now we don't know whether president putin has made the decision to invade. we do know that he is putting in place the capacity to do so. on short order. should he so decide to push mom to conflict and bloodshed to absolutely not what we would choose. we do not want such a scenario. the risk is real, the risk is high. russia has mast considerable forces on your transporter when you should. we are not threatening anyone that we have threats. derrick at us. we have reasonably, the russian forces are planning to attend to attack ukraine in the coming week. the coming days. we believe that they will target ukraine's capital key. a city of 2800000 innocent people also coming up. the name is boucher, a suburb of the ukrainian capital keep. in the past year it became the scene and synonym for alleged russian war cry. better than that, rita, my wife shouted me, let's turn around. we didn't had managed to get away. you see that other parts of this shooting begun and my car caught fire with o'denza like inches stood emily. this is the end of history. the story of my life and my children, ah, the, to our viewers watching on p b. s in the united states and to all of you around the world. welcome. we begin the day on the eve of the one year mark, one year of the russian invasion of ukraine. for the past 12 months, russian forces have waged a brutal campaign to take territory in eastern ukraine and it has not gone. will ukrainian troops have reclaimed key areas only to sometimes discover the horror left behind. consider the key suburb of boucher where the occupying russian troops allegedly committed war crimes. human rights lawyers point to evidence of summary executions, torture and it enforced disappearances. dw special correspondent, i an uber, he met one butcher resident on a quest to find justice for his family. all that alexander check mary of ever wanted was to keep his family safe. he brought them to boucher after rushing back forces attacked their hometown in eastern ukraine in 2014 the check. marianne bought a house and made it how much than we lydia. so it was said that we could escape the war ahead of me, but we did not put in found us, even in butcher the stone aussie. you couldn't full scale war and ukraine. february 2022 brought russian troops to alexander's doorstep. his children could no longer take the sound of shelling. their father brought them here, a shelter under their home and planned their 2nd escape. the chic mary of left one early morning in their car with their neighbor holly up behind them. they barely made it out of their street when they saw a russian armored vehicle were you on last good while i'm you though i've heard of them. but rita, my wife shout me. let's turn around. we didn't and managed to get away. you cigna that other parts of the shooting begun at my car, caught fire with zone usa. alexander was wounded, but when he looked back, his wife and children were dead. looking so stood only. this is the end of his story. the story of my wife and my children. the sidewalk is still charged from when alexander's car caught fire, marking the exact spot where he last saw his family alive. alexander story, sadly that of so many here in boucher, their reports of torture, rape, an extra judicial killings where i'm standing right now. this actually used to be the sight of a mass grave of civilians. they all had to be exude, identified and re buried when ukrainian forces retook the town. almost a year on the question, every one's mind is where is justice and can it ever be delivered? ukraine's prosecutor general has set up a web page where anyone can report a legit war crimes committed by russian forces. authorities have received almost 70000 cases, a number that goes up every day in the key of region alone, which includes boucher, that numbers 10000. a prosecutor for the jurisdiction tells me the list of who we are identifying the names of persons soldiers investigating preparing charges and bring them to court on the problem. oh no one has through the full of williams such as limitations does not apply to will crumbs or working non stop principle. so far nationwide, 25 russian troops have been convicted for war crimes. the international criminal court and the un have also opened up their own investigations. but justice can be slow, often taking years to examine crimes committed in minutes, minutes. that will stay with alexander forever. he spoken to both ukrainian and international investigators, hoping it might help with the pain for them to watch it. i want to look this people in the i, i that's when i will know, god, they have been punished. thus, i'm sure on the i will feel much better law when there are results and not just legal procedures, but the thought lenses, people who have been given a shock. he to live for quite a. for now, he's kept his family home exactly as it was. the children's toys are still in their drawers. the bet sheets are fresh and their pictures are everywhere. it's not always easy being surrounded by reminders of the life he's lost. but until alexandre finds justice for his family, that is all he's got. their report by our corresponded i at uber. him earlier. we asked her about alexander and whether he will ever find justice for his family. well, we did try to speak to the chief prosecutor to get some details about alexander's case. he couldn't really give us any details, but we know i know by speaking to him that he has quite a bit of evidence. there are the images that we showed in the report, their eye witness accounts because he was joined by his neighbor holly, who was in the car right behind them. and his children, their initial resting place was actually that mass grave site where i was and their bodies have been zoomed. and so there is the potential for forensic evidence to be collected there as well. with that being said, we are talking about just such a massive volume of cases that it's unclear what the timeline for his particular case is. but the general prosecutor of ukraine has vowed that every single case will be prosecuted no matter how long it takes. there are no statute of limitations and war crimes, and that's why pablo, for example, there are still nazis being prosecuted for war crimes that be committed during the 3rd right till this day. but then of course, there is that question of what about the leaders? russian leaders, laker vladimir putin in, for example, that is a little bit more complicated. the international criminal court has opened a case. russia does not recognize the i c c. so that might be challenged to ever bring him to justice there. there's also suggestion, for example, by the european permit for an international war tribunal were russian war leaders could eventually, you know, face justice, but that the timelines on that are very, very long. and it's something that people here in boucher know, well they can't wait for justice, but they're aware of the situation. my impression here walking around the town is that it's a town on the men. there's a lot of reconstruction. people are picking up their lives again, and i'm joined here by the deputy mayor of butcher someone who knows a lot about this miss. melina scorecard. and i just want to ask you in this you know, almost one year mark of the strategy here in boucher of russian troops walking the streets. how are you feeling today? how are you in all that 2 days ago, a general prosecutor, prosecutor of ukraine was inside the church, together with the families who suffer to lost their relatives. and we believe in justice and every citizen here in labourer how wants to punish those people who did those crimes. and also those who gave the all this the officers and also what the mer put in an shayhu and are the chief in kremlin. and that's, that's why we are now helping families and the investigator themes here as of which i say to call and so, and also i am happy today because we have sunny day. we have a lot of people around because, you know, in april last year one which i was liberated, it was empty. cd result families result keith. now we see live on the street, and that's the most important scene for us, for our mail for our which is city council and i was, i was out today we were driving around. there's a lot of construction. there's a feeling that the town is really coming back. what does the town need now for full recovery in your opinion? a look, the boucher became a symbol of flag which a tragedy bought. nobody wants to leave on the place of tragedy sold. the most important scene for us is to show ukrainian success to become the successful city after the tragedy was memory of those what killed bots all. so we saw like new seating, new life and young families and the kids are playing their own. so we like 3 more than 3. saw them for private houses was just right. we managed to rebuild like near 800 so we still need so yes. so we still need the roof, so dora lost us for windows and the materials for construction. and we also need money for the future projects which will attract people back to come back from berlin to boucher, for example, from munich, or from humble because we know that our people are still outside of your thank you very much for your time today. and we will be catching up with you again. thank you . ah, the war in ukraine has been documented by journalist and photographers. you have captured siri, images of the conflict. they've provided a constant reminder of the human cos of this war on and off the battlefield. russia invades ukraine, attacking from air, land, and sea. within days, millions of people fled the fighting, leaving everything a maternity hospital hit by a missile. for those who stayed behind towns laid to waste, people brutalized, and killed. a steel plant becomes a symbol of resistance, but falls to an overwhelming russian onslaught. moments of pride as ukraine struck back as winter came, a deadly war of attrition set in a year on nowhere in ukraine is truly safe. in a war that still has no end in sight. and for more, nell, i wanna bring in the mathias. i could almost a senior lecturer, insecurity and development at king's college in london. it's good to have you with us one year into this war. think it's safe to say that on you're not truly safe anywhere at the moment in ukraine. but is it true to say that most ukrainians are lot safer than they perhaps expected to be? what have the ukrainians done right in their fight against russian aggression thank you for having so ukrainians have been quite as successful as the north liberating territory which was occupied by russia. the notes on the north west, on these has been possible also because they have, you know, be very effective out sort of attacking on disrupting, you know, russian supply lines on making it very hard sometimes for russians. strickland junior vomiting and can we supply their own forces on this is particularly the case, for example, around attempts to occupy t if in particular, i think also been very good at exploring weaknesses. quite russia, for example, are there were very thin defense lines around concave on this allowed ukraine and forces to advance in the autumn. oh, so you know, ukraine is of what quite successful in sort of in a way sort of trapping russian forces are included, saw in the city of song by bombing. you know, the, the bridge is that we're making the safety to the russian occupied areas of his song. and then you sort of forcing russians to withdraw because their lines were to extend it. so they've been really good at also adapting sort of new technologies on, you know, developing drugs, for example, to hate, behind russian and ending the lines. but also in, in, in introducing, you know, utilizing western more advanced technology. this is something that has been constantly highlighting that, you know, there's a lot of sort of positive our prize and of how ukrainians were able to manage on learn an you denies more sophisticated, you know, weston technological equipment, which if they hadn't been using pre, if, when if we look back to it at the start of this invasion, a year ago, russia attacked on multiple fronts. and that, of course, initially that push to stall, it ended in embarrassment for vladimir putin or we cleared to day on why and how this happened to me. why the, what, why this disaster occurred in the 1st place. i think that the 1st big problem in the russian space was they had very poor intelligence, very, very sort of misinformed. you know, knowledge, army intelligence about how ukrainians would operate if, if they were invaded. and you know, this hope that you know, that ukraine as would receive them in the east and not without the nom, some that they were sort of not fight their advances. and i think was a massive miscalculation. so was a serious problem with intelligence which is stupid, so of very strong sort of also retaining regimes where the flow of information from below to the top is also problematic. that was, oh, sorry, i don't have problems around around the way downstairs is were open eyes to how you centralize a lot of corruption, you know, for training, for improper use of equipment. and also the lack of one thing that sort of a person come on there was no over on monitor to thinking it was sort of separate and i long says, which are not effectively coordinated. and i think as i said, i think are not have to do with the fact that their lines have been so exchange. and so the logistics support and the supply lines became very horrible. i think overall that they have tend to, you know, to occupy kids by traverse in, you know, to rain, which was not easy for them on over of times because it was a forest. i did a forest around here. so the, you know, didn't it didn't, hey, there, the russian on hans, you know, we've, we've heard many predictions of when this war could possibly end. we've had u. s. military analysts on the program. who said, if given the weapons that they need quickly enough, the ukrainian military could end the conflict this year? is that the best case scenario in your opinion? well, i think one more point that the russians discount didn't, it was sort of the western cortetia on supporting ukraine. and i think us, as we mentioned, because one of the key factors which court, hey, i think gradients to, you know, to our bonds, to break a russian lines. i think it is a possibility, but i'm not 100 percent. sure. because i think that it would require, you know, very effective training and that takes time for example, to train air force and pilots in more sophisticated aircraft. so ukrainians are getting the support. but i think they also, we need the time to prepare effectively, a force that can really make a big difference on the ground. i think that it would be more important for us to be a cautious and you think that this would not be resolved in the coming months. maybe this year. it might, might take a couple of years, at least. i mean, we extend our way to our line of sort of expectations of when you know, you know, and victory is kind of car, you know, we leave it necessary space sometimes from the ukrainians on the ways to train properly to receive the out quite equipment. so that, that you know, that the waste provides the necessary support for this to happen more security experts. the mathias are from also from king's college london. we appreciate your time and valuable insights of tonight. thank you. and the un general assembly has approved a motion calling for a just and lasting peace in ukraine. it overwhelmingly back the resolution during an emergency session ahead of the 1st anniversary of russia's invasion, know, germany's foreign minister. you see you're behind me here. and alina burbock, she was among the speakers at the you, when she says that it is time to bring the fighting to annette. i've hurts also to day. some of you had said that by arming ukraine, we are adding fuel to the fire. let me ask you honestly, why on earth would we do that? we did not want this one. we did not choose this war. we choose what much rather focused every bit of our energy and also of our money on fixing our schools on fighting climate crisis on strengthening social justice. but the truth is if russia stops fighting this war, and if ukraine stops fighting ukrainians, that was the german foreign minister speaking just a few hours ago. my next guest appeared on this program exactly one year ago, just a few hours before russian president vladimir putin announced what he continues to call russia's special military operation. michael garland is a member of the european parliament for germany's conservative cd you party and the grouped spokesman on foreign affairs. he's also european parliament standing rubber tier on you. crane girl is going to have you back on the program a what has happened in the past 365 days? i'm sure you will agree. the u. s. warned. putin's order to invade was coming. yet it took many people by surprise when it happened. were you one of those people who were surprised? i was not that much surprised for me. the red line had been crossed. i put in already in 2014. and for me, it had been very clear that this is those of nationalism that he injected into the russian. so as by getting the crimea hyman's advice, as it could be called in german home to the empire that would, that was wouldn't last long. and he would require at some point, some more. and that is what we have seen a year ago, you were calling for the german government to help ukraine to help arm ukraine so that it could defend itself at the time, the official government wine was, we're not sending arms to ukraine. you were maybe foreshadowing what was going to happen to the government have maybe forward what you wanted instead of what chancellor shops forward at that point. well, it's not about me, but it was about the position of the european parliament at the time already before the war started. we already welcomed those states who at the time. and that was the us and britain primarily who had the time already delivered weapons. and we should have delivered more. busy and also the heavy weaponry in time and started training much earlier and refurbishing the tank much earlier so that they could already now be in use in your crate. because foreseeable, that putting wouldn't be happy this certain areas. but his overall objective has always been to white ukraine off the landscape of europe, your party, the c, d u, mr. gardner. we just really want to remind our viewers, you know, governor germany for the 16 years leading up to russia's full scale invasion. most of that, of course, with german chancellor form redemption. so i'm going to miracle. why do you think that those governments under estimated vladimir putin so badly that i think indeed there was for, for a while this hope that would be changed through more intense trades through more interactions, especially in the trades and economic area. and we had a positive agenda with, with russia on many issues. but i think we should have been warned for from 2007 been secured to conference speech, 2008, georgia and at the latest with the occupation of crimea and the, the, the war in done yes can do guns. and that is why i was amongst the critics also in the european parliament, which has always been against starting north stream 2 in 2015. it was a mistake. it has always been a political project, not an economic project. yeah, that project was one that former german trans, so i got a miracle supported even until her very last moment in office. if she were still, chancellor, i me asking you to, you know, predicted alternative reality here. but do you think that president putin do you think he would have gone ahead with the attack? if i'm going to miracle that the united her of europe had still been in power. yes . i mean, i think she didn't have this impact on him. and his, his agenda was set. and i mean, if you look at what he's wrote in july 21 of the historic unity of ukrainians and, and russians and all previous, many heads of state and government now make public what in many talks was the at it . you just put it in, never accepted this ukraine to be a state of its own. that is what you always indicated. so they should have we should have all been warned in time and acted more resolutely, much before the start of the war. yeah. as they say, hindsight is always 2020 and i think a lot of people are saying that one year into this war, mr. michael galler, member of the european parliament for germany is conservative. see to you as well. we appreciate you taking the time to talk with and i hope you come back and talk with us again. thank you. thank you. also level for of the day's almost done. the conversation continues on line. your plan is on twitter, either it dw news, you can follow me on twitter at brent golf tv. and remember, whatever happens between now and then tomorrow is another day. we'll see you then at the bottom. ah, with to the point. strong opinions, clear positions, international perspectives in speech is marking the 1st anniversary of russia's invasion of ukraine. both flattery protein and joe biden sought to prepare their listeners for a protective conflict without and without a winner to the point with d. w. ah come haven't. she's out the highlights you every week in your in box subscribe. now . what our sports all about in winning fighting scoring. we say they were never giving up the most exciting sport stories about people, passions and their drive sport life every weekend on d. w. sometimes a seed is all you need to allow big ideas to grow. we're bringing environmental conservation to life with learning paths like global ideas. we will show you how climate change and environmental conservation is taking shape around the world and how we can all make a difference. knowledge grows through sharing and download it now for, for a year after russia invaded to ukraine is, has seen serious setbacks. ukraine is holding on, but the price is high. many subsist in a landscape of craters and ruins. thousands of ukrainian civilians have been