year. tropical storm warnings up for parts of texas. we re going to see some heavy rainfall in certain parts. we re going to tell you where and what that means for drought conditions. and a massive fire erupts at a boat yard in massachusetts. what we re learning about the fire and the damage that s been done. welcome to your weekend, saturday, august 20th. we re grateful to have you. thanks so much for waking up with us. great to be with you, amara. i can t believe it s august 20th. i wait for the weekends to know what the date is. i m realizing, oh my gosh, we re close to september. that s good. cooler weather, please. we were just talking about that, yes. it s almost halloween. good to be with you, boris. of course. we have a lot of news going on. we begin with the intense situation surrounding the z zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. that lies on the front lines of russia s war against ukraine. the fighting around the area have intensified so have concerns abo
that and the potential for the former president to influence the races. good morning, everyone. happy saturday and welcome to your new day. it is a good day. saturday, august 20th. good to be with you, boris. always a pleasure. good to be with you, amara. we begin with the concerns about a nuclear power plant on the front lines of russia s war against ukraine. fighting around the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has intensified, so much so that now there are concerns about a possible nuclear disaster. cnn first reported new satellite images contradict russia s claims about the facility. they say there is systemic shelling there, but the images just don t show that. vladimir putin accuses the ukrainian military of conducting repeated military strikes at the plant. a special adviser to ukraine s armed services chief says moscow can t be trusted. russia always tells two truths and a lie. you can t believe anything they say. ukraine is not firing at their own nuclear plant
direct that these attacks are not of direct military consequence but they do direct military consequence but they do add to the colossal damage that ukraine has suffered and the estimates range suffered and the estimates range of reconstruction between $444 range of reconstruction between $444 billion, but the world bank. $444 billion, but the world bank, and $750 which is the ukrainian bank, and $750 which is the ukrainian finance estimate. rajan. ukrainian finance estimate. rajan, you mentioned the impending ukrainian counteroffensive that we are expecting. looking at where things stand now, do you think ukraine is in a position to make a breakthrough? they have about nine brigades make a breakthrough? they have about nine brigades that - make a breakthrough? they have about nine brigades that have i about nine brigades that have been about nine brigades that have been trained up to the west, it s roughly between 35 and 40.000 it s roughly between 35 and 40,000 peo
against russian forces. ukraine using it very well to hit command posts, logistic ce center and posts. the defense official says they have use what had thaef very effectively and this has been one of the key weapons. in materials of what else is going in, there are a number of smaller 105 millimeter howitzers going in, more anti-tank weapons such as javelins. for the first time, toe missiles slightly a longer range anti-tank missiles. there s also an emphasis here on a new capability and that is mind clearing. defense official says russia has heavily mined southern and eastern ukraine, so they ll need that sort of equipment to be able to clear that area for civilian use or if they want to carry out their own operations there. then there are also a number of reconnaissance drones going in, hum humvees, night vision goggles and communication equipment. this is what the u.s. is providing now. volodymyr zelenskyy saying he was very thankful for the latest equipment given the numbers we re