berlin. outmanned and outgunned. ukraine struggles to hold off russian troops in dundas, but ukraine's former president is defiant. >> heroic soldiers keeping and we never surrender. >> petro poroshenko calls for more weapons to push back the russian assault. this as more allegations of

russian war crimes emerge. we visit a ukrainian town where people say they were tortured by russian soldiers. disney defies sensors over it new buzz light year movie. >> disney is not going to modify the material. we are not going to get out anything especially something as important as the loving and inspirational relationship to >> the film is denied release anymore than a dozen relationship for showing two women sharing a kiss. ♪ hi, everyone. thank you for joining us. russian forces are advancing in their assault on the key ukrainian city. a regional governor says ukraine is outmanned and outgunned. for weeks, the surrounding area

has been the focus of russia's efforts to capture the entire donbass region. the fierce fighting is taking a heavy toll on civilians. >> in the distance, the sound of russian shelling. for the people, the twin city, the chance to escape is getting smaller. ukrainian police officers drive from house to house to find those who want to leave but for many here, it feels they are giving up their town. >> we were not sure until it became unbearable. then i got sick. >> she has an endless list of illnesses and i am also sick. if there was a hospital here, i would have stayed here into the last moment. >> only a few kilometers away, leaving has become nearly impossible with all the main

bridges destroyed. the city is now cut off. ukraine says more than 500 civilians are hiding inside a chemical factory alongside ukrainian soldiers. moscow announced a humanitarian cord or for the civilians but then claimed ukrainian shelling disrupted the plan. with moscow having more manpower and weapons, it is becoming increasingly difficult for ukrainians to hold their few remaining positions in the city. a russian deadline for forces to surrender has passed. former ukrainian president poroshenko told dw ukraine wl not give in. >> the situation is extremely difficult and the concentration of troops is enormous, but our heroic soldiers are keeping it. we are keeping the chemical plant. we never surrender.

>> away from the donbass, russian forces have naming for other high-value targets. -- aiming for other high-value targets. this footage shared by the russian military shirt -- claims to show high precision low range missiles targeting a depot in the western levee region or ammunition for nato supplied weapons is stored. if true, could be russia's latest effort to disrupt the international supply of weapons. >> we heard former president petro poroshenko in that report saying we never surrender and earlier, our correspondent told me that sentiment was held by many ukrainians. >> definitely and unequivocally so. people here are fighting to defend their own culture. there is a spirit of resilience. there is not one ukrainian i

have been talking to who would be ready to make territorial concessions and even president zelenskyy a few days ago reminded that the goal for the ukrainian forces was to liberate every city that has been occupied by russia, even crime area, which has been annexed by russia since 2000 14. even if this annexation has not been recognized internationally, very resilient population despite the told that the war has been taking on families. just one figure, there are million displaced people. over 7 million people have fled the country. despite everything, people are very resilient, very determined to keep their land and fight for it despite heavy losses. ukrainian army is losing up to

200 soldiers every day. this is an entire generation of ukrainians being lost of this war that started in february. >> our correspondent talking to us earlier. we are getting some breaking news coming in right now. the ukrainian president says he will take part in a g-7 summit being held later this month in southern germany. he wrote on twitter saying he would also take part in a nato summit to be held in spain. we will get you more details as we get them. a short while ago, the u.s. pledged the largest package of arms support to ukraine since russia's invasion began. u.s. president joe biden announced an additional $1 billion in military aid to bolster ukraine self-defense. speaking i brussels, u.s. secretary of defense lloyd

austin called on other countries to also intensify support. mr. austen says the war has reached a pivotal moment. the meeting includes nato members as well as dozens of additional countries known as the ukrainian defense contact group. here is u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin. >> since the contact group first came together nearly three months ago, we built tremendous memento for donations and delivery of military assistance. after this afternoon's discussions, we are not just going to maintain that momentum. we are going to move even faster and push even harder. we will deepen our coordination and cooperation and we will bolster ukraine's armed forces to help them repel russian aggression now and into the future. >> liam bacall and served 27 years in the u.s. army and from 2016 to 2018, he was the defense advisor to ukraine to he is the

former director of the modern war institute at west point academy and we would like to welcome him right now. you just got back from ukraine. how would you describe the state of the ukrainian forces? >> they are going to continue to fight so the motivation will remain strong even though they are suffering losses on the eastern front no they have been outmanned and outgunned since the start of the war. what we have seen over the last few eks is in battle and maneuver warfare, they have the edge over the russians but in this war of attrition, it is a adder of mass and combat power. the russians have some edge there so you see russians get some land gai there but at the me time, the russians have lost territory due to ukrainian counterattacks in the south. >> would you agree with u.s.

defense secretary lloyd austin the u.s. has built a tremendous momentum delivery of military assistance in ukrainian that is making a difference in the battlefield? >> without a doubt it is making difference. it comes with having well-trained, well led forces by the ukrainians. who can. employ these weapon systems we have to replace their weapon systems and ammunition. >> no of course, it is a race against time for ukraine. greeny enforces requires special training to operate weapon systems from the west. can they get trained in time? >> yeah, i mean they will be able to get trained in time but during that, they will have to give up some terriry because a small a military, they

cannot avoid to take significant losses to hold territory. that is something you will probably see. they have to get trained on them. there is no point in giving them weapon systems they will not be trained on. it will not have the effect so will take three to four weeks to get some of the weapon systems for em to employ them but they will be able to hold during that time. they might lose some territory but they will be able to counterattack and fight back as they have done. >> my final question to you, will this war be decided by the outcome of individual battles or is this going to come down to who runs out of money and ammunition first? >> more the latter. this is aar that is going to st months and years. you just heard foreign president roshenko w i worked with when i was over there. ukrainians are not going to give up and lose territory. they did not get the donbass

back after eight years. putin is not going to leave with a loss so it is going to drag on until either the ukrainians cannot fight or exhaust pressure until they have to pull out. that is really years away. >> former director of the modern institute at west point. thank you for joining us. ukrainian forces have managed to push back russian troops from several areas. in places like vucevic, irpin endboard?. evidence of atrocities have been found. authorities are investigating over 15,000 suspected cases of war crimes. a town in northern ukraine spent a month under russian occution. rebecca went there and spoke to residents who shared harrowing stories. >> the train station or what is

left of it. for more than a month, russian troops used it as their headquarters. it was from here alexander tells me they carried out some of their crimes. >> the russians were based right there where we are going. bomb shelter. that is where we are going. >> alexander, an auto mechanic says the russians came in the night and pulled him straight out of bed. some townsmen he says were killed on the spot. but he and a handful of others were brought down here into the station's basement. >> i was sitting right in this corner. i was beaten here. the wall was painted by another guys blood. his head was smashed by the but of a gun and his hands were tied behind his back. he tried to get up and left blood marks. >> that man survived. but this video shows his body and maybe his mind were badly

scarred. the fate of some fellow prisoners is unknown. >> a kernel of the ukrainian army was brought here. they beat him badly and interrogated him. they took them somewhere and he never came back. we don't know where he is. they are looking for him. >> what happened to alexander and his fellow captives, these alleged war crimes, they happened here underground where no one could hear their cries or the blows of the russian soldiers. the crimes that took place in the city happened underground. some happened up here in broad daylight. the laws of war prohibit attacks on civilians and torture as well as attacks on hospitals. >> there was a direct hit from a tank or they were positionednd they were shooting at us. >> ana, the hospital's director, says the russians knew what they were doing. >> we have no explanation for

this. there was a big hospital sign. we had a big white flag with a red cross. but it did not matter to them at all. >> she says the two nights before the russians left were the worst. the hospital was pounded without stop. the patients and doctors were forced to take refuge derground. >> she remembers a baby was born . the sick and wounded continued to receive treatment. many people prayed. >> i think there is a god in this world. there is justice, kindness will prevail someday. we will never forgive them for this. for our tears, for the little children we carried out in our arms, these women with tears in their eyes. the grandmothers who cried here. you have to pay for everything in this life and they will pay too. >> the doctor says there is no

way or time to extract vengeance. only time to rebuild, but the people will never forget. >> now to an escalating conflict in the democratic republic of congo. attacks by a rebel group have forced thousands to flee their homes in congo's east. the government is accusing neighboring rwanda of supporting rebels. tensions areunning high the eastern city of goma where thousands of people rallied to call for an end to the violence. >> frustration on the streets of goma in the democratic republic of congo. but there is solidarity too. protesters are angry and they are tired. they want the violence against them to stop. violence they accuse rwandan president of enabling and supporting >> we call on the

entire communist population to stand up in support of our armed forces. it is already too much. we cannot withstand being attacked by neighboring countries. that is why there is today a popular mobilization to stay no -- to say no to the aggression. >> the congolese military has been fighting a rebel group known as m 23. clashes have increased any the east of the country in recent months. the militants who once controlled goma are accused of shelling civilian areas like the school were two children died. they were six and seven years old. the wanton government has strongly denied accusations it supports the rebels. by the thousands, protesters marched. some trying to cross into rwanda as they demanded the international community take action. >> we want an effective condemnation. we follow the speeches at the united nations every day. they condemn with words but in reality they do absolutely

nothing. we want them to hold rwanda to account. violence in congo has displaced tens of thousands of people since may. most have taken refuge in shelters and churches in goma where these demonstrations are a loud call for international intervention. >> in germany, coronavirus cases on the rise again after weeks of falling infections. the health minister's warning of a summer wave and urging people to wear masks indoors. his political opponents have accused him of fear mongering as germany enjoys a summer free of almost all restrictions. >> here in berlin, on buses and trains, masks are still mandatory but everywhere else in the german capital, it is almost business as usual again. >> in supermarkets, do not need a mask anymore so we do not wear one. we do so on the train because that is the role and we

sometimes test ourselves. >> i do what i am obliged to do. but i don't wear one in restaurants or shops now either. >> i will tell you honestly. you don't really pay attention to it anymore. you don't really feel like it anymore because it has been two years. >> at the end of the month, residents will probablno longer be able to test themselves for free. almost all remaining vaccination centers in the capital are to be closed apparently due to lack of demand but possibly also in anticipation of a quiet summer without major outbreaks. the reality is infection numbers are rising again. >> on the one hand, we have the new variant. in addition, we are keeping masks off at the moment. we are meeting in larger groups again. there are also large events. all this contributes to the fact we are seeing more infections.

>> german health minister is speaking of a summer wave. he has called for booster vaccinations and asked people to voluntarily wear masks indoors but this is being criticized by the country's conservative opposition. >> at the moment, i don't think it is a good idea to do things the way he is doing. he is constantly mentioning worst-case scenarios that are not helpful in the matter at hand. it is much more about strengthening pragmatism and personal responsibility among people and spreading a certain kind of optimism. >> there are optimism in berlin the situation in hospitals will remain stable, infections will stop rising and at least the summer will remain free of pandemic worries. >> as we have been reporting, the new omicron subvariant is thought to be fueling a fast rise in infections and to make matters worse, a new study suggests people infected with

omicron are not getting the natural immune be used -- immune boost we have seen with previous variants. our correspondent has been looking into the study by imperial college london and she told me what the researchers found. >> they wanted to test this assumption that a natural infection with covid would somehow use your immune response to they looked at several hundred health-care workers with a range of covid infection histories who were triple vaccinated with mrna vaccines. they look to their blood and looked for immune markers to see what they had encountered and how strong their response would be. they found with omicron, there was no boost against omicron compared to other variants confusingly like previous variants like alpha and delta. this was the case with different

levels. the primary response with antibodies and more long-lasting response with t cells, they did not recognize omicron. even if your body has encountered omicron and it encountered "it would not recognize it. >> what does this tell us about vaccinating against omicron? is it effective? >> very much so still. protects again -- we are talking about if you are boost within mrn vaccine. you are between 50 and 70% protected against at the medic infection. the fear is omicron could evolve could become a more dangerous variant edit could evolve to evadvaccine immunity and that something vaccine manufacturers have to bear in mind. vaccine's capability to protect us against the dominant very minute is one of the main ways we will shape the future of the pandemic.

that is something vaccine manufacturers need to be mindful of, the fact the pandemic is not over. >> where are we in the pandemic right now? >>e are really seeing cases arising in germany. also in the u.k. even though we have had high natural levels of infections in those popations and the study go some way to explain why that mig be the case. we have seen so many omicron infections and cases still rising. >> thank you very much for breaking it all down for us. here is what else is happening in the news. the world health organization has said europe remains the epicenter of the monkeypox outbreak. the who will hold a meeting next week to decide to classify the infection as a public health

emergency. cases have been confirmed and a 2500 -- in 25 cases in europe. the u.k. is suing -- the bill seeks to override sections of the trade treaty signed by both the u.k. and the e.u. less than two years ago. e.u. officials say the decision violates international law. according to state media, officials in saudi arabia have begun moving -- begun removing rainbow colored toys from shops in riyadh. media say it is part of a crackdown on homosexuality. the conservative kingdom outlaws same-sex relationships. the saudi embassy in washington, d.c. now looks out over a new street name. a neighborhood group voted to rename the street in honor of

the slain journalist. he was killed at the saudi arabia embassy in turkey getting a marriage permit. the newly named street crosses in front of the saudi arabia embassy. tennis and world number one russian deal medvedev is playing this week in a warm up to wimbledon. a tournament in which russian players were banned after the invasion of ukraine but now he has learned russian players will be allowed to play at the u.s. open in august. he commented on the decision after his first round match in central germany where he beat david goffin in straight sets. medvedev says he was happy by the ruling. >> it is great. i heard this news yesterday like everybody and i always say i have to follow the rules. where i can play, i am going to play.

i'm going to try to play my best. i am happy i will be able to defend my title. it would be disappointing if i would not be able to defend my title in the u.s. open. >> pixar's new movie light year is out this week starting the beloved toy story character buzz light year. with the movie will not be shown everywhere. it has been denied release in more than a dozen mainly muslim countries and is unlikely to open in china after disney refused to cut a scene that shows two women sharing ache -- sharing a kiss. >> the world's most famous toy astronaut toy is back, buzz let your. -- buzz light year. the buzz is all about his sidekick, alicia, who is seen in the film kissing her girlfriend. that is why more and more countries are refusing to show the film. but the studio and the stars stand behind the lesbian romance including actor chris evans, the voice of buzz light year. >> it is great we are a part of

something that is making steps forward in the social inclusion capacity but it is frustrating there are still places that are not where they should be. >> it is pride month. i still feel proud for the rest of my life. >> it is not weird. it is normal and it should be normalized. >> why don't they answer? >> lightyear is a prequel to pixar's toy story. it is about time travel and friendship with same-sex romance playing a small part but one that pixar's parent company disney says is not negotiable. >> and oh that we have gotten requests for things to cut. disney is not going to modify material. we are not going to cut out anything especially something as important as the love and inspirational relationship that shows buzz what he is missing. >> that means this time, viewers in several countries will be missing buzz. >> to infinity and beyond.

>> don't forget, you can always get dw news on the go. download our app from google play or the apple store. they will give you access from all the latest news -- to all the latest news from around the world as well as push notification for any breaking news. do stick around. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. don't go anywhere. ♪

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paris it is at 10:00 p.m. in the french capital. here are the headlines. the french president isn't mulled where he had at the press conference with the president he has given his backing to the country's bed to join the eu -- bid to join the eu. parts of north africa are dealing with an early seasonal heat wave. we will get to analysis on that from the director of the atmosphere monitoring service. we will be talking to him in a while. with inflation showing no signs of stabilization and consumer isis is