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announcer: and now, "bbc news" ♪ ben: hello. i am ben thompson. you are watching "the context" on bbc news. >> the coming months will require a great deal of ukrainians who have sacrificed so much. i have come to ukraine with the message -- you are not alone. them a american equipment has been arriving from the latest tranche. some has been positioned in europe, some has been brought in already through aircraft and air lifts. but the equipment will be critical because, candidly, there is a russian offensive going on right now. >> ukrainians have lost ground. they have lost ground in east, in the south, and there are fears that russia could open another front in the north,

further north from here. ben: russia must pay for ukraine's recovery and reconstruction -- that is the promise from america's top diplomat tonight. antony blinken is on a surprise visit to kyiv. at least two french prison officers are killed in an ambush on a prison band in normandy near france. the prisoner was taken after the ash those another right pictures. more protests rocking the georgian capital, to bce after -- georgian capital, tblisi, after the parliament passes a controversial law. and trump on trial. we have been hearing from his former lawyer who has been giving evidence, saying that he was responsible for trying to

protect the former president. we will have all the details a little later. let's start first of all with news from that surprise visit by america's top diplomat, antony blinken. he says the war with russia is at a critical moment. the u.s. secretary of state made the comments during a talk with ukraine's president zelenskyy in kyiv, almost promising -- also promising america's unwavering support in the fight. mr. blinken was speaking after a russian offensive in the north. a new front has opened up in the northeast of ukraine, with heavy fighting in and around a border town 45 miles from ukraine's second city, kharkiv. the area has changed hands in this war. moscow wants kharkiv back. here is mr. blinken speaking earlier. sec. blinken: we meet at a critical moment. putin is ramping up yet another offensive against ukraine in

kharkiv and across the east, sending wave after wave of russian soldiers, iranian drones , north korean artillery, and tanks, missiles, and fighter jets built with machines and parts supplied by china. the coming weeks and months will demand a great deal of ukrainians, who have already sacrificed so much. but i have come to ukraine with a message -- you are not alone. the united states has been by your side from day one. we are with you today. and we will stay by your side until ukraine's security, its sovereignty, its ability to choose its own path is guaranteed. ben: let's talk to a ukrainian politician in kyiv, and from washington, a senior fellow at american progress, where he focuses on europe, russia, and u.s. security cooperation. this is the 811th day of this

war. his to blinken says the u.s. has been by the side of ukraine since -- mr. blinken says the u.s. has been by the side of ukraine since day one, but is there anything he said that gives you any optimism an end is insight? >> well, the truth isn't we are in a very difficult situation both on the front line but also the other parts of the ukrainian territory as well. ukrainian energy infrastructure has been destroyed, and literally 10 minutes before i had to go live for this interview, we got news that they might switch off electricity in kyiv as well as other parts of ukraine because of the recent attacks on the energy infrastructure. it is a very difficult situation where in -- and of course this is it comes as a sign of solidarity, which is important on itself and is very difficult, critical moment. but i would also hope there were talks held behind closed doors were more specific issues of help to ukraine would be discussed.

how long this helpful last, what will happen with the new package of the aid, what will happen ter the elections in the united states, will u.s. help promote ukraine entering nato? all those are critical issues that need individual face-to-face discussions. i very much hope there was some decision made. they will not be announced right away. the fact that the discussions are taking place are important, but we hope decisions are made sooner, because unfortunately the news you were just talking about, the situation in kharkiv, kharkiv region, it happened because aid was not delivered on time because the ukrainian army could not have prepared for that. it still does not have ammunition. that is why we are losing ground in kharkiv. the timing of the aid is as important as the amount of the aid. that was made clear to secretary blinken in kyiv. ben: yes, and that's the issue,

isn't it? the money has been promised. the message is that we are with you. the detail about where thata id and set up and can it get to the areas that need it most urgently -- where that aid ends up and can we get it to the areas that need most urgently remains outstanding. >> yeah, that is of critical importance right now, the speed at which the u.s. can get the aid to ukraine. i'm am actually fairly optimistic about the aid moving fairly quickly. this had been stuck in front of congress since october 1. in the administration they have had a long time to prepare and identify the equipment they were preparing to move and intact moved some of that equipment ahead of time, ahead of passage of the supplemental. military equipment is flowing into ukraine. there's going to be a challenge

of quantity, how much can move, how quickly. some of the equipment and the money for the equipment has to be built, so that is one big challenge, a lot of the money is to ramp up production of artillery. would have been great if it passed last october and then we would've had another six to nine months of production that would have ramped up. instead, that got delayed. there are kinks in our system, but there is a lot of money that has been passed. $60 million-plus for ukraine, that is an exorbitant, huge amount of materiel provided to ukraine. that is going to be provided as fast as possible in part because there is uncertainty post- january 2025 of who will be in the white house and how the u.s. will support ukraine moving forward. ben: yes, and that is an important point as well. there were two things that some

criticism that they feel a little premature, one of them talking about seizing russian assets to pay for the rebuilding of ukraine. the question is ending that war first before the rebuilding can begin. but also that talk of nato membership once again. the secretary of state saying that we are bringing ukraine closer to and then into nato. that is a long-term security guarantee for ukraine. but it still feels very long way off, doesn't it? inna: it does, but we very much hope progress will be made. we don't want to live under this constant threat of pressure taking us after the period of war ending. we need a long-term security guarantees and the single system that can provide us with long-term guarantees, nato. nato and membership in nato, aspiration for ukraine to enter nato, part of our

constitution, absolute majority of ukrainians support this because we understand this is the single guarantee that will actually save us in case of a new attack whenever it comes. the people are very much helpful for that. we see reluctance of any specific date, any specifics on the nato membership for ukraine overall. we don't know to what extent this issue has been discussed with secretary lincoln today, just to secretary blinken today, but i'm sure it was an i hope there is progress made. i don't want my son, who is 11 now, to fight another war against russia. that is my very strong personal feeling. ben: and max bergmann, briefly if you will, that commitment from the secretary of state to seize russian assets, he says to pay for the rebuilding of ukraine when the war is over, some would question why that has not been done already. we know there are sanctions, we know there are penalties, we

know that assets have been seized. this seems to be a new development in what america wants to see. max: yeah, part of the challenge of supporting ukraine is it is going toe more costly. the united states and europe have given away a lot of their old military equipment, and so the way to support ukraine now is that we have to buy new. we have to go to our industries and buy that, and that requires tens of billions of dollars annually, if not more than $100 billion. it requires a lot of money. there is more than $300 billion in russian assets sitting there. it makes regional sense to seize that money now. how we finance support for ukraine is something we can definitely afford and should be doing, but we have to start actually finding the money and putting real money on contract with defense firms to ramp up production, and that is one of the big challenges. identifying frozen russian assets, the u.s. is trying to

push to move on this because that is where most of the money is frozen, not in the united states, but in europe. ben: really good to talk to you both. thank you for joining us on "the context." two french prison officers have been killed after an ambush on their prison van by heavily armed gang in normandy. it happened on a motorway at a tollbooth as a notorious criminal was being transferred after earlier appearing in court. there are several hundred police involved in a huge manhunt. >> a brazen ambush on a french motorway. surveillance footage reports the moment a black car rams into a white policeman. at least two masked and heavily armed men begin firing at the van. the gunman somehow set fire to their own vehicle next to the

tollbooth. more footage filmed by someone on a passing coach shows one of the gunmen moving slowly, almost nonchalantly forward. with several prison guards badly injured or dead, the gang frees one criminal from the van . together they flee. more footage from another passing vehicle then shows french police treating one of their wounded colleagues at the scene. what kind of criminal couldave pulled off this extraordinary active public violence? the gang that manfred was -- the man freed was mohamed amra, convicted of perjury also suspected of kidnapping in the crime-infected city of marseille. amra and his compasses are the target of huge french policeman hundred the ambush and killings

took place at this motorway junction an hour northwest of paris late this morning. forensic experts are at the scene. a burned-out car was found some distance away. the authorities are promising swift justice for an attack that is badly shaken france. >> they will be arrested. they will be judged. and they will be punished commencement to the crime that they have committed -- commensurate to the crime that they have committed. >reporter: in paris, there was a minute's the prime minister seeking to capture the moment. -- there was a minutes silence in the french parliament, the prime minister seeking to capture the moment. >>y the brutality and cowardice of its perpetrators.

reporter: there is at the scene of today's ambush still a strong security presence. french police have faced also with their challenges in recent years, but an open attack of such extreme violence is rare, and troubling to many here. andrew harding, bbc news, france. ben: around the world and across the u.k., you are watching bbc news.

ben: you're watching "the context" on bbc. there have been violent clashes between riot pole and thousands of protesters outside the parliament building in the georgian capital, tblisi. protesters are angry because mp's have passed a controversial bill known as the foreign agents law. opponents fear it will be used to stifle defense and free speech and further increase russia's influence. there were also scuffles inside the parliament.

let's go to the capital, tblisi. the executive director at the ready institute georgia, a nongovernmental organization and think tank. thank you for being with us tonight. let me ask you what this bill if ultimately approved would mean for your organization. >> thank you for your interest and the rest of society's interest. we call it russia war because it is really like to the law -- the war russia adopted and it endangers civil society organizations and environmental organizations and media organizations, too because it is labeling us as an agent and also they are labeling georgian interest in our agenda, foreign agent, foreign influence, and they are considering western as

part of this like they are calling this conspiracies of global war parties, or they are considering western support as part of this global warusing ukraine and georgia against russia. you should consider this russia war. it is part of this anti-western campaign, which they reinforced after this war in ukraine. and also, besides labeling, we are threatened because, for example, they can organize raids and research, only with, for example, some notes from unknown persons -- ben: yeah. i'm sorry to interrupt.

there is a point i wanted to get to come which is that the government says the measure would increase transparency and it would defend the country's sovereignty. but critics point to the fact that this would remove georgia's ambition of being able to join the european union, that is an interesting element of this as well. explain that. salome: actually, it is not only georgia, but it endangers civil society and democracy. that is why it is like the pasth to russia, not eu. it is clear for us that this war is like obstacle towards moving towards western civilization, we should consider as part of it. but you should also be of mind that the majority of georgians want a western one.

80% of georgia population are pro-western. georgia trying to portray this war that it is not like anti-western war, anti-eu one. but they are trying to confuse voters. we need some -- we need clear and consistent message from the west and civil society that this law is not compatible to our ways through europe. ben: salome, really good to get your analysis tonight, in tblisi with the latest on the protests taking place in the capital. thank you. donald trump's former lawyer and fixer michael cohen is back on the stand in the former president's hush money trial. mr. cohen has outlined how he was thanked for his work helping his ex-boss, which the prosecution said it was a reference to the payment made to stormyaniels.

he spoke about back channels for communicating with then- president trump and how he decided he couldn't lie for him any longer. let's go to florida and speak to a former federal prosecutor an elected state attorney. good to have you with us. he is their star witness, his intake -- isn't he. he is a divisive figure, often portrayed as a villain, but he is the prosecution's star witness. michael: he started cross examination an hour o. it does seem like he is the star prosecution witness. maybe not technically, but emotionally. he needs to connect with the jury to make them care, and as you suggest, every great drama needs a villain. whether it is michael cohen or donald trump to be seen. ben: what would you say the defense are trying to get out of him? it feels like they might want to

put him into a corner to get some sort of rise, some sort of reaction from him. he was saying he was knee-deep in the call of donald trump. some of this -- in the cult of donald trump. some of this testimony could be explosive. michael: sure. i think the are two things on cross-examination the defense wants to get out, that michael cohen is motivated to make money, self enrichment and status, and secondly, that he is biased against donald trump. used to be his right-hand person, his fix-it man, and the wrath he is trying to wreak on donald trump now is because of bias, because he hates mr. trump now, not because he wants to vindicate himself. ben: we will follow that trial really closely. we are going to let you go and listen to the rest of it for today. former federal prosecutor an elected state attorney joining us from florida. thank you.

let's turn our atttion to events in the middle east, because the white house has condemned an attack by israeli protesters on aid trucks destined for gaza. the lorries were blocked at a checkpoint in the occupied west bank, where protesters threw packages onto the road and ripped open bags of grain. the group quarterly behind the protest id they were to mr. to get against the continued detention of israeli hostages in gaza. four protesters are reported to have been arrested at the scene. i want to speak to a plastic surgeon and army veteran from new jersey. he joins us from khan yunis. he has been in gaza for two weeks on a medical mission. good to have you with us. i want to ask about what you are seeing where you are and the work you have been able to do in these last two weeks. >> thank you very much for having me. i am now basically here for two weeks, i've been taking care of patients the best weekend can

with the limited resources. became and basically with suitcases to help -- we came in basically with suitcases to hopefully supply our mission and be able to provide the care we needed. we found out that these two cases that we carried were basically supplying an entire hospital, which is not even touching the resources that they need. we have limited bed sheets, we have limited dressings, we have limited breathing tubes for our patients we are using. it is just completely and utterly disheartening, the condition that these people are living in, and that they have been living in the last six or seven months. ben: and you were telling our team a little earlier about the skill of the challenge of the work you are having to do, just in sheer numbers, the people requiring your help and assistance and surgery in what are pretty -- they are like

changing operations. dr. hamawy: the bombings at night are consistent. they go on from sundown and intensify just before dawn. usually in the morning get a rush of people, shortly after daylight, as they are pulled out of the rubble and make it to the hospital. many of them have died before they come here. we spend most of the day trying to save what we can. some of them don't make it out of the emergency room. and those that do and make it up to the operang room, we have to kind of rash the resources we have -- ration the resources we have. once we make it to the icu, we don't have the antibiotics, the staff, this applies to perp -- thus applies to provide -- of the supplies to provide them with the type of care we are used to providing. we are having to make tough

choices, who do we continue to care for, who do we say that this is basically a hopeless case and we should be able to -- ben: and many of them are children. dr. hamawy: most of them are children. my average patient is around 12 or 13 years old. my youngest one has been four. they range up into their 70's, but my average patient is 12, 13, 11 years old. i have three in the icu right out that are this age. they get blown away two to three houses down. i have one girl, they found her in her neighbor's house after their place of residence was struck around 3:00 a.m. ben: we are so grateful for you talking to us. thank you, and best of luck with the work. it is really difficult work. dr. adam hamawy in khan yunis. stay with us on "the context."

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