ah, ah, ah ah, this is dw news life from berlin. the world condemns the parent atrocities by russian forces in ukraine. ukraine's government says its troops are pre taking the anti keefe region, but there's evidence of torture, abuse, and hundreds of civilian deaths. also coming off missiles hit the strategic port of odessa, the city wakes to explosions. as thick black smoke fills the sky under bold challenge to hungary, hard line prime minister victor, or by rival opposition parties unite in an attempt to force out the veteran leader

. it's the tightest election race in more than a decade. ah, i'm monica jones. welcome to the program. western leaders have condemned apparent atrocities committed by russian forces in ukraine. the ukrainian government says its troops have again control of the entire area around the capital, keith, but ukrainian soldiers moving back into towns and villages previously occupied by russia have uncovered evidence of hundreds of civilian deaths with many victims. having been brutalized, you are secretary of state antony blink, and describes images of dead civilians as a punch in the gut. a warning to our viewers. this next report contains images that some may find disturbing. the devry of war,

a graveyard of tanks, stanzas, evidence of russia's southern retreat and ukraine's determination to defend the area around keith. but the letter of russian hardware isn't the only sign of conflict, buildings of scorched and destroyed entire neighborhoods. devastated and alongside that, the grim reminders of the very human cost of conflict bodies lie on the streets suggesting indiscriminate killing an evidence of possible war crimes. even in death, the bodies have been afforded little dignity. ukrainian soldiers fear russian forces might have hidden explosives in the corpses as they left. it was something ukrainian president laudermill lensky, included in this warning message. many the occupants withdrawl is revealing a catastrophic situation. and there is still so much danger. do not doubt this asteroid could continue, and they are setting booby traps everywhere in houses, not even in the bodies of those killed. there are many trap plus and other

dangerous. amid the trauma, though, is a sense of relief that the russians have left with residents coming together, sharing meals and a sense of victory after weeks of living in constant fear. the summer will be everything will be wonderful for the laundry. hans didn't shelling for more than a month when everything was gone, the water was gone. light gas, everything was gone at once. then the internet was gone, so then the phone communications went down. this we found ourselves cut off from the whole world to set the ship to mirror, but the death and destruction all around showed a huge price paid in the past weeks. every 40, every corpse is a friend or neighbor, a mother or brother, miss wellington landscaping. honest man who loved and they simply

shamelessly and in full knowledge, crushed him to death with a rushing tang residence here. no, this retreat does not indicate an end to the wolf. ukraine is preparing for what may come next. as russia regroups its forces for attacks in other parts of the country. earlier we spoke to our correspondent nick connelly and the region, both east of keith, where ukrainian forces they, they free taking territory from retreating russian troops. here is his assessment of the situation in boucher issue with boucher and there is that journalist i'm not able to get in that yet. we expect to get in a few days time. so we're not able to, i didn't to verify those pictures independently to see with our eyes, but definitely the situation is desperate and it will be last week. so we be hearing from people who were there in those towns unable to get out, spoke to failed attempts to organize smart car doors and can proceed to now people to get out in safety and stuff in case the people who even using

a lot of trying to get out those image, they'll see shocking people close to ukraine and hadn't seen that kind of treatment of civilians documented with pictures in the week. so in a way for you creating civilians following this war from their homes. you know, being bombed on a daily basis. they are now seeing these images end up being with reality verification and the cost to missiles have hit the port of odessa on ukraine's southern coast until now the city has mostly avoided russian attacks, unlike the intense bombing that's devastated maria pole, but now ukrainians. fear a new face of the war has begun. palm strike, he crane's main port city of odessa. turning the torn sky orange waking residence up to a new phase of russia's war in ukraine. and 8 worker film. the bombings on his

phone. i woke up approximately it 4 or 4 30 am because our house was a bit shaking lately. so naples was very big noise also this rogue buck roggette dogs and this guy was read, you know, and the small goals. koobooley allude, adams, dorman, knew it was a big explosion to blue. like if an airplane crash, chill switch would go somewhere. i have never seen something like that and she knew through the whole issue and we need to close the sky because we don't want this to happen again. another beauty critical, the nearby unions nile shall as local people watched plumes of smoke gloom over the city. the authorities there said russia had hit critical infrastructure, but there were no reports of casualties. so it wasn't like russia's defense ministry said it's ships and planes had bombed an oil processing plant and fuel depos near odessa. it set the facilities supply fuel to ukraine's troops in coastal

towns further east. a dresser emergency crews have not yet had to deal with heavy russian bombardment like the eastern port of mario pole, but ukraine's president. sir lensky says that russian troops are regrouping and preparing what he calls powerful strikes. and the desk, as residents are left wondering just how long they can stay here for more, i'm a joint now from odessa by lawrence sheets. he's a for my npr moscow bureau chief and head of consulting group. you ration international analytics. he has also come to the soviet union and russia for over 3 decades. and he is now from odessa, where he has been reporting on the military situation for the past 2 weeks. very

good to have you with us, lawrence. just tell us what happened last night, or rather, early this morning on there. about $430.00 m o. we received those of us in odessa text messages on our cell phones. warming warning of an imminent irrate, basically some general warning that was told by your read sirens and then its 6 am exactly on the route, extremely loud explosions, which would only be miss lyles. and that has been confirmed why ukrainian military sources they landed about one kilometer for i'm sitting near the port in odessa. they're still black smoke, really you into the sky, even though it's been 8 and a half hour since will 8 hours since the missile struck. odessa is not just out or did or ukraine's biggest port. um, it's the last remaining port 70 percent of imports and exports used to come through odessa. of course it's been blocked off by the russian evil forces for several

weeks now. but um ukraine being a major supplier of world, wheat supplies, and other agricultural goods. and the conduit for imports, the importance can't be overstated. absolutely. so strategically, that is also playing a big role. well, it will go into that in just a moment. but, i mean, what about people there? we know that odessa has a so far been bad, mostly had prepared with people there for, for this kind of attack. i think you're extremely prepared are the fact that a couple of months went by and the showing from russian naval boats have been limited to showing from boats from the sea, from black sea limited to the outskirts, hadn't caused that much significant damage. but this was in the heart of odessa, which has various connotations. ah, it's historically, if you go back to 1941, had a jewish priority and has great importance as

a center of jewish culture in the world of judaism and in israel, obviously. so that's a big geopolitical factor as to how israel react will react to this on the streets . i can tell you, i just go walk up to the market. very few people are, i would say one 5th of the usual level of traffic you would see on or your day or their shops or traffic or what have you. so the implications are, if nothing else to terrorize and civilian civilian population and to scare them at the but do you think that there is a, maybe some strategic aim behind it? you mentioned earlier about the importance of odessa right now, being the only port city the ukraine has available. do you think that russia is actually trying to completely cut off ukraine from having access to the c? well, they were cut off to begin with from the c let. so make that very clear on they

were closed because the russians a blockaded from the see do to support. so what we have our ships here in dry dock of the oil facilities and oil storage facilities which are non fireball. um, of course are strategic, but it doesn't change the situation. ukraine was already blockaded from the see. the fact of the matter is that many people are talking about a possible land and vision from the sea, a marine invasion from the pharmacy by russian forces. and that's impossible. it's possible i just anything is possible because i think it's been predictable, it's worse. but um, this is the city of catacombs of tunnels underneath through limestone, it's extremely well fortified prepared. and i think people have been expecting this for the most part. right, well thank you so much. lauren sheets. they're obviously a man who is highly in demand because you've been reporting on the military situation for the past 2 weeks. thank you so much for your time. thank you. and his

a quick look now. it's on my other stories related to the war we've been following for you. russian gas is no longer flowing to latvia, estonia and lithuania. the baltic states have stopped, import. lithuania is calling on you countries to do the same. but germany and other european nations are still buying russian energy. russia gas industry is excluded from new sanctions. a red cross convoys, again trying to deliver aid and evacuated civilians from the besieged city of maria . an earlier attempt was abandoned as too dangerous an estimated 160000 civilians are still trapped without food or water. earlier we spoke to dw correspondent rebecca ritters in the western ukrainian city of love. if i asked her about the latest attempt to rescue civilians from maria pull is thought to be between anywhere between 800860000 people. still trapped in that besieged city,

suffering bombardments for weeks. now horrific reports have no food, no water, no electricity. basically living in bunkers, watching relatives die of starvation and dehydration just horrific. are scenes there now the, there is report that a convoy is trying once again today to make it inside that receive city as you just reported that they have not been able to get in to the city for the last 3 days. it's been too dangerous. they've decided they had to turn back. this is a convoy that supported by the international red cross, some civilians, however, in some slightly good news have made it out in the last days is about 3000 civilians have made it out in their personal cause. just sort of trying to risk that treacherous journey outside of that city because they just want to escape the horrible scenes in there. it's so many more deciding that it's too risky,

and it's probably hedging their bets trying to stay inside the city. at least 5000 people are reported to have died in that bombardment in the, in the race in recent weeks. and just today we heard that a lithuanian filmmaker has also been reported to have been killed by russian forces there in that city. a lot of those are refugees, of course, are headed to, to where you are to live in western ukraine. it's become a refuge for hundreds of thousands of refugees already. are you hearing that people may now be planning to return at least to those areas that have been re taken by the ukrainian forces? a that's right. live is a relatively safe compared to eastern parts of the country. and so many of the refugees and internally displaced, people have been passing through here just yesterday train from with people from mary you poll arrived here in levine about 300 or so. and they've been going to centers here in the city. and there are reports that people do want to now return

even people that have been in the overseas in overseas, abroad, sorry, rather in poland and other parts of europe. they are, there are reports of thousands of people now actually returning to back into ukraine and trying to go to areas that are deemed safe, or at least relatively safe over there. ukrainian authorities saying that those parts that have been recently re take in a still incredibly unsafe, you know, a hearing reports of bombs being put into dead bodies that are lying in the streets and in houses there by the retreating russian soldiers that these areas is still not safe villains to return to right rebecca, written their reporting for us from live in western ukraine. thank you. rebecca. at the start of the war, russian troops took control of the area around the highly contaminated chernobyl nuclear plant. after weeks of occupation, some may have been exposed to radiation channel bill is at the sight of the world's worst.