welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... explosion pounded for weeks, kharkiv has been decimated by russian shelling, but ukrainian fighters are resisting. we have a special report from the front line. they've tried to punch through here again and again and they've failed. ukrainian armed forces are keeping them at bay. meanwhile, in the south, rescuers search for survivors after a theatre is bombed with hundreds sheltering in the basement. are we closer to a peace deal? russia's president has put forward his proposals to turkey. and us presidentjoe biden

is expected to speak to china's president on friday about the war in ukraine. live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's seven in the morning in singapore and 1am in kharkiv. ukraine's second city has been under heavy daily bombardment by president putin's forces. it's in ruins, and while most of its 1.5 million residents have fled, the ukrainian army is continuing to hold off the russian advance. for this special report, our correspondent quentin sommerville and camera journalist darrin conway have been following the ukrainian army as, over three weeks into this war, they defend kharkiv. russia says it's demilitarising ukraine.

instead, it's creating a wasteland. what it can't have, it destroys with vengeance. these were family homes on the edge of kharkiv. civilians are daily targets in vladimir putin's war. by the back door, a dead russian soldier. suburban gardens have become battlefields from europe's past. but here, the men of ukraine's 22nd battalion have pulled off a miracle. they've stopped the might of the russian army at their city gates.

ill—equipped and vastly outnumbered, three weeks on they're still holding the line. russian boots have failed to gain hold here. frustrated, they've sent troops elsewhere, leaving heavy artillery to bomb the city into submission. explosions. constantine, a former air force pilot, has come out of retirement to fight. translation: this is the first line of defence for the city. _ if they get through here, they will enter kharkiv. this road takes you from russia to the very heart of the city. but the heart of kharkiv, and ukrainian resistance, is still beating.

just beyond this position, there's only open country, and russians. they've tried to punch through here again and again and again and they've failed. ukrainian armed forces are keeping them at bay. they've also tried to encircle the city but again they failed. they've also tried to encircle the city, but again, they failed. so, they're taking out their frustration with artillery, bombing notjust... you can hear it... bombing not just these front lines, but also the entire population of kharkiv. a russian missile screeches above us. in this crater, six ukrainian soldiers died in a single strike. roman tells us, "they're chickens. "they won't show themselves again, but we'll respond good and proper."

and away from the front, no neighbourhood is safe. russian rockets fall all around us. explosion and breaking glass. get in here! get in, get in! this is the reckless targeting of human life. to the south, the invaders are advancing, but here in ukraine's second city, kharkiv stands defiant while russia rages with incandescent fury.

and russia knows hundreds of thousands of people are still living here. how do you keep out such horror? explosions. sasha and svetlana's apartment is now the front line. for the men and women of the ukrainian army, she has a message. translation: i'm very grateful to them for defending our land. | hold on, guys. we will always support you. explosions. both of my daughters and a granddaughter are fighting for ukraine. quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv, in eastern ukraine. that's the picture at the front line.

let me tell you now about what's been happening in the besieged city of mariupol, where there are reports many people have survived after a theatre was bombed by russian forces. hundreds of people were thought to be sheltering in the basement. president volodymyr zelensky has accused russia of deliberately targetting the theatre, but russia has denied carrying out the attack. our international correspondent, orla guerin, reports on the continuing russian assault. it's mariupol, he says, the theatre. here's the russian world. new footage shows what's left of the cultural landmark where so many sought shelter. ukraine says russia deliberately dropped a bomb here. this satellite image shows the russian word for children clearly marked at the front

and back of the theatre. that didn't deter russian jets. in the darkness a week ago, crowds of women and children were filmed in the bomb shelter below ground. officials have said the shelter withstood the attack. so far, there are no reports of deaths, but mariupol is still being shelled. is still being shelled, and information is slow to emerge. here's what three weeks of russian bombardment have done to the city. the authorities say around 2500 people have been killed, but many bodies lie uncounted in the rubble. hard to believe it looked like this last month, when we filmed these pictures. then, it was a bustling port city. families strolling past the theatre

that was loved by so many, including an opera singer who has managed to flee. it's so devastating. at the very personal story for me as well as lots of actors and musicians. know that this place is a shelter than more than 1000 people, including children. today, in moments of quiet, some were getting out, leaving their homes and their city with what they could carry or drag. we all left the building, this woman says. i was the last.

"we live in the basement. "how can we live like that? "what was our crime?" the street of this strategic city are littered with evidence of russian attacks. still, the kremlin claims it does not bomb cities and did not bomb the theatre. officials in kyiv say russia is carrying out a genocide. so, the intention of russian aggression is to destroy mariupol to the ground, but the main thing and the main tragedy that they are losing our people. we will rebuild ukraine, but we will not, you know, we cannot bring back our people. they have died. today, this exodus of the living. they managed to flee, though convoys are often shelled. an estimated 300,000 people remain trapped inside the suffering

city, where conditions are said to be medieval. 0rla guerin, bbc news, kyiv. through all of this fighting, of course, has been the hope of a peaceful outcome — and now, what appears to be an outline of a peace agreement seems to be emerging. in a phone call between president putin and turkey's president erdogan, the russian leader set out his demands. the bbc�*s world affairs editor, john simpson, who's in istanbul, has been given details of that call. president putin's asking for six key things, four of them are relatively easy — that ukraine should announce its neutrality — that's to say it won'tjoin nato. well, it said it won't do that anyway. that it should disarm — relatively speaking — that it shouldn't have certain weapons to attack russia with if it

actually ever did want to. that it should protect the russian language, something very important to mr putin. he claims that russians have been targeted because of their language in ukraine. and fourthly, something they call denazification. i thought that sounded really fierce, but, infact, the turkish official said no, he said it's quite easy. it's an undertaking to crack down on neo—nazis. that's the easy bit. two difficult bits which will probably require face—to—face talks between mr putin and president zelensky here, and those two are the territories in donbas, which russia would like to see quasi—independent, and second, the future of crimea. that would probably require ukraine to admit that it had lost control of crimea and that

russia now had it — a very bitter pill for the ukrainians to swallow. but no mistaking the real upbeat feeling among the turks. they think there could be peace within just a matter of weeks. well, the bbc asked ukraine's ambassador to the us, 0ksana markarova if ukraine would accept giving up parts of its territory in return for peace. i'm surprised you are even asking me that _ i'm surprised you are even asking me that the _ i'm surprised you are even asking me that. the legally occupied crimea, part of— that. the legally occupied crimea, part of done it and luhansk. we have a legal— part of done it and luhansk. we have a legal rights to take it back, but we never— a legal rights to take it back, but we never planned to do it militarily. we used all diplomatic solutions—

militarily. we used all diplomatic solutions to do so, and it's not only— solutions to do so, and it's not only ukrainian desire, it's not only something — only ukrainian desire, it's not only something that we believe. the whole civilised _ something that we believe. the whole civilised world believes and knows that crimea is ukraine and doughnuts and luhansk are ukraine. —— the next -- go— you're watching newsday on the bbc. will not get the latest from our north— will not get the latest from our north american correspondent. -- we'll north american correspondent. we'll get the north american correspondent. -- we'll get the latest. today, we have closed the book on apartheid and that chapter. cheering. more than 3000 subway passengers were affected. nausea, bleeding, headaches and the 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. you're watching newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. 0ur headlines... pounded for weeks, kharkiv has been devastated by russian shelling, but the resistance of ukrainian fighters holds firm.

in the south, rescuers search for survivors after a theatre is bombed with hundreds sheltering in the basement. around 3 million people have now fled ukraine both china and russia deny any knowledge of this, but the white house as president biden will raise the subject with his chinese counterpart in a phone call scheduled for friday. here's what antony blinken had to say about this. ~ , ., . ., this. we believe china in particular has a responsibility _ this. we believe china in particular has a responsibility to _ this. we believe china in particular has a responsibility to use - this. we believe china in particular has a responsibility to use this - has a responsibility to use this influence to defend the principles it professes to support. instead, it appears china is moving in the opposite direction by refusing to condemn this aggression while seeking to portray itself as a

neutral partner. they're considering assisting russia with military adjacent. present right and will make sure that china will bear responsibility for any actions —— president biden. responsibility for any actions -- president biden.— responsibility for any actions -- president biden. , ., , ., president biden. china's ambassador said china wanted _ president biden. china's ambassador said china wanted to _ president biden. china's ambassador said china wanted to see _ president biden. china's ambassador said china wanted to see a _ said china wanted to see a diplomatic solution to the conflict. translation: the international- community shares a common aspiration for a cease—fire at an early date to alleviate the situation on the ground and to prevent civilian casualties. this is also the aspiration of china. china remains committed to promoting peace through negotiations. let's get more now from peter bowes from los angeles. we've talked about

this before, the differing positions on the ukraine issue from both the white house and beijing. in this phone call, what are they each trying to get out of it? the white house has characterised _ of it? the white house has characterised this - of it? the white house has characterised this call - of it? the white house has characterised this call as i of it? the white house has| characterised this call as an opportunity for president biden to see where president xi stands on ukraine. there are real concerns that china could be about to offer both financial and military help to russia. president biden has talked to the state of the union address about this conflict being a battle between autocracy and democracy. his the concerns of the west as to where this could go. as far as china, there is a lot of say it —— a lot at

stake. also it's there is a lot of say it —— a lot at stake. also its need to be a friend in terms of trade to the west. that is crucially important. that potentially is at stake if the us were to move forward and impose sanctions on china over its stance on russia. we sanctions on china over its stance on russia-— on russia. we have some sort of indication from _ on russia. we have some sort of indication from antony _ on russia. we have some sort of indication from antony blinken, l indication from antony blinken, saying the us would not be afraid to impose costs on china in this issue if beijing does indeed provide that support that the us alleges it's providing. in the indication of what those costs might be?— those costs might be? there is no indication yet. _ those costs might be? there is no indication yet, but _ those costs might be? there is no indication yet, but there's - those costs might be? there is no indication yet, but there's clearly | indication yet, but there's clearly a very obvious threat there that the administration could elaborate on, depending on how this call goes. it could potentially lead to sanctions against china. that would escalate the entire situation globally. with

the entire situation globally. with the same to the art against russia, it's not a road the us would want to go down. —— sanctions against russia. talking about costs, it won't shy away from being very tough with china if it's supports russia. peter bowes, always fantastic to get you on the programme. i want to tell you about another story now. humanitarian assistance around ukraine has been remarkable in these times. around 3 million people have now fled ukraine because of the russian invasion. that's according to the united nations. many are crossing into neighbouring countries to the west, such as poland, romania, hungary, slovakia and moldova. poland is the largest recipient with almost 2 million ukrainians fleeing.

hardayal singh is the founder of united sikhs. the group is currently providing humanitarian aid to ukrainian refugees who are fleeing via poland. he lives and works in new york, butjoins us now from medyka on the border with ukraine. it's fantastic to have you on the programme. i know it's a very busy time, so taking time out to do this, we really do appreciate it. just talk us through what you're doing out there and how you're helping. sure. we are right now at the medyka camp in poland. this location specifically has a maximum number of refugees coming in in a day, approximately in the last one and a half thousand people have come. after midnight, we notice the numbers of people, this is where the medyka border ends, and we have the

dmz following. this is the location where the refugees who have been travelling for more than 17 hours from ukraine stand in long queues and walked down right here. you can see that... it's freezing cold right now and the temperatures... i can now and the temperatures... i can only imagine- _ now and the temperatures... i can only imagine. crosstalk - only imagine. crosstalk just tojump in only imagine. crosstalk just to jump in there, only imagine. crosstalk just tojump in there, i can see that medical tents behind you. i also want to understand from you, the motivation behind why you and your team, what striven you to do this? ~ �* , ., ., ., your team, what striven you to do this? ~ �* , ., ., . 'j~ this? we've been to more than 18 lus this? we've been to more than 18 plus disasters. — this? we've been to more than 18 plus disasters, and _ this? we've been to more than 18 plus disasters, and our— this? we've been to more than 18 plus disasters, and our goal- this? we've been to more than 18 plus disasters, and our goal is - plus disasters, and our goal is recognising the human race as one. when you look at it, it's our

sisters, mothers and people who we can relate to. we understand this can relate to. we understand this can happen to anybody at any time. we have seen this in our lifetime. there's a strong bond when you see people suffering and relate to it, therefore the feeling that you can out to serve. there's a food truck here right now. right over here, we have a shelter tent where more than 24,000 have a shelter tent where more than 211,000 people passed by. you can see... women and children are suffering most. it’s see... women and children are suffering most. it's remarkable, we also 'ust suffering most. it's remarkable, we also just looked _ suffering most. it's remarkable, we also just looked at _ suffering most. it's remarkable, we also just looked at pictures - suffering most. it's remarkable, we also just looked at pictures of - suffering most. it's remarkable, we also just looked at pictures of the i also just looked at pictures of the food drug i think you guys have a organise for refugees —— food truck.

briefly, any concerns around that? anything can happen. medyka is i would say 500 km from kyiv, so therefore, we know that 25 km away inside of kyiv... therefore, we know that 25 km away inside of kyiv. . ._ inside of kyiv. .. crosstalk we don't — inside of kyiv. .. crosstalk we don't know— inside of kyiv. .. crosstalk we don't know as _ inside of kyiv. .. crosstalk we don't know as of - inside of kyiv. .. crosstalk we don't know as of now. inside of kyiv. .. crosstalk | we don't know as of now what inside of kyiv. .. crosstalk - we don't know as of now what is. it definitely does sound like the activity is picking up for you, so i'll let you get back to your amazing work. hardayal singh, founder of united sikhs, thank you forjoining us. reports from the united states suggest that russia has made the first interest payment on its foreign debt since sanctions were imposed. the american bankjp morgan is reported to have received a payment from russia's central bank.

the payment means that, for now, russia has managed to avoid defaulting on its foreign debt. chinese president xijinping has promised to reduce the impact of covid measures on the economy and people's lives. his comments, at a communist party meeting, are seen as a first acknowledgment from the chinese leadership of the costs of its strict policies to control the pandemic. but mr xi also said the country would "stick with its zero—covid strategy". you can always keep across all of our developments on the russia ukraine war by going to our website. we have a life page which is updated with the latest on the stories as well as reports from our correspondent on the ground. it's on the bbc news website or bbc news app. that's all

the time we have, do stay with bbc news. hello again. there's going to be a lot of dry weather for the next week or so. 0n on thursday, we saw more clouds. we will see less of this and more of this, blue skies over the next few days. very colourful picture there. this was the cloud that gave us the rain on wednesday as well out of the way. this cloud is not reaching our source. with clear skies like winds, it will be a chilly start to friday. maybe a few mist and fog patches across wales, the midlands, the west country. these will lift in the morning and the sunshine comes out

far and wide once again. the winds tending to freshen up a little bit in the afternoon, but it's likely to be a warmer day than it was on thursday. temperatures of 13 degrees in the central belt of scotland, and a high of 16 celsius in the southeast of england. the weather quiets down because high pressure is building, in the centre of that strong highs going to be pushing to the east. it's going to be dry on saturday, but winds will be a bit stronger. that will be a noticeable change. no frost around, probably no fog on saturday morning, but there will be lots of sunshine during the day. winds coming in for the easter southeast means that the highest temperatures will always be across more sheltered areas. temperatures may be no higher than 12 or 13 degrees. could make 16 along the coast of northwest england, but it's up coast of northwest england, but it's up towards the with west highlands and perhaps even into the moray

firth that temperatures could reach 18 degrees. sunday, there will be some changes. it will be cold for a start, and there'll be more cloud around. still some sunshine around on sunday, but more cloud, especially for some eastern part of the uk. it could be thick enough to give one or two light showers in east anglia. the winds won't be as strong sunday, but temperatures will be lower, struggling to make double figures. let's end on a positive note because early next week, it will get warmer.

this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak, the headlines. russia is continuing the relentless bombing of civilian areas in ukraine — even as turkey reveals details of a peace agreement proposed by moscow. president putin is believed to said he's closer to ap steel. rescue search for survivor after theatre was bombed with hundreds in the basement. civilians escaping the besieged ukrainian city of mariupol describe mediaeval conditions — the elderly are dying in their homes, trapped by the constant shelling. us presidentjoe biden is to speak to china's president on friday about the war in the ukraine. mr biden is

expected to warn china again