brent: this is "dw news," live from berlin. , tonight, president lindsay: this week historic. key decision is considered on ukraine's candidacy and it comes as zelenskyy warns of more russian attacks on his country. and in israel, a for the election in yes than -- in less than four years. the party coalition is crumbling only a year after the government was formed.

plus, french voters deliver a stinging blow to president emmanual macron. just weeks after he was elected, he has lost his absolute majority in parliament as leftist and far right parties surge. and a controversial decision as trans women swimmers are effectively banned from female competitions. the sporting world is facing a big debate over the implications of male puberty after swimming's governing body makes a landmark ruling. ♪ i'm brent goff. to our viewers watching pbs in the u.s. and to all of you around the world, welcome. a warning for europe from ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy. he says european countries should be bracing for

potentially hostile activity coming from russia. zelenskyy says that ukraine is facing a historic week as it awaits a landmark decision of the european union on its bid for candidate status. but he says that decision could prompt russia to intensify its aggression from ukraine and ukraine's western supporters. reporter: a russian missile plunged into ukrainian soil. in this city, no one is safe. across the river, the city of sievierodonetsk has been reduced to rubble by fierce fighting. as russia's offensive and the donbass region grinds on, the fear is that the city is nt. most residents have fled, but some are stuck. >> we have notng left. everything was burned down. most importa things to get my sick father out. that is all that matters to me.

i do not know how long he can survive. i do not think this war is going to end soon. reporter: they livin cellars to increase their chances of survival. bracing for a predicted escalation in russia's campaign of destruction. >> this week we should expect greater hostile activities from russia. and not only against ukraine, but also against other european countries. we're preparing. we're ready. reporter: zelenskyy believes at russiaill react to the european union's decision this week on whether ukraine will become a candidate for membership. even considering ukrainian membership is a dramatic shift in the eu's position and runs counter to the kremlin's efforts to put ukraine into its orbit by force. the german foreign minister on

monday voiced her support ahead of a meeting of eu foreign ministers. >> today is a special meeting. as we are gathered ahead of a historic moment. we all have to realize that the membership countries have a special responsibility. none of us want to look back at this moment in a few years and think, how could we not make use of this opportunity. reporter: the promise of europe, hope for ukraine and its fight for survival. brent: dw news is in kyiv and i asked her how significant this moment is for ukraine. reporter: it's very significant for ukraine and especially for ukrainians. it has been years, way before this war that the country had been gearing towards eu candidacy. you can see a lot of people who

are pro-european here, not least in this new government where they are trying to make the necessary reforms because they know the process to be even considered a candidate. then the process of becoming a member of the european union be a long one. and they really do try to abide by european rule of laws and european values. a very significant week for ukraine. brent: and president zelenskyy is also warning of greater hostile activity from russia, not just against ukraine, but across all of europe. we have any indication of what that backlash will or could look like? reporter: well, the worst backlash of course is the price being paid by ukrainians themselves, especially in the eastern part of the country where the ukrainian population is paying with its blood.

this war started february 24 but in western europe this could take the form of cyber attacks, for example. it could also take the form of russia blackmailing europe in terms of energy deliveries. even if western europe has taken steps to become independent from that energy from which it depended for years, decades. and of course we are seeing unfolding a food crisis that will affect europe as russia continues to block the circulation of rain in ukrainian ports. brent: let's talk about what is going on in the front lines. fighting is raging in eastern ukraine. what is the situation like for the residents who are still living there? emmanuelle: we're getting reports from a very dire situation.

in sievierodonetsk, the few handful of civilians who are still remaining out of the 100,000 that used to live there before the war do not have access to electricity, no access to any running water anymore. and there's more than 300 civilians still stuck in a chemical plant. and this is the only place still held by ukrainian forces. this is unfortunately reminding us of this standoff between the russian forces and ukrainian forces of the steel plant in mariupol. so a very dire situation there, and the sister city of sievierodonetsk, where people are also continuously shelled by the russian army. and this russian army which is thrown all of its reserves into what will be the next decisive days. we will see more battles here

over the next few days. brent: emmanuel shaws reporting from kiev, thank you. i am joined now by the ukrainian president zelenskyy's foreign policy advisor and deputy head of the president's office. it is good to have you on the program. i want to talk about the situation on the front lines in a moment i would like to start with this historic week. how confident are you that ukraine will get the green light from the european union this week to begin these fast-track session talks? guest: the first positive news we got the previous week was the opinion of the european commission. many would not have believed this to be positive. now they recommend the european member states to support this opinion. plus also we have the local support of several leaders of european countries. chancellor schultz, president

macron, prime minister druggie -- draghi. so definitely this is a consensus decision. you can only be sure after the decision is made. but if we are more positive than even several days before. brent: you know that joining the european union is a process that takes years, it can sometimes take decades. ukraine is expecting just to be fast tracked. do you have confidence that your country can pull this off, though, at the same time, trying to fend off the russian military? guest: the fast-track we have shown throughout the last four months. just to remind you, we summoned an application for membership on the fifth day of war. in less than four months, we're about to receive candidate

status. it is a record for any country. we've filled in the questioner within just one month, a process which would usually take more than a year. which gives me all the reasons to say that ukraine will be moving with the same direction. it will rely on the european union to move at at least half the speed as ukraine. we are ready to make further reforms. brent: let's assume the european union says yes to this fast lane for a session talks. what is ukraine going to give the eu in return? are you under pressure from the european union to possibly take actions to bring this war to an end sooner rather than later?

i'm also talking about perhaps giving up territory to russia in the name of peace. guest: that is not true. neither leader who spoke to my president during his visits in kiev, -- me personally, i have not heard any indications you crying ukraine to make any recessions or to move sooner to end the war. we do not need to end the war, we need to win. we need to have all the ukrainian territories back. so no one is able to make my president, any sensations of any territory. we will fight to the last inch of ukrainian territory. brent: you said you want to win the war. you can only win this war if you have enough weapons.

are you getting the heavy weapons, the artillery that you need right now to push the russians back? guest: right you are. much, if not everything, depends on whether we will attain weapons, heavy weapons. that is about artillery systems, armored vehicles, tanks. if you ask me about the progress going on, yes, it is much more progressive and the speed is much higher than at the beginning of the war. many of the states would not even believe ukraine be able to sustain russian aggression. remember, some military experts did not give ukraine more than three or five days. which coincided with the plan russia had. so now ukraine knows how to fight, ukraine knows not only how to defend, but how to counterattack and win. and this third meeting

throughout the last month showed the world believes in ukraine. now it is high time to act with a high-speed and delivered weapons to the territory of ukraine. brent: we will see definitely this week how fast things progress. foreign policy advisor to ukrainian president zelenskyy, we appreciate your time and your insights tonight. thank you. here's a roundup of some other stories that are related war in ukraine. the european union's top diplomat has called russia's blockade of ukrainian ports a war crime that brings with it the risk of famine. they made the comments as european union foreign ministers met to discuss war and food security. millions of tons of wheat are stuck in ports in ukraine. moscow has called a move by lithuania block rail transit between russia and its enclave of cullinan grad illegal.

the area is wedged between lithuania and poland. kaliningrad goods are subject to eu sanctions againstussia. lithuania says its decision is not been compliant with the embargo. hollywood actor ben stiller spent the day in ukraine and met with president volodymyr zelenskyy to mark the un's world refugee day. stiller is a goodwill ambassador for the u.n.'s refugee agency. he visited levine and kyiv, where he met ukrainians forced to flee their homes. now to the middle east. israel's eight party government coalition could soon be no more. its members say they plan to dissolve parliament, which could mean fresh elections as early as october. the coalition has been in office for just one year and it suffered a setback in april, losing its one seat majority. it survived two no confidence

vote earlier on monday. prime minister naftali bennett is expected to set aside. the foreign minister is expected to take over until a new government can be sworn in. israelis going to the polls for the fifth time in three years. how did we get here? i asked my colleague tania kramer into looser -- in jerusalem. tania: it did not come as a surprise to many israelis. there were signs in recent months and weeks that this coalition would not last. so both prime minister bennett and foreign minister lippit, who is also the alternate prime minister, they realized they had run out of options to hold this coalition together. mr. bennet tonight highlighted the achievements of this government but he also said it was a tough decision but it was the best for the country.

also that this government had increasingly no problems. most recently the government failed to extend an emergency law that pertains to israeli law in settlements in the occupied west bank. they both had said earlier in a statement they had agreed to dissolve and he would take over as caretaker till the next elections will most likely take place in october. brent: and we know that former president benjamin netanyahu has vowed to return. i mean, what are the chances for election after the opposition's coalition experiment failed? tania: that is still to see. if you look at the polls, at the moment -- we always talk here in

israel about coalition governments formed by several parties. neither bloc, or if you look at the coalition like this one, would have a majority right now to form a government. even some of the smaller parties that are now in the government according to these polls might not make it over the electoral threshold. but of course a lot can change in the coming weeks and months until the elections take place. we heard already former prime minister benjamin netanyahu valid that he will be back and that he wants to form a broad nationalist white -- right-wing government. he also fared in the last -- failed in the last four elections to form such a government. he is certainly hoping for such a comeback, but of course a lot can happen until the elections take place. brent: tania kramer with the latest. as always, thank you. they were not the results that

he wanted. in parliamentary elections over the weekend, french president emmanuel macron lost his absolute majority. macron's centrist political bloc still holds the number of biggest seats, but leftist and far right parties surged. macron must now put together cross party coalitions to salvage his reform agenda. if he fails, france could face years of political deadlock. so how difficult has the job of governing just become for president macron? i asked our paris correspondent. lisa: this is a major setback for president emmanuel macron. instead of largely deciding by himself on french politics, like during his first term in office, he will now have to compose with other political forces to push through flagship measures such as his pension reform aimed at increasing the retirement age by several years from the current 62.

he will try to gather support on the right also on the left, among members of the new left wing alliance loop that is already showing tracks. but it will be in a pile struggle as -- uphill struggle as macron's and his allies are not just fuchsia -- a few seats shot at a majority, but more than 40. brent: let's look now at some other stories were following. in africa, mali's government says jihadists have killed more than 130 civilians in recent days. the attacks took place in several villages east of the capital. the violence is connected to an ongoing islamist insurgency there. so-called lamic state has claimed responsibility for a terror attack in northeastern rock of province. at least 13 people were killed en a bus was ambushed. the civilian vehicle was

carrying government soldiers. extremist group was defeated in 2019. however, sleeper cells still operate in parts of syria. swimming's governing body has effectively banned transgender women from competing in women's events, drawing both praise and condemnaon acrosthe sporting world. fena members agreed on a new policy that only permits swimmers who transitioned for the age of 12 to compete in women's events. the debate intensified in march when university of pennsylvania sumer lena thomas became the first known transgender u.s. college swimming champion. for more now, let's bring in joanna harper, visiting fellow for transgender athletic research in england. it is good to have you with us tonight. help us understand this.

this decision amounts to a defect of -- defacto basn -- ban for transgender athletes. do you think this decision is the right one? guest: it is not the decision i would make if i am in charge and i am certainly disappointed. brent: what would be your decision? guest: ultimately the right decision is something for history to decide, i guess. but no trans woman or trans man has been competing at the international level in swimming. and this policy only pertains to international swimming. so there is nobody actually to ban, because no one has competed. then the question is, will the national federations adopted that? will this have a chilling

effect? brent: if i'm understanding you correctly, you are saying we are making this up as we go along. this is new territory. how optimistic are you that athletes, trans athletes, will be treated fairly? joanna: fairly is a very subjective word. but i am certainly not confident that trans athletes, in particular trans a -- trans women in swimming, will have the opportunity to swim. i think thld poly of requiring testosterone suppressant -- suppression was a preferable policy. how all of this will shake out is still uncertain. brent: fena says it's following

the science here and saying that you could have gone through the beginning of puberty. you have to transition before the age of 12. that sounds reasonable to a layman. joanna: so, the important differences between male athletes and female athletes start withuberty. when anyone with test -- with testes, regardless of gender identity, goes through puberty, there's huge changes in the body that make this body more athletic. and that is why we have women's sports. the question is, what happens with transgender women w take hormone therapy to suppress thai stops around afterwards -- to suppress testosterone afterwards. and without hard data from trans

women athletes, you cannot really make judgments on this. there is verew data that exists rht now. my university is the first one in the world to undeake studies on trans athletes. and were just ginning. so it is really hard to see what happens with trans athletes. but i do not think that this is the correct policy. brent: this is not just a swimming story, though, right? this will probably impact other sports. joanna: just in the last week, three majogoverning bodies have come out with vastly different policies. uci in cycling has stuck with a testosterone-based policy. fifa, although they did not announce a formal policy, said it is theret their intention to go by a

case-by-case policy. so now you have three very different policies announced in just the last week. and that's in addition to fairly recent policies by the ioc, world athletics, and world rugby, which have all said vastly different things. who others will follow remains to be seen. brent: joanna harper, we appreciate your time and your insights tonight. thank you. joanna: you're welcome. brent: a court in japan has upheld a ban on same-sex marriage, saying it is constitutional. three same-sex couples had sued for compensation, saying their right to equality and for union had been violated. in a blow to lgbt rights, the court rejected their demands. reporter: anger and disappointment. for these same-sex couples in japan, who petitioned for their

right to marry, the osaka district court's ruling has come as a shock. >> i think it is a terrible ruling. they ruled that it is constitutional that people are being discriminated against for their sexuality, something they cannot change. i am extremely furious and i am very disappointed. reporter: the court rejected the petitioner's claim that a ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and against the right to equality. it admitted to the need for public and parliamentary debate on the rights of same-sex couples but stopped shy of taking a stand in favor of them. the ruling surprisingly ran counter to that of another district court in 2021, which had found the ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.

japan is the only g7 nation that does not recognize same-sex marriage, though some municipalities support limited rights. they can still not inherit each other's assets have parental rights over each other's children. while conservative attitudes persist in japan, opinion polls show that the majority favors same-sex marriage. brent: you're watching dw news. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. we'll be right back. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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>> 10:00 p.m. in the french capital. hear the stories making headlines. emmanuel macron set to hold talks with party leaders following a defeat for his coalition in sunday's legislative elections. the leader for the left wing coalition is calling for a no-confidence vote. the opinion president says africa is being held hostage by the russian invasion of his country, addressing the african union, saying the war has contributed to fears of famine across ton