this is bbc news. i'm kasia madera with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. russia broadens its attack on ukraine, hitting more cities. an airstrike on the central eastern city of dnipro hits a nursery, an apartment block and a shoe factory. we have a report from the scene. this site is one of complete devastation. the smoke is still rising from the ruins of this building hours after the missiles struck. near the capital, kyiv, the exodus gathers pace as russian forces edge closer. meanwhile at the un in new york, russia claims, without providing evidence, that there's a biological weapons programme inside ukraine. translation: we have discovered truly shocking facts of emergency l

clean—up by the kyiv regime of the traces of a military biological programme, which is being implemented by kyiv with support by the united states ministry of defence. ukraine does not have a biological weapons programme. _ there are no ukrainian biological weapons - laboratories supported i by the united states, not near russia's border or anywhere. a warning from france on the impact the war could have on global food supplies. and russian prosecutors call for a ban on facebook�*s parent company, meta, after the firm changed its rules to allow violent speech in response to the invasion of ukraine.

russian forces are widening attacks on areas across ukraine, and are now closing in on the capital, kyiv. the aerial bombardment was stepped up overnight, with russian forces attacking the cities of lutsk and ivano—frankivsk in the west. and to the east, here's the latest data showing the positions of russian forces, getting ever closer to the capital kyiv. the uk's ministry of defence says russian forces are making limited progress — but they would go for a renewed offensive soon, while a russian defence minister insisted its military operation was "going to plan". dnipro which has been a place of refuge for ukrainians fleeing other parts of the country, was also hit. dnipro is located in the south east of ukraine, but some way from the russia border, and the annexed territory of crimea. from there, here's our eastern europe correspondent, sarah rainsford. they struck at dawn, and dnipro wasn't expecting it.

this was not a military target. russia's missiles have destroyed a shoe factory. and they've shattered the idea many had clung to here — that this city was safe. amongst the rubble of their workplace were factory staff trying to clean up. dazed and disbelieving. many more could have died here had the factory not stopped work because of the war. "you see that black bag," this woman says. "that was our security guard. what else can i tell you? "you can see it all." many ignored the wail of the air raid siren because central dnipro had never been hit. this site is one of complete devastation. the smoke is still rising from the ruins of this building, hours after the missiles struck,

and the smell here is really acrid. but the thing that strikes me most, just being here, is that there are so many apartment blocks, residential buildings, all around here. the shockwave swept across the square, smashing windows and shaking buildings for blocks around. we saw irina cleaning up the mess, and she called us in. for her family, the attack was terrifyingly close — right on their doorstep. they are scared, but they're also furious here, at russia. "we didn't ask them to come and save us," irina tells me. "we were living fine in our own country. "we love our country, and will defend it," she says. across the hallway, alexander is clearing up for his 90—year—old aunt, distraught that she lived through one world war and she's now being caught up in all this. and down the road, we met natalya,

demanding to know why russia is firing at them. haunted by the terrified screams of her son. they didn't make it to the bomb shelter — the missiles came in too fast. rescuers have been salvaging scraps from the factory wreckage. but however resilient ukraine is, this kind of attack sows fear and saps morale, because when the sirens go now, no—one can feel safe here. sarah rainsford, bbc news, dnipro. european leaders have been in france for a scheduled summit which is now focusing on the emergency in ukraine. the french president has been consistently engaged in talks with his russian counterpart. after the summit, he said

he was committed to keeping the dialogue going. translation: we constantly engaged in the discussions _ with president putin till the very last minute before he launched his war and after he decided to launch this war to try to reopen negotiations and get a ceasefire. nevertheless, i have to confess that today, the conditions he put on the table are not acceptable by anybody and we will remain engaged to discuss with president putin and try to get what seems to be a realistic, but i think this option remains for me the best one, a ceasefire and a negotiation. i don't see the ceasefire realistic in the coming hours, to be honest with you. earlier, i spoke to william drozdiak, who is the former foreign editor of the washington post. he is also author of "the last president of europe: emmanuel macron�*s race to revive france and save the world". he told me president macron channels russian

history to cultivate his relationship and dialogue with vladimir putin. he established the dialogue with vladimir putin, and he was convinced that it was important to try and pull putin back toward the west weather than see him —— rather than see him fall into china's arms, which macron believed would be geopolitically disastrous for europe. since then, he's maintained this dialogue, and he told me he'll announce that food and being a son of st. petersburg, it is a western oriented leader —— putin. doesn't really seem to be responding, but

macron�*s devoted to this via log. he stopped putin �*s —— he talked of putin 15 times in the last month, and given the isolation of putin these days, he is one of the only leaders that has continuing contact with him. we leaders that has continuing contact with him. ~ ., , ., with him. we saw the leaders at versailles. _ with him. we saw the leaders at versailles, we're _ with him. we saw the leaders at versailles, we're now— with him. we saw the leaders at versailles, we're now looking i with him. we saw the leaders at versailles, we're now looking ati with him. we saw the leaders at - versailles, we're now looking at the images after president macron was elected. does he genuinely think he can change predident putin's mind given where we are with ukraine? he: knows that putin is obsessed with his mark in history, that's why he invited him as his first visitor to versailles. i think he wants to

persuade putin that being the junior partner with china is not what russia really wants, that russia's destiny lies with the west, just as it did with peter the great, whose skin, names that macron invokes to drill down into putin the western orientation that russia's had for much of its history. we orientation that russia's had for much of its history.— orientation that russia's had for much of its history. we know that president putin _ much of its history. we know that president putin was _ much of its history. we know that president putin was able - much of its history. we know that president putin was able to - president putin was able to communicate with chancellor angela merkel, and that helps the relationship. i wonder when it comes to president macron and his relationship with putin whether there is a low sense. how long do you think they will continue with these dialogues —— there is a closeness? these dialogues -- there is a

closeness?— these dialogues -- there is a closeness? ., , , , , , closeness? putin has expressed his admiration towards _ closeness? putin has expressed his admiration towards macron's - admiration towards macron's understanding of history and efforts to understand russia's grievances with the west, and he feels this is a dialogue that he wants to continue pursuing. a dialogue that he wants to continue ursuinu. ,,, ., ~' a dialogue that he wants to continue ursuinu. ,,, ., ~ ., a dialogue that he wants to continue ursuinu. ,, ., ~' ., ., ,., a dialogue that he wants to continue ”ursuin. ,,, ., ~' ., ., ,., ., pursuing. speaking to me about that relationship between _ pursuing. speaking to me about that relationship between president - pursuing. speaking to me about thatj relationship between president putin and president macron. as the strikes continue in ukraine, the human catastrophe grows. the united nations today said two and a half million people had now fled the country, in what they described as a "senseless war". poland has seen the greatest influx of people, now totalling more than a million and a half. our correspondent danjohnson has been speaking to refugees and volunteers in krakow. this is one of the relief centres in krakow in a theatre that's been taken over. there are clothes here, food, there are people sleeping on the floor upstairs as a temporary measure before they're found somewhere to go on to, and julia's one of those people

who escaped ukraine in the last few days. you've been able to sleep here last night, do you know where you'll sleep tonight, after that, in the future? maybe this night, we'll stay also here but in the future, i don't know our future because this is a short stay here. and we'll have a house only in some days, on the 17th of march — that's it. so, you're safe, but it's still uncertain? yes, yes. 0k. thank you, we appreciate your time. this is a huge effort from voluntary groups, from charities, and anna's one of the volunteers in charge here. it's been a phenomenal effort for the last two weeks, so much generosity — people opening up their homes to look after refugees. can that carry on? unfortunately, we cannot carry on like this because poland gave us a big support for all ukrainian people, they host them, they gave them food, they gave them

warm clothes, everything. but it is not enough and poland cannot do it by itself. poland cannot do everything. we need other countries to support us and to help us with relocation for ukrainians. there are all sorts of volunteers here, giving their time and offering goodwill and support for all kinds of reasons. but the pressure's been on for a fortnight and the message is thatjust can't continue indefinitely. danjohnson, bbc news, krakow. earlier, we spoke with dominika pszczolkowska, who is a researcher at the central migration research in warsaw. i asked her how poland is dealing with the great number of ukrainian refugees entering the country. here's what she had to say. the government was obviously late stepping in, but it is stepping in, and i think the most important thing that is happening is a law that is currently going through parliament, which gives

ukrainian citizens the right to reside and work in poland for 18 months, and that can be extended. it also guarantees them access to health care like polish people to various benefits such as the child benefit. and also bilingual classes are being created where ukrainian teachers can teach because we really don't have enough teachers. even before this crisis, there was a shortage of teachers, so ukrainian teachers will be employed in classes that will be taught partly in ukrainian. and i wonder if when when it comes to, of course, we're talking about the children and it's a huge, huge amount of children, but a lot of these people do move on as well, and a lot are absorbed because there is a high ukrainian community. but these particular rules, they're specific to ukrainian nationals. and although ukrainian nationals

are predominantly the largest group coming through coming into countries like poland, there are also the other nationalities that are coming through the students, are coming through — the students, the workers who were in ukraine. what happens to them? yes, unfortunately, the law doesn't cover them so they can receive some what happens to them? yes, unfortunately, the law doesn't cover them so they can receive some immediate aid, you know, food at the border and stay in the shelter, but it is assumed that they will leave and go to their countries of origin or go somewhere else, which, of course, for many people is probably the first thing they wish for. the first thing they wish for, but for some people is not possible. and i see that as a problem of of this law and as a mistakem of of this law and as a mistake, and there's another group which is even larger, we we believe, which is people who have not crossed the borderfrom ukraine directly

to poland. for example, they went through slovakia or moldova, but they have family in poland. so of course, they want to join their families or they already have. but they would not be entitled to to all these things i mentioned, which is, i think, very problematic. i know that now in the senate, there's an amendment to include these people, but very unsure whether that will pass. we'll see. so, yeah, these these two groups, i think, should be included. but in the eyes of the polish government, i guess they were supposed to go elsewhere. pa rt part of the university of warsaw. stay with us on bbc news, still to come... we'll get more on russia's call for foreign fighters — potentially from the middle east — to fight along its troops in ukraine.

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this is bbc world news, the latest headlines. russia has called for foreign volunteers to fight alongside its troops in ukraine, suggesting there were thousands in the middle east ready to join. us officials said these could include fighters from syria, which is a long—standing ally of russia. from moscow, our russia editor steve rosenberg reports. for russia's defence minister, sergei shoygu, it was a busy day. medals for his troops wounded in action. and a video call with the kremlin to announce that 16,000 volunteers from the middle east want to fight for russia in ukraine. "good idea," said the president. translation: if you see that some volunteers would like to come - and help people in the donbas, especially without being paid, then we should meet them halfway

and help them relocate to the war zone. soon after, this. chanting. russian tv showed what it said were pro—russia fighters in syria, ready and willing. they've helped moscow in the syrian war, but what will happen if they fight in ukraine? they'll be very ruthless, and they'll use syrian tactics liberating ukrainian cities by reducing them to rubble. this war is turning into a war of attrition in which russia cannot win because the ukrainians are going to have more supplies, more money coming their way, while the russian financial system is going broke because of sanctions, the russian economy is tanking. vladimir putin has much to reflect on after 16 days of what he calls his "special military operation". the kremlin says that by sending thousands of foreign fighters to ukraine,

it's acting no differently from the ukrainian government, which has also been signing up volunteers. but remember, it was russia that launched this offensive, sending its troops across the border into a sovereign nation. moscow seems determined to secure a military victory. but at what cost to the russian people? in moscow today, more queues, more western shops closing, more economic pain from sanctions. for some, the priority now is buying an air ticket out of here. but president putin insists his country will get through this. when he met the leader of belarus, vladimir putin said, in the past, sanctions had made russia stronger. from the kremlin leader, no hint of regret. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow.

he specialises in middle eastern studies and told me more about the likelihood of syrian volunteersjoining president putin's campaign. i think there is a lot of hype and propaganda involved, and we should be careful about accepting at face value that there are 16,000 foreigners who would like to volunteer and join the russian war in ukraine. at most, we are talking about hundreds as opposed to 16,000 the russian defence minister mentioned. defence minister mentioned. you're revising the numbers we're hearing from the kremlin, but the likelihood they will come, where are they coming from? most of them probablly, from syria, the russian military intervention

most of them probably, from syria, the russian military intervention in 2015 in syria was a watershed. president assad would not have survived without the military intervention by the russians, so there is a great deal of support for russia in syria. what we need to tell our audience, your audience is that it is interesting that a few days ago, the ukrainian president said there were 17,000, 16,000 foreigners volunteered for the cause, called them the international legion and today the russian defence called them the international legion, and today, defence minister mentioned the exact number — 16,000 foreign volunteers to join the russian campaign.

what i'm trying to say, there is an information and propaganda war, and in syria, probably, the russian might be able to get a few hundred fighters particularly from the syrian military. it's ironic there are reports in the syrian military and by the president assad's followers, calling for volunteers tojoin the russian campaign in ukraine, but this is the beginning. there is no credible information talking about thousands of potential volunteers in syria joining the campaign so far. hospital —ish and middle eastern studies at the london school of eastern economics —— specialist. in towns and cities across ukraine, military funerals are now a daily occurrence. this country's regular armed forces — its soldiers, sailors and airforce — have beenjoined by volunteers, men and women who three weeks ago had never picked up a weapon, but who are now fighting and dying in defence of their land. fergal keane was at the ceremony. sung prayers, weeping.

the dead are returning... ..to homes far from the battlefield. today, they buried dmitro kabakov, 59, andrei stefanushin, 40, taras diduk, aged 25. for all the solidarity of crowds... ..this grief is solitary. prayers continue. each loss individual. forfamilies. for comrades.

prayers continue. singing. ukraine's dead in this war are full—timers, reservists, and conscripts. andrei stefanushin was a permanent soldier, married, with a three—year—old daughter. jaroslav is a friend from when they worked on the railways together. translation: we kept in touch, talked. - he was a great guy. god takes away the best from us.

these men had plans. taras diduk had a girlfriend. he was godfather to a friend's daughter. translation: he was brave. he said, "mama, who is going to protect you, if not me?" i know how he was. i can't praise my child, but for me, he was the best. a mother grieving a dead son — war�*s eternal story. fergal keane, bbc news, lviv. fergal keane has spent much of the last week with people fleeing ukraine from lviv train station, and you can see his our world documentary "platform 5: escaping ukraine" on world news at 2330gmt friday and if you're in the uk, on bbc two at 23:15 tonight and afterwards on iplayer.

the devastating scenes of people. good evening. well, the weekend is almost upon us now, and the weather's looking a little bit mixed over the next few days. it's been turning increasingly unsettled through the day on friday. this was the picture in cornwall during the afternoon. so, a bit of sunshine, some big shower clouds around as well, and we will continue to see that mix of sunshine and showers through the course of the weekend. we've got one weather front which is clearing off towards the north—east, another one following in its wake and then another area of low pressure approaching from the atlantic. so, low pressure in charge over the next couple of days. plenty of showers, lots of cloud around across much of the uk through the course of tonight. fairly breezy, too, especially up towards the northern isles and for southern england. so, temperatures 6—7 degrees for most of us, a little bit cooler for northern ireland with lighter winds and clearer skies here. could be some misty patches, in fact, to start off your day on saturday. but after a fairly cloudy, drizzly start for most areas,

there is some sunshine developing in the south. sunny spells for much of southern england up towards northern ireland as well before the next area of wet, windy weather arrives from the south—west later on. temperatures about 9—13 degrees for most of us, a little bit cooler where the showers persist for the north of scotland. but let's concentrate on the wind gusts for south—west england and south wales, 50 to perhaps 60 mph gusts later on on saturday afternoon during the evening, so some really windy weather developing as we move through saturday night and on into sunday. the winds progressing more widely across the uk as we start the second half of the weekend. so, sunday morning, again it's looking frost—free, it is looking cloudy, breezy and damp from the word go. so, outbreaks of rain with us on sunday. as you can see, low pressure is in charge, lots of isobars on the map, so another windy spell of weather, particularly windy closer to that area of low pressure. around some of these irish sea coasts, gales developing with gusts of 50—60 mph, but breezy wherever you are. and you can see a mix of some showery rain, but some sunny spells developing as well, especially later in the day.

top temperatures a little bit cooler than recent days, between about 8—12 degrees and feeling cooler in the breeze. but there will be some sunshine in between those showers as well. these are the gusts we're expecting, though, 50—60 mph through some of these irish sea coasts, the likes of pembrokshire up towards northern ireland. for instance, the isle of man looking very windy, but wherever you are, you'll notice that breeze. and looking ahead into next week, and higher pressure builds, so not completely dry, but it's looking drier and brighter. we could see temperatures in the south up to about 18 degrees by wednesday. bye— bye.

this is bbc world news, the headlines russia has broadened its attack on ukraine — hitting more cities. an airstrike on the central eastern city of dnipro has hit a nursery, an apartment block and a shoe factory. meanwhile at the un in new york, russia has claimed — without providing evidence — that there's a biological weapons programme, inside ukraine. the un's disarmament chief said there was no evidence for such allegations. european union leaders have metjust outside paris to discuss introducing tougher sanctions on russia. they also addressed further ways of stopping the eu's reliance on russian food and energy supplies. russian prosecutors have called for a ban on facebook�*s parent company, meta, after it changed its rules

to allow violent speech in response to the invasion.