>> this is dw news from berlin. germany orders the closure of four russian consulates. only the berlin c and one general consulate will remain. the move is in response to russia's announcement that it will cap the number of german officials in its country. also on the program, are we experiencing the world's first real drone war? we take a look at how this piece of -- is shaping the course of the conflict in ukraine.

plus rates across 10 german states targets suspected supporters of the so-called islamic state. police take seven people into custody. ♪ i am nicole frolich. it is good to have you without. germany says it will slash the number of russia's diplomatic missions in the country. it revoked the licenses of four out of five russian consulates. it says it is up to russia to decide which of the consulates to close. moscow criticized this as an on friendly step aimed at the further destruction of bilateral ties. they limited the number of german officials in russia to 350. earlier, dw political correspondent simon young told me how these tensions began. simon: as you know, in the

context of russia's war in ukraine, relations between the two countries have been worsening for a while. the most recent thing is you mentioned russia has capped the number of that they are allowing to operate in russia to limiting that number to 350 people. what is unusual about that is that it applies to diplomatic staff, consular officials, and so on, but also to people with more of a cultural focus including teachers and staff at the german schools in russia and also people at the institute which is germany's institutes that promote interest in german language and culture so that was a relatively unusual move that

happened just recently and this is the german response, an attempt to create some sort of parity in the numbers of officials who will be working here. they said they are going to close consulates in various places around germany. nicole: what are the likely consequences of tit-for-tat moves? >> the main people to notice it are ordinary people who need to use those consulates, particularly russian citizens in germany who need to get paperwork. consulates are administrative institutions and they provide, you know, certificates of births, marriages, and deaths, and that out of thing. these are the links, the last remaining sort of links between civil societies in the two

countries and this is just going to make it harder, not impossible of course because the embassy in berlin, and we understand the consulate will remain open when these other four consulates are closed. they will be able to continue to operate but i think something similar may happen for german citizens or anyone indeed who needs support in russia. it will be a little bit more difficult. nicole: the russian foreign ministry already announced germany's decision will not go unanswered. we have not quite heard the end of this escalation, have we? >> indeed not. you know, it is hard to see what exactly is the next step. germany has sort of preempted the move by announcing on its own side that it is going to close its consulates.

so the tit-for-tat response won't be able to take the form of closing consulates i suppose. the germans say they are going to keep both the diplomatic and a cultural presence in moscow and st. petersburg as best they can with the reduced numbers of staff that they are allowed to have there, but politicians, the kremlin and german politicians, both say they think that their governments have taken the right step so no one is backing down tonight at least. nicole: simon young, thank you so much. a drone attack on an oil refinery in southern russia has ignited a fire at the facility. security camera footage shows the flames which reportedly broke out at the installation east of the crimean peninsula. russia has accused ukraine of being behind several drone

attacks on russian territory in recent days including on moscow. kyiv has denied being behind the attacks. but ukraine's army does have specialized drone for grades -- brigades. both sides in the conflict have deployed unmanned aerial vehicles with russia using iranian made drones to regularly bomb cities including kyiv. our next report looks at how ukraine is using drones to outsmart russian forces. >> a safe distance from the hell that is bakhmut, he is cradling the ukrainian army on his shoulder. this drone takes its name from a local word and it is a much valued asset to ukrainian fighters engaged in trench warfare as its rise on their enemy from above. >> the success of a certain

operation may depend on the work and efficiency of the uav unit. this work carries much responsibility. >> reconnaissance drones, also known as uavs, have picked up images like this, russian infantry throwing a blanket over there howitzer in bakhmut. russian trucks hiding in the forest. >> it saves lives. either you go ahead blind and walk into a trap or you get guidance from the sky. >> then there are the attack drones. cheap, nimble, and packed with explosives. they are capable of landing a deadly blow on unsuspecting combatants. the eyes of the army. these are the fists. >> a drone which cost $300 and can be brought in any hobby shop

is capable of destroying -- our team has done it many times. heavy military equipment and personnel. it is a very effective gadget. >> no wonder the ukrainian army is said to be investing heavily in such low cost, because he drones in the teens needed to operate them. they are impervious to russia's systems. >> we see a tank driving. we fit the explosive to this part and let it fly. we fit the drone with shrapnel explosives and fly it. we also fitted with shrapnel explosives and fly inside the building. >> this may just be a demonstration today but the fighters of the 35th marine brigade use such -- believe such tools of modern warfare will

prove decisive in the counteroffensive. nicole: samuel is the senior fellow with the center for new american security and i asked him if he thinks that what we are witnessing is the first-ever real drone war. >> we, actually. we are witnessing a significant uptick in the supplies of different types of drones to the front and both, ukraine and the russian military, trying to learn the lessons from using military and the commercial type drones and the ones you just showed. nicole: why use drones rather than conventional missiles to attack cities like kyiv and moscow as we have seen in recent days? samuel: they are cheap. each of the drones russia launches against kyiv or the drones that struck moscow are actually much cheaper than the missiles. many magnitudes cheaper than the missile. for example, the russian built

iranian drone can cost no more than $50,000. a missile that can have a comparable reach can cost many hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. these are cheap substitutes and surrogates for the missiles and they are used actively by both sides and both sides are developing these type of drones to be even more capable and lethal. nicole: how decisive are they going to prove in the war? samuel: it really depends how they are used. ukraine has taken the lead in utilization of both military and commercial drones. the ukrainian drones can be quite effective. russian drones are becoming more effective as well. it really depends on the military and whether or not the military understand how to properly organize the drone force and combine it with existing formations, especially the ground forces, where most of the fighting is actually taking place. nicole: russia says drones hit

moscow on tuesday. what do we know about the types of drones that allegedly attacked the capital? samuel: we know that there are at least three types of drones that struck moscow. one is a classical aircraft type drone, which has recently been unveiled by the ukrainian military. another is a very interesting new design, fairly large drone with a so-called pressure design, with a propeller and motor in the back of the airframe. there are commercial drones that exist in that configuration and this appears to be much larger, military type project. there is a classical airframe that has been used on both sides. it is a drone that usually flies as a reconnaissance model but it's not exactly clear whether these are actual drones that flew and there's a lot of investigation going on right now to try and determine what exactly hit moscow. nicole: who do you think could have produced those drones? he

said they might have been involved in those strikes. >> if they flew from a ukrainian territory and had to overcome hundreds of kilometers of adversarial terrain, it is likely that they were launched by the ukrainian military, by the ukrainian special forces. if they were launched closer to moscow in order to evade moscow's air defenses and electronic warfare systems, they may have been launched from inside russia proper in which case we may be talking about, for example, a special forces contingent or perhaps this was the work of some of the antigovernment, anti-kremlin forces that have recently materialized, but it is not exactly clear. there is some grainy video. a lot of these drones were shut down. they indicated sophisticated attack aimed at basically showing moscow that the city that is supposed to be extremely well protected is not in fact safe from >> the ukrainian

counter. are we going to see armies and are battling with unmanned aircraft systems much more than conventional missile technology? samuel: 100%. everybody is looking at the lessons of ukraine and how both ukrainian and russian militaries are using military technologies as well as widespread use of commercial technologies as well so a lot of militaries are already copying the tactics and concepts in using such drones. there is going to be an emphasis on cheaper mass use of these drones in which case we could see thousands of loading ammunition type drones utilized by the militaries for conducting intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, combat duties, or even, because he strikes. -- and even strikes. nicole: thank you. >> thank you. nicole: the war in ukraine is having a profound impact on children caught up in the conflict. while young people endure the

trauma of growing up in a war zone, kyiv says there are also over 19,000 ukrainian children who have been forcibly separated from their families and illegally deported to russia. rodema zelenskyy is spearheading efforts to bring them home. >> a ukrainian policeman helps three orphans get ready to be evacuated. the children are being taken to stay with relatives after a shell exploded in their backyard . many ukrainian children have been forcibly taken to russia instead. kyiv estimates nearly 20,000 have been illegally deported. president zelenskyy is on a mission to get them back. this newly opened child rights protection center in kyiv is tasked with just that as well as providing medical and psychological help to children who have become victims of crime or witnessed them during the war.

>> this program has just started and it started well. we brought over 300 children back home to ukraine but we want to bring all of them back home. >> the international criminal court has issued an arrest warrant for putin and russia's commissioner for children's rights, accusing them of abducting ukrainian children, a war crime. russia says these are evacuations, not abductions. they claim to be protecting children by removing them from the conflict zone. reports of children being held in russian reeducation camps or being moved around to different locations, making it harder for the families to find them, has led to accusations of genocide. >> the main task is to return, document, and hold the russian federation accountable as well as the criminals who actually

continue to kill the future of our state which is the future of our children. >> until then, authorities continue to work for their safe return and for a safe ukraine for them to return to. nicole: let's take a look at some of the other stories making headlines around the world today. wildfires are continuing to burn out of control in eastern canada. within 18,000 people have already been forced to leave their homes although no injuries have been reported. officials are warning that the fires will keep growing with hot, dry, and windy weather conditions making firefighting difficult. minnesota has become the 23rd u.s. state to legalize cannabis for recreational use. the democratic governor signed a bill making it illegal to possess, grow, and use for over 21-year-old from august. cannabis remains illegal at the federal level. people in nigeria are rushing to buy fuel after the removal of a

longtime price subsidy sent prices soaring. the new president announced he was scrapping it in his inaugural speech on monday. the state oil company says it was spending over 800 million euros on the subsidy each month. police in germany have arrested seven alleged supporters of the so-called islamic state. antiterrorism operation brought raids across 10 german steaks. prosecutors say they collected 65,000 euros for i.s. members which help to finance their escape from camps in northern syria. german interior minister nancy said the operation had been a success. >> this is a blow against the financing of islamist terrorism. it shows that authorities are very vigilant.

it is clear how important it is to also take action against a financing network. especially looking at terrorist networks. you have to get to the sources of what is funding them. nicole: we can take a closer look at this with our guest. welcome back. what can you tell us about today's operation? >> well, it is in operation against supporters of isis and syria and there has been -- a network has developed in recent years supporting isis members who have either been jailed in jails or women who are based in refugee camps in syria and curtis in some cases, that is what the government says. the money has been used in order

to allow these women to flee from idlib in northwestern syria. nicole: this is a strike against isis supporters in germany. what do we know about their presence? many are there? where are they? >> they are based all over the country and that's kind of a new problem. in recent times, they were mainly based in the big cities, but now, we have supporters all over, all over the country. the problem -- their numbers are not known. i would assume that we speak about several hundred persons. and it has become extremely fashionable for them to send money, small amounts of money, 50 euros, 100 euros, to people who collect donations, especially for the women in syria and kurdistan. nicole: that is the situation in

germany. what about the rest of the european union? >> that is similar over there. the situation, especially of the women, but the situation of the isis presenters in syria is something like a rallying cry for jihadist supporters all over europe. they have been looking for a cause ever since the territorial caliphate has disappeared in 2009, 19, and the big issue is the support for those who are jailed in syria and even in iraq , so supporters of isis try to free women and in some extreme cases, even try to free men by sending money to iraq, syria, and even to some other countries. nicole: what do we know about the quantities of german isis fighters or european isis fighters that are being held in prisons and camps and women and

children of course as well in those camps? >> most of the women, all those women who want to come back to germany, have been repatriated by the foreign ministry. there are still some 10 to 15 persons left but most of them did not want to come back to germany. they are in syria in refugee camps. they remain there. we speak about something like 30 men. that is a little bit contested of who is a german. 30 men, around -- for isis fighters remained in custody, in syrian and kurdish jails but the government does not want them back. nicole: support for isis is still simmering. it has been quite sometime since we have seen a major isis inspired or isis backed attack here in europe. why do you think that is? >> we have seen some inspired attacks in 2020 in france and germany and in some other places.

i think that since 2017, the organization in syria and iraq is severely weakened and the security authorities have the situation under control with the help of the fbi, the nsa, and the cia. that is very important because we had major parts in germany in recent years but all of them could be thwarted because the americans gave us prior information about communication going on so the threat is still there but the organization is a lot weaker than it was in 2017, 2018, 2019. nicole: and the threat is manageable with a little help from our friends. thank you for coming back. in other news, the sudanese army suspended its participation in cease fire talks with paramilitary rapid support. hopes of humanitarian aid reaching civilians have also been dashed.

a german court has sentenced a 28-year-old woman to over five years in prison for taking part in a series of attacks on neo-nazis. the student was also convicted of forming a criminal organization. her three codefendants also received jail sentences. far left groups plan to rally against the verdict. the u.s. house of representatives is set to vote on a bill to raise the amount of money the u.s. government can borrow. joe biden reached a compromise with republicans to raise the debt ceiling this weekend but the vote could be tied with politicians on both sides unhappy with the deal. there was alarm in the south korean capital, seoul, after a satellite launched in north korea set off an emergency alert . japan also issued a warning to residents in the south of the country. the attempt to send the

satellite into orbit failed but it could provide an intelligence windfall for south korea which says it has retrieved part of the wreckage from the ocean. >> this is believed to be part of north korea's first spy satellite. the projectile was found by the south korean military after it had crashed into the sea. >> the military identified what seems to be the debris of a purported north korean space rocket in the waters. we are in the process of recovering the debris. >> in the early hours, emergency sirens sounded across south korea's capital, seoul. it caused confusion along with mobile phone alerts which called on residents to evacuate. >> it was early morning so i understand that there may be a misunderstanding between authorities in an emergency

situation. however, it is not right to tell people to just evacuate without any explanation. >> seoul's mayor was forced to apologize for the confusion but he defended the decision to raise the alarm. >> the emergency message could be a overreaction, but it was not a mistake. our principle is to respond in a manner that can be seen as excessive and there can be no compromise on safety. >> the meso alert system was also briefly activated in japan's okinawa region. the country's prime minister was taking no chances. >> north korea launched what is believed to be a ballistic missile. >> this was north korea's sixth satellite launch attempt and the first in seven years.

it was supposed to put the nuclear states first spy satellite into orbit. pyongyang was quick to admit the launch had failed but it has already promised to carry out another test as soon as possible. >> finally, the sun sets in new york every day, of course, like everywhere, but twice a year, there is something particularly special about the new york sunset. on those days, the sun aligns exactly with the city's street grade, and looking towards the west, it is perfectly framed by skyscrapers, reminding people of stonehenge, the prehistoric site in england, where huge rocks framed the sun on special days of the year. new yorkers called this phenomenon manhattan henge to give them an extra dose of magic and an extra dose of

traffic jams. here is a reminder. germany is due to dramatically reduce diplomatic presence after moscow capped the number of staff berlin is allowed to employ in russia. four of russia's five consulates are too close by the end of the year. you are watching dw news. stay with us now. i will be back in a few moments to take you through the day. i hope to see you there.

>> good evening to viewers across the world. this is france 24. you're watching lfp -- "live from paris." the u.s. house of representatives is voting on pushing up the country's debt ceiling limits after negotiations between the white house and the house top republicans. 400 members are about to publish star votes. an oil refinery struck by a pair of drones in the early hours of wednesday morning igniting a fire just 50 kilometers to the east of