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 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. if you look at the big picture, it is clear russians and ukrainians realise this will be a very long walk, no possibility of a quick breakthrough. you may remember that last year ukraine launched the big counteroffensive with a lot of western weapons and length. it failed. it took back almost no territory largely because the russians dug in and put so many minefields in the path. then you had a stagnant

period for the last few months another russians are having essentially their turn at trying to break through ukrainian airlines. they're not making huge progress but they are trying, notjust here but in many places north of here to break through. the ukrainians are medically they are going to dig in and try to make sure the russians suffer huge losses in the coming months and then the ukrainian hope is they will get more western weapons, including long—range missiles, and perhaps fighterjets and then they, at some point perhaps later this year, or even next have another go at trying to reclaim all the territory still under russian control. for more on this, i wasjoined by coloneljoe buccino, former communications director for us central command. great to have you back with us once again. so, avdiivka had long been a stronghold for the ukrainians. we are now seeing them have to withdraw. what is your assessment

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

this, is that there's no path to a ukrainian victory. there just isn't anymore. that is long gone, so there is no way to fund this thing until ukraine pushes russia back to its pre—war lines. the best you're going to be able to do is get to some kind of negotiated settlement where there is a frozen conflict. that means multiple aid packages. that $60 billion aid package is not going to get you there. and so we're at a point here where russia canjust throw mass at this problem — mass, people, tanks, rockets, drones, and just overwhelm ukraine and attrit ukraine for the coming months. if there is the prospect of a negotiated settlement, and we are losing weeks, we're starting to hear some kind of admissions from president putin that he could potentially be open to that as well.

ijust wonder, what is the sense behind the scenes in washington as to whether there is any support for that when, as we know, we've started to see real fatigue setting in? well, i think the way to think about that would be if you fund that, you're going all in, and if you don't fund it, we have essentially wasted all this money. now, if you fund it and you're not in for the long term, you're just throwing good money after bad. if not, you've wasted all that funding. that's really the debate in dc. and we've been relying on ukraine to kind of hold the line here, hold the line for nato, and it's really up to dc to determine where they go with that. one other element that hasn't come into play is further air defence in terms of fighter jets, for example. we know that ukrainian troops have been trained on that here in the us. they haven't been brought into action yet, but that is likely to happen later this year. is there not a prospect that that could potentially turn the tide at all here? it wouldn't turn the tide, no. it would give a slight advantage but it wouldn't turn the tide.

you would need an awful lot more in terms of artillery, drones, rockets, himars, to really get this to where it's even a kind of even fight. so the fighter jets would not turn the tide. and of course, all of this is happening now in an election year. i just want to take a look at some of the comments from donald trump, if he is to be the republican nominee. he's been speaking about nato, essentially saying that certain members of the nato alliance shouldn't necessarily be defended, depending on how much they contribute of their gdp to the defence alliance. with your experience of nato, how do you think nato leaders would go about dealing with that if you do see another trump presidency? well, they're already very concerned. they grow concerned. but it's also important to understand that donald trump cannot just withdraw unilaterally out of nato. the congress under the national defence authorisation act at the end of last year

basically donald trump—proofed nato. so he would have to get the full control of the senate, which is not going to happen, to pull out of nato. nato are concerned about it. they're very concerned right now. it would be very alarming. just one final thought. i suppose, zooming out and looking at the final context of this today — the death of alexei navalny, the withdrawal of ukrainian troops from avdiivka, something that president putin has been celebrating — what does this say about the strength of the russian president right now in what appears to be an increasingly multipolar world? he's in a much better position than we've seen in the last two years, and i think he's probably hoping that the united states election turns his way, with donald trump, and puts him in a much better position then. so his momentum is going to his side. he is in a better position now and potentially trending even better.

all right, coloneljoe buccino, former communications director for us central command, thanks forjoining us. thanks for having me. 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 has the view from russia. 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. qatar has described the latest talks to agree a ceasefire between israel and hamas as "not very promising". qatar's prime minister says he's still optimistic that an agreement could be reached at talks in cairo, but acknowledges that time is running out. it comes as israel's prime minister vows to press on with his operation in gaza, regardless of international pressure. in a televised speech on saturday, benjamin netanyahu said nothing would stop israel achieving its goals, which includes destroying hamas in rafah where more than a million displaced palestinians are sheltering. 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. all this as the humanitarian crisis in gaza deepens. the un warns acute malnutrition among young children there has risen sharply. it says that 300,000 people estimated to be living in northern areas, facing a growing risk of famine. israeli officials have said there is "no starvation in gaza" and that israel does not limit humanitarian aid. a little earlier, i spoke with dr seemajilani, a pediatrician and a senior technical adviser with the international rescue committee. 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 stretchers 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 notjust 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, ijust 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 and 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. thailand's former prime minister thaksin shinawatra has arrived at his home after being released on parole. he served six months in a bangkok police hospital on corru ption—related charges,

which mr thaksin has called politically motivated. he was in office from 2001 until he was toppled in a 2006 coup. he was later convicted of abuse of power and other misdeeds while in office and returned last year from more than a decade of self—imposed exile to serve his prison sentence. 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. 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 claim 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 february 27. 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. but on saturday, the former

president dug in his heels, rejecting the outcome of the civil trial. the case is a complete and total sham. it's a sham case. there were no victims, defaults, victims, complaints, nothing. there was nothing. now, switching gears a little bit, how would you like to live on mars? us space agency nasa is looking for four new volunteers to spend a year living and working inside a base that simulates the martian surface. nicky schiller explains. this is a realfootage of the surface of mars. it has been taken by nasa's rover that has been on the planet since february 2021, collecting rock samples. now, this is sand at thejohnson space center in houston, texas. it is meant to mimic the surface of mars. the reason? well, the space agency wants martians. well, volunteers who are willing to spend a year inside an artificial complex. the 3d—printed habitat is 518 square metres. it simulates the challenges

of a mission on mars. the space includes four bedrooms, a living area, medical room, and a vertical farm to grow things. whilst locked inside, the crew will be given a series of challenges that will mirror those of a true mars mission. they will have to overcome isolation, equipment failure, communication delays, and conduct experiments to measure the impact of life on mars for possible future missions to the red planet. officials hope the data gathered will help them plan for everything, from the mental impact to more mundane things like furniture layout. so, if you fancy a life on mars, you're going to need to be healthy, motivated, between the ages of 30 and 55, a non—smoker, speak english and be a us citizen. oh, and you're going to have to get used to eating space food for a year. now, there is already a crew of four inside the complex. they are due out later this year and have already been conducting experiments. now, nasa itself says that it hopes to launch astronauts up to mars in the late 2030s

or early 2040s, and that journey itself will take seven months. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. saturday was a very cloudy day, but it was also very mild, thanks to southwesterly 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 southeast 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 southeast, 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 southwesterly 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—northwesterly 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. this week, we have supercomputers to get our hearts racing, and tech to get us all reading. let's read. automated voice: please take

a picture of the text. _ now, don't anybody move! plus, ammie's gone to town to test the newest oldest camera that we've seen for a while. ..where taking a photo sounded like a small, sharp pop. and it was flashy — just like this outfit. hi, there. got a question for you. of the two of us, who do you think is more of the health enthusiast? do you think anyone is saying me? literally everyone is getting that right. some people may have done. i do try, though. yes, you do. i do try. would you say it's always better to collect as much data about your body as you can? i think so. i find it really useful. i don't always act on that data, which can be quite frustrating, particularly when it comes to sleep. and some people can get a bit obsessive over it and it can make them feel anxious, and obviously, in those cases, it's not ideal. but, personally, i do find it motivating.

so do you think that one day we'll be able to monitor