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narror: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. announcer: and now, "bbc world news". >> i'ura trevelyan in washington. this is bbc world news america. ukrainian troops outgunned and outnumbered. they are pushing the russians back in the northeast. >> you will go there behind the fence. >> we are on the front line of a counterattack. ukraine's second-largest city. but despite ukraine's advances, the danger from russian artillery is very real.

>> every inch of ground they gain here, every other mile gives the city respite frothe russian guns you can hear. >> more than 30 years after the goal for, american scientists understand why thousands of soldiers fell sick with mysterious symptoms. a special report from brazil on the evangelical women who may decide the pitical fate of president bolsonaro. >> welcome to world news america on pbs and around the globe. we begin with a special report from ukraine's front line. ukrainian forces mounting a successful counterattack against russian troops. just north of the second-largest city.

the fighting has been slow and costly. ukrainian forces claim they have the upper hand, and russian shelling of the city has fallen dramatically. kharkiv is a ukraine's northeast, 30 miles away from the russian border. most people -- most people therek speak russianh. it isarkiv -- our correspondents have spent the last week with ukrainian troops in and around the nearby town. you may find some of their reporting distressing. >> thepecter of russian victory once haunted this city. but no more. for months, the invaders were at the city gates. but kharkiv has cast out letter mapleton's foot soldiers,

forcing them back -- vladimir putin' foot soldiers, forcing them back to the border. >> this road is deadly, there are landmines. vehicles have been h by russian shelling. so the russians are retreating, but they are not giving up. they are trying to pin these men down. yet retreating they are. a lot more at stake than just the city of kharkiv. russian supply lines are also unr threat. these men say that they c -- if they can take back their city, just by the russian border, why can't they take back all of ukraine? for more than a week, they have been fighting and winning. still, they have to move fast. an army in retreat is just as dangerous. so they are on guard.

above them, they know that enemy drones are watching. these men are exposed. at the top of this ridge, russian tanks and artillery still rome and still lay down fire. this has become a far more mobile fight. a deadly game of hide and seek in the kharkiv countryside. >> we will go. you will go there behind the fence. okay? >> we are following a ukrainian territorial defense unit. all volunteers. >> sit down. >> every second out in the open risks targeting from russians who are less than half a

kilometeaway. the menu see are -- the men you see are from kharkiv. they are fighting for ukraine. they are also fighting for their city. it is a close quarters battle. every inchground they gain, every other mile gives their city respite from the russian guns you can hear. >> we are in the third month of this war, who is winning? >> we are winning, of course ukraine is winning. every day our guys are here, brave acts that they commit, all these are small wins in the big war.

>> the fields and villages gain ground. from here, russia attacked kharkiv dozens of times daily. now only a handful of shells make it to the city. but there is still a danger in the village. a shell just overhead. >> enemies there. >> out there, a russian tank is on the hunt. but they have grown used to these tactics. already, the men who make of this unit, economists, business, mechanic, have taken cover.

little prepared them for this, but they haven't flinched. a direct hit knocks out the power. tank fire hammers the bunker. but the men are untroubled and unharmed. russia's occupation has torn these communities apart. these are local men and women detained under suspicion of aiding the enemy. they will be handed over to the security services. collaborators who cause ukrainia deaths face a lifetime in jail. with each day of this war, the centuries-old tthat bind russia and ukraine together are being torn asunder. has been tracks from the start,

unable to receive cancer tment. >> i lost so much weight because of nerves. we decided to get evacuated from here. >> amid the maelstrom, the danger, this 66 year old. she grew up in the soviet union, lived in east germany. she can't believe it's come to this. her home and her history in ruins. >> shards of the glass hit me in the face. >> how can she forgive russia? >> why didn't the shrapnel hit

me in the head so that i would die immediately? >> for days, she suffered through this. >> but i hardly feel physical pain anymore. the pain is in my soul. >> you lucky to be alive, says the medic. >> yes, my arm is working, but lucky? god didn't let me die, now i have to live in pain. >> in a time gone by, her father and vladimir putin's father ttled hitler's. but that shared memory is now lost to history. here in russian-speaking ukraine, the past runs deep and the suffering brought here won't be easily forgiven or forgotten. in somerville, bbc news, kharkiv

. >> as the war rages on and ukraine, the u.s. house of representatives approved another $40 billion in militay and humanitarian aid for the country. the toll on ukrainian families has been staggering. more than 2 million ukrainian children are refugees. for more on how the lives of kids have been affected by the war, i spoke to james elder of unicef, the u.n. children agen. he's been delivering aid in ukraine. half of ukraine's children have fled their homes. to put that in perspective, when did the world lessie so many children displaced by conflict? >> in terms of speed and scale, not since world war ii. it is always perilous to compare numbers, because a child had to flee their home from syria or ethiopia, are seemingly suffering. but in terms of numbers -- 2

million children have become refugees in a couple of months. to million or more also displaced in a country -- every one of them is under some sort of bombardment, fleeing some sort of indiscriminate attack. so they are fleeing fear, and many others have also fled and left their fathers. >> tell us a bit more about the kind of dangers children are enduring as they flee in a war zone. >> i think the clearest way, every time there is an air raid siren or a serious sense of an attack where you hear an explosion and go to a bunker, you see children there. a whole group range of people. many of those children, particularly the east of ukraine, have come out of the areas where the conflict line and front is changing. they have spent weeks, maybe more, in horrendous conditions under bombardment watching their parents barely able to leave to

find food or water. they know what the sound of war is, they know the impact of war. they see people with the wounds of war. when i see people in bunkers, you see the fear of people, that nowhere is actually safe. so we see a nation of children suddenly have to learn what war looks like. >> what has struck you most about the children you have encountered and how they are able to cope? many things, but probably a couple. i never did used to see children with wounds of war. recently i was in a hospital where the hospital did not want to disclose where, for fear of attack because health facilities come under attack so frequently. i'm a dad. to see children with mortar wounds and injuries they may not recover from is infuriating and

gut wrenching. then to see those children who get out of the areas and the complete opposite emotion -- when i see unicef frontline responders with counselors, ukrainian psychologists reaching those children. it is not just about nutrition and water, it is counseling. then it gets you to think they can get a second chance, if the fighting stops. what do you think the long-term effects of this trauma can be on ukraine's children? >> unfortunately, we know. we have seen this from yemen and syria. the longer the fighting goes on, the more the kids are at risk of long-term developmental impact. it can be mental health, social development, emotional development leading to earning capacity. we know there are also programs in place. you can get children with some sense of normality. it can be a counselor, education. then we give these children a chance to get out of this mindframe or war.

many of these do require, if not peac an end of these indiscriminate attacks, where these boys and girls incredulously are the front lines. >> james elder, thank you for joining us. a palestinian-american jonalist from the broadcast of al jazeera has been shot dead in the west bank. the veteran reporter was covering an israeli army raid on a refugee camp when she was killed palestine claimed she was shot by an israeli sniper. israelis accused the palestinians of jumping to conclusion before an investigation had taken place. the white house has strongly condemned her killing. tom bateman has more. >> dawn in jani refugee camp, and the depressingly familiar echo of gunfire. and yet another death.

she was a household name to millions. one of the best-known women reporters explaining the conflict and occupation to a generation of viewers. this morning, she got ready to cover an arrest rate by israeli troops. at the hospital, disbelief among those who were with her when the shooting started. >> we cannot provide first aid. the youth who were trying to pull her out were also shot at. when everyone moved forward, they were shot at. >> the israeli army says when it went in, there was indiscriminate shooting from palestinian gunmen claiming she may have been hit by them. but at least two reporters with her say the gunfire came from the soldiers, and account backed by her network. outside al jazeera's offices in

the west bank, those who worked with her must now cover the death of one of their own. >> you can just sense the grief, but also the anger. the people that worked with her, she was more than just a colleague. but a symbol of fearless reporting of the realities on the ground from palestinians. and her death adds to the weight of the grief descending across this region. >> israelis have been shocked at the worst waves of violence on their streets in years. since march, at least 18 people have been killed by armed attackers. with arrest rates launched, intentions surging. at least 25 palestinians killed in the west bank. they gather to support the family, preparing for the first night without their daughter. she was also an american

national. now the u.s. is demanding answer. israel is investigating. a veteran correspondent falls victim to the conflict she covered. tom bateman, bbc news. >> there has been an outpour over the historic abuse of indigenous children at boarding schools in canada. in the u.s., a report revealed the widespread abuse of native american children at boarding schools. more than 50 burial sites on school grounds in the u.s. have been identified. for more than a century up until the late 1960's, native american children in the u.s. we forced to leave their family and schools run by the government. hundreds of thousands of children suffered beatings and solitary confinements. the secretary of interior has called the findings heartbreaking and undeniable. for more than the decades, scientists have been

investigating a condition known as gulf war syndrome. a collection of chronic health problems affecting more than a quarter of the coalition troops that fought in the first gulf war in 1991. there has been a breakthrough by a team of scientists in texas over what may have caused the condition. caroline hawley has more. >> the war to dislodge -- from kuwait has been -- but was the most toxic in history, with devastating long-term consequences for many soldiers who served. for 30 years, no one knew exactly why. carrie fuller was one of them, a fit 26-year-old at the time of the war, now it is a battle for him to get out of bed. >> i was getting illness after illness, breatng problems, chronic fatigue. when i qstioned whether it can be anything to do with my service in the gulf, or what we were exposed to, the military

line was "you are talking nonsense, there is no evidence." >> he suffers excruciating joint and muscle pain. at night, he wakes the whole house screaming. the new research blames problems like his on a nerve agent released into the air when saddam hussein's chemical weapons caches were bombed. the scientists involved said it is a breakthrough that vindicates the veterans. >> the ones who became ill are the ones that have the weak form of a gene that normally protects you from nerve gas. usually the strong form of t gene, most of them did not get ill. >> you say that definitively now, this is the end of the mystery, as far as you are concned. >> due to the controversy over the many studies that have been done so far, all of which had

different defects of one type or another, we desigthis study over a number of years to be the definitive study to answer all of the criticism of studies in the past so we would get it just right. we hope what our findings will do will lead to a definitive treatment for this disease that would relieve them of some of the symptoms. >> carrie fuller has not only a huge array of symptoms, but an arsenal of medication to help with them. his daughter has to go to doctors appointments with him because he struggles to process the information he's given. he nowants the ministry of defense to act on the american findings. >> they take it seriously and do the right thing. for most of us, it isn't about money.

it is about being able to access the right medical treatment. not a lot to ask for what we did. >> they say they are indebted to all those who serve, and are ready to sponsor significant research. but he wants tangible help and fears the latest study will simply be swept under the carpet. caroline hawley, bbc news. >> answers at last for those veterans. turning to brazil, where the highly controversial president is campaigning for reelection. his biggest rival is the former president. evangelical women were key supporters for him when he was first elected. after his turbulent time in office, there are questions whether he has eroded their basic support. our correspondent reports from brazil. >> sunday night service in

brazil's capital, tonight's headline speer leads 70% of evangelical christians that voted for the controversial president in 2018. the largest grouping in this movement is women of color, making them crucial in the upcoming october election. -- >> bolsonaro says there's no such thing as racism in brazil, it doesn't exist. what do you think? >> [speaking portuguese] >> nicknamed the trump of the tropics, bolsonoro once told a woman he would not rape

her because she wasn't working. he also connected religion and what he would deliver. but his appeal was also tied to what was happening in brazil at the time. >> but things are changing. women are part of an evangelical movement against bolsonaro, with more than 300,000 followers on tictac alone. -- tiktok alone. she's an influential voice, with

opposition of all sides trying to reach a voice like her. >> [speaking portuguese] >> this is a home where faith runs deep, and his archrival, the former president who this family is backing. a corruption conviction got him kicked out of the race last time around, but it has been since annulled on a technicality, clearing the way for him to run once more. the political stage looks set for a showdown come october's election. while it is too early to know who will n, experts say these are the voices that will decide the outcome. >> before we go, we are well

used two sporting fans storming the field after their team wins. in peru, a soccer pitch was subject to an actual sto when a whirlwind interrupted the match. the peruvian teams had to wait until the twister passed by. no one was hurt and the final resumed. thanks for watching bbc world news america. narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. man: bdo. accountants and advisors. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for amica's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. ank you. ♪ ♪

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judy: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight, political divides -- u.s. senators go on record with their stance on abortion as part of a key vote ahead of the supreme court ruling that could overturn roe v. wade. then, the global fallout -- the war in ukraine causes food prices to rise around the world and pushes scandinavian countries to seek nato protections. and, the vaccination gap -- as the u.s. approaches one million lives lost to covid-19, political affiliation becomes the leading indicator of who is and is not protected from the virus. >> we find that people who identify as democrats are vastly