this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. a series of explosions in western ukraine near the city of lviv — with smoke rising out of the city centre. ukraine's capital kyiv continues to be targeted by russian airstrikes. a residential neighbourhood in a nothern district has been shelled. in the east, the ukrainian army holds off the russian advance in the second city of kharkiv, despite heavy daily bombardment. we have a report from the frontline. they've tried to punch through here again and again and again and they've failed. ukrainian forces are keeping them at bay. two million people have

fled ukraine to poland since the war in ukraine began, with the majority being women and children. are we any closer to a ceasefire? russia's president putin lays out his demands to turkey, including that ukraine neverjoins nato. the kremlin backed news channel rt has its licence to broadcast in the uk revoked — the watchdog ofcom says it's not a "fit and proper" channel. demonstrations are planned at ports across the uk in outrage at p&0 ferries, which sacked 800 staff to replace them with agency workers. ukranian refugees wanting to come to the uk can now apply for visas to be sponsored by british families, under the government's homes for ukraine refugee scheme. and all remaining covid travel restrictions are lifted for passengers entering the uk. from today, unvaccinated arrivals

will no longer have to take tests. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. there have been a series of explosions near the city of lviv. the country's most westerly major city has, so far, been seen as a place of sanctuary for many fleeing russian attacks further east. earlier this morning, a large plume of smoke was seen in the area of the international airport. that's around six kilometres from the city centre. this is andriy sadovy. he's the mayor of lviv and says a nearby aircraft repair facility was hit, rather than the airport itself. so far, no casualties have been reported. these latest attacks come as russian president,

vladimir putin lays out his demands in exchange for what he describes as a �*peace deal�* with ukraine. and in the last hour, kremlin—backed broadcaster, rt has had its license to broadcast in the uk revoked. in the last few minutes the poland border guard agency says 2 million people have crossed from ukraine into poland since the war began. lost in grief, and the grim reality of war. the people of ukraine have endured over three weeks of brutal bombardment and indiscriminate deaths. these latest images show the western city of lviv being targeted this morning, with smoke rising from an aircraft repair plant. and in a northern suburb of kyiv, more buildings reduced to ruins by russian air strikes. there are no reported casualties so far.

while the aerial offensive is devastating, russia's progress on the ground seems to be stalling. according to the latest intelligence from the uk ministry of defence, counter—attacks by ukraine soldiers means russia can't get supplies to its forward lines. that may be why russia has been prepared to set out its terms for peace — demanding that ukraine be a neutral country that would notjoin nato. but it's assumed moscow also wants eastern parts of ukraine to be under its control, and for crimea to formally become part of russia. these are concessions president zelensky may find hard to make. he is prepared to meet president putin face—to—face, but won't say what his terms will be. in his now daily address, he said it wasn't time to reveal the tactics for negotiating peace,

sovereignty, and the integrity of the state. for now, it was better to work in silence. ukraine has had to draw on every possible reserve — untrained teenagers fighting alongside veterans. sergiy stakhovsky retired from professional tennis to take up arms for his nation. even if i will be capable of shooting, killing someone is marking you on your life. so i don't believe that any of the ukrainians are willingly doing it, but we don't have any choice. if we don't stand up, we don't have a country to defend — we don't have a country to live in. there are some who have to flee. around 30,000 people have been able to leave mariupol in the south — leaving behind a sieged city where 90% of buildings have been damaged and destroyed. and in 0desa, they fear they may be next. families are being torn apart as they prepare

for the unknown weeks — maybe months — ahead. hywel griffith, bbc news. and we have been getting the latest from our correspondent in the ukraine k four. it was like a continuous rolling thunder sound and it was where the majority of russian forces seem to be gathering. it is a fourth morning that we have woken up to news where a residential block has been affected by shrapnel, it has fallen directly on a residential area, one reported deaths and four injuries, and it shows the indiscriminate nature of war which cannot be avoided. as long as missiles are flying in the air, it causes scenes of devastation, but kyiv is a city

along with the city to the south where russian forces are being frustrated by ukrainian defence, they cannot circle the city like in other locations. but other cities like sumy to the north and kharkiv to the east, the ukrainian forces tell us they are holding out, repelling russian attacks. the question is for how much longer. as everin question is for how much longer. as ever in this war, mariupol in the south—east has a different story, the level of ukrainian resistance is finally thought to be softening after more than two weeks of being surrounded and cut off and bombarded by russian troops. the emotion that burned through this week from the people we speak to it is one of angen people we speak to it is one of anger, they have had the trauma of this invasion, the shop, the upset from being separated or are losing a loved one, then there is the

acclimatisation, the strange routine of air raid sirens, the constant threat of shelling, but now if you talk to people, they are not fixated on the political details of where there might be a concession in the political talk, there might be a concession in the politicaltalk, but there might be a concession in the political talk, but they hone in on the language used by vladimir putin on the basis for ukraine to be a country, for example, or him wanting to see the russian language protected, accusing the government of being nationalists who use them as human shields in the face of the russian liberators, in their words, coming in. that kind of rhetoric is cutting through to people knife and they are angry, this is an assault not only on ukraine but on the identity of ukraine and future. of course the appetite for peace on both sides is only increasing, and russia certainly experiences more losses and the advances are frustrated by ukrainian and defence systems, people are angry. the

question many ask is if there is going to be peace, what are we going to get? are we going to sit at a table which president zelensky and president putin are willing to do, why are we engaging with the main aggressor in this war? the numbers leaving has gone up. at the moment, more than half have left. more than 2 million people. that leaves short of 2 million who have stayed. we had a 35 hour curfew this week, if we thought it was quite before, it was a deathly silence during that day. the streets were empty, there was no traffic, it was a nervous time punctuated by the sound of distant explosions. those who have stayed, the go out, some shops are open, limited stock, pharmacies are still open. people need medicine. as ever, you have military checkpoints,

barricades, armed volunteers and soldiers, digging trenches in places where there were no trenches before, piling sandbags where children once played. it is a city on guard, in defensive mode, and the result is deep to hold out the russian attackers. james waterhouse in the ukrainian capital. the news that 0fcom, the media regulator has revoked the license of rt, the kremlin backed news channel. we have had a response to that from the government in the armed forces minister who has said he welcomes the decision to revoke rt's he welcomes the decision to revoke rt�*s broadcast licence, i am glad it was a regulator that took the choice, ratherthan was a regulator that took the choice, rather than the government, he says rt is a channel for russian propaganda. the deputy of rt has said the decision to suspend rt�*s uk licence has robbed the british

public have access to information. she said 0fcom has shown the uk public that despite a well constructed facade of independence, it is nothing more than a tool of government to its media suppressing well. that is the latest decision by ofcom to revoke the licence of rt with immediate effect saying that its licence is not fit and proper to hold a licence. there are some 29 investigations into the impart sheltie of the programmes. let's go back to lviv and the situation close to the airport. 0ur correspondent is in lviv. what more can you tell us about what has happened this morning? no i want to set the scene, ninth in minutes past six in the

morning, as a first light was coming, we heard sirens and we were shepherded into shelters as were probably many people who found shelter in their basement. at 625 there were four explosions about four miles away towards the west of the city. it was thought it might be the city. it was thought it might be the airport, the authorities say it was not, it was an aircraft maintenance centre repair plant. they say no work was being carried out at the plan at the time. one person has sustained medium injuries. nevertheless, it is a strike in a city which has been considered something of a safe haven. not entirely safe, but somewhat removed from the front lines of the war which are currently several hundred miles away. the fact that people here in lviv will have woken up to the sound of air raid warnings, open their windows, woken up to the sound of air raid warnings, open theirwindows, looked across the horizon and seen plumes

of black smoke, will drive home to them something they probably already knew, the water is everywhere in ukraine. 0ur knew, the water is everywhere in ukraine. our people staying in lviv up ukraine. our people staying in lviv up till now? it has been unscathed by the war hitherto, are they staying there in large numbers? yes. staying there in large numbers? yes, some are, staying there in large numbers? yes, some are. some _ staying there in large numbers? yes, some are, some aren't. _ staying there in large numbers? yes, some are, some aren't. 3 _ staying there in large numbers? ye: some are, some aren't. 3 million ukrainians have crossed the border into poland and other eu countries. 3 million ukrainians, many who would have come through here, decided the city was either not safe enough or appropriate enough for them to be in. we do meet people here in lviv who have come from other areas. i have met several from who have come from other areas. i have met severalfrom kyiv, other cities, and have decided to use the city as a way station or rest stop. they do not have future plans. at the moment, in ukraine, you cannot plan more than 2a hours in advance.

thank you very much. reporting from lviv. president biden will urge china not to provide russia with military equipment for its war in ukraine, when he holds talks on the phone with his chinese counterpart today. us officials have criticised beijing for failing to denouce the invasion , warning that china has a responsibility to use its influence on vladimir putin to defend international rules and principles. 0ur correspondent stephen mcdonell is in beijing. what sort of message do you think joe biden is trying to get across to his chinese counterpart during these phone conservations today? here his chinese counterpart during these phone conservations today?- phone conservations today? here in bei'ina , phone conservations today? here in bei'ina, it phone conservations today? here in beijing. it is — phone conservations today? here in beijing, it is snowing, _ phone conservations today? here in beijing, it is snowing, winter, - beijing, it is snowing, winter, preparations are under way for china leader xi jinping preparations are under way for china leader xijinping to preparations are under way for china leader xi jinping to speak tojoe biden in the coming hours. to give you an idea of how important the discussion is likely to be, this is

the most important media in this country in terms of the communist party delivering messages to people. this is the front page, across the front page, we have an announcement regarding these talks between xi jinping and joe biden. we are expecting them of course to be talking about the ukraine crisis, the americans have said as much, it is on the table as a topic. the tensions on this front will be washington and beijing are fighting an information war, a proxy information war over what is happening in ukraine. when we hear that the russians have asked china for military assistance, that has come from the us. and on the chinese side, these allegations that the americans have secret weapons bases

inside ukraine, biological weapons bases, that is beijing essentially delivering it kremlin propaganda line. washington has accused beijing of being very close to the russian government, beijing says we are an impartial player. we are not on either side. we can act as an intermediary when it comes to the war. really, if you look at what is being set in the chinese press, the state—run press, and what the foreign ministry says here, they are often inflating propaganda lines from russia and we never hear them on the other hand delivering the propaganda lines are any messages at all from they clearly are, it seems to me, backing one side over the other, although they say they are impartial, the differences are the us is providing weapons to the ukrainian side in the war, and china says we are not doing anything of

the sort at the moment and this is what the american government wants to ensure does not happen in the future. whenjoe biden speaks to xi jinping, he will be asking for an assurance that he will not give weapons to russia. the other thing the americans are saying they do not want you to bail out russia because the sanctions are biting there. that is a different matter, according to china, the sanctions are not the right way to go and they do not support the sanctions. the chinese government will keep supporting russia financially, trade with russia, and after all, we are now in this era, we are led to believe, that there is a no limits relationship as it is being referred to between russia and china. this is a deal that was signed with great fanfare before the winter olympics. it looks like beijing is not going to back down one little bit from that. ., ~ to back down one little bit from that. . ~ , ., to back down one little bit from that. ., ~' , ., , to back down one little bit from that. . ~ ,, , . we can talk now to cbs correspondent

laura podesta in new york: for the us president, how important is this conversation today with the chinese president about the war in ukraine? fix, chinese president about the war in ukraine? �* , u, chinese president about the war in ukraine? �* , . ., ukraine? a significant exchange, the biden administration _ ukraine? a significant exchange, the biden administration say _ ukraine? a significant exchange, the biden administration say china - ukraine? a significant exchange, the biden administration say china has i biden administration say china has been working hard to remain neutral but the white house believes china is anything but impartial. the secretary of state has said it has been obvious by beijing's efforts to blame the us and allies for what is going on in ukraine. prior to the invasion, us diplomats had asked their chinese counterparts to intervene with russia but that request was refused. in intervene with russia but that request was refused. in terms of the wider significance _ request was refused. in terms of the wider significance of _ request was refused. in terms of the wider significance of all _ request was refused. in terms of the wider significance of all of _ request was refused. in terms of the wider significance of all of this, - wider significance of all of this, the west has long feared an alliance between russia and china. the authoritarian countries lining up against the west and democracies. do you think that is how the biden administration see this? a pivotal

moment in global history? absolutely. they have been referencing the reports that say russia is asking china for military aid and that has brought this matter to a head. we know president biden and xijinping are going to be talking at nine o'clock this morning washington time and president biden is going to aj xijinping not to offer any assistance to moscow whether financial or military. thank ou ve whether financial or military. thank you very much- _ in the last hour, the uk's ministry of defence has given an update on the conflict in ukraine. it says russian forces have made minimal progress this week — that ukrainian forces continue to frustrate russian attempts to encircle the capital kyiv and mykolaiv, near the black sea — and that a number of cities including kharkiv and mariupol are encircled and being hit by heavy shelling — it adds the un has said the number of refugees fleeing ukraine

has passed 3.2 million nearly two million refugees have crossed the ukrainian border into poland, many of them children. sixty—five—thousand have already started in polish schools but they're expecting many more —— with special classes giving ukrainian children an introduction to the polish language and education system. 0ur correspondent danjohnson has been to a school in krakow, not farfrom the ukrainian border. there's little sign artem started here only a fortnight ago. and victoria just last week. now they learn in a different language, get used to a new school, and try to make friends — all despite the added weight of running from war and being cut off from family. translation: i've lost my friends. they were scattered around the world.

some of them are in poland, in different cities. some are in georgia, some in slovakia, in germany. but we communicate through apps. we are in touch. artem's concern is for his mum — who's here, helping the school translate. translation: i worry so much - about my relatives, about my mother, because they are so stressed. they were not ready to move from ukraine and leave their house, but the situation is like this and we have to get used to it. this is life. the language barrier is a serious difficulty and every day more ukrainian children arrive.

she is growing up, she is becoming stronger, i hope she won't remember. i am trying to tell her it is an adventure. we are on holiday, and we are visiting friends, and we are just travelling, but no more and more often, she asks to go back to daddy. an... ijust cannot explain to her why we cannot do it at the moment. i cannot find the right words why it is not possible. children on the move sing happy birthday in many languages. christina hasjoined herfriend and

their three daughters to celebrate her seventh birthday. translation: the children are fine when mum is fine. are you fine? so—so. i have no way out. i have three children. i am here alone. i have to pull myself together and do what i can. ., , ., , what i can. young lives are being sha ed what i can. young lives are being shaped and _ what i can. young lives are being shaped and milestones _ what i can. young lives are being shaped and milestones marked. | what i can. young lives are being - shaped and milestones marked. away from home, without family. her birthday wish, to be with her dad. p&o ferries has sparked outrage after sacking 800 workers with plans to replace them with cheaper agency staff. the company said it was a "tough" decision but it would "not be a viable business" without the change. the british government said the way

p&o treated its workers was "wholly unacceptable". our correspondent simonjones reports. what is the latest on this bitter industrial dispute? i what is the latest on this bitter industrial dispute?— industrial dispute? i think the olitical industrial dispute? i think the political heat _ industrial dispute? i think the political heat is _ industrial dispute? i think the political heat is turning - industrial dispute? i think the political heat is turning out i industrial dispute? i think the i political heat is turning out this morning because labour have written to the government and to the prime minister to say he needs to get a grip and stand up for the rights of british workers. i think anyone expecting the government to write in and try to intervene will be disappointed because the government minister told the bbc this morning that in his view, the way p&o ferries had treated the 800 workers yesterday was disgraceful but he said there was nothing the government could do to intervene in this process. i think the politics of this is likely to get played out with heat ever—growing. in terms of

ferry services, there are three p&o ferries at the port, they will go nowhere today, it is unlikely they will make anyjourneys in the next ten days or so while p&o ferries try to sort out the situation, pretty extraordinary event yesterday, the first that people on board the ferries knew that something was wrong was when they were ordered to return to port ahead of what was billed as a significant announcement. then the workers were told via a video message that they no longer had jobs from its immediate effect. it has raised questions about the legality of all this, that is very much being debated. but there is going to be demonstrations here in dover and elsewhere in the uk today from disgruntled workers.— elsewhere in the uk today from disgruntled workers. thank you very much. the disgruntled workers. thank you very much- the very _ disgruntled workers. thank you very much. the very latest _ disgruntled workers. thank you very much. the very latest on _ disgruntled workers. thank you very much. the very latest on the - disgruntled workers. thank you very| much. the very latest on the dispute from dover. we will also be talking in the next few seconds to a media

editor about the decision to revoke the licence of rt in the uk. you are watching bbc news. hello. good morning. let's take a look at the weather across the uk, a beautiful spring day for many. mist and fog around at the moment across parts of western england and wales. in the afternoon it clears and blue for the majority. local out on eastern coast of northern ireland, western isles and shetland. here the breeze at its strongest, elsewhere, light winds, blue sky and sunshine. a warm spring day, 16 celsius, cooler in the north of scotland. the breeze will freshen up tonight and across the country. that will stop

the fog. some in north—east england, and in southern and eastern scotland they will see if roast. the breeze, not as chilly as the past few nights elsewhere. at the weekend, high pressure to the east into saturday, keeping much of central northern europe dry, but the breeze will pick up europe dry, but the breeze will pick up as we go into saturday and sunday. windy on saturday, pretty sunny, mist and fog in the north east of england, in central scotland, blue sky from dawn till dusk. the breeze from a chilly c, c temperatures 7 degrees in the north sea, the wind blowing across that, pushes into eastern areas, temperatures will drop relative to today. across the east of scotland, eastern england, 12 degrees at the highest, shelterfrom eastern england, 12 degrees at the highest, shelter from the

eastern england, 12 degrees at the highest, shelterfrom the breeze in sheltered areas, temperatures in the mid teens. warmest conditions in the north of scotland, 17 celsius. sunday, the breeze picks up, it will feel cold, it called wind. more cloud across eastern parts of the country, also devon and cornwall and the channel islands. the cloud could bring showers in east anglia and south—east england. mostly dry and sunny across northern areas, temperatures are lower than saturday, eight to 10 degrees on the east coast. sunday evening, showers pushing northwards, starting next week with a lot of dry weather around and it will be warmer, especially in the south.

quarry are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. a series of explosions in western ukraine near the city of lviv , with smoke rising outside the city centre . ukraine's capital kyiv continues to be targeted by russian airstrikes. a residential neighbourhood in a northern district has been shelled. in the east the ukrainian army holds off the russian advance in the second city of kharkiv, despite heavy daily bombardment. they've tried to punch through here again and again and again and they've failed. ukrainian forces are keeping them at bay. two million people have

fled ukraine to poland since the war in ukraine began, with the majority being women and children. that's according to the polish border guard agency. are we any closer to a ceasefire? russia's president putin lays out his demands to turkey, including one that ukraine neverjoins nato. the kremlin—backed news channel rt has its licence to broadcast in the uk revoked — the watchdog ofcom says it's not a "fit and proper" channel. ukranian refugees wanting to come to the uk can now apply for visas to be sponsored by british families, under the government's homes for ukraine refugee scheme. demonstrations are planned at ports across the uk in outrage at p&o ferries, which sacked 800 staff to replace them with agency workers. and all remaining covid travel restrictions are lifted for passengers entering the uk.

from today, unvaccinated arrivals will no longer have to take tests. as we've been reporting — the uk media regulator has revoked the licence of the broadcaster, rt — which used to be known as russia today. ofcom said it did not consider the russian—backed television station to be "fit and proper". the company complained it had been "falselyjudged", and said the british public had been robbed of access to information. let's talk to our media editor amol rajan. ofcom have been looking at rt for quite a while. there has been

pressure for russia to take action against rt, was this decision inevitable?— against rt, was this decision inevitable? ., ., , ., inevitable? for the reasons and context which _ inevitable? for the reasons and context which you _ inevitable? for the reasons and context which you give. - inevitable? for the reasons and context which you give. we - inevitable? for the reasons and context which you give. we are | inevitable? for the reasons and l context which you give. we are in inevitable? for the reasons and - context which you give. we are in an age of permanent s information war and it has escalated dramatically. rt is a state broadcaster. that means that it is funded by the state. there is an important distinction between a state broadcaster such as rt and the public broadcaster such as the bbc which is funded by the public. rt is run by, controlled by an organisation called tv novosti which is funded by the kremlin. in this country we have a system of independent regulation, independent bodies like ofcom which regulate the media and under ofcom rules you can be funded by a state as tv novosti as but not controlled by a political body and not so long ago, the chinese channel over here cgcn was

taken off air by ofcom because it was controlled by a political body. the feeling that rt being controlled by tv novosti which is controlled by the kremlin is an arm of the state propaganda. and looking at the content of rt, it failed on the grounds of due accuracy, saying this is a military exercise when it is clearly a war of aggression and repeated other feelings of accuracy are something ofcom were concerned about. and also failing in due partiality. a difficult thing to explain what it means an absence of bringing a certain amount of ideological baggage to journalism and it is fair to say from watching rt that there is some ideological baggage. ofcom are concerned about whether or not it satisfies independent regulatory needs for due accuracy and impartiality. we independent regulatory needs for due accuracy and impartiality.— accuracy and impartiality. we have heard a reaction _ accuracy and impartiality. we have heard a reaction from _ accuracy and impartiality. we have heard a reaction from the -

accuracy and impartiality. we have| heard a reaction from the kremlin, to this decision and they are saying in a word that it is madness. perhaps a predictable reaction from the russian government. what could be the wider ramifications of this? there is an interesting question of whether that is the right thing to do with notjust for ofcom but for broader society. you might say ofcom looking at the code they operate under and whether or not tv novosti are fit and proper to be earning tv licences is a decision ofcom had to make but there is a broader question for us as a society, about whether this is likely to be effective. in the system of regulation in this country what has happened is that the ability of rt to broadcast on tv networks, it will still be pumping out state propaganda online so the question is is it actually going to be affected? the secondary question, is there a danger this could be counter—productive? a spokesman for ofcom said that this will be leading

to retaliation against the bbc along with otherjournalists doing important work bringing people in russia accurate, fair information and if this does lead to retaliation against the bbc doesn't prove counter—productive? and a broader philosophical question which is, if this is a warfor philosophical question which is, if this is a war for liberal democracy, and a pillar of liberal democracy is free speech, should you allow people to broadcast things you disagree with? as you know that is a statue of george orwell outside and he has this quote was as if liberty means anything it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. whether this was going to be effective, whether it would be counter—productive, and whether it affects the argument that this is a war for liberal democracy is a broader social consideration but just to be clear, that is not a question for ofcom, they have got to apply their code and it seems to me they have applied it pretty effectively and this seemed to me

inevitable. we reported earlier on some of the diplomatic moves around the conflict in ukraine. let's talk now to dr david blagden, senior lecturer in international security at the university of exeter. thank you very much for being with us. in terms of a possible outline of a peace deal, we have heard various suggestions from the russians and even from the ukrainians. is there a possible peace deal in the offing, do you think? what would it look like? short of total victory for either side, which looks very unlikely, then yes, there has to be some sort of settlement, negotiation, whether thatis of settlement, negotiation, whether that is an explicit formal agreement or some arrangement under which the parties stop fighting. nato is always the part of it. the russians have stressed that, put in stressing that in the cold turkey yesterday,

so there might be some commitment to neutrality understood in terms —— in the call to turkey yesterday. there are stipulations around the russian language which it is easy for ukraine to concede. you get into the trickier stuff, ukraine to concede. you get into the trickierstuff, russian ukraine to concede. you get into the trickier stuff, russian demands for disarmament, ok, is that disarmament of any means to threaten russia which ukraine doesn't have to begin with or is that disarmament that softens ukraine up so the russians could have another go because it has got rid of some of his defensive capabilities? there is the claim of denazification, which was widely understood earlier in the war, we thought the russians are basically meant that as decapitation of ukraine's elected government effectively kind of annex the whole country stop they would be happy with some kind of sop about clamping down on neo—nazis within ukraine. the hard part will be that russia is continuing to push for annexation of

parts of what is ukrainian territory, crimea, which was annexed in 2014, donetsk and luhansk where they have been supporting separatists and part of and trying to claim all of them. at the moment the ukrainian military is doing pretty well. so the power of saying, you might not be moved by a demand to hand over your territory. bill you might not be moved by a demand to hand over your territory.— to hand over your territory. all the indications — to hand over your territory. all the indications from _ to hand over your territory. all the indications from military _ to hand over your territory. all the indications from military analysts i indications from military analysts are that the russians are not doing that well. there is a kind of stalemate. there are various attacks have stalled in many places. does that put pressure on them, more pressure, do you think, to come up with some sort of peace deal or from food in's point of view, does it have to be victory at all costs? == have to be victory at all costs? -- from putin's _ have to be victory at all costs? -- from putin's point of view. it has to be some sort of victory at all

costs that he can sell back home and spin as a victory, if he is not being facing challenges to his own power within russia so he has to get some sort of victory but yes, the way that the ukrainian forces are performed so well, a combination of their own extreme resolve and motivation plus the fact that they have been aided by massive inflows of very advanced western weaponry which have shifted the balance of power, that has actually put the ukrainian situation where russia probably can't push for total annexation or its idea of creating another puppet state like belarus, and may be russia now is coming to terms with the fact that it has to get some sort of limited victory, that putin can sell back home, but the ambitious kind of goals of the —— short of the initial goals of the operation. -- short of the initial goals of the operation-— -- short of the initial goals of the

oeration. ., ., . , . operation. how would a peace deal work? are we _ operation. how would a peace deal work? are we talking _ operation. how would a peace deal work? are we talking about - operation. how would a peace deal work? are we talking about an - work? are we talking about an intermediary, perhaps turkey or other countries, brokering that deal, orwould other countries, brokering that deal, or would it be done between putin and zelenskyy themselves, in direct conversations, direct talks? it may be that putin and zelenskyy ultimately have to meet, possibly because of each of them needing to sell some sort of agreement to their domestic politics given that they have backed themselves into this terrible situation, not zelenskyy, to clarify, putin has backed himself into this terrible situation so it may be that they ultimately have to meet, but a lot of the mediation prior to that could be facilitated by some sort of outside power. turkey has been stepping into that role yesterday. we have talked about israel which is not a nato member which is in a slightly different situation again, being in a position to possibly facilitate. so it might be what you see is creeping,

incremental progress towards some sort of settlement. that will lead —— that the leaders have to settle in and sell to their own domestic populations at the end.— in and sell to their own domestic populations at the end. thank you ve much populations at the end. thank you very much indeed _ populations at the end. thank you very much indeed for— populations at the end. thank you very much indeed for talking - populations at the end. thank you very much indeed for talking to i populations at the end. thank you very much indeed for talking to is| very much indeed for talking to is doctor david blagden. we have a line in from the afp news seizing that putin has accused ukraine of stalling peace talks. also we are getting some lines from the polish prime minister, saying that the next nato summit polling will propose a peacekeeping mission in ukraine and the polish prime minister waiting for a brave decisions from the european commission to ban russian coal imports. that is the latest from the police prime minister. now an eyewitness report from the front line. ukraine's second city of kharkiv has been under heavy bombardment but 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 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. 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. since the russian started their attacks on ukraine, maria avdeeva has been documenting what is happening to her city of kharkiv. the country's second largest city has faced continuous bombardment. let's have a listen. iam i am staying in kharkiv for more than three weeks now, witnessing how this vibrant, young, beautiful city mall becomes a ghost town with no people outside, with families hiding in the underground, with constant shells and bombardment of residential areas. shells and bombardment of residentialareas. here, you shells and bombardment of residential areas. here, you see that almost all of the buildings are without windows. it means that this family that used to live here now

flee kharkiv to find somewhere, because they have no place where they can stay. you hear the shelling right now when i speak to you. it doesn't stop, day and night. russia continues to arrive in my city. maria avdeeva. maria avdeeva told me what her last 72 hours has been like in kharkiv. the last few days were very intensive because of the constant shelling that doesn't stop, so it goes on throughout the day, and we can see reports coming in from different districts in town that one or other residential areas was hit by russian shelling and i myself live quite close to the city centre, and i saw on the street the results of these shells, one of the rockets the cluster munitions rocket was lying just on the pavement inside of

it. so one of the historical building is very close to where i live was destroyed and on fire because of the shelling and yesterday they huge market in kharkiv went on fire, and there was smoke around and all over the city throughout the day. firefighters tried to fight the fire, but actually today in the morning i again can see the smoke because probably they didn't manage to completely stop it. so the situation is very intense. it looks like russia is now using these tactics terrorising civilians and threatening the population all the time. i have been to the metro station yesterday and saw people hiding there, for three weeks, and they are all living there in the underground with their children, and no possibility to go outside, only for a quick walk to the shop to get

some food and get back down to the metro station. many people have flee kharkiv, many of my friends and colleagues are not now at the moment here, because at some point people understood that it will take much time to get back to normal life here, even if the war or ceasefire is now, even if the war is stopped right this moment. kharkiv is now completely destroyed, kharkiv city centre. it will be very difficult to get to normal life, and that is why people continue to leave the city, searching some places where they can start their life from the beginning. it is very difficult for people to leave everything here, everything they knew and their lives, and in they knew and their lives, and in the city the situation with food supplies, well, it is better now because there are less people actually in the city, and there are

cars with humanitarian aid coming into the city which is distributed to people, but then when you go outside and you stay in line in front of the shop it means that at any moment you can become a target for another russian missile or attack. i, myself, see my role in providing the information about what is happening here on the ground in kharkiv, because i see a huge wave of this information that russia spreads through state media and social media. they continue to claim that this is ukrainian forces who she“ that this is ukrainian forces who shell their own positions and residential areas. they deny the losses among ukrainian civilians and they deny the losses among russian soldiers, so that is why i think this is so important, to bring the exact information, on the ground information about the real situation information about the real situation in the city, from someone who is living here, and that is why i stay

here and provide this information because, so that people will see from first hand experience, what is it when russia is committing war crimes in your city, where do you still live and had all of your life connected with the city. that was maria avdeeva, _ connected with the city. that was maria avdeeva, who _ connected with the city. that was maria avdeeva, who has - connected with the city. that was maria avdeeva, who has been - maria avdeeva, who has been documenting what has been happening in her city of kharkiv. one line of breaking news. the kremlin, vladimir putin, are planning to hold a phone call with the french president emmanuel macron. of course, they have had a lot of talk throughout this crisis. putin and president macron will be holding a phone conversation later today. all remaining covid travel restrictions for people entering the uk have now been lifted. the change came into effect in the early hours of this morning, but the government says it has contigency plans in case of another variant in the future.

our health correspondent michele robertsjoins me now. just talk to us about case numbers in the uk as we reach this milestone of travel restrictions being lifted. recently we have seen them going up again. the number of infections at the moment, the best estimate is around one in 25 people might be infected with the virus. that is over 2.6 million people. there is plenty of it around that you can catch. these travel restrictions, the change is that anybody even if not fully vaccinated, even if they have no vaccine will not need to test when they arrive at the uk. the reason the government is saying it is living with covid now, that is the strategy to move towards. and part of that is because we have so many people vaccinated. the vaccines are doing a really good job of protecting against severe disease, but, as you will see by the cases,

it is not stopping infections. people are catching covid again even if they have had it in the past, or evenif if they have had it in the past, or even if they have been triple jab. there are some spring boosters coming along for the most vulnerable, soon, that will help for a bit more protection.— a bit more protection. thank you very much _ a bit more protection. thank you very much indeed, _ a bit more protection. thank you very much indeed, michele. - a bit more protection. thank you very much indeed, michele. wel a bit more protection. thank you - very much indeed, michele. we have just heard that the pope is calling the ukrainian wore a perverse abuse of power which condemns defence of people to brutal violence. —— the ukrainian war. the pope in the vatican calling the ukraine wore a perverse abuse of power. and reports that the kremlin is saying president putin will be holding talks with the french president emmanuel macron later today, and whether they will be talking about a possible peace deal, we will have to wait and see.

you're watching bbc news. good morning. let's take a look at the weather. over the next few days, if you enjoy dry, sunny weather and have outdoorjobs to get done, then even today, we have lost the mist and fog into the afternoon across parts of western england and wales where it has been at its most dense. some low clouds drifting close to the east coast of northern ireland, some cloud into the western isles and orkney and shetland, but blue skies for the afternoon, temperatures between 8—10, lighter winds further south and pleasantly warm on friday afternoon, up to 17 celsius possible in some spots. this evening and overnight, temperatures dropping away, but not as much as recent nights. more of a breeze around, mistand recent nights. more of a breeze around, mist and fog across parts of

north—east england around the vale of york, and it is here and into parts of south—eastern scotland that will be most prone to a touch of frost. most frost free as we start saturday. this massive area of high pressure across much of europe is driving the dry weather. we are on the edge of the high pressure to a certain degree and that helps strengthen the breeze. it will turn windier this weekend but saturday, blue skies from dawn to dusk for the vast majority. that cloud being kept out in the atlantic. the mist and low cloud first thing across north—east england should be gone by mid—morning. with the wind stronger coming in off quite a chilly north sea, around seven celsius, understandably bad you have got that when coming straight off the north sea being chilled from underneath, it is going to feel chillier than today. temperatures in eastern parts of scotland and england around 10-12, of scotland and england around 10—12, and to the west, sheltered from that breeze, temperatures widely into the mid teens. and it looks like still those conditions on saturday afternoon will be in the

north—west highlands of scotland, maybe 18 celsius possible through the afternoon. on sunday, it will still be dry for the vast majority with more cloud, and feeling cold, temperatures dropping away a bit more. there will be more cloud towards parts of the south—west and northern ireland but it is across eastern england were cloud to take on later, especially through east anglia and the south—east for one or two showers, and that wind will feel even colder than those eastern coast, and even in the west temperatures not as saturday. showers moving northwards across eastern parts of england as we go into the night. high pressure still with us for the beginning of next week, most places dry, sunny and staying warm with temperatures staying warm with temperatures staying into the upper teens.

this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. a series of explosions in western ukraine near the city of lviv, with smoke rising outside the city centre . ukraine's capital kyiv continues to be targeted by russian airstrikes. a residential neighbourhood in a nothern district has been shelled. two million people have fled ukraine to poland since the war in ukraine began, with the majority being women and children. that's according to the polish border guard agency are we any closer to a ceasefire? russia's president putin lays out his demands to turkey, including that ukraine neverjoins nato. the kremlin backed news channel rt has its licence to broadcast in the uk revoked —

the watchdog ofcom says it's not