berlin. a russian commander says ambitions extend from the east to the southwest, but ukrainian resistance is not going away in the city of mariupol. ukrainian troops refusing to surrender. also coming, millions of ukrainians have fled their homes to seek shelter. tonight, the people seeking refuge where the bombs and the

sun are harder to read. these are the final hours of campaign and ahead of france's presidential election on sunday. president macron and his opponent marine le pen are focusing on undecided voters. polls show they may well decide who wins. to all of you around the world, welcome. we begin with a white and a war in ukraine. a senior russian military commander says vladimir putin's ambitions are seizing control of territory in the east and all the way across the south. it is unclear if this is official kremlin policy. it would add a new dimension to the conflict, which so far has brought heavy losses for russia. some of the strongest ukrainian

resistance is at best -- is that the steel plant in mariupol. a group of soldiers is fusing to surrender. it has become a symbol of ukrainian defiance. reporter: a steel plant from a dystopian nightmare. smoke and fire as far as the eye can see. outside the city, satellite photos show what appear to be mass graves that could hold the remains of thousands of people. while civilians are stuck here, the remaining fighters -- fighters are defiant. hold up in tunnels. >> i say tt while we areere, mariol remns underhe control of ukraine. it will always remain ukrainian no matter what they say. reporter: russia claims to have

liberated the city they have bound for weeks with impunity. they say they will keep them in the steel plants trapped there. u.s. president joe biden says mariupol is still in ukrainian hands and urged russia to open humanitarian corridors. evacuees who made it to the city of shep arisia struggled to describe the struggle. >> held is what is happening there. it is not possible to retell it. russians are keeping -- killing people for nothing. if the world does not take measures, it will be the same. >> we left yesterday. there was a whole left instead about nine floor building. all of the doorways were

destroyed completely. all of the windows shattered. in our backyard, we have a little cemetery. we buried seven people there. reporter: for those stuck in the city, supplies are running low. there is no telling how long they could hold out. anchor: our correspondent has been following the situation in mariupol from kyiv. he told us about the situation of the troops and the civilians trapped inside the steel appellant -- plant. reporter: the options are running out. nobody knows how much food supplies they had left. these bunkers were built after the world war ii and they were designed f people to stay in their, on food there and to stay ere r a long time, but the city has been starved and all

these soviet bunke have not been maintained. the question is how mild of course they can stay there. they remained defiant, but it is of course a matter of time until they run out of food, ammunition and other supplies. anchor: what about these reports of mass graves been found near mariupol? reporter: that is something to expect. the mayor estimates the number of dead at at least 20,000 people and they have probably been. quickly. no city has the capacity to store 20,000 corpses. it is something we have been on -- see think in many places --

seeing in many places. satellite images show ukrainian intelligence it is one of the places the russians have brought bodies before. anchor: we know there have been more negotiations. any progress to report? reporter: these negotiations at this moment are on a working level. these core doors are sometimes agreed upon, sometimes they work, sometimes th do not. we are not talking now about peace negotiations, about cease-fire negotiations, about any way out of the conflict. the distrust between the two sides and the goals of the two

sides are very far apart. ukraine is convinced that the goal of russia is to exterminate ukraine estimation and a large part of its population. and it wants to defend its territory and integrity and sovereignty, whereas russia has of course given signs that does not accept ukraine as a sovereign nation, so i think it is hard to find a compromise here. anchor: a reporter with the latest tonight from kyiv. thank you. the united nations says a one million people are internally displaced within ukraine. groups are trying to help those who fled their home as well as those still stuck in the cities under bombardment. people face a daily in places like ukraine's second largest city, ko kieft. -- kharkiv.

reporter: their homes are unlivable after weeks of bombardment. now they survive by collecting rainwater and cooking and fire fueled by debris. >> we do not have electricity, water, and he kind of communication at all, including gas. you cannot cook here. it is hard. if a tree is had to we will pull it and cut it. there is no other option. reporter: with bob still flying above, many are living below in the metro stations. some have been here for weeks. >> we brought several blankets with us. i believe it was the best decision now. reporter: they paste the platforms to stay active. doctors try to help the elderly with medical conditions.

parents distract her children from the realities of war. for many, finding food has become daily challenge. these residents gather what vegetables and canned goods they can find to cook, sharing what little they have. near the front line, public transport still operates, but medicine is running out. >> it is bad that there was no drugs in the pharmacies and that only a few are open. if more were open, it would be better. reporter: millions have liked to sit is further west, living in cramped shelters like this one. remember in the comforts they used to have. >> i had a small piece of land. we planted everything there, tomatoes, cucumbers. there was a flower bed in front

of our house. reporter: now many rely only on donations. eight groups weren't documented during situation is worsening. for every person they help, more are waiting. anchor: christopher stokes is an emergency coordinator for doctors without borders in ukrae. he tells us of the challenges for many who have fled their homes but not the country. >> the lack of access to cash. you have a lot of people on the move from the east to the west and using their savings and they are running out of money. the situation has become precarious. the other problem is getting people out of the war zones. we have been focused in the evacuations.

getting people from the hoital because there are so many human -- wounded. anchor: here is a look at some of the other developments connected to the war in ukraine. the united nations have documented the killing of nearly 50 civilians in a town near kyiv . they say russian troops executed some of the victims. they discovered mass graves following the withdrawal of russian troops. the courts have ordered an activist to remain in pretrial detention for allegedly spreading fake news about russia's army. a criminal case has been opened against the activist, who has been declared a foreign agent. he was arrested for criticizing the war in ukraine on television. president littler zelenskyy says russia wants to hold the legitimate referendum.

she told residents in the occupied regions not to give their personal information to russian forces. the vote is seen as an attempt by moscow to legitimize its occupation. russian forces never made it all the way to kyiv, but that does not mean that the danger for people living in the capital has disappeared. unexploded ammunitions and will be tart -- booby-traps still littered the suburbs. >> the russian troops have moved on, leaving behind destruction and mines. >> i attached a hook to a rope. if nothing explodes, i can go on. grenades, rockets can be found in the ruins of the suburbs.

the sign says beware of mines. the russians also left behind booby-traps and they follow a pattern, as this ukrainian soldier explains. >> they leave jewelry and necklaces on the ground, but underneath they dig a hole and hide explosives. they also used children's toys and dies of their own soldiers to attract people. every day, this police officer collects mines and explosive devices. he deposits them in a sand pit outside kyiv, where they will later be set up in a controlled explosion. when we receive information that the enemy has passed through a specific area, then we go there without being asked. according to figure one, at

ukraine's my account was already one of the world's highest. this is due to the donbas war. but russia's current invasion is increasing the problem. >> from my experience, i can say that one year of war leads to 10 years of de-mining. we will need to get her to clean up the mines left from this war. anchor: just last weekend three gun bomb disposal workers died. but this explosion went according to plan. anchor: here are some of the other stories now making headlines. the taliban same a bomb explosion has killed 33 people. dozens more were injured. it follows an explosion on thursday, where the so-called

islamic took responsibility for. europe saw its hottest summer i couldn't -- on record in 2021. it could exacerbatextre climate events, such as wildfires. portuguese prosecutors say a man in germany is eight suspect in the disappearance of british tumbling madeleine mccann. they did not name the man publicly and he has not been officially charged. she went missing in portugal in 2007, triggering an international manhunt. french president emmanuel macron

and his far right challenger marine le pen are making a final push for votes. the race is much tighter than five years ago, when french voters faced the same choice. although president macron is expected to win, many people say they are undecided or ambivalent. >> it is not clear enough if france will be with emmanuel macron at the ballot box on sunday. both the incumbent president and his far right deposition, -- opposition, marine le pen, have been making a push for votes. but they are not speaking to their core demographic. instead of buying for votes -- providing for votes. on the streets of paris, neither

are popular with a key group of voters. >> we have not had a choice in the second round for ages. i will go for the least worst choice. reporter: it has become a campaign of style over substance. the president attempted to shake off a reputation for arrogance. marine le pen trying to betray herself as a serious states woman. in a tb debate, -- in a tb debate, he attacked her stance on russia. she tried to focus on the cost of living. >> you depend on russian power, you depend on vladimir putin. a few months after saying that, you took out a loan from a russian bank in 2015. >> i agreed on all distinctions

that were taken against the oligarchs, against the banks. the only distinction i disagreed with is the one blocking russian gas. why? because i think that is not the right method. this is not what will actually hurt russia. it will hurt the french people a lot. reporter: the president is expected to keep the keys to the palace. it was a tougher fight than many expected. but with millions undecided, and unhappy with both candidates, there is no clear winner in sunday's dissenting ground -- round. anchor: our correspondent is in paris. i asked her who are the undecided voters going to go with in the end. >> that is really the big question. what is striking this time is

that both candidates seem to be provoking some very strong reactions from voters. marine le pen is trying to portray yourself as a champion of the working class, but not everybody is buying it. many french people think she is far too right. and with the president, he was elected five years ago and that hope is gone. he has his fair share of detractors, who dumped him the president of the rich. they find him arrogant and out of touch. voters have a really difficult choice. neither candidate appeals. it shows you have divided the country as. anchor: if president macron

wants, will it be because they are voting for him because they are voting against the far right? >> one president macron has gotten the support of the mainstream, what is crucial are the voters on the far left. there are 7 million of them who voted for the hard left candidate in the first around. much will depend if they abstain or if they vote. in past elections, we had this phenomenon of french voters coming together and voting to make sure no far right candidate makes it into the government. in the selection, that is no longer so clear. much depends on whether those voters on the far left vote for president macron or whether they abstain. anchor: whatever happens, marine le pen is expected to get a high share of the vote.

why does she have so much support? >> i think she has run a very slick campaign. she has traveled across the country and met with working-class voters on the left and the right. she has promised to put more money in their pockets. she has managed to tone down her parties radicalism rhetoric. she has presented herself as a soft, moderate candidate. that has resonated with some voters. this time around, there was no stigma about voting for the far right. anchor: our reporter reporting

from paris just days before the vote. thank you. no end to the shanghai letdown. it is being extended until the virus is wiped out. three weeks on, the harsh measures have frustrated many people there. they wonder when will it all end? ahaz has an massive impact on global supply chains. the area produces goods for around the world. reporter: hamburgers is a key destination for products shipped from shanghai and other ports. now many shipments are delayed for weeks. this man is director of purchasing. >> our current shipment of 12 containers was supposed to be loaded yesterday. reporter: the ship has departed from shanghai, but will make a stop along the way. >> that was not originally

planned, but nowadays we have to live with everything and grateful that it is on the way here. reporter: the shipment is bound for the storage facility. these men inspect the goods. >> he came from china. >> yes, but they did not arrive in time. so we will have to deliver them by error now. it is much more expensive, but at least they will get here in time. by air, the goods arrived within a week at much higher costs. despite the current disruptions, customers should receive their orders on time. there are sometimes a lot of production orders behind the small screws. the customers have large machinery that may be waiting for the final screws. when there was less time pressure, a company can turn to other chinese ports.

the warehouse has to be well-stocked. we talked a lot to our suppliers. they try to improvise, such as using other ports so that we do not turn to other suppliers. the screws are then transferred to a different port by ship or truck. if they were unavailable, the company has to turn to plan b. >> i like to say the screws are reversed. reporter: the factories in china are still operating but only to a limited extent. there are various reasons. people who have covid are at home. some employees are not returning because they cannot get to their workplaces. the company has gotten used to improvising, but another large chinese city went into letdown could trigger more disruptions

and it is all just part of global commerce during a global pandemic. anchor: going to sports now. the coach has never w a major ophy but he's already thinking abou the spoils of major victory. >> if we do win it, then i am open for everything. i read somewhere once that appear treatment is supposed to be good for your hair. i suppose i could ignore the smell and focus on the positives. there was a tradition and traditions should be maintained. i do not know what his plan so i will see what happens. anchor: he will be hoping to spoil byron's party at least for now. the black and yellow have not had much luck playing munich in

the past. don't read coach marco rose is taking a businesslike approach. >> we have not paid any attention to our record in munich. as everyone knows, they could be crowned champions. we want to prevent that from happening. that is our job and it will require a top performance from us. anchor: you are watching dw news. ukrainian president zelenskyy says fighters in mariupol will continue to resist. russia is offering a humanitarian cease-fire at mariupol's steel plant if the

ukrainian soldiers inside surrender. after a short break, i will be back. stick around.

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our top stories.:00 p.m. ukrainian officials claim russia is burying bodies to hide war crimes, after satellite images appeared to show masquerades. -- mass grave. the french army releases footage showing russian mercenaries staging arrayed in mali to accuse departing french forces of atrocities as part of a disinformation campaign.

at least 33 people have been killed after a bombing on a mosque and religious school in afghanistan. ♪ first, russia's defense ministry says ukrainian fighters have been securely blockaded at the steel plant in mariupol, but the ukrainian president says the city it still resisting. over 100,000 people remain trapped, the mayor of mariupol has appealed for an evacuation, following accusations that russian soldiers have buried thousands of civilians in mass grave. -- graves. we have this report. reporter: in mariupol, satellite

images appear to tell a harrowing story, a set of photos on thursday reportedly showing more than 200 mass graves in one village, dating late march or early ample, suggesting expansion from a recent cemetery. the city council believes 9000 bodies may have been dumped by the russian army. >> [speaking in foreign langua] translator:here is only one bypass road, a gas station on the left, and the cemetery behind it, with a field near the in this field is a huge ditch 30 meters long. we are taking citizens in huge trucks, all men, being killed by the russian federation. reporter: while the government has yet to confirm the accusations, the only response

has been forthcoming from most go. the kremlin is still focused on mariupol, having declared victory thursday on having secured the badly damaged city. a small ukrainian military assistance of 2000 fighters remains. sheltered in the steel plant, as well as a series of connecting tunnels and underground bunkers, they have hunkered down with around 1000 civilians. the russian army rather than stormed the massive plant has decided to starve those inside of vital resources, calling for their surrender. >> [speaking in foreign language] translator: hell is what is happening in mariupol. russians are killing people for nothing. reporter: according to ukrainian officials, no more residents could be evacuated thursday, as russian forces shelled humanitarian core doors -- corridors. anchor: a russian general may

have shed light on the goals of its current invasion of ukraine. he was quoted by russian state media as saying that moscow sought for control over southern ukraine. the move would create a land corridor from the region to the west that would cut the rest of ukraine off from the sea. as war rages elsewhere in ukraine, some residents of kyiv satellite towns which suffered intensive selling and where hundreds of civilians appeared to have been shot dead by russian occupiers, debate returning. our correspondent traveled there. >> [speaking in foreign language] translator: it looks to be intact. but we will see. reporter: a french baker ---trained baker returns to

check it. >> [speaking in foreign language] translator: here are the tables. that's what we plan. we will have to do it later. reporter: for now, he is relieved the building is standing, unlike its neighbors. he left on the fifth day of the war. upon returning, he met with his friend who stayed and fought. >> [speaking in foreign language] translator: where our positions war, 99% of homes have been destroyed. where the russian positions were, it is not like that, because we risk harming civilians, but russian vehicles where there and we knew there were no civilians there, even been our artillery said no we will not shoot at the church. reporter: it is also the site of one of the mass civilian grades. the bodies exhumed, but not identified. >> [speaking in foreign language] translator: i have no words. i cannot imagine there may be family members or friends of

mine among those people. i do not know. reporter: the soldiers say russian forces deliberately targeted the bridge used by civilians trying to leave. >> [speaking in foreign language] translator: -- reporter: they believe the russians wanted to discourage people from playing. -- fleeing. when they did fire on residential areas, ukrainian artillery seamstress unremarkable precision. >> [speaking in foreign language] translator: there was a column of russian armored vehicles blown up, artillery fired on them, and their aim was so good that most houses are intact. reporter: most, but not all. here, the russians had actually entered the yard, according to the soldiers. soldiers who were not soldiers until the invasion started and they decided to sign up.

>> [speaking in foreign language] translator: i am proud of the courage of my friend, that he stayed here to fight, but on the other hand, i am shocked. this is not my house a bit the people who lived here, i have never seen anything like it. reporter: before reconstruction work can get underway, de-mining has to be completed. anchor: the united nations secretary general is expected to plead with vladimir putin for peace in ukraine. he will travel to moscow on tuesday for talks with the russian president and foreign minister. the secretary-general has also asked to meet with the president of ukraine in kyiv. diplomatic efforts by russian and ukrainian negotiators to end the war have remained stalled. meanwhile in sweden, momentum is building on the potential of joining nato in the wake of russia's invasion of ukraine.

the governing social democratic party of sweden has begun a month-long consultation, with the final decision expected by may 24. finland will also make its decision on whether to join the military alliance in the coming weeks. moving on. france's military has presented evidence appearing to show russian mercenaries bearing bodies near a military base in mali, saying the atrocity was staged to discredit french forces and coordinated as a disinformation campaign that has been going on for months. france announced in february that it would withdraw its troops from mali. we have this report. reporter: it is the first time france has chosen to publish footage. this, as paris winds down it's almost decade-long military operation in mali. forces left the base on tuesday,

a day later, chinese-me vecles aeged to be used by the army arrived at the base. images claim two shows -- to show soldiers spent the night outside, and wagner mercenaries slept in a tent. later, a tweet spoke of crimes committed at the base by departed french forces. surveillance footageilmed the next morng appears to show soldiers covering corpses with sand, then another tweet sent from the same fake account shows a video of the scene which had just been stage. french footage shows soldiers filming the bodies they covered with sand. this is the military base evacuated by french troops earlier this week. some 3 km away is the scene of the staged atrocity. >> this stunt was in the making, and the french military decided to go public. reporter: france in the u.s.

have accused wagner mercenaries of deploying in mali, but authorities say they are in the country as military instructors. the revelations come as relations between france and mali plunge further. anchor: joining us for more on this story is associate fellow at the royal united services institute. thank you for joining us, live from oxford in the u.k. i want to ask you, france was part of a protracted disinformation campaign against its forces, what is russia trying to achieve with the smear campaign? >> russia's soft power and influence in mali is partially predicated on the fact it is not france, so not a colonial power. ever since august 2020, t russians have been fanning the flames of anti-french

sentiments, including claims that the french are trying to steal resources or engaging in the poisoning of civilians, and now escalating with the french killing civilians and carrying out massacres, so this has been two years in the making, and ever since the start of operations in 2013. anchor: is this disinformation campaign working? are we seeing a wave of anti-french sentiment on the ground because of this? >> i think there is a wave of anti-french sentiment, and that is what the russians are tapping into. it is not pro-russian sentiment. it's just when they are waving flags, they were doing that protest in france. a minority were doing with the romanticized idea of what the russians did in syria, which the russians framed as a major success against isis, although all it did is support bashar al-assad.

anchor: what do we know about the users spreading this disinformation? >> russia has become more sophisticated in its disinformation efforts in africa. what we were noticing in 2018 2019 was a tendency to rely on these obviously staged a protest like we saw in madagascar or the use of bots that are easily exposed. now the russians are using local surrogates, local people, who are against france, and made not know much about it, but are willing to take some of the narratives against french neocolonialism, and using people with real connections to the local communities, and it is more effective and harder to detect. anchor: what would you say the strategy in west africa in general is, and how does the wagner group fit into this? >> the strategy across the

continent is to maintain a presen in countries that used to be of historical strategic importance, mali was a soviet strategic partner, or natural resources, that are increasingly important as the russian economy is under sanctions and has to rely on extraction from wherever it can, so in the minds of molly, it is lucrative. thwagner plays a role because these are high-risk operations in the russian government does not want the public knowing about it, so these are deniable, revenue-positive missions in west africa. mali is where it is focus now, but it is struggling to secure control of the gold mines, and there are counterterrorism loudly fit -- largely failed, and you have other problems. we should watch for the russians doing similar efforts in burkina faso, where they have set up a

considerable -- similar network. anchor: thank you for your time on "france 24." >> thank you -- anchor: turning to afghanistan, 33 people including children have been killed in a bombing, a blast that ripped through a mosque and religious school during friday prayers. it comes one day after the islamic state group claimed two separate deadly attacks. our correspondent has the latest. reporter: more than 30 people have been killed in a bomb blast in a mosquend religious school in an area in an area in the northern city. it is close to the border of to? this is the second blast in the city in the last two days, number of children and others are said to be among the victims of today's attack. the eyewitnesses present inside the mosque said the blast took place by where worshipers were inside the mosque, where they

were offering friday prayers. we have seen shocking images on social media other explosions and the nber of victims lying on the floor and we can imagine the intensity of this explosion, one complete side of the mosque, including a concrete wall, had been blown away. for now, that taliban leadership has condemned this attack and no group has claimed responsible yet. anchor: israeli police have collapsed -- clashed with protesters in the latest violence at the moscow compound. united nations has voiced concern at the spiraling unrest at the third holiest site in the most sacred site in judaism. we have the story. reporter: in a show of defiance, thousands marched to the refugee camp in the gaza strip.

it continues to trigger outrage from palestinians. the compound has been the epicenter of unrest between israelis and palestinians in recent weeks. >> [speaking in foreign language] translator: hamas warned the enemy through mediators of caring out there plans and that we will keep defending the mosques with all our might. reporter: the mosque was reached hours after the tensions. nonsense that palestinians were left injured in clashes with israeli police. the forces fired rubber bullets and stunned grenades as a crowd of 200 palestinians where they are. they say the group threw rocks towards the western wall where prayers were underway. >> [speaking in foreign language] translator: israeli forces set up more than 100 blocks on the way to the compound. they blocked it.

reporter: after friday prayers, dozens gathered in the compound of the mosque waving flags in support. israelis and palestinians been gripped by a wave of attacks over the past few weeks. the surge has raised fears there might be a repeat of the 11-they were which took place last may between the two sides. -- 11-day wore which took place last may between two sides. anchor: someone has died. he was described as a patriot. he came to power in 2002, ending a stranglehold of the former ruling party. he ushered in a new era of prosperity in kenya. as we report, he leaves behind a mixed legacy. reporter: it is my sorrowful duty -- he leaves behind a legacy of strong economic growth. he launched major infrastructure projects and introduced

education for children. his time in power was also marred by major corruption scandals and lavish spending. his disputed reelection in 2007 sparked bloody ethnic battles, something that has not been seen in the country before or after. more than 1200 people were killed, and 500,000 were forced from their homes. on friday, the president paid his respects to his former political rival. he said a state funeral would be held and declared moutning. >> he will be remembered as a gentleman in kenyan politics. a brilliant debater whose eloquence wit and charm was the day time and time again. reporter: twitter has been inundated with largely positive attributes, some were critical, like when kenyan opposition of

the titian, a controversial figure. he accused him of having stolen a 2007 election. he will also be remembered for the 2010 constitution that introduced a more decentralized political system and limited presidential powers. anchor: climate change campaigners have kicked off a wave of protest for earth day this friday with protests and in silent prayer. this is three weeks after a report warned that there is little time left controlling greenhouse gas emissions to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. reporter: extinction rebellion activists put oil on a globe as they protested outside vanguard asset management, the world's second-largest asset manager and largest investor in coal. >> so much fossil fuels. they have no policies around that zero, about indigenous

rights, and they just really need to get their act together. reporter: in the u.s., activists blocked the entrance to the new york times print facility to draw attention to the role media plays in the government response, or lack thereof, to the climate crisis. over the years, extinction rebellion activists have staged similar actions outside the bbc main and offices. -- main london offices. this in thailand marked the day differently. 300,000 led lanterns were lit to mark the event and arranged in the shape of buddhas and earth's continents. >> [spking in foreign language translator: the great thing about this is the led lanterns will not cause pollution and affect the environment. i am still baffled as to how a temple managed to come up with this idea. i've only ever seen temples lighting lanterns that produce smoke.

we are here tried to save and protect the earth. reporter: ukrainian protesters in brussels capitalized on earth day to reinforce their message to germany and other european nations, which i guess to wean themselves off of russian oil and gas. >> stopped russian gas. stopped russian gas. anchor: time now for truth and fake, our fact checking segment, and i'm joined by our reporter. the, russian soldiers claimed to have found the passport of a u.s. mercenary killed in ukraine. reporter: exactly. a post from a pro-russian counterclaims to show the passport of a u.s. mercenary killed fighting in ukraine. the post has 1.5 one million views in the video was shared in french, english, and chinese social media accounts, and in this video, we see a russian soldier showing the passport at this alleged u.s. mercenary killed fighting for ukraine.

the caption reads that he fought on the side of the nationalists in mariupol in the russian military indicate the side of his body that this alleged american man. anchor: what is the real story behind this person? reporter: we conducted a simple google search where we found his name from his passport, and he was not hard to find online. the first search results we found were these articles from none other than the washington post, one from april 1, and the other from 16 hours ago, the first one titled, his ex took his son to ukraine in a custody battle brews as a war wages and details the horrible custody battle, amid this raging war in ukraine, so this is an international abduction case that became pretty public.

we will summarize it for our viewers. he was granted full legal custody for his two-year-old son, alexander, and shortly after his ex-wife fled to her native country ukraine, and abducted the child. this happened to parsley one year before the war began, and during this time, he went to mariupol into attempts to take the child back to california, and in the second attempt, officers confiscated his passport in kyiv and he was able to return to california alone, as authorities in ukraine studied the case, but shortly after, russia invaded ukraine and so long story short, he was never able to take alexander out of ukraine and there are many reports on this very public custody battle in the associated press as well. he is over all this is proof that he is alive and desperately looking to bring his child back to the u.s. with him, and he

even created this website to bring alexander home. we contacted his organization and they did confirm that he is not a u.s. mercenary who died fighting in ukraine, and he also confirmed to the washington post that this story is purely russian propaganda, but the latest news on the boy and his mother is they escaped from mariupol to russia, so good luck to him and his family, but in the context of this war, fake news on western mercenaries who died fighting for ukraine is pretty common. anchor: ok. now turning to news that russia has announced a successful missile test launch. tell us about that. reporter: on wednesday, the kremlin reported successful test launch of their nuclear-capable missile. president vladimir putin said this weapon is unique and that it will make those who threaten russia to think twice. the missile test was conducted in northern russia. here is the video underwriters.

we can see -- on writers. we can see it was publish by the russian ministry of defense can see it after this, but in the video we will see a missile launch, video of a missile that is all white, so if you come across these posts on social media of a missile that is black and white like this one right here, these posts are from 2018, so just beware to our viewers that if you come across these posts on social media, this is an image from 2018 when russia conducted a similar missile test launch, but this is just to confirm this is not the missile test launch they conducted this wednesday, but of course, this is not the first time this information has emerged on russia's nuclear weapon capabilities. anchor: thank you very much for that. thank you very much for watching. we will take a quick break on "france 24." more news coming up just after this. ♪

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04/22/22 04/22/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is a democracy now! birthday special -- earth day special. as russia bombards a massive steel plant in mariupol still under ukrainian control, we mark earth day by looking at how the war in ukraine gives the united states a new chance to break

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