how it is going. >> we will not rest until pieces security in europe. reporter: the climate minister of the greens launched an ambitious plan to boost renewable sources of energy. but the war in ukraine turned government focus from domestic tooreign policy. instead of importing russian gas through nord stream 2, the pipeline has been sealed. how it started -- >> we will create security through change and insert -- and ensure security in change. reporter: how it is going. >> we must invest significantly more insecurity. reporter: there is no focus on th military. the finance minister has put aside concerns about public debt and committed billions of euros to buy american f-35 combat aircraft. germany also changed policy on arms deliveries, sending weapons to the crisis zone of ukraine. >> it is true, a lot of

government time was spent on the other big crisis, the covid pandemic. vaccine rollout has continued, but not as quickly as hoped, and a health care emergency has been avoided yet infections are at record levels. but even the coronavirus has had to take second place to concern about russian war. olaf scholz's government wanted to start changing germany. instead, it has been changed by events. >> my hope is that his lesson learned now is to more actively engage in security policy to change the culture from a paradigm changed by trade to a paradigm of heart and smart power diplomacy. reporter: under pacifist greens and budget conscious democrats, germany could become one of the world's highest spending countries on defense, and the soft-spoken chancellor finds himself at the center of a major

international crisis. 100 days into his term, the coalition is changing things, but not as it expected. brent: let's go to our political correspondent simon young, who has been following the first 100 days. good evening. as the government of olaf scholz delivered? simon: brent, it has been difficult. the covid crisis has been there from day one. and last year, even though nobody was imminently expecting a war in ukraine, the buildup of russian forces of the border there was already a concern from day one. so, if you go back to the election campaign last year at the beginning of this government, you know they were talking about big plans to change and renew society. as their slogan said, to dare more progress, and to do lots of things. there hasn't been much space to

do much. there have been bits of policy, of course, a broad plan to ramp up wind power generation, for instance. they have agreed to arise in the minimum wage and various other things, but it has been dominated of late at least by the ukraine more. -- ukraine war. and if you look at chancellor olaf scholz himself, people would say the war has given them a boost, or at least he has risen to the challenge. he is the kind of politician who likes to operate in the back room. indeed come in the first months of this government, a lot of people said he was to invisible. now, he has come out of his shell and is much more visible. he is traveling to moscow to meet vladimir putin, he has changed policy on nord stream 2, and there is this big switch toward emphasis on defense. so, the government is reacting to challenges it faces.

brent: what about the challenge of the pandemic? germany announced today it is what to most coronavirus restrictions, and that is despite record levels of new infections. has the government decided to declare the pandemic over? simon: well, of course, you can't do that. the pandemic isn't over. people are still getting infected. indeed, infections in germany are at record highs. people are still dying. some are still getting serious consequences from their infections but of course, many are not under governments everywhere are under pressure to return to some kind of normality. so, this is a political decision and they have moved in that direction. it is particularly the free democrats you have to be the smallest party in this three-party coalition government, they were making the case we have to open up society and business, and they pushed for that. it does look a bit as if the government is in a model on

this. they were cautious at first and now they are being, some say, not cautious enough. there has been quite a lot of criticism. brent: that health minister said this is a correct compromise. is it? simon: well, the health minister also said a couple days ago he would do anything he could to save lives. and now, he is saying this is a good policy and good compromise. it will be very difficult to see how the government can react if infections go up in the death rate goes up as well. but they say it is time to make a change and left restrictions. brent: dw political correspondent simon young, simon, thank you. you are watching dw news. here are the headlines this hour. a russian missile strike has hit a military aircraft maintenance plant in the western ukrainian city of lviv, which is close to the polish border. lviv has taken more than 200,000

people who have been displaced since the invasion began. you are watching dw news. after a short break, i will be back to take you through "the day." tonight, look at today's speech by vladimir putin -- five minutes of untruths about what is happening inside ukraine. next. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ ♪

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♪ anchor: welcome back to france 24. the headlines this saturday. russian missiles target an airport near live in the rest of ukraine as hundreds of thousands find refuge in the region. china's president tells joe biden all is in no one -- war is in no one's interest. and over 3.20 5 million people in ukraine since the invasion began, the in most of the refug. ♪

russia has yet to take control of any major city in ukraine as its invasion of the country enters its fourth week. while the russian side has suffered heavy losses, the effects of its bombing campaign are being felt. three missiles targeted in airport in western ukraine earlier today. no casualties were reported after that russian strike. the ongoing invasion has resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of ukrainians who found refuge in the west of the country. >> a strike on the city that has turned into a hub for refugees. friday morning, a factory was hit. the site has been closed for several days, destruction causing no casualties. still, ukraine's regional governor says it's clear who

russian troops are targeting. [speaking foreign language] reporter: according to the governor, the missiles were launched from the black sea. he says the ukrainian government shot some of them down. the remaining four hitting the aircraft repair plant. this is the second time the northwest region has been bombed. with military sites previously targeted, around 30 people were killed in the last attack. those in lviv are starting to no longer feel safe. >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language]

reporter: close to the polish border, much of the west's military and humanitarian aid enters ukraine through lviv. the city sits on nato's doorsteps. if attacks intensify, it could heighten into international proportions. anchor: u.s. president joe biden held a two hour video conference with this chinese counterpart today, the aim of the call to pressure beijing to condemn russia's invasion of ukraine. according to chinese state media, china state media said war is in no one's interest and it cannot reach a stage of military hostility. earlier, i asked our chief foreign editor how significant xi jinping's choice of words really was. >> it's usually significant. the one caveat, we don't know an awful lot yet by the content of

their conversation. we heard something from the chinese news agency and we had a couple of brief comments from u.s. sources suggesting that joe biden had warned xi jinping of what the consequences would be, in other words, of entering into closer relationship with russia at this juncture. but if you look at the sort of wider picture and the russian perspective and what the russians were hoping from the chinese, as far as we can see it at the moment, this is a devastating blow for vladimir putin. he had been hoping, i think, that the chinese, if things got bad in ukraine, if they didn't go as well as he hoped it would, that the chinese would come back the russians up, would help the russians escape the full, force of economic sanctions and perhaps even -- and the suggestion has been made -- provide military supplies to the

russians, as well. judging by what media are saying at the moment -- that doesn't look to be what the chinese are planning at all. president xi saying the conflict is in nobody's interest, that peace and security are the most valuable treasures of the international community. the crisis is something china doesn't want to see. it's perfectly clear here that the chinese do not want to be sucked into this conflict. they want to keep the relationship with the united states on track. they see the relationship with the united states as being difficult, but they see it as absolutely crucial to managing international relations as the century develops. so they do not want to be sidetracked, be taken down the plug hole by this conflict in the ukraine. and i think what's been happening is the chinese have just been watching. they've been sitting on the fence, being ambiguous, seeing

how this conflict is likely to go. we've seen over the last three weeks that it's not been going the way vladimir putin had anticipated, or probably told the chinese it would go. on the contrary, they're bogged down. they're losing in certain aspects of the conflict. it's certainly not going the russian's way. plus, the economist sanctions are devastating the russian economy in china doesn't want those sanctions applied to itself, its companies or the state if it gets involved in any way in supplying russia, whether it's economically or militarily. anchor: six members of the un security council are accusing pressure of using the body to spread disinformation about the ongoing invasion of ukraine. the allegation was made at a security council meeting requested by russia, this in order for moscow to discuss allegations that biological

weapons are being developed in ukraine. the u.s. ambassador to the united nations has washington believes they may be planning to use chemical or biological weapons against ukrainian citizens. >> we are here because russia knew a cynical ploy to pass resolution had failed. this meeting is the result of their isolation on this counsel and on the world stage. we're not buying what they're selling, literally or figuratively. and i will reiterate the united states' deep and serious concern that russia's calling for this meeting is, is a potential false flag effort in action. anchor: we can now bring in a professor and former deputy spokesperson of the french foreign ministry. good evening. thank you for joining us here on france 24.

russia's invasion of ukraine hasn't gone according to plan. we're in the fourth week now and we still haven't had the russians take any major city. the russian troops have suffered heavy losses. does this give ukraine the upper hand in the negotiations at all? >> i'm not sure. because as you say, in spite of what you say about the capacities of the russian armies, the ukrainian troops are much more limited. so on the one hand, you have this aggression, on the western part of ukraine today -- bombings on the western part of ukraine today, not to speak of the attacks on mariupol today, civilian targets. at the same time, twisting to see you have these talks, direct talks for last week and this week again and it's like if the

russians try on the one hand to put bigger pressure against the ukrainians, at same time, letting open the door for negotiating. so, they are perhaps a little bit teasing in one way because if you need -- if you wish to negotiate in good faith, you have to cease-fire first. it's exactly what zelensky is asking for. not to speak about potential war crimes against civilians. anchor: it's interesting you said there's this dichotomy because on the one hand, russia is not doing well on the ground in ukraine. on the other hand, they are squeezing cities like mariupol, exerting influence that way. given that russia looks weak in this situation and vladimir putin is not going to leave this story the loser, could the west possibly give russia something

at once -- wants? recognition of crimea, for instance? >> we know what they are asking for, according to at the ukrainians set about these talks. recognition of crimea annexation and the recognition of the independency of the donbass. now, it's first for the ukrainians leadership, democratically elected, to say what his country can accept. it's not for the west to say o okay, we recognize annexation of crimea, contrary to the international law. you can't change a border. why not? only if there is a consent of the two sides. so it's not for the west to take the initiative. anchor: another part of the negotiations, one thing that's being discussed is ukraine's neutrality in exchange for

security guarantees. ukraine already had security guarantees with -- in the past when it gave up its nuclear weapons. >> the perley work. anchor: apparently it doesn't work. it was ukraine and russia. what about u.s. and u.k.? one should elaborate a little bit exactly their commitments. anchor: because they don't seem to be so ironclad, these security guarantees. >> i don't know what is the content of budapest. we should come back to that. but the best, they are speaking about turkey. turkey-- anchor: turkey and united states. >> so why not? i've seen the prime minister was in moscow, so good will are requested at the request of

ukraine. anchor: we've had western sanctions slapped on russia and after in the invasion, sanctions we have never seen slapped on another country. we had businesses pulling out of russia. obviously these sanctions come at a cost to western countries, as well. given that no one wants to see this work continue and everyone wants to see a peaceful resolution for the ukrainians, could taking sanctions off the table be something the west gives to vladimir putin? even though sanctions were imposed to teach russia a lesson -- >> no. when you put sanction -- because the other side has done this aggression against ukraine. but if there is a peace accord, at least on crimea, final peace accord between ukraine and russia, the reason why we have decided to sanction would fade away.

that's very clear. we are not going to sanction for the pleasure of sanctioning, in addition, as you said, sanctions could -- against our own economy, like in germany with gas and so on. so it's clear that if they would cease-fire, if they would withdraw the troops, and if at the end of the day, there was a peace accord, there is no reason why we should sustain the sanctions. anchor: but will russia learn any lesson then? considering, to be fair, sanctions, historically, don't bring about the change -- it doesn't change his thinking on the issue, does it? >> there are some cases where sanctions were efficient. remember anti-apartheid -- anchor: i'm thinking venezuela. i'm thinking iran. >> but you are right. cuba, exactly, and iraq.

you have many cases where it doesn't work. and it could be used by the leaders as a way to excuse a bad situation of the economy because of economic sanctions imposed by foreigners. so it's true what you said, that this time, the sanctions are very -- and there is a unanimous consent throughout europe, north america, and many other countries, because it's a very clear war of aggression, kind of crime of aggression, which is against international law. it's very clear. anchor: also, in addition to the whole sanctions, we are having western companies pull out of russia. that is going to lead to an un-employment problem in the country. this is something that should be playing in vladimir putin's minds. >> yes, but the problem with mr. putin is nobody knows exactly. it's like a black box.

we have no contact. i know that the french spoke with him today. that is a telephone conversation , you can get where this ends. is it just crimea, donbass, or more? these things we don't know. anchor: i want to ask you about the french president keeping the diplomatic channel open with pressure in the face of everything that has taken place, because today, vladimir putin, from the kremlin, has accused ukraine of carrying out war crimes. so what is the point of keeping contact with someone who is going to push his own narrative anyways? >> the reason why macron took the phone because of were crying -- war crime, potential war crimes committed by the russian side. it means that it's very difficult, but i think it was

right to keep the connections. anchor: we're going to have to leave it there. thank you for joining us on the program. russia's invasion of ukraine has resulted in 3.20 5 million people fling the country in the past 25 weeks. the scale of internal displacement and the refugee exodus will increase if the situation worsens. poland has taken in over 2 million people since the conflict began, the largest intake of refugees so far. reporter: an emotional reunion as people in poland walk ukrainian relatives, who are now war refugees. the busiest border crossing, the access of refugees coming in is nonstop. over 2 million ukrainians have crossed into poland since the start of the war. 24-year-old irena is one of them. she to pictures of the violence she saw and is scarred by what she left behind.

>> [speaking foreign language] reporter: many of the refugees here have similar stories. most face an uncertain future. authorities say out of the 2 million ukrainians that have crossed into poland, just over half have stayed in the country. people like 17-year-old danny, who just started school again after the russian invasion appended his studies. >> [speaking foreign language] reporter: the u.n. refugee agency says the number of daily crossings by people fleeing violence in ukraine has slowed down in recent days. more than 3 miion peoe have fled since the start of the war, as well as poland countries like

slovenia, romania, and moldova have taken in hundreds of thousands of refugees. more than to lean people are displaced within ukraine. the u.n. had originally said it would force 4 million people to leave. but the true figure could be much higher. anchor: 60 years ago today, france and algeria signed a peace deal which ended the algerian war of independence. the evian accords brought an end to the eight year bloody conflict, which killed half a million people, the majority algerian. here's what the french president emmanuelacron had to say to mark the occasion. >> six years ago, those repatriated from night -- algeria were not listened to. 60 years ago, they would not receive the affection that every french citizen in distress deserves. 60 years ago, plates continued for some and began for others, memories i partly recall today.

a speech does not resolve 60 years of injustice. and words are sometimes of little use. but i wanted these few words today to bring recognition to the plights that the republic has never known about. anchor: and now for the business news. authorities in germany are investigating a russian oligarch who is dodging sanctions. >> suspected of dodging sanctions. recent deals, russia's richest man, transferred most of his stake he had in the german tour operator to accompany intro by his wife. investigators of the german economy ministry suspect he did this to hide his stake in the rube, worth 1.5 billion euros.

he was placed on the eu's sanction list on the first of march with vladimir putin. the world's biggest holiday company says it was informed this week that a firm controlled by marine tomorrow too, the oligarchs'life, but at -- oligarch's wife, but at the end of february, 30% stake in the company. meanwhile, bosch, the world's largest car parts supplier halted deliveries to russia after ukraine says its components were found in russian military vehicles. the european union sanctions, in place since the annexation of crimea in 2014, restrict exports of goods that can be used both for civilian and military purposes. according to the magazine, german authorities have launched an investigation into whether bosch violated this export ban. some international brands are

unable to suspend their operations in russia because of their legal obligations. mcdonald's and starbucks have already decided to shut the restaurants there, but burger king says its main local franchise partner is refusing to close its 800 stores in russia. the burger chain's parent company says there are no gal clauses that allow it to unilaterally change the contract. turning now to some of the day's trading action and the three major indices on wall street advanced their gains with the nasdaq rising 2%, carrying more of the heavy losses in technology shares earlier in the week. european markets finished the date, as well, the ftse rose .25%, best we can over a year. global oil futures meanwhile continuing to rise after a 9% rise on thursday. international britain -- benchmark brent trading at $108 a barrel, wta rising about 105

dollars, this as the international energy agency reported that the opec plus producers are still keeping their output below the targeted level. the war in ukraine has caused the price of basic goods to skyrocket at a time when inflation is already high. some of the west are in developing nations are countries that rely heavily on wheat from russia and ukraine. our colleagues at france television have this report. >> this bakery in nigeria feels the effects of the ukrainian crisis. electricity here is with the perpetual generator, but the price of fuel has skyrocketed, the inflation directly impacting the cost of these goods. >> production has increased domestically. so they have to come together now, and also increased the price of bread by 40% to what it was before. >> an increase caused by the rising cost of cereal.

africa imported almost $7 billion worth of agricultural products from ukraine and russia in 2020, but essential products like fertilizer have gone up by as much as 30% since the start of the war. in the democratic republic of congo, market prices are becoming unaffordable. >> every day, the price of basic goods goes up. you can buy it for $40. but now it's $60. if authority is don't step into help, people will die of hunger. reporter: the united nations has warned of a hunger hurricane as a result of the conflict. fearing a global food crisis at levels never seen before. >> crisis are -- prices are also rising in japan. consumer goods rose to six straight months in february before the start of the war. prices were one point 6% higher compared to the same month a year ago. the figures were much higher for food, an 8% increase in bread, for example. energy prices, the sharpest

increase in four decades. unlike other central banks, the bank of japan is maintaining its altar easy monetary policy. >> consumer prices are clearly expected to rise for some time, driven by energy and food. this cost push inflation is expected to weigh on the economy from a long-term perspective. by pushing down on corporate process -- profits and income. reporter: the price rise in japan is still a lot smaller than in many other places, like the u.k., which is expecting inflation to hit 8% in april. the main reason for this is the country's slow economic recovery and even slower wage growth after two so-called lost decades leaving japan in a deflationary cycle. our correspondents have this report. >> this supermarket near tokyo is embroiled in a price war.

>> when we check up on our competitor, they were running a promotion. selling this product at a lower price. so we reduced our price by ¥11 during their promotion period. we've increased sales just by doing that. reporter: japan is one of few countries where prices on some items have been falling. to make this possible, food manufacturers have slightly reduced the quantity of product in each package. they believe consumers will accept the change in return for saving a few yen. >> i'm careful about how much i spent. i think producers are doing their best to keep prices down. >> there's a lot of toys here. and the products aren't -- choice here. and the products aren't expensive. they seem to be stable. reporter: a corn snack is gone in the opposite direction. its price rose recently for the first time in 43 years, but only

by two yen. they are far from the exemption when it comes to price to billy. unfortunately, -- price stability. unfortunately, japanese consumers have not been spending as freely as the government would like. >> employees know they're not going to get a wage rise so they save up. that means companies will continue to reduce their prices in order to sell. we got trapped inside a deflationary spiral. reporter: japan's government has asked employers to raise salaries in an attempt to boost consumption. while the rest of the world frets over inflation, japan is trying in vain to create it. >> reducing the size of a product to keep the price low, as we saw in that report, his exit quite common across the globe. there's even a word for it. you know what it is? shrink flay

should -- shrinkflation. anchor: fewer chips in the bag. >> fewer calories. anchor: thank you for that. mourners coming up. stay with us. it's france when he for. -- france 24. ♪

don't miss evian 1962: the end of the nature -- algerian war on france 24 and france24.com. ♪

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03/18/22 03/18/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> even before the conflict, developing countries were struggling to recover from the pandemic with record inflation, rising interest rates, and looming debt burdens. the ability to respond exponentially increases in the cost of financing. now