welcome to bbc news — i'm david eades. our top stories: the battle for ukraine goes on. a russian strike on a block of flats in kyiv kills one person and injures 12. this is the nightmare for the city, more attacks like this, and, of course, they are vulnerable to missile strikes. but kyiv is big and it is sprawling, and the defenders have many advantages, which they are using. scenes of devastation in the southern port city of mariupol — where food, water and heating are said to have become desperately scarce. the united states warns it's watching china very closely for any attempt to help russia in its attack on ukraine. and an anti—war protester interrupts prime time news on russian state television —

denouncing the conflict in ukraine. if you are wondering whether talks about a ceasefire might be getting somewhere, i'm afraid the reality of events on the ground in ukraine continue to tell a very different and destructive story. russia is continuing to bombard cities across the country. there've been more harrowing reports emerging of civilians suffering in the southern city of mariupol. a convoy of about 160 vehicles did manage to leave the besieged city, but it has yet to reach ukraine—controlled territory. progress has been halted by the nightly curfew. in the capital kyiv, air strikes have been getting closer to the centre.

as the violence continues, those talks between russian and ukrainian representatives will resume again later after a fourth round of discussions ended without a breakthrough. jeremy bowen has the latest from kyiv. the attack happened not long before dawn. it could have been worse for the residents. many had gone to the shelters. kyiv is feeling the pressure of the war much more sharply. speaks ukrainian. "it's a tragedy, and he's an idiot," he said, meaning putin. "i ask the whole world to help," said jelena, "to make these non—humans disappearfrom our ukraine." survival can be about saving a few precious things, as well as a life. kyiv�*s defenders are trying to keep russian artillery out of range, but this was a missile — fired from further away and much harder to stop.

they're also very powerful. the explosion took lives and destroyed more ukrainian homes. this is the nightmare for the city — more attacks like this, and of course, they're vulnerable to missile strikes. but kyiv is big and it's sprawling, and the defenders have many advantages, which they're using. prayers aren't all they have. problems for the russians include rivers, notjust the mighty dnipro running through kyiv, but its tributaries and large areas of marshland that can hold up and bog down armies. at their headquarters, the generals running kyiv�*s defence invited us to their war room, and they sounded confident, like their president. they're tracking the two main russian thrusts, from the east and from the north—west, which they said

are being attacked and have barely moved. we've heard a lot about this long russian convoy that was to the north—west of the city, what's happened to that? translation: that was a week ago, the big column. our military hit it. they moved a bit, but they never did anything that we felt in kyiv. what do you think the russians actually want to do with this city? do they want to come into the city and conquer it or do they want to encircle it? translation: maybe they want to encircle the city, but i don't think they have enough soldiers, and they understand that in kyiv, around 20,000 people have received weapons, and the city is fortified. attacking will cost them very large losses. as we were talking, another missile exploded not far from the first one. it might have been brought down by air defence.

a trolley bus conductor was killed. ukrainian military success has surprised their friends and their enemies, but the russians have not turned anything like their full force on this capital city yet. jeremy bowen, bbc news, kyiv. i'm joined now by the former us ambassador to ukraine between 2006 and 2009: bill taylor. he's now vice president, russia and europe, at the us institute of peace. thank you forjoining us. jeremy bowen was making a point that that cheered, and you would know this better than most it is a very big city, very sprawling, difficult to take over, probably infinitely harder to keep containing, presumably the attraction of some sort of ceasefire of some

sort of conclusion here is obvious enough to russian forces. what do you think could bring that about?— bring that about? david, what could bring — bring that about? david, what could bring that _ bring that about? david, what could bring that about - bring that about? david, what could bring that about is - bring that about? david, what could bring that about is the l could bring that about is the continued success of the ukrainian military, the ukrainian military, the ukrainian military, the ukrainian military as your reporterjust interviewed is doing extremely well, surprisingly well, and i'm sure president putin thought his military, the russian military would be in cuban two days, this was the estimate. it is now going on 20 days the ukrainian military has held them off, held them off to the north—west and to the east, they are having more success in they are having more success in the south, in the southern part of the country, gm is clearly very big, big rivers go through it, the fighting in urban areas, like kyiv isjust gram,

and your reporter is exactly right, the general he was talking to, the russians don't have the people to do this. so they are facing a major problem and yet they run into a big problem if there are our morale problems are in the russian military as such as they have seen it could be that russian if it stores. if that happens, getting back to your question they might turn to negotiation. that's interesting when you say the ukrainian military is doing very well, it's doing very well as a minnow against a whale. ultimately, there can only be one result of this was to continue on its natural course? on its natural course, yes, that assumes the russian military has its ability to bring fuel to the front and resupply the ammunition, it's not clear, from the performance

so far they can do that. if they can't do that, and they crumble, then it's not a minnow and a whale. they can do that, yes, they have the capability, they can get organised which they can get organised which they are not yet, they have the capability to roll on. fix, they are not yet, they have the capability to roll on.— capability to roll on. a lot of that is about _ capability to roll on. a lot of that is about logistics - capability to roll on. a lot of that is about logistics and i capability to roll on. a lot of. that is about logistics and the ability to handle those, perhaps there are big? is there stop what about the level of sanctions and international opprobrium being heaped on russian as a nation, does that really have much impact? yet? it certainly has an impact on russians, on russian people, individual russians, russian families, they are already feeling the effects of the sanctions. they have seen it in the exchange rate, if they want to buy anything, the rouble is not worth anything right now, it has had a major effect, and,

the sanctions on the central bank. probably the most severe sanctions, economic sanctions has —— anybody has put on anybody they are on the russian central bank to make it impossible for them to perform functions. the answer is, yes, it's having an effect, and know it's having an effect, and know it is not stopping president putin from continuing the military push. we putin from continuing the military push.— putin from continuing the military push. putin from continuing the milita ush. ~ ., ., military push. we will have to see if the _ military push. we will have to see if the ceasefire _ military push. we will have to see if the ceasefire store -- l see if the ceasefire store —— talks developed in line with your thinking. talks developed in line with yourthinking. bill taylor, thank you very much indeed. city authorities in the key port city of mariupol say that civilian deaths have risen above 2,100 and mass graves have been dug to bury the dead. it is being reported that a pregnant woman, who was pictured fleeing after an attack on the city's maternity hospital last week, has died, along with her baby. from southern ukraine, andrew harding reports. a drone's—eye view

of a city in agony. mariupol burning. apartment blocks in ruins after two weeks of unrelenting russian bombardments. there is no drinking water and any medication for more than one week. another big problem is for people who died because of lack of medication. many people who were killed, they're just lying on the ground. and today, we learned that among the dead is the woman on the stretcher in this now infamous picture. it was taken in the immediate aftermath of a russian attack last week on a maternity hospital in mariupol. her name is not known. it's understood she begged medics to let her die if that would help them save her unborn child. both died this weekend. as for the living, this was reportedly filmed yesterday in a cellar in mariupol.

"the planes are flying overhead," she says, "dropping bombs, "scaring the children. "please organise a humanitarian corridor to help our "children escape." today, a few hundred people were able to drive to safety, but that's a drop in the ocean. well, it's...it�*s about two sides that need to come to the same terms. they need to find together an agreement. and if that doesn't happen? well, if that doesn't happen, knowing already how dire the situation is for the population inside the city, we can only be extremely concerned for the life of all those people. mariupol is a big, important city, and the russians need to capture it to help their advance here into southern ukraine, and their tactics are becoming brutally familiar. if you can't seize a city, then simply flatten it, whatever the cost in human lives.

and so, the pounding of mariupol goes on. a city of half a million people trapped in a nightmare. andrew harding, bbc news, in southern ukraine. a picture of two political allies causing headaches for washington. the us has warned china that it will face consequences if it helps russia fight the war in ukraine. american officials say russia has asked its close ally to provide both military and economic assistance, and senior officials from the us and china have been discussing the matter during talks in rome. china has called the claims fake news. from beijing, here's our correspondent stephen mcdonell. a new security partnership without limits — that's what xijinping and vladimir putin pledged six weeks ago, just before the opening ceremony of beijing's winter 0lympics. then, days after the games finished, russia attacked ukraine.

china hasn't condoned the war, but it also hasn't criticised the invasion. now, unnamed american officials are claiming beijing has been asked by moscow for military support. a foreign ministry spokesperson said this information, spread by the us, is fake. yet china has been accused by the us of spreading misinformation himself regarding american bio—weapons in ukraine. washington says it's helping with biosafety there. if beijing could bring their good offices to help in the negotiations, to help make a settlement, i think that would win beijing some goodwill, but i think they are in a catch—22, because on the other hand, they can't really upset moscow. the chinese government is playing a dangerous game with ukraine. 0n the one hand, it's saying to the rest of the world, "we're an impartial actor and could even become a mediator in the war." back here, though, it's using communist party—controlled

media and communist party—controlled social media to spread a fair amount of kremlin propaganda. the impact of this has been to drag large swathes of the chinese population in behind vladimir putin's invasion of ukraine. platforms like weibo boost pro—kremlin lines. "go putin, russia's justice will prevail," writes one person. "putin is my idol," says another. yet there's another significant group here — those who want the war to stop. i asked people in beijing about the ukraine conflict. translation: peace is the solution. talking is what solves disputes, peace, we hope for peace. china's leaders are watching the ukraine war. they have their own motherland reunification ambitions, and have threatened to retake the self—governing island of taiwan by force if necessary.

the western response to ukraine and the economic pain being felt by russia will be figuring in their calculations. stephen mcdonell, bbc news, beijing. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: as an anti—war protester interrupts the nightly news, we ask what is the level of russian dissent in a country at war? 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 i reunification as quickly as possible, and that's. what the voters wanted. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: in russia — the main evening news on the country's flagship channel one was disrupted by a protest against the war on ukraine. highly unusual, in any case.

a woman employee ran behind the newsreader, carrying a sign with the text: "no war. don't believe the propaganda. they are lying to you here." the programme quickly switched to a pre—recorded report, but not before the poster could be easily read. she is understood to have been arrested. maria snegovaya is a visiting fellow at george washington university, and adjunct senior fellow at the center for a new american security. she joins us from washington. maria, thank you very much indeed for your time. let me just start with this editor, a very bold thing to do to a nation, brave, some would say foolhardy. what do we know of her state of situation now? unfortunately, she definitely created a very courageous deed. she has disappeared, human rights defenders, lawyers, are looking for her across all of moscow but she is nowhere to be

found. it is possible of course that authorities, given how much fear and scare against those who are trying to stick up those who are trying to stick up against the war in russia today. it is possible that she might be facing some serious even criminal charges as a result for her very courageous deed. ~ . ., ., deed. we have heard a few rotest deed. we have heard a few protest are _ deed. we have heard a few protest are saying - deed. we have heard a few protest are saying we - deed. we have heard a few protest are saying we are l protest are saying we are prepared to do this because if we get arrested once we will probably get a fine and then we will stop, because if we get arrested again we know we are in real trouble. with the same apply in an incident like this, do you think?— do you think? that is true, although — do you think? that is true, although they _ do you think? that is true, although they might - do you think? that is true, although they might be - do you think? that is true, - although they might be tougher on her. so the important thing about her is that she is not your classic opponent for liberal, waisted minded. she is one of their supporters group,

and her speaking up like that, it might be an indication of potential cracks in the system and i think the authorities understand that. they will try to demonstrate to others in all sorts of ways not to follow her steps. sorts of ways not to follow her ste s. ~ ., ., , steps. we wait to see, i suopose. _ steps. we wait to see, i | suppose, unfortunately. steps. we wait to see, i - suppose, unfortunately. public opinion seems relatively robust in president putin's faber, but there have been some suggestions of some members of the establishment ready to say at least, you know, this is a war we really don't want, or at least not a war, a conflict, a military operation, i think among those the former foreign minister igor eva north, admittedly a foreign minister during yeltsin�*s time. but is there some sort of creep amongst the establishment to be ready to stand up and say things? ready to stand up and say thins? ,., ., things? the poll find that the ma'ori things? the poll find that the majority of — things? the poll find that the majority of russians - things? the poll find that the majority of russians 50 - things? the poll find that the majority of russians 50 to . things? the poll find that the l majority of russians 50 to 6096 majority of russians 50 to 60% unfortunately embrace this war, because they are brainwashed by

propaganda. 0n the elite side, we have seen some early indicators of cracks, michael friedman, russian oligarchs, even the boss of worshippers might oil company speaking up against the war but so far the signs are too mild. we will have to wait to see sanctions to be in full effect. as predicted by may be mid april is where the sanctions will really hit. it will be felt by everyone, and then it is likely there will be more cracks. but do not forget that the kremlin spent years selecting very loyal, scared and hawkish people, so i would be very careful about these anticipations. careful about these antici ations. ~ anticipations. where we will also have — anticipations. where we will also have to _ anticipations. where we will also have to see _ anticipations. where we will also have to see whether i anticipations. where we will| also have to see whether the sanctions actually harden resolve against the other way round. thank you very much indeed. a bbc investigation has uncovered new evidence about a corrupt deal that made roman abramovich's fortune.

the chelsea owner made billions buying an oil company from the russian government and then selling it back for 50 times the price. richard bilton reports. this is russia's wild east, the oilfields of siberia. it's where roman abramovich made much of his fortune. back in the 90s, he had a plan. the idea was simple. persuade the russian government to combine some of the vast state oil facilities, create a giant new company and then sell it off. the price and the sale would be agreed in advance, and the lucky buyer would be roman abramovich. and that is what happened. mr abramovich took control of the company, called sibneft, in a rigged auction. he ended up paying around $250 million. ten years later he sold it back to the government

for a staggering $13 billion. that is corruption. this is what you call corruption. roman abramovich stole money from russia, billions of dollars of money from russian taxpayers. a confidential source has given us information about the corrupt sibneft deal. we were told the details were copied from files held on mr abramovich by russian law enforcement authorities and then translated into english. now, we can't verify that, but checks with other sources back up many of the details. the document says those investigating the sibneft sale wanted to charge mr abramovich with a $2.7 billion fraud. the secret document also suggests roman abramovich was protected by the former russian president boris

yeltsin. it says law enforcement files on mr abramovich were moved to the kremlin and an investigation was stopped by the president. we showed the secret documents and court papers from a legal case where mr abramovich talked about his dealings in russia to a leading expert on dirty money. the material that i've seen suggests that the whole of the acquisition or the creation of the sibneft wealth in the hands of abramovich is as a result of corruption. it reeks of illegality. mr abramovich's lawyers deny he was protected by boris yeltsin. they say there is no basis for alleging he has amassed very substantial wealth through criminality. sanctioned by the uk government last week, roman abramovich's secret past is finally catching up with him. richard bilton, bbc news.

you are china has reported 5,280 new coronavirus cases, the highest number in two years. the country has sealed off an entire province in response to the surge in cases. seen as mats suits —— workers in hazmat suits. across the financial hub, schools, parks and cinemas have closed, and restrictions have been placed on travel. residents say they aren't panicking, but they are preparing. translation: ithink the epidemic _ preparing. translation: ithink the epidemic this _ preparing. translation: ithink the epidemic this year _ preparing. translation: ithink the epidemic this year is - preparing. translation: ithink the epidemic this year is worse l the epidemic this year is worse than the first year, but we shanghai people aren't really panicking, unlike the first year, when everyone was panicking. now no one is panicking. now no one is panicking and their attention to self protection is quite good. many people have food and

vegetable stored at home, just in case their community or office suddenly locks down. in the capital of the north—eastern province, this huge exhibition centre has been turned into a temporary hospital. after the city's 9 million strong population was ordered into lockdown last thursday. the surge is being felt on the stock markets. this is a serious — felt on the stock markets. this is a serious problem _ felt on the stock markets. this is a serious problem for - felt on the stock markets. ti 3 is a serious problem for much of the us manufacturing. you look at a company like apple, who has been able to weather the storm of supply chain issues, but if they see foxconn shut down again, this is going to tighten up the supply for many of our electronic products. many of our electronic products-— many of our electronic roducts. �* ., ., j, products. and today's new coronavirus _ products. and today's new coronavirus case _ products. and today's new coronavirus case numbers| products. and today's new- coronavirus case numbers won't do anything to boost confidence. at almost 5300, thatis confidence. at almost 5300, that is the highest number in two years. but despite calls from some scientists for china

to coexist with the virus, like other nations, the government has made clear mass lockdowns are still on the table. shelley phelps, bbc news. you are up—to—date, thank you for watching. more of you should spend the day dry on tuesday. there will be some wet weather around admittedly, that is going to be mainly towards parts of western scotland and later northern ireland. but even as we start the day, one or two isolated showers to ease in parts of england. that is from this weather forjust working its way northwards. a little ridge of high pressure across most of the country before we see this weather front gradually work its way in from the west. it is that that will bring the wet weather to the west of scotland and northern ireland. a touch of frost possible just about anywhere but a bright enough start for many. a few isolated showers through east anglia and the east midlands, drifting their way northwards into yorkshire through much of the day. much of england and wales, varying amounts of sunshine, the best of which in the morning. some sunny spells to

the east of scotland and northern ireland, isolated showers, but it is western scotland and to the west of northern ireland where it will turn wetter, by breezy during the morning, and that praise will help break up the clouds to eastern scotland. in the sunshine further south, a pleasant spring day, up to around 15 or 16 celsius. into the night and through to wednesday morning, clear conditions up to western scotland and northern ireland, so a to stop when day. —— a frost to start wednesday full to the south of us, storm ophelia across parts of spain and portugal, throwing up these weather fronts, and portugal, throwing up these weatherfronts, —— storm celia. just notice across england and wales, what they could be a few breaks in the cloud, particularly to the west, the cloud most often large, outbreaks of rain around then they will become a bit more heavy, a bit more persistent, developing through the day particularly through central and eastern parts of england. by and eastern parts of england. by contrast, scotland and northern ireland lose the ellie

challis, sunshine comes out, bright afternoon to wales and parts of north—west england but cooler here, whereas you could still see up to 15 degrees in the south—east corner. that mild air with these sahara dust and the rain pushes out into the north sea as we go through the north sea as we go through the night into thursday. another chilly start on thursday, a touch of frost around, much of england and wales will be dry and bright, showers though come a greater chance in north wales, north of england on thursday, a sunshine and show a day for scotland and northern ireland. a bit chilly here, temperatures climbing again further south and as we go through the rest of the week, it looks like with high pressure building, plenty of blue skies and sunshine into the weekend. see you soon.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the government in ukraine has said more than 4,000 people were evacuated from front—line cities on monday through seven humanitarian corridors. the country's deputy prime minister said three other evacuation routes did not operate successfully. she accused russian forces of firing on civilians who were evacuating in the kyiv region. a large civilian convoy has left the besieged ukrainian city of mariupol following a number of failed attempts to set up humanitarian corridors forformal evacuations. they say civilian deaths have risen above 2000. the red cross is the situation is untenable and unbearable with little food and unbearable with little food and water, and no heating. america's national security advisor has told a leading chinese diplomat that the americans were watching very closely the extent to which beijing was providing any support to the kremlin. now on bbc news, neighbours

on a leeds housing estate fight to keep their community together when faced