>> this is "dw news" live from berlin. nato stages the largest air force exercise in its history, led germany. the drills involve 25 countries and whether both thousand troops. also on the program, the leaders of germany, poland and france meet in paris to discuss next month nato summit, and continued support for ukraine, as ukraine

says it has retaken several towns from russian forces. they are the first reported gains in months, and form part of the ukrainian counteroffensive. forma italian prime minister silvio berlusconi, dies aged 86. we look back at the legacy of the controversial leader. ♪ i am phil gayle. welcome to the program. nato is starting its biggest ever air drills involving thousands of troops and aircraft from 25 countries. n as operation air defender, most of the drills are being staged in the skies over germany. the exercises aimed at demonstrating nato's defensive capabilities. the state of lower saxony is serving as a strategic hub for the air maneuvers. reporter: ready for liftoff.

nato is flexing its muscles high in the sky, at this time endagerment leadership. the goal of this exercise is to practice getting goods and people from a to be in the event of an attack on a nato country. under such a scenario, germany would take on a vital level. >> germany is at the heart of nato's difference planning because of our essential location in europe. operations are planned and conducted here. this is where allied forces are received and supplied. this is the place they march through. . this requires normal logistical support including from the host nation of germany. we still have a lot of catching up to do here. meaning the german and u.s. air force started planning pit maneuver five years ago, but fun at russia's invasion of ukraine, exercises like this one have taken him significant. nato says it wants to send a message of deterrence, that it

is willing to disrupt daily life to make it clear. three flight zones had to be temporarily closed to civilian air traffic, winning likely delays on some civilian flights. more than 10,000 soldiers from nato countries are participating in numerous drills in the air, and on the ground. but the operation has also drawn criticism. a member of japanese left party said the capabilities are imperative, but there is very little defender and a lot of saber-rattling in the air right now. the maneuver is scheduled to last until the 23rd of june. no doubt russia will be watching closely. phil: kurt volker is a former u.s. special representative for ukraine, and former u.s. ambassador to nato. i asked his thoughts about that

criticism from germany's left party, that operation air defender is little defender and lots of saber-rattling. >> no, i completely disagree. we have a situation in europe where russia is attacking ukraine. has killed thousands and thousands of people and has threatened other countries, any country that was a part of the former soviet union is in the crosshairs. so nato is doing exactly the right thing by demonstrating that it has air defense capability second to none and therefore russia would be furnished to try to attack a nato country. phil: these errors exercises are rehearsals of what would happen in the event of an attack. how much has russia's aggression and very apparent incompetence in this war, how much has that changed nature thinking about a confrontation? guest: nato has always been

prepared to deter threats by being willing to defend against them and this is an expression of that. you see a couple of things here, because russia has launched this major aggression against ukraine , this exercise is bigger. also because russia has largely chewed up its ground forces a new crane, its air capability remains largely intact and this is a way for nato to demonstrate that that air capability is not a match to nato. phil: the ukrainian counteroffensive has begun, and kyiv says it has retaken a cluster of villages in the donetsk region. what are you making of what you are seeing of this counteroffensive? guest: so far, this is not a significant portion of ukraine's forces that are prepared for this counteroffensive. there is a lot of testing and probing of a lot of different areas in the front. even with the small proportion of forces, they have been able to make some gains.

but i think we have a lot yet to see. the ukrainians are trying to gauge where best to launch an offensive. phil: so what do you think we are likely to see next from ukraine? guest: i think you are going to see what we are already seeing, which is longer-range artillery strikes to knock out russia's logistical supplies and supporte where the weaknesses are in russia's offensive by ukraine, t that may not be right away, this phase may go on for a while. phil: let's look ahead at the medium to long-term. you have said that there is no security for europe without ukraine joining nato. can you see this war ending in a way that is decisive enough for nato to allow that to happen? guest: yes, absolutely.

i think there is no way that russia could win the war. they have set as their objectives the overthrow of the government in kyiv, taking over the whole country and eliminating the idea of ukraine as a nation or a people. that will utterly fail. more resources russia throws into this, the weaker they become. people in russia are beginning to realize that this war is a failure, and as a result, i think it will create some changes inside russia. that is what i think will ultimately be necessary in order for russia to stop the war. phil: really, you think this war will be so decisive that not only will vladimir putin be taken out or no longer be in charge of russia, but that there will not be a sort of long lingering, sputtering end to it? guest: well, i think it is possible that this will go on for some time, but this is having a devastating impact on

russia and the people in russia. i don't think they are allowed to continue this indefinitely. it will take a long time and i think as long as putin is able to direct the forces, he will continue to fight, but as we have seen already this year, russian forces will be no longer able to advance. phil: thank you so much for joining us, kurt volker. that guest: thank you. phil: french president emmanuel macron has said the ukrainian counteroffensive has started. he made the comment at a meeting with german chancellor scholz, and the polish president andrzej duda in paris. we were discussing ongoing support for ukraine ahead of a summit in lithuania next month. the trilateral meeting first began in 19 91 in the east of germany.

our correspondent talked me through the highlights of the leaders' press conference. reporter: no surprises that it was on about ukraine, all three leaders pledging to keep up support for kyiv for as long as it takes. they noted that this comes at a critical time, critical because of ukraine's counteroffensive is underway. french president macron said that could last several months. but critical also because all three men have a big date circled in red on their calendar, and that is the nato summit which is coming up. of three presidents will be at the summit, but ukraine will also be invited, and kyiv has made it clear it is coming with the wish list. it once a road map towards one day joining nato. so this tete-a-tete amongst these three leaders to discuss that discuss what might happen. phil: there still divisions over ukraine's desire to become a member of the alliance? reporter: there are certainly

more divisions than ukraine would like. we heard for example from the polish president andrzej duda, talking about giving ukraine it's a dearest wish, to give it a green light at the end of the tannin, he said, a clear vision of how it could become a member of nato. president macron meanwhile mentioned that ukraine perhaps should have the perspective that it has a right to. german chancellor scholz made absolutely no mention of ukraine partitioning nato. you can see some division lies therein. german is not the only member seen as reticent on this front, there are concerns amongst some nato countries of potentially escalating this war into an even bigger conflict. some divisions still remain here in paris tonight. phil: so unlikely that ukraine will get any good news about nato membership in the next few weeks. reporter: well, what will not

get is a full membership, we will not see ukraine's flag hoisted at the nato summit. but might get something in between. that is the question that remains. might there be some tougher, clearer language on when or if and how ukraine conjoint nato? might there be security guarantees or assurances, that is what they mentioned tonight. might there be an upgrading of the format in which ukraine and nato officially hold talks? that is still potentially on the table. you certainly can't that that it will be a sure outcome, but you can bet that ukraine will keep lobbying tours that. phil: thanks for that, rosie birchard in paris. here's a look at more stories making headlines around the world. ukraine's defense ministry says it troops every taken control of a fifth village from russian forces in donetsk, a region partially occupied by russia. ukrainian troops released this video that they say shows them

posing with their flag in the village. russia's military, however, says it repelled ukraine's attempts to advance in the area. turkish president recep tayyip erdogan says any deal resolving cyprus's ethnic divisions must be placed on the recognition of the breakaway turkish cypriot state in the north. he made the remarks during his first overseas visit since his reelection. you and resolutions have called for a single cyprus with a federal structure -- you and resolutions- u.n. resolutions have called for a single cyprus with the federal structure. former president trump has arrived in florida. he is accused of obstructing government efforts to recover government documents. the democratic republic of the congo -- 40 civilians are reported to have been killed in an attack.

officials state militias launched the attack in one province. our correspondent is miles from the u.n. peacekeeping base. to sudan, resumed in the country's capital khartoum, after the end of a 24 hour cease-fire agreed to ease the delivery of aid. fighting between the army and the perm paramilitary rapid support forces is some of the heaviest in weeks. you might find the images in this report distressing. reporter: dark smoke billows over the sudanese capital. and explosions rang out at regular intervals. this is what everyday life looks and sounds like for the people of khartoum. many are afraid to leave their homes, although as these pictures show, they are not safe there either. sudan's deadly power struggle doesn't stop at the walls of residential houses. not even at the doors of

orphanages. in may, it became known that mo than 70 children perished in the capital's orphanage, as fighting raged around them. they were infants, toddlers, and older children. most are said to have died from fever, or a lack of food. thanks to a rare pause in fighting, the remaining orphans have since been rescued. on june 2, the icrc moved 70 children to a safer location east of khartoum. >> the children had been there for the past six weeks, so it was really for us a belief to see that we could bring them to safety. reporter: despite the successful mission, the events at the orphanage are a brutal illustration of the humanitarian situation in today's sudan. aid agencies there are millions

of people who are in desperate need of food and medical aid, some of them trapped in dangerous locations that are difficult to reach. >> we responding and we are providing support, but it is extremely challenging to meet all the needs and to reach everyone wherever they are. [shouting] reporter: the war in sudan started in late april, pitting the army, led by abdul fattah al-burhan, against the so-called rapid support forces, a powerful paramilitary group led by his former deputy, mohamed hamdan dagalo. the two groups had a falling out over merging the purgatory force into the army, and low-smoldering resentment erupted into open combat when the rsf moved into khartoum. [gunfire] soon after the violence spread, leaving up to half of sudan population in need of aid. >> the humanitarian situation is

catastrophic in sudan. before the war there were already 15 million people who were facing food insecurity. we also know that this number has increased by millions after the war. reporter: according to the u.n., more than 400,000 people have fled to other countries such as chad, egypt, and the central african republic. but not everyone can make it out. the new conflict is thought to have caused an additional 1.4 million people to be internally displaced. >> our homes or burned and we lost all of our belongings. we need help. >> we just want medicine to be provided. that is the most important thing, since there are children and elderly people staying here. reporter: international mediators have attempted to resolve the increasingly dire situation. so far, without success.

until the two warring parties laid down their weapons for good, the focus of students people, young and old, will be on survival. phil: a worldwide -- worldwide nuclear arms spending has increased for the third year in a room. a report from the stockholm international peace research institute has warned this is leaving the world into one of the most dangerous periods in history, with the number of usable nuclear warheads also starting to increase. the institute has stressed that governments around the world must find ways to cooperate in order to calm geopolitical tensions. guest: china in particular, we register a significant increase in the number of nuclear warheads over the past year, app from 350 to 410. compared to the usa and russia that have about 5000 each in their inventories, that is very small, but the increase is there. phil: our guest is a senior

fellow at the james martin center for nonproliferation studies in washington, d.c. welcome to dw. if the world already contains enough weaponry to destroyed it multiple times over, what is the matter of numbers in china? guest: in terms of numbers, it doesn't matter. china would like to have more. would like to be in the same league apparently as the united states and russia. it's about status in the world at its ability to project force worldwide and potentially have a conflict of areas like the south china sea and taiwan and compete with the united states with its large nuclear forces. phil: so do you regard the world as being much more dangerous now because of the apparent nuclear proliferation? guest: well, it is getting more dangerous generally. i don't think it is only because of 60 more weapons.

we see the war in ukraine and what that has done to the world order. we see the ties between russia and china, increasing militarization of the pacific, we still have conflicts in north korea and taiwan. the post-cold war era is finally over and we are in a much more dangerous environment than we were say 10 or 15 years ago. phil: so it is more generally dangerous not necessarily because of the number of nuclear weapons out there? guest: right. it's both a symptom of what is going on there, and a cause. the number of nuclear weapons reflects the tension and the increasing u.s. china competition in particular, as well as enhanced north korean weapons and because of china, you get india wanting more weapons and so on. it is a follow on, domino

effect. phil: i beg your pardon -- do please continue. guest: no, i am finished, go ahead. phil: ok, sorry about that. these weapons, as not cheap. why are countries who are so poor or who have major economic problems like north korea and pakistan, why are they so keen to spend so much money on them? guest: because they have been shown to protect your country from invasion. if you are north korea and you have convinced yourself that the south koreans want to invade your everyday, then you spend the money on the weapons. they are also a status symbol, because they are a poor country, the fact that they have nuclear weapons is viewed as a great l technical achievement. they might not have software or people may not have sufficient

close or middle-class lifestyles, but hey, we have nuclear weapons. we are a real country. phil: do you think we are likely to see nuclear superpowers like the u.s. and russia, are we likely to go back to an era of disarmament, diplomacy and nuclear arms control? guest: i would hope at some point we are able to do that, but not convey environment in which war is taking place, in the ukraine or with countries rely speaking to each other, let alone engaging in arms control talks. it would be very hard for president biden and others to work with president putin, in the middle of war. the first thing is we need to have the war end. there might be some lower-level talks, but we will not get full-fledged talks before the war ends. phil: to bring us back to the nuclear issue, then, we are in a situation that, as we have discussed, the world is super dangerous.

it doesn't take the number of nuclear weapons in it -- that might be a factor, but that is not what -- we're doing well enough at fighting each other without even throwing nuclear weapons in. so how much is this morning's scaremongering -- how much is this scaremongering, and how much is this something we already knew? guest: well i think it is important to see what is happening and to do these annual reports on what is happening in terms of the arsenals of countries, that i would say, more than the numbers of weapons, what frightens me is the discourse we have heard from russia and its willingness to threaten nuclear weapons use, which we haven't heard at that level in a very long time. they have been very casual about making nuclear threats, and this is very disconcerting. the numbers only tell you so

much. it is really the likelihood of use that we need to be concerned about. phil: we have given us much to think about, and i thank you for that miles pomper from the james martin center for nonproliferation studies in washington, d.c. thank you. guest: thanks for having me. phil: italy is remembering formerly dear silvio berlusconi who has died at 86. the billionaire and tycoon was the country's longest-serving prime minister and remained active in politics even after leaving office in disgrace, and making controversy last year with comments seen as supportive of russia. the nation has declared a national day of mourning. reporter: italy bid farewell to one of its most influential figures. silvio berlusconi dominated the worlds of business and politics for decades. a billionaire who made his fortune from a thriving media empire, and a populist leader plagued scandal. >> italy learned from him that

it should never have limits imposed on it. it learned that it should never give up. with him, we thought, won, lost many battles. and for him, too,, we will bring home the goals we set ourselves together. goodbye, silvio. many loved him, many hated him. reporter: everyone today must recognize that his impact on political, but also economic sporting and television life was unprecedented. reporter: berlusconi presented himself as a self-made man. he transformed italy's political landscape, building the country's's biggest commercial tv network, and leading a center-right political party. with his paralyzing policies, critics accused him of eroding democracy and he was infamous for diplomatic graphs and scandals, the most notorious of

which centered on his so-called bunga bunga parties. berlusconi faced persecution more than 30 times for alleged embezzlement,. counting, bribing a judge, and for allegedly soliciting sects with a minor. after being convicted, he was eventually acquitted of the charges. amid snowballing scandal, he stepped down as prime minister in 2011. millions of italians celebrated his fall from power. despite the controversy, many admired his br brash style. >> really? to me he seemed immortal. anyway, i am sorry to hear it because even i don't share his views at all, he was a figure who did historic things over all these years and he was a great political impresario. >> i don't know what bad things this will lead to, but i am sure this will be very destabilizing for foresight thalia -- forza

italia. reporter: in recent years, berlusconi was in and out of hospitals as his health became increasingly fragile. he leaves behind a new generation of more radical, right-wing populist politicians. berlusconi will receive a state funeral on wednesday at milan cathedral. phil: manchester city held an over-the-top bus. through the northern english city to celebrate their champions league triumph. thousands throughout the route as they welcomed their hero's home. the abu dhabi-backed club won in istanbul for their first champions league title. they also won the premier league and fa cup, making it the only second team to win a t reble. germany hosted ukraine in a charity match to mark the 1000th

international game. germany took an early lead. two goals from victor give ukraine a sharp 3-1 lead. germany salvaged the lucky draw and two late goals to make a final score 3-3. the final match proceeds will go to war-torn ukraine. here on dw, we will be back in the moment with an in-depth review of the world's top stories in "the day." generally if you can. bye-bye. ♪

anchor: welcome to world news and analysis. silvio berlusconi is dead. he was 86 years old. we will be joining our correspondent for more on his lifetime and legacy. a 50 village has been captured by ukraine troops 24 h