this is 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. an anti—war protester interrupts primetime news on russian state television — denouncing the conflict in ukraine. and we have exclusive access to the hospital in poland

dealing with some of the most vulnerable ukrainian refugees of them all. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. 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, airstrikes 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. 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. russian forces are slowly but surely closing in on kyiv and are occupying more and more ukrainian land every day, but they have been slower to take control than was predicted. vladimir putin has accused ukraine of developing biological weapons, but the defence ministry in britain says there's no evidence of that. there are fears that russia is planning to unleash a biological or chemical weapon attack and blame it on ukraine. marie chevrier is a professor at the department of public policy & administration at rutgers university—camden in newjersey and shejoins me now. thank and shejoins me now. you forjoining us. there are those thank you forjoining us. there are those who describe this and the language is just unfortunate, really as a syrian

playbook copy but it would suggest it is a tactic which russia is deemed to have used before and will be using again, which is this false flag idea that someone else is about to launch a chemical attack or biological attack, which actually russia might want to do? , . �* , actually russia might want to do? , . �*, . actually russia might want to do? , , , do? yes, that's a possibility but i would _ do? yes, that's a possibility but i would hope _ do? yes, that's a possibility but i would hope even - do? yes, that's a possibility but i would hope even putinj but i would hope even putin might not be as brazen as to ignore international law and treaties he has, russia's part of an order to launch a chemical or biological attack. but isn't the message from the relatively recent past in syria that international law doesn't stand much of a chance when it comes to the real thrust of winning a war?— comes to the real thrust of winning a war? that's true but the military — winning a war? that's true but the military utility _ winning a war? that's true but the military utility or - the military utility or biological weapons is somewhat questionable, they are really more a weapon of terror than they are a weapon of military

or strategic importance as opposed to chemical weapons have a larger military role. so, i meanfrom have a larger military role. so, i mean from what you are saying there, can i deduce you would consider a chemical weapon attack is certainly more likely, and more, if you like, tactically valuable?— tactically valuable? yes, indeed i _ tactically valuable? yes, indeed i would. - tactically valuable? yes, indeed i would. both - tactically valuable? yes, - indeed i would. both biological and chemical weapons, of course don't do any damage to the infrastructure, theyjust kill people and animals, as such, and so, it would be much easier to do that with chemicals and biological weapons. to do that with chemicals and biologicalweapons. it to do that with chemicals and biological weapons. it takes time for people to die from biological agents. the time for people to die from biological agents.— time for people to die from biological agents. the way you die in pretty — biological agents. the way you die in pretty dreadful, - biological agents. the way you die in pretty dreadful, isn't - die in pretty dreadful, isn't it, we have have seen too many examples of that in the last few days and couple of weeks. when you talk about chemical and biological brings with it that moment of terror and

discussed, and when we talk about false flags and they have been flying around a little bit at the moment, i'm just trying to work out, maria, if you think this is perceived as a, i appreciate it's not legal, but appreciate it's not legal, but a legitimate, a workable, and effective literary tactic, these days?— effective literary tactic, these da s? ~ . these days? well, chemical weapons — these days? well, chemical weapons have _ these days? well, chemical weapons have not - these days? well, chemical weapons have not been - these days? well, chemicall weapons have not been used extensively before syria, expect in the iran—iraq war where they were not decisive for iraq, used chemical weapons pretty extensively in that war. iran eventually used them as well. ., , iran eventually used them as well. . , ,., a, well. that is the point, marie thank you — well. that is the point, marie thank you very _ well. that is the point, marie thank you very much - well. that is the point, marie thank you very much for - well. that is the point, marie| thank you very much for that, you are bringing your expertise to bear. ., ~ you are bringing your expertise to bear. ., ,, , ., the main evening news on russia's flagship channel one has been disrupted by a protest against the war on ukraine. a woman employee ran behind the newsreader, carrying a sign with the text: "no war." 0ur russia editor steve

rosenberg reports. in russia, tv is tightly controlled to transmit the kremlin line. but look what happened tonight, live on the main evening news. a woman runs onto the set to condemn russia's onslaught in ukraine. she's marina 0vsyannikova, a channel 0ne editor. the sign reads "no war, stop the war, don't believe the propaganda, they're lying to you here, russians against war." speaks russian. before her protest, she'd recorded this message. russia was committing a crime in ukraine, she said, and vladimir putin was responsible. this is russian tv, normally. 0n—message, pro—putin. tv channels here don't call what russia's doing

in ukraine a "war." they say it's a "special military operation." but critical voices have been creeping in. on a popular talk show, this film director says he can't imagine russia taking cities like kyiv and warns that close allies like china and india might distance themselves from russia. but this is more than just criticism. it's a direct challenge — one woman taking on the kremlin. quite extraordinary. i have never seen anything like that here. what it shows is that despite the kremlin's almost total control of the media, it is still struggling to persuade some people within the system but what the kremlin what the kremlin is doing is right. as for marina 0vsyannikova, she has reportedly been detained by police, and the tv channel, channel one russia, has launched an internal

investigation. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg in yuroslav, russia. stay with us on bbc news — still to come: as covid cases rise in china, the asian markets stumble. how bad will this latest wave of the virus be? we shall find out. 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 news, the latest headlines: russia has continued its bombardment of ukrainian cities. one person has been killed and 12 injured in a strike on an apartment building near kyiv. authorities in mariupol say a convoy of civilian vehicles that managed to leave the city has not yet reached its intended destination.

we will of course have more on ukraine injusta we will of course have more on ukraine injust a moment. china has reported 5,280 new coronavirus cases, the highest number in two years. china has sealed off an entire province in response to the surge in cases. more than 20 million residents ofjilin in the country's northeast have been banned from leaving the region. the hub of shenzhen has also been shut down. asian stocks fell further on the announcement of the new figures. shelley phelps reports. workers in hazmat suits selling off the streets of shanghai as china battles to control its worst coronavirus out break and the biggest threat to the country's zero covid approach for two years. across the financial hub schools, parks and cinemas have closed and restrictions have been placed on travel. residence say they are not 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 and their attention to self protection is quite good. many people have food and vegetables stored at home just in case their community or office suddenly locks down. in the ca - ital suddenly locks down. in the capital of — suddenly locks down. in the capital of the _ suddenly locks down. in the capital of the north-eastern capital of the north—eastern jilin 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 friday. the surge in cases particularly in the tech hub of shenzhen is being felt on the stock markets.— stock markets. this is a serious _ stock markets. this is a serious problem - stock markets. this is a serious problem for - stock markets. this is a l serious problem for much stock markets. this 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 shutting down again is going to

tighten up the supply of many of our electronic product. and of our electronic product. and toda 's of our electronic product. and today's new — of our electronic product. and today's new coronavirus case numbers won't do anything to boost confidence. almost 5300, thatis boost confidence. almost 5300, that is the highest number in two years but despite calls from some scientist for china to coexist with the virus like other nations, the government has made clear mass lockdowns are still on the table. 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. roman abramovich was sanctioned by the uk government last week because of his links to vladimir putin. he denies being close to the russian president and his lawyers say allegations of corruption are false. 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. 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. the majority of ukraine's refugees have headed for poland. so far, most have been put

up in people's homes. but for the thousands of ukrainian civilians who need medical care, the journey has been even more traumatic. my colleague lewis goodall is in the city of lublin and was given exclusive access to one of the biggest hospitals that has been taking in ukrainian patients. three weeks ago, 44 million people lived in ukraine. now, 1.7 million of those people, mainly women and children, live in poland. most are exhausted, some are sick, some need medical care, and some were pregnant. he is a boy. he's four days old, and he's not alone. at a hospital in the city of lublin, 60 miles from the border, babies have born in a country not their own, away from fathers they've never met, that they might never meet. translation: they bombed all of our i relatives in kyiv.

and we also don't know what will happen next, if we have a place to return to. why? because of putin. lunchtime for babies. the boy's mother is not the only one having to endure the deepest of distress. some refugee babies have been born premature, the trauma of the journey inducing mothers before the time was right. each is now the charge of the polish health service. and there are so many more health needs besides. imagine having cancer, fearing for your life, and having to flee for it as well. translation: for us, it's impossible to get l an operation because they treat the soldiers and only the most pressing civilian cases are treated. so, i didn't have another choice, my only option was to come to poland and be treated. i'm so happy, i could cry. i'm happy with the doctors and with all the staff who work here.

translation: with oncology, you cannot lose time. - we were terrified. on 8th march, they examined me, they studied my medical records, and on 9th march, i had the surgery. we are getting the same treatment as polish women, it really moved me. and it isn'tjust the arrivals training the system, but those who've left. this hospital was to be rebuilt. construction is now halted because half the labourers were ukrainian, and they've gone home to fight. i think in a longer period, international support, international help, will be needed. what will that support look like? doctors, nurses, supplies? no, i think places, places in the hospital. this isjust the beginning for this medical team. next, they're planning for how they might treat patients in a chemical attack. poland is not at war, but in terms of some of its horrors, it doesn't feel far away. lewis goodall,

bbc news, lublin. let mejust bring let me just bring you up—to—date then of our main story. we have had an assessment by the united states defence department of the russian campaign in ukraine which says despite sustained bombing almost all of russia's advances have been stalled for several days the picture we're giving you course is of key have, it is, where are we, just coming up to 25 past five in the morning there, still looking very quiet at this time of the day stopping the pink again briefing went on to say that the russians have neither overall air superiority nor control of any of ukraine's biggest cities. as for kyiv itself, explosions did carry on into the night, residents have been preparing once again for a potential siege there and i would just add that the last round of talks, there were long talks in the course of monday, they broke up between ukraine and russia without an agreement, further talks,

though are due to continue in the course of the day as ukrainians press for a ceasefire but also the immediate withdrawal of russian troops. that's bbc news, thanks for being with us. hello. more of you should spend the day dry on tuesday. there will be some wet weather around, that's 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 for eastern parts of england. that's from this weather front just working its way northwards, and a little ridge of high pressure, though, across most of the country before we see this weather front gradually work its way in from the west. and it's that which will bring the wetter weather to western scotland and northern ireland, but keep temperatures above freezing to start the day. a touch of frost is 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 the day. much of england and wales varying amounts of sunshine, best of which will be

in the morning. some sunny spells east of scotland, northern ireland, isolated shower, but it's western scotland and to the west of northern ireland where it will turn wetter, quite breezy for a time during the morning. that breeze will help to break up the cloud to eastern scotland. temperatures in the north around 7—8 degrees, but in the sunshine further south, a pleasant spring day, up to around 15 or 16 celsius. then as we go into the night and through to wednesday morning, clear conditions develop towards western scotland, northern ireland, as showers push their way eastwards. so, here, we will see a frost to start wednesday, a milder start elsewhere, and that's because there'll be a lot more cloud around to start the day. that's because we've got to the south of us storm celia across parts of spain and portugal, throwing out these weather fronts and potentially a little bit of saharan dust across the southeast during the day. butjust notice across england and wales, whilst there could be a few breaks in the cloud, particularly into the west, cloud amounts often large, outbreaks of rain around and they will be a bit more heavy, persistent, developing through the day, particularly through central and eastern parts of england. by contrast, scotland, northern ireland lose the early showers. sunshine comes out, brighter afternoon to wales and parts of northwest england, but cooler here, whereas we could still see up to around 15 degrees in the southeast corner.

that milder air with it the saharan dust and the rain pushes out into the north sea as we go through the night into thursday. another chilly start on thursday, touch of frost around, much of england and wales will be dry and bright. showers or a greater chance of them in north wales, northern england on thursday and sunshine and shower 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, well, it does look 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. authorities in the key port city of mariupol say that civilian deaths have risen above 2000 and mass graves have been dug to bury the dead. the international red cross said the situation inside the city was untenable and unbearable — with little food and water and no heating. the main evening news on russia's flagship channel one has been disrupted by a protest against the war on ukraine. a woman ran behind the newsreader carrying a sign with the test — "no war. "don't believe the propaganda."

now on bbc news, the travel show is in thailand.