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BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityAsiaChinaIndiaPakistan: Lightning and unusually heavy rain kill dozensPublished41 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsClimateImage source, EPAImage caption, With more rain expected in the coming days, Pakistani authorities have also warned of landslides and flash floodsAt least 39 people have been killed in Pakistan after days of unusually heavy rains battered the country’s southwest.Some of those killed were farmers struck by lightning while harvesting wheat, authorities said.Images online show swathes of farmland engulfed by rainwater. Flash floods have also disrupted power supplies and transportation networks.Pakistan has experienced an increase in extreme weather events, as it grapples with the impacts of climate change.In 2022, one-third of the country was completely submerged by unprecedented flooding, killing more than 1,700 people and injuring thousands. Millions were left homeless and lacking clean drinking water for months after.Some of the areas affected by the 2022 floods, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, are being impacted again by the recent storms.With more rain expected in the coming days, Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority has also warned of landslides and flash floods.Pakistan floods: ‘It’s like fighting a war with no end’Pakistan floods ‘likely’ made worse by warmingPakistan’s most populated province Punjab has suffered the highest death toll so far, with 21 people killed by lightning between Friday and Sunday, AFP news agency reported.At least eight were killed in the westernmost Balochistan province according to AFP, where authorities have declared a state of emergency. Schools in the province were ordered to shut on Monday and Tuesday. Extensive areas of Pasni, a Baloch coastal town, have been covered by rainwater.”Pasni looks like a big lake at the moment as flash floods entered the human settlements and main commercial areas,” Noor Ahmed Kalmati, chairman of town’s municipal committee, told Pakistan newspaper Dawn.Heavy flooding has also been reported in neighbouring Afghanistan. At least 33 people have been killed and hundreds of homes damaged or destroyed, Afghan authorities said on Sunday.Scientists have said that global warming is likely to have played a role in the devastating floods that hit Pakistan in 2022. Pakistan is also ranked as the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change, according to the UN’s Global Climate Risk Index.Related TopicsPakistanFloodsAsiaLightningClimateSevere weatherTop StoriesIsrael war cabinet meets to discuss Iran responsePublished5 hours agoTruss endorses Trump to win US presidential racePublished7 hours agoMPs to vote on smoking ban for Generation AlphaPublished1 hour agoFeaturesThe Papers: ‘Frantic diplomacy’ over Iran and Trump trial beginsSalman Rushdie: Losing an eye upsets me every day’Hero’ who took on killer describes Sydney attackBowen: As Israel debates Iran response, can US and allies stop slide into all-out war?What was in wave of Iranian attacks and how were they thwarted?What you need to vote has changed. VideoWhat you need to vote has changedListen: Is this a turning point for Iran and Israel? AudioListen: Is this a turning point for Iran and Israel?AttributionSoundsCalls for Germany to legalise abortions in first trimesterHow is Paris preparing for the Olympics and Paralympics?Elsewhere on the BBCWere three prime ministers brought down by WhatsApp?Helen Lewis investigates how instant messaging can lead to chaos, confusion, and comedyAttributionSoundsWhen the Queen parachuted from a helicopter with James BondHow did the memorable moment from the 2012 London Olympic Games come about?AttributionSoundsThe Austrian house where children were experimented onEvy Mages uncovers the full, disturbing truth of what happened thereAttributionSoundsReady to rock through time with the Doctor and Ruby?A sneak peek of the new series of Doctor Who, starting May 11…AttributioniPlayerMost Read1Truss endorses Trump to win US presidential race2’Frantic diplomacy’ over Iran and Trump trial begins3MPs to vote on smoking ban for Generation Alpha4Sydney church stabbing declared a ‘terrorist attack’5Confronting pro-Kremlin troll on false claims Jewish student was Sydney killer6Rust film armourer sentenced to 18 months in prison7Dozens of jurors ruled out as historic Trump trial begins8Israel war cabinet meets to discuss Iran response9Prime minister not at Eid party guests boycotted10MPs reject Lords amendments to Rwanda bill
[ad_1] Authorities have also warned of landslides and flash floods in the coming days.
![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaIran warns Israel against ‘reckless’ retaliationPublished10 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warThis video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Media caption, Watch: Sirens ring through Jerusalem as objects shot down from skyBy Doug FaulknerBBC NewsIran has warned Israel that any “reckless” retaliation to its unprecedented aerial attack would receive a “much stronger response”.More than 300 drones and missiles were launched at Israel by Iran overnight, following the 1 April Israeli strike on Iran’s consulate in Syria.Israel said it and allies had intercepted 99% of the weapons.It marked Iran’s first direct attack on Israel, with the two countries having waged a years-long shadow war.World leaders have urged restraint amid concerns about a major escalation in tensions in the Middle East.Following the attack, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed “together we will win”, but it is unclear how his country plans to respond.Last week, Israel’s defence and foreign ministers warned that if Iran attacked Israel, Israel would strike back inside Iran.LIVE UPDATES: Follow the latest on the Iran-Israel attackEXPLAINED: Everything we know so far about wave of Iranian attacksLEARN: What is Israel’s Iron Dome missile system?UPDATE ME: Israel on high alert after unprecedented Iranian attackWATCH: Explosions in sky over JerusalemWATCH: Iran drone attack ‘major escalation’ – Israeli militaryAn attack had been anticipated after the strike on the Damascus consulate killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officers.In a statement reported by AFP, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said “if the Zionist regime [Israel] or its supporters demonstrate reckless behaviour, they will receive a decisive and much stronger response”.Iran’s IRGC – the most powerful branch of its armed forces – said it had launched the attack “in retaliation against the Zionist regime’s [Israel] repeated crimes, including the attack on the Iranian embassy’s consulate in Damascus”.Following the strikes the Iranian mission to the UN said “the matter can be deemed concluded”.Iranian armed forces chief of staff Maj Gen Mohammad Bagheri told state TV the US had been warned – via Switzerland – that American backing of an Israeli retaliation would result in US regional bases being targeted.Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said he had told the US attacks against Israel will be “limited” and for self-defence, Reuters news agency reported.US President Joe Biden spoke to Mr Netanyahu following the launch of the Iranian attack and reaffirmed “America’s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel”. He condemned the “unprecedented” attack on Israel and said the US had helped Israel and other allies to “take down nearly all” of the missiles and drones.This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Media caption, Watch: Iran drone attack ‘major escalation’ – Israeli military spokesmanSirens sounded across Israel and loud explosions were heard over Jerusalem, with air defence systems shooting down objects over the city.The New York Times, citing Israeli intelligence sources, reported that the main targets appeared to be military instillations in the occupied Golan Heights. An Israeli military spokesman said around 360 munitions had been fired – including 170 explosive drones, 30 cruise missiles and 120 ballistic missiles – but Israel has said very little damage had been done.Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said some Iranian missiles had hit inside Israel, causing minor damage to a military base but no casualties.Israel’s ambulance service said a seven-year-old Bedouin girl had been injured by shrapnel from falling debris in the southern Arad region and it has been reported she has undergone surgery.World leaders will be considering their response to the major escalation in tensions between Israel and Iran, with many condemning the attack or warning of the dangers of escalation.Mr Biden said he would convene “my fellow G7 leaders to co-ordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack”.The UN Security Council will also hold an emergency meeting later, its president Vanessa Frazier said.UN Secretary General António Guterres issued a statement saying he “strongly condemn[ed] the serious escalation represented by the large-scale attack launched on Israel” by Iran.He called for “an immediate cessation of these hostilities” and for all sides to exercise maximum restraint.UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the strikes “reckless”, while the European Union’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said it was a “grave threat to regional security”.China’s foreign ministry urged restraint, characterising it as “the latest spill over of the Gaza conflict”, while Russia’s foreign ministry expressed “extreme concern over another dangerous escalation”.On Sunday, France recommended its citizens in Iran should temporarily leave the country due to the risk of military escalation. Speaking to crowds at the Vatican on Sunday, Pope Francis made a “heartfelt appeal for a halt to any action that could fuel a spiral of violence with the risk of dragging the Middle East into an even greater conflict”.There have been increased tensions in the Middle East since the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 others were taken hostage, and the subsequent Israeli military operation in Gaza.The Hamas-run health ministry says at least 33,729 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began.Related TopicsIsrael-Gaza warIsraelIranMore on this storyIsrael on high alert after unprecedented Iranian attackPublished5 hours agoRAF jets shot down a number of Iran drones – SunakPublished40 minutes agoBiden blasts ‘brazen attack’ and backs Israel’s securityPublished8 hours agoIsrael says Iran confrontation ‘not over yet’ after shooting down drones from TehranPublished15 hours agoWhat is Israel’s Iron Dome missile system?Published6 November 2023Iran vows to avenge Syria strike blamed on IsraelPublished2 AprilTop StoriesLive. 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![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaChibok girls feel let down 10 years after Nigeria kidnappingPublished5 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsNigeria schoolgirl kidnappingsImage source, BBC/Simpa SamsonImage caption, Amina Ali became the first Chibok girl to escape prolonged captivity in 2016By Yemisi AdegokeBBC News, northern NigeriaWe had to meet Lisu in secret as she says the local Nigerian authorities are trying to prevent her from talking to journalists.She was one of the 276 girls abducted from their school in the town of Chibok exactly a decade ago – a kidnapping that shocked the world and sparked a global campaign to #BringBackOurGirls, which included former US First Lady Michelle Obama.More than 180 have either since escaped or been freed, including Lisu, who gave birth to two children while she was a hostage of the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, living in a hideout in the Sambisa forest.After escaping, Lisu – which is not her real name – went through the government rehabilitation programme, before being placed in group accommodation with other escapees. “I do regret coming back,” she says, shuffling in her seat. Not exactly the message the authorities want coming out. The Borno state government has denied limiting the former captives’ freedom of speech.Image source, BBC/Simpa SamsonImage caption, Lisu is “deeply unhappy” about the way she has been treated in the government accommodationLisu feels the way she is now treated is worse than what she lived through before.”Sometimes I cry when I remember. I ask myself: ‘Why did I even leave Sambisa to come back to Nigeria, only to come and face such degrading treatment, being insulted almost daily?’ I never experienced such heartache while I was in Sambisa.”Lisu says she is barely surviving under state care; basic provisions like food and soap are not enough, her movements are closely watched and restricted by security guards and she has been subjected to verbal abuse from staff at the group home.”They yell at us all the time, I am deeply unhappy,” she says. “I had more freedom at the Boko Haram camp than I do here.”This is a characterisation that the Borno state government said it did not recognise. In a statement to the BBC, it said there were no restrictions on the movements of the young women in its care except when there were issues of their personal safety. The authorities said they were also providing enough food and nutrition for the former captives and their children. Though the experiences of those who fled or were freed are varied, and they are all at different stages of rehabilitation, a theme that promises made to them over the years had been broken emerged from those we spoke to.In 2016, Amina Ali became the first of the Chibok captives to escape since the immediate aftermath of the kidnapping.She too is dissatisfied with her treatment. The last time she saw the sprawling school campus that now stands in front of her, it was on fire – that was the night of 14 April, 2014.”Wow, this school still exists,” she says softly, gazing at the newly renovated, cream-coloured buildings. “After all that happened to us, it’s still here.””We used to sit under that tree,” she continues, pointing at a towering, barren tree in the corner of the compound. She looks around, noting all the changes.Image source, BBC/Simpa SamsonImage caption, Amina has ambitions to be a journalist and help tell the story of the Chibok girlsThe grass is overgrown, the tiles on the walkways are new. The rust-coloured main gate has been moved and the dormitories do not exist any more. When the grounds were rebuilt, it reopened as a day school in 2021.While the cosmetic changes to the school are significant, outside the gates little has changed in Chibok. Insecurity is still rife. Boko Haram gunmen continue to attack the area, the latest assault late last year.The poorly maintained roads are dotted with checkpoints and there is a heavy military presence in the town. Mobile communication is patchy, a telecom mast lies on its side next to the road, probably felled by militants, a local colleague says.Then there are the emotional scars.Amina spent two years as a hostage in Sambisa. Like many of the captives, she was forced to “marry” a militant and convert to Islam. There was a routine to life in the forest; cooking, cleaning, learning the Quran, but Amina never gave up hope that one day she would escape.”I just thought even if I spend 10 years [as a hostage], one day I will escape,” she says.And one day she did.It took weeks of trekking through thick bush in sweltering temperatures, little food and with her two-month-old baby strapped to her back, but she made it.Parents of Chibok girls heartbroken – againThe secret diaries of the Chibok girlsThe town that lost its girlsBut more than 90 girls are still missing. Her friend Helen Nglada is one of them. Amina and Helen were classmates. They were both singers in the church band that Helen led. After the kidnap, the two grew close in Sambisa forest, spending as much time as they could together. The last conversation Amina had with Helen was about Chibok and how much they wished they could go back there. Image source, BBC/Simpa SamsonImage caption, For Helen’s mother, Saratu, meeting Amina brings back painful memoriesThe agony caused by Helen’s continued absence is etched on the faces of her parents, Saratu and Ibrahim, who are sitting outside their modest home, a short distance from the school.Her mother tightly grips two photographs of Helen and her sister. The girls are wearing matching outfits, headscarves and serious expressions.”I just wish I got my friend back,” Amina says, “so we can share the happiness with her.”Saratu struggles to contain her emotions. “Any time you come to the house and I see you, my mind goes back to my daughter,” she says to Amina.She breaks down into floods of tears and Amina places a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.”I just want our [state] governor to do something and rescue our children,” Ibrahim says quietly. “He should put in more effort to rescue the other children.”Amina’s escape in 2016 was accompanied by huge fanfare and relief.After being debriefed by the military, she met government officials including then President Muhammadu Buhari, who said the course of her life would change for the better.”[The president said] he’s going to take care of us and send us to school and even our children too,” Amina recalls. “Because it’s not our fault to find ourselves in that situation and the children too, they don’t know anything. They’re innocent. So he’s going to take care of them.”Image source, AFPImage caption, When she escaped from Boko Haram in 2016, Amina (L) and her baby met then President Muhammadu BuhariLife today does not look like what was promised.Amina now lives in Yola, about five hours away from Chibok by road, and shares a small room with her daughter. They share an outdoor bathroom with a neighbour and she cooks on firewood outside.Money is tight. She receives 20,000 naira ($15; £12) a month to cover everyday expenses but nothing for her daughter’s education, despite the government’s promises. She pays that bill herself with the little money she makes from farming.”It’s hard for me to look after my daughter,” she says. “What can I do? I have to do it because I don’t have anyone.”Image source, BBC/Simpa SamsonImage caption, Amina struggles with the money she has to bring up her daughter who was born in a Boko Haram campAmina is balancing raising her daughter while studying at the American University of Nigeria (AUN), a private and elite institution.AUN is the only option Amina and the other Chibok girls were given to resume their studies, but many of them have struggled to keep up and some have dropped out. “We didn’t choose AUN because we know the school standards are difficult for us, we girls come from poor backgrounds,” she says. “The former minister forced us to come to this school.” The girls said they would have liked more autonomy in choosing where they could study and wonder if some of the government’s money spent covering the AUN’s high fees could have been better spent directly supporting them. Amina has attended AUN since 2017, but is not close to graduating. Only one of the former captives has graduated.Nigeria’s Women’s Affairs Minister Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye says the government has been paying AUN roughly $350,000 a year for the Chibok girls and their education over the last six years. It is an arrangement she says will be reviewed.”I’m not paying nobody that kind of money. Even if they put it on the budget, I will not release the money,” she says. “The girls should be considered first and foremost. School is important, first and foremost. But you don’t go to school on an empty stomach.”Rakiya Gali is another Chibok girl – she escaped from Boko Haram in 2017. She was a student at AUN briefly, but dropped out due to poor health.Rakiya says she does not receive any financial support and like Amina pays for her son’s education with the money she makes from farming, despite promises from the government.”The government has been unfair to us,” she says in an impassioned voice. “They knew that we went into [Sambisa forest] and came back with children. If they cannot help us, then who will help us?”In addition to the financial burden, Rakiya lives in fear, as her town is still being attacked by Boko Haram. She says militants recently burned down her son’s school.”Whenever I hear any sound, I think it is a gunshot,” she says.Image source, BBC/Simpa SamsonImage caption, The school still exists – though it no longer takes boardersRakiya desperately wants to move forward with her life and secure the best possible education for her son, but the lack of support makes things feel impossible. So much so, she believes the Chibok girls who remain hostages would stay with Boko Haram if they could see how she and those who escaped are living outside the camp.”When [the girls] return [they] will come join us in this situation,” she says. “I would say it is better to stay [in Sambisa forest] with the child and the father will provide support, rather than going through this trouble.”The conditions she describes are a far cry from those of one of their former captors.Muhammad Alli, a former Boko Haram fighter who was involved in the Chibok kidnapping, is now living in Maiduguri with his family – including eight children. He was part of the militant group for 13 years and rose to the rank of commander, even forcefully “marrying” one of the Chibok girls.”At the time I married them, I did not feel any guilt,” he says. “But when I decided to surrender, I started to realise how awful they must have felt being forced to do these things.”Like thousands of other fighters, Muhammad was granted amnesty and completed the state government rehabilitation programme. He has a farm, but also works with the military to help rescue abducted girls.Image source, BBC/Simpa SamsonImage caption, Muhammad Alli is now helping the authorities tackle other hostage situationsLast year he was part of a group that rescued some of the same people he had helped kidnap. “They were in a terrible state when we found them,” he says. “I cried at the sight of them.”The amnesty programme is not without controversy, with some saying that former militants like Mohammad should serve jail time and be held accountable for their numerous crimes. “All I can say in that regard is to ask for forgiveness,” Mohammed counters. “I am remorseful, I am looking for ways to quench the fire we started, and I do this with the men whom I surrendered with. We are doing our best to weaken the effects of insurgency.”But the insurgency rages on, and kidnapping for ransom has become even more widespread in Nigeria. While reporting this story there were three separate kidnappings in north-eastern Nigeria, one of these attacks was on a school and was the largest of its kind since 2021.Mohammad says that the “success” of the Chibok kidnappings has encouraged these types of attacks.”We realised that the event shook the entire nation and Africa as a whole,” he says. “And the core mission of Boko Haram for [group leader] Abubakar Shekau was to ensure our activities attracted attention. “He also got money off some of these actions, which helped pay for transport and food, and that’s why they continued the abductions.”Serious questions remain around Nigeria’s military and its ability to tackle the insurgency that has spanned more than a decade and left hundreds of thousands of people dead, particularly as insecurity spreads to other parts of the country.Gen Christopher Gwabin Musa, Nigeria’s defence chief, has acknowledged the “enormous” challenges facing the military, calling the current state of insecurity in the country a “rude shock”, but is confident the tide is turning.As for the 91 Chibok girls still being held captive, Gen Musa says the military has not given up hope that they will be rescued.Despite her satisfaction with her current situation, Amina is hopeful too. She hopes to become a journalist one day, to be a voice for victims of kidnapping, to be a leader. She also hopes her daughter will finish her education and have a bright, safe future.Most of all, she hopes her classmates will one day be freed.”The only thing I need the government to do is to release some of my sisters that are still in captivity. I have that hope,” she says. “Because when they are still alive [there’s hope] they will come back one day.” You can watch Yemisi’s full report on the BBC Africa YouTube channelFind out more about the Chibok girls:PODCAST: What happened to the Chibok girls?Why was this freed Chibok girl treated differently? The kidnapped woman who defied Boko HaramThe man who brought back the Chibok girlsRelated TopicsNigeriaBoko HaramNigeria schoolgirl kidnappingsAround the BBCFocus on Africa podcastAfrica Daily podcastTop StoriesLive. 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![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaUkraine could face defeat in 2024. Here’s how that might lookPublished11 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsWar in UkraineImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia’s full-scale invasion for two yearsBy Frank GardnerBBC security correspondentThe former commander of Britain’s Joint Forces Command has warned that Ukraine could face defeat by Russia in 2024.General Sir Richard Barrons has told the BBC there is “a serious risk” of Ukraine losing the war this year. The reason, he says, is “because Ukraine may come to feel it can’t win”.”And when it gets to that point, why will people want to fight and die any longer, just to defend the indefensible?”Ukraine is not yet at that point. But its forces are running critically low on ammunition, troops and air defences. Its much-heralded counter-offensive last year failed to dislodge the Russians from ground they had seized and now Moscow is gearing up for a summer offensive. So what will that look like and what are its likely strategic objectives?”The shape of the Russian offensive that’s going to come is pretty clear,” says Gen Barrons. “We are seeing Russia batter away at the front line, employing a 5-to-1 advantage in artillery, ammunition, and a surplus of people reinforced by the use of newish weapons.”Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Ukraine is now desperately short of ammunition, in part due to political wrangling in Western nationsThese include the FAB glide bomb, an adapted Soviet-era “dumb bomb” fitted with fins, GPS guidance and 1500kg of high explosive, that is wreaking havoc on Ukrainian defences.”At some point this summer,” says Gen Barrons, “we expect to see a major Russian offensive, with the intent of doing more than smash forward with small gains to perhaps try and break through the Ukrainian lines. “And if that happens we would run the risk of Russian forces breaking through and then exploiting into areas of Ukraine where the Ukrainian armed forces cannot stop them.”But where? Last year the Russians knew exactly where Ukraine was likely to attack – from the direction of Zaporizhzhia south towards the Sea of Azov. They planned accordingly and successfully blunted Ukraine’s advance. Now the boot is on the other foot as Russia masses its troops and keeps Kyiv guessing where it is going to attack next.”One of the challenges the Ukrainians have,” says Dr Jack Watling, senior research fellow in land warfare at the Whitehall thinktank the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), “is that the Russians can choose where they commit their forces. “It’s a very long front line and the Ukrainians need to be able to defend all of it.”Which, of course, they can’t. Ukrainecast: Q&A: How can Ukraine grow its army? “The Ukrainian military will lose ground,” says Dr Watling. “The question is: how much and which population centres are going to be affected?”It is quite possible that Russia’s General Staff have yet to go firm on which direction to designate as their main effort. But it is possible to broadly break down their various options into three broad locations.Kharkiv”Kharkiv,” says Dr Watling, “is certainly vulnerable.”As Ukraine’s second city, situated perilously close to the Russian border, Kharkiv is a tempting goal for Moscow. It is currently being pummelled daily with Russian missile strikes, with Ukraine unable to field sufficient air defences to ward off the lethal mix of drones, cruise and ballistic missiles aimed in its direction. Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Russia hits Kharkiv daily with drones, missiles and shelling”I think the offensive this year will have breaking out of the Donbas as its first objective,” adds Gen Barrons, “and their eye will be on Kharkiv which is 29 kilometres or so from the Russian border, a major prize.”Could Ukraine still function as a viable entity if Kharkiv were to fall? Yes, say analysts, but it would be a catastrophic blow to both its morale and its economy.The DonbasThe area of eastern Ukraine known collectively as the Donbas has been at war since 2014, when Moscow-backed separatists declared themselves “people’s republics”. In 2022 Russia illegally annexed the two Donbas oblasts, or provinces, of Donetsk and Luhansk. This is where most of the fighting on land has been taking place over the past 18 months. Ukraine has, controversially, expended enormous efforts, in both manpower and resources, in trying to hold on to first the town of Bakhmut, and then Avdiivka. It has lost both, as well as some of its best fighting troops, in the attempt. This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Media caption, BBC documentary shows Ukrainian front line troops defending against a Russian attackKyiv has countered that its resistance has inflicted disproportionately high casualties on the Russians. That’s true, with the battlefield in these places being dubbed “the meat grinder”. But Moscow has plenty more troops to thrown into the fight – and Ukraine doesn’t. This week the Commander of US Forces in Europe, General Christopher Cavoli, warned that unless the US rushes significantly more weapons and ammunition to Ukraine then its forces will be outgunned on the battlefield by 10 to 1.Mass matters. The Russian army’s tactics, leadership and equipment may be inferior to Ukraine’s, but it has such superiority in numbers, especially artillery, that if it does nothing else this year, its default option will be to keep pushing Ukraine’s forces back in a westward direction, taking village after village.ZaporizhzhiaThis, too, is a tempting prize for Moscow. The southern Ukrainian city of more than 700,000 (in peacetime) sits dangerously close to the Russian front lines.It is also something of a thorn in Russia’s side given that it is the capital of an oblast of the same name that Russia has illegally annexed, and yet the city is still living freely in Ukrainian hands.But the formidable defences that Russia built south of Zaporizhzhia last year, in the correct expectation of a Ukrainian attack, would now complicate a Russian advance from there. The so-called Surovikin Line, consisting of triple layers of defences, is laced with the largest, most densely packed minefield in the world. Russia could partially dismantle this but its preparations would likely be detected. Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Ukraine is now one of the most heavily mined places in the worldRussia’s strategic objective this year may not even be territorial. It could simply be to crush Ukraine’s fighting spirit and convince its Western backers that this war is a lost cause. Dr Jack Watling believes the Russian objective is “to try to generate a sense of hopelessness. “This [Russian] offensive will not decisively end the conflict, irrespective of how it goes for either side.”Gen Barrons is also sceptical that, despite the dire situation Ukraine now finds itself in, Russia will automatically drive home its advantage with a decisive advance. “I think the most likely outcome is that Russia will have made gains, but will not have managed to break through. “It will not have forces that are big enough or good enough to punch all the way through to the river [Dnipro]… But the war will have turned in Russia’s favour.”One thing is certain: Russia’s President Putin has no intention of giving up on his assault on Ukraine. He’s like a poker player gambling all his chips on a win. He’s counting on the West failing to supply Ukraine with the sufficient means to defend itself. Despite all the Nato summits, all the conferences and all the stirring speeches, there is a chance he may be right. Related TopicsWar in UkraineRussiaUkraineMore on this storyBucha’s wounds still raw two years onPublished5 days agoUkrainian soldiers film dangerous front-line mission. 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![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & Canada’Huge amount’ of Gaza surgery on children, says UK doctorPublished28 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warImage source, SuppliedImage caption, Dr Victoria Rose and a colleague were in the European Gaza hospital near Khan Younis in late MarchA British surgeon who recently returned from Gaza has told the BBC how she was struck by the high number of wounded children she operated on.Dr Victoria Rose said a “huge amount” of her work was on children under 16, including many under six.She said she had treated people with bullet wounds, burns and other injuries. She added the lack of food available in Gaza meant patients were not strong enough to heal properly.Over 76,000 Gazans – mainly civilians – have been injured by Israel over the course of the war, the Hamas-run health ministry says, while 33,000 people have been killed. The war was sparked by Hamas attacking Israeli communities near Gaza last October, killing about 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking about 250 hostages to Gaza. Dr Rose, a consultant plastic surgeon, spent two weeks from late March at the European Hospital near Khan Younis in southern Gaza.The “most shocking bit” was that during the trip she only operated on one person who at 53 was older than her, she told the BBC’s Today programme. “Everybody else was younger than me. A huge amount of my work was under-16s. Quite a worrying proportion of my work was six and under.”Dr Rose was carrying out reconstructive surgery on people who had been wounded.”It was burns, shrapnel injuries, removing foreign bodies from tissue, reconstructing defects in faces, removing bullets from jaws, that kind of thing,” she said.The lack of food in Gaza – where the UN has warned of imminent famine – also meant many sick and injured people were not strong enough to fight off infection or heal properly from their wounds, she added.”The people on my operating table were undernourished. A lot of them were cachectic,” she said, referring to people experiencing extreme weight loss and muscle wasting.”When we were looking at some of our patients who were not doing so well, there was a lot more infection than I’ve ever seen anywhere else. “A lot of people’s protein levels were in their boots, their haemoglobin levels were down. They are just not getting any nutrients, any vitamins or minerals.”Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Many of those brought to the hospital after Israeli bombardments are already deadDr Graeme Groom, another doctor who was in Khan Younis, said the sound of bombing, tank fire and small arms fire was louder than during a previous wartime visit. At the time he and Dr Rose were working there, the Israeli military was still in Khan Younis. It pulled out most of its forces earlier this week.”As [the bombing] became closer it was a very short time before we saw the effects of the bombing,” he said.”Just walking past the emergency department, for example, a pick up truck filled with distraught people backed up to the door with a pile of entwined corpses, followed by a line of cars with more bodies in the boots.”The European hospital – one of very few still operating in the territory – is also home to large numbers of displaced people, some of whom are camping out in hospital corridors.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Conditions in the hospital grounds are unsanitary, with sewage collecting near tentsBut those who have set up makeshift tents on nearby open ground were being forced to move by the need for space for fresh graves, Dr Groom said.”Now there is a huge and spreading cemetery so that the graves of the newly dead are now displacing the shelters of the barely-living,” he said.On Friday Rik Peeperkorn from the World Health Organization (WHO) said three other hospitals in Khan Younis – Nasser, al-Aqsa and al-Khair were completely non-functional after being the focus of fighting, while some basic services were being offered at al-Amal hospital despite “immense structural destruction”.Nasser, the main hospital in southern Gaza, has been out of use since Israeli forces raided it in February. Gaza’s biggest hospital, al-Shifa in Gaza City, was largely destroyed during a two-week Israeli military raid last month.Speaking after a visit to Khan Younis following the Israeli withdrawal, Mr Peeperkorn said the destruction in the city was “disproportionate to anything one can imagine. No building or road is intact, there is only rubble and dirt”.Israel imposed a siege on Gaza after the Hamas attack, with severe limitations on the amounts of food, water and other necessities allowed to enter the strip. It has since allowed some aid to enter Gaza, but the UN says a number of children have died from malnutrition in northern Gaza, which has been cut off from most aid, and famine is imminent there.Israel has denied impeding the flow of aid into Gaza or within the territory. After the Israeli military killed seven aid workers earlier this month, it agreed to open up new routes and allow more aid in, including to northern Gaza. On Friday the Israeli military said the first food trucks had entered northern Gaza through a new crossing point.White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Israel was meeting its commitment to open up additional vehicle crossings to Gaza for aid, but it was not enough and the US was continuing to press Israeli officials to do more.What is famine and why are Gaza and Sudan at risk?Biden pressure on Israel not enough, say dissenting US officialsRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warPalestinian territoriesHumanitarian aidMore on this storyGazans return to devastation in Khan YounisPublished3 days agoBowen: Israel denies famine looms in Gaza, but evidence is overwhelmingPublished22 hours agoInside IDF’s detailed briefing on aid convoy attackPublished7 days agoTop StoriesLive. 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