this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm ben brown. our top stories: russian strikes cause more damage near the ukrainian capital kyiv — as forces push into new areas across the country. ukraine's president remains defiant. 100% i am confident that we will win, there will be a victory, but 100% we don't really know when it happens. residents of the city of melitopol — which is under russian control — have reportedly come out to protest against the alleged abduction of the mayor by russian forces. ukraine says it hopes a number of humanitarian corridors from the besieged city of mariupol will open up — and accuses russia

of blocking supplies. meanwhile, the international diplomacy continues — the french and german leaders spend more than an hour talking by phone with vladimir putin. the russian defence minister says 16,000 fighters from the middle east have volunteered to fight with the russian army in ukraine. and it's now estimated more than 2.5 million people have escaped the war in ukraine. furtherfighting has been taking place outside the ukrainian capital, kyiv, where russian forces are around 15 miles from the centre of the city. british military intelligence believes those russian troops have been regrouping, possibly for a fresh offensive in the coming days.

a military airfield was destroyed this morning near kyiv. the latest information about russian positions is shown here in red. outside the capital, the cities of chernihiv, sumy, kharkiv and mariupol continue to be shelled. earlier, president zelensky has said russian and ukrainian negotiating teams have started discussing what he called �*concrete topics rather than exchanging ultimatums�*. meanwhile, the french president emmanuel macron and germany's 0laf scholz have held talks with president putin. the german governement says western leaders called for an immediate ceasefire in ukraine. the discussions were said to have taken at least 75 minutes. here's our security correspondent, frank gardner. a direct hit on a russian armoured column as it advances on the capital, kyiv. western supplied anti—tank weapons have slowed the russian advance but they haven't stopped it. now the population is bracing for the worst.

translation: it is unsafe to stay the night at home. | the windows are shaking. i dropped by my place just to feed the cat. it's actually why i came to the shop here, also for some bread. i will cook some pasta at home and we will go back to the basement, the temporary shelter. it is very scary in our temporary shelter. russian forces are moving to encircle kyiv in a pincer movement. if they can't take the capital, they cannot win this war, so they are likely to be throwing everything at it. missile and artillery strikes continue to hit other targets throughout much of the country. this was a ukrainian military airbase at vasylkiv. this is what remains of the library in chernihiv after overnight shelling. here, the aftermath of a mortar attack on the outskirts of kyiv. close to half of the city's population has already fled. those that remain are either putting up final defences or hunkering down in shelters.

in the southern city of melitopol, the mayor was one of those vowing never to surrender to the invaders. but russian forces prevailed and this cctv footage shows him being abducted by russian soldiers with a bag over his head, prompting outrage from the president. translation: it is a democraticl world here, therefore the capture of the mayor of melitopol is a crime not only against a particular person, not only against a particular community and not only against ukraine. this is a crime against democracy. i assure you, 100% of people in all democracies know this, the actions of the russian invaders will be equated with the actions of isis terrorists. russian rockets and artillery are wreaking a terrible toll on ukraine's infrastructure and its civilian population. just three weeks ago, kharkiv was a thriving european city. now encircled and pummelled by artillery, much of it is

a dystopian wasteland. calls for a ceasefire have met with a simple answerfrom the kremlin — stop resisting, give in to our demands and the war will end. frank gardner, bbc news. i'm joined now by bethany bell in berlin — what more do we know? about those talks today with earl of schultz, emmanuel macron and president putin of russia? the german president putin of russia? tue german government president putin of russia? tte german government spokesperson president putin of russia? ttj: german government spokesperson said these calls were about the ongoing international efforts to try and bring about an end to the war in ukraine. he said that president macron and chancellor schultz had called for an immediate ceasefire and then four steps to be taken to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict. the german spokesperson said they had agreed not to release

any more details about the substance of the conversation. we understand from french sources that it was a difficult discussion and that president putin did not show any willingness to bring about an end to the conflict, and it is interesting that the kremlin�*s readout of the call, no mention of a ceasefire was made which gives you a sense of the distance between the sides at the moment. i think the feeling certainly here in berlin is that they feel it is important to keep open the channels of communication with president putin and also, the chancellor 0laf schultz is keeping ties, close contacts with the ukrainians. he had a call today with president zelensky about the situation and promised he would stay very close contact with him. thank ou ve very close contact with him. thank you very much- — well, as we've been hearing, the ukrainian president, volodymyr zelensky, has said russian

and ukrainian negotiating teams have started discussing concrete topics rather than just exchanging ultimatums. his comments came in a question and answer session in kyiv in the past couple of hours. let's take a listen. translation: 10096 i am confident that we will - win, there will be a victory but 100% we don't know when exactly it happens. 0ur diplomats are working and they talk over some items of a possible agenda between us and the russian federation. i want it to materialise and want it to be practically, started practically, the process of ending the war, the process of peace. indeed, 100% we should start with a ceasefire and it will give an opportunity to do block humanitarian issues, evacuating

people and also delivering medication, food, water, things we have discussed. this is a correct human signal where the end of war starts, would start in all military conflicts and times, even when there was an uncivilised war and we are discussing the processes to finish the war. despite their success in repelling russian attacks against kyiv, ukrainian commanders say russia seems to preparing for a large scale assault. 0ur kyiv correspondent james waterhouse has been assessing russia's buildup of the capital's outskirts. if you ask uk defence officials, they are thought to be more

than ten miles away. we do know there is heavy fighting a half—hour drive from here in a north—westerly direction, around the towns there. some people are able to get out but it is the spreading out of that armoured convoy which is adding to worries that russia is preparing to mount a much larger attack on the capital, but one of many things which is hard to compute in this conflict is what is going to happen next. of course we are seeing a continuation of cities being surrounded, certainly with kharkiv in the east and mariupol in the south—east where conditions are increasingly desperate for people there, but it is not clear what russia is planning for the capital. it is obviously its ultimate prize in this so—called special military operation but there is speculation, would vladimir putin really want to bombard the city? it is of course already happening in residential areas on the outskirts. we have had the cocktail of sounds

of roadworks in the middle of the city as council workers get to work, against the backdrop of continuous explosions in the north—west where there is the most intense fighting. we have seen a factory in the east of the city being hit by a missile but it doesn't quite add up what happens after that. of course, vladimir putin, whether he wants to put in a puppet government or whatever should happen should ukraine fall, it doesn't quite make sense what is planned for the capital. of course people are fearing the worst but the uncertainty continues. more than 2.5 million people have now fled ukraine and the humanitarian situation is stretching resources to the limit in several countries. at least a million and a half of the refugees have made their way to poland. 0ur correspondent danjohnson gave us this update from krakow.

it has been such a relentless wave of people coming and it has been a really strong welcome and a big effort from local organisations and authorities, but there is the fear they cannot keep that going indefinitely. you can see how many people are queueing here, trying to get accommodation for the night. there is a real turnover, people keep moving through, the faces keep changing, but it is a scene that keeps repeating because so many people are arriving and we are three hours from the border here but this is still a main focal point, a real staging post on that migration route. there are posters up on the walls here suggesting people make their way to some smaller polish cities where pressure at the moment is less, but the overriding message is they need more international help, more support from other countries to move ukrainian women and children in the main to other places but you can understand why they are reluctant to move because they are hopeful to go home one day and don't want to go

on to other countries further away. there are volunteers here from across europe. let's grab a quick word from robert, from the netherlands. tell us why you came. we are here with some friends and they were asking us to help bring people to families in the netherlands. that is a long way away. 12,1,300 kilometres. we are waiting for two more people and we will drive back. what could they expect when they arrive? these are families and they have families with space to give them temporary place to live. is it a long—term option? no idea but in the netherlands they can stay for two years at least and work, so there is no visas necessary.

how is it practically working out? are you trying to pluck people from the crowd? yes. some people do know where they want to go. if they have friends or relatives in the netherlands yes. many people don't know where they are going to, many want to stay in case the war will end. it is quite chaotic here. do you feel you are able to make a bit of a difference? you never know until you do the right thing. if nobody steps up, then nobody gets help, but we hope we do the best. that is the sentiment from quite a few people, really impressive effort on the ground here but you could certainly be more efficient if it was better coordinated and the warning is itjust cannot sustain the ongoing pressure indefinitely. the russian defence minister has said that 16,000 fighters from the middle east have volunteered to fight with the russian army in ukraine.

if they do take up weapons there, it won't be the first time russia has actively engaged in recruiting what many people consider mercenaries. hanan razek has the story. syrian fighters that reportedly want to go and fight in ukraine alongside the russian troops. and a warm welcome from the kremlin that says it has received more than 16,000 applications from middle eastern fighters. but the bbc has learned that russian mercenary fighters are already in ukraine. first seen supporting separatists in ukraine in 2014, the russian wagner group has been infamous for operating mercenaries in other countries, including syria and libya. 0ne wagner fighter told us about his involvement in the current invasion. his words have been voiced by an actor.

during the first days of the invasion, i was involved in a successful operation... there have been reports that there are around 400 wagner fighters in ukraine. a sign of desperation. it allows the russian government to keep the death toll down because they are not going to report the deaths of mercenaries within ukraine, nor are they going to report the deaths of syrians who may have gone over to volunteer to essentially serve as foreign fighters on behalf of vladimir putin. we understand from mercenary sources the recruitment was first carried out weeks before the invasion by russian military intelligence. we have been told they are being trained near this military base in southern russia. we have asked the russian ministry of defence about this and they have not responded yet. we have learnt that recruitment

is taking place on a private telegram group used by mercenaries. there have been invitations to what's called a picnic to taste pork fat, a popular dish in ukraine. the message appeals to those with mortgages, debts, or those who have been banned from mercenary groups to apply. the brand has changed. 0k? if you really think about it, for the last five or six years now we have been hearing more and more about the wagner group's human rights abuses in places like syria, libya, central african republic. moscow has always denied always denied any ties with mercenary groups but the worry is that the involvement of mercenaries might deteriorate the humanitarian situation even further. hanan razek, bbc news. an economic advisor

to ukraine's president says he is "shocked and disappointed" that the uk is still accepting russian oil and diesel. the business secretary, kwasi kwarteng, announced earlier this week that the uk would phase out imports of russian oil by the end of the year. our business correspondent, simon browning is here. some frustration in the ukrainian government about what it perceives as the slowness of the sanctions of. that's right. the ukrainian government said they were shocked had a sense of disabilities disbelief when they found out a tanker containing russian diesel this coming to london. and the fact that uk companies are buying russian oil and gas for the uk economy. we have seen this by the uk government, the eu and us, and the uk will stop importing russian oil and gas from

the end of december but the uk's energy mix is complex and it is difficult to just remove russian oil and gas immediately. so this tanker arrived into the uk this morning. i spoke to an economic adviser to president zelensky who explain some of his disappointment that it had arrived. t of his disappointment that it had arrived. . , ~ of his disappointment that it had arrived. . , ., arrived. i am shocked and disappointed _ arrived. i am shocked and disappointed beyond - arrived. i am shocked and l disappointed beyond words arrived. i am shocked and - disappointed beyond words that britain — disappointed beyond words that britain allowed this to happen. the united _ britain allowed this to happen. the united kingdom, the british people are on_ united kingdom, the british people are on our— united kingdom, the british people are on our side and that is why i am asking _ are on our side and that is why i am asking the — are on our side and that is why i am asking the british people to put pressure — asking the british people to put pressure on those businesses still continuing — pressure on those businesses still continuing to buy russian energy resources, — continuing to buy russian energy resources, which is coming to the uk film resources, which is coming to the uk right now _ resources, which is coming to the uk riaht now. .. right now. highlighting the fact that the oil— right now. highlighting the fact that the oil has _ right now. highlighting the fact that the oil has a _ right now. highlighting the fact that the oil has a right - right now. highlighting the fact that the oil has a right into - right now. highlighting the fact that the oil has a right into the| right now. highlighting the fact i that the oil has a right into the uk this morning. it is important to save the company that has all the

oil into the uk has not broken any sanctions. the oil arrived on a ship that was flagged in the marshall islands, it has not broken any sanctions. 0n islands, it has not broken any sanctions. on its arrival into the united kingdom, we can still buy the oil and gas. the uk government said earlier this week that we will stop being able to buy oil and gas from russia by the end of this year but it is slowly being phased out as the government fully evaluates the energy mix and what we used to produce petrol and diesel in our cars. ., ., ., , ., cars. you mentioned the european union and united _ cars. you mentioned the european union and united states. - cars. you mentioned the european union and united states. what - cars. you mentioned the european union and united states. what is i cars. you mentioned the european i union and united states. what is the bigger global position sanctions on russian energy supplies? there have been a of discussions _ russian energy supplies? there have been a of discussions this _ russian energy supplies? there have been a of discussions this week - russian energy supplies? there have been a of discussions this week on i been a of discussions this week on russian gas and how we can stop importing oil and gas from russia to help you to lead his economy in the most difficult way. the us has immediately stopped bringing in russian energy products as part of its energy mix into the united states. the uk has a much smaller exposure to russian energy, we bring

in about 8% of our gas from russia and about 4%, sorry, 8% of and 4% of natural gas. by the end of 2022. bringing those products is a uk government and the department of business looks to change the energy mix and bring in supplies from other countries like the united arab emirates and the netherlands. the eu is much more reliant on russian gas and oil. 40% of gas comes from russia and 30% of oil. it is an enormous challenge for the eu to fight new supplies to fill those quotas. there was a meeting of eu leaders in versailles. the finnish prime minister said they need immediate change. just prime minister said they need immediate change. prime minister said they need immediate chance, , , , ., immediate change. just briefly, what is all this doing _ immediate change. just briefly, what is all this doing to _ immediate change. just briefly, what is all this doing to global _ immediate change. just briefly, what is all this doing to global energy - is all this doing to global energy prices?

is all this doing to global energy rices? , . , is all this doing to global energy rices? , , prices? upwards, upwards. here in the uk we have _ prices? upwards, upwards. here in the uk we have never— prices? upwards, upwards. here in the uk we have never seen - prices? upwards, upwards. here in the uk we have never seen petrol i prices? upwards, upwards. here in i the uk we have never seen petrol and diesel prices where they are at the moment. more than 1.6 a litre for petrol. joe biden spoke in the week how difficult this was for us drivers. huge problems on forecourts. big changes everywhere. thank you. the premier league here in england has disqualified chelsea owner roman abramovich from being a director of the club after the oligarch was sanctioned. let's get the latest on this. tell us more about today's decision by the premier league. ther;r us more about today's decision by the premier league.— the premier league. they have decided to _ the premier league. they have decided to disqualify _ the premier league. they have decided to disqualify him - the premier league. they have decided to disqualify him as . the premier league. they have decided to disqualify him as a i decided to disqualify him as a director and decided to disqualify him as a directorand in decided to disqualify him as a director and in real terms it doesn't make a difference because obviously, abramovich was not involved in the club any more, he has given it away to the charitable arm of chelsea but what it would

ordinarily leave when a director is disqualified, it would ordinarily trigger the sale of the club. the club would then be to someone who isn't going to be disqualified. 0f isn't going to be disqualified. of course abramovich is already trying to sell chelsea. he does want to sell chelsea and his advisers are negotiating with the government, they are also looking to various bidders to see who wants to potentially buy the club. the government are saying they are open to a scent of the club and they would consider an application for a licence to allow that to happen but they are saying, we are clear that any such license would not allow roman abramovich to benefit from the sale. there are not any further forward really but again it highlights this does need to be sorted out because chelsea are still trying to play football, they have a match tomorrow at home to newcastle and something needs to be done because they are in quite a tricky position. they are not allowed to make any money, the assets of abramovich have been frozen which

put restrictions on devices that chelsea is working under, which have been tweaked, but something does need to move here, someone needs to get these negotiations to move forward so that either the club is sold for something else is sorted out. ~ ., , , ., , ., sold for something else is sorted out. , ,., ,., .,, out. worrying times for chelsea fans in particular- — out. worrying times for chelsea fans in particular. tell— out. worrying times for chelsea fans in particular. tell us _ out. worrying times for chelsea fans in particular. tell us more, - out. worrying times for chelsea fans in particular. tell us more, this - in particular. tell us more, this new operating licence for the club from the government. give us more detail about that.— from the government. give us more detail about that. what has happened is, it looks like _ detail about that. what has happened is, it looks like the _ detail about that. what has happened is, it looks like the government - is, it looks like the government have tweaked the restriction. the restrictions did say they could only spend £500,000 on home game expenditure, that has been now increased to £900,000 and they can also receive prize money this season. but as i say, we are getting to the business end of the season, chelsea need to secure at least a champions league or some sort of european qualification, they are currently third in the table, and they are going to need to move players around with the transfer

window opens. there are talks to manager thomas tuchel could be snapped up by another club like manchester united who currently have a caretaker manager. something needs to be done. chelsea fans are worried. at the moment day to day, chelsea is kind of moving along and they have a match tomorrow, so they are not in any great danger right now but something needs to be done in the near future to secure chelsea football clubs permanent future. thank you. the west�*s crackdown on some of the oligarchs linked to president putin is continuing — italy's financial police say they have seized the yacht of the russian billionaire andre melnichenko. this is it — moored in the port of trieste. it's one of the largest yachts in the world and reportedly worth almost $600 million. mr melnichencko, who owns a coal mining company, and the fertiliser producer eurochem, was sanctioned by the european union on march 9th. officials in moscow are warning that western

sanctions could cause the international space station to crash. they believe the measures could disrupt the operations of russian vessels servicing the iss. the russian section of the station weighs 500—tonnes and helps correct its orbit. let's just share with you some of the footage filmed by the reuters news agency in kyiv, shortly after dawn on saturday. gunfire. you can hear what appears to be gunshots and firing in the distance. it's not clear who is shooting, nor who they may be firing at — but it's perhaps the first time gunshots have been so audible in the centre of kyiv since the russian invasion began. just the latest snapshot of the

scene and the sound is there in the ukrainian capital. you are watching bbc news. for these surfers in devon through the morning of the waters were a little choppy but actually it was a calm start to the weekend. also a lot of early sunshine around. the picture across the south—west of england is changing quite dramatically at the moment as this area of low pressure is approaching. cloud pushing in, wetter weather and they went strengthening. elsewhere, some sunshine to take us through the afternoon, increasingly so for scotland as this area of low pressure pulse northwards. this alone come into the south—west will mean some particularly strong winds for devon and cornwall on in into the early evening and especially around the coasts. gusts up to 60 mph. wet weather as well to take us

through the evening, the rain extending across whales as the evening goes on, eventually flinching into northern ireland and ending the night pushing into southern and western scotland. he areas will remain largely dry through the small hours and to the west, skies will clear behind this main band of rain but the showers will follow on, stirred up by the low pressure centre. for sunday perhaps our biggest question will be how quickly this weather front will peer from eastern areas, how quickly this weather front will peerfrom eastern areas, so how quickly things will brighten up and health potency showers courtesy of this area of low pressure will be across the uk through the course of the day. across eastern regions we will start the day with quite a bit of cloud, light rain and it should get brighterfor the of cloud, light rain and it should get brighter for the afternoon. shopper showers firing in from the west across england and wales, and for western scotland and northern ireland. a blustery story, gusts of wind protected around the irish sea coast bounce 50 or 60 mph. temperatures 11 or 12 should just about cover it. into the week ahead

and actually it is quite a lot of their weather to come. but to stay positive wednesday. monday some questions about how heavy this rain across northern england and scotland will be. the chance it could break up will be. the chance it could break up to be something more shallow reef, and brighter spells but occasional heavy downpours. driest on monday for northern ireland and england and wales. but then as we look further on, quite a lot of fine weather for the look further on, quite a lot of fine weatherfor the uk as look further on, quite a lot of fine weather for the uk as a whole. with the exclusion of wednesday when most of us will see some rain at some stage.

0ne composite delivered hundred percent confident. one composite delivered hundred percent confident.— one composite delivered hundred percent confident. residents of the ci have percent confident. residents of the city have come _ percent confident. residents of the city have come out _ percent confident. residents of the city have come out to _ percent confident. residents of the city have come out to protest - city have come out to protest against the alleged abduction of the mayor by russian forces. ukraine says it hopes a number of humanitarian corridors from the besieged city of mauripol will open up besieged city of mauripol will open up and it accuses russia of blocking

supplies. the french presidency has released more information about what was said during a 90 minute conversation with persistent putin and the french and german leaders. the statement said mr putin did not shower any willingness to end the war. now it is time for dateline london. hello and welcome the programme which brings together bbc specialists and the foreign correspondents, who write, blog and broadcast to audiences back home from the dateline: london. this week: two weeks oil and gas exports from russiae xport what are those in the middle

east to depend on it? controls on wheat etc.