artillery, radar and other equipment. ukraine s military is upbeat about the success of its recent counter-offensives. the top commander says russian sieges of kharkiv and mykolaiv have been broken and forces are pressing on toward kherson. but fighting is fears. russian air strikes have killed at least a dozen civilians in a strategic city. and in mariupol, an unknown number of ukrainian soldiers are vowing to keep fighting from inside the azovstal steel plant. hundreds of them have surrendered in recent days. cnn s suzanne malveaux is standing by in lviv. let s start with the strikes that killed so many civilians. what more are we learning? well, still very few details about that strike, at least the one that we re talking about north of kiv. this was in a town of desna, about 40 miles from the border with belarus. we heard from the president,
they re in the strongest position they can possibly get. and so from the russian point of view, that means, yes, as much territory in the east and also as much territory in the south, alongside, you know, the black sea along to crimea, so that they can consolidate that, and so that there s a demonstrable gain that can be sold back to the russian people. whether that is achievable is a matter for debate. you know, a big question for the west is how much military kit is provided to ukraine, notjust to defend itself, but also to produce counter offensives in other words, to take territory back. let s turn to the nato alliance. does it surprise you that it s held together so well? yes, nato s had a new lease of life. if you remember, just a few years ago, macron, president macron of france, described it as brain dead, because it wasn t thinking about what it should do next, where it should go, slightly aimless.
for the west is how much military kit is provided to ukraine, notjust to defend itself, but also to produce counter offensives in other words, to take territory back. let s turn to the nato alliance. does it surprise you that it s held together so well? yes, nato s had a new lease of life. if you remember, just a few years ago, macron, president macron of france, described it as brain dead, because it wasn t thinking about what it should do next, where it should go, slightly aimless. now, of course, it has a very clear aim, which is to deter russian aggression. it is motivated. there s a greater willingness to spend on defence spending, which has been the great reluctance of many europeans. the americans are very happy about this, because they ve always seen that europeans are free riding over american tax dollars that have been paying for europe s defence. i think the interesting question is, how long does that nato unity survive?
tall order for russia to fully encircle kharkiv. mariupol had what 140,000 residents before the invasion, kharkiv, was 1.5 or something exactly and a strong ring of ukrainian forces who have been launching successful counter offensives, russians tried to push in there last month, weren t successful in doing it but because of that relentless bombardment, sort of instills a sort of vulnerable mentally as well in terms of morale because the message you re receiving day in and day out is you will not be allowed to have a normal life in any way, shape or form, unless you submit. where were you in chernobyl today, the iea direct calling it a fact-finding mission, bringing necessary equipment and where they come out, have found significant damage. remember the russians occupied that facility early on in the war, they were there several
odesa, cannot make it there. they hope mariupol they have not made advances anywhere else. kind of stuck. does that increase the possibility that vladimir putin may go to something unthinkable to wedge things free? unfortunately it does. completely unpredicted by almost anyone, the russian offensive has stalled, ukrainians are mounting counter offensives. the aid package will help them with javelins stingers, to attack the convoys. we have seen the photos from the turrets blown off the tanks. but putin s psychology and russian doctrine indicate when you are in a situation like this, you escalate.