the war in ukraine and differences emerging between nato allies over whether controversial cluster munitions should be sent to kyiv. an announcement by washington on a new package of weapons including cluster munitions is expected in the coming hours. kyiv has been pressing for the weapons for its counteroffensive. but cluster bombs are banned by many countries around the world because of the danger they pose to civilians sometimes years after a conflict ends. germany has voiced opposition to such a move and humanitarian organisations have urged both russia and ukraine to avoid cluster munitions completely. let s hear from jens stoltenberg. it is for individual allies to make decisions on what type of weapons. all allies agree on the delivery of weapons and ammunition to ukraine and allies are delivering an unprecedented level of weapons to support ukraine. germany and many other allies are delivering different types of ammunition, weapons to ukraine.
drone footage of russian forces near the southern city of kherson. ukraine has launched a surprise attack here, forcing these troops to retreat, probing russia s defences, as you might in a long game of chess. because this is a slow process, notjust on the front lines. here, a huge russian ammunition store near donetsk is targeted. it s part of ukraine s plan to weaken the enemy before the counteroffensive moves up another gear. everyone is waiting for that, says army doctor yevgen. we wait and we believe that everything will be fine. we just need to be patient. but that patience comes at a high price.
i step on the russian mine. this soldier lost his foot to a mine a while back and has now recovered and is fighting again. but he s worried. yes, we need help. we need more artillery systems. we need more, more, more weapons. and without that? without that i think probably, we have. we will lose this gain. you re going to lose? yes. the counteroffensive is certainly proving costly for ukraine. another casualty arrives at a field hospital on the southern front. oleh is just 19 years old. he was wounded in the back this morning by shrapnel from a mortar. despite the rising ukrainian casualty rate, despite scenes like this, it is important to remember that ukraine s counteroffensive is still in its very early stages. it s not appropriate yet to judge whether it s been a failure or a success.
us. injust over one hour we university, thank you forjoining us. in just over one hour we are expecting an announcement from the white house which is reported to be on this issue of cluster munitions. meanwhile, ukraine s counter offensive continues. currently, fighting is ongoing in the eastern donetsk and south eastern zaporizhzhia regions. ukraine says its forces have continued their advances around the city of bakhmut and have retaken nine settlements and 160 square kilometres of territory, since the start of the counter offensive on fourjune. our correspondent andrew harding sent this report from the front line. explosion. ukrainian troops barely flinch as another russian shell hits the front lines close to bakhmut. for a month now, the counteroffensive has raged here. davai, davai! come on, come on, the commander urges his men forwards. and they are making progress, but its slow work. too slow for some.