nicole: this is "dw news," live from berlin. new leads about who was responsible for blowing up the nord stream pipelines. u.s. and german media reports suggest a pro-ukrainian group carried out the attack on the natural gas pipelines under the baltic sea. also coming up, calls for justice after a ukrainian soldier is apparently executed on video. ukraine launches an investigation after graphic footage emerges of an unarmed

ukrainian prisoner allegedly being shot dead by russian troops. and mass disruption in france as tens of thousands join a fresh wave of protests against president macron's plan to raise the retirement age. ♪ i'm nicole frolich. to our viewers on pbs in the united states and all of you around the world, welcome to the show. an aid to ukraine's president volodymyr zelenskyy has denied kyiv was involved in sabotaging the nord stream gas pipelines. the under seen pipelines, which brought russian natural gas to germany, were blown up in september 2022. the new york times reported earlier, citing unnamed u.s. officials, that u.s. intelligence indicates a pro-ukrainian group carried out the attack. german media is also reporting

that there is evidence pointing to possible ukrainian involvement. the german government is still investigating the incident, but russia says that the reports show a u.n.-led international inquiry is needed. our political correspondent simon young outlined the new evidence brought to light by three german media outlets for us. simon: i should say first of all, these are unconfirmed reports, but they are by some of germany's most respect media organizations, like the public broadcast, the ard, and the newspaper deseit. what they had as many concrete details about what they say happened with the nord stream explosions. they say that prosecutors, investigators have identified the boat that was used in the operation to blow up the pipelines. a yacht that it is reported was rented from a firm in poland

that apparently belonged to two ukrainian nationals. so, that is one concrete link with ukraine. they say investigators have found that six people were onboard and involved in the operation, including divers and medical personnel. their nationalities are unknown because fake passports were used to rent this yacht. and then they go on with more details that the location of this boat was tracked leaving northern germany and was subsequently located near a danish island in the baltic sea. and according to these german media reports, as i say, this is what they are at the moment, a western intelligence agency had already warned, or suggested some months ago, that a pro-ukrainian group, as it's described, could have been

behind the explosions of the baltic nord stream pipelines. so, quite a lot of detail which tends to corroborate some of these claims, i suppose. nicole: have there been any reactions to this in germany at this point? simon: right. well, in germany, the federal public prosecutor has been investigating this since october last year. and it looks like the authorities here have pretty much been caught on the hot by these media revelations this evening because as early -- as late as this afternoon, rather, the german government was still saying that the investigation had not reached any conclusions, had no results to show, and that is pretty much in line with what the swedish and governments had told the u.n. just a few days ago as well as the germans. they have all been carrying out their own investigations and they said there is nothing to report yet. well, it appears very much that is not true. i should just also say, there

isn't any clear evidence of ukrainian government involvement. president zelenskyy in kyiv says they have absolutely nothing to do with it. but of course if it does prove to be the case, it could really send shockwaves through, for instance, western german support for the war effort in ukraine as well. nicole: no indication of that at this point, though. let's rewind quickly and take a look at the role that the nord stream pipeline has played in germany's relationship with russia in the lead up and the early stages of the war, briefly, if you can. simon: nord stream 1 was operating from 2011 bringing russian gas to germany. nord stream 2 during the planning phase was much more controversial and it never went into operation. and that was because it essentially bypassed poland and ukraine, undermining their interests it was seen as doing, and making germany and western europe much more dependent on russian gas. it took the russian invasion of

ukraine i think to force a rethink here in berlin, and the german government ultimately agreed not to put it into operation just shortly before it was finally blown up. and facts on the ground, as it were, were created. nicole: simon young, thank you so much. justin crump is a military veteran and ceo of the risk intelligence agency. we asked him how these new claims fit into the picture of what we already know about the nord stream explosions. justin: there are a lot of theories doing the rounds. it was not long ago that a once respected journalist produced a detailed expose of exactly how the u.s. government did it with the involvement of norwegians, for example. the russians blamed the u.k. this is the latest in a number of theories.

as we say, it is still intelligence information at the moment, there's things for us to consider. but it does seem, as your correspondence said, a fairly detailed amount of information that has come out about how this may have been mounted. but it was almost in some ways the least likely explanation that a nonstate group of actors were able to smuggle a very sizable quantity of explosives, undetected, and get that to the scene to target this incredibly important pipeline. so, although it's been postulated for one time as one of the theories, it is almost the hardest to understand how that could have come together. it certainly suggests a sizable amount of money and a very interesting network behind an operation like this. you can imagine driving a lot through germany is something i think the german population would be shocked to understand as if that was easy. there are still a lot of questions raised, for sure. this was one of the theories.

it was always the hardest to see necessarily being done, but it was never impossible. we shall wait to see if more details emerge. nicole: ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy says kyiv was absolutely not involved and there is actually no indication to prove the contrary. but the evidence apparently can be traced back to ukraine. who there could have had an interest in blowing up the pipeline? justin: yeah, i think if you look at some of the coverage at the moment, it would suggest it is ukrainian and russian nationals opposed to vladimir putin is what is being said. i must stress, this is just reporting at the moment, none of us know the full facts, so we can only work on what we are seeing. but there are obviously quite a lot of powerful interests i think within russia, within ukraine. obviously many ukrainians are not exactly in favor of vladimir putin right now or his war, and happy to see things that ensure their national survival, i am sure. and i'm sure some with in russia as well.

let's not forget that the oligarchs were the powerful figures in russia right up until about a year ago when many of them fled, or were forced effectively into exile with the russian actions in ukraine, effectively paralyzing their business interests overseas. so, lots of very wealthy and influential and networked people would have political and financial reasons potentially to essentially help undermine putin's war effort and recover some of what they had lost. so there are both russians and ukrainians you could look at. i do believe it is unlikely at this point the ukrainian government was involved. before the incident with the nord stream, they had already sort of been told about some of the operations going on inside russia. you may remember an assassination and other incidents that happened inside russia. i think the u.s. in particular are getting a bit concerned about because of the spillover risk and the way ukraine was potentially being portrayed as a result. and so, our understanding was the ukrainian government was being extra careful at that time not to do anything controversial. this would very clearly fall within that scope.

and so, i find it hard to believe that it was driven by them. nicole: justin crump, many thanks. always great speaking to you. ukrainian president zelenskyy has ordered military commanders to send reinforcements to help troops defending the besieged eastern city of bakhmut. ukrainian authorities say that only a few thousand of the original 70,000 people living in bakhmut remain. the battle for the eastern city is now the longest and bloodiest of the year-long war. russia says seizing bakhmut would be an important step towards capturing the industrial donbass region. western defense officials say the city has little strategic value militarily. but a victory there would be symbolic to russia. in an interview with my colleague clare richardson, the former president of ukraine petro poroshenko has said the battle for bakhmut had taken on a bigger meeting than the fight for the city itself. >> bakhmut is a symbol. we have been fighting in bakhmut

for nine months already. i was in bakhmut during this last year more than a dozen times to speak to support, to supply everything for our forces. i can tell you that these symbolic steps definitely have great importance. and everybody should understand that this is the way that we can capture the russian offensive operation which were planned and publicly declared in february and march. nicole: the russians, capturing bakhmut would mark the first significant victory since the summer. meeting with military officials, the defense minister said controlling the city, which russian officials call by its soviet name, would allow russian troops to push deeper into ukraine's defense lines.

>> deliberation continues. this city is an important defense hub for ukrainian troops in the donbass. taking it under control would allow further offensive actions deep into the ukrainian armed forces defense. nicole: meanwhile, ukraine has launched an investigation to find russian soldiers who apparently killed an unarmed ukrainian prisoner of war after graphic footage emerged. a short video circulating on social media appears to show a man in a ukrainian uniform finishing his cigarette and shouting, "glory to ukraine," before being killed by several shots. the ukrainian army, without dividing further evidence, says it believes the man is a 41-year-old who has been listed as missing near the embattled city of bakhmut since february. in his nightly video address, president zelenskyy urged all ukrainians to echo the soldier's words. >> a video appeared today

showing how the occupiers brutally killed a soldier who bravely said to their face, "glory to ukraine." i want us all together, in unity, to respond to his words. glory to the hero, glory to heroes, glory to ukraine, and we will find the killers. nicole: a short while ago, i spoke to wayne jordash, international law and criminal expert, about his assessment of the alleged killing. wayne: good evening and thank you. well, yes, i think that's clear. the criminal plan, or the russian military -- i refer to it as a criminal plan because that is what the pattern of violations suggest. they suggest that russia is not just trying to occupy ukraine, but is trying to actually coerce the civilian population into accepting that occupation, into allowing pressure to extinguish their identity. and so, what we see here is,

across ukraine, across where it has been occupied, is attacks on civilian infrastructure, attacks on civilians themselves, which range from everything from arbitrary detention, to torture within detention, to forcible displacement, to the abduction of civilians. and in this case, what you have just referred to, the indiscriminate attacks on prisoners of war. this is a pattern, and this is a plan. nicole: president zelenskyy of ukraine has vowed to, quote, find the murderers. but the alleged killers are not seen in the clip. how can a crime like this be investigated, and of course, prosecuted, then? wayne: well, this kind of crime is very difficult, it has to be said. i mean, it looks in many ways like an ordinary crime, like an ordinary killing. but of course in this instance, the ukrainian prosecution does

not have access to the site, and does not have access to the associates of the killers. so, it is difficult. but it is not impossible. the first thing of course that needs to be done, like the investigation of any crime, is to get as close to the circumstances as is possible. so, to find out who the unit was, to find out what the circumstances were which placed that unfortunate victim in that location, and unarmed in that place. so, these are the first steps. but the reality is, until there's access to this unit, the men who did the killing, associates of the men who did the killing, it's going to be very difficult to actually find out exactly who did the killing, and also of course, bring them to justice. nicole: what are the chances that any members of the russian military will ever be convicted of these war crimes we're seeing, that you say are

systematic? wayne: well, i think the chances are pretty good. and i think ukraine has already demonstrated that with already putting certain russian prisoners of war on trial and convicting them. so, i think the chances are good. but it is a long-term project. many of those who have committed the crime have fled back to russia or are dead. what needs to be done at this point is to investigate those circumstances of all the crimes, all the crimes which are really compelling, which need to be prioritized, and to essentially build cases over time. build cases against the direct perpetrators, those who do the killing themselves, but more importantly, or as importantly, build cases against their commanders and their political organizers. and by that, i mean the kremlin. nicole: and there are many people in and around ukraine working on that already today. international human rights and

criminal law expert wayne jordash, thank you for your time. wayne: thank you. nicole: german defense minister boris pistorius says it will be up to nato to decide whether to deploy a brigade of german troops in lithuania for the long-term. pistorius is on a visit to lithuania aimed at boosting military cooperation between berlin and vilnius. baltic states like lithuania have been calling for bigger and permanent nato deployments since russia launched its invasion of ukraine. reporter: a visit to show support for lithuania. german defense minister boris pistorius talks with soldiers at a site near belarus. german troops are training here alongside lithuanian forces. germany currently leads nato's presence unit in lithuania. berlin is providing tanks and air defense systems to protect the alliance's eastern flank. >> we do, and we will do anything and everything necessary and possible to protect the eastern flank,

because it is our obligation, our duty inside the nato with our allies. this is what we have been doing here in the past, and what we have even improved during the last 12 months, and we will continue. reporter: germany has deployed a combat brigade in lithuania since the autumn of last year in response to russia's invasion of ukraine. it means the troops are on standby and can be sent into action immediately in case of an attack. with the way neah -- lithuania is now pushing germany to keep its forces stationed in the baltic country long-term, but there is no agreement so far. on his trip, pistorius also met his lithuanian counterpart to discuss germany's presence here. >> the geographic position of the baltic countries calls for a stronger presence of partners in the region to ensure effective deterrence and defense on the front lines. reporter: pistorius says a longer-term role is not about whether germany wants to keep its troops in the country. the important thing is to have a

unified nato strategy. the german defense minister uses every opportunity to underline that, during the cold war, west germany was nato's eastern flank, which is why he attributes such importance to germany's engagement in lithuania in the baltic states now. he says germany's engagement here is not just about helping create more security for lithuania or the baltic states, it is ultimately also about creating security for germany. nicole: let's take a look now at some of the other stories making headlines around the world today. thousands of protesters have rallied in the georgian capital as a controversial new bill passed its first vote in parliament. the draft law is intended to crack down on what it calls foreign agents. critics say the government-backed bill represents an authoritarian shift in georgia. two of four americans kidnapped by gunmen in northeastern mexico have been found dead. authorities have returned the two survivors of the u.s. the group had traveled to mexico

for surgery before they were apparently caught in a confrontation between criminal gangs. palestinian authorities say that six palestinians have been fatally shot in an israeli military raid in the occupied west bank. israel's prime minister said the target of the operation was a palestinian he said killed two israeli settlers last week. netanyahu said the man was killed in the raid. in france, tens of thousands have joined a fresh wave of protests against president emmanuel macron's proposed pension reforms. unions have vowed to bring the nation to a standstill over the plans, which would see the minimum retirement age raised from 62 to 64. the government says the measures are needed, but polls show most french citizens oppose the proposed changes. reporter: in the early hours, final preparations are made for a day of disruption.

the makeshift barricade set in place at a bus depot just north of paris. unions called on people to come out en force to protest against president emmanuel macron's plan to overhaul pensions. a controversial proposal that would see the age of retirement raised to 64. and they have done just that. by lunchtime, thousands of people had taken to the streets and cities right across the country with one message. >> i don't want to work until i am 64. enough already. for the moment, there are only promises made and we do not will know when it is going to end, so it is better to fight now than to lose our gains. that's it. >> people are fed up. people are exhausted. people see around them that there are plenty of colleagues who do not even make it to the current legal retirement age. so how can we expect them to make it to 64? reporter: unions hope by shutting down the country, the president might now start

listening to them. demonstrators have targeted roads, public services, and key transport hubs for maximum impact. most train and metro services have also been canceled, and many schools closed. but despite all the disruption, public opinion appears to be with those demonstrating. >> i support them because it is the right thing to do. they are doing this for us. i have to work, but if i could, i would have demonstrated with them. >> if it can bring a solution to this never-ending pension problem, then i am rather in favor of movement. but there you go. over time it is embarrassing for everyone. but it's true that working up to the age of 64 is pretty difficult. reporter: the french prime minister has warned that a nationwide standstill would primarily impact the most fragile in the country. but as the standoff grows, the stakes for president macron and

his flagship pension reforms continue to rise. nicole: teachers in iran have led demonstrations following a series of alleged school poisonings targeting young girls. there have been several hundred suspected cases involving more than 100 schools since november. some of those affected needing hospital care. now, this video posted online recently appears to show parents voicing their anger outside an education ministry building in tehran. iranian officials say the girls are being deliberately targeted, possibly by hardline groups opposed to girls education. earlier, i spoke to sara bazoobandi, a marie curie fellow at the giga institute of middle east studies in berlin, and i asked her to tell us about what is known so far about the poisonings. sara: well, they are very sporadic. they are all over the country. there have been several cases.

the security forces have shown a very heavy-handed reaction to parents protesting outside of the schools. there is a sense of denial inside the country. officials have denied all of this and are blaming it on hysteria rather than an actual biomedical reason for it. and, again, on certain elements, the ayatollah has come out and blamed it on external factors, and rival governments for creating such a situation. so no one really takes responsibility for these actions, but all we know is that this has created a very strong sense of panic amongst iranian

citizens, especially those with young female students. but this means that if there is this certain possibility for carrying such acts, nobody really is -- that is the bigger picture that really worries everybody inside iran. nicole: so, a lot of panic and finger-pointing. who do you think could be behind these poisonings? sara: it is very hard to say. of course history shows when the government really denies something and blames it on external factors, an external rival, hostile governments, usually that is the wrong address. so whether this is a directed initiative from inside the intelligence services or not, we do not know. but there are several schools of thought on this. some argue this is the government trying to distract attention from the real issues inside iran. some might argue that this is

the government's attempt to try to distract international attention from the opposition outside the country trying to mobilize themselves. and some argue that this is simply the conservative elements of the operatives who want to take revenge on the younger iranian women who were at the forefront of the recent uprising in iran. there are several possible scenarios. but all we know about this, i strongly believe, is this could not have been carried out inside iran unless certain elements within the security apparatus had approved of it. nicole: sara bazoobandi, many thanks for your evaluation of this very complicated situation. around the world today, people

are celebrating holi, the festival of colors marking the arrival of spring. i will leave you now with some images of the celebration's across india, pakistan, and nepal. i will be back in a moment to take you through "the day," but first, let's enjoy these pictures. [yelling] ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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>> welcome to lula -- to "live in paris." these are the headlines. france brought to a standstill by the biggest strike against patient -- pension reform. raising the retirement age from 60 to 264 brought 3 million on the streets to protest. all the public sector including schools. as a call for another mass demonstration on saturday. ukrainian soldier shot dead on camera, the uss russia should be ashamed.