berlin. russian bombs continue to fall on the ukrainian city of mariupol. president zelenskyy says there's nothing left of one of his country's largest cities and calls for face-to-face talks with vladimir putin. also coming up -- no survivors have been found at the site of the crashed passenger jet in china. hopes are fading that anybody will be found alive. and tesla officially opens

its first european factory. elon musk says the new factory located outside berlin will employ 12,000 people. ♪ welcome to the program. russian forces are eyeing the ukrainian capital, but the fight for kyiv not been straightforward. now the ukrainian army says it's pushed back russian troops from a strategically important suburb. the defense ministry says the success has prevented russia from surrounding the ukrainian capital from the northwest. meanwhile, in the southeast, the regional governor says fighting is raging on the streets of mariupol. amid russian bombardment, tens of thousands remain trapped in the city with little food and water. reporter: yet more bombs, falling on the besieged city of

mariupol. russian forces have been trying to take the keyboards for weeks. civilians lucky enough to escape say conditions in the city are desperate. >> the people of mariupol are not being heard. they are in need of health. the people don't have water. the water is not even fit for industrial purposes. there's no one you can ask for help. reporter: kyiv and other major cities have also been the targets of increased shellin with russia ramping up its bombardment, as troops struggled to advance on theround. tuesday, president zelenskyy urged lawmakers to help force ruia to the negotiating table. >> the invasion has been going on for 27 days. practically one month. so we need even more sanctions, even more pressure, so russia stopped looking for more military reserves or missionary somewhere in syria or libya and

starts looking for peace. reporter: with more and more ukrainian cities being reduced to ruins like here, it remains to be seen what up you still would even look like. president zelenskyy has said kyiv is prepared to talk about the stakes with crimea and the separatist donbass region after a cease-fire, but any agreement would have to be put to a vote by the ukrainian people. but for many of them, including one of the residents of the bombed out flats in the region, their relationship with russia has been changed forever. >> i still have relatives who live over there. but there it stops. the russians will never be her brothers again. -- our brothers again. >> our next guest is a member of the ukrainian parliament. thank you for taking the time to speak to dw news. i want to start by asking you about ukrainian troops retaking the key suburb of kyiv. how significant is this military victory for your country? >> it is very necessary for us

to control the suburb of our capital, because for example, it is a big district in the cap ital. i n see from my windows smoke of fighting, it might be 30 or 40 km away. our milary, our army, they give us this ability to be more safe. not safe in general, because only today, my district was bombed by russia, using aircraft. and other equipment. two people died after this tack. so, yes, our victory was

very necessary for us. because we can show to our society, to the world, that we can win -- but we still need to have, from our western partners, we need a no-fly zone over the ukraine, more strong sentience, more weapons -- sanctions, more weapons. i can only say, thanks to the german government, who worked with european colleagues -- but still today, from the beginning of the war until today, we have held 117 -- we have had 117 childrenilled. more than 1055 children wounded.

and day by day, this quantity becomes larger and more. every day, when it weapons, beuse, yes, we will fight until our victory, but not only this result -- not only this depends on this result. >> when you talk about the help you are hoping to receive from the west, nato and the eu, are you disappointed by what's been offered so far? >> no, i'm very thankful for at we have so far. but still, we are losing time and losing lives of ukrainian people, because our western partners don't want to close the

sky. yes, i can understand that putin can use atomic nuclear tactical weapons, but still, russian troops controlli two nuclear power plant in ukraine -- plants in ukraine, they can destroy day by day. we will have the same problem of using nuclear weapons. i really think that for our western leaders, for western societies, who have strong help -- but still, it is not enough to stop putin. for example, some western company, for exmaple -- a german company is still working

in russia, still paying taxes in russia, so giving money to russia. and creating the -- creating new bom, which will be used against society, civil ukrainians, because there are not only soldiers -- in mariupol, thousands were killed. we tried to save them. but still, it is -- when we are talking now, bombing mariupol, other ukrainian cities. so, yes, we really

appreciate the help, but it is not enough to stop it. >> you would like to see more. we understand. a member of the ukrainian parliament, thank you very much for your time. >> you are welcome. lori for ukraine -- glory for ukraine. >> there are other development related to the war in ukraine -- the russian winner of the 2020 one nobel peace prize says he will auction off the prestigious metal and donate -- medal and donate the proceeds to help ukrainian refugees. he was no cowinner of the price for his work as editor of one of russia's less independent newspapers. to yachts on been the russian oligarch ramona abravanel -- roman a. have duct. a group of ukrainian demonstrators tried to prevent one of the vessels from docking care what turkey has criticized russia's invasion of ukraine but reject sanctions. the u.s. president, joe biden,

urging american companies to protect themselves against potential cyber attacks from russia. he also repeated u.s. warnings that moscow is planning to used chemical weapons against ukraine. he has previously called vladimir putin a war criminal. jail to russian opposition leader alexei navalny has been sentenced to nine more years in prison, after a court found him guilty on charges of large-scale fraud. he was already serving a 2.5 year sentence for alleged parole violations. he's been a vocal critic of russian president vladimir putin. and there is substantial evidence the kremlin was responsible for poisoning him in 2020, an incident that nearly killed him. after recovering in berlin, he was arrested upon his return to russia. this team has been posting his messages -- calling on the russian people to protest their country's invasion of ukraine. and belarus has played a key role in the invasion.

permitting moscow to launch an invasion from within belarus' borders, within striking distance of the ukrainian capital, kyiv. belarus and later in lukashenko insists his own troops will not participate directly in the invasion. but he may not have a choice. reporter: two leaders, demonstrating how close they have become. russia's vladimir putin usually keeps his guests at more than arm's length. but not this on. -- but not this one. alexandra lucas think -- alexander lukashenko has become essential to his military operation. even before he invaded ukraine. at the beginning of february, the twcountries ld joint military exercises. the drills were a show of strength. and or proof to the outside world that belarus had become a russian satellite.

after russia invaded ukraine, belarus even changed its constitution to reverse its non-nuclear status. that means all russian weapons, including nuclear, are allowed on belarusian soil. but alexander lukashenko has so far rused to commit forces to aid putin's war. >> we are not going to get involved in the operation that russia is conducting ukraine. most importantly, i am telling you, is a military servicemen, there is no need for it -- serviceman, there is no need for it. reporter: that surprised many. but there doesn't appear to be the appetite for russia's war, even among former soldiers who have left belarus and are now fighting with ukrainian forces.

at only 45,000 active members, the belarusian army is tiny, compared to russia's. it appears though that moscow needs reinforcements, after losing a estimated 6,000 troops since its invasion of ukraine. russia is already using belarus as a military base for its war. to have access to its army as well could help moscow and its campaign against the ukrainian capital, kyiv, and the city of laviv. belarus may be resisting such a move. but if putin decides he needs even more from his neighbor, lukashenko will find it hard to say no. >> we are joined now by roman, from russia's eastern europe service. thanks for joining us.

lukashenko says belarus and troops will not enter ukraine to aid russia's attack. what kind of support is there from the military of such a move was to happen? >> well, we can only speculate about that. there were reports in ukrainian media and from the ukrainian military that belarusian forces were reluctant too that. we are in the fourth week of the russian invasion. and the belarusian forces are not willingly participating in it. we can interpret it as a fact that the belarusians are not eager to join russia. russia would like to see them fighting together against ukraine. russian forces desperately need some fresh forces probably from belarus. i think it could be a matter of hours or days, until russia presses hard enougand lukasheko will say yes. but at this moment, belarus is already participating in the war, and directly, as you have said -- indirectly, as you have

said in the report, because russia is using belarusian territory to attack ukraine. with thainformation today from the ukrainian army that about 80 flights of the russian aviation -- the russian air force against ukraine as of this day, about 30 came from airfields and belarus. so it is very important for moscow to stay there and be involved together. >> opposition leaders say belarus is under de facto occupation by russia. is there a sense now that belarus is essentially a satellite state of russia? >> absolutely. belarus used to be russia's closest ally, in the former soviet union. have a union state. -- they have a union state. at the end of last year, they signed a lot of documents about a close integration, including the military. we can say that russia is

about to swallow belarus completely. with russian forces staying there. and there's not much that lukashenko, the leader of belarus, can do against the. -- against it. >> certainly there were always allies, but lukashenko's tightens relationship with putin started more after the antigovernment protests against him and his country in 2020. crimea was annexed in 2014 and lepchenko did not immediately recognize a move. he has moved closer towards put an end relies more on putin -- putin and relies more on him, tell us more about that. >> he has now -- he is not completely dependent and russia with the russian military staying in belarus and belarusian soil. he is completely dependent on russia and the economy. he nds russian money. he needs russian gas and oil. so he has no choice. he is important -- in putin's

hands and there's no way for him to escape. >> thank you very much. rescue teams in china are searching for survivors after a passenger jet crashed in a remote mountainous area in the south of the country. the hopes of finding anyone alive are fading. the china eastern airlines plane nosedived on monday. 132 people were on board the boeing 737 max. witnesses have described seeing the plain fall in a near vertical descent. they are planning to use drones to search for the black boxes, which could provide new details surrounding the crash. the crashes unprecedented due to the -- due to the 737 safety record. china has ordered an investigation. reporter: rescuers scour the mountains for signs of le. the boeing seven scattered

across a remote forest after -- 737 scattered across a remote forest after falling from the sk witnesses described the moment the plane went dn. >> i heard a loud bang. people were doing their work, peeling tree bark. they stopped everything and rushed to see the crash. then, the police arrived. >> it was as loud as a under strike. there were two loud sounds. reporter: like tracking data shows the plane plunged 26,000 feet in just three minutes. it is the country's first commercial aircraft since 2010. -- pair crash -- air crash since 2010.

they have grounded all 737 boeing planes from the fleet. an immediate investigation has been ordered. >> we are deeply saddened by the accident of the passenger flight. every effort for search is being made -- for search-and-rescue is being made. reporter: at the airport, the plane's destination, families wait for news from the mountainside. the flight data recorders could provide clues as to what brought the plane down. but such investigations can take months or even years. >> here's a look at some of the other stories we are following for you this hour. a man wielding a knife has killed four people and seriously wounded to others in and is really down. he was shot and killed by

unidentified bystanders care what is really media identified the attacker as a 34-year-old arab man. for people have died in a boating accident off the coast of new zealand. five other passengers were rescued from the wreckage. a charter fishing vessel storm in stormy weather -- sunk in stormy weather. divers are searching for one missing person. two women have died of wounds sustained during an attack at a high school in the swedish city. police have detained the suspected attacker, an 18-year-old student peer with the victims were both employees of the school. local media reports say they were attacked with an axe and a knife. ketanji brown jackson has appeared before the senate judiciary committee for the first of her confirmation hearing. she pledged to decide cases "without fear or favor."

if the committee confirms her historic nomination as the first black woman on the supreme court. >> -- >> elon musk has overseen the handover of the first electric cars built up a company's new factory near berlin. the billionaire businessman traveled to officially open the huge production facility just outside the german capital. costing over 5 billion euros to build, the plant is the biggest investment in germany's car industry in recent history. tesla's first european hub. reporter: a car every 50 seconds. tesla wants to supply europe with its vehicles at record speed. oroud -- proud owners at the wheel got their cars straight from company founder elon musk, who was having a good time at the factory launch party. chatting with customers and showing pesky drone cameras away. >> tesla will make sure that this is a gem, you know, a

gemstone for the area, for germany, for europe, and for the world. reporter: this is tesla's third-largest factory. 24 football fields could fit in the production area. it was built and just two years despite bureaucracy and protests by environmentalists, concerned about the high water consumption. german chancellor olaf scholz attended the opening. for him, this bodes well for germany is a place for doing business. >> the decision to build a brand-new factory in this country is the right decision and a sign of progress and the industry's future. reporter: the new factory means tesla can save on shipping costs for vehicles and eu import tariffs. the german state of brandenburg that's one of its biggest employers -- 12,000 workers will produce half a million vehicles a year. other companies have come to

brendan burke since tesla announced its factory site. rocktech is building europe's largest lithium plant nearby. it is scheduled for completion in two years. chemical giant basf is building a factory for electric cars. now there is talk here of a new high-tech car making hub dubbed auto valley and modeled after california's silicon valley. >> thousands of ukrainians, fleeing the war, arriving in berlin every day. many people of ukrainian descent live and work in the city. our photographer is one of them. she has long documented traditional village life in ukraine with her camera. she is struggling to keep in touch with relatives still in the besieged city of mariupol. reporter: it's been days since victoria s. heard some of her relatives were stopped in mariupol. in a shelter. after their home was destroyed. >> we don't know if they are

still alive. yeah, i mean, we just hope that somehow they managed to survive in this incredibly horrible situation. because they have no electricity. no water, no food. reporter: victoria has been living and working in berlin as a photographer since 2013. her family left what s done still the soviet union, when she was 11 years old. when her work often recalls memories of ukraine. for her decade-long project, lands of no return, she chronicled the gradual disappearance of traditional ukrainian villages and their people. her grandparents lived in one such village near kyiv. she remembers her happy visits there as a little girl. >> i want to commemorate that last remains -- the last remains. now they will be probably in much worse conditions, of course. reporter: she has exhibited work

at berlin's arts east gallery, which specializes in art from ukraine. a galeerist -- take a literacy her and her partner have begun a foundation to support artists. >> we wanted to start working right away to help the artists so they can, go on expressing themselves and working, if they can. some were not able to right now. they simply do not have the energy or the strength. reporter: this berlin restaurant, odessa mama, serves ukrainian cuisine. they have been donating food to ukrainian refugees and volunteers. victoria s. also wants to help, with her art. >> i wou like to photograph how the country will come out of this crisis, how it will be rebuilt again. reporter: hopes for peace that

for now look like a distant dream. >> you are watching to double your news parodies are the top stories we are following the sour -- -- this hour. volodymyr zelenskyy is calling for face-to-face talks with russia's vladimir putin to end the invasi of his country. zelenskyy says any peace terms will have to be put to the ukrainian people in a referendum. a russian court has found jailed kremlin critic alexei navalny guilty of new charges. the opposition leader has been sentenceto nine more yea in prison. don't forget, you can get the latest always on the go, just download the dw news app from your app store, that will give you access to all the latest news from around the world, as well as push notifications for any breaking news.

you can also use the dw app to send us photos or videos of what's happening. after a short break, i will be back to take you through "the day." stay tuned for that. thanks for being with us. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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as russia's attempt to advance on kyiv has seemed to stall, control of macro. as a moscow court hands elections for their nine years in jail, the election opposition leader calls a deceitful and prudent regime. -- put in regime. he died after being attacked three weeks ago by a fellow inma