tonight at 10pm... russia intensifies its attacks on multiple fronts across ukraine. this, the result of an air strike in the west, near the city of lviv. those reaching safety, escaping the besieged southern city of mariupol, have endured weeks of russian shelling. translation: there are dead people lying around _ and no one to take them. they just lie there. it shouldn't be like this. someone must intervene. in the capital, kyiv, the surrogate babies separated from their parents because of the war.

but at a rally in moscow, vladimir putin praises what he calls "russia's heroic deeds" in ukraine. it comes as president biden warns china not to aid russia in its campaign. we'll be live at the white house. also tonight... workers at p&0 ferries stage nationwide protests after 800 were sacked without notice. and a steep rise in covid infections across the uk. close to one in 20 would have tested positive just last week. and coming up in sport on the bbc news channel, rachael blackmore makes history, becoming the first female rider to win the cheltenham gold cup. good evening. russia is continuing its assault

on multiple fronts across ukraine, with one of the latest attacks a missile strike on an army barracks in the southern city of mykolaiv. reports suggest at least 45 ukrainian soldiers were killed. meanwhile, overnight there was another attack on an aircraft repair plant in relatively unscathed western ukraine, near the city of lviv. there were no casualties. lviv has been receiving hundreds of refugees from mariupol in the south, with many saying russia is trying to wipe the city off the face of the earth. after weeks under siege and battered by shelling, it's soon expected to fall. but amid the darkness, the authorities there say 130 people have been rescued from the bomb shelter under the city's theatre that was attacked two days ago. our special correspondent fergal keane has the very latest. the sense of security here is ebbing, after dawn brought this — a missile strike aimed

at an aircraft repair plant. nobody was hurt, but this close to the city, it's shaken nerves. guards were jittery, journalists shoved. "get your cameras away or i'll break them," a militia man said. people here aren't used to this. the city's mayor reflected the grim mood. translation: there are no safe and dangerous cities. _ today, we are all under attack. this shelling was done from the black sea. no one can predict where the next missiles will fly, so when you hear the sirens, you have to go to the bomb shelter, you have to take care of your health. and thousands were still arriving here today, to escape the war. this, the tunnel leading to their trains west. it's been three weeks exactly since i first stood in this tunnel

and watched people queueing to escape the war. still they come. from mariupol, from kharkiv, from kyiv, from kherson, and many other places whose names or deaths we do not know. these are the first arrivals from besieged mariupol — 350 people. this little boy, whose composure is its own statement of determination after the hell he has left behind. a city where killing is piled upon killing. maria was another arrival from mariupol. 86 years old, bruised from a fall in a bomb shelter. her granddaughter described scenes

of horror in the city. translation: there are dead people lying around _ and no one to take them. theyjust lie there. it shouldn't be like this. someone must intervene. the city's been wiped from the face of the earth. there is nothing alive. all the roads are shelled. there are trees torn out by their roots. it's like a horror film. there are now 200,000 displaced people finding shelter in lviv, and today, maria became one of them. the war comes to lviv from everywhere. maria and her children are from avdiivka in the east. she's a single mother who lost her leg in an explosion at the start of the conflict eight years ago, and has now had to flee her home for the second time. translation: a new, more

brutal shelling has begun. . the civilian population is suffering. _ there is shelling alli around ukraine now. i want to save the lives i of my children because we have suffered already. we travelled throughl the whole of ukraine. there is no safe space any more. in lviv, they've placed these children's strollers in a central square. one for each child killed so far in this war. 109 young lives gone, and more threatened with each passing hour. fergal keane, bbc news, lviv. the number of civilian dead in this warfollowing russia's invasion rises steadily by the day. the united nations says at least 816 civilians have been killed and 1,333 have been wounded. overnight in kharkiv in the east, at least one person died when a university building and two blocks of flats were shelled. and in the capital, kyiv, one person was killed

after a missile was shot down, with the debris landing in a residential area. in ukraine, every part of life has been disrupted and changed, for the newly born to the elderly. here'sjeremy bowen. behind their statistics of damage and destruction are addresses like this one in kyiv. and people like 0lena. she's here to see what can be salvaged from the wreckage of her daughter's tiny flat, in a block that was badly damaged, three days ago. "look," she says, "a fragment of a rocket." luckily, everyone was safe in the shelter. and in the kitchen, 0lena says the fridge, the microwave, the extractor, it's all gone. and there's another piece of rocket in the ceiling. even the shopping was burnt.

"my daughter and her husband are newly—weds. "we'll get through this." translation: it's bad, very bad. the russians are supposed to be our closest people. we never expected they could do this to us. we never wanted the war. the neighbour, mikola, came to fix the door the firefighters kicked in. he's been arguing on the phone with his wife's cousin in st petersburg, who he's known for 50 years. translation: he told me, "you've been killing - "russians, we did nothing. "0ur putin is a king and a god." i told him, a person like that should be in a mental hospital. how could you russians let him be president for so long? so, i said, "we should probably end this conversation." in the other burned flats in this block, 80 more fragmented lives. people who survived

the attack, but lost everything that was certain. it is obvious that a young family lived here. war is made up of thousands of incidents like this — not even necessarily involving loss of life, but destroying homes, wrecking everything. personal tragedies, and afterwards, nothing is ever the same. in the basement of kyiv maternity hospital number three, they're doing their best to make it better, but it's hard. a baby born to a surrogate mother was being picked up by a doctor, dressed to protect. "we're strong," said the woman in ukrainian, who'd carried the baby. herfriend, who'd done the same for another couple, agreed in russian. they wanted their identities hidden before travelling back together to the war zones in the east. the doctor took the baby girl, whose parents are german, to a safe place we agreed

not to identify. paid surrogacy is legal here, but biological parents have to brave the war zone to reach their new babies. 20 new babies are being looked after in a clean and warm basement. they're waiting for parents who've got to come a long way — brazil and china, as well as from europe. they're short staffed. the nurses don't get time off. "we try to love them as if they were ours, "until their mothers and fathers can get here," said antonina. translation: we just used to teach the parents - to look after the babies. now it's completely different. we take care of them. and they were doing that, loving care for strangers' babies in a war zone. but what a way to begin a life. the doctors in combat gear went out to collect another newborn.

jeremy bowen, bbc news, kyiv. vladimir putin has praised russia's "unity" over what he calls the country's "special operation" in ukraine, and he thanked russia's military. his comments came in a public speech to a packed stadium in moscow. 0ur russia editor, steve rosenberg, has sent us this report. "your president needs you," they'd been told — and they came. some with flags and fervour... russia! ..others with the letter z, that has been painted on military vehicles in ukraine. "i'm a patriot," says this woman. "if our government is fighting in ukraine, it must be necessary." not everyone was so excited at attending a kremlin rally. we have spoken to a few people who said they were either forced to come here by their employers or promised the day off

if they would come. but no one would go on camera. inside the stadium, where the world cup final had been four years ago, this time... vladimir putin! ..it was president putin out in the middle. 0n the anniversary of russia's annexation of crimea, he gave a pep talk to his people about events in ukraine. translation: we can see how our soldiers are acting and fighting in this operation. shoulder to shoulder, they help and support one another. but what happens to russians who call it an unjust war? this... the letter z and offensive graffiti have been sprayed outside apartments of people criticising the offensive.

this journalist was among those targeted. this week, she heard her president railing against traitors and pro—western scum. she fears that from now on, anyone disagreeing with the authorities will be treated as an enemy of the state. translation: they see people like me as a worthless part of society. - police and mps call us parasites and freeloaders who are working against the country. and i'm called a traitor, of course, like they wrote on my door, as if i don't want russia to win. but i don't want our country to be fighting. there's something rather sinister about what's happening here. russia's president is dividing the nation into us and them, into patriots and traitors. vladimir putin is looking for scapegoats, looking for someone to blame for the economic problems

ahead so that russians don't blame him. the kremlin creating an alternative reality, portraying russia as a besieged fortress under attack at home and abroad. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. president biden has told china that there will be consequences if beijing provides material support to russia for its military campaign in ukraine. the warning came in talks with his chinese counterpart, xijinping. 0ur north america editor sarah smith is in washington. if china does support russia, what isjoe biden going to do? well. if china does support russia, what is joe biden going to do? well, that is joe biden going to do? well, that is not something _ is joe biden going to do? well, that is not something the _ is joe biden going to do? well, that is not something the white - is joe biden going to do? well, that is not something the white house l is joe biden going to do? well, that l is not something the white house are prepared to lay out publicly but they do say that president biden was very clear about what the consequences and implications would be if china offers any kind of assistance to russia, whether military or financial.

assistance to russia, whether military orfinancial. if assistance to russia, whether military or financial. if he was looking for assurances, president biden, on this lengthy two hour call with president xi that he is not going to offer help to russia, it seems he did not get them so the white house said he did convey very clearly exactly what the next steps of the us would take, even though thatis of the us would take, even though that is not something they are prepared to share with the rest of us. the white house are very frustrated that president xi has still not condemned to publicly rush a's invasion but of course it is china's actions that matter more than the rhetoric and they say they will be watching extremely closely, that the world will be watching closely to see what china does next and to be no doubt that they are ready to respond if china gets involved and offers to assist russia involved and offers to assist russia in any way. involved and offers to assist russia in an wa . . involved and offers to assist russia in any way-— in any way. sarah, thank you for that. in any way. sarah, thank you for that- sarah _ in any way. sarah, thank you for that. sarah smith, _ in any way. sarah, thank you for that. sarah smith, live - in any way. sarah, thank you for that. sarah smith, live at - in any way. sarah, thank you for that. sarah smith, live at the i in any way. sarah, thank you for . that. sarah smith, live at the white house. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucet joins us now from kyiv. this attack by the russians on this

army barracks in mykolaiv in the south, clearly that area of the country, very critical to russia's war ambitions?— country, very critical to russia's war ambitions? , �*, ., ~ ., war ambitions? yes, let's talk about m kolaiv, war ambitions? yes, let's talk about mykolaiv. in — war ambitions? yes, let's talk about mykolaiv. in the _ war ambitions? yes, let's talk about mykolaiv, in the south, _ war ambitions? yes, let's talk about mykolaiv, in the south, close - war ambitions? yes, let's talk about mykolaiv, in the south, close to - war ambitions? yes, let's talk about mykolaiv, in the south, close to the| mykolaiv, in the south, close to the black sea coast and it has been on the front line for many weeks, some neighbourhoods around the edges or under incessant russian shelling but today an army barracks to the north of the city appears to have taken a direct hit from russian missiles. a ukrainian mp told us that dozens were wounded and dozens were killed. at a pace that was being used to train ukrainian soldiers. this comes after the ukrainian armed forces repelled a major russian advance on mykolaiv but they will try again. mykolaiv but they will try again. mykolaiv matters to moscow. it stands on the way of the magnificent city of 0desa, ukraine's biggest port and it is part of a swathe of

land along the south that russia wants to take for a land corridor. principally between two areas, crimea and eastern ukraine, it already controls. that is regarded as the minimum president putin would want to take away from this work. at the other end, mariupol. the city bombarded. besieged. a byword for human suffering in ukraine. the fighting there has now reached the city centre, a city centre which it is said no longer exists, it has been smashed to smithereens. thank ou for been smashed to smithereens. thank you for that. — been smashed to smithereens. thank you for that. lyse _ been smashed to smithereens. thank you for that, lyse doucet _ been smashed to smithereens. thank you for that, lyse doucet live - been smashed to smithereens. thank you for that, lyse doucet live in - you for that, lyse doucet live in kyiv. thank you. the polish border agency says two million people, mostly women and children, have fled ukraine to poland since the war began. an estimated half a million have escaped to romania and more than 350,000 to moldova. in poland, most of the refugees have ended up in the larger cities,

like the capital, warsaw, and it's now legalfor ukrainians to work and go to school. but some are warning that services are under extreme pressure. 0ur europe editor katya adler has sent us this report from warsaw. starting to stitch shattered lives back together. piece by painstaking piece, here in poland. natalia and her fellow seamstresses, all of them ukrainian, are trying to put on a brave face. translation: this is my third day of my newjob. l i'm so grateful for some stability after all we've been through. a sunny bridal shop is a stark contrast to the horrors back home. natalia's new polish boss says it's important to help. we feel that we need to help them. and we also know that they are very good people and very good workers.

natalia is a force of nature, aided by polish generosity, keeping her and her son on their feet till it's safe to go back home. vlad is one of more than 70,000 ukrainian refugees now at school in poland. teacher 0lga cholewka, warm and grandmotherly, clearly aches to do more. translation: there is so much trauma and we polish teachers don't know- ukrainian songs or fairy tales, - so we said the children on our lap and give them a big hug. poland has absolutely opened its arms to families from ukraine in schools, in homes, and in workplaces, as well. it is spectacular to see. but on a government level, there are accusations of hypocrisy, of double standards. that they've chosen to welcome some refugees and very much not others.

remember the war in syria? the hundreds of thousands who fled to europe in 2015? the polish government and others didn't make them feel so welcome. is it fair to cry hypocrisy at the polish government? those migrants, they wanted to go to germany, they wanted to go to france, to the united kingdom, that's the difference. ukrainians, they want to come to poland, they want to live with us and they are very much welcome to do so. a welcome perfectly performed by poland's national ballet. refugees who are professional dancers can train, eat, and sleep here. the huge influx of ukrainians to poland means housing is becoming a problem. translation: the theatre | director here welcomed me. dancing helps to calm my mind a bit. the dancers' sincere gratitude

to poland is bittersweet. translation: we love our 'ob very much, of course. i we left behind our home and don't know if we willj ever come back there. katya adler, bbc news, warsaw. workers at p&0 ferries have been staging protests at ports around the country after the firm sacked 800 people without notice. the transport secretary, grant shapps, has written to the company, saying its behaviour is "completely unacceptable". 0ur transport correspondent katy austin has more. hundreds of people took to the streets today after the sudden sacking of 800 p&0 ferry staff. this protest in dover is one of a number taking place across the country today. another sign of the anger that is being felt by a lot of people at what's happened, and the way so many workers lost theirjobs. if one company can get away with doing this at such short notice to 800 people, there's nothing to stop another company doing the same thing. one of our friends was one of the guys who lost theirjobs

yesterday and the poor guy after the meeting had to go around waking up all his friends on night shift — he'd only had a couple hours' sleep — to tell them they didn't have a job. 0ther demos took place in hull, liverpool and larne. 0ne long—serving p&0 employee told me he was unhappy at how things had been handled. he didn't want to be identified for fear of losing his redundancy payment. we were all devastated it was our last day at work. there were security staff on the vessel, they were quite obnoxious and rude and they treated us like we were all criminals, to be honest with you, guarding the duty—free like we were going to burgle it. we'll give you reasonable time to pack your stuff up and be ready to leave. the company blamed its decision on unsustainable financial losses. but it's the immediate dismissal of staff without consultation that's drawn widespread criticism — including from the transport secretary today. so now i want to take the opportunity to put on record my shock and my dismay

at the insensitive and brutal treatment of its employees yesterday. sacked... sacked via a pre—recorded zoom video withjust 30 minutes' notice. no way to treat employees in the 21st century. labour says the government could and should do more. the prime minister was in the uae this week meeting with the people that ultimately own the parent company, dp world. he should now be making sure that they do not receive a penny of taxpayers' money going forward. he should be suspending all government licenses and contracts with both companies and clawing back every penny that they had during the covid pandemic. while p&0 services aren't running, otherferry companies are stepping in. although some degree of disruption is expected, the prime minister's official spokesman said today the government was looking closely at whether the company had acted within the rules. katy austin, bbc news, in dover. latest figures show nearly

3.3 million people in the uk would have tested positive for covid in the week to last saturday. that's one in every 20 people. there are a record number of cases in scotland and the rate of infection among the over 70s in england is now the highest since the office for national statistics began collecting data. dominic hughes has that story. at london's king's college hospital, the wards are getting busier. already facing a huge backlog of cases due to the pandemic, hospital admissions are on the rise once more following an increase in the number of people falling ill with covid. we have had a tricky week this week, both in terms of our emergency departments, so big numbers of attends to our emergency department, but also we're starting to see an increase in patients who need to be admitted and treated for coronavirus. the latest data from the 0ns shows covid infections are rising across most parts of the uk, jumping by more than a quarter — over half a million cases —

tojust under 3.3 million. last week, scotland saw the highest infection levels in the pandemic so far. it's estimated more than 7% of the population — one in 1a people — had covid—19. it was a similar picture in northern ireland, too — also around one in 1a people — but rates here have dropped from last month's all—time high. infections also rose in england, where around one in 20 are thought to be infected, and in wales, where infections equate to around one in 25 people. a surge in cases was predicted after restrictions were lifted. this latest rise, driven by the more infectious ba2 version of the 0micron virus, adding to the pressure on an already hard—hit nhs. we've got many people in hospital. in fact, in some parts of the country, as many as we have ever had during the pandemic. so what's your best guess as to what happens next, do you think? we're beginning to see some signs, perhaps in some parts of the uk but also from elsewhere in europe, for example, denmark, that we may have reached the peak of this wave. and we may start to come

down the other side, certainly in terms of infections. the good news is the number of people falling seriously ill remains relatively low... this is what we're seeing in later covid disease... i ..though covid is still making itself felt across the health service. we have to find space - on isolation wards for patients. we're also starting to notice l a slight rise in staff absences, which is having an impact, particularly as we go - through our recovery phase, to reduce our waiting - lists from covid. these latest figures bear out warnings that covid is not yet done with us. and there will be further twists in this pandemic story. dominic hughes, bbc news. the jockey rachael blackmore has ridden into the history books again — becoming the first woman to win the cheltenham gold cup, the most prestigious event in national hunt racing. another big race for rachael blackmore... she was the runaway victor on her horse, a plus tard, pushing last year's winner, minella indo, into second place.

it follows her success last year when she became the first woman to win the grand national. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. hello. it's been the warmest day of the year so far. temperatures reached 17.5 degrees celsius in wiggonholt, which is in west sussex. now, overnight tonight, we're going to keep fairly breezy conditions. that will have two effects for our weather. it won't be quite as cold as it was last night, with a frost patchy and limited, really, to northern areas. and there won't be as much mist and fog around either. a few patches potentially through the vale of york, east scotland, but not lasting long at all. for most of us, saturday will be a glorious day with lots of spring sunshine, but gusty winds for south west england, where we'll get gusts of around 40—50 mph. and the winds coming in from the east will keep things a little bit cooler across eastern

areas of scotland and england. highest temperatures further west, with highs of 16 in glasgow and cardiff. now, sunday's going to be cooler and cloudier, and there could be a few showers running into east anglia, perhaps a bit of soft hail in some of these. and the temperatures not as impressive. we're looking at highs for most between 10—13 degrees. have a great weekend.

this is bbc news, the headlines... russia intensifies its attacks across ukraine on multiple fronts. this, the result of an airstrike in the west near the city of lviv. it's feared that dozens of people have been killed in a russian missile strike on an army base in mykolaiv. vladimir putin has tried to reinforce domestic support for the war — by appearing at an elaborate televised rally marking eight years since russia annexed crimea. he told the audience that russian soldiers are heroes fighting genocide in ukraine. some in the audience said they'd been pressured to attend. the white house say president biden has told china that there will be consequences if beijing provides material support to russia for its military campaign in ukraine. the warning came during mr biden's talks with his chinese counterpart xijinping. beijing says mr xi warned that sanctions only hurt ordinary people.