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 frontline. they've tried to punch through here, again and again and again, and they've failed. the ukrainian armed forces are keeping them at bay. are we closer to a peace deal? russia's president puts forward his proposals to turkey.

meanwhile in the south, rescuers search for survivors after a theatre is bombed with hundreds sheltering in the basement. do they leave or stay behind? the agonising decisions being made in the crucial port city of odessa, including in the main orphanage, where some are too sick to travel. they need oxygen, how can i move them? am i supposed to take the healthiest to safety and abandon the rest? hello to viewers on pbs in the us and around the globe. ukraine's second city of kharkiv 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 darren 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. 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. explosion and breaking glass. russian grad rockets fall all around us. 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. 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. our world afairs editorjohn simpson, who's in istanbul, has the 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 thinks 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 secondly, 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. that's the picture at the frontline. 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. ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky has accused russia of deliberately targeting 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, 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. you know, it's so devastating, it's a very personal story for me, as well and as for a lot of actors and musicians who sang there. it's even more devastating to know that this place actually was a shelter for more than a thousand 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. "then there was an explosion. "they left us with nothing. "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. orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme. we speak to the russian journalist who protested against the war in ukraine on a live tv news programme — after she was detained and fined for her actions.

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 — offeringl reunification as quickly as possible — and that'sl what the voters wanted.

this is newsday on the bbc. our 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. new british intelligence reports suggest moscow's invasion has �*largely stalled' with heavy russian losses and fierce ukrainian resistance. for places in ukraine like the city of odesa — yet to witness an offensive, residents are faced with a difficult decision, to leave or stay. russia is eager to take the crucial port city on the black sea coast. our correspondent andrew harding is in odesa as it prepares its defences, and he sent this report.

on ukraine's black sea coast, they're getting ready for the russians. filling sandbags... ..and blocking the streets of odesa, an ancient port city once attacked by lenin, then by hitler, now braced for putin's invasion. some here cling to a sense of normality. "of course the war will come, with all its death and suffering, and for what?" asks 77—year—old alexander. others are already facing immediate, impossible decisions. in odesa's main orphanage, 18 of its children are too sick to be taken abroad. translation: they need oxygen. how can i move them? am i supposed to take the healthiest to safety and abandon the rest?

for now, her plan is to move them all to the basement. up the road at odesa's zoo, the staff have agreed to stay put, whatever the war brings. the director now sleeps in his office, afraid the sound of explosions might panic the animals. and more animals keep arriving, pets dropped off by families preparing to flee. i'm afraid. but we stay here. we love our city and we will stay here. and we will fight. meanwhile, teenage recruits are still signing up for odesa's civil defence units, ready to fight the russians street by street, knowing it may soon come to that. it is impossible to imagine the russians bombarding this precious city, a place steeped

in the russian language, in russian culture, and in centuries of russian history. and yet the events of the past few weeks here in ukraine suggest that this city, odesa, could be under attack at any moment. out of sight, off the coast, a russian armada is circling. odesa has already sandbagged its most precious monuments. while each new air raid sends people down to the city's old cellars... ..to wait for whatever russia has in store. andrew harding, bbc news, odesa. let's turn to the white house now which has been saying the us has �*high concern�* that china might supply russia with military equipment — that could be used by president putin against ukraine. both china and russia deny any knowledge of this —

but the white house says president biden will raise the subject with his chinese counterpart xi jinping in a phone call scheduled for friday. here's what the us secretary of state antony blinken had to say. we believe china in particular has a responsibility to use its influence on president putin and to defend the international rules and principles that it professes to support. instead, it appears that china is moving in the opposite direction by refusing to condemn this aggression while seeking to portray itself as a neutral arbiter. and we're concerned that they're considering directly assisting russia with military equipment to use in ukraine. president biden will be speaking to president xi tomorrow and will make clear that china will bear responsibility for any actions it takes to support russia's aggression, and we will not hesitate to impose costs. our north america correspondent peter bowes told me what the white house expects from the phone call. the white house has characterised this call,

at least initially, as an opportunity for president biden to see where president xi stands on ukraine. the chinese leader has not condemned the russian invasion. there are real concerns that china could be about to offer both financial and military help to russia. president biden has talked in the state of the union address about this conflict being a battle between autocracy and democracy. we know that president xi doesn't come down on the side of democracy, hence the concerns of the west as to where this could go. as far as china, there is 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 perhaps sanctions on china over its stance on russia.

reports from the united states suggest that russia has made the first interest payment on its foreign debt since sanctions were imposed. the american bank, jp morgan, is reported to have received a payment from russia's central bank. moscow says it has met its obligation to pay 117 million dollars in interest on its dollar—denominated bonds. the payment means that, for now, russia has managed to avoid defaulting on its foreign debt. the russian journalist who protested against the war in ukraine on a live tv news programme says she's a normal russian woman who could not remain on the sidelines. marina ovsyan—nikova was detained, fined and then released. she's been speaking to our correspondent in moscow, caroline davies.

marina ovsyannikova is not used to being the story. she worked in state media for 18 years until she decided to stage her own protest against russia's actions in ukraine. on monday evening, she interrupted the broadcast, shouting, "no war," and holding up a poster that read, "they're lying to you here." translation: there are lots of conspiracy theories - building up about me, that this was a fake, that it was set up by the fsb, or i am a project of western special services. that's why i had to explain to the world what really happened, the fact that i'm just a normal russian woman but i could not remain indifferent after russia invaded ukraine. you worked at state media for years. do you have a sense of guilt about that? ifeel, of course, some responsibility lying on me. i was an ordinary cog

in the propaganda machine. until the very last moment, i didn't think about it too much. i was happy with my life but discontent was piling up. but, of course, i feel responsibility. yesterday, president putin made it clear what he thought of anyone with pro—western views, calling them traitors. translation: any nation, i and even more so the russian people, will always be able to distinguish true patriots from traitors and scum, and will simply spit them out like an insect in their mouth, spit them onto the pavement. this is the channel marina worked for. russian state tv has long been controlled by the kremlin and is the main source of news for millions of russians. since the beginning of what russia called its "special military operation" in ukraine, a number ofjournalists have resigned from several russian state tv channels,

but marina is adamant that she wants to stay in russia. what do you think your future now holds for you and your children here in russia? it's a hard question because my eldest son said that i have ruined the life of the whole family. probably he doesn't understand now, but i hope in the future my children will understand this sacrifice was not for nothing. caroline davies, bbc news, moscow. arnold schwarzenegger has called for an end to a "senseless war" in ukraine in a video appeal to russians and russian troops, using russian subtitiles. he warned them not to fall into the same trap as his father, who fought for the nazis, as he said that broke his father's will, physically and mentally. the austrian—born bodybuilder said the world's turned against russia.

asa as a long—term friend of the russian people i hope that you will hear what i have to say. it is a humanitarian crisis. because of its brutality, russia is now isolated. from the society of nations. you are not being told the truth about the consequences of this war on russia itself. i regret to tell you that thousands of russian soldiers that have been killed. a reminder of our main news: russia has set out its demands for a possible deal which could bring the war in ukraine to an end. president putin told his turkish counterpart, recep tayyip erdogan, that he would need ukraine to agree never to apply to join nato and to protect the russian language. but the conditions would also involve ukraine making concessions regarding the status of crimea and two breakaway republics in the east of the country.

hello there. the weather is really settling down. there's going to be a lot of dry weather, probably, for the next week or so. now, on thursday, we saw more cloud mainly across northern parts of the uk, giving us a few showers. but we're going to see less of this and more of this — blue skies over the next few days, very colourful picture there in the centre of london. now, this was the cloud that gave us the rain on wednesday. that's well out of the way. this cloud is not really reaching our shores, and the speckle cloud, the showers in the north of scotland are tending to fade away. so, with clear skies, light winds, it is going to be a chilly start to friday morning with some frost, particularly across scotland and northern ireland. maybe a few mist and fog patches across wales, the midlands, across the west country, too. these will lift in the morning, and then 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 newcastle, and a high of 16 celsius in the southeast of england. the weather's quitening down because high pressure's building across the uk on friday. the centre of that strong highs going to be pushing to the east of our shores with quite a few isobars on the chart on saturday. it's going to be dry on saturday, but the winds will be quite a bit stronger — that'll be a noticeable change for all parts of the country. so, no frost around, probably no fog around on saturday morning, but there will be lots of sunshine during the day. the winds coming in from the east or southeast means that the highest temperatures will always be across more sheltered western areas. across some eastern parts of england, temperatures maybe no higher than 12 or 13 degrees. could make 16 along the coast of northwest england, but it's up towards the northwest highlands and perhaps even into the moray firth that

temperatures could reach 17 or 18 degrees, and it could be the warmest day of the year so far. as we move into sunday, there are going to be some changes. it's going to be colder for a start and a bit more cloud around, too. there'll still be some sunshine around on sunday, but more cloud, especially for some eastern parts of the uk. it could just be thick enough to give one or two light showers in east anglia and the southeast of england. the winds won't be as strong on sunday, but temperatures are going to be lower, struggling to make double figures around some of those eastern coasts. but let's end on a positive note, because early next week, it's going to get warmer.

you're watching bbc news. the headlines will follow at the top of the hour, after this programme. so, hello. there is usually three of us, aren't there, on the podcast on a thursday? and today, just me. because laura's been gallivanting around the middle east. and adam has covid, as you'll have heard if you are listening to newscast on bbc sounds yesterday. so, we have dr ellie cannon, gp, with us. hello. hi, there. to talk about covid. because, i guess, because of what has been happening in ukraine, it's not been making as much news as it otherwise might have done. i've got plenty of questions, but i can start from a question from adam, who has sent us a little video from his

self isolation at home.