Modern war in ukraine. A grenade attached to a commercially made drone before being sent on its way. These ukrainian soldiers from the armys 24th Mechanized Brigade allowed us rare access to a position several hundred metres from their enemy as they hunted them. Now theyre stepping up the accuracy of their attacks. Drone whirs. With custom made fpv, or first person view drones. We are aiming for big guns like automated Grenade Launcher and sp6. Self propelled guns. Yeah, yeah, yes. Self propelled gun, Something Like that. And then comes in the lower priorities, so, just regular troops. Two years ago, would you have ever imagined you would be doing this . Oh, no, no. Gods sake, no. But what can we do . We can only fight and protect our land. I just want it to stop and for our. Neighbours to go away. 52nd year, but looks like new. Its like second world war. Hey we watched as the 24th brigade� s Drone Company armed a variety of munitions ready to launch at the russians, trying to raise the pain level. They gave us clips of that days strikes, using Air Drop Munitions and then flying their fpv drones into trenches and windows to kill those taking cover. Butjust as these men are hunters, theyre also being hunted. The 24th brigade artillery often relies on drones to find its targets but that works in reverse, too, and the guns have to be well camouflaged because the russians are hunting them. Radio chatter the Ukrainian Battery commander is given the go ahead to engage his target. The 152mm howitzer is loaded and its barrel trained onto the right bearing and elevation. Loud bang no sooner is the shell on its way than were told to get away from the gun position as soon as we can. We get back to our vehicle. So lets go. Yeah. Engine turns over past locals apparently oblivious to the fact a russian shell will soon be heading back. Where was the incoming . There, look, smoke. Oh, yeah, see the smoke. It explodes about 300 metres from us. Weve had a small taste of the stress these soldiers have to put up with for months, for the battle in this part of the donbas is largely about long range killing with artillery. At the brigade casualty clearing station, a soldiers been brought in. The medics do their survey, but its apparent that he isnt physically injured. Its described as a panic attack following an artillery bombardment. Hes sedated and the doctors grow nervous that our presence might attract interest to this place. Weve had to leave the medical centre because the doctors were worried that our presence at the medical centre might make it a target. Loud bang at the gun position, meanwhile, its time to reload. This howitzer is nicknamed babushka by its crew because its getting on a bit and the shells we saw were made a0 years ago and just as the demands of this conflict mean all serviceable weapons must be pressed into action. Soldiers converse. So the gun commander is a 52 year old trained to do this decades ago for the soviet army, who volunteered to serve again. What was your familys reaction when you went to serve . Did they say, forgive me, youre too old. Let other people do it. How did people react . People sing this is how the people of yavoriv showed their grief for one of their lost sons. Its a garrison town almost as far west as you can go in ukraine, almost as far from the front as its possible to be and yet the raw emotion of this war and its consequences could not be more stark. The family of volodymyr kamuz, an Army Intelligence officer, were honoured by their community, no matter that he died soon after visiting the front rather than falling in combat. Dozens of its sons have been killed in battles since the russian invasion and they mostly belong to the brigade based here before this all began and in which volodymyr started his army career. Pretty much every house in this street in yavoriv has been affected by the war and service with the 24th brigade. The soldier killed back there, another seriously wounded. In this house, three members of the family are serving at the front. Another lightly wounded two houses on and in this place where im going, her husband is missing in action. Lydia firchuk works in the brigade canteen. Her husband, serhii, has been missing since march 2022. The idea that hes not coming back is too much to bear. Do you have any hope in this situation or have you lost hope now of seeing him again . Serhiis comrades in the 24th brigade suggested he may have been captured by the russians, but subsequent evidence pointed towards him having died. Woman wails. For the family of volodymyr kamuz, carried to the cemetery on the outskirts of yavoriv, there is at least the painful certainty of knowing what happened and having a place to grieve and being a colonel, he was given a full military send off. Singing. But in this time of national crisis, which has inflicted such profound loss on the ukrainian people, the grief thats followed has been enormous, and that, for many, has been difficult to process. This cemetery on the outskirts of lviv is one of the many where the 24th� s fallen have been laid to rest. We counted dozens adorned with the brigade� s emblem among the 2,000 plus graves here. Natalia nezhura visits often, bringing Fresh Flowers to her brother, andrii. Shes wracked with regret that all of her attempts to save him failed. Like so many ukrainians, natalia has been hardened by the pain and loss endured during this conflict but asking her how the war ends, i was shocked by the answer. As we filmed, sirens warned of another possible strike on lviv. Thats one more reason why so many ukrainians have concluded there can be no rest for living or dead until the war is won. In this hospital in lviv, they put together the maimed from many different battles and units. When we visited, those being treated were casualties of this summers fighting in the south and east of ukraine. This is one of ukraines main centres for war wounded. Given the pain and trauma that these men have been through, it was remarkable to see the upbeat way this session was run. And among the patients� teasing and banter, thoughts, too, about whether they might play any further part in the war and how theirfamilies might treat them. Do you have the support of your family to go back or do they try to persuade you, maybe, not to go back to the front . Before they can go to the front, there are weeks of drills. Gunfire. We watched a mixture of new conscripts. Gunfire. And wounded who are being returned to combat, being put through their paces. This training ground, at yavoriv, near the polish border, is a long way from the realfight. But its the nearest the 24th brigade has to a home town. In 2021, the 24th brigade had around 2,000 soldiers. Volunteers and conscripts have flowed in, forming new battalions and boosting the brigade� s strength to around 7,000. That more than trebling of numbers matches whats happened to the Ukrainian Army as a whole and all the while, casualties have had to be replaced, too, so thousands of troops have been fed through to the brigade. We saw quite a few older men here. And theres also been a debate in ukraine about those whove dodged the call up and whether willingness to fight is diminishing. But for the wounded we spoke to, theres still a determination to serve. Denys lost part of his hand in shelling but, after months of treatment, he wants to get back to his mates in the brigade. I have problems with middle fingers. Medicine tried to save this finger. Take bones from here. But its dont work and its cut. But its ok. Its not my head. Not my any organs. Vital organs. How long were you in hospital, then . 0h, from february to the may. Four months three months. And do you have to go back to the unit . No, i. Or do you want to go back . I want to go back, but this finger have very bad working, and when its make a little better, i go to the donbas. This area, around the villages of toretsk and new york, has been the scene of fighting since russia began its intervention in the donbas in 2014. Jimmy commands a company thats about 100 soldiers. Its currently holding a section of the frontline, and he offered to take us up to the trenches. While there has recently been some ukrainian progress not far away near bakhmut, the frontline here has been stable for a long time. Wed be heading to trenches just a few hundred metres from russian lines. Some Airburst Shells landed not far away soon after we set off. They may have been aiming at ukrainian soldiers coming back from the trenches, but theyre so used to sporadic shelling that they stopped to pick figs. And, happily, the weather was on our side. As we got closer to what they call the zero line, the path through minefields got narrower and narrower. We went as far as we could go, to where theyve pushed the positions forward. Jimmys survived multiple wounds, leading the men to think hes got a charmed life. Distant explosions. He showed us to a place where we found soldiers busy trying to improve the protection offered by their trenches. The rain was falling, reminding everyone that autumn is coming. With the prospect of staying put here, and the Summer Offensive having come and gone, without delivering a decisive result. The men have been conscripted or volunteered for the duration. They have no idea when theyll go home. Upbeat music plays. Away from the trenches, Army Officers trying to keep spirits up in imaginative ways. There was a conjurer. And a mind reader, too, taking the mens minds off their daily reality for a couple of hours, at least. Woman sings. Top of the bill was singer danielle zayushkina. Whose lyrics about a faithful lover awaiting their return transported the soldiers to a happier place. Applause. But when the performances were over, the buses pulled up, and the troops returned once again towards the battle. Out on the front line, jimmy took us back from his forward positions. We were happy for a lift, and no matter the state of the transport. The lines may not have changed much in this area during years of Fighting Butjimmy reckons the invasion has helped them win another battle that for open ended support from the ukrainian public. The transformation of attitudes is a result of national mobilisation, in which the 24th brigade simply mirrors whats happened in the wider army. If peace requires difficult compromises, it could be hard to sell to these soldiers. Hello, there. It was a rather mixed picture across the uk on thursday, with a very slow moving Weather Front, giving outbreaks of rain, particularly towards the north and the west, such as here in argyll and bute, but further south, a lot more sunshine around, albeit quite hazy at times. Now, as we head through the next few days, there is more rain to come in the forecast. Its mostly for scotland, particularly Western Areas of scotland, but further south, largely dry, and it will also be turning warmer. Now for the rest of the night, still outbreaks of rain across the central swathe of the country. To the north and to the south of that front, lots of clear skies, and its very mild start to the day tomorrow, across the board, but particularly across scotland, where temperatures dipped a little bit below freezing last night. A lot milder into friday morning, and on friday, you can see from the pressure chart, High Pressure builds into the south, so it will be dry here and our Weather Front pushes ever so slowly northward. So its a wet start to the day for northwest england, for Northern Ireland, but it should dry out here a bit later on, the rain pushing into the central belt. It is a sunny start to the day across aberdeenshire. Windy for caithness and sutherland, also blustery for the northern isles. Lots of sunshine towards the south of the front. It will be quite hazy, at times, again, but temperatures starting to rise on friday, up to 22, 23 degrees celsius in the south of england, the high teens, potentially, for aberdeenshire. And then on friday night into saturday, that rain still driving into western scotland, very heavy over the western hills, and it will be across the whole of scotland, i think, as we head through into saturday morning. Further south, a lot of sunshine throughout the day on sunday. Temperatures in Northern Ireland could get as high as 19 or 20 degrees. Were looking at the low 20s for northern england, also for much of wales, maybe 25 or 26 celsius in the southeast of england and east anglia. And its more or less the same on sunday. Temperatures a little bit lower, and our weatherfront gradually pushes further northwards across scotland, too, where of course, its going to be cooler. Big contrast in temperatures here. Again, were looking at the low 20s for much of england and wales, a bit more cloud too, across Northern Ireland. These are the daytime averages for this point in october. So you can see were above average, across the board, 12 degrees in the north, 16 degrees celsius in the south. So even scotland is mild for this point in october. The unseasonable heat continues across england and wales, as we head into the start of next week. Live from washington, this is bbc news. Mexicos president criticises the Biden Administration over plans to extend a us border wall. But is the wall having an impact on migrant crossings . Well ask the mayor of rio grande city. International condemnation after a russian airstrike kills at least 50 in northeastern ukraine, including a six year old boy. And, a stark warning from climate scientists last month was officially the worlds hottest september on record. Thank you forjoining us. In a significant shift in policy, us President Joe Biden is waiving 26 federal laws to allow nearly 20 miles of border wall to be built on the nations southern border with mexico. It will be constructed in a texas county, where officials are reporting high numbers of crossings. The department of Homeland Security says the laws waived include the Clean Air Act and Safe Drinking Water act. President biden is being criticized for the move. One of biden� s first actions in office back in 2020 was to issue a proclamation that no more american taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall. Today his critics are claiming hes backtracking on that promise. Migration across the southern us border has continued to tick up on president biden� s watch. More than 245,000 crossings have been made this year in the Rio Grande Valley area alone. Septembers data is expected to show record crossings
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