brent: this is "dw news" live from berlin. tonight, the fate of british prime minister boris johnson on the line. his conservative lawmakers canceling ballots with the question, do they have confidence in his leadership? have team coverage starting. in london. dw news begins right now. ♪

i'm brent goff. to our viewers watching on pbs in the united states and to all of you around the world, welcome. british prime minister boris johnson is awaiting the results of a confidence about that could see him removed from office. the results of that vote are being harassed right now. let's listen in. >> in favor of having confidence was 211 votes. the vote against was 148 votes. therefore, i cannot -- i can announce that the party does have confidence -- [applause] brent: and there you hear it, we got the results, 211 lawmakers voting in favor. they do have confidence in both johnson's leadership. 148, however, saying they do

not. let's go to london. and our correspondent charlotte. she is standing by live. talk us through these numbers, 211. 148 said no? >> reporter: absolutely, those results are just breaking. i apologize for the background noise behind me, there are some protesters here, and you might hear them throughout this. yes, this was fairly, pretty close and this will certainly be very bruising for the prime minister. there had been so much talk ahead of this vote about the fact that even if he did survive, the question would be by what margin, and what would that mean going forward?

i think we now have our answer, this could be a very damaging thing for him, it could mean that you have more questions from members of his own party, i think that is what these numbers indicate, that this is not going to go away. this partygate scandal that is why the key factors in triggering this vote, the assertion that those who are making the laws, the prime minister himself, broke the laws around covid restrictions. this will continue to dog him into the future. this certainly means that there will be big questions going forward, although i think it really must be stated clearly that if there is one thing that we know about the prime minister, he is very unlikely to reside. he will continue to go forward, but with this vote hanging over his head. brent: he does have a reputation of being able to go from one

crisis to the next. but this definitely gets through the teflon. 148 voting against him, they would have needed 181 for this no-confidence vote to have gone through. this margin is shocking in a way. are we looking at airburst johnson prime minister after this announcement being mortally wounded in his political power? reporter: well, there are members of his own party who have suggested. but just the very nature of holding a vote like this would result in him being mortally wounded. they have referenced past president of other prime ministers who have faced these no-confidence votes who have left for various reasons a short time afterwards. the most recent example of the former prime minister, theresa may, who won the confidence vote but then resigned that office

within months. now you have this very close result for the prime minister. it could indeed leave him more mortally wounded going forward. brent: give us some context. bruce jensen was elected on unprecedented conservative victory, the largest in decades. and now we're looking at this confidence vote that he survived, but the numbers are not impressive. >> now. and i am just picking up on those numbers, talking about theresa may, theresa may had 13 tory mps vote against her. boris johnson just had 148 conservative mps vote against him. that is 41% of his own party have voted against him, that is not good for the prime minister.

i think anything was going to be bad for him however you spin it. 148 is very bad. as you said, he won a huge victory, 80-six majority in 2019, and it is like he has squandered that majority that he has managed to turn 41% of his own party against him, went to him to step down as prime minister. brent: so what does he do, moving forward? if he knows he doesn't have the legitimacy in the eyes of 41% of his own conservatives, can he call early elections that say, let's find out if the will of the people is still behind me? alex: pd change the rules over when you could have an election a few months ago, because it should be not for another two years. so he could do that. however, the people crunching the numbers know and he knows

that he is not popular. they have got two local elections coming up in june and they are very worried that they could lose both of those, making the situation even worse. so the calling a general election would be a very dangerous idea. brent: but he is a liability now too many of these mps who have to face these local elections coming up? alex: that is what many are feeling and that is why they turned out and voted tonight. interestingly, it was a secret ballot so we don't know who voted for what. but looking at the numbers, there were more mps who said they had voted for boris johnson to date according to agencies like writers, than had actually voted for him. so we don't know the exact numbers, exactly who voted and who hasn't. but remember, people can say "i support burris johnson -- and" that in a secret ballot, say

they don't. brent: what is labour thinking right now? is there an obvious person, a rival to burris johnson who would like to replace him? alex: to your first question, for labour, this is the best result they could ask for. they want boris johnson to stay in and say, you can't trust this man, he broke the law, he was fined by the police. for who can stand up against boris johnson, of course there are a number of mps who have been vying for the position and only one has properly come forward, someone who criticized him today, jeremy hunt. he stood against both johnson in 2019 for that leadership election, and he again would be somebody who is very likely to throw his hat into the ring. however, that vacancy at the moment is not open.

but that is not to say that it will not be opened in the next few months. one thing to add if i can, and of the current conservative party rules, there cannot be another confidence vote within the party for the prime minister for another 12 months. now, there is a possibility they could change the rules, and even the head of that particular parliamentary committee has said that technically, they could change the rules, so maybe ent: 12 months of what?s party is this going to be a stalemate? alex: yes. brent: what do you expect, i ask you and charlotte this, what do you expect boris johnson to do tomorrow morning? alex: i think he will go out to the steps of downing street tonight and say "i have secured victory. we need to put this behind us. i have listened to the mps. we are going forward.

forget it," that is what people will do. he is bullish. brent: charlotte, what is your prediction? i am sure both johnson never thought he would hear someone say "you look worse than theresa may tonight,." reporter: no, indeed, and i am sure there will be very painful for boris johnson. but that's what alex said, what people try to do in the coming days and weeks is essentially say that this vote has drawn a line underneath the scandal that has been dogging him over the last month that it is now time to move on. at darlie, he will say that the time now is to focus on the other priorities that are facing this country at the moment. brent: charlotte, one more question before we run out of time we know that the polls say that both johnson is very unpopular extremely unpopular in many areas. what is this vote going to do to

the general mood? he was booed while out in public this weekend. reporter: he was booed at the queen's jubilee this weekend. supporters pointing out that there were some cheers as well. the fact is that this vote does essentially, according to the current rules, draw a line under this for the prime minister. technically he does not raise -- doesn't face another vote of no-confidence for a year now. people have been expressing their discontent with the scandal in his handling of it. essentially those very little that can be done now. the general election is still a while away, though it will still continue to dog him. brent: yes, it is looking like a hollow victory, that is assured.

charlotte in london, alex in the studio, to both of you, thank you. . all right, we went to go to developments in the war in ukraine. the ukrainian president zelenskyy today visited troops who were holding of russian forces in the east of the country. . it is only the second time that zelenskihas been seen since the war began. he toured several towns close to the front line in the donbass region, where intense battles are being fought. reporter: village near the front line in donbas, after a russian missile strike killed, the latest victim in the water has lasted over 100 days and continues to inflict misery on the people in ukraine. >> however my sposed to fl? we lived peacefully, normally. the street was peaceful. there is nothing here of value,

and yet they bombed us. reporter: in the embattled city of sieviodonetsk, ukraine claims to be pushing back russian troops, and moscow has confirmed that yet another of his generals was kill during a visit the front. ukraine's president volodymyr zelenskyy has also been to the front lines at the donbas. the u.s., and germany have moved to russian firepower by pledging concerned missiles with a range of up to 130 kilometers. russia's prime minister doubled down on the kremlin's defiant response. >> i can only add that the longer the range of weapons you supply, the further we will

remove the frontline away from our territory, beyond which neo nazis contorting the russian federation. reporter: in a war marked by russian setbacks and stiff ukraine resistance, it will not be easy to back such words with action. brent: dw news nick connolly is in odessa. he told me more about the difficulties ukrainian forces are now up against. >> more than being out manned, they have been outgunned, in large part because those weapons deliveries that ukraine has been asking for with greater intensity in the weeks and months are not getting there as fast as ukraine needs to be there. there has been an announcement in recent days that britain would follow america's lead in sending rocket launchers, but before the ukrainian military is trained and able to use those, and they reach donbas, that will be a question of weeks. we are getting reports that

ukrainian commanders are having to basically think choice before these any shelling, any ammunition, because even if they have the equipment and manpower, they don't have the depth in every nation that the russians have where the russians can have five to 10 or even more shows, the ukrainians are thinking about even one show. as for the situation in sievierodonetsk we don't quite know how much of the city that ukraine controls. there are reports that they only e edge of town.ustrial area of it had been predicted that ukraine would lose the city. brent: considering all of that, we have these images of the ukrainian president visiting areas near the front lines near dundas, a daring move for a wartime president, also a dangerous move, isn't it? nick: well, he obviously thought that the boost in morale among the ukrainian troops was worth it, and these are times where

even very high-profile ukrainian military volunteers, who have been profiled, ending up with severe wounding. one very high-profile recruit today reported he had lost in the fighting there. so there is definitely a need to rally the troops ensure that he is no more concerned about security than they would be. i think also it is important that he is trying to push that contrast with vladimir putin, who puts his guests at the very long table, scared of covid, let alone weapons of war. zelenskyy ensuring that he is not scared of his troops, not scared of leaving his presidential palace and go to the front lines. brent: about these russian state media reports that have confirmed the death of one of moscow's top generals, what more do we know about that? nick: indeed, according to the russian forces, it is the fourth

generals they have lost in ukraine. u.s. intelligence says they are as many as 15 russian generals who have lost their lives in ukraine in these three months of war, a sign, says everyone, of russian military failure. that basically the russian military is so hierarchical and unable to react quickly to the events on the ground, that they have to send their generals, to the front lines basically where they are most likely to get shot out or killed. because there isn't freedom for younger officers and the people lower in the command chain to take decisions on the fly. so that it's a sign that russia is struggling. and there are under pressure to get some kind of results support putin has some results to show for all these losses in ukraine. basically no big wins for the russians in recent weeks and that is starting to put pressure on those commanders to take

risks where they otherwise wouldn't. brent: dw news nick connolly tonight from odessa. as we begin another week, more than 100 days into the war. thank you. now to over top story, british prime minister burroughs johnson has survived it confidence vote called by his own conservative mps, but the margin of victory was shockingly small. the final vote, 211 for johnson, 100 48 against. take a listen to when the results. >> were announced. >>. >> good evening. i can report as a returning officer that 359 ballots were cast. no spoiled ballots. that the vote in favor of having confidence in paris johnson as a leader was 211 votes, and the vote against was 148 votes. therefore, i can announce that the parliamentary party does have confidence --

[applause] brent: the cheering there, but they were booing the prime minister this weekend during the jubilee celebrations in london. i want to pull in my colleague, alex forrest whiting. she has covered westminster lord. it seems with each british prime minister -- they have all and conservative -- when there has been a vote of confidence, the results have been more and more dire. and that is where we are tonight. put this in a historical context for us. alex: so let's remember what the numbers are in favor of boris johnson, the tory mps saying they have confidence in boris johnson, two hundred 11 against 100 48. 50 9% of conservative party, the mps, are backing burroughs johnson, but 41% are not.

brent: almost have. alex: almost half, not a good result for johnson, and certainly not what the people behind him would have wanted. if you remember theresa may in 2018, was also forced to face a confidence about. she also won it, but she had a number of rebels against her, 133. so, fewer rebels against theresa may, who then went on to step down a few months later. fewer rebels for her than for the boris johnson. and margaret thatcher, a stalwart conservative prime minister, in 1990, she faced a confidence vote as well and she had 147 rebel mps. so boris johnson has even exceeded that number. brent: worse than "the iron

lady." alex: this is dire for boris johnson, however he or downing street spins it, it is dire for boris johnson, great news for those opposition parties who want to face boris johnson at the next election, but want him wounded. and he is wounded. brent: he is wounded, but unlike theresa may and margaret thatcher, boris johnson has proven himself to be an expert at spinning things in his favor. what is he going to do with this ? he is going out to say he won? alex: they said before that even if it is just by one vote, he has won, "we will put it behind him." however, they would not have wanted these numbers. he has succeeded, he has got confidence, but such a divided party here. somehow, he has to go forward with them for another two years until the next election. the next election is the u.k. is expected to be in 2024, so two

years of this divided party. is he going to be able to get an important vote through parliament? these mps going to vote against him? this is going to be very difficult. brent: how can he wield any power now -- because this is a secret ballot, and it is worse than he expected -- so he will always be looking over his shoulder. can he trust anyone? alex: i think it's very difficult for him to trust anyone. that's the problem with the system the conservative party has in place. i think the problem on a wider level for british politics is that it is all becoming a pantomime. we have had this for years, with brexit, we headed when theresa may was prime minister, boris johnson was the one who wanted her out of the way, who in the end got her out of the way. he took over, now he has faced the same no-confidence vote. this is the problem. they are facing a cost-of-living crisis, obviously, it is global,

but it is very severe in the u.k.. they are back in a situation where a huge number of conservative mps and many voters across the country do not want boris johnson as their prime minister. brent: but directly, they cannot hold the prime minister accountable, right? alex: and he now because of conservative party rules is safe for the next 12 months unless they change the rules. brent: how likely is that? alex: there is a possibility. even the head of that committee said technically it is possible for them to do that, but at the moment it looks like he is safe from another leadership challenge for 12 months. . but it doesn't make it easy for him because somehow he has to get them back on his side even though so many mps came out against him, and many more have secretly voted against him. brent: so it has to become even more uncomfortable for him. alex: i think it will become more uncomfortable. he wanted to put the whole partygate situation -- these parties going on in number 10

downing street during stricter lockdown, he wanted to put it behind him, he felt he had been vindicated by an internal report that had been done. but many others do not agree with him. what's worse, so many voters say they don't have trust in the prime minister. brent: so many people say they have no trust in the prime minister. burroughs johnson says let's put it back to the people again, let's call early elections and get this solved once and for all . alex: there is a possibility he could do that. they changed the rules a few months ago to say it is up to the prime minister now to say when he thinks there should be an election. however, i don't think he is strong enough to do that. the people behind him will be crunching the numbers and be very concerned that if he goes back and says "we're going to have an election," that the conservative party could lose and he would be blamed for that, but that is exactly what the

labour party and the other opposition parties are hoping for. brent: so if i understand you, you are bidding another two years of stagnation? alex: sure, it can go on for two years. particularly with this cost-of-living crisis, all i can say is that at the moment he survives, but he is very wounded. brent: always excellent analysis on this, alex forrest whiting. with each british prime minister, it gets more suspenseful, for sure. thank you. let's recap the top story we have been talking about, british prime minister boris johnson has survived a no-confidence vote brought by lawmakers from his own conservative party. he won 211 votes, and against him, 100 41, meaning he remains in office, but he is weakened. his power is less because of this margin of victory. ♪

qatar plans to reinstate a sculpture immortalizing the french soccer star zina didn't darren's infamous head-butt during their 2006 soccer final. the work was removed after complaints. the five-year high bronze sculpture depicts the moment in berlin when jenna didn't see -- when zidane head-butted a fellow player. he was sent off. it will be shown during this year's world cup. error rate, don't forget, you can always get dw news on the go, just download our app from google play or from the apple app store. it will give you access to news from around the world as well as

notifications for any breaking news. you're watching "dw news. after a short break, i will be back to take you through "the day." tonight, more coverage of boris johnson, the wounded prime minister. how much time has he left in power? we will try to find out after the break. ♪

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>> hello and welcome to france 24. as a result of a no-confidence vote due to be announced any minute now. boris johnson's future up in the air. as a ukrainian president says his troops were outnumbered as moscow intensifies the push for the donbass. a rocky start after mexico's president starting to skip the event after cuba, venezuela, and nicaragua was excluded. ♪