hello, i'm helena humphrey. just a day after jailed russian opposition leader alexei navalny�*s death — president vladimir putin is celebrating a victory on the battlefield in ukraine. he congratulated his troops for capturing the eastern town of avdiivka. russia's defence ministry says it has taken �*full control�* after ukraine withdrew its troops. the fall of avdiivka is russia's biggest win in ukraine for months. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky blames diminishing supplies of western weapons. after us presidentjoe biden spoke with mr zelensky saturday morning, the white house said �*ukrainian soldiers had to ration ammunition due to dwindling supplies as a result of congressional inaction�*. our correspondent andrew harding is in the donbas region, not far from avdiivka. ukrainian troops film themselves as they withdraw from avdiivka. exhausted after the longest and perhaps the bloodiest

battle of the war so far. russian shells still landing close by. in the town centre, a russian flag is raised, and another on a rooftop in one of the town�*s industrial areas. the kremlin is already crowing, releasing footage of russian fighterjets in action. air power has played a big role in this victory. on the ground, ukrainian forces have also been struggling with acute shortages of men and, in particular, of ammunition. so, these are the last two shells that you have? yes, this artillery officer told us this week blaming western nations for halting supplies. the result? ukrainian infantry fighting to hold on to avdiivka have been heavily outgunned by as much as 10 to 1. and so, eventually, ukraine

ordered a withdrawal. at times, well organised, but not always. here, a ukrainian armoured vehicle is hit by a drone. overall, though, it�*s russia that has suffered by far the heaviest losses here. translation: russia has| suffered 47,000 casualties in avdiivka since last october. those are huge losses. in such circumstances, we consider this a successful operation. outside avdiivka, ukrainian soldiers are already reinforcing new defensive lines and playing down the significance of today�*s retreat. on its own, the fall of this one small town won�*t change the course of the war. but again, russia has shown its sheer determination, its massive firepower and its willingness to sustain very heavy casualties. and none of that is

good news for ukraine. no wonder towns nearby are nervous. every day i think about the future. not only this town, but every town. pokrovsk, heivka, kostyantynivka, dnipro, kyiv... that they may be next? yes. for now, in avdiivka, the russians are once more lords of the rubble. andrew harding, bbc news, eastern ukraine. if you look at the big picture it is clear that the russians and ukrainians now realise this is going to be a very long war, no possibility of a quick breakthrough, and you may remember last year, ukraine launched the big counteroffensive with a lot of western weaponry and tanks and so on — it failed and it took back almost no territory, largely because the russians have put so many minefields in their path.

then there was a stagnant period for the last month or two and now the russians are having essentially their turn at trying to break through ukrainian lines. they are not making huge progress but they are trying notjust in avdiivka but other places north of here to break through. the ukrainians are going to dig in and try to make sure the russians suffer huge losses in the coming months and then ukrainian hope is they will get more western weapons including long—range missiles and including perhaps fighterjets and then they, at some point may be later this year, even next year, they will have another go at trying to reclaim all the territory that is still under russian control. with me is coloneljoe buccino, former communications director for us central command. avdiivka, a long stronghold for ukrainians now seeing avdiivka, a long stronghold for ukrainians now seeing them having to withdraw. what is your assessment for what this

means for the work?- means for the work? what it means for the work? what it means right _ means for the work? what it means right now— means for the work? what it means right now is - means right now is psychological more than anything. think about it this way. ukraine are running out of ammunition, troops, recruits. they are trying to recruit people and having a hard time doing so. it looks like the us has grown disinterested in funding this war. this is the biggest success either site has had since the spring of last year. all of the momentum is now shifted to russia. that is what it means in the immediate term. ~ ., what it means in the immediate term. ~ . ., , ., ,, ., term. we have had this omission from president _ term. we have had this omission from president biden _ term. we have had this omission from president biden today - term. we have had this omission from president biden today that| from president biden today that to some extent there was this lack, dwindling supplies of ammunition, weaponry, on the battlefield and that has contributed, that is something that president zelensky has also set. in light of that and the fact that we are seeing the real consequences of what we have seen tied up in congress right now, do you think there is the prospect of any kind of emergency members from the us? i do not. one way to think about this in the quiet part of

this is that there is no path to a ukrainian victory, there is not any more. that is long gone. so there is no way to fund this thing until ukraine pushes russia back to its prewar lines. the best you can do is get to some kind of negotiated settlement where there is a pause in conflict. that means a multiple aid packages, that $60 billion aid packages, that $60 billion aid package will not get you there. so we are at a point now where russia can throw mass at this problem. mass people, tanks, rockets, drones and overwhelmed ukraine and deplete ukraine for the coming months. if ukraine and deplete ukraine for the coming months.— the coming months. if there is a prosraect _ the coming months. if there is a prosraect for— the coming months. if there is a prosraect for a _ the coming months. if there is a prospect for a negotiated - a prospect for a negotiated settlements and in recent weeks we have seen the prospect of some sort of admissions from president putin that he could potentially be open to that as well, i wonder what is the sense behind—the—scenes in washington as to whether there

is any support for that, when, as we know we have seen war fatigue set in.— fatigue set in. the way to think about _ fatigue set in. the way to think about that - fatigue set in. the way to think about that is - fatigue set in. the way to think about that is if, - think about that is if, you find it you go all the way in and if you do not fund it we have essentially wasted all of this money. if you find it and not in for the long—term, you�*re just throwing away money. if not. that is the debate in dc and we have been relying on ukraine to hold the line for nato and it is really up line for nato and it is really up to dc to determine where they go with that.— they go with that. one other element that _ they go with that. one other element that has _ they go with that. one other element that has come - they go with that. one other element that has come into | they go with that. one other - element that has come into play is further air defence in terms of fighterjets for example. is further air defence in terms of fighter jets for example. we know ukrainian troops have been trained on back here in the us not being brought into action yet, but likely to happen later this year. is there not a prospect that that could potentially turn the tide? it would not turn the tide. it would not turn the tide. it would give a slight advantage but it would not turn the tide. you would need an awful lot

more in terms of artillery, high mahrous, drones, rockets to really get this to where it is even an even fight. so the fighterjets is even an even fight. so the fighter jets would is even an even fight. so the fighterjets would not turn the tide. {iii fighter 'ets would not turn the tide. . ., , fighter 'ets would not turn the tide. _, , ., fighter 'ets would not turn the tide. , ., ., , tide. of course, all of this happening _ tide. of course, all of this happening now— tide. of course, all of this happening now in - tide. of course, all of this happening now in an - tide. of course, all of this i happening now in an election year, i want to take a look at some comments from donald trump if he is to be the republican nominee, he has been speaking about nato is addressing certain members of the nato alliance should not necessarily be defended depending on how much they contribute over their gdp to the defence alliance. with your experience of nato, how do you think nato leaders would go about dealing with it that if we do see another trump presidency?— presidency? they are already very concerned _ presidency? they are already very concerned and _ presidency? they are already very concerned and they - presidency? they are already| very concerned and they grow very concerned and they grow very concerned and they grow very concerned but it�*s also important to understand that donald trump cannotjust donald trump cannot just withdraw donald trump cannotjust withdraw unilaterally out of nato. the congress, under the national defence organisation act at the end of last year,

basically, donald trump proved nato. so he would have to get the full control with a full foot of the senate which would not happen to come out of nato. i note nato would be concerned about it and are now and they would be very wrong. fine about it and are now and they would be very wrong. one final thou~ht, would be very wrong. one final thought. and — would be very wrong. one final thought, and zooming - would be very wrong. one final thought, and zooming out - would be very wrong. one final thought, and zooming out and | thought, and zooming out and looking at the context of this today, the death of alexei navalny, the withdraw of a ukrainian troops from avdiivka, something president putin has been celebrating, what does this say about the strength of the russian president right now and what appears to be an increasingly multipolar world? he is in a much better position then we have seen in the last two years and i think he is probably hoping the us election will turn his way with donald trump and put him in a much better position there. so his momentum is going to his side and in a better position now and in a better position now and potentially trending for the better.

and potentially trending for the better-— and potentially trending for the better. ., ~' , ., ., the better. thank you, former communications _ the better. thank you, former communications director - the better. thank you, former communications director for i the better. thank you, former l communications director for us central command, as ever, great to have your analysis, colonel. alexei navalny�*s team says russian authorities are hiding his body after the russian opposition leader died at an arctic penal colony. an ally of mr navalny says prison officials told navalny�*s mother that her son died of "sudden death syndrome." navalny�*s team believes that he was murdered on the orders of president vladimir putin, an accusation the kremlin denies. us politicians are among those responding strongly to the news of mr navalny�*s death. presidentjoe biden said while he did not know what happened, navalny�*s death was �*the consequence of something that putin and his thugs did.�* former president barack obama praised navalny and said he �*died unbroken by the tyranny he opposed.�* notably silent, however, is former president donald trump. since friday morning, mr trump, who is under scrutiny for his stance toward putin, has posted more than 90 times on his social media page. none of them have mentioned

alexei navalny�*s death. he also avoided the topic during a campaign speech on saturday. trump�*s only opponent in the race for the us republican presidential nomination, nikki haley, blasted mr trump for his silence. she says "we cannot have a president who sides with murderous thugs who want to destroy america." president putin has not mentioned mr navalny�*s name since his death, despite public appearances on back—to—back days. the bbc�*s russia editor steve rosenberg reports on russians who have paid public tribute to alexei navalny while others continue to express their indifference to putin�*s regime. in moscow, they continue to bring flowers and pay respects to alexei navalny, the kremlin�*s most vocal critic who has died in prison. "move along, you can�*t stay here," the policeman says. "we have the right to be here," she shouts. "we want to and we will stand here." someone adds, "this street isn�*t yours, it belongs "to everyone." but the riot police don�*t seem to think so. there are cries of "disgrace,

shame," as police start to clear the area. and then the arrests. across russia, hundreds of people have been detained at events commemorating the late opposition leader. and then the arrests. across russia, hundreds of people have been detained at events commemorating the late opposition leader. these are the last known images of alexei navalny, from two days ago. the russian authorities claim he died the next day after falling unconscious. today, mr navalny�*s mother arrived at the remote penal colony where he died, beyond the arctic circle. she was told her son�*s body had been taken to a local morgue. but... the body of alexei isn�*t there. so his prisonjust lied to his lawyer and his mother that the body is there, so we don�*t have any

clue where he is now and what is happening to him and when it will be given to the family. we do know one thing — the russian authorities are saying very little about what happened. the death of alexei navalny is a huge story outside russia. but here, it has been kept out of the headlines. it is barely mentioned by the state media, as if the kremlin is hoping out of sight, out of mind. not everyone is out laying flowers, but everyone we spoke to had heard about mr navalny�*s death, though there was a mixed reaction. "it�*s very sad," anton says. "and it�*s bad that there are political prisoners." but this lady tells me she�*s not interested, she doesn�*t care about politics. such indifference suits the authorities. to his supporters, alexei navalny will always be a symbol

that change is possible. but the kremlin will be hoping that most russians won�*t care enough to make him a martyr. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. for more on the fallout from the death of alexei navalny, i spoke with samuel greene, professor of russian politics at kings college london. the kremlin is hiding behind some legalistic issues, obviously they have announced an investigation which i think is going to be hard to believe it will be credible, but what they are really doing is trying to give themselves time to get on top of the narrative and control the story and make sure that information about the cause of death and the manner of his death do not make it into the public domain until they have decided exactly how they want the public to talk about this. the message from alexei navalny has been, to his supporters in his own words, never give up.

he said, even if he were to be killed, never to give up. what did you think about the future of dissent in russia now, taking in some of the scenes we have been seeing, we have been hearing reports of hundreds of mourners being arrested for going out, paying tribute, laying flowers, for example. where do you think that leaves the possibility for dissent in russia? navalny was an optimist and criticised for being an optimist. but it is hard to look at the situation and feel optimistic. the infrastructure that he built and the movement that he built and that the movement had arisen in the early days of the war in 2022 to protest that war has been designated.

many people who could be mobilised are currently in jail and many more in exile. the government has tried to make people feel afraid and i think it has succeeded in that but also it has made them feel isolated. it has tried to make sure people do not see a community around them that isn�*t strong enough, numerous enough to really change russia and the way that they would like to. and i think we have to admit for the time being that looks like it has been effective. we should be prepared, at least, theoretically, for the possibility that unexpected things can happen. but given what we have seen in recent hours and recent days, given the relatively small numbers of people who have come out, the brave those who have, but given the small numbers, it is hard to see this galvanising the kind of movement that would actually lead to a democratic opening in russia. israel�*s prime minister, benjamin netanyahu has vowed to carry on the war against hamas in gaza, regardless of international pressure. in a televised speech on saturday, he said nothing would stop israel

achieving its goals, which includes destroying hamas in rafah where more than a million displaced palestinians are sheltering. netanyahu said not entering gaza�*s southernmost city would mean losing the war. translation: we are now fighting in khan younis, . the capital of terrorism. and in recent days, we�*ve reached places the enemy could never have imagined us reaching. we have demolished most hamas battalians and we will not stop until we destroy all of them. this is a necessary condition in order to achieve absolute victory. meanwhile, thousands of protesters rallied against prime minister netanyahu�*s government on saturday, calling for an immediate election. demonstrators gathered outside the military headquarters in tel aviv, also urged his government do more to free the remaining hamas hostages in gaza. let�*s turn now to the race for the white house because after a landmark fraud case ordering donald trump — to pay more than 350—million—dollars in fines the former—president is back on the campaign trail.

you can see him here in michigan addressing supporters — in the run—up to the state�*s presidential primary election on february 27th. michigan, a key state for republicans for auto workers and unions. donald trump currently the front runner in the republican race there in michigan. nikki haley, his last political rival for the republican nomination has used the ruling in new york to attack the republican frontrunner. you can't to wind an election if you — you can't to wind an election if you are _ you can't to wind an election if you are spending - you can't to wind an election if you are spending more - you can't to wind an election. if you are spending more time in court — if you are spending more time in court then— if you are spending more time in court then you _ if you are spending more time in court then you are - if you are spending more time in court then you are on- in court then you are on the campaign— in court then you are on the campaign trail. _ in court then you are on the campaign trail. you - in court then you are on the campaign trail. you just - in court then you are on the. campaign trail. you just can't do it — campaign trail. you just can't do it but _ campaign trail. you just can't do it. but let's— campaign trail. you just can't do it. but let's look- campaign trail. you just can't do it. but let's look at - campaign trail. you just can't do it. but let's look at what l do it. but let's look at what are the _ do it. but let's look at what are the american— do it. but let's look at what are the american people i are the american people saying because — are the american people saying because that _ are the american people saying because that is _ are the american people saying because that is what _ are the american people saying because that is what i - are the american people saying because that is what i care - because that is what i care about _ because that is what i care about 70% _ because that is what i care about. 70% of _ because that is what i care about. 70% of americans i because that is what i care i about. 70% of americans say they— about. 70% of americans say they do— about. 70% of americans say they do not— about. 70% of americans say they do not want _ about. 70% of americans say they do not want donald - about. 70% of americans say. they do not want donald trump and biden— they do not want donald trump and biden to _ they do not want donald trump and biden to be _ they do not want donald trump and biden to be their— and biden to be their only

choices _ leaders of the world�*s biggest tech firms — including tiktok, google and meta — signed a pact on artificial intelligence at the munich security conference. it�*s aimed at preventing ai deepfakes from sabotaging elections. 20 businesses that are building generative ai models have pledged to appropriately address ai content found on their platforms, detect the distribution of ai content and build cross—industry resilience to tackle deceptive ai election content. about li—billion people worldwide are expected to vote in elections this year. the pledge is a recognition that artifical intelligence poses a risk to elections. here in the us, democratic congresswoman yvette clarke is working on a bill to regulate ai in politics. she approves of the tech accord, and says congress must do more to ensure the integrity of elections amid the rise of ai technologies. my colleague, catrionia perry spoke with her. thank you for being with us on

bbc_ thank you for being with us on bbc news, congresswoman. we see these _ bbc news, congresswoman. we see these 20 — bbc news, congresswoman. we see these 20 tech companies assigning the accord pledging to combat deceptive ai when so much _ to combat deceptive ai when so much of— to combat deceptive ai when so much of the world will go to polls— much of the world will go to polls and elections, what is your— polls and elections, what is your view— polls and elections, what is your view of what they have promised? i your view of what they have promised?— your view of what they have romised? ,, , ., ., promised? i think it is a great beginning. — promised? i think it is a great beginning. we _ promised? i think it is a great beginning, we had _ promised? i think it is a greatj beginning, we had anticipated that there would be the use of ai, generative aia, deepfake technology to be disruptive in this election year. there is no doubt in our mind that with the prominent use of technology, particularly, deepfake technology that this technology could be and it would be what the nicest during this election year —— weapon eyes to. we are seeing the beginnings of that in the united states as our election your ramps up but we are also witnessing it in other parts of the world. so i am

excited about the fact that these tech firms, the titans of tachy, if you will, have come together with an accord to combat the deceptive nature of the use of this technology. you mentioned _ the use of this technology. you mentioned it _ the use of this technology. you mentioned it is _ the use of this technology. you mentioned it is an _ the use of this technology. you mentioned it is an election year— mentioned it is an election year in _ mentioned it is an election year in the us lots of races up and _ year in the us lots of races up and down _ year in the us lots of races up and down the ballot including your— and down the ballot including your own, how concerned are you about _ your own, how concerned are you about the — your own, how concerned are you about the impact of deceptive ai about the impact of deceptive al on— about the impact of deceptive al on the _ about the impact of deceptive al on the impact on your race? iarn— al on the impact on your race? larn very— al on the impact on your race? i am very concerned. there is no telling the lengths that adversaries will go through in order to disrupt elections, to gain favour with the electorate and so it is very important, nationwide, that our platforms make it clear to those who will

listen to and review deepfake videos, mainly receive ai generated robo calls that this information is not too real. i5 information is not too real. is it u- information is not too real. is it up to tech firms to take these _ it up to tech firms to take these measures, or is it the responsibility of nation states, in your case, is it the responsibility of the united states— responsibility of the united states to pass legislation to do something to protect its own citizens? — do something to protect its own citizens? ~ , , ~' citizens? absolutely. i think we have an _ citizens? absolutely. i think we have an obligation - citizens? absolutely. i think we have an obligation to - citizens? absolutely. i think| we have an obligation to our citizenry to put in statute the rules of the road, if you will. yet that has not happened. in yet that has not happened. in lieu yet that has not happened. lieu of yet that has not happened. in lieu of that i am happy to hear it has not happened yet, and it is unfortunate because we are leaving our constituents to the devices of those who would seek to harm them, disrupt our way

of life and so my hope is that legislation that i have introduced, my deepfake accountability act can go into law or my real political ads act is adopted because that not only provides the rules of the road, but it also provides a private right of action for those who are harmed. you are mentioning _ those who are harmed. you are mentioning your _ those who are harmed. you are mentioning your own _ those who are harmed. you are mentioning your own bills - mentioning your own bills there. _ mentioning your own bills there, there have been dozens brought— there, there have been dozens brought through both houses in recent— brought through both houses in recent years on this, but why have — recent years on this, but why have none _ recent years on this, but why have none become a law? the us is really— have none become a law? the us is really lacking here. you see the eu, — is really lacking here. you see the eu, the mackerelto is really lacking here. you see the eu, the mackerel to act is almost — the eu, the mackerel to act is almost in _ the eu, the mackerel to act is almost in law and yet, the us has nothing despite so much agreement. it has nothing despite so much agreement-— has nothing despite so much agreement. it is a sad state of affairs it has — agreement. it is a sad state of affairs it has not _ agreement. it is a sad state of affairs it has not been - affairs it has not been prioritise the way it should have been. i cannot speak to

the motives of those who have not, the leadership in particular, the house of representatives, who have not made this a priority, but what i can say is that overwhelmingly, colleagues in the house of representatives are in favour of putting these provisions into statute so that we can bring our protocols into the 21st century. we we can bring our protocols into the 21st century.— the 21st century. we will leave it there for _ the 21st century. we will leave it there for the _ the 21st century. we will leave it there for the moment. - the 21st century. we will leave | it there for the moment. plenty more _ it there for the moment. plenty more to— it there for the moment. plenty more to discuss in the future. congresswoman yvette clark, thank — congresswoman yvette clark, thank you forjoining us on bbc news — and finally... japan has successfully launched its new flagship rocket into orbit, raising hopes it can compete against others in the commercial satellite launching business. the japanese space agency says the h3 has significantly lower costs than its predecessor and can carry bigger payloads. the flight comes after years of delays and two aborted attempts. and remember

you can head to our website on our top stories. there you can see the alexei navalny team speaking about his death there. more of the top of the hour, join me then if you can. bye for now. hello there. saturday was a very cloudy day, but it was also very mild thanks to south—westerly winds bringing double digit temperatures across the whole of the uk. now, we did see some rain move into western areas through the afternoon and that rain was associated with this cloud, weatherfronts moving across the uk. now, we do have a bump in the weatherfront, which means that the rain is going to get heavier over the next few hours as it pushes across the whole of wales and most of england as well. for northern england, northern ireland and scotland, there�*ll be some clear spells and a few showers over the next few hours. and these are the kind of temperatures we�*ll have to start the day on sunday, so it is going to be a mild start to the day, but very wet, particularly across england, with rain extensively. the rain quickly moving away

from wales through the morning but really dragging its heels, i think, across east anglia and south—east england, with the rain even hanging around into the early stages of the afternoon. further northwards, though, there�*ll be some sunshine, a few showers dotted around, but mostly a dry weather picture. eventually, we should see some brighter spells getting into east anglia and the south—east, albeit very late in the day. top temperatures, 15 degrees — very, very mild for february. now, we start the new working week on monday with another weather front moving eastwards. this one�*s going to be quite weak, just a few patches of rain crossing england. a ridge then moves in behind that. so, sunny spells, just a few isolated showers coming into western scotland, but a lot of dry weather and a fair amount of sunshine to come through. on monday, top temperatures range from around 10—13 degrees celsius, which is still very mild for february. middle part of the week, it then turns wet and windy, with several weather fronts moving from west to east across the uk. now, on tuesday, this weather front starts off with some quite heavy rain for scotland and northern ireland.

as the front moves its way southwards and eastwards, it weakens, so the rain won�*t amount to too much as it works in across england and wales. it will be quite a windy kind of day. temperatures still mild thanks to those south—westerly winds. a windier day overall to come on wednesday, the rain much heavier as well. could see some localised surface water flooding issues. perhaps turning a bit brighter for northern ireland and western scotland late in the day. temperatures 12 or 13 degrees, so still very mild. however, it�*s going to get colder towards the end of the week as we start to see the winds coming in more from a west, north—westerly direction, and that will bring a return of some hill snow.

this is bbc news. we�*ll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. hello, i�*m tom brook, and welcome to a special edition of talking movies devoted to the latest developments in korean cinema.

i�*ve come to seoul to take the temperature of one of the most dynamic film—making communities in the world to ask, what�*s next for its movie industry? wow, look at all those people. it�*s my first visit to south korea. i arrived after a 14—hour flight from my home in new york. coming here was a journey of discovery. moving around seoul, i found the night—time metropolis exciting, unlike anywhere i�*d ever been before. like many, i�*ve tasted the joys of korean cinema, its landmark films like oldboy and parasite. now, i was going to meet the people involved in the movie industry in south korea to find out how they make it all work. but what became clear very rapidly as i encountered koreans on the night—time streets is that they really do like their movies. yeah, i really like movies. i watch movie every day, every night. i really do love movies. and actually, one of my dreams is like being a movie director, actually.