♪ >> this is dw news live from berlin. hearing the stories of war firsthand. >> when the world sees what happened in mariupol it will be bucha multiplied by 1000. >> an eyewitness account from a doctor who fought to help the injured and made the risky decision to flee. prepare for the long haul. the nato chief warns of a

protracted war in ukraine. as members of the security alliance meet in brussels. and thousands of people lie on the ground in front of germany's parliament calling on the government to pull the plug on russian energy imports while the german chancellor olaf scholz tells lawmakers we must do all we can to stop this war. ♪ >> welcome to the program. leave while you can. that is a message from ukrainian officials to people in eastern regions of the country. the area is bracing for a fresh russian offensive as the kremlin pulls forces from around the capital. these images you are about to see of near ukraine's second

largest city. people have been boarding buses. russian artillery has already struck residential areas. authorities expect a full blown assault on kharvi as well as a major offensive in donbas. ukraine is warning that the apparent massacre of civilians in the town of bucha is likely just the beginning with more atrocities yet to be documented. we have spoken to a doctor who escaped the city of mariupol, the pt city has been under consistent attack for weeks. >> through four weeks of war, anna, a neurologist, worked and lived in the mariupol city hospital. now in the relative safety of lviv, she tells me of her ordeal. >> during the heaviest bombardments, we had around 50 patients an hour.

the hospital was so overcrowded in the windows and doors and roof were destroyed. >> n long after it got even worse. the russians cut the water supply. >> we would gather snow, rain, us the water inside the boilers and disinfect it. >> so many patients were dying she tells me they were forced up with the corpses outside in bags. >> the worst thing was when the relatives would come to look for their loved ones. they hope -- they had to open the bags. >> the cold prevented the worst of the stench. >> what i saw even the most perverted minds would not be able to imagine. the night of the 20th of march i named this night the genocide. this was the night when the bombings wld not stop. every time we heard bomb, i was lying and thinking i would

cover my head like that. i think this one be the one that gets us. a moment comes, and it is hard to comprehend. a moment when you want it all to be over. in a good way, tt you survive, or in ia bad way and you die, and you do not care how you die, as long as it is all over. >> and soon it would be. she and a few of her colleagues took their chance to escape. >> we were driving and then in the distance we saw our flag, o ur blue and yellow flag and ukrainian troops. one of them gave me a hug. it's weird, but i asked them, can i be a ukrainian here, is it safe? he said, yes. you are at home. >> alive but dead inside as she

faces a life haunted by what she has witnessed. >> when the world sees what happened in mariupol it will be bucha multiplied by 10, by 100, by 1000. >> let's go to the ukrainian capital where our correspondent is standing by. we heard that story from this woman who escaped mariupol. they are expected to see more murdered civilians. how fearful are people that this is not the end of such gruesome killings. >> well, the longer russia's war on ukraine continues the more fearful people are that there will be more gruesome crimes to be revealed, more mass graves, more civilians killed and more deliberate shelling of civilian infrastructure and we can take the city of mariupol, this onc

e beautiful port city, that has been under almost t constant shelling from the beginning of the war with tens of thousands of people still trapped there with no access to electricity or water. we don't even know how many people are dead lying under the rubble of the shelled buildings there. or let's the take a small town north of kyiv. there, as well, apartment buildings were struck by russian airstrikes. we also fear, the ukrainian officials fear that the death toll there will be much higher than what we saw in bucha. >> you were in bucha recently and talking to the people about what they endured during the russian occupation. what have the survivors been telling you? >> everyone that i have

spoken with had their own story to tell. one woman told me about her neighbor who apparently was a very nice and polite person. he was shot dead by russian forces only because he left his house to walk his dog. other people told me that the first russian units that arrived there, people told me they tried to hold their positions and control documents but the other units were brutal, and people had, were scared to leave their houses, not to be shot dead by the russians. >> there are concerns that it might worsen. russia says it will focus its efforts in the east of the country. what more can you tell us about that? >> russia, indeed, seems to be -- refocus on the eastern part or shift its focus on the eastern part of ukraine with ukrainian officials saying that

russia is massing troops there and ukraine is expecting a new offensive in order of russia, they will be trying, as they say to take full control of those regions. we are hearing from some local officials for instance that they are urging residents to get out as soon as they can and the hostilities right now still to focus on the city of mariupol, that i mentioned, that the russian forces are trying to seize in full. >> our dw correspondent reporting from the ukrainian capital. many thanks, alexandra. foreign minister are meeting in brussels to discuss further support for ukraine. nato is warning russia is set to intensify attacks in eastern and southern ukraine. here is what the secretary-general had to say earlier about the need to put

more pressure on moscow. >> we have seen no indication that president putin has changed his ambition to control the whole of ukraine and also to rewrite the national order. so, we need to be prepared for a long haul.w we need to support ukraine. sustain our sanctions and strengthen our defenses and our deterrence. -- deterrents. >> good to see you. he says the long haul. what does he mean by that exactly? >> secretary-general stoltenberg says russian forces are by no means leaving ukraine, as they said they would do. instead, they are moving further into donbas, where they are preparing a major offensive. stoltenberg says it is clear that russia was to create a land

war between -- a land bridge between donbas and crimea. allies have to be prepared that the further troops and equipment that were sent to the eastern allies are not going home anytime soon, either. instead, they will likely be permanent. stoltenberg says we need to be ready for more months of war, possibly years. >> ukraine is continuing to press western allies for more weapons and bigger deliveries. meanwhile, more atrocities are being uncovered on the ground. will this impact how nato is viewing this conflict in any way? >> well, we're certainly hearing leaders express their shock and horror at what is being uncovered on the ground in ukraine, which our colleagues have expressed so for sleep, as -- so forceful he. but that does not mean that nato will change his position like moving troops into ukraine or establishing a no-fly zone.

as much as ukrainians would like that to be the case. and the foreign minister will be here in person tomorrow to press that personally. nato feels this would increase the death and suffering and not prevent any of it, because that would bring nato and russia into direct conflict. so those things are not going to change as sad as that is for ukrainians. >> what more can nato do without risking direct conflict with russia then? >> as the foreign minister will ask his counterparts tomorrow, more weapons, quicker, as you mentioned earlier. he will also ask for more money, more money for ukraine to buy weapons and for the country to help rebuild after this absolute destruction. at the same time, i think there is also going to be a lot of pressure on the other side, on the european union, where they are discussing sanctions. that is how you really hit moscow.

many people feel that is the best way to make the kremlin convinced that it needs to pull out. so, what you will be hearing from nato tomorrow is more stronger, telling russia it cannot step one foot into nato territory. at the same time, they will be saying they will be getting -- giving more support to ukraine. and that is all you will be able to expect from nato as they are not going to move personally troops or airplanes into ukraine. >> our dw correspondent reporting from nato hq. thank you. from brussels to berlin where raffaella joins us, a research fellow at the european council on foreign relations. thank you for taking the time to speak with us. let's start with the images we are seeing out of bucha. people in civilian clothing, hands tied behind their backs, shot at close range ,bodies in the street. russia expected a quick victory.

they thought it would take three days to take the capital. russia -- is killing and terrorizing civilians the main tactic now? >> those pictures are current this but we need to - they should not surprise us. it has been a long part -- long part of russian military strategy to target civilians. we have seen this in ukraine when they first and crimea and invaded the donbas region. we saw this in syria where they used chemical weapons. nonetheless, -- it is -- a consequence when you read what vladimir putin has written about ukraine as a nation, that he denies even exists, really. and the goals he's outlined in various speeches beginning late last year. >> every time we think it cannot get any worse, it gets worse. how much worse can it get? >> i mean, there are indications that bucha is the tip of the iceberg.

mariupol, there's the potential for escalation, of course, but even with conventional aillery we have seen tremendous damage. that russian armed forces have done, but of course, we can see a scenario involved where russians armed forces used chemical weapons. the potential of nuclear eslation, although very rote at this point, is of course a possibility. when a nuclear power is 60 -- is engaged in such a conflict. >> let's look at what your can do. we heard from the e.u. foreign affairs chief today saying that europe has sent 35 billion euro to russia in energy payments. how much will that hurt vladimir putin? >> we see some european countries moving in that direction. lithuania, remembering

correcy, they will stop importing russian gas. it is not a critical part its energy sply. if you look at other european countries, it makes much more of a difference. but even the rhetoric coming out of berlin is not really reassuring when it comes to a quick embargo on russian, on fossil fuels and gas. but that just mea tha berlin has to do so much more on the other fronts, and if we list to a briefing that olaf scholz given the buddhist stock today - in the bundestag, there is not much appetite for corrective action for looking for ways through bureaucracy to look for ways to hurt russi across the spectrum of its economy and politics in military terms as well. if you focus the german bureaucracy on decimating russian defense industry, i think they can come up with some

really great of solutions. >> are they willing to do that, if they are not willing to do the gas embargo? >> not at the moment, unfortunately. >> what more can berlin do? they are facing immense for international pressure and facing pressure within germany. seeing protests in berlin. what morcan germany do? >> consistently applying pressure is the right strategy for germany's allies, for ukraine i think that strong campaign that ukraine's ambassador has -- over the past week where he is systematically talking to members of parliament on twitter -- imploring members to do more on twitter i think that is having some effect or it overall i think that needs to have sustained efforts and really a realization we are in it for the long haul. we can't just do deliver in rms of weapons, for instance, what proves a quick effects, but

we need big effects. that mea is that we need to prove armod personnel carriers and tanks. at some point, this will -- these will be empty as well so need to think abo training ukrainian forces and using more modern german fighting vehicles, for instance. >> that is all the time we have for now. thank you very much for your time and insights. >> thanks for having me. >> the images from bucha in ukraine continue to shock. in germany chancellor olaf scholz is promising more support for ukraine and told lawmakers everything must be done to end the war. outside parliament thousands of people gathered to demand more action. >> a rare powerful sight outside the german parliament in berlin. people lying silently on the ground, a clock ticking in the background. hundreds chose this way to

reject -- to reflect the suffering and death in ukraine and demand more action. only a short walk away inside parliament, discussions were marked by that suffering, by the harrowing images from bucha. >> russian soldiers massacred ukrainian civilians there, including children, women and the elderly before retreating. >> the cynical assertion made by russia that this was state falls -- staged, falls back on those who spread these lies. the murder of civilians is a war crime. >> scholz said berlin would continue to support kyiv. this includes further arms deliveries if the arms are available and make sense. for the conservative opposition, this is not enough. >> germany is doing a lot helping ukraine, no question

financially, economically, politically but concerning the question on heavy weapons, i think the german government is still reluctant. >> outside protesters want germany and the e.u. to increase pressure on russian. they demand an immediate and -- embargo on russian oil and gas. many here believe this is what will help to put at-- an end to fighting, destruction and death in ukraine. >> here are the other stories we are following for you this hour. the european commission is proposing new sanctions, including a ban on coal imports, to break the e.u.'s reliance on russian energies. some companies are disagreeing on the details of the plans. sanctions need to be approved by all e.u. governments. negotiations are set to continue. u.s. president joe biden has accused russia of brutality and

inhumanity while announcing new sanctions in the wake of new atrocities calling the killings of civilians war crimes, targeting russian banks and individuals, including the daughters of president vladimir putin. pope francis has received a ukrainian flag sent from the town of bucha. he condemned what he described as the massacre of civilians there. in his weekly audience, the pontiff welcome to group of ukrainian refugees and called for an end to the war. russia writer -- is regularly mentioned as a possible candidate for the nobel prize for literature. her works address the years of stalin and every day life in post-soviet russia but she is also one of kremlin policies and she criticized the annexation of crimea and is among the first cultural figures in russia to oppose the current war in

ukraine but her stance has come at a heavy price. >> she does not know she will ever return to moscow. the russian writer left her home in mid-march, a month after the war started, persuaded to leave at the age of 79 by her son. >> i didn't feel threatened and i did not understand why -- my son's decision but i trusted his judgment because i think he can assess some things better than i can. >> she was one of the first to speak out probably against the war. the writer has never held off criticizg russi's leaders. she sees herself in good company. >> in my wider circle of acquaintances and i am not just friends, but everyone i know, i have not met a single person who supports putin's war, not

one. >> she is not just an important voice in russia. the geneticists from a jewish family had her books translated into 30 languages, stories about the tragedies of the 20th century and everyday life in post-soviet russia. in her latest collection, the heroines are women coping with everyday life. >> russia is a country where women have the upper hand. everywhere, except for in government. if this war can be stopped, it will be by women. if it is not stopped, it means those in power do not care at all what women think or want. >> she feels sure the war will have terrible consequences. relations between russia and ukraine, she believes, have been poisoned for generations. nevertheless, she is against

censuring russian artists who fail to distance themselves from putin. >> i believe every artist, like every other person, has a right to his or her own views, including politics. an artist should be measured solely by their art. if there art -- their work is worthy, let it be done. a purses political views are his personal business. >> despite her own views, she has mixed feelings about coming an -- an anti-putin spokesperson in exile. she wants to continue writing and hopes the war will end soon. >> more than 4 million ukrainians have fled abroad since the russian invasion began. most have made their way to neighboring countries, but some have fled overseas.

hundreds have reached tijuana where there hoping to cross the frontier and seek asylum in the united states. many of them have been transferred to a sportscenter that was converted into a government shelter. we join a growing number of ukrainians who have escaped the war and are crammed into -- improvised camps. our dw correspondent is at that camp in tijuana. tell us about the situation there. >> well, let me fill you in. you see those last few stragglers in this area, which is divided by just some tape. this was just packed a few minutes ago. between 50 people, and every hour this fills up. head out of this benito juarez

sports facility turned into a refugee camp. and then they have -- they head to the border. the bus is provided by the city of tijuana which cooperates with the volunteers who help here. let's go for a little walk. as you see here and for some viewers this looks familiar because again 2018 this was actually already used as a refugee camp, but here in hundreds, 500, 600 families, people from ukraine who made their way into mexico to tijuana, to then go two, three miles down the road to get to the united states. this is all fairly organized. organized chaos so to speak. but manageable as of now. lots of women, children, small children, and men, of course, too. >> is it easier for the ukrainian refugees to enter mexico first and then wait to

enter the u.s. as they are now doing? >> it is. now, having said that, of course, we have no idea what ordeal those people went through to get from ukraine to poland or moldova. we have talked to a few families, they made their way somehow to poland. then found out that they -- they could get a visa to mexico fairly easy. their relatives or friends or whoever they knew in america, they are meeting up in mexico city or here, come to tijuana and then go to the border. [audio breaking up] the border, you see the border crossing a few miles away. why does that work? because the u.s. and the biden administration has decided -- to let ukrainian refugees into the country. the u.s. is accepting 150, 170

people daily here from this camp. ukrainians. >> reporting live from tijuana. thank you very much. you're watching dw news. i will be back in a few minutes to take you through the day. you can get the latest news and sports and business on our website. dw.com. for our entire team, 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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