ukrainian army succeeded in taking kherson back, which i don't think isj kherson back, which i don't think is likely, _ kherson back, which i don't think is likely, but— kherson back, which i don't think is likely, but they— kherson back, which i don't think is likely, but they are _ kherson back, which i don't think is likely, but they are making - kherson back, which i don't think is likely, but they are making very- likely, but they are making very slow _ likely, but they are making very slow progress _ likely, but they are making very slow progress. on _ likely, but they are making very slow progress. on the - likely, but they are making very slow progress. on the one - likely, but they are making veryl slow progress. on the one hand, likely, but they are making very- slow progress. on the one hand, it's morally— slow progress. on the one hand, it's morally important _ slow progress. on the one hand, it's morally important for— slow progress. on the one hand, it's morally important for ukraine, - slow progress. on the one hand, it's morally important for ukraine, but l sl

i kherson back, which i think it is not tikety— kherson back, which i think it is not tikety to _ kherson back, which i think it is not likely to happen _ kherson back, which i think it is not likely to happen quickly, i kherson back, which i think it is| not likely to happen quickly, but they are — not likely to happen quickly, but they are making _ not likely to happen quickly, but they are making very _ not likely to happen quickly, but they are making very slow- not likely to happen quickly, but i they are making very slow progress. it is they are making very slow progress. it is morally— they are making very slow progress. it is morally very— they are making very slow progress. it is morally very important - they are making very slow progress. it is morally very important for- they are making very slow progress. it is morally very important for the l it is morally very important for the ukrainians, — it is morally very important for the ukrainians, but— it is morally very important for the ukrainians, but strategically, i it is morally very important for the ukrainians, but

this is the only thing happening in kherson now. samantha: you were in kherson three months ago, now in odesa. do you know what the situation is like there in kherson in terms of freedoms they have? are they allowed to leave if they need to? >> now during referendum, all men over a certain age who can be soldiers are prohibited from leaving kherson. previously it was a problem to leave but you could leave. you could leave through crimea. some of this was more recent because you could be caught in the shelling, or if you are going through zaporizhzhia, you could be caught in aine of cars for a few days. if there is something in your reputation which can be interpreted as pro-ukrainian, you can be put in jail, just disappear. my friends managed to leave. one of my friends was disabled, had an elderly family. they did not think of him as a friend. i left and paid a lot of money to find a driver who knew the routes, how to bribe the soldiers and get me and my mother out. leaving the region is absolutely a risk, dang. many people refuse

i would not say they were not focused on kherson. they wanted russians to send forces to kherson, because it is a better place for ukrainians to attack safely. you want them to put forces in the most dangerous place and they are still attacking in kherson. ukrainians are trying to get ose forces down. there was a lot of deception. there was the story 10 days ago ukrainians saying, they were only going to do one attack, they would never do anything too rash. that seems to be part of a bluff to make russians think the only attack was coming in kherson. ros: i am thinking bacto the first world war and how famously the allies broke through the german line and would be exposed because there was no support behind them. is there a similar risk for ukrainians? guest: this is not the first world war because ukrainians have fast-wheeled vehicles. when kherson, what was stunning, was how thin the line was for the russians, as if they could not imagine ukrainians attacking there. they have lost these troops. they have not been the same. they are

we used to be able to move freely around kherson. nobody paid attention to us. but now, we wouldn't dare go to the city center. reporter: as it happened, anastasia fled just in time. shortly afterwards, her apartment was hit. neighbors sent her photos of it. for now, she and her children are trying to settle back into a semblance of normalcy, but even a door slamming can bring back memories. >> there. tas are shooting. anastasia: there are no tks here. >> the>> no? anaasia:oting. nothere were tanks back home. there aren't any here. reporter: it's quiet at the front, lunchtime in the trenches. in recent weeks, the ukrainians have been targeting the russians' supply lines. they've been able to destroy several russian ammunition depots. >> the effect is that, for a time after the attack, the bombardment calms down. but then, the russians adapt their logistics. they learn the lessons our western rocket-launchers and artillery teach them. unfortunately, that means there's no permanent turn in the tide of the war to our favor. it just evolves. reporter: ukraine has su

we used to be able to move freely around kherson. nobody paid attention to us. but now, we wouldn't dare go to the city center. reporter: as it happened, anastasia fled just in time. shortly afterwards, her apartment was hit. neighbors sent her photos of it. for now, she and her children are trying to settle back into a semblance of normalcy, but even a door slamming can bring back memories. >> there. tas are shooting. anastasia: there are no tks here. >> the>> no? anaasia:oting. nothere were tanks back home. there aren't any here. reporter: it's quiet at the front, lunchtime in the trenches. in recent weeks, the ukrainians have been targeting the russians' supply lines. they've been able to destroy several russian ammunition depots. >> the effect is that, for a time after the attack, the bombardment calms down. but then, the russians adapt their logistics. they learn the lessons our western rocket-launchers and artillery teach them. unfortunately, that means there's no permanent turn in the tide of the war to our favor. it just evolves. reporter: ukraine has su

er river in the -- dnieper river in the south in the city of kherson. so their operational aims have been defeat by a very successful defense conducted by ukraine. at the inbeginning of this month, on or about the 1st of september, ukraine launched an offensive in order to seize the operational and strategic initiative. thatti offensive is ongoing. that offensive is in its early stages, and it's too early to give a full assessment. but to date, ukraine is i effectively using their fires to shape the ground maneuver as they continue their offensive in the south. and what we're talking about is area just north of the dnieper river in the vicinity of kherson. and ill be happy to answer any -- i'll be happy to answer any specific questions on that that when we get to the q&a. the discussions from today's meetings were not just about support to the current fight, but with equally important is the longer term. as off today, as you know, we -- the united states -- have transfer thed 16 himars to ukraine with thousands of gameler rounds, hundreds of thousands o

we see your forces under pressure in kherson. we read in the new york times that some of your commanders want to pull out of kherson, but putin will not let them. your forces, your forces, are under intense pressure and are performing badly. why? that's completely lie. 0ur forces are holding front line. and, of course, we left kharkiv 0blast, but we are holding our front line everywhere we have our representatives, everywhere we have our people. in donetsk region, in lugansk region, in zaporizhzhia region, and in kherson region. we are not going to... ..give up a... ..metre of the land and any human person, which we are protecting right now, because we should protect those people, we should protect it from torture by ukrainian government. we should protect it from repressions by the ukrainian government. yeah, well... and we're not going to... we'll get on to... we're not going to leave these territories. we'll get on to the way russian forces treat ukrainians in a moment. but before we get there, you talk about these areas, luga

they have covered down in this area from kharkiv to kherson. >> so the goal is to take the city of kherson, also this city here, which i noted early on has a key hydroelectric plant, but also to try to isolate russian forces here to the west of the dnipro river. and the u.s. has been seeing in recent weeks accurate attacks, particularly with the himars systems on russian positions in their territory and now some ground movements that show some promise in your view. is that an optimistic start to this counteroffensive? >> oh, absolutely, it is. what you're seeing is the synchronization and three dimensional fight. you're achieving success at distance, the use of himars, and precision artillery, which they have in pretty large numbers, and you see the junction of that with the movement of forces to achieve those larger operational objectives. in other words, it is just not simply an isolated fight or artillery. that's what the russians are primarily doing. they're not synchronizing the battlefield. the ukrainians are stepping up and a level of synchronization that they have not previously be

maybe they would be in kherson by late september or early october. you talk to the soldiers and they will tell you a very different story. they will tell you, let kyiv think whatever it wants. we are on the frontlines and we believe it is going to be longer than that. we are very sober about the timeframe. they didn't want to give an estimate, but they said, we know when we are ready. we know when this battle is going to tip in our favor and we are not there yet. i caution people to take what you are hearing from the government as opposed to people from the armed forces with a grain of salt. when you go to the front lines, the commanders will tell you something different than they are a lot more conservative about any kind of estimates. they do believe those estimates being out there in the public is good for momentum, to keep soldiers revved up and have them believe the battle is in their favor, but when you go there and see the looks on their faces, just how brutal, slow and painful the battle has been, you recognize maybe there is truth to both st

stephanie, what do you think is the potential significance around kherson, is it about morale? i think it's both. and it is strategically important. _ if the ukrainian army succeeds in taking, l getting kherson back, - which i think it is not likely to happen quickly, but they are making very slow progress. - it is morally very important for the ukrainians, - but strategically, - it is to show that thanks to the weapon deliveries - and the equipment that is now deployed, the ukrainians . are very smart and they are using it and driving - the russian forces back and the russian forces have had significant losses. - it is a very important thing to watch, but they say - they want to grind down - the russian troops in kherson and it is going to take a very long time. - michael, this doesn't seem to be a war of attrition, but a war that has reached a point which we can expect little progress for quite a long time? yes, and we also have to remember the weather, which we are in the first week of september and by the end of october, things become a bit more difficult for taking ground,

so, more fear, more terror, only fear and terror, this is all that's going in kherson now. well as the war in ukraine has caused a rise in energy prices and impacted the cost of living in many parts of the world — here in the uk, the finance minister kwasi kwarteng has announced the biggest tax cuts for half a century. this is the first unveiling of economic plans under the new uk government led by liz truss. among the measures, the higher rate of income tax of 45% is to be abolished. a planned rise in corporation tax from 19% to 25% has been cancelled — that's the tax businesses pay on their profits. and the rules which cap bankers' bonuses to twice their annual salary have been scrapped. but the markets have not reacted well and the pound fell to a 37—year low against the dollar. it fell more than 3% against the dollar, dropping below1 point 09 dollar. the opposition labour party has called the government �*desperate gamblers in a casino — chasing a losing run�*. well earlier, kwasi kwarteng told mps it would make britain more globally competitive. now we have

one kherson resident has been telling the bbc about the situation there. he says it is tense and he's afraid to go outside. i saw some reports or saw information on various channels and the social media that the russian soldiers are working and knocking on the doors. they are already working in the kherson, but quite plenty reports coming from the villages, as well. and the reports are varying from village to village. some of them they are not so rude, but in some villages, if people refuse to vote, they threatened that they have to leave their homes within 2a hours. otherwise they will face bitter consequences. nobody has knocked at my door and i will not explain how, but i mad everything possible so nobody will reach my door. so i plan to continue staying here. but my plans may change at any moment. at any moment... everything depends on the situation. everything is changing every day. the president of ukraine, volodymirzelensky, has accused the russian leader, vladimir putin, of knowingly "sending russian citizens to their death". it comes as russia con

>> translator: i won't say that it's only counteroffensive in kherson. there is a direction or directions, plural. and we have to move forward. >> let me just be clear on that point. the counteroffensive that we're witnessing in kherson right now is not the only counteroffensive under way in this country. >> translator: i can't discuss details of any military actions. i think that information silence is important, so i want -- that the enemy gets some surprises from us. >> mr. president, you and i spoke six months ago. and at the time of vladimir putin's demands, you said this, "we are not prepared for ultimatums." putin said, give up joining nato, recognize crimea as part of russia, and recognize the independence of those two separatist regions in the east. those were his words. to vladimir putin, who will get this message, are you willing to compromise on any of those points? >> translator: it's a question of dialogue with terrorists. you cannot discuss anything with terrorists. but after rapes, after tortures, after murders, after we discovered a lot

i was wondering why are they talking so loud di about the counteroffensive in kherson? that's rather unusual. that's exactly because they wanted the russians to focus on kherson as they, then, pushed them out of all those cities you've been showing on the map in kharkiv. and once you have momentum, ukrainians are there to fight, they are there to defend their territory. the russian soldiers don't know why they're there. and i've watched dozens of videos of russians and ukrainians over the last 48 hours that show that. the russians have no idea why they're there. they're pointing fingers at who's fault. a famous russian phrase, whereas the ukrainians have a lot of confidence and momentum moving forward right now. >> ambassador mcfaul, we realize that you're not a military guy, that you're a diplomat. my question to you has to do with vladimir putin, which is a political question. if the things proceed the way they seem to be proceeding in ukraine right now militarily, if he perceives donbas or crimea to be in peril because of ukrainian forces, because of their assaults a

one kherson resident has been telling the bbc about the situation there. he says it is tense and he's afraid to go outside. i saw so many posts for information on various channels, on social media that russian soldiers are working and knocking on doors. they're already working in curse on but. they're already working in kherson but the reports come from the villages as well, and they are varying from village to village. some of them, people refuse to go. they have to leave their homes within 2a hours, otherwise they will face bitter consequences. nobody has knocked at my door. i will not explain how, but nobody will reach my door. i will continue staying here, but my plans might change at any moment. everything depends on the situation, and everything is changing every day. human rights groups say more than 700 people have been arrested at anti—war demonstrations across russia since reservists were called up to fight in ukraine. this video footage has emerged which appears to show a fight in the russian city of omsk between men drafted to the army and lo

they begin you come back from kherson and using a close with his offensive looks like. what did you see and what of the challenges did ukrainian face in trying to liberate this territory that haven't been mentioned? >> you unmuted, vivian. >> inc. is a much having me. i spent almost two weeks doing a slow crawl eastward and it was a really interesting dynamic that you saw their geography being a huge factor in all of this. and what i mean by geography is just the landscape of the south. and the weapons they were receiving from the u.s. as being very beneficial. we know from what is now ukrn forces have been literally begging u.s. and other allies to send longer-range missiles, longer-range assistance to help them. and in the south that was especially critical because we are talking about vast fields of watermelon and wheat and sunflowers, and there's really no cover for the soldiers. one of the things i heard from them and it probably visited over a dozen checkpoints and frontlines accommodation of the to some of them were quieter than others, some of them were being re

relatives desperate to find out more information, but russian authorities in kherson not giving them anything, not telling them where their loved ones go and they're fearing the worst that they may already be fighting on the front lines. one former resident telling me when the russians moved into kherson in the early days of the war, they assumed control of the government buildings so they'll have access to all the information about potential ukrainian reservice living in the city. meanwhile, the men that are in kherson right now, i've been talking to one resident who's aware of many, are currently looking for hiding places. places to go in the event that russia annexes their home and forces the men on to the front lines. that is the terrifying reality that is happening on the ground right now. speaking to one resident who told me it's equivalent to a nuclear strike. that they are so incredibly scared about what could happen next for them. for months now, they've been hoping ukraine was going to be able to push through this news of the kherson offensive would be successful in retakin

i'm watching kherson oblask very closely. the attention's been drawn away from that with the operation in kharkiv and the continuing operation in the donbas. but if you throw that map up again that seth was talking about, about kherson province, you're talking about a massive-sized russian force to the west of the dnipro river. i would estimate it's between 5 and 15,000 russian forces that could be trapped to the west of that river. so if ukraine is able to bag that force, and you have five to 15,000 prisoners of war in a province or an oblask is russia is now claiming part of russian territory, it could certainly up the ante. we're into a very tense phase of this operation right now. >> we certainly are. and, as i said, you saw it just by the simple one example i gave, the worst day for stocks in russia, the way they see it there since the invasion began. it is a crucial moment. thank you all very much. >>> and next trump's own choice for special master. questioning the very heart of trump's legal argument. >>> plus, the mig

people in luhnask and donetsk, kherson and zaporizhzhia are becoming our citizens — forever. defiant, unapologetic, russia's president laid into the west. translation: instead - of democracy there, there's suppression and exploitation. instead of freedom, enslavement and violence. america is the only country in the world that has used nuclear weapons twice, when they destroyed the japanese cities of hiroshima and nagasaki. by the way, they set a precedent with that. comments like that are worrying in light of the kremlin's recent nuclear sabre—rattling. through this annexation, vladimir putin is trying to change the facts on the ground, trying to secure for himself some kind of victory. the problem is, you can claim all you want that land you have occupied is rightfully yours, but ukraine isn't going to believe that, the international community doesn't believe that, and that leaves vladimir putin looking more isolated than ever. joe biden. president biden condemned the annexation and imposed new sanctions on russia. we're rallying the world to keep support for ukraine stron

. >> why kherson? why this counteroffensive now? >> translator: i won't say that it's only a counter offensive in kherson. there's a direction or directions, plural, and we have to move forward. >> let me just be clear on that point. the counter offense that i have we're witnessing in kherson right now is not the only counteroffensive under way in this country? >> translator: i can't discuss details of any military actions. i think that information silence is important. so i want that the enemy gets some surprises from us. >> mr. president, you and i spoke six months ago. and at the time, vladimir putin's demands, you said this -- "we are not prepared for ultimatums." putin said, give up joining nato, recognize crimea as part of russia, and recognize the independence of those two separatist regions in the east. those were his words. to vladimir putin, who will get this message, are you willing to compromise on any of those points? >> translator: it's a question of dialogue with terrorists. you cannot discuss anything with terrorists

de dnipro to support the forces in kherson and beyond. very important strategic site. it's been attacks several times in the past. mainly the russians are now having to rely on barges to resupply their troops. the ukrainian hope is they'll be able to capture more and more villages and press tighter and tighter in against kherson. today, officials, military officials in the south behind this southern counteroffensive are saying to the citizens of kherson to get down below ground, start stockpiling water, charge phones, carry power banks and so on in order to prepare for what could be an assault on the city. of course, what the ukrainians are desperately trying to avoid is the kind of siege of a city that is full, heavily populated by ukrainian citizens they're trying >> sam, before you go, there are these reports that russian shelling caused a fire at the largest nuclear power plant in ukraine. that's the one we've been talking so much about in zaporizhzhia, forcing to cut it off from power yet again completely. what can you tell us about that tonight? >> reporter: well

one kherson resident has been telling the bbc about the situation there. he says it is tense, and he's afraid to go outside. i saw some reports or saw information on various channels and the social media that the russian soldiers are working and knocking on the doors. they are already working in the kherson, but quite everything is changing every day. human rights groups say more than 700 people have been arrested at anti—war demonstrations across russia since reservists were called up to fight in ukraine. this video footage has emerged, which appears to show a fight in the russian city of omsk, between men drafted to the army and local police. the footage seems to show russian police trying to force the men onto buses, according to the reuters news agency journalist who shared the video. president putin has announced a call—up of around 300,000 association, has not been verified by the bbc. russia's foreign minister sergey lavrov has been addressing delegates at the united nations general assembly in new york. here's some of what he had to say. transl

people in luhnask and donetsk, kherson and zaporizhzhia are becoming our citizens — forever. defiant, unapologetic, russia's president laid into the west. translation: instead - of democracy there, there's suppression and exploitation. instead of freedom, enslavement and violence. america is the only country in the world that has used nuclear weapons twice, when they destroyed the japanese cities of hiroshima and nagasaki. by the way, they set a precedent with that. comments like that are worrying in light of the kremlin�*s recent nuclear sabre—rattling. through this annexation, vladimir putin is trying to change the facts on the ground, trying to secure for himself some kind of victory. the problem is, you can claim all you want that land you have occupied is rightfully yours, but ukraine isn't going to believe that, the international community doesn't believe that, and that leaves vladimir putin looking more isolated than ever. joe biden. president biden condemned the annexation and imposed new sanctions on russia. we're rallying the world to keep support for ukraine st

it is all about emphasizing this and the infrastructure in kherson as they try to defend it. news out of zaporizhzhia this morning, christine. that is four of the inspectors, iae inspectors that were left according to the ukrainian nuclear provider leaving the two that will remain as a permanent presence. this after a weekend of more shelling left one of the reactors functioning but more importantly and more alarmingly, the last of the outside power lines damaged which means that the entire plant is functioning with the reserve line that goes to a thermal power station not far away that allows electricity to come back to the plant but extremely important situation there that the iaea continues to keep an eye on. we should expect according to the russian-backed military administration around the plan getting that first report from the iaea tomorrow with a better idea exactly of what's gone wrong and what needs to be done to protect the nuclear facility, again, on an active front line, christine. >> nuclear facility on an active front line. that says it all. >>> the israeli mil

his unit is at the forefront of ukrainian troops near kherson. although the advancement on their forces although the advancement on theirforces in although the advancement on their forces in the south situation here has significantly. signifi a ltly. signifi a month ago, the translation: a month ago, the russians were _ here. | �*itis �* it is much easier now it is much easier because long—range rocket launchers are working. russian ammunition is destroyed. their supply routes get hit and �* they feel the get hit and now they feel the shortage of ammunition. at this ehi�**§35% if fmt�*h�*jh'f'i�*“ 25 eit'e "wm"? ,,.... 7 we eh“*355 if immentmi�*f “as w w , we are shfitésé fifémmt'fitffméhhe " ,, ' ,. we are trying to shfitésé fifémmt'fitffméhhe ,, w ' w we are trying to push stage, we are trying to push them back. stage, we are trying to push them back- _ stage, we are trying to push them back. ., , ., , them back. , that. back this position just a took back this position just a week ago. and digging in week

people in luhnask and donetsk, kherson and zaporizhzhia are becoming our citizens — forever. defiant, unapologetic — russia's president laid into the west. translation: instead of democracy there, i there's suppression and exploitation. instead of freedom, enslavement and violence. america is the only country in the world that has used nuclear weapons twice, when they destroyed the japanese cities of hiroshima and nagasaki. by the way, they set a precedent with that. comments like that are worrying in light of the kremlin�*s recent nuclear sabre—rattling. through this annexation, vladimir putin is trying to change the facts on the ground, trying to secure for himself some kind of victory. the problem is, you can claim all you want that land you have occupied is rightfully yours, but ukraine isn't going to believe that. the international community doesn't believe that, and that leaves vladimir putin looking more isolated than ever. in washington, president biden condemned the annexation and impose more sanctions on russia. we condemned the annexation and impose more sanc

or towards kherson. are -- do you agree with general petraeus who told me the tide of the war has change the. >> yes, i do. and the reason i agree is once you have established a certain degree of momentum in a military operation of this type, it becomes almost irreversible. and that is what we're seeing. the ukrainians are moving very quickly in a very methodical way and they're doing it in two areas. you mentioned kherson in the south, but you also have the northeastern area around kharkiv. that is incredibly important for the ukrainian forces to be able to do this to gain that and hold that momentum until the winter months set in and that is what they're trying to do at this point in time. >> and there is a wish list of ukraine forces and the u.s. gives a lot but not everything. but the u.s. is not going to give those atticum systems. the ability to strike within russia. but the senior defense official saying tanks are certainly on the table at least. and that would be a change because that is somethin

abdujalil abdurasulov, bbc news, kherson region. the kherson region was one of four russian—held parts of ukraine where voting took place in so—called referendums onjoining russia. russia has threatened to veto any un security council resolution that condemns its discredited referendums. our correspondent hugo bachega is in kyiv and joins us now. all eyes on president zelensky and president putin for the next moves. president putin for the next moves. president zelensky already saying that he will defend people in these regions. that he will defend people in these reuions. , ~ that he will defend people in these reuions. , ,, ., regions. yes. i think now the attention _ regions. yes. i think now the attention is _ regions. yes. i think now the attention is on _ regions. yes. i think now the attention is on moscow - regions. yes. i think now the attention is on moscow and i regions. yes. i think now the - attention is on moscow and what president putin is going to do after the so—called referendums were held in four occupied re

now the ukrainian military said there's no way in or out of kremlin controlled kherson. in nearby zaporizhzhia it's nearly impossible for men aged 18 to 35 to leave. cnn's nick peyton walsh joins me now live from kramartorsk, ukraine. >> reporter: we're going to see russia capitalize on the turnout. they have received this fake mandate to assimilate the occupied areas. it seems that ukrainian officials are making it clear that the traffic in certainly male refugees in zaporizhzhia and all from kherson appeared to have stopped. there have been concerns since the beginning of the war, i remember being in kherson when it fell, locals, military aged men that they would be drafted into the army. now if these areas become russia, which seems to be highly likely in moscow's view, it's almost a certainty anyone who hasn't been drafted from ukraine to fight against ukraine. horrifying choices for the individuals. the united states has said it will likely unvam more that these area for what sergei lavrov called formalization of these areas being russian territory. he also said, th

kherson. d0 saying that in the south with the fight over kherson.— saying that in the south with the fight over kherson. do the losses make it more _ fight over kherson. do the losses make it more likely _ fight over kherson. do the losses make it more likely vladimir i fight over kherson. do the losses | make it more likely vladimir putin might do something almost unthinkable, turned to using tactical nuclear weapons? latte unthinkable, turned to using tactical nuclear weapons? we have to be very balanced _ tactical nuclear weapons? we have to be very balanced about _ tactical nuclear weapons? we have to be very balanced about talk _ tactical nuclear weapons? we have to be very balanced about talk of i be very balanced about talk of escalation. we monitor it very carefully. we do not see anything at this stage that alarms us. we have to understand that, should putin escalate, it creates problems for him as well. again, i would offer caution and avoid jumping to conclusions or that something

. >> people in luhansk, donetsk, kherson, zaporizhzhia are becoming our citizens. forever. >> ukrainian officials in one of the four annexed areas say 23 people have been killed after a russian missile strike on a civilian convoy. >> welcome to rio de janeiro. this special edition of world news america on pbs and around the globe. in two days voters in brazil, the fourth largest democracy in the world will go to the polls to choose the next president. this nation of 250 million people, the ideological choice cannot not be more stark. resident gyre bolsonaro, a former army officer -- officer is a populist right-winger in the form of former president trump. bolsonaro is trailing former president lula da silva, a left-wing former metalworker and champion of the poor who was popular in office but indicted on corruption charges and jailed when he left, only to have the charges dramatically annulled. president bolsonaro and his supporters are now questioning the integrityf brazil's electronic voting machines. our south amecan correspondent katy watson reports from rio on

in the southern part of the country, in the kherson region, fierce fighting is taking place there. officials say they've been able to liberate dozens more territory down there. as these towns are being liberated, we're also seeing the devastation done under russian occupation. more reports of war crimes. we know that dozens and dozens of investigations have already been launched. up in the kharkiv area in the northeast part of the country, there's allegations and they're also saying that they have evidence showing that the russians used a police station, the basement of a police station for a torture chamber for everyday citizens. the big question that a lot of people are asking here is, is this a turning point in the war. military officials say it very well could be. of course, we've talked to ukrainians on the ground here. they believe this is their moment. we are seeing the russians fleeing the battlefield, they're capitalizing on that and trying to take back as much ground as they can as we head into the winter months, katy. >> megan, thank you very much. your book is called "m

not recognised by the international community. in -- kherson. not recognised by the international community.— international community. in one of those regions. _ international community. in one of those regions, zaporizhzhia, - international community. in one of those regions, zaporizhzhia, we i international community. in one of. those regions, zaporizhzhia, we had that attack on a convoy of civilian cars. ukrainians saying that was a russian missile attack. what more do we know about that? it russian missile attack. what more do we know about that?— we know about that? it seems that it was a gathering _ we know about that? it seems that it was a gathering point _ we know about that? it seems that it was a gathering point in _ was a gathering point in zaporizhzhia, this convoy, these cards, were waiting to travel to the russian control part of the region and it seems that they were gathering there, they were trying to gather, take some humanitarian supplies to that part of the country when that attack happened. president zelensky said it wa

the goals are ambitious of taking a city like kherson by the end of the year. but the u.s. says it's doable if the progress continues. >> we'll continue to monitor it together with you. jim sciutto, thanks as usual for your excellent reporting. and for the viewers, thank you very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." follow me on twitter and instagram and tweet the show. "the situation room" is also available as a podcast wherever you get your podcasts. once again, thank you for watching. "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. >>> "outfront" next, the doj's huge decision. will they fight the ruling in favor of a special master in the trump mar-a-lago case? they said the need to move ahead was urgent, but there's still silence. ty cobb is "outfront." and poll workers urged to break the rules by republican leader in michigan. that official going so far as to compare those poll workers to undercover agents. and new details in the murder of a las vegas newspaper reporter. police searching the home of an elected official. let'

further afield in the south, a fierce battle is being fought to take back russian-occupied kherson. ukraine has stepped up its counteroffensive as it grows in confidence following the steady supply of western aid, planting its flag on two liberated settlements over the weekend. the worrying developments at zaporizhzhia come on the eve of a u.n. security council briefing. nuclear inspectors will report back on what they found during their visit last week. jericka? >> debora patta for us in kyiv, thank you. >>> millions of travelers this labor day weekend are headed home. that means busy highways and crowded airports as summer comes to its unofficial end. cbs' omar villafranca is at dallas-fort worth international airport with more. >> reporter: aaa says almost one-third of americans are expected to travel for labor day weekend with a majority hitting the road. for drivers heading home, they'll find some relief at the pump. the nationwide average for a gallon of regular gas is $3.79, higher than last year, but down 83 cents from this year's memorial day weekend. >> you shorten up wher

ukrainian officials say half the population of kherson is outside of the region compare today the population prewar. then you have the really scary part. saying the regions who vote to join russia will be entitled to the full protection of moscow and all of the consequences and of course, those consequences have taken on a whole new meaning. this week given that vladimir putin is threatening the use of nuclear weapons. >> the u.n. general assembly, we heard plenty of criticism and condemnation from the u.s. and other countries. so take us through the highlights and russia's reaction. >> reporter: yeah, so russian foreign minister sergei lavrov walked into the security council chamber before he was set to speak and walked out just after. and several officials had suggested he was not in the chamber because he didn't want to hear the widespread condemnation of russia's war in ukraine. you had the u.s. secretary of state antony blinken not surprisingly particularly scathing saying that the international order, we gathered here to uphold is being shredded before our eyes saying that the fact vla