right let's get an update from ukraine
now russian forces in the east of the uh
country have pushed forward and taken
some ground that's according to the
ukrainian government president zelinski
has said the donbass region is
completely destroyed uh the trial of the
first russian soldier to be accused of
war crimes in ukraine is continuing in
kiev meanwhile the lawyer acting for 21
year old vadim shishi marin who was
admitted shooting an unarmed civilian
says he is not guilty of a pre-meditated
war crime james waterhouse reports
in the first war crimes trial in this
conflict
it's the turn of the defense
vadim shishmarin a 21 year old russian
soldier has admitted shooting dead a 61
year old unarmed man
his lawyer argues it shouldn't be a war
crime as he was following orders and
feared for his life
the prosecution says he could have just
scared the civilian off instead of
firing four rounds at him
once again shishamaran apologized
telling the court i sincerely repent at
that moment i was very nervous
war crime trials will follow but
president zielenski doesn't want to stop
here he again
has accused occupying forces
of genocide deliberately trying to kill
as many ukrainians as possible not least
in the eastern donbass region
it's now russia's priority
moscow has always denied genocide but
sees it as its own
it's where the fighting is most
concentrated in towns like severton
where those staying to fight
are separated from those who can't
the armed forces of regretting continue
the liberation of the hakkef region but
in donbass their copiers are trying to
increase pressure that's hell and that's
not an exaggeration
the russians are making small advances
in the east
in the lehansk region the ukrainians
continue to defend
and frustrate
their extraordinary resistance is both
down to their resolve
and support from the west
the us has just signed off on the
biggest package yet
32 billion pounds
military humanitarian and economic help
the future of american security and core
strategic interests
will be shaped by the outcome
of this fight
anyone concerned about the cost of
supporting a ukrainian victory
should consider the much larger cost
should ukraine
lose
for ukraine the city of maliupol is
finally lost
almost 2 000 fighters are thought to
have surrendered so far
to a fate which could include a war
crimes trial of russia's own james
waterhouse bbc news in kiev
and we can go live now to kiev and speak
to james hi james so we let's pick up
there on the events in the east uh a
couple of things presidents lens he's
saying is being completely destroyed and
also pointing to those russian advances
how significant are those russian
advances there
i think they're continuing to cause
problems for ukrainians i think it's a
reminder that the russians do have more
firepower yes they have pulled back and
they've realigned their goals
in this invasion but they are closer to
their to their border
and they have the means to inflict a
much more sustained attack on villages
because
on one hand the russians have struggled
to penetrate towns and cities and
villages their urban warfare has been
found wanting in
this war
which is why they have resorted to
surround and bombard there is now a
front line a much more
solidly formed front line forming along
the eastern donbass region and the
russians are continuing to
launch assaults
to the devastation of these these
locations and the communities that that
live in them
um
just because this war has become more
concentrated in the eastern donbas does
not mean that vladimir putin will be
shelving his ambitions for long there
could be a chance he could escalate
things in the future which is why i
think the west are very keen currently
to keep pledging their long-term support
so ukraine can continue to defend itself
well let's pick up on that thought james
the longer this goes on if it is a long
drawn-out conflict who does that benefit
the ukrainians or the russians
it certainly doesn't benefit the
ukrainians i mean first and foremost
they are the one you know ukraine is the
the country under attack with its very
future under threat
the russians are not averse to getting
bogged down into a long-term conflict
there have been eight years of war to
this point where they have backed
separatists
and they've long annexed crimea it's
clear that vladimir putin does have the
appetite for a long and drawn out fight
that said
the longer his campaign is frustrated
the more losses he sustains
will lead to more questions potentially
from his inner circle or certainly the
families of those soldiers
uh who who who die along the way that
will could well create problems but many
russians believe what they watch on tv
many have faith in their leader and they
want to believe that the
their relatives who lose their lives in
this war do so for a worthy cause
i think
if this does drag out
and this fighting does become more
concentrated and it's certainly starting
to look like that it will be as ever to
the detriment of ukraine peace talks are
not happening currently there is no
dialogue and that is one of that's the
more likely outcome in this war
alongside either a change of leadership
in russia or a change of heart from
vladimir putin himself
okay james thanks so much for bringing
us that update there from the ukrainian
capital thank you