Global News Podcast - Ukraine warns that the Russian military is building up forces on eastern front

Episode Date: August 27, 2024

The head of Ukraine's military, Oleksandr Syrsky, has warned that the Russians are building up their forces near the strategically important town of Pokrovsk. China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, says he's hoping for substantive discussions with the US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan as they meet for the first time in eight years. And Britsh pop stars, Oasis, announce their reunion.

Hello, this is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service, with reports and analysis from across the world. The latest news seven days a week. BBC World Service podcasts are supported by advertising. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Thank you. Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Andrew Peach and at 13 Hours GMT on Tuesday 27th August, these are our main stories.

Ukraine has warned that Russia is building up its forces near the strategically important town of Pokrovsk. The UN says its humanitarian work in Gaza has been hampered by Israel's new evacuation orders. And the US National Security Advisor is in Beijing for the first time in eight years. Also in this podcast, a message from the new British Prime Minister. Things will get worse before they get better. If we don't take tough action across the board, we won't be able to fix the foundations of the country as we need.

For the second day in a row, Ukraine has been facing a barrage of Russian missiles and drone attacks in which several people have been killed. Here's Vladimir Omelyan, who's a major in the Ukrainian armed forces, and told the BBC the attacks were a sign of Russian desperation. It's another vivid example that Putin doesn't know what to do and how to handle the situation in Kursk region. The last biggest red line was crossed by Ukrainians and we brought war back to Russia. And Kremlin is

desperate about that. They're trying to attack our positions in the eastern Ukraine, but it looks like they don't have enough resources. And what they can only do is to bomb Ukrainian cities. At the same time, Ukraine's military leaders have been warning that Russia is building up its forces near the strategically important town of Pokrovsk, which has been under Russian assault for several months. I've been talking to our reporter in Kiev, Zanabes Pachuk. Russia, again, used nearly every type of weapons to attack Ukraine by air. And unfortunately, the hotel in the city of Krivoy Rih was hit overnight. Two people were killed, five people were wounded. And it's the second time that the hotel with civilians was attacked or hit by Russian missiles

and drones within a few days. The Ukrainian Air Force and Air Defense said that the latest night they struck down 60 combat drones and five cruise missiles. Russia used 91 missiles and drones to attack Ukraine again and again, despite all international sanctions that were imposed on Russian defence industries. So we're describing some of the places that were actually hit. The idea, I think, the targets were energy infrastructure sites. Do we know how much of the damage to those sites has been caused and calibrated yet? There are already new extended power cuts in the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv. For example, I myself woke up today in the morning without electricity in my flat and it's pretty

normal situation again for the residents of Ukrainian capital. The same happens in other cities of Ukraine, for example, in Dnipro. People also say that they don't have electricity and water supply in their homes. And in general, the Ukrainian authorities asked Ukrainians to prepare for a few weeks of extended power cuts. And some people are seeing this as a response to the incursion into Kursk. We're getting these reports about another Ukrainian attack in the Belgorod region. What do we know about that? We know that it's already the second wave of Ukrainian attacks on the border with the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation. The first wave took place in the middle of August, and it turned out to be not so much successful because the Russian forces, they were well prepared.

And Russia deployed to their one of its best regular army units. For example, the 155th Brigade of Marines. It's a very experienced brigade, although it suffered from heavy losses on the Ukrainian front line. And now there are some reports that Ukrainian forces managed to advance a little bit. But so far, I think it's very, very early to say whether there is the real advance there, because it looks like the border with the Belgorod region is much better fortified. There are lots of minefields there. We also know that there is the state of emergency in the Belgrade region, so they have been preparing for a while and they have closed the access to almost 20 villages in the Belgrade region. So it'd be really hard for

Ukrainian forces to advance there if there is such a plan for now. And that was Zana Bezpiacuk from the BBC's Ukrainian service with me from Kiev. For the first time in eight years, China is hosting a US national security advisor. Jake Sullivan is in Beijing for talks with the foreign minister Wang Yi. And ahead of those talks, Mr. Sullivan seemed hopeful. I'm looking forward to this afternoon, this evening and tomorrow, where we'll delve into a wide range of issues, including issues on which we agree and those issues on where there are still differences that we need to manage effectively and substantively. And it will be, I think, a very productive round of conversations. So on the agenda, Taiwan, Ukraine, the South China Sea,

among other issues. And the three days of talks will also focus on easing tensions in the relationship between the world's two most powerful countries. I got this assessment from our correspondent in Beijing, Laura Bicker. Chinese state media said before Jake Sullivan arrived that this meeting came at a critical juncture in US-China relations. and there are certainly a lot of differences between the two. The key to these meetings is to try to manage those differences. Beijing ahead of time has made their priorities clear. For them Taiwan is the red line and will always be the red line. They maintain that the self-governing island is part of the mainland and President Xi has vowed to retake it by force if necessary.

They resist any attempts by American congressmen, American politicians to encourage Taiwanese independence. They're also furious that America has given military aid to Taiwan. Secondly, there is the South China Sea and this is becoming a major issue in this week alone. There have been at least three skirmishes between Chinese Coast Guard boats and Filipino boats in the South China Sea. And this is critical because the Philippines is a key ally of the United States, and US assets, US warships come very, very close to their Chinese counterparts along the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. And what Jake Sullivan would like to do during these meetings is encourage more military to military communication.

The third big issue will be on Ukraine. When the Secretary of State, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived here earlier this year, he had a warning for his Chinese counterparts. He told them that if Chinese companies continued to supply Russia with components that Russia could use in its war in Ukraine, there would be consequences. America has carried out that promise. They have issued rafts of sanctions. And in fact, on the day that Jake Sullivan announced that he would be coming to Beijing, America announced another raft of sanctions against Chinese companies. Certainly when it comes to that, China denies that they are helping the Russian war effort

and they have told America to stop interfering in internal affairs. There is also the issue of trade where the US has imposed large tariffs on everything from electric cars to solar panels. Sixteen months ago, when a Chinese spy balloon was floating over North America and was shot down, certainly then the relationship was at a very, very low point. The US ambassador here in China has told me that he was one of the few Americans able to talk to anyone

in Beijing. Since then, things have changed. And Jake Sullivan has met Wang Yi on four other occasions. There does seem to be at least a channel between the two to avoid competition veering into conflict. Laura Bicker with me from Beijing. Now for the latest on a dramatic police standoff in the Philippines where a man calling himself the appointed son of God is believed to be hiding inside a vast religious compound. Apollo Kiboloi has been accused of child abuse and is wanted by the FBI. Our Southeast Asia correspondent Jonathan Head told me more about him. He is a charismatic preacher. There are quite a number of charismatic churches in the Philippines, very much influenced in the way

the sort of charismatic churches you see in the United States, and some of them have become very big and very powerful. And he's one of them. He's in his 70s now. He's run this Kingdom of Jesus Christ since the 1980s. He claims 7 million followers. But his real importance is that his power base is down in the southern city of Davao, where the standoff is taking place. That is also the stronghold of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who was at one point an ally of current President Bombo Marcos. But the two families, the Marcoses and the Dutertes, have badly fallen out. There's now a feud between them. And so this raid on the Pastor Kiboloid's compound, although it is in pursuit of an FBI warrant,

and he is wanted on 42 charges, including sex abuse of minors. So there's serious charges. But in the Philippines, it's been seen very much as part of this bigger political fight between these two powerful families. Meantime, the security forces are trying to do what about this situation? Well, they're sitting there. There's 2,000 police. The local court has actually told them to back off and remove their barricades. The police believe that he's hiding somewhere in a network of underground bunkers or tunnels. It's not clear how extensive these are. They think he's there. So as far as they're concerned, they will stay there until he comes out. There's quite a lot of local opposition because this church has a strong following in Davao, so people have come out in the streets. There's another side to this. By sending

2,000 police after this pastor, the central government has in a way told former President Duterte, we can come onto your turf. You've got to understand just how powerful the Dutertes are in Davao. They have been for decades. Former President Duterte's daughter, Sarah Duterte, is the vice president. So the central government in a way is sending a signal saying, well, we've got a right to go there because this guy has serious charges outstanding against him. But however influential you are or he is with his followers, we will send police in there and grab him if we can in pursuit of these legal charges. So you have to look at this as a political dispute, even though it also involves a colourful, rather controversial

religious preacher. Our Southeast Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head. The last time a Labour government came to power in Britain, it tried to project an image of sunny optimism. The new British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, by contrast, is projecting grim determination. Things are worse than we ever imagined. In the first few weeks, we discovered a £22bn black hole in the public finances and before anyone says

oh this is just performative or playing politics let's remember the OBR did not know about it they wrote a letter setting that out and they didn't know because the last government hid it that was the prime minister addressing journalists in the garden of 10 Downing Street, the same garden where, as he pointed out, one of his Conservative predecessors had held lockdown-busting parties during Covid. His intended contrast was clear. Listening for us, our political correspondent, Rob Watson. I think what he's trying to do is to set the framework for

British politics over the next 10 years. And you're right that he was elected with an absolutely thumping majority, but really more so because the government, the last government, was so utterly hated, the Conservatives. So his strategy is to say pretty simply, look, things are in a terrible mess. It's all the fault of the last government. And so things are going to be painful. Things are going to get worse before they get better. And I suppose you would say that is quite a smart, a kind of clever way to try and shape the political debate,

although I suppose you have to be careful not to get people overly depressed. Also, I suppose if you're going to do anything unpopular, you need to get on with it very quickly so it it's as far away from as possible from the next election. That's absolutely right. But not only that, but to make sure that you blame someone else in this case, the previous Conservative government. So absolutely both of those things. And I think it's also that the Labour government would say is that you just because Britain does have problems in terms of its finances, its taxes already high, public services are stretched, that it would just be simply unwise as a politician to promise things are going to get better just like that when you know that it's not going to work like that. This is what politicians call rolling the pitch, particularly ahead of a budget announcement in a few weeks' time. Yes, that is exactly the phrase, rolling the pitch. And for anyone who doesn't know quite what that means,

it's sort of preparing your audience for what's going to come and trying to sort of shape the message. And the message to the audience is going to be, you know, look, there's not going to be lots of lovely new public spending. It's not going to be all kind of roses and sunshine. Things are going to be difficult. Things are going to be painful kind of roses and sunshine, things are going to be difficult, things are going to be painful was the word Keir Starmer used but again that framing, that rolling of the pitch to say but aha it's all because for the last 14 years the other lot

messed it all up. Our political correspondent Rob Watson. And still to come in this podcast. Me and him are like telepathic you know what I mean? I know my brother better than anybody else. We've both come together throughout greatness. A much-anticipated announcement from the British band Oasis. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Global News, AmeriCast and The Global Story,

plus other great BBC podcasts from history to comedy to true crime, all ad-free. Simply subscribe to BBC Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts or listen to Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts. The United Nations has said its humanitarian work in Gaza has been dealt a serious blow by Israel's new evacuation orders. UN aid workers have been fleeing from their operation centres, leaving behind essential equipment.

The orders came as the UN was set to begin its mass vaccination programme after the first case of polio in Gaza in 25 years. Louise Wateridge from the UN spoke to BBC News about the lack of safe zones in Gaza. There are tanks in areas that used to be designated as safe areas and this is just another testament to there being nowhere safe in the Gaza Strip. People have nowhere to go, there is nowhere to find safety, it's very limited access to humanitarian resources because the humanitarian operations are also being displaced within these evacuation orders. Our Middle East correspondent Yolan Nell told me more about the difficulties the aid

agencies are facing. What they're saying is that basically only 11 percent of the entire Gaza strip is not covered by Israeli evacuation orders and it's something we've heard repeatedly from humanitarian workers that there is no safe place in Gaza. But what has really sort of been so disruptive to humanitarian efforts in the past couple of days is this succession of Israeli military evacuation orders. And this is how Deir el-Balak has been so affected with Israeli tanks advancing there. This is where the main operations centre for the UN was set up. It was relocated from Rafah when Israel went in there in May, began its military offensive.

And then at one point yesterday, UN aid operations ground to a halt, according to a senior UN official, because of the conditions. They were not able to deliver aid in that area. I just spoke to a spokesperson who did stress that there were other parties that have been able to continue with aid distribution. One of the latest evacuation orders affected 15 premises, they're saying, belonging to the UN and to NGOs. That includes four UN warehouses, the Al-Aqsa hospital, two clinics, three wells, a water reservoir and a desalination plant.

Now, we've yet to have a full statement on this from the Israeli military. OK, so that's the humanitarian aid, a programme that was already underway. There's also the vaccination against polio programme that hasn't even really begun. Indeed, we now do have the vaccines for polio in Gaza. This is something that was coordinated with the Israeli military authorities and the rollout of that vaccination programme is due to start on the 1st of September. So just a few days time, the samples of sewage water that were being routinely tested showed up traces of the polio virus. And we've had health workers coming out, you know, saying that this could be really just so dangerous for the Palestinian children and for Israelis, too. The Israeli military has already started a vaccination program for its soldiers.

But the reason this is dangerous, it's such an infectious disease. And it's something which, you know, is affecting children very badly, partly because of the dire sanitary conditions and the fact that there is like a lack of access to clean water, but also because, of course, you know, routine vaccination programs have been totally disrupted by the war. Yola Nell with me from Jerusalem. Now to the South Pacific and the island nation of Tonga. That's where the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has issued what he calls a global SOS. He says the Pacific is the most vulnerable area of the world right now because some of its seas have risen by around 15 centimetres in the last 30 years.

The UN says the global average is about 9 centimetres. Our correspondent Katie Watson sent this report from Tonga. Tonga is in the spotlight this week. Leaders from the 18 members that make up the Pacific Islands Forum, from small island nations like Kiribati to larger countries, Australia and New Zealand. They're all here to discuss the region, its vulnerabilities and its priorities. But as the opening ceremony took place on Monday morning, some delegates struggled to even reach the venue on time because of the weather. Since I got here, it has not stopped stopped raining as you can probably hear it is absolutely tipping it down the venue is drenched there was even an earthquake earlier and delegates had to be evacuated from one of the buildings and walking between venues. There's no public transport, taxis,

so I'm wading through the streets to get from one area to another. So it's very much all of the vulnerability that the Pacific is talking about in action on a very important week. The Pacific is today the most vulnerable area in the world and there is an enormous injustice in relation to the Pacific and that is the reason why I'm here. This is the second time United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has attended the forum. Climate change is an important issue for him and his warnings come as new data from the UN shows how rising sea levels are picking up pace and threatening Pacific islands more than ever.

First, they do not contribute at all to climate change. Second, they are in the first line of the impacts of climate change. I was in several coastal areas of the two islands that I visited and I've seen how the sea level rise together with the storms. It's forcing people to leave to other places. Everything that is happening today as a threat in climate change is multiplied in the Pacific Islands and so they face a real existential threat.

Not far from the venue, there's a street parade taking place. Dancers representing many of the Pacific Islands. There's one big banner saying, we're not drowning, we're fighting. Another reads, the sea level's rising, so are we. Joseph Sekulu is from Tonga and is the Pacific Director at 350, a climate change advocacy group. Climate change is one of those things that's just going to exacerbate all the disasters that we already feel.

And so it's important to always ground these conversations in that kind of reality and important for leaders, especially like Australia, to come and witness these things for themselves. These populations may be small, but their voices are getting louder. All the while, the threats to their very existence are getting bigger. Katie Watson reporting. The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is beginning a three-day trip to West Africa as his government comes under increasing pressure over a major upsurge in migrant arrivals.

Spain is one of the main European destinations for migrants, making a perilous sea journey in overcrowded wooden boats. Mr Sanchez is starting his trip in Mauritania before going to Senegal and Gambia. Rob Young spoke to the Associated Press journalist Renato Brito in Barcelona. It's the second time this year he's been to the region, he's going to the region. He was in Mauritania in February when alongside EU officials, they announced an aid package to try and tackle this issue of irregular migration. But now he's going to the Gambia for the first time, and he's going to Senegal as well. And he's really trying to

reinforce his commitment to the region, reinforce bilateral relations to make sure that they're cooperating and they're controlling the coast and the borders. There is Spanish police deployed in all three countries trying to work with local authorities to stop smugglers and stop migrants. But it's a very difficult issue to tackle. The youth in that region don't see a lot of job opportunities and they want to come to Europe to seek better lives and also in some cases flee persecution, conflict, climate change and other issues affecting the region. Right. So Spain is more concerned with, you think, curbing the trafficking and trying to reduce the

number of boat journeys to the Canary Islands and other parts of Spain rather than actually dealing with some of the root causes that lead people to leave in the first place? Well, the Spanish government has said it is actually investing in job creation for youth, and it will announce several small agreements other than border control and police cooperation to tackle the root causes. But these are longer term projects that take time to see the effects they could have. And, you know, any improvement will take years. And the issue is right now. So it is a very complex issue.

It's not something you can solve in one visit. And they are aware of that. But Spanish government says it's just showing again its commitment to the region and to try and find the solution alongside its African partners. And is it more of a political problem, issue in Spain? Or is it one of the Canary Islands, these islands off the northwest coast of Africa, which are big tourist destinations, so they are used to an influx of people just being unable to cope with the number of migrant arrivals? I think it's a bit of both. I think there is a real issue of irregular arrivals, but migration, as you know, is highly politicized across Europe. It's used in elections. And so

in the Canary Islands specifically, the issue that they're having is with young migrants who travel alone because the adult migrants, they go to mainland Spain or to other parts of Europe, reunite with family, continue to get on with their lives. But the issue of unaccompanied minors, which has really affected the Canary Islands, means that they're stuck on the islands because the regional government has to take charge of these teenagers and children traveling alone. And they are overwhelmed. They say they have more than 5,000 teen and child migrants under their care when their capacity is 2,000. And other regions of Spain are not willing to share the care of these young migrants with them and they're struggling. So that's the main complaint from the Canary Islands right now. The Associated Press journalist Renato Brito in Barcelona.

Now, what would 90s Britpop be without the band Oasis? It's been 30 years since the brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher launched their debut album Definitely Maybe. It's 15 years since their acrimonious split. Now, after ramping up speculation online, they've announced they're getting back together. Here's how that news was announced on BBC radio stations. As Tina said, it's happening. Liam Gallagher just put on social media, this is it. This is happening. Tickets on sale this Saturday for Oasis. This is Radio 1 Breakfast. So yes, Oasis are reuniting. This is huge in Edinburgh.

Yeah, as you said, Dublin, Wembley, Manchester, Heaton Park, and kicking off at Cardiff Principality Stadium. BC Radio Manchester. Nearly 15 years to the day after they split up. Oasis are definitely not maybe getting back together.

Oasis Live 25. And among the delighted Oasis fans, Radio DJ Edith Bowman who knows them. It's always been the last question when I've interviewed them over the years since they split up is when will it happen? And it's been interesting both their takes on that over the years? It's always been the last question when I've interviewed them over the years since they split up is when will it happen? And it's been interesting, both their takes on that over the years.

Liam's always been up for it. You know, he's always been, yeah, definitely. You know, I love the band. I'd love to get back together. Whereas Noel's very much being slightly more standoffish about it. So I'm so thrilled. I think it's kind of been a long time coming.

I'm happy for Peggy, their mum. And I just think for so many fans, both in terms of those fans that have been around since the start, those fans that they've grown over the years, you know, they're a band that passed down generations. My nephew just texted me this morning, so excited about it. My 11 year old, so excited about it. And I think that they are one of those few bands that their music can't transcend generations so it's going to be a hot ticket. So the fallout was definitely real is this getting together real and if it's real what made it happen? I do think it's real I think time to be honest I think time and I also think that there was a great documentary that came out a couple years ago called Supersonic

that Matt Whitecross directed fantastic film where he really did some fantastic work interviewing the band independently. And the thing that came out from that was an honesty as to who they were as characters within that band and within that time. And I think that, Noel says himself in it that he was a bit of a bully. And Liam's just like this energised child. His enthusiasm for what he does is infectious but doesn't have a filter. And I think through time there's been those two opposites have kind of come more together.

Liam's put in so much work as an artist, you know, in terms of he loves playing live, being out there and singing those songs. It's so important to him. And he's just come off this definitely maybe tour, just headlined Reading and Leeds at the weekend. And he's put the work in and he's almost proved to know that he can kind of do it without him in a way but there is nothing better than the two of them being on stage together you see that picture of them whether they took it in the same studio or not together but that

picture of them now and those faces those siblings together it's just so exciting because the two of them together is like nothing else really you get that from that video they've posted on social media this morning which takes you back to those epic performances yeah the magic of it my 18 year old was at Reading Festival watching him on Sunday and it's interesting how Liam particularly has picked up a whole following among young people well absolutely because I think so many of those young people have heard those songs whether it be just from the radio or from parents and stuff. But it's not that often you actually get the chance

to see those artists or hear those artists that you have learnt through parents or, you know, older family members, to see them live and for them to still to connect in that way. And those songs always will, because they're great songs. The radio DJ and Oasis fan, Edith Bowman. And that's all from us for now. There'll be a new edition of Global News

to download later. Before we go, we're planning a special programme in Montreal in Canada next month at the One Young World Summit where young people from across the world gather to share their solutions to global issues. For that, we'd like to know what question you'd put to a group where young people from across the world gather to share their solutions to global issues. For that, we'd like to know what question you'd put to a group of young people setting out to change the world. Could be about the environment or world peace or AI or any other issue. Drop us

an email, globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk. This edition was mixed by Jack Wilfan. The producer was Anna Murphy. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Andrew Peach. Thanks for listening. And until next time, goodbye. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Global News, AmeriCast and The Global Story, plus other great BBC podcasts from history to comedy to true crime,

all ad-free. Simply subscribe to BBC Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts or listen to Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts.