anchor: welcome back, it is not :00 p.m. in paris and you are watching france 24. the ukrainian capital of kyiv the target of intensifying russian airstrikes, like one in the northwest of the city. the mayor calls for a reinforced curfew until thursday morning. the european union ready to impose even more sanctions following a meeting of the bloc's foreign affairs ministers. will they impose an embargo on russian oil? a boeing 737 of china eastern crashes in southern china with

132 people on board. an investigation has been open to find out why the aircraft suddenly took a nosedive. ♪ the ukrainian capital of kyiv under repeated russian fire, forced into a longer and reinforced curfew. the mayor making the announcement earlier this monday, the curfew starting at 8:00 p.m. and will only be lifted at 7:00 p.m. on wednesday. further shelling is expected. moscow's troops have been stationed around the capital since the invasion 26 days ago. one of the strikes hit a shopping mall in northwestern kyiv on sunday. a powerful explosion reported to shatter windows throughout the area. ukraine's prosecutor general

sing at least eight people were killed. on monday, teams of searching through the rubble for survivors. russia claims the mall was used to store rocket systems. james mulholland has the details. reporter: searching through the still smoldering wreckage in the hope of finding survivors. a few meters away, several bodies have been pulled from the rubble. parts of this kyiv shopping center were completely destroyed by the russian strike, which was so powerful it left carcasses of burned-out cars spread over several hundred meters. >> first, i heard a huge explosion, then a flash lit up my room. i live right here in front. the explosion was so strong that it threw me out of my bed. repoer: these cctv images show the force of sunday's strike.

the shopping center in the northwest of kyiv was a major supply point for residents of the capital. some residential buildings as well as schools and kindergartens were also damaged. witnessing the destruction the morning after, this ukrainian army chaplain said he was stunned by the level of violence. >> the russians have exhausted the limits of my love. reporter: russian troops are still trying to take over the capital. their main objective, according to british intelligence. in and around kyiv, the invading forces are encountering significant resistance. the capital will again be placed under curfew from monday evening. anchor: ukrainian forces trying to build up their defenses in the face of constant russian airstrikes and shelling. sometimes with the help of foreign volunteers. james andre is in ukraine covering the story. he met two french fighters who came to lend a hand. reporter: volodymyr zelenskyy called upon fighters across the

world to come to ukraine and join as the ukrainian foreign legion, especially unit for international volunteers. today we were lucky enough to come across two french fighters who decided to take part, to come to ukraine and fight for the country. this is what they had to tell us. >> they called for a maximum of people to come from all over the world, and we heard that call. we will be there if needed. i've always said it is better to fight russians in ukraine rather than come in france. >> a lot of people were motivated aftereeing civilians hit by the russian army. plenty of volunteers came to fight in ukraine. the two of us have different skills but we are both capable of fighting at the front line. that is not a problem. if we have to give our life or ukraine, we will. reporter: they wanted to be enrolled in the army, which apparently is not that easy to do. they have met some contacts but

it is not proving that easy, because in the first place, they were in a special center in western ukraine, and it was bombed a few days ago. you probably remember. there was a russian cruise missile that destroyed that center completely. these two frenchmen had to evacuate and leave the country and then come back. they were in kyiv to try and find a place to enlist in the ukrainian army. their profiles, one of them is a foreign legion anti-attack -- antitank experts. the other a former french military now private person who decided to join on a voluntary basis. the other a comeback -- combat medic, again coming as a volunteer, not a member of any army. we asked if the french authorities knew they were on ukrainian soil and one of them told us no, they don't have to know that, we are here because

we chose to be here and we want to fight for ukraine. there are hundreds of these people flocking to the country from various countries to form this so-called foreign legion called for by volodymyr zelenskyy. there will probably -- they will probably be sent to the front lines shortly. anchor: waiting for their parents in underground shelters of kyiv, babies born by surrogacy in ukraine are forgotten victims in the war. also a struggle for their parents, who have the almost impossible mission to join their children. a french couple traveled back from ukraine with their baby daughter, born on march 3, during the war. our colleagues take a look at their story. reporter: she is barely a few weeks old, that this baby has already traveled across a continent and fled a war. born via surrogate in ukraine, her parents, a french couple,

were waiting for her birth when the war broke out. >> she was eight hours old when we left kyiv. it was a very long journey toward poland to keep her safe. reporter: in kyiv, a reporter filled their catastrophic departure in one of the less convoys set up by the french ambassador. but another battle beginning, this time a bureaucratic one, because mila left ukraine without official documents or a birth certificate. >> nothing was worth it in ukraine, so we fled, and we found ourselves here facing an administration that doesn't understand why we don't have a birth certificate. reporter: the couple chose ukraine for their surrogacy journey, as it's one of the only countries that permits foreign clients. but with the war, babies and parents are at an impasse. in this basement in kyiv, scores of babies left waiting without

parents and without papers. above the cradles, post-it notes with provisional names. >> we are here to take care of the newborns because their parents cannot come from abroad to cuddle their babies. we will stay with them until the parents can come and get them. reporter: the nurse refused to flee for shelter. aware she is the last hope for these infants that have never even seen sunlight. it is estimated that ukrainian surrogate mothers give birth to 1000 to 4000 babies each year. anchor: let's turn to the military situation on the ground in ukraine. we will speak with a former military intelligence officer and a senior lecture -- lecturer in strategy in the u.k. thank you for joining us. can you tell us more about the weapons being supplied -- supplied to the ukrainian army by supporters in nato and

european union, and what effect those will have on the fighting? >> there are two major categories of weapons. they are both called light weapon which means you can carry them around. not very light, but they are called that. we have the antitank missiles. there are two particular types that are very effective. first is the new light antitank weapon. most of those have come from britain, some from other countries. designed in sweden and very effective. the other, more high-tech and slightly more compex to use but very effective, javelin antitank missiles. you also have antiaircraft missiles, the famous american stingers being the most commonly supplied, although other nations have supplied other kinds. those are getting out severe

casualties in russian forces, especially on the ground against russian armored vehicles and trucks. anchor: how exactly are these weapons being wrought to ukraine? what are the logistics involved and the risks involved in wringing those weapons into ukraine? franck: the risks are increasing. it's clear to the russians of the damage they are sustaining from these weapons. one would expect, and i think the assessment is that sooner or later there will be attacks -- be attacks if they come across various nato countries. there's another category of assistance, a slightly higher level, antiaircraft missiles coming from the likes of slovakia. they will be supplied pretty soon, i suspect poland will do the same. it will be the same route, by road. that is quite vulnerable. anchor: you have previously spoken and written about the modernization effort within

ukraine's armed forces following the annexation of crimea in 2014. can you tell us what kyiv did to shore up defenses in the years followinthis and what is being applied now? franck: very good question. in 2014, ukraine was essentially defeated by russia. the armed forces were rather decrepit and corrupt. in 2015, there was training and assistance by western forces and that has proved extremely effective. building on a very strong basis of ukrainian technical capability. ukrainian tanks are exported throughout t world at high quality based on russian models. they have a high tech industrial base, ukrainians, and develop their own vehicles and equipment. but training and doctrine has been the main factor here. changing the way the ukrainians

fight. far more flexibly and more new vern -- more maneuvering involved. that is characteristic of western armed forces but not russian armed forces, and ukrainians have adopted those lessons into their weaponry and taken their courage and will to defend their country to battle and it has proved extremely effective. anchor: this question relates to what you just said. you said the crucial aspect of combat among others is that of morality or in this case, it seems that ukraine has the upper hand over russia's armed forces. can you tell us how this plays out on the battlefield? franck: yes. on the one hand, you have a force of not especially well-trained russian soldiers, half of them conscripts. against them you have a force of about 400,000 combat experienced

people defending their homeland. not only that, but these people have the confidence of some of the best weaponry and the best training available in the world. plus, that intangible quality of a will to fight, and although it is unfashionable to say it, a real motivation getting close to the enemy and destroy him. they have been doing that extremely effectively and have done dage to the russians that nody predicted. anchor: thank you so much, especially for those insights on the psychological dimension to warfare. on the diplomatic front, the european union's foreign affairs ministers meeting in brussels this monday, a it's sanctions package discussed. this after russia has so far refused to change course

following four previous rounds of sanctions. more names expected to be added to the eu blacklist, but the toughest conversations will happen on whether or not the target russian energy. the eu relies on russia for 40% of its gas supply. the eu foreign policy chief spoke at the end of the meeting and said the eu is ready to impose more sanctions and drilled home the importance of the bloc increasing investments in security and defense. >> it is certainly a troubling point for the european union as a security provider, and very much important a step four security and defense policy. after today, i think everybody is convinced europe is in danger, that is blatantly obvious due to the invasion of ukraine. anchor: for more, let's turn to

our brussels correspondent, dave keating, joining us on the line. thank you for joining us. what can we take away from that meeting and the presser at the end? dave: there were two main developments here. one is that the foreign ministers agreed to double the amount of money the eu is spending to send arms to ukraine, so that will go from 500 million to one billion euros. that will take some hurdles to take official effect, but they reached agreement on that today. the other is they agreed that the strategic encompass plan to turn the eu into a military power. he was keen to stress of the press conference that this is not of the eu army so many people fear, it is about coordinating military activities of each eu member state, and turning the eu into a military cooperation union. what was also notable about today is what they didn't

decide, they did not decide on anything regarding the eu mission in mali. it was expected the foreign ministers at this summit would follow france and pull out of mali. instead, they only asked the ruling hunta to guarantee that the troops will not work with the russian mercenaries. when asked what would happen if the eu did not get those guarantees, he only said we will have to reconsider our position. he would not even say the eu was gonna pull out. i thinkhat is happening is they don't want the unfortunate timing of ending one of the few eu military cooperation endeavors that has happened so far, having that in in failure just as they are starting this new push into eu military activity. it appears that mission will be there a while in mali, if only

perhaps they don't want the optics of ending the mission on a bad note right when they are trying new forays into military endeavors. anchor: the possibility of an oil embargo was also discussed, did these talks go anywhere? dave: they did, i think. we saw a lot of movement during the course of today about how people were talking about whether this was a realistic idea. the idea on the table right now is the eu would ban imports of just oil and coal but not gas. th are a lot less dependent russian oil. about 25% of russian -- of oil imports come from russia. the rest is easier to come from other sources. but gas comes from by pipeline and it is harder to get from elsewhere. but they don't have other

potential markets for gas. you can't get a pipeline to china, for russia. so retaliation is unlikely because putin needs the gas money desperately and cannot send it anywhere else. from what i hear, this is gaining traction and they are going to discuss this on thursday at a summit of prime ministers and presidents in brussels, which the u.s. president will also be attending. i think it is still an unlikely scenario they will agree on the oil import ban on thursday, but i am told it is within the realm of possibility now. so things did shift. anchor: dave keating reporting from brussels. a china eastern boeing 737 800 crashed in the south of china this monday. the first civilian aircraft to crush in the country since 2010, after a sudden dissent from cruising altitude. 132 people on board, no signs of

survivors. the company has launched an investigation on the cash and grounded its fleet. the chinese president said he was in shock at the news and launching an investigation. our correspondent in the region has more. reporter: dozens were feared dead after chinese eastern airlines flight 5735 plunged into a mountainside half an hour before it was due to land in southern china on monday. the boeing 737 had set off from china's union province shortly after 1:00 p.m. local time. its destination, a southern chinese city. just over an hour into the flight, air traffic control lost contact with the plane. there were 100 23 passengers and nine crew on board.

videos purporting to come from the crash site soon circled on social media, showing a smoldering wreck in a steep gorge. according to chinese media, 588 firefighters joined local emergency services in rescue efforts. china has one of the world's best safety records in aviation. the country's last domestic crash was 2010, 142 people died in a northeast province. anchor: it is time for our daily business update with kate moody. thank you for joining us. as the wharton ukraine continues, europe's reliance on russian energy is in the spotlight. kate: and it will be one of the major issues discussed this week. leaders divided on how to protect this is and how to cut ties with russian oil and gas. the eu working on a plan to phase out russian imports in coming years. on friday, leaders from spain, italy and portugal called for a

common strategy. countries like denmark and the netherlands are more worried about interfering in energy markets. emmanuel macron met the spanish prime minister, with energy at the top of their joint agenda. >> spain is strongly committed to finding european solutions that protect us from the consequences of war. we will try to find effective solutions to limit the increase in gas prices, to limit the impact on electricity prices, to have common storage solutions in europe and diversify our sources. >> the fundamentals are guaranteeing energy supply and the evolution of the price of gas and how it translates into the price of electricity. we are talking about two elements i believe the european commission can, we hope, find a balanced response that will allow all countries to be able to respond. kate: germany, the bloc's largest economy, is the most dependent on russian oil and

gas. it's been looking for energy alternatives with its energy minister signing deals with qatar and the uae, both are longer-term solutions to what has become an increasingly pressing issue. reporter: germany and the united arab emirates have reached a long-term energy partnership, as germany looks to phase out its need for russian imports. >> today we will sign a total of five cooperative agreements, or rather the companies will sign them. they are about reducing green hydrogen, intensifying research on developing new technology, and bringing it to germany. reporter: the agreement aims to import clean energy as the uae remodels itself as a hub for green hydrogen, could help germany meet its longer-term goal of switching to clean energy sources. >> we can't wait 10 or 15 years until we have enough green hydrogen to switch from coal. it can only be right to support the states that are ambitious in

their efforts both in terms of rights but also in terms of the development of a green infrastructure. reporter: germany also struck a deal with qatar, as europe's largest economy continues to shop around for an alternative to russian oil. qatar willupply liquefied natural gas to germany as part of a long-term deal. germany is currently heavily reliant on russian energy imports. 55% of natural gas, 52% of coal, and already 4% of mineral oil used in germany is imported from russia. nord stream 2, a direct pipeline for natural gas between russia and germany, was completed in late 2021. it was never turned on and its use has been suspended indefinitely since the russian invasion of ukraine. kate: there have been protests across france this monday about the rising cost of fuel. long-haul truckers, taxi drivers and farmers among those taking part in demonstrations, in some

cases blocking petrol stations or oil refineries. the french government has announced financial aid from any sectors but protesters say it is not enough to protect their livelihoods. some protests have also taken place in greece and spain. let's look the days of trading action. oil prices have reason, u.s. wta over $112 per barrel, spiking over 7%. similar story for the international benchmark, brent crude, topping $116. those triple digit figures still much higher than before russia's invasion of ukraine. we have seen a mixed close for the major european indices, lost about half a percentage point in paris and frank fort -- frankfurt. london up by about as much. wall street close lower. shares of bowing down after the crash of one of its planes in china, investors latching onto comments from the u.s. head of -- head of the u.s. federal reserve. jerome powell said the central

bank could move more aggressively after last week's quarter percent hike in interest rates. the moscow stock exchange remains closed for a fourth consecutive week, but partial trading did resume monday. bonds issued by the russian government were bought and sold in what authorities described as a phased reopening. the yield, or return on a tenure government can't climbed as their value dropped. russia's central bank said it was trying to neutralize excessive volatility and inject liquidity by using its own ruble bonds. the ruble was fairly stable today although it has lost about a quarter of its value since the start of the invasion. nestlé has defended its ongoing presence in russia, after we were publicly called to cut ties. the company said it's no longer making a profit from remaining operations in russia and has stopped exports, but said it would continue to supply

products like cereals and baby food, which it says are essential to the russian population. the war in ukraine could have devastating consequences for economies that depend on agricultural exports from the region. the ngo save the children has warned that nearly half the population of sudan faces food insecurity this year as a result of that crisis. with gbal food prices already at a record high, available supplies for commodities like weed in corn could become simply too expensive for countries already struggling. >> sudans in a particularly vulnerable position because 86% of its imports are coming from ukraine and russia for wheat. anyone who is importing will have to go elsewhere, to the u.s., australia and europe. kate: following up on similar warnings from the u.n. last week

when the secretary-general warned of the risk of a hurricane of famine around the world. anchor: dire consequent is from the conflict in ukraine. thank you for watching, we will be back in a few minutes. stay tuned france when he four. -- france 24.

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03/21/22 03/21/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> the president detailed what the implications and consequences would be a china provides material support to russia as it conducts brutal attacks on ukrainian cities and civilians. that is something we will be watching and the world will be watching. amy: as president biden speaks for nearly two hours with china's xi jinping, we will look at china's response to russia's invasion of ukraine and what it