he congratulated his troops for capturing the eastern town of avdiivka. russia's defense 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 a week ago, blaming western nations for halting supplies. the result — ukrainian infantry fighting to hold on to avdiivka have been heavily outgunned by as much as 10:1, 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, about every town — pokrovsk, kharkiv, heivka, kostya ntynivka, dnipro, kyiv.. that they may be next? yes. for now, in avdiivka, the russians are once more lords of the rubble. so if you look at the big picture, i think it's clear that both the russians and the ukrainians now realise that this is going to be a very long war — no possibility, really, of a quick breakthrough. you may remember that last year, ukraine launched that big counteroffensive with a lot of western weapons, western 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're not making huge progress, but they are trying now, notjust in avdiivka but in other places north of here, to break through. the ukrainians have made it clear that they are going to dig in and try to make sure the russians suffer huge losses in the coming months, and then ukrainian hope is that they'll get more western weapons, including long—range missiles, and including perhaps fighterjets, and that they, at some point maybe later this year or even next year, will have another go at trying to reclaim all the territory that's still under russian control. 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. 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. 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 alexei's prison just lied to his lawyer and his mother that the body is there. and 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 is being 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 elena tells me she is 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. professor, thank you very much for being with us. i'd like to begin, if i may, with the latest news that we're hearing, namely russian authorities saying that

the family of alexei navalny will not be able to receive his body until the postmortem has been completed. there seems to be some confusion with regards to that. what do you make of what appears to be happening there? well, the kremlin is hiding behind, ithink, some legalistic issues. obviously they have announced an investigation, which i think it'll be hard to believe that it will be terribly credible. but i think what they're really doing is trying to give themselves some time to get on top of the narrative, to control the story and to make sure that information about the cause of death and the manner of his death don't make it into the public domain until they've decided exactly how they want the public to talk about this. you know, the message from alexei navalny had been to his supporters, in his own words, never give up. he'd said, even if he were to be killed, never to give up. you know, what do you think about the future of dissent in russia right now, when you take a look at some of the scenes that we've been seeing?

we've been hearing reports of hundreds of mourners, for example, being arrested for going out paying tribute, laying flowers, for example. where do you think that leaves the possibility for dissent in russia? well, look, navalny was an optimist. he was often criticised for being an optimist. but it is hard to look at the situation and feel optimistic. the infrastructure that he built, the movement that he built and the movement that had even arisen in the early days of the war in 2022, to come out into the streets and to protest that war, has been decimated. many of the people who could be mobilised are currently in jail. many more of them are in exile. the government has tried to make people feel afraid, and i think it's succeeded at that, but it's also made them feel isolated.

it's tried to make sure that people don't see a community around them that is strong enough, that is numerous enough, to really change russia in the way that they would like to. and i think we have to admit that 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've seen in recent hours and recent days, given the relatively small numbers of people who have come out to support him — very brave those who have come out, but given the relatively small numbers — it's hard to see this galvanising the kind of movement that could actually lead to a democratic opening in russia. if you take a look at the response from the international community, we've been hearing from the likes of david cameron, the british foreign minister. he's been saying that there needs to be an investigation, there needs to be accountability. what do you think that

could look like in terms of international response? ithink, honestly, it's going to be very difficult. there will be no opportunity for international investigators, impartial investigators, to participate in this process, at least until very late in the day. we may never know the full truth, and the list of crimes for which putin and other members of his regime need to be held accountable is now very, very long, and ukraine itself stands at the top of that list. but i think there are other things that western governments may want to pay attention to. navalny was not the only political prisoner. by most counts, there are at least another 500 other political prisoners in custody in russia. navalny may not be the last to his life will be threatened, and there is work to be done to protect those who still can be protected. there is work to be done to provide asylum and safety for those who need to get out of russia and for me and out

of russia for their freedom, and there's work to be done in ukraine. navalny himself was quite clear that he did not see a route to democratisation in russia and to the end of a putin system of power unless that system of power was defeated on the battlefield in ukraine. so, while there may not be much that can be done to help navalny himself at this point, obviously, and to seekjustice for his murder, there are other avenues ofjustice—seeking, i think, that are available to london, to washington and to others. and today, as the world gets to grips with the idea of navalny�*s passing, you know, there are inevitably these questions. why did he go back when he was fully cognisant of the risks? why do you think he went back, and ultimately, what do you think he wanted to achieve, and did he? navalny was a politician. navalny believed that in order to create change, someone had

to put themselves at the top of the ticket and be willing to lead the charge to push putin out of power and become the next president of russia. he made the calculation that that was not something that he could do from exile — that the longer he stayed in exile as he was being treated for poisoning in germany, the longer he stayed in exile, the less credibility he would have, the less traction he would have, that the fight is in russia itself. and if that meant you would potentially have to spend the rest of his life in prison it was a price worth paying because it was the only way to move in the direction he wanted, and the direction he believes russia needed to go in. he certainly succeeded in showing what it takes, but it's hard to see that this has been a success in terms of russia's democratic future. we'll see what kind of symbol he becomes. and i'm certain that his death

— his martyrdom, frankly — the way it's being talked about in the russian opposition community, and the democratic and anti—war communities, it not go unremembered. but it will probably be quite some time before it is able to galvanise something that can bring genuine change to russia. sam greene, professor of russian politics at kings college london, thank you for being with us. thank you. 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 include 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. israel says it has taken dozens of people into custody at one of gaza's main hospitals after troops raided the facility. according to the hamas—run health ministry, at least 120 patients and five medical teams are stuck without water, food and electricity in the nasser hospital in gaza's southern city of khan younis. the israeli military says it has credible intelligence that hostages seized by hamas, which is considered by the uk and us to be a terror

organisation, were held at the hospital. the united nations and world health organization have both criticised the operation. last week people in the north of gaza told the bbc that children were going without food for days and some people were eating animal feed ground with flour. the un has warned acute malnutrition among young children there has risen sharply. it says that 300,000 people estimated to be living in northern areas are facing a growing risk of famine. israeli officials have said that there was "no starvation in gaza" and that israel does not limit humanitarian aid. a little earlier, i spoke with dr seema jilani, a paediatrician and a senior technical adviser with the international rescue committee, where she leads their emergency health responses globally. she has been working in gaza. we were just talking about the fact that you've recently returned from gaza, where you've been working at the al—aqsa hospital. tell us what you encountered. i worked at one of the remaining lifeline critical hospitals in central gaza, al—aqsa hospital, and within my two weeks there i saw that hospital go from a semi—functional hospital to one being evacuated forcibly due to looming israeli leaflets

which were dropped in the red zones and surrounding areas. there were minimal supplies. there was no death with dignity, and by the end of my time there, there was no morphine available for patients, which is quite franklyjust a cruel, cruel situation. in particular as a paediatrician, in a war zone, i had never expected to be that useful. i want to pick you up on that, talking about the fact that you have worked and served in war zones for many years, and you come into this capacity in gaza as a paediatrician, obviously primarily focused with children. what do you think that tells us about this current conflict? i have not borne witness to this scale, magnitude and severity of injuries in children in my prior areas of work — afghanistan, iraq, lebanon, egypt and elsewhere. it is staggering to see that many children. at one point in our resuscitation room, there were four out of five

of our patients who were under the age of 15. wow, and you mentioned, as well, no death with dignity. tell us more about that. that must have been very difficult. there were no beds available. there were no structures available. we were treating patients on the ground because the assumption is that a hospital is a safe haven where people would be able to feel safe, so it also became where patients and non—patients and families would stake out claims in the hospital with a blanket, and that would become their bedroom, their kitchen, their coffee room. and people were actually living in the hospital, assuming it would be safe, and of course that assumption was wrong. and talking about the idea of it being a safe haven, i mean, obviously it is not just an idea. it should be the case under international humanitarian law under the geneva convention and so on. we've been hearing today from benjamin netanyahu saying that israel has intelligence with regards to hamas holding hostages at nasser hospital. during your time there, did you encounter hamas

in hospital settings? i did not bear witness to any harm activity in a hospital, no. and benjamin netanyahu also saying today that if there isn't the ability to carry out the operation in rafah, he doesn't believe that hamas can be defeated. when you hear that, and knowing that so many palestinians are now sheltering in the south, of course, and have moved down there, what are your concerns for the humanitarian situation? it is an absolutely dire and catastrophic, cataclysmic situation, with people essentially living on top of one another, having been forcibly displaced elsewhere without appropriate water services, without dignity services, without bathrooms, women giving birth in horrific conditions. i wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy, and to think of an onslaught or an offensive happening there is a nightmare.

and for your colleagues who have worked with, for palestinians who stayed behind, who off the clock, when they're not being doctors and nurses, some have decided to stay to give that medical care. what kind of conditions were they facing when they went home, for example, if they could, or where they went to shelter? many of them had been forcibly displaced themselves, not once or twice but four or five times over. they are dedicated and showing a colossal amount of bravery. sometimes at night they will declare their own colleagues orfamily members dead, and then they'll show up with a stethoscope in hand to see patients within hours, the next day. it's incredible. and drjilani, i just wanted to ask, if you don't mind, personally for you, as someone, a medical professional, a doctor,

you said you can give someone morphine for example, you can provide comfort. clearly, you're not able to do that in a typical way when we're faced with shortages. personally, how does that affect you? i draw any strength i have by watching the people of palestine and the doctors and the nurses and the health care staff of gaza, who don't have the privilege that i have to exit, and i watch them work, and that's how i managed the situation. and being able to comfort a mother while her knees are buckling and i tell her her child is no longer alive — to me, to be able to comfort her in that moment is the greatest comfort in honour of my life. thank you so much for talking about this with us today. dr seema jilani, with the international rescue committee, thank you. let's turn to some important news around the world: thousands of people took to the streets of senegal�*s capital, dakar, demanding presidential elections take place soon. the protests follow the country's top court blocking president macky sall�*s attempt to postpone the election, originally scheduled for this month. the controversial decree, which was backed by parliament, triggered a political crisis

in senegal, once regarded as a bastion of democracy in west africa. african union heads of state are in the ethiopian capital, addis ababa, for the first day of a two—day summit. au chair moussa faki called on leaders to tackle conflicts on the continent and condemned a series of coups in some african countries as unconstitutional. riots have broken out in the hague as rival groups of eritreans clashed outside a cultural centre. dutch police cars were attacked and officers used tear gas to try to restore calm. vehicles were set alight and windows of buildings were smashed. long—standing tensions within eritrean communities in different parts of the world have recently flared up. critics of the eritrean government say so—called cultural festivals that it organises are in fact propaganda to raise funds for a repressive regime. 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 in fines, the former president is back on the campaign trail in michigan addressing supporters in the run—up

to the state's presidential primary election on 27 february. 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 win an election if you're spending more time in court then you are on the campaign trail. you just can't do it. but then also, let's look at what are the american people saying, because that's what i care about. 70% of americans say they don't want trump and biden to be their only choices. well, before his campaign event in michigan, donald trump was in philadelphia to unveil a new line of trump—branded sneakers. the gold sneakers are available for just three days and are selling for about m00. the gold never surrender high—top sneakers have already sold out. president biden�*s communications director has come out against trump's new line, saying the shoes are "the closest he'll get to any air force ones

"ever again for the rest of his life." you are watching bbc news. thanks for your company. more news at the top of the hour. join me then if you can. goodbye 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, this weather front 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. 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 and 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 is 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'll 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.

voiceover: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. i'm jonny dymond, and welcome to world questions from the royal castle in the polish capital, warsaw. the new government has been making sweeping changes as it seeks to roll back the reforms of the last administration. the audience here will put their questions to a panel of senior politicians.

applause welcome to the ballroom of the royal castle in warsaw. this former royal palace is where the first constitution of poland was signed. and in poland today, constitutional issues — who runs the country and how — are top of the bill. the new prime minister has sacked the heads of state—owned media, dismissed the protests of the courts, and clashed over and over again with the president, an ally of the last government. the prime minister says he is re—establishing democracy and de—politicising the state. the president says the new government is violating the constitution and promoting anarchy. this country is right next to ukraine, and was the first to offer aid. how strong is that commitment two years on? with me to answer questions put to them directly by our audience is our panel.

mateusz morawiecki mp, was, until only a few weeks ago,