an engagement trail, when so many find themselves worlds apart and we choose to look for common ground. ah, for a couple of days of breast this tank group is once again on its way to take part in the r t follows russia's assault battalion operation. as fighting on the don best front lines continues with. we know that the west is directly complicit in kiev. regimes attempts to strike the pieces of our strategic aviation, a stark accusation from bottom air pollutant, blaming the web for helping you freight and it's thrown attacks on russian bases that and more in the russian presidents annual address to both countries.

parliament just hours after vladimir, whose address joe biden excuses moscow of igniting the ukraine conflict in his speech in poland as a serious of industrial disasters remain on address back home and africa. most populous state faces the choice of a new president. amid political turbulence and multiple crises and gulping the country, watch our keys, special coverage as voters prepare for this weekend's pole with good morning for moscow to wherever you may be watching and welcome to the hour's top stories worldwide. i'm fiorella isabel. we start with the situation on the don bass front line as the fighting continues. our t got an exclusive look at the operations of the euro battalion, a special assault unit of the russian army. our correspondent eager donna reports

from the ground to an unfamiliar rye. this may look like one colossal thicket, but the 1st look is deceptive. the soil here is carved with trenches, reinforced with concrete. ukraine has turned this woodland into a citadel. russia, in turn, is bulldozing this bastion with tanks. after a couple of days of rest, this tank crew is once again on its way to take part in the own lot in russia on stored on ukrainian positions in the forest outside criminal. this is russia's separate assault battalion, ural, a crew of. busy volunteers who couldn't let their military experience go to waste

valuable value on this battalion is a separate assault unit of the ministry of defense with the support of private individuals. our task is to knock the enemy out of the forest. we work from different distances. they rush ukraine's positions and raise hell in the midst of the enemy, key of troops respond with all they've got our p, jeez, artillery and heavy caliber rounds the cruise ship unfazed russian tanks continue the fight until they run out of ammunition scarred but fully functional. they would draw to return with more firepower tanks provide invaluable cover to wash and ground troops. one special forces unit capitalizes on the distraction and gets close to one of the enemy dugouts.

hi, this narry 20 meters between the warring sides, 3 ukrainian soldiers try to put up a fight. but when the commander is down by a clean head shot, the peak at the drone camera hands up in the air. ukrainian officials have been claiming this is what russia's new wall out offensive looks like. but given how much reserves stayed put to day, it was combat reconnaissance. at best, i'm a get done of reporting from the dumbass art. see, russia has suspended its participation in the new start nuclear treaty, but is not departing from the agreement. that's what vladimir putin said earlier in

his annual address, to the national parliaments. but they would shanella, but would you wish to go through to representatives the u. s. is sending signals and putting out ultimatums to russia. they say you, russia must implicitly do as we have previously agreed to, including the new start treaty. while we, the us, will do whatever we want to. they say there's no connection between the new start treaty issues and the ukrainian conflict or other hostile actions by the west, towards russia, with letter u, as if there is no loud statement that the u. s. aim is defeating russia strategically, you know, so it's either utmost cynicism and hypocrisy or utmost stupidity. we can't call them idiots though. they're not stupid. they want to defeat a strategically and also want to continue to inspect our new killer objects. in this regard, i have to say that russia is forced to suspend our involvement in the new start treaty li. the suspension of the treaty can be reversed according to the russian

foreign ministry. moscow says the u. s. t escalation and it's aggressive stance. would quote, create the conditions for the pact to fully function. rush, also state that still intends to follow the timeline on weapons reductions set out in the bilateral agreements. but that checks on stockpiles would not be allowed. a reminder, new star, a nuclear limitation, packed between moscow and washington, was signed in 2010 and is set to expire in 3 years. the treaty sets curves on both countries, strategic arsenals, and includes on site inspections to verify compliance, rushes move to suspended. participation came after vladimir putin accuse the west of being involved in attacks on russian strategic air basis. mozilla. we know that the west is directly complicit in kiev regimes attempts to strike to bases of

our strategic evaluation. drones used for that were equipped and modernized with the help of natal specialists. western elite cannot ignore the fact that it is impossible to defeat rush on the battlefield. they intend to transform a local conflict into a phase of global confrontation. this is exactly how we understand this, and we will respond accordingly. when you mind the president's speech went on for almost 2 hours, and now 45 minutes, it was given before the cream of russia's elite, the biggest revelation was left until almost the end. and that is russia suspending its participation. very important distinction. not a not pulling out of but rather suspending its participation in the start nuclear arms reduction and control treaty between it in the united states that has been in effect since 2010 vladimir putin here cited various reasons

for it. and that primarily, all one of the most important reasons is that it is simply lost power. for example, russian inspections, which are written into the, into the start treaty, russian inspectors are denied inspections in the united states for all manner of reasons. there is also the fact that the united states, various western leaders of now now come out and they say that they want russia to suffer a strategic defeat and ukraine. the president has ordered the ministry of defense to prepare to carry out nuclear tests. but only if the united states carries those out 1st, the gist of what he had to say is that relations with the west. ah, i now have been torn to shreds. there is nothing to say and on. and that, marsha, i sees through all of this high talk about the ma chrissy and peace.

you know, certainly no country in the world has as many military bases abroad as the united states does. there are hundreds of them, and i want to emphasize this hundreds of basses around the world. the whole planet is stacked with them. just look at the map. no one counts the human victims and tragedies because trillions of dollars are at stake. the opportunity to further rob, everyone hiding behind words about democracy and freedom. russia president also stressed that russia did everything, everything that it could to avoid this conflict, the special military operation in ukraine. but the 4 years, 4 years european nasally does, as well as the government in key of which vladimir putin believes to be fully controlled by laser. these leaders lied to russia for years. they lied and they stole about ukraine's peaceful intent, their peaceful intent. they spent those years pumping weapons into ukraine if you

assume, but just want to shoot door. and i would like to emphasize that even before the special military operation, key of was negotiating with the west on delivery of air defense systems, plains and other heavy equipment. we also remember attempts by the key of regime to acquire nuclear weapons and they were stating it publicly. the u. s. a. nato were rapidly deploying their military bases and secret bio labs near our borders. during their maneuvers, they explored the theater of future military actions. and they prepared the key of regime that was controlled by them. ukraine, that was enslaved by them for a big war. and now they are admitting it admitting it publicly openly and with no shame. he also says the various nationalists leaders, neo nazis, were trained in western military colleges, were taught how to wage war against the russian federation. all, with the understanding that this war would happen matters speed. the western plough

all along, vladimir putin also said that this conflict between russia and ukraine isn't between russia and the people of ukraine. but rather, those that have taken at hostage and any further increase in the number of civilians killed in the, in the devastation when you are you im not of the morena but we're not at war with the people of ukraine. i've already said this many times. the people of ukraine themselves have become hostages of the key of regime, and it's western masters who have actually occupied the country in a political, military, and economic sense. no one thought about the people, they were prepared for slaughter and eventually turned into expendable material. the responsibility for inciting the ukrainian conflict for the escalation, for the increase in the number of its victims, lies entirely with the western elites. and the key of regime deals have said that the, the sanctions which the west believe would shatter the russian economy. that,

that didn't pan out, the russian economy remained strong's over there. a little bit different of the west is deployed not only a military informational, but also an economic front against us. but nowhere, nowhere has it achieved anything and will not achieve anything. anti russian sanctions are a means for their goal. as the western leaders themselves declare a direct quote to make our citizens suffer. that's their humanism. the president said again that victory rushes future is depended on the actions of every single person. and he also says that it is a historic obligation to see this through to the hours after vladimir burton's address, that you as president made a key speech falling, a meeting with his polish counterpart in warsaw. joe biden said the west had not plotted to try and dominate russia. did i say nations of europe

did not seek to control or destroy russia? the west was not plotting to attack russia. as prudent said today, president who chose is war. every during the war continues, is his george. he good out of the war. we're the, we're, it shipple. if you crane stopped defending himself against russia would be the end of ukraine all across my country. in big cities, a small town ukrainian flight fly from american homes. over the past year, democrats or republicans with our united states congress have come together to stand for freedom that 2 americans are and that's what americans do. bitin statement came during his visit to the polish capital on tuesday, where he stressed the importance of collective european security, and that nato is quote, stronger than ever. he said to me, officials from other member states of the alliance. later,

it follows the american liter surprised trip to kiev on monday, where he talked and walked with president the lensky, while air raid sirens were heard rigging out across the city. despite no shelling in the ukrainian capital. ah, as biden reassured, care that the u. s. would support ukraine using all means back at home, his country faces its own troubles. the state of ohio saw a major blast at a metal plant. that's the mid an already escalating chemical catastrophe. after a train, carrying tops at substances, the rails in the state, 2 weeks ago, resulting in serious concerns over environmental damage and bite and has neither visited the site nor declared a state of emergency. it's so under many,

we're not impressed with his care visit with a number of republican politicians and the east palestine mayor himself questioning the fact bite him preferred kiev over america on president. stay in the u. s. you saw the president joe biden over, and ukraine did that make you feel slighted in any way? that was the biggest slap in the face that tells you right now he doesn't care about us. so agreed he can send every agency he wants to, but oh, i found that out this morning, one of the briefings that he was in the ukraine given millions of dollars away to people over there. not to austin. i'm curious, this is incredibly insulting to day on our president stay joe biden. the president of the united states chose ukraine over america, while forcing the american people to pay for ukraine's government and war. if you want to understand why so many americans are frustrated right now. biden is in

ukraine before ohio. no time to visit east palestine, ohio, but plenty of time for this. we discussed by ins visit to ukraine and poland with civil rights attorney, robert patillo and geopolitical analysts. mark sl boda. they were definitely trying to spin a dramatic propaganda narrative with president biden's speech in warsaw. i mean, and he punched home freedom and democracy versus autocracy light. versus darkness good versus evil. and all of this, of course is, is really an obscene misrepresentation of the situation. and you grand, i read in a p piece that described zalinski and bite in walking through the streets of kia with the air raid sirens, as a taste of the terror that the people of kiev have lived

under a never mind. of course, the 9 year bloody war that the care regime is waged on the people of don boss. this is a propaganda set piece. the target of which is the people of america and the west to create an atmosphere that bite in wanted to present his trip to kiev under. we're looking at money with $5000.00 workers per year, are killed on the job. nearly a $100000.00 more died from diseases related to their time employment, the workplace safety of an epidemic in this country. there is a current focus on it because of the train derailment in east palestine, ohio. but this is me, a problem playing in the nation for over 40 years. we wrote that nearly every safety regulation, every work regulation on corporations, in the name of profits, and the support of the put the health and safety of americans at risk. the congress people, the leadership there,

understand the need of breaking through the partisan divide in washington, d. c. and putting in place the types of regulations that will stop the thing from happening to administration. we had a severe di, regulatory regime of the thought, the sought to rollback of the workplace regulation to possible and their lease renewed, so it was delicious past to stop it from happening. oh, rush, as no doubts over who was behind the north stream pipeline attacks back in september or the attacker's motives. the comments came as russia submitted a resolution to the un security council, calling for an independent international investigation into the incidence. you civilians were not engaged in spreading disinformation. we're not trying to build indictments based on allegations in the spirit of being highly likely in the case of undermining the pipeline. there is no doubt about the motive of the crime, nor its perpetrators, nor the way in which the crime was committed. we're not here to have a trial in the security council. we've submitted

a draft security council resolution with instructions to conduct an independent international investigation. we forced to do this because we have doubts about the effectiveness, transparency, and impartiality of the ongoing investigations. we do not see any desire for cooperation on the part of our partners, as we heard of the russian representative of the russian bastard and dan's. yet he made it abundantly clear that at this point of all the science seemed to indicate the united states is responsible. the u. s. representative dismissed allegations and the evidence put forward by c mortars and others as merely a conspiracy theory from the internet. those were the words they use. now, the chinese representative, i made a point of saying that flat out denial from the united states without going in to the details. all the evidence that has been presented was simply unacceptable. we heard from different countries talking about the potential danger threats, the environment i carried out as a result of it,

the need for thorough investigation and accountability. any deliberate act of sabotage against trans boundary infrastructure is a malicious act. china welcomes the draft of resolution tabled by rushing the council, and believes that it is of utmost significance to authorize an international investigation into the sabotage of the north stream pipelines. acts of sabotage against energy infrastructure such as explosions that damage the north stream. one and 2 gas pipelines in the baltic sea last september are unacceptable. they pose a significant threat to international security, stability and prosperity. vandalism, to critical infrastructure is an unacceptable act that we have a life and death impact. on contrast, people, let's see, the switzerland is concerned about the damage to nordstrom $1.00 and $2.00 gas pipelines which resulted in warning gas leaks and did. so. last september,

all available information indicates that there is an active sabotaged for we heard from the members of the 15 member body that leads the united nations. the security council there were briefings we heard from rosemary. decarlo un under secretary, we heard from jeffery sack of columbia university, the well respected economists. we also heard from ramos gobber and the cia analyst has become an advocate apiece. they all gave remarks and jeffrey sachs, in particular, emphasized the need for an investigation to be conducted by the un and for information about what is found in these countries that are doing their own investigations to be made transparent and available to the public. 3 countries have reportedly carried out investigations of the lord stream, terrorism, denmark, germany, and sweden. these countries presumably know much more about the circumstances of the terrorist attack. sweden, in particular, has perhaps the most to tell the world about the crime scene which its divers

investigated. yet instead of sharing this information globally suite has kept the results of the investigation secret from the rest of the world, and turned down a joint investigation with denmark in germany. in the interest of global peace, the un security council should require these countries to mediately turn over the results of their investigations to the un security council. there was quite an interesting amount of emphasis placed on the need for security and why the destruction the pipeline was unacceptable. russia says it's pretty clear at this point who is responsible. china is not satisfied with the answers or lack of answers from the united states. the united states dismisses everything is somehow just being an internet conspiracy theory without getting into any details about why they feel it is incorrect. why did meeting council chamber we spoke to a former cia officer raymond mcgovern who briefly un security council members at

the meeting. he says that an international investigation is not in the interests of some western countries. there are people who don't want to initial investigation. those are the people that are subservient to the united states who had the opportunity that baltic she exercised naval exercise and who profited from it. well we had the secretary state say was a great opportunity to terrific opportunities in my view. the bottom line is the circumstantial evidence is compelling. i mean, what more do you need? this suggest that when biting says we have the means, we're going to do it. don't worry about it. we can blow up, we could stop nord st. european members' security council just to, to what us policy is. you can expect an independent appreciation from them.

o nigeria, africa's most populous nation is preparing for presidential elections this saturday . here in our tea, we're kicking off our special coverage of one of the world's most significant elections this year. he 18 candidates will take part in the presidential elections with 3 of the leaders representing the main regents of the country. voter decisions have been complicated by multiple crises in the country, from economic troubles to energy issues are to correspondent rachel blevins springs . more details. the west african nation of nigeria is days away from an election that will determine the country's next president. and while some races have 2 main options, nigerians have 18 to choose from who represent

a wide range of views and interests. the question at hand is who will replace the current president bahama do bihari, who has been in office for the last 8 years. the top 3 contenders represent the major regions in africa, most populous nation. first, there's bola, mad to new. bu, from the ruling all progressives congress party, as a former governor, he, as often boasted about helping the current president get into office. his favorite slogan translates to, it's my turn, and he is promising to create jobs, focus on the economy and tackle violent crime. this is a revolution. the selection is the revolution. we shall take over from them. they don't want collection to take place, but we won't accept they want to hide on the fuel scarcity to cause the crisis. so that there won't be an election to new wrappers as your robot. the 3rd largest ethnic group in nigeria, which makes up around 20 percent of the population, while the candidate is part of the wealthy political establishment. the people he

stands for are known to be farmers and crafts, met. the next contender is tico above our car, the leader of the people's democratic party has a former vice president. he is considered by many to be the most experienced politician. still trying even after 5 unsuccessful presidential bids. he represents the full lonnie. i'm majority muslim group in the north which makes up around 6 percent of the population. his latest campaign has revolved, are on the slogan of recover nigeria where he promises a small government that turns the country into the hub of crude oil, refining and africa. let me promise nigerians that we shall never disappoint you. if you give us your mandate. we promised to live by our promises and have united country a peaceful country that we have a buoyant economy. and we have the best education for children and also delegate powers to states local governments with corresponding resources. then there's peter o, we a former governor and nominee of the labor party. he represents the igloo people of

south east nigeria which make up or on 18 percent of the population seen by many as an outsider. he is the youngest of the top 3 contenders that age 61. and he has focused on the younger generation with pledges to fight corruption and to change the economic priorities from consumption to production in line with my upbringing, especially my mothers council, my promises that nigeria resources will be most prudently used. and as the commander in chief, i eat pizza, obi sicily plates that all packed with nigeria will be diligently pursued to created new nigeria characterized by sustainable and inclusive growth and development. while nigeria is the most populous nation in africa, it's estimated that only around $93000000.00 people or less than half of the country are registered to vote. and when it comes to the issues the new president will inherit. there are many ranging from the economic crisis that is left citizens dealing with cash shortages to an energy crisis that is drawn attention to the

nations controversial petrol subsidies. as a result, all eyes will be on saturdays election and what it means for the future of nigeria . public opinion polls show most nigerians consider the countries current political course to be problematic with this state. overwhelmed by a cash crisis caused by a hasty currency reform and issues with energy stability due to a lot of fuel. aside from poverty, nigerian space, a security crisis, and issues with terrorism, which caused an upsurge of violence in the country last week. at least a policeman have been killed in 2 separate attacks in the run up to the elections, the country security services, blame the indigenous people of the off for a rebel group. the killings have struck fear into locals and raised the question of security at bullied stations. we heard from an analyst who said that there are signs of foreign intervention aimed at the stabilizing the situation ahead of the

elections. nobody benefits from violence. so any provocation that is went to lead to violence is not going to be in the interest of the citizens. and that was why some policeman were killed. and we went to understand that the person who is to get tend to valez is from a broad. do you send a judy on what he's not staying in nigeria? we were mid to understand that some of his follow us. where does where responsible for the chilling of the police made? that was what we allegedly hot it is in our collective interest to allow these electrons to come on. i lead the ivy piece, so we don't need to allow nigeria to be destroy, whoever becomes the president or the governor or the senate talk, or the legislators. we should all support them on in national interest led to

country move forward. watch our coverage of the nigerian elections throughout the coming days here in our te will keep you updated on all the latest news. ah ah ah, i am here to play with you. whatever you do. you do not.