this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm david eades. our top stories: a missile attack on a ukrainian military training base close to the polish border kills at least 35 people — the local mayor is defiant: translation: they can bomb us, but they will never be able - to break ukrainian spirit. they will never be rulers at our land. ukraine's president zelensky visits injured troops. the country says it's lost 1300 soldiers in battle. and "stop this massacre". the words of pope francis who's made an impassioned plea for an end to the violence.

the ukrainian president, volodymyr zelensky, has again urged nato to impose a no—fly zone over his country. he made the plea after a russian missile attack on a ukrainian base near the polish border left 35 people dead. he warned that otherwise it would be only a matter of time before russia targeted member states of the alliance. the base, which was previously used for joint exercises and training with nato is located at yavoriv — just a short drive from the polish border. it's a shift in focus by russian forces and brings the conflict to the door—step of a nato member. russian forces already control areas in the north, south and east, shown here in red. our special correspondent, fergal keane, has the latest.

the war has come west, and brutally. this is the russian world, a soldier says. dozens were killed here by russian missiles in the early hours of the morning. it comes after russian warnings that they'd strike against weapons shipments coming from the west. these servicemen among the dozens injured during the attack. they were still recovering the injured and dead as we drove into the town, air raid sirens sounding again over local radio. it was a huge... huge bomb, you know, sound in the morning, and we saw here the fire. it was very scary. the mayor called an urgent news conference.

what's the feeling of the town now after this has happened? translation: they can bomb us, but they will never be able - to break ukrainian spirit. they will never be rulers at our land. they will all return back home in coffins. cameras were kept away from the scene, but last january, the bbc filmed at the base. british troops were training ukrainian forces in the use of anti—tank weapons. now, in the east, those missiles are being used against russian armour, as this ukrainian soldier explained. this one was shot from this beautiful thing, and i want to say a big thank you to our british comrades that are helping us. back in western ukraine, people's sense of security

is shaken by the russian attack. here, heading for an air raid shelter amid fresh alarms. translation: before, - it was something we only saw in the media but, finally, it has affected us as well here, as sad as that may sound. the attack here in the west is an escalation, but it's not a surprise. it's weapons coming across the borderfrom poland that have helped ukraine to mount a stiff resistance, and this is a signal from russia that it intends to expand its campaign and to try and stop the shipment of those weapons. fergal keane, bbc news, near yavoriv military base. ukraine says it's lost 1,300 soldiers since russia began its invasion 18 days ago. our international correspondent 0rla guerin, sent us the latest from kyiv — and a warning, her report contains some distressing images. "i wish you health," he says.

ukraine's wartime leader visiting wounded troops in a military hospital. he makes time for a morale—boosting selfie. before handing out medals for valour. every day now, more casualties of europe's newest war. these soldiers were injured this morning in battlefields on the outskirts of the capital. his wounds are painful, not life—threatening, but the losses here are growing. ukraine says about 1,300 of its soldiers have been killed. sergiy shows me his country's coat of arms, always close to his heart. he was a farmer before russia invaded. now, minus a finger, he intends to go straight back to the fight.

"the russians will not take kyiv," he says. "if they take it, they will have to raze it to the ground. "we are ready to fight until victory." and from his hospital bed, he thanks borisjohnson and britain, which he says is helping ukraine a lot. doctors here are treating the patients while struggling themselves. it's horrible to see them like this, especially from a nation that called brothers. we don't. we can't understand this, why it's happened here. so these people are very peaceful and want to live, only to live. but how to live in a capital under threat?

the streets are ready for battle. so are many of the people. behind every tree, molotov cocktails. this is a very normal neighbourhood in kyiv, and this is what you have here now. the shell of a bus being used as a barricade, sandbags, a gas canister. all of this has been brought here by local people to defend their own streets. they say they don't believe the russians will get this far, but they intend to be readyjust in case. yuri took up a gun and abandoned his business. and i wanted to say to the russians that all the streets, all these houses, entrances, roofs, basements, will be obstacles we will ambush for them, and kyiv will be the total cemetery for them. only thing they will receive, it will be the mass grave for them.

but this mass grave, outside kyiv, was for ukrainians killed during russia's bombardment of the town of bucha. the authorities say 67 civilians were buried here. no prayers, no dignity. in the europe of today, it has come to this. 0rla guerin, bbc news, kyiv. with russia's targets widening, people in many parts of southern and eastern ukraine fear they will be next. 0ur eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford is in the country's fourth largest city, dnipro and reports on the attacks in the region. mariupol is under fire, civilians being killed every day, but russia's war with no cause has many fronts. these are the ruins

of eastern ukraine now — the region vladimir putin claims he is liberating. so the city of dnipro is braced for when russia shifts its focus north. new recruits preparing to defend their land and their families, however uneven the fight. i am ready. marina signed up on day one of this war, an it worker who tells me she cannot forgive russia for what it is doing here. we are very angry, the whole nation, but we don't fear. 0ur fear was that putin can start the war, but it's already happened! so i just don't want to waste my time and my powers for fear. ukraine's defiance is on display right across this region. you don't have to speak russian to get the point of these posters, but i don't tell you that this is

a not—very—polite way of telling russians to get lost. if vladimir putin expected his troops to be met here as liberators, then signs like this all along the roads here are sending a very different message. speaks ukrainian. there's protest poetry, too. 0leksandr writes it in ukrainian on principle now, though he grew up speaking russian, like most here. 0ur neighbour, who told that he was a brother, he came here with war because he don't want us to live by our rules. there's proof of that spirit of resistance all around here, from housewives and pensioners weaving camouflage nets for the troops to fashion designers sewing balaclavas and thermals for soldiers.

because, for ukrainians, this war is personal. marina's son is a soldier, just wounded in a mortar attack. translation: i very rarely cry but now, i want us to have - enough strength to be able to fight to the end, for our country to be free. they want that in kherson, too — so much that crowds dare to confront russian troops every day. gunfire. but it's a defiance that could so easily be deadly. sarah rainsford, bbc news, dnipro. pope francis has made an impassioned plea for an end to what he called a "massacre" in ukraine. addressing pilgrims in saint peter's square, he described russia's invasion as an unacceptable armed aggression. translation: in the name | of god, let the cries of those who suffer be heard and let the bombings and attacks cease. let there be real and decisive progress towards negotiation and let the humanitarian corridors be made effective and safe. in the name of god, i ask

you to stop the massacre. injusta injust a moment in just a moment we will get some more for you. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: 0n the baftas red carpet, benedict cumberbatch reveals he hopes to give a home to a ukrainian refugee. today, we have closed the book on apartheid and that chapter. more than 3,000 subway passengers were affected. nausea, bleeding, headaches and a dimming of vision — all of this caused by an apparently organised attack.

the trophy itself was on the pedestal in the middle of the cabinet here. now, this was an international trophy and we understand now that the search for it has become an international search. above all, this was a triumph for the christian democrats of the west, offering reunification as quickly as possible, and that's what the voters wanted. this is bbc world news. the main story this hour: a russian missile attack on a military training base in ukraine kills at least 35 people and injures more than 100. the us secretary of state

antony blinken has held talks with his ukrainian counterpart in the last few hours, looking for any possible diplomatic route to ending the war. so, is a diplomatic settlement even possible? that's the question i put to jeffrey sachs, professor at columbia university. we should remember the war strategist von clausewitz, who defined war as politics with other means. the russians are engaged in politics as part of this. in this horrific way, they have aims — political aims. they've actually stated those political aims very clearly — the neutrality of ukraine, crimea going to russia permanently and juridically, and the independence of two eastern regions — luhansk and donetsk. well, those may not be the outcomes, but they are positions for negotiation.

to my mind, they are a basis for real negotiation and forfinding a diplomatic solution. crosstalk. i do not think there is a military solution for ukraine. yeah, are you saying ukraine would need to accept that it would — its future lies in a neutral position, then? it cannot be a member of nato — maybe it cannot be a member of the eu, because that certainly wouldn't feel like it's on president zelensky�*s cards. i think ukraine will not be a member of nato — in fact, nato leaders know this, which makes this all terribly sad and tragic, in fact, because that so—called future membership of ukraine, in private, is absolutely rejected by many nato countries and it's disdained in general. crosstalk. now, the fact of the matter is basic. look at a map.

from russia's point of view, that is a dire security threat and i believe that it was a mistake ever to have offered the idea of nato enlargement to ukraine, which was made by george bushjunior in 2008, really to the shock and dismay of a lot of european leaders at the time. this is also very well—known. yes, that is well known. the fact — the fact... jeffrey, sorry, ijust want to — hold on, because... sure. the danger of this, obviously from a nato perspective, is that you are saying to any other country, of course, "we can no longer say whether or not we're going to you in — it depends on circumstances beyond our control" and in a sense, that is the root of nato's offering, is that a sovereign state has a choice and basically, this is the moment at which that thread is broken? what a strange idea, that the united states' alliance has the right or the ability to be anywhere

in the world that it wants! it's not prudent! it is utterly provocative! it's a big mistake! the views of professor jeffrey sachs. 2.7 million people have so far fled the war in ukraine. nearly 1.7 million people have crossed into poland. mark lowen sent this report from zamosc, where people in the town are working hard to provide refugees with accommodation, food and some semblance of a normal life. for the children of war, open arms are mightier than the fist. young ukrainians eased into life in poland with a karate class — joy to distract from trauma. a lesson that the greatest strength comes from peace. my father may be fighting, i don't know.

i don't have a message from him. dari hasn't heard from his dad for three days. the emotions make it hard to feel settled here. in poland, it's very cool here, but we want to go back home because home is home. when we are in these activities like a karate class or something else, we forget about war at the moment. but when it ends, we rememberagain and we understand we must do all what we can do to help our people in ukraine. the class is zamosc, in the area where the world heritage beauty is a far cry from the border. but the town knows suffering. half its pre—war population werejewish, most killed. and while the mayor says echoes of the street make locals welcoming, it has its limits. translation: polish people seem infinitely ready to give, _ but it will end one day. we thought we would get support from the government and the eu,

but we were left alone. we need financial help or the quality of our hospitality will drop drastically. this ukrainian borscht for ukrainians. for now, a welcome as warm as the cooking, for all the food in this restaurant is given to the refugees. 0rders have become donations. but the owner says it's running out of cash. it's nice to see this. i can't believe that the polish people can do it like this. how long can you continue doing this for? i think from this day, it will be at maximum two weeks. delivered to the reception centre feeling the strain of the influx. new arrivals sorting new lives but encouraged to move on elsewhere to relieve this choke point. in the space of a fortnight, small towns have become refugee hubs. up to 5,000 are arriving here every day. and the authorities fear they lack the resources and supplies needed to sustain this for weeks or even months in what's already become the biggest movement

of refugees since the second world war. 0ne polish town of so many transformed in two weeks. wondering how many will come tomorrow and how long it can cope. mark lowen, bbc news, zamosc. here in the uk, people are to be offered £350 — so $455 or so — a month to take in ukrainians who've fled the war. the scheme, starting this week, will allow people to give refugees somewhere to live, including those who have no ties to the uk. here's our political correspondent iain watson. stand with ukraine. at this demonstration outside downing street, there are calls for more weapons to be sent to ukraine and more help for those fleeing in the conflict. i would definitely like to see more government support but also i do understand the case, a lot of ukrainian neighbours are doing lot to also help. i think there should be more helpful— i think there should be more helpful people from ukraine

coming _ helpful people from ukraine coming here. —— i think there should be more help for people from ukraine coming here. and soon, you will be able to help on your own doorstep. the government is launching a scheme this week which will pay you £350 a month to offer a ukrainian refugee orfamily in a room in your home or any other property you may own for the next six months. it's the fastest way we can get people out of danger into the united kingdom and it is the case already, whether it's through social media platforms or whether it's through charity or civil society that those are being made. john sutherland has been preparing his home for ukrainian refugees. i try to make them feel welcome and their life not stressful. more than 2 million people have fled ukraine, and the government expects tens of thousands to come here as part of the new scheme. those who pass security checks

can stay here for three years and have access to public services. but there is pressure to do more. the government says it intends to extend the scheme to allow charities, churches and other organisations to bring more refugees from ukraine. but some conservative mps ahve been pressing their own government to take a more generous approach still aren't impressed. one of them got in touch with me today. he said the new scheme was half—baked, and the opposition say the overall response has been too strict and too slow, the lib dems blaming the home secretary and want her sacked. ricky patel�*s in action does not befit the british people with all our compassion and generosity. —— priti patel. it couldn't be clearer priti patel is not up to thejob. the first ministers of scotland and wales say they want to bring refugees in more quickly — so far, 3,000 visa applications have been granted. labour broadly welcomed the scheme but criticised

the government's record. so far, i think the home office has got it completely wrong. the scheme is too slow, too narrow, too mean. in shropshire, volunteers are packing clothing and other essentials which will be sent to refugees in poland, and the government says the success of its new scheme to bring refugees here will also depend on the generosity of the british people. iain watson, bbc news. actors and directors have been showing their support for ukraine as the awards were handed out at the bafta film awards in london. our culture editor katie razzall reports. 0vershadowed by war but back in person and on the bafta red carpet, small tokens in honour of ukraine. sporting a badge of the ukrainian flag, benedict cumberbatch told the bbc he hopes to open his home to refugees and wanted to show solidarity with the people of ukraine. what we all have to do is continue to help in any which way we can, whether it's from donations, housing

refugees — all of which i'm looking to do, and have done, so, yeah. applause. but as some of the movie industry's best—known faces came together inside london's royal albert hall, celebrating film took centrestage. you know what we should do? period western the power of the dog left with top awards for best film and best director... cook it right there on the coals. ..though its star lost out to will smith for best actor. neither will smith nor the power of the dog director jane campion attended the ceremony. benedict cumberbatch collected the award on her behalf. yeah, so, bafta, i'd like — oh, no. dammit, that's my speech! 0ops! laughter. joanna scanlan beat off lady gaga and others for best actress, for her role as a muslim convert uncovering her dead husband's secrets in after love. we have to thank bafta, we have to thank the bbc, bfi, lottery for making small films get made. thank you, thank you. best supporting actress went to ariana debose for a big

film, west side story. and in the best supporting actor category, history was made by troy kotsur in coda as a deaf father whose hearing daughter wants to sing. he's the first deaf actor ever to win a bafta, and has an idea for what's next. translator: have you considered maybe a deaf james bond? - laughter. 008? cheering. the sci—fi epic dune took away the most awards — five in some of the technical categories — and kenneth branagh's belfast won 0utstanding british film. all hail the streaming revolution, but all hail the big screen, too! it's alive! alive and celebrating 60 years of bond movie—making with dame shirley bassey... # diamonds are forever! # forever! ..in the biggest night of the british film industry calendar. katie razzall, bbc news. just to say all of the awards are announced on our website.

that's if you want to run through the runners and writers. thanks for being with us. but is bbc news. —— that is bbc news. hello, there. it's mid—march, days are getting longer and the sunshine is getting stronger, and we'll see some of that as we go through out week ahead. there's going to be a lot of dry weather in the forecast. pretty mild, by day, in the sunshine. chilly at night still, with some patchy mist and fog, and there will be some rain this week but it is most likely to be through wednesday. now, for the here and now, we've got rain clearing to the east, this little area of cloud bringing some showers into scotland and one down into the south—west. now, these showers in the south—west may be heavy and thundery and they'll drift along the channel coast during the early part of the morning. at the same time, some showers moving out of northern ireland into central and southern scotland, along with northern england, with the best of the sunshine perhaps a little bit further south, into central parts of england and wales with highs

of 1a degrees. now, there's going to be a good deal of dry weather around on tuesday as well, with light winds. yes, a weather front will start to move in from the far north—west and we could see a few early morning showers, some patchy mist and fog around, but they will clear away quite quickly. a good deal of dry weather, light winds for most and so, in the sunshine, it will feel quite pleasant with highs of 15 degrees. cloud and rain starts to push in from the atlantic. it's a cold front behind it, bringing in some colder air. but at the same time, we've got this very warm air that's moving up in from the near continent and where these two frontal systems will meet, well, that is where we are likely to see a real clash with some heavy rain, potentially — as much as half an inch is likely to fall in some places on wednesday. it's likely to stay dry, though, east anglia and south east england, and by contrast, here we could see temperatures peaking at 17 degrees — 63 fahrenheit. the average for this time of year in the south is around 11 celsius. the rain will clear its way south and east through wednesday night into thursday. it may well take its time in doing so and lingerfirst

thing across that south—east corner, with a ridge of high pressure building in behind. so, after a cloudy, damp start across the far south—east, an improving weather story. a little bit of showery rain into the far north—west — not amounting to too much. thursday will see highs of around ten to 13 degrees. a little bit cooler because the wind direction's changing slightly, coming in off the north sea, but it does mean friday and saturday, we keep that dry theme going and, again, those temperatures peaking at 15 degrees. enjoy.

and that's what the voters wanted.

this is bbc news, the headlines: a russian missile attack on a ukrainian military training base has killed at least 35 people — and injured more than 130 others. the air strike was in yavoriv, just 25 kilometres from the border with poland. ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky�*s visited wounded soldiers in a military hospital in the capital kyiv. during the visit he awarded military orders and medals for courage and dedication and thanked the hospital staff for what he said was exemplary work in difficult conditions. pope francis has made an impassioned plea for an end to what he called a "massacre" in ukraine. addressing pilgrims in saint peter's square, he described russia's invasion as "unacceptable" and called for a real and decisive move towards negotiation.

now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk.