from berlin. moscow says it has driven a group of saboteurs back into ukraine. kyiv has denied any involvement. could these fighters be russian? also coming up, signs of a breakthrough in the decades long conflict, as armenia looks set to give up its claim on the region. and police in portugal launching

a new search for madeleine mccann, the british toddler who disappeared 16 years ago during a family vacation. plus, the groundbreaking medicine that gave us a vaccine against covid-19 is being hailed as a possible game changer in the fight against cancer. ♪ i'm brent goff. to our viewers watching on pbs in the united states and to all of you around the world, welcome. tonight, russia says it has repelled dozens of ukrainian militants who crossed into one of its border towns in the southern region. moscow says the incursion was a sabotage attack on russian territory that was launched by kyiv. ukrainian officials have denied any involvement, insisting these

are the actions of anti-kremlin russians. reporter: russia claims these images show its armed forces destroying an alleged group in its southern region. moscow said it killed dozens of suppose it's attack or's. the russian defense ministry accused kyiv of carrying out terrorist actions against the civilian population inside russia. russian state media broadcast these images of alleged evacuees of villages from the border near ukraine. they claim dozens were forced to leave their homes as a result. the fighting broke out about five kilometers from the border. kyiv has denied any connection to the attack. anti-kremlin opposition groups claimed they were behind the incursion. >> it is time to put an end to

the kremlin dictatorship. thank you to all those who support us, who sent us donations, who are detonating explosions. your support reminds us every day of our final goal, red square. be brave and don't be afraid because we are coming back home. russia will be free. reporter: the kremlin said the violence is aimed at distracting attention from bakhmut, which russian forces claimed to have captured after 10 months of intense fighting. brent: i asked a ukrainian security expert what she makes of these attacks. >> this is not the first time we have seen attacks on russian territory. and every time the russian groups take responsibility for that. there were also drone attacks on

the russian territory. again, russian groups have taken responsibility for that. this is the official ukrainian position, that ukraine is not attacking the territory of russia, and these are russian insurgent or military groups that are dealing with this, and that is what they say now, the same. about the situation in bakhmut, russia was trying to get control over this city for more than 10 months, and now nothing is left of bakhmut. it's just ruins. still, they are trying to get full control of the city, and ukrainian troops are encircling it. because bakhmut, if you see it on a map, it's in the lower position. there are higher grounds around and that is where ukrainian troops are now advancing, and

they will advance further. this is the plan, to encircle russian troops and attack them from a higher position. so it has nothing to do with the situation with the attacks and i think we will see fighting intensify in the upcoming weeks and months because russia has obviously not been able to control its own territory. brent: these attacks, i mean, they are rare, attacks crossing the border and pressure are rare, but these have been going on now for two days. psychologically, this certainly has to be a blow for russian forces and particularly for vladimir putin. would you agree? maria: absolutely. the general that was responsible for the attack on the kharkiv region, which later, again,

turned out to be a russian defeat, is now appointed the head of the operation which is going on in the belgrade region. this shows how russia is incapable of controlling its own borderline regions. now russian propaganda media are discussing the necessity to prepare territorial defense units in the borderline regions. also, they discovered they needed to distribute light arms to the citizens of russia so that they can defend their territory. this is very unusual to see, because the country is claiming it is one of the greatest military powers and now its neighbor ukraine says it cannot control its own territory, and they now say that this will be

the so-called buffer zone in the territory of russia that will protect its own citizens. brent: let me get your take on this, then. we know that the battle for bakhmut cost many, many lives, and that the russian side has a lot of casualties to report. is it possible that russia invested too many of its soldiers, the wagner mercenary soldiers, and the price of that has been it has neglected border security, and we're seeing what happens when you neglect your own border security? maria: we for sure know that russia has a very weak position in many directions, not only in the borderline regions. we see that the numerous attacks on russian distribution points and on russian territories far

further from the line of attack in crimea itself, which is ukrainian territory. as the more western precise and long-range missiles get, the more we will see attacks on russian warehouses, lines of supply. so russia will have problems not only where it has now, but also on the occupied territories in the territory of ukraine. brent: ukrainian security expert maria avdeeva. as always, we appreciate your time and your analysis. thank you. maria: thank you so much. brent: armenia's prime minister is offering to recognize neighboring azerbaijan's sovereignty over the disputed region of nagorno-karabakh. the two former soviet republics have been locked over conflict

for decades. a fragile cease-fire has now paved the way for peace talks. reporter: it is a territory that has been plagued by armed clashes for over 30 years, punctuated by two deadly conflicts. but the long dispute over nagorno-karabakh could be coming to an end. >> armenia recognizes azerbaijan 's territory up 86,300 kilometers as well as azerbaijan is willing to could nice armenia's -- azerbaijan's territory includes nagorno-karabakh. reporter: he made the commitment on condition that azerbaijan guarantees the safety of ethnic armenians living there. the region was established by the soviets after world war i. predominantly populated by ethnic armenians, it was nevertheless included within the soviet socialist republic of azerbaijan. sinc e the collapse of the

soviet union, armenia and azerbaijan have both made claims to the territory. some 7000 soldiers were killed in the last war in 2020. the foreign ministers from both countries met in moscow last week for trilateral talks with russian sergey lavrov. leaders from both armenia and azerbaijan met the eu chief in brussels 10 days ago. they are expected to meet russian president vladimir putin thursday. he's still seen as a key broker by the post-soviet neighbors. brent: the founder of the consulting group eurasian international analytics, i asked him why armenia is ready to give up nagorno-karabakh now. >> well, the fact is that they never really controlled it in any formal sense. the controlled it and an

ethnically cleansed area, but the war ended three years ago with a resounding defeat. there are perhaps 50,000 ethnic armenians left in what was called nagorno-karabakh. may be in one city and a few villages. the prime minister of armenia is dealing with reality. both the leaders of armenia and azerbaijan were advised that there must be peace established. brent: is that what you think is going on here, that reality has arrived in armenian politics? is that while we are seeing armenia willing to take this step? >> well, if that wasn't the case, then we'd be seeing massive demonstrations in armenia, and we are not seeing that. the most resistance is in the armenian diaspora, mostly based

in the united states, and among very few people in nagorno-karabakh who are leaving that defacto, whatever you want to call it, government within azerbaijan. if it was such a contentious issue, then he would not have been reelected as prime minister. and there would have been demonstrations and we are not seeing that. we seeing people dealing with the reality. they want to get on with their life. brent: when you look at the power relations in this region, there is obviously a russian component here. but the steps we are talking about tonight, what do they tell us about guarantees of safety, guarantees coming from russia for its allies? lawrence: russia, i think it has always been a shotgun marriage between armenia and russia. i am not sure there is any political love lost there.

especially with the prime minister and the kremlin. it would behoove the kremlin to demonstrate that it can be a force for constructive dialogue and work between azerbaijan and armenia rather than being a district of force, which it's currently seen as, given the situation in ukraine and elsewhere. so, i think that, again, we're just dealing with the realistic situation. there is not a huge debate about where the border is between azerbaijan and armenia. we are talking about a few hundred meters here and there. that's it. brent: lawrence scott sheets, appreciate your time and analysis. let's take a look at other stories making headlines. thousands displaced by the war in ethiopia's tigray region have marched to demand the right to return home, and they are also demanding the withdrawal of outside forces. the two-year conflict between

government and forces killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions before ending with a truce. seven people including four children were killed when a school roof collapsed during a storm in thailand. the peoples were outside on a sports field when heavy rain and strong winds brought the building down. thailand is entering its monsoon season. italy is government has approved more than 2 million euros -- 2 billion euros for the flooded region. the money will fund the rebuilding of infrastructure and fund payments to people who have been left unemployed. the floods there killed at least 14 people and displaced thousands more. portuguese police are carrying out a new search for madeleine mccann. this is the fourth time police have searched for the british toddler to cinch -- toddler since she disappeared 16 years

ago. reporter: it has been 16 years since madeleine mccann disappeared. but now portuguese investigators are looking for clues at this remote reservoir. it's located around 50 kilometers from the resort where mccann went missing. madeleine was three where she vanished while on holiday with her family. despite an international search, she has never been found. this location was allegedly frequented by the main suspect. he's been named as christian b and is behind bars for raping women in the same region from where the british toddler went missing. he's also under investigation on suspicion of murder in the mccann case, but has not been charged. he's denied any involvement, but at the behest of german authorities, a search is being carried out at the location in portugal. >> i can't give any concrete

information on the clues in which the search operation is based. they are not tips that come from the accused, but as you can imagine, we don't start a search in portugal on the off chance. there has to be a good reason, and we have one. i ask for your understanding though, because i cannot disclose it here for technical reasons. reporter: the police combed the site months after the disappearance, but divers only found animal remains. they are hoping this new search results in a breakthrough in the case. brent: our political correspondent simon young gave me an update on the progress in this investigation. simon: well, it's hard to say that the authorities are keeping pretty tightlipped. but it would seem that 16 years after her disappearance, authorities are still searching for the body of madeleine mccann. now german prosecutors have said in the past that they believe that she is dead, although that

body has never been found, and of course there have been suggestions from time to time that she might still be alive. but from the pictures we saw today from the shore of this reservoir in southern portugal, german and portuguese police, with some british police also in attendance, searching through the scrub on that shoreline with sticks. from the pictures, it looked as though they were focusing on some particular area. so it may be that among that evidence that the prosecutor referred to there, or among those hence, -- hints, is at least an indication of where they should search. and we know the german investigation is what has prompted this specific search today. we've also heard that it will continue on wednesday for a second day. brent: the german investigation, there's a german lead that has

to do with a possible suspect. remind us of what we do know about the suspect. simon: yeah, christian b, as he's identified, he is a man in his mid-40's and a convicted sex offender. he is in jail in germany for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in portugal back in 2005. and in 2020, he was identified by german prosecutors as a suspect in the madeleine mccann case. and since then, portuguese prosecutors have also named him, although he has never been charged. he denies any role in this case. but it's fair to say he does stand accused of a number of other offenses beside what he is already in jail for. sex offenses, including against children. he lives in portugal for a number of years and was in southern portugal in 2007 when

madeleine mccann went missing. but we understand that the prosecutors are in possession of a certain amount of other evidence, they say. but they are also cautious. they say there are a lot of hints that point towards his involvement, but at the moment they do not have the full evidence to even charge him, let alone convict him. so we will see if anything comes out of this search today. brent: dw's simon young with the latest tonight in berlin. thank you. spain is bracing for an extended summer of wildfires following a dry winter and early heat waves. fires used to be most frequent during july and august, but large blazes have started much earlier this year. fire fighters took days to stabilize recent outbreaks. authorities are blaming arson. the flames spread quickly

because of dry conditions and strong winds. one climate scientist says that spain has now entered an era of mega wildfires. towns now are turning to technology to protect their people, as dw news found out in eastern spain. reporter: it takes just a few seconds to set it up on a smartphone phone and the defense system is activated. consisting of 40 giant sprinkler towers protects residents of the small spanish town from fires in the surrounding forests. >> the idea is to create a window barrier. so we keep this area most rise -- moisturized. have enough time to evacuate the whole area. reporter: the system creates a kind of firewall around the town and its neighboring villages. and it helps protect the environment at the same time. the water does not come from a tap. the engineers have developed a

system that recycles wastewater from the local plant. the process was not without challenges. >> in the beginning there were concerns, are our house is going to get wet, rb going to have this ugly thing right outside of our house? as you can see, they blend in really well. reporter: the system was finally launched last year and now almost all residents are convinced of its benefits. every year, the fires in the region, as filmed here by locals, are becoming more dangerous. >> it needs to be unimaginable that the fires here started in april. but now we have wildfires as early as february and they continue until november. reporter: the i.t. behind the system was developed by university students and a small environmental company from the region. algorithms constantly update the fire risk and calculate when and where sprinklers need to be activated. a unique technology that is

becoming increasingly popular, even outside of spain. >> we have interest in california, in chile, in italy. this is a good deal for us, but the problem is to do all this at the same time. reporter: the team is already working on new ideas, using augmented reality, firefighters can get real-time updates on the development of a fire. but he says the focus should be on finding the causes of fires, not just the flames. >> we don't need more firefighters, more trucks, more helicopters. we need to develop solutions. we have the tools, we have the knowledge. we just must do it. reporter: he says this includes giving the environment the space it needs for a healthy development. but such changes take time. until then, many more sprinkler systems might be necessary.

brent: the coronavirus pandemic was not even one-year-old when doctors began giving the first vaccine shots. remember that? well, it was made possible by a groundbreaking technology known as messenger rna. it hoped to save millions of lives. now, that technology is being utilized in other areas, such as a possible treatment for pancreatic cancer. reporter: the pancreas plays an important role in digestion and metabolism. a tumor there is bad news. mortality rates in people who develop pancreatic cancer is very high. >> it is so deadly because it starts to metastasize early on, which means tumors move out of the primary location and migrate to other places in the body. this is extremely difficult to contain, and means that the chances even after removal of

the primary tumor, that you have recurrent disease is pretty soon. reporter: an mrna cancer vaccine works by making the body aware of cancerous cells, which are able to grow undetected by the immune system. a dose of vaccine contains many copies of a short stretch of precise genetic information, the messenger rna. it induces the body to start making specific proteins, like ones only found on the surface of a cancer cell. after being trained by the vaccine to recognize the cancer cells, the alerted immune system defense cells attack them wherever they are. the big hurdle is that because every patient's cancer is different, their cancer-specific protein are also highly individual. so every rm hour -- so every mrna vaccine has to be produced for a particular patient. >> the advances in genomics and being able to identify

potentially highly immunogenic antigens that are unique to the patients themselves, giving a personalized focus is alsoa huge advance. reporter: in a small scale study recently published, researchers used's -- custom-made messenger vaccines as part of the pancreatic cancer treatment plan. in around half the patients, the individualized vaccine patients appear to prevent a relapse of the disease for at least 18 months. a larger trial is now slated to start this year. >> the trial was a combination of three things. of chemotherapy, a checkpoint inhibitor, and the vaccine. and comparing it historically to just checkpoint and chemotherapy, the results were much better. but we need to see a larger trial, more patients, and a

double-blind. so, compared to the two verses plus vaccine to know that it's truly effective. reporter: if the new mrna vaccine therapy does prove effective in larger efficacy trials, it would be a huge step forward in combating one of the deadliest forms of cancer out there. brent: india's top female wrestler led a march of nearly 1000 protesters. they are demanding the resignation and arrest of the wrestling federation's president for alleged sexual harassment. two olympic medalists have vowed to hand back their medals if no action is taken against him. the 66-year-old is accused of sexually harassing seven young female wrestlers. he's denied the accusations and

called the protest politically motivated. tom brady, considered by many the greatest american football player of all time, is making the transition from the field to the front office. the seven-time super bowl champion will become a minority owner of the nfl's las vegas franchise the raiders. only three nfl players, including brady now, have gone on to become owners. of course the deal is pending approval by the league. you're watching dw news. after a short break i will be back to take you through the day. stick around. we'll be right back. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

anchor: welcome to live from paris, news and analysis from france a4. russia says it has squash the sabotage on its border but ukrainian media reports there are still villages on the russian side where russian forces cannot enter. kyiv denies any involvement. forces describe themselves as anti-boudin, setting up to liberate russia. armenia says it will