♪ >> [indiscernible] >> [indiscernible] >> [indiscernible] >> [indiscernible] ♪ ♪ anchor: welcome from "france 24." these are the headlines. russian bombardment, at least nine killed. meanwhile, france, sending an

humanitarian mission. a phone call between president and vladimir putin. we have the information and analysis. peace talks restart. ukraine says it will accept neutral status not seek membership in nato. a winner take all world cup qualifier. we are following it. what we can tell you. have analysis live. this is all live from paris.

♪ thank you for being with us. we start in ukraine but coverage of the war. the administration building in the southern port city has been bombed, a number of people killed, last estimate nine people confirmed to have been killed. the city government said on social media the russian army waited for people to go to work. he was spared only because he overslept. local authorities say nine people are trapped inside the building. we have this. reporter: this was the moment a government building was hit by russian shoveling. they search for survivors in the rubble, several dead and

injured, including civilians. >> this is a nightmare. a girl died on my floor. are you kidding? two minutes passed and she passed. >> violence suggest russia is redoubling efforts to recapture the city. it is of strategic importance. it has access to the black sea and sits between two other port cities. russia hopes to cut off ukraine's sea access and control a land core door. beyond it strategic importance, it was home to five under thousand people. >> [speaking in foreign language] translator: this morning, russian missiles hit one of our southern cities. it is a shipbuilding city, a peaceful city that dreamed of only onehing, to regain its

place of shipbuilding in the black sea. reporter: the bombing came as peace talks got underway. the first in prison talks in over two weeks. efforts to broker a cease-fire have so far failed. anchor: british military intelligence is the russian mercenary soldiers from the wegner group have been deployed. more than 1000 are soon expected to be in combat operations, following setbacks by regular russian military forces. the private military contractor has been nicknamed vladimir putin's private army, due to its close ties to the criminal and -- the kremlin. here is this. reporter: hardened mercenaries joining in the war on ukraine, the british defense ministry says more than 1000 fighters from russian private military

contractor wagoner group are being deployed. report comes after moscow announced a strategic shift in its invasion, ostensibly abandoning its goal of conquering all of ukraine to focus on control of the don boss. that would -- donbass. the firm first rose to prominence in 2014 as they launched a battle from kyiv. with an estimated 20 505,000 mercenaries from both russia and abroad, the group has been nicknamed putin's private army, though the russian president refuses to acknowledge its existence. its operatives have appeared in a dozen conflict zones around the world where the kremlin has a strategic interest, fighting alongside the syrian national army, supporting a rebel general

in libya, and providing security to embattled presidents in venezuela and the central african republic. the group methods have alarmed the united nations and several ngos, contractors accused of carrying out executions, rapes, and torture in the course of their missions. anchor: let's get some wider analysis. we are joined by our guest. good evening. deployment of wagner mercenaries, could this be a turning point? >> i don't think it is a turning int. the fact russia is having to bring those troops into the conflict is a sign the forces they brought in to invade is not doing its job. there were 138 thousand russians conscripted for the year, but those conscripted forces will not be sent to the hot zone, so

that option is bring in wagner, or other people from other regions. anchor: the use of these mercenaries, how do you see things developing on the ground? >> the wagner group forces have be effectiveroviding training that forces, not necessarily needed in the russian case, but it is more effective in libya, or guarding facilities, so they are better in the defensive capacity than trying to hold the line. when wagner group has been offensive on its own or in conjunction with surrogates, libya, central african republic, its success is more limited. this a defensive operation. anchor: will this deployment of wagner affected the west question -- affected the west?

-- affect the west? >> it is a middleman, so it is difficult, even though britain and the u.s. and the eu have sanctioned individuals, but how the west will really react as this is a sign russia is not serious about peace. if pressure was serious about peace, they would not be bringing 1000 fighters known for human rights abuses to the use of chemical weapons in libya, that is not this step you would be bringing if you wanted to end the war. anchor: when vladimir putin makes it known he is willing to curb attacks on kyiv as a gesture of trust, do you feel that the likes of antony blinken and joe biden and others in ukraine are right to say we don't believe you? >>hey have good reason to be right at this point in time. the russian chief negotiator is not only backtracked on the

cease-fire, but said it is conditional and dependent on otr things, gradual, so the russians are already backtracking on that agreement. the statements coming out of the russian ministry of defense, which said there are 4.5 million human shields in those cities, implies russia will carry out more military operations in those cities. maybe not now, as they focus on the liberation of the donbas. anchor: the situation mary opal is alarming. it is a manna tearing disaster and it has been constructed by the russian siege and bombardment. emmanuel macron today said that conditions are not right, says vladimir putin for any humanitarian mission to be sent to that city. what does that tells about vladimir putin's aims and objectives. >> he told a man u macron the

militants emmanl macron that the militants should surrender. they are saying mariupol has to surrender or the attacks will continue, and that is not conducive for peace or humanitarian evacuation. france has been trying to do that. anchor: in terms of the places like irpin, i can ukraine hands, there has been -- back in ukraine hands, there has been progress in other cities, this is indicative of how other things work so far. the introduction of the wagner mercenaries, perhaps the response to that. do you feel the fact that ukrainian forces have made this progress that it is a vindication of the tactics that have been used by the west in terms of not providing a no-fly zone, not providing anything other than the financial and hardware backing? >> it is hard to call that a

vindication. it is physically a risk assessment given the conduct, russian officials, the nuclear button, there was exactly the risk of a nuclear war comes of the west took a gamble that if they provide the ukrainians missile systems and more small arms that the ukrainian resistance and resolve would ultimately be able to withstand the russian invasion, but if russia had entered ukraine with a larger invasion force and brought other soldiers, logistics, and reinforcements from other places, like syria, then maybe we'd talk about a different outcome, but in some ways, the west has managed to get lucky helping ukraine at this point. anchor: indeed. it sounds like logistical issues

are a big issue as much as the resistance ukraine has put up. thank you. we continue to chart all developments of the crisis. russia says the attacks on kyiv will be curbed as an act of faith. this is one of the scant signs of progress at the peace talks in istanbul. turkey's president is hosting the restart of talks. president biden shares ukraine skepticism regarding the russian promise to stop dropping bombs. >> we will see. i don't read anything into it until we see with their actions are and if they follow through on what they are suggesting. the negotiations continue today and there seems to be consensus

to let see what they have to offer. we will find out. in the meantime, we will continue to keep strong sanctions and provide the ukrainian military with the capacity to defend themselves. we will continue to watch what is going on. anchor: joe biden. let's turn to business. while the eu and allies are trying to reduce their dependence on russian energy, others are stacking it up. who? >> india. it has abstained to condemn russia's invasion of ukraine. it is trying to balance its economic and political interests in the region. india imported 12 billion barrels of oil from russian 2021, 2% of its overall supply that year is a nun from russia in january and february this year, but it has already ordered 6 million barrels for delivery in march and april. that is a significant increase the reason, since russia began

its war in ukraine, other buyers have shied away from russian oil and it is being sold at a sharp discount. the main oil blend exported by russia currently costs around 30% less then the international benchmark of brent crude. that price plunging over the last month or so. they normally sell at similar prices. with global oil prices well above $100 per barrel, that is a real discount. india is the third biggest consumer of crude oil in the world come up behind the u.s. and china. analysts expect beijing to buy cheap russian oil in the months to come. it is understood india is looking to switch more trade into rubles instead of dollars or euros. for now, the u.s. as india imports do not violate sanctions, although it has suggested ongoing support is having a devastating impact and u.s. officials are considering secondary sanctions that would

punish third parties who keep doing transactions with russia. that would potentially impact india's future oil purchases. meanwhile, the french sports retailer has suspended sales at its stores across russia. unlike other western brands who have cut ties with moscow, it said thi decision was linked to supply-chain problems and was not a political stance. the supermarket chains are also owned by the same parent company and have also been criticized for not joining that corporate exodus from russia. last week during his address to the french parliament, ukraine's president singled up french friends who he accused of financing the war by continuing to business in russia. moscow said it could nationalize any foreign firms who choose to leave. let's check the trading action now. investors focused on talks between russia and ukraine, hoping for progress towards a cease-fire.

wall street has closed higher. the dow jones up about 1% at the close. the nasdaq outperforming at 1.8%. the major european indices were higher as well, gaining around 3% in paris and frankfurt was the european markets closed earlier. we saw gains closer to 1% in london. lawmakers have approved a controversial tax on electronic payments in ghana. the government lowered the tax from its initial 1.75% to 1.5%, a move it claims will raise millions of euros, but many business owners and consumers say their transactions will be penalized. >> [indiscernible] reporter: it was enough to bring lawmakers in the parliament to blows in december, plan to impose a tax on electronic

payments. now, it is a reality. on tuesday, lawmakers approved of 1.5% tax on mobile payments, bankransfers, and merchant payments. mp's taking the surprise vote, when many in the opposition were not present, and those who were walked out in protest. vendors say that taxing mobile money will force a return to a strictly cash-based business. >> if he wants to pay, he also pays that. [indiscernible] it doesn't really help. reporter: the finance minister proposed the levy in november, saying you would raise 834 million year old -- euros,

lifting ghana out of an economic crisis. before the vote, he warned of great consequences if the levy not pass. >> the stance of the minority in parliament against it would reduce confidence in our capacity to implement our programs and settle our debts. reporter: despite that, the levy is unpopular. almost 75% of the public is against it, including more than half of voters who support the ling party. reporter: it will be interesting to see how that tax plays out as it is implemented. anchor: indeed. thank you for that. we appreciate that. great to see you. across the studio, truth and faking, how are you? good to see you. you have a story about something on cnn, apparently alleged to have been staged in ukraine.

tell us about it. reporter: the latest victim of misinformation online, a cnn report from the scene of a russian missile strike in ukraine, a fuel storage facility that caught fire on march 26. the cnn anchor was reporting live as firemen report to duty following this russian strike. shortly after this report, some noticed a funny detail, a fireman with a distinct uniform. the ukrainian an uniform is blak and yellow, while in the back, there was a uniform from alberta, canada. so many were left wondering what is a canadian fireman doing in the middle of ukraine. this post in particular saying this a misinformation campaign led by the u.s., notably by cnn. while many other users, tweeted this with more than 13,000 likes and 5000 retweets, saying cnn,

ladies and gentlemen, firefighter in ukraine, and ukraine in between that, of these so-called fact checkers online or trying to say that cnn staged this report in ukraine and filmed a fire in edmonton canada. anchor: this is usually people with an agenda, isn't it? so tell us, how come those canadian firefighters uniform is in the back of that shot? reporter: cnn did not stage the report in ukraine. the cnn fact checker explains the report is not stage. it is a ridiculous claim about a shot that showed a firefighter in a suit. a google search shows that they have been donating suits to use cleaning colleagues for years. we have this report from 2017 on

this canadian organization launched by an edmonton fireman right here, and long before the war, this organization has been donating firefighter gear to firefighting crews in ukraine who lack basic equipment. here are pictures on instagram of a 2018 donation to ukraine from firefighter aid. the latest report this weekend as well, the edmonton firefighters delivered 14 tons of rescue equipment to ukraine, and the organization also went to facebook and posted the ukrainian firefighters wearing the donated gear, also seen on the cnn report, and they also went to facebook to clarify that this picture was taken in ukraine, showing the geolocation of the photo they took with their iphone, and this huge fire on this oil facility was also on the news on march 27 over the weekend, so no, cnn did not

stage this report. anchor: i wonder if all the doubters will say, f2 use borrowed, donated, old firefighter kit, which can't be the same standard is brand-new firefighter kit, but they're going to risk their lives. those people criticize and say that is a fake and safe and well, we have money to buy the kit, because life is not like that, is it? thank you for clarifying that. we appreciate it. truth or fake. kate with the business thank you. before we leave, and extra bonus now. were going to bring you some football. senegal facing egypt for winner takes all world cup qualifying match. it was as tight as it could be. it went to penalties. that was entertaining. let's bring in now from the car -- dakar our sports reporter, simon. i hope you can hear us. we can hear the atmosphere.

senegal have gone through peer telus out happen. reporter: -- have gone through. tell us how it happened. reporter: an agonizing penalty shootout after reaching the final draw, much like the final of the africa cup of nations two months ago the wind -- ago, when they had to take it to penalties against ypt. it was exact the samscenario th time. they scod early in the game. let's not forget that last friday was egypt who took the victory, winning at 1-0 in cairo , which meant that senegal had to score one goal in this one. e man scoring a goal in the third minute after a little bit of a lucky bounce following a freak tick. after that, -- a free kick. after that, a close game, egypt

playing a solid defensive uni difficult to penetrate, block, d senegal time and time again crashing that defense. they had their chances. they should have scored in the second half, then the egyptian goalkeeperroduce a string of fi saves in the first period of extra time to deny other players. it was a fantastic game, which went to penaies, and as you mentioned in your introduction, a dramatic and entertaining penalty shootout, neither team able to score the first two penalties, then they scored, and was the case, camera moon, once again, th match winner fo senegal, a we will fi out who they plain qatar on friday when the draw for the world cup takes place. anchor: indeed. exciting. simon, the great pele said before the end of that century a team from africa will win the world cup. it did not happen, but it was getting close. do you feel there is a true

contender coming from the african continent going into the next world cup? reporter: hard to look past senegal if you look at contenders from the continent. senegal really havthe team, the manager, now the experience of winning a major tournament, going into it. they have the best players in the world. you have t say that these games against angyptian side are far below others. you expect senegal to put the game to bed, so we will have to wait a see if senegal can raise the bar of their game and if they can rise to the expectation, because no african team has ever made it past the quarterfinals at a world cup. ghana came closes into thousand 10, and there was the handball incident, the reduard,he shootout misses,o we are still waiting. the president has made it one of his priorities that under his tenure that anfrican nation will win the world cup.

we will have to wait and see them a but certainly senegal do come out of this qualifying campaign as the african team to beat. another result, a shocking one that happened earlier in the afternoon, was ghana, a horrific african cup of nations, knocked out nigeria come so now it is another major upset in these qualifiers and we will have to see exactly what happens in qatar in six months. anchor: simon, lucky man in doc are for that big game -- dakar for that big game. simon was saying it was an entertaining penalty shootout for senegal to go through and carry out their hopes of world cup glory in qatar. thank you, simon. time for a short break. after that, all the news continues and all the news from ukraine. stay with us. you are watching live from paris. ♪

♪ >> a fighter and the great-nephew of a czechoslovakian painter. we followed these two resistance fighters into war. reporters, on "france 24" and france24.com. ♪

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03/29/22 03/29/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york this is democracy now! >> let's be clear. the solution to this humanitarian tragedy is not humanitarian, it is political. therefore, i am appealing for an immediate cease-fire to allow for progress in a serious political negotiations aiming at reaching a peaceee