to be active, the way in good shape on dw, or this is the the mirrors on the call fairly welcome to ask the w, the show that's all about your questions. today we'll be talking about the war in ukraine and where it stands over 800 days into russia's full scale invasion. and we want your input. it's over easy to get involved if you're not already there, just go to our youtube page. the address is there, on your screen there, you'll see the show it's called asked the w is ukraine losing control of the battle field. and you can click on that and you can type away in the top. this time you can pick the brains of these 2 men that is dw long time, keep corresponding economy and d, w 's, russia analyst, konstantin. i got good to have you guys on the show. and these guys really know

their stuff and are so keen to hear from you. so keep your questions and comments coming while you're thinking up some questions. so let's take a look at what's happening right now. and ukraine. what we know is that the front lines are slowly shifting as ukrainian forces struggle to hold back a wave of russian assaults in the east of the country. while you're watching here is drone footage of the ukrainian town called shots of yar. it was one's home to 12000 people and now it's deserted and largely destroyed. as you can see, for months it's been the target of russian or jewelry and aircraft. russia is determined to seize control of it, countering it would give them control of a strategically important hill top from there. there. and hillary can dominate the battle field far and wide. but before we get to our experts, we want to zoom out a little bit and look at the bigger picture. because moscow says it has captured several 100 square kilometers of ukrainian territory. this year alone, in february kremlin troops seized the city of,

of dave. and now russian forces have their sides set on chests. if you are the town that you just saw, it's a small but strategically bible place on the map ukrainian defeat here could jeopardize the defense of the entire region will keep blaze the setbacks on shortages of troops and delays and weapons deliveries from its allies in the west, the united states may have recently approved a 61000000000 dollar a package, but that is by no means the end of ukraine's troubles getting the weapons in the hands of ukrainian soldiers is the next step president will let them use the landscape, said ukraine, and its allies must pick up the pace. let's listen. separately. beach committee. political decision must be followed by real logistics. the actual receipts of a weapons by our soul, which is what must be doing a round the clock with our partners, especially with the united states. so pretty much just polish the most thought.

let's find out what this all means for the war. going full. busy we've got an economy for the granting angle and constantine agood, our russia analyst for the read on how developments are going down in moscow. there are standing by to take your questions and comments. of course, remember, you can submit those in the common section on youtube. let's start with you though . now next, because you just returned from the front line close to shots of your, what are the soldiers defending the town tell you as well, it was extraordinarily difficult and we with that at a position that was basically out in the open on a kind of village road there was a bit of a heads rose from trees to helping them to disguise that positions. but basically for the entire time, you just heard alternately flying all different directions. you have drones rushing drones above all the time we with that. and those people are acutely aware that they are a target and the systems they have these are basically 19 seventies, a soviet era weapons guns. and i'm with vehicles basically on up to the task unless

the weather is really, really favorable. forcing those drones for the, for the down, even making an easier to shoot down. so they were feeling very vulnerable. they knew they didn't really have any other option in that. they basically would that to make sure that russia has a difficult time taking. just if y'all as, as possible, but they were really looking to the west and asking sales when this money has been promised. and now, you know, written, signed off on was actually going to arrive. when these results is when the author ratios would actually start making a difference because they had seen different situation in 2023. when you can have it's kind of offensive for a while. you can almost reach parity in munitions and not through shells and out felt like they were back to square one back to the situation. they faced in 2022 in terms of having to see the russians firing 67, or even 10 shells for everyone. they had konstantin or 2 days away from russia's victory day when russia commemorates and soviet victory over nazi germany is widely believed that waterbury, putting wants to present some sort of victory on that historically important data.

couldn't the capturing of shots of yard be it a yes to some extent. although i do think that the, the main goal is actually to distract russians from the war chest of drawers and not talk to you of, or, or the pro, any kind of big you printing cities that as well, no, to the russian population. and the capture which would have been presented as a major victory here. i think it is important for both of them, just to say that we continue to be we pressure continued to eat at the tradition of the russian speaking. introduce the russian areas or we grain, we continue to call to deliberate them that just their cremeans rhetoric now. and i suppose that trust the v r s is no. the important thing for the thing is to say

that we continue to grind though we continue to uh, basically reduce the size of the credit instead, i think that is the main message. otherwise no charge. so yeah, it's not something that i know the references know anything about. so i'd say it is the moment that is more important. and then the specific names and positions. yeah. a nick president of landscapes, ed, time and time again that he wants to defend every inch of ukrainian territory. so if it's true that you know, talk, if you're it doesn't really matter all that much to the russians as a whole. what would it mean for ukrainians? to lose the town of shots of your i think i divide here between the kind of look purchase logic for his maybe his own. you know, the population rushes as companies as don't know about color chest. if you are, it's not a famous place as the vehicle was in a particular place,

but i think there is maybe your need for the minute treat to kind of explain to itself what it's doing in crane and you know, give itself these kind of mile stones in terms of that, a land grab in ukraine, i think in terms of the great and kind of vision of all this. i think they are just very conscious that the geography means just if you off because it's a bit higher up because it is basically between 2 kind of logistical roots into the crating control bought of don't yet screens. and so that would really make the future defense of the rest of that part of the country a lot hotter. and that would be a little hard to, to get a begin of chesapeake and try to kind of set up some new way of stabilizing the front line. so i think it's less about the symbolism for your brain point of view. and more about the kind of nuts and bolts of how you go about slowing down this russian advance of difficult for instance, that was the, at the beginning of this russian kind of run in february that was already had been basically surrounded by the russians on 3 sides for a long time, so that was was gonna be very tough to try and defend that where's and just to be honest and feeding them front lines are bit more straight. it'd be easier to defend

a bit less complicated and it is a place that's worth investing secret resources in terms of material but also in terms of lives effectively to keep that position. yeah. nick konstantin. i'm going to take the backseat for now because we have our 1st user question, our user know point one asks, how does ukraine plan to get it? schools in the 10 point piece plan, if they won't be able to go on the offensive for the next year or more, what can be done to change the situation on the ground? maybe we can start with you nic. i mean, i think with all of these got a piece initiatives. i think it's a lot about the kind of quote of international public opinion. i don't think anyone really here sees a clear roots to enact thing, any of these plans, any kind of, you know, direct step roadmap, how this would actually happen. but i think your crime has been stolen by criticism that it is not doing enough that it is basically just, you know,

demanding it's maximus position and isn't doing enough to listen to those countries around the world who are suffering under that kind of it can only came back to this war, and so it is important for you going to be seen to be engaging, especially the global house and offering ways to peace. but for now when you speak to people here and you ask them, so what would be step one? step 2, you know, especially when they here, i've been preaching, basically me. i'm still on his same maximus, demands that we heard in february of 122. there was a lot of a sense that this is near in any way going to happen at any time soon. this is about showing willingness, showing openness, engaging other countries apart from ukraine's normal partners. but beyond that, i don't see a lot of substance to it for now on something a lot of the analysts agree that this war is likely to not be one on the battlefield. um, what would the russian side be willing to concede to put an end to this once they run out of other options? right now they're on the offensive and it's looking good. but that is not always

been the case. so what would a possible victory that is negotiated? look like for hooton's, russia? i cannot think that is thinking in such terms, i think you're still continues to dream and consider it to be realistic to essentially a to replace the government and kids with in my to apply as well and grab as much territory as he can. i mean, the issue now is that he can do function, we see that these baskets will have difficult for trust with. yeah, i mean, these are veterans. you can compare to the, you know, the strange for 2016 the trench will fair. on 1st of all, of these are going to give him the visa victories for the russians. these are very small lectures. and at the same time, i suppose that if you can talk about the kind of grand flyer in most cases it is to

way of crying. and uh, we'll just democratic involvement. i think that is taking the decision that she wouldn't care how many russians account, she still has more of the russians to be sent to the front, then the grades on their side. so i suppose that the idea is to continue to weigh a grade on. that is why, by the way, today in he's involved you ration, speech a put you mention about or uh, nothing about the story. negotiations you mentioned to us plenty of semester that leaders a yeah, there is an extra fee. i do think that he thinks because a lot of time of use on his hands. and he has a lot of human resources that these resources are going to be thrown into this me,

brenda is complete. there. prepare completely on find the rest that are not the law offices and sergeants to train these people. she who doesn't care for the cares about is actually to continue to grab, you grew a torrent or a territory mean. so by means, but that's as i think if we can talk about any kind of strategy that is. yeah. and now that you say that there is no real strategy and that the russian military is very much working like a meat grinder, i do want to pull up something that the deputy head of ukraine's military intelligence service told her colleagues over at the economy. he said, the russian army is not the hubristic organization, it wasn't 2022. and it's now operating as a single body with a clear plan. and under a single command, that is the deputy head of ukraine's military intelligence service. so would you say that's not a correct assessment? and i would say that's the 1st of all. so i think

that there is still some kind of unity of commodity as for a 2nd. so i don't see any kind of disintegration. nursing come on structure. what i mean is that person is conscientiously using the type of warfare that lots of people considered to be. i think the, the cost of everyone's talking recently until until 2022. everyone will say the, the national warfare has changed. it's all about technology sold, about information is all about cyber. it's all about propaganda. know, you turn out a book and things that old principal for good old phone to the tax by semi trained associates. oh is still fine. it still gets you the results. what is important, and i think that is something that is not really well understood in the west. i think actually that as well as the economist interview the, the brand of the printer model incidents. and he's using the color was sent to you

just what he just tried to say the westwood was left to the boss and disrespect it hasn't been offered you because he's doing something that people did not think he's going to do it. so not a match. if we can look at the situation, brushing the message, the person wants to continue to supply the army with the recruits without official analysis. because that is good to have an adverse effect on the population. so how will you be able to pull the street off? not actually engaging, not, not, not making the population as aware of the cost more well. so at the same time, it's a very bloody cost. i mean, it's a big question, but i think just do things and can't do it all. yeah, we have another user requested and actually our viewer per c a has a question about the mobilization because ukraine is not only a gun, it is also severely outmanned by the russians. so he's asking is mobilization

working? i'm getting the feeling, the politicians and keys are pretending it's working, but in reality, it's not make what is the truth personally wants to know as well. certainly if there was a long delay, basically we had of 6 months of political wrangling here and key of about the new mobilization little of volumes as get finally signed it recently. and now people, men in, in the relevant age categories are called upon to basically turn up at the military recruitment offices to restate their information so that they can basically, the bureaucracy knows where they're living, what their health status is. it will be all the relevant information so that then a new day to basically be crazy and people can be pulled up on a different scale. they both have reduced the minimum age. it was brings you 27 sounds 25, maybe plug it should be down to 20. so they have finally taken the decision. but there has been a huge amount of criticism that believe the means of landscape basic didn't want to

risk his popularity with the electorate. with the system of this country, by forcing people to fight didn't want to. if you remember back to the beginning of the war, he didn't have to, you had to use around the blog in front of those recruitment officers in the 1st year. i've met soldiers on the front line who told me that they took them 12 or 15 attempts to actually find me find the unit was wanting to take them to the beginning. analysis ration is totally the opposite. they try to go in without forcing people by more than losing recruitment and doing like a kind of private sector way with and close the online portals and different units offering different opportunities to develop yourself to learn new skills. and hopefully that would bring in enough people to the army and now they're having to resort to actually forcing people to turn up. and if you don't turn up, you're going to see your bank accounts frozen. you're gonna see your driver's license, no longer valid, kind of bureaucratic pressure to get people to enter the system. but obviously they've wasted a lot of time. and now this is only starting now is it's gonna take quite some while before the people are trained and actually on the front lines. a follow up question from our user idolize coming in there. thank you for questions,

by the way. keep them coming. there's a lot of movement in the chat, we have an eye on it, and she wants to know, or he wants to know, even with more financial 8 ukraine still need soldiers. is it realistic that more weapons alone can be a main factor here? what do you say next? i think you're going to find needs both. and it's important to stress that if you're in defense, right, you need fewer resources or fewer people in if you're attacking so different types, different phases of will require different results bases. you've seen you look more who are trying to take tax feedback especially now is jason with russia a long, long stretches on the front lines has dug in and lead mine fields as me. so you're very clearly demonstrated during that new cranium counter attack last summer that was so slow and it didn't bring results that are being helpful. um, i think we have, the ukraine has been trying to fight more cleverly,

move more than lee, and we're more than fashion than russia is doing. so was in democratic yes, free society like ukraine's where your positions care about their ratings and those to have you know, free elections to worry about. you will face little push back from society. if you have large casualty figures, if you, you know, send people on trains to the front lines were really saying families of people who are being at the front lines for 2 years now making a lot of noise. putting the pressure on the politicians here to give their relatives some time off. so i, yeah, we don't have a full overview of what resources you can has. but i think, you know, for now those results as those, those shows basically in the nuts and bolts that the munitions for your normal artillery pieces that is crucial. for now, the, the kind of influx of western results is, is going to be enough whether, you know, at present ukraine will be able to retake to our tree. we don't know, but them certainly both of these things are big issue and it is something that is incredibly controversial hearing you crying. so i think most people wondering

whether this is being carried out. sadly, whether the right people being sent to fight and with other people are getting out of fighting or hiding and key of and certainly we need to close the front lines. and that's the 1st thing they'll tell you, you know, when i go back to care for my one week's holiday, you know, i have say all these young men working around with the gym bags. nope. in uniform. how come they if they're allowed to do that? yeah, there is a, a lot of interest in the chat in that topic, actually nick, and there's another question from our user t p. he writes many young men and ukraine are currently hiding from police services to avoid being forcefully conscripted. what does that say about the situation and the front line? no choice that specifically are because of the current situation, the front lines and you know that the difference is that now there is a different level of pressure on people to turn up at those recruitment offices to you know, update that their location and they're on the information, so we have, we can't really compare it to the 1st of the world because there wasn't that

pressure. there wasn't that government kind of bureaucracy trying to get people to turn up. i think this is, you know, a common feature of most was the see, it looks simple who don't want to fight. you see different levels of kind of impression against those who don't fight to fact is the low is as it is. and, you know, we have, we have seen, you know, people leaving the country legally, you're paying bribes, trying to get across the border. what kinds of things. but for the most part, you know, that is may be near by some estimates of may, a few 100000 men in the country of 40000000. and it's difficult to get a kind of broad, kind of your resume out picture of how big this gentleman is. but certainly, and we are in new phase now the war and lots of people are trying to understand what this new role means for them. and 0 if they all pulled up to fight, will they be sent to the front line and will they be able to say ok, i prefer to go and be a parent medical i'd prefer to repair tank somewhere away from the front lines. so you definitely see lots of people. you're working out what this means to them and some people say, yes i'm, you know, i'm willing to face sconces. i'm going to hide out and you know,

potentially end up in jail if, if i'm cool. yeah. the spring constant team backend because our user error r k b wants to know will we ever see nato troops in ukraine? what do you think on something to before us and the question i wanted to follow on what's next? uh, the state are 34 men to describe reaction of the ukraine as a size or to, to the mobilization orders to, to basically the last good decision to the, to an oscar. a you look at the rest of the site is completely different. and it says, i think if you look at the only color set as long as the player bars, they basically say that in this circumstance was the fact that rushes basically inside the room from the top is involved. because there was all debates,

there are no visible progress, there were some progress on the winds. all those was sent to the front for one year and the conductor time. but these protest may be waves in the science. so i think that's the premise research. they'll look into the saying, well, by the way, you know, is, are involved and just as we are running the country along the lines, we were running into a wall for 25 years. it's applied, it's compliant. and i think in this respect that it gives a certain advantage to function. you have to huge loss is really massive, massive losses of the references. i can just say, wait a minute, no, to go to the main. sometimes i suppose that so far because nick is on the ground, probably has more information. uh, i suppose shall fall there. no need to be any kind of uh, uh, any, any time to visit for personnel, is it going to be engaged in specific where?

well, like kind of that is a dollar advisors. there already probably people that all overseeing repairs old. uh no thanks so much for that advanced weapons that were given to draven may be, let's say, recently retired, and that's when people still they possess all the skills. so you know, that is for sending the troops there. let me put it like that. i think it's not you have the time, but i suppose that's a police my sources in a dream. i presume. trips to european capitals are quite frequently invites. there are 2 things that's the nature of john. an angel allies are prepared to do for us. massively invest in essentially what we kind of called in new models, rich south will where russian dell and secondly, maybe in a situation in which the controller model serves as all ukrainians,

based on those rare, essentially if the face of the printing states is painting in the balance that i can't match, that your brain will use are still 61, all the products and ask for assistance of the cam. do live. countries do not have to have a multilateral arrangements along the lines or, you know, and they told us most of many of those related to each of them know how to use the 5 country, give us another country for ministry. and i suppose. ringback in case the state of the printing and state things on the ballast, i think it very closely at least solve where some capitals will consider is a very serious one of the western capital's considering it very seriously and out in the open is paris. i want to ask you, nick, what do people in ukraine think about president of my crohn at talking openly about

the possibility of european boots on the ground in ukraine? i mean, certainly it was very welcome. but when you speak to most experts, that a little skeptical this is, you know, going to happen in the foreseeable future. they say is more in the bottom kind of rhetorical effort, by my call. and also to, you know, different extent by the brits to basically redirect the conversation. they see this as a situation where basically russia put in is always escalating, threatening and you know, to train. and you let to, as an example of his train basically, you know, threatening of the use of these kinds of weapons and directly. and on the other hand of the us and also germany called to me as you guys would see it basically moving things out and reducing that potential to kind of match that to a, as a threat. so facing, this is an attempt by in france and the u. k. as part of that nato, a coalition that is helping ukraine, trying to even out the, the kind of situation for ukraine animation kids, the russian side that you know,

there are things that the west has still not yet done. that because it happened. we saw as the forensic tree, david cameron in cuba recently saying that you crane could use u. k. produced and supplied weapons against russia itself, not just against russian targets in occupied ukraine. that is definitely new. that is something that wasn't being states before and haven't seen anything communicated before. and that opened the searching. your options is for you trying to use some of the weapons they've already received to for instance, attack russian fields that are used to bomb bracelet. kind of give every day and that are pretty close to the board of that all within range of existing weapons that are being supplied. and that could potentially make things a lot easier for ukraine, rather than spending so huge amounts of resources, you know, trying to shoot down every missile they can just in your attack. it up so attacked . the planes that he used to last as missiles attacked the fields. so i think there was a sense that that imbalance has been recognized by the west and the front and the u . k. are trying to kind of shift the balance and your friends, 5 me, konstantin,

that much talked about and strategic ambiguity that my crown is stirring there. does that bother anyone in the kremlin of the kremlin? probably likely from age of just about the what we say is looking for where am environment this waiting on it some for the are people here? hearing more story, we got extreme helsinki to a saying, the only thing we have to see are sir, itself is, is that it was on was much better at the rest of it is an i said was, i think that this strategic ambiguity say at least looking from a central american perspective could be much how i'm big use and much with the insurance because that as well, to, to in, doesn't like. and what is he's on the rush to know, like, because they know that a russia will be helpless against sort of force. uh,

what's the columns they start to produce, whereas in sufficient number of displaying price to threaten russia to. and secondly, i think about a they will be loss to see more of the credit strikes on russian territory. i think that we've been focusing on the, the, the, this very difficult back and forth trusts are, but we need to remember that the radius with the help of which the weapons managed to single handedly. uh the uh, how could i call it the moment wiseman mobilize the black sea lead or rush, they managed to actually do populate the crimea where significant boston population of left on the threats of uh, uh, are you trace trace, uh, the brands managed, basically free all uh, all the commercial rooms uh 5 which the freight is being explosives. and finally,

and that is very for uh, pretty much daily trucks and the russian allergic infrastructure. uh, because is increasingly visible, increasingly dangerous for some allergic experts more. well, the show they show to is not on impotent. she cannot control the photograph in terms of reprice to constrain. and i think that this is something that over time may have an effect in case you grand gets me with this in case you couldn't get some more questions. and then the strikes along the lines of the camera described to jim strikes with the worst weapons against legitimate targets in the bulk of a situated in russian product of post on time people with an effect. and i think that this is something that really josh, which is very, very significant. yeah. there is a lot of interest still in the chat,

in ukraine's recruiting problem, gustavo apollo's asks, has the ukranian patriotism we saw in february of 2020 to vanish? we saw a lines of men enlisting in the army. you mentioned that there nick and some even coming back to the country to join the fight. what change nick? i don't think anything changes as those people who were willing to go immediately who maybe have experience of fighting off to 2014 in that conflict in the don't pass those people who kind of had an easy route in they already fighting and have been doing so for 2 years. so now this is just, you know, a different group of people who, you know, many of whom say i will go and fight when my country asked me to, but i'm not going to recruit. and me, i go would be with coaches and go and, and i last and 2 of them don't have anybody to experience who often uh, obviously worried that.