this is bbc news. i'm matthew amroliwala. street fighting in the centre of mariupol in the south of ukraine. the violence is preventing rescuers reaching hundreds of survivors still trapped beneath a shelled theatre building. ukraine's president tells russia to join "meaningful" peace talks or face catastrophic losses. translation: | want - everyone to hear me now, especially in moscow. it's time to meet. time to talk. it is time to restore territorial integrity and justice for ukraine. i'mjames reynolds, live near lviv from a humanitarian aid distribution hub. russia says it's used hypersonic missiles, which travel five—times the speed

of sound, to attack an underground ammunition warehouse in western ukraine. former british prime ministers gordon brown and sirjohn majorjoin calls for a nuremberg type tribunal to investigate vladimir putin. welcome to bbc news. president zelensky has called for comprehensive peace talks with russia, saying the time had come for a meeting to end the war. in the south of the country, street fighting is reported in the centre of mariupol after weeks of continous bombardment. 300,000 people remain trapped in the city without food, water or power. elsewhere, russian forces continue shelling major cities like kharkev in the east and the outskirts of the capital kyiv. let's get the latest

from the west of the country. my colleaguejames reynolds is at an aid distribution centre near the city of lviv. thank you, matthew. volunteers all around me have been working since the early hours to sift and sort through tonnes and tonnes of aid which has been arriving from donors across the world, particularly from europe. i can see pallets from spain with medical supplies. i can see older volunteers going through mounds of clothes. eventually the supplies from donors will be looked at, repackaged. normal business people here are in touch with hospitals and supply centres across the country towards the front lines and they will try to drive the aid to the places where it is most needed. life around lviv continues

to be very intense. there was a cruise missile strike near here on an aircraft repair plants. that really showed people in lviv that this is not a safe refuge. there was an error rate at 11:33am this morning. everybody has an app on their phones for air raid sirens. people were told to take up for 15 minutes or so. that is the rhythm of life here. many people have come from other parts of the country. i spoke to one man from kharkivjust now who came here to find refuge. they are keeping a close eye on what is happening in the rest of the country. the mayor of mariupol says that the street fighting in the city centre is hampering efforts to rescue hundreds of people still trapped inside the basement of a theatre bombed by russia on wednesday. elsewhere, a humanitarian corridor for evacuations was due to open in ukraine's eastern luhansk region. john donnison reports.

once a thriving port city, mariupol has been hollowed out. around 300,000 people are trapped with no electricity, gas or running water. 0fficials there say more than 80% of residential buildings are either damaged or destroyed. after weeks under siege and heavy russian bombardment, fighting has now reached the centre and the city is soon expected to fall. but some have now got out. this satellite image shows a long queue heading out of mariupol. crammed into cars not knowing if they will ever return. kharkiv has also been hammered. remarkably, trapped under what's left of this public administration building, somebody is still alive. he emerges dazed and dusty and hardly able to believe he has survived. translation: the first strike was somewhere further up. i

i stood up and heard it was not here. the second strike was above us. it crashed. i fell down and covered my head. i was lucky, the wall fell in a way that did not crush me. 0vernight, ukraine's armed forces say the russians have managed to cut off the ukrainians from the sea of azov in the south—east. in his nightly address, president zelensky called for meaningful peace and security talks with moscow without delay. translation: we have always insisted on negotiations, - we have always offered dialogue, offered solutions for peace, notjust for 23 days of invasion. i want everyone to hear me now, especially in moscow — it's time to meet, time to talk, it is time to restore territorial integrity and justice for ukraine. but here the foreign secretary, liz truss, has warned that russia is using peace talks with ukraine as a smoke screen while it prepares to carry out what she called more appalling atrocities and war crimes.

meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis grows ever worse. many of those fleeing fighting in the east head to the western city of lviv, still considered relatively safe. the un says nearly 6.5 million people are now displaced within ukraine. 3.2 million more have already left the country altogether. in a central square in lviv, they have placed these pushchairs to represent each child killed in a war that has lasted three weeks and seems far from over. jon donnison, bbc news. just to re—emphasise that point that john was making in that piece. millions of people have had to leave their homes. around 3 million have left the borders of this country for the relative safety of poland and other countries. i spoke to one man whose wife and children out there

and his 15—year—old son is expected to start at a school in poland next week, a special school for ukrainians who fled across the border. you get a sense of some of the infrastructure on that side of the infrastructure on that side of the border. we see the infrastructure here as people are sifting through mountains and mountains of clothes, food supplies, boxes of baby food, to try to get it out throughout the country. my colleague james waterhouse is in kyiv, the capital, and he has this update us on the latest situation across the country. it has been a grim game of roulette for so many people that live here, where there is intercepted missiles, for example. every morning we have woken up to reports of a residential block being struck. this morning, you are right, there are sirens that have been sounding off here in the city, as well as the kyiv region, as well as in zhytomyr region, further west, towards where most of the fighting is happening. it's been quite a still morning. we actually had a smog warning because of burning peat bogs towards the north—west of the city where most of the fighting has been happening.

so, it's another reason, sadly, for people to not be able to enjoy this clear, fine day, but we've seen most of the fighting, as ever, overnight, in the outskirts of the country towards the south and east, so, in mykolaiv, this city to the south, the next location in russian forces' sights, in as they try and move west, they say they've launched a successful counterattack on russian forces, in kharkiv and sumy towards the east and north—east, they say they've repelled continued russian attacks, despite coming under heavy bombardment, but, as ever in this war it is mariupol that is paying the highest price for this level of ukrainian resistance. we are now getting reports of fighting in the city. we are getting, once again, reports that moscow is accused of shelling the agreed routes for people to get out. 30,000 have made it out after several failed attempts, but, as ever, the worry from the west would be that the defences might be starting to soften within weeks.

i think it's now looking like a matter of days. all while it's calm here in the capital and in other pockets of the country in this ever—changing conflict. 0ne one of the biggest decisions that people have had to make across ukraine is this, do they stay where they are or do they reach the eu, nato countries across the border and get a better safety? many people think it is safer to do that to our drive from lviv and try to reach a new interim life in poland, hungary or romania, but others have decided they will keep that under review and at their best bet is to try to remain here for as long as they can, either to be able to volunteer at a place like this or to carry on with their normaljob or to give their kids i kind of normal life.

earlier, i spoke with resident 0leksandra zubal who is there with her six—year—old daughter. i asked her how she explained yesterday's bomb strike on the outskirts of lviv to her daughter. we went to our shelter, so we didn't see the actual exclusion. we only saw the smoke afterwards. i told her to stay safe because there is some unrest. we haven't talked about the bombings and because they were not audible near the place we stayed at, we were lucky to escape this conversation with her. but she is aware that the war is ongoing and that her father is fighting right now. you mentioned her father, your husband. like all men between 18 and 60 he has to be ready to fight.

he has left your home. how difficult is that for you and your daughter? it is a challenging situation, honestly. everything that we knew was destroyed in one day, basically. 0ur routine, etc. we understand that most of the people are now motivated in the right way, men are fighting, women and children are helping and volunteering, so everyone has to do what they are skilled for. i do support my husband. also all of my close friends and also my cousin, who joined the army. we have to be calm and steady here at the rear and support

them wherever they are. 0ne one final point here, when the volunteers open up cases or boxes for the rest of the world and occasionally they find letters written by children saying good luck for them. they stick those letters up for them. they stick those letters up a notice board. work will carry on here for many, many more hours. joining me now is inna sovsun, a ukrainian mp and deputy head of the golos political party. she was forced to leave her home in kharkiv and is currently staying close to kyiv. thank you so much forjoining me. you must be so alarmed by the accounts, the pictures that are coming from kharkiv. i accounts, the pictures that are coming from kharkiv.- accounts, the pictures that are coming from kharkiv. i wasn't living in kharkiv before _ coming from kharkiv. i wasn't living in kharkiv before the _ coming from kharkiv. i wasn't living in kharkiv before the war. - coming from kharkiv. i wasn't living in kharkiv before the war. it - coming from kharkiv. i wasn't living in kharkiv before the war. it is - coming from kharkiv. i wasn't living in kharkiv before the war. it is my l in kharkiv before the war. it is my native city, i grew up there and still have many family and friends

there, but i wasn't living there. i do have many friends and family members in kharkiv. i was getting desperate messages from them from the first day of the war. they are all terrified. what is important to note his kharkiv is a russian speaking city to a very big extent. i was getting messages in russia from many, many people. they resent one thing, that they want people to know that kharkiv is a ukrainian city, please do not surrender. that is the message i was getting from people sitting in bunkers for days and nights without water or electricity. the only thing they wanted people to know is that this is a ukrainian city and they need it stay that way. tell is a ukrainian city and they need it stay that way-— is a ukrainian city and they need it stay that way. tell me the impact it has had on — stay that way. tell me the impact it has had on yom _ stay that way. tell me the impact it has had on you. you _ stay that way. tell me the impact it has had on you. you have _ stay that way. tell me the impact it has had on you. you have been - has had on you. you have been separated from your son recently, is that right? my separated from your son recently, is that riuht? g .,, separated from your son recently, is thatriuht? g ., that right? my son was relocated to western ukraine _ that right? my son was relocated to western ukraine by _ that right? my son was relocated to western ukraine by his _ that right? my son was relocated to western ukraine by his father. - that right? my son was relocated to western ukraine by his father. my | western ukraine by his father. my boyfriend joined the army. my

parents left western ukraine and my dad came back tojoin parents left western ukraine and my dad came back to join the territorial defence and now he is helping evacuate people. i did come to see my son a day ago just to double check on him and talk to him and calm him down a little bit. i will have to go back to kyiv, but staying away from your lipolysis the biggest challenges for everyone here. i miss my son a lot. i will have to leave again soon. i miss my boyfriend so badly. i randomly get messages from him, but i never know where he is, is —— he is safe. that is extreme pressure. where he is, is -- he is safe. that is extreme pressure.— is extreme pressure. incredibly difficult conversations - is extreme pressure. incredibly difficult conversations to - is extreme pressure. incredibly difficult conversations to have. | is extreme pressure. incredibly i difficult conversations to have. do you think vladimir putin is serious about peace talks? is that partly why president zelensky wants to meet him in person so he can make that judgment?

him in person so he can make that 'udament? , him in person so he can make that judgment?— him in person so he can make that 'udament? , ., ~ judgment? there is something, i talk to my boyfriend _ judgment? there is something, i talk to my boyfriend this _ judgment? there is something, i talk to my boyfriend this morning. - judgment? there is something, i talk to my boyfriend this morning. he - judgment? there is something, i talk to my boyfriend this morning. he is l to my boyfriend this morning. he is with the army. he wanted me to say this. he said, please say thank you to liz truss, if you can, for saying what she said. she basically said that vladimir putin is choosing the negotiations as a smoke screen in order to recruit forces and to prepare for further attack. that is what it feels like on the ground for people fighting against russians here in ukraine. there is no single sign that russian forces are trying to surrender. 0r trying to stop the attacks. they are getting more and more violent here in ukraine. that is why we are extremely sceptical about the possibility to make a deal with putin. we are saying that they are just like all the time. we did see about a week ago when sir guy laffer of belatedly came they did not start a war in ukraine, so making a deal with such people is extremely dangerous. that is why we

are extremely concerned about the promises they are giving. aha, are extremely concerned about the promises they are giving.— promises they are giving. a final cuick promises they are giving. a final quick thought. _ promises they are giving. a final quick thought, and _ promises they are giving. a final quick thought, and i _ promises they are giving. a final quick thought, and i will- promises they are giving. a final quick thought, and i will put - promises they are giving. a final quick thought, and i will put on | promises they are giving. a final| quick thought, and i will put on a screen something you posted on social media a few days ago. you tweeted a month ago i had my life, i had myjob which was frustrating sometimes, but i watched movies with my son, i cooked dinner, ifp said, i went running, now i wake up to explosions in my city at 5am in the morning. it is a very straightforward post that you make, but it underlines to totally how dramatically life has changed in just, what, three weeks? it is true. i osted just, what, three weeks? it is true. i posted that _ just, what, three weeks? it is true. i posted that on — just, what, three weeks? it is true. i posted that on a _ just, what, three weeks? it is true. i posted that on a day _ just, what, three weeks? it is true. i posted that on a day when - just, what, three weeks? it is true. i posted that on a day when there l i posted that on a day when there was yet another strike on kyiv at 5am in the morning. three residential buildings were destroyed. it was a sunny day. a day when we were having the parliamentary session. i walked around the city. i went to the supermarket. i passed by the bakery i used to go to and the supermarket shelves are half empty. the bakery,

which used to have dozens of baked goods, it had a sign that they are not only selling coffee and bread. i felt so acutely this change in my life that i was building for years that i will never be able to fully get it back to how it was before, thatis get it back to how it was before, that is for sure. i wanted some sense of normality back. you are absolutely _ sense of normality back. you are absolutely right. _ sense of normality back. you are absolutely right. inna _ sense of normality back. you are absolutely right. inna sovsun, i sense of normality back. you are i absolutely right. inna sovsun, thank you so much forjoining us here on bbc news. you so much for “oining us here on sac news.— two former british prime ministers, gordon brown and sirjohn major, have called for a new international tribunal to be set up to investigate vladimir putin for his actions in ukraine. they have signed a petition, alongside 140 academics, lawyers and politicians, calling for a legal system modelled on the nuremberg trials of nazi war ciminals after the second world war. this was gordon brown talking to bbc radio 4 this morning. go back to 1942, when the allies

got together and said that they would punish war crimes and that led to the nuremberg trials. what's unique about this is that we are seeing, as you've just reported from mariupol, the indiscriminate bombing of civilians, which is against international law, the targeting of schools, hospitals and public buildings against international law. we're seeing the breach of humanitarian cease fires. of humanitarian corridors that have been created by the russians. and of course, we've seen nuclear blackmail. all these things are adding up to a massive loss of life, let's speak to david scheffer, who was the first us ambassador—at—large for war crimes under president bill clinton. he is currently senior fellow at the council on foreign relations in washington. is this a good way forward, what gordon brown has been outlining? i think it is a very constructive proposal. i think the issue that might arise is whether this is

regarded as victor's justice if it is put together by a group of allied governments, particularly those who are sympathetic to the ukrainian cause. i would suggest that one model that could be used here would be actually a treaty between the united nations and the ukrainian government setting up a tribunal to prosecute the war of aggression. the international criminal court is already in —— investigating war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, but what it doesn't have jurisdiction over is aggression. this would be our panel looking strictly at aggression. if it was set out with the united nations it might have a more acceptable character, particularly to the russian people, and a more universal character because it has the backing of the united nations behind it. we did this in the past with sierra leone and cambodia and at work. you

wrote in an — leone and cambodia and at work. you wrote in an article only a couple of days ago there is a unprecedented media coverage which has recorded the commission of war crimes in real times. there is no shortage of evidence of residential buildings being hits, hospitals, the siege tactics we have seen.— being hits, hospitals, the siege tactics we have seen. yes, but bear in mind video _ tactics we have seen. yes, but bear in mind video clips _ tactics we have seen. yes, but bear in mind video clips do _ tactics we have seen. yes, but bear in mind video clips do not _ in mind video clips do not necessarily stand up as evidence in a courtroom. it will be a challenging investigative task to pull together the kind of evidence that will be sustained in a courtroom. when it comes to a war of aggression, that is initiated by the top leaders of a government, thus by the government itself. it is a state responsibility issue whereby top leaders have individual criminal responsibility is, so therefore the kind of evidence that will come before this tribunal, which would be one focused on the war of aggression, quite frankly would have aggression, quite frankly would have

a lot of this media coverage presented because it would show the overall assault on the nation of ukraine. it wouldn't have to identify an individual strike, the author of an individual general organising that strike. perhaps the advanta . e organising that strike. perhaps the advantage of— organising that strike. perhaps the advantage of going _ organising that strike. perhaps the advantage of going through - organising that strike. perhaps the advantage of going through the i advantage of going through the international criminal court is something you said to me a few weeks ago which i was struck by, if there are indictments from the international criminal court, they stayed there and the international sentence —— sanctums stay in place until those individual indicted or handed over. that is extraordinarily powerful in terms of leverage, isn't it? it powerful in terms of leverage, isn't it? , ., , , ., it? it is. it would be up to political— it? it is. it would be up to political leaders - it? it is. it would be up to political leaders to - it? it is. it would be up to - political leaders to determine the facing of any lifting of sanctions against russia, but i would suggest that the entire body of sanctions probably would be lifted in stages,

and one of those stages would be the surrender of indicted fugitives to the icc. it doesn't mean that the entire body of sanctions would stay in place for years to come, particularly if relations could be normalised with russia again and they withdraw from ukraine. daeid they withdraw from ukraine. david scheffer, we _ they withdraw from ukraine. david scheffer, we have _ they withdraw from ukraine. david scheffer, we have to _ they withdraw from ukraine. david scheffer, we have to leave - they withdraw from ukraine. david scheffer, we have to leave it - they withdraw from ukraine. david scheffer, we have to leave it there, but thank you so much forjoining us here on bbc news. let's turn to how the conflict is impacting people in russia. i'm joined now by anton barbashin, editorial director of the online journal riddle russia. give us your assessment of what effect this war is having on ordinary russians? so effect this war is having on ordinary russians?- effect this war is having on ordinary russians? so far we are seeinu ordinary russians? so far we are seeing shortages _ ordinary russians? so far we are seeing shortages of _ ordinary russians? so far we are seeing shortages of goods, - ordinary russians? so far we are | seeing shortages of goods, cues, half empty shelves. russians are understanding that this situation is going to take a while. they are preparing for very hard times, but we have not yet seen the majority of

sanctions get up to their full speed. we have seen some of the factories are halting productions, we have seen some shortages of medicine. a lot of fear and a lot of speculation, but the majority, the central part of the fact we will see in april and may and through the summer. , . , , .,, in april and may and through the summer. , ., , .,, .,, summer. this has been the most open aeneration summer. this has been the most open generation ever _ summer. this has been the most open generation ever in _ summer. this has been the most open generation ever in russia. _ summer. this has been the most open generation ever in russia. suddenly i generation ever in russia. suddenly it is closed off. the economic prosperity that has been built is clearly being destroyed. what do you think the impact of all of that is likely to be in the coming weeks? essentially, what we are seeing already happening is absolutely fascinatingly speedy slide towards repression and dictatorship. we are seeing new laws being implemented that restrict any mentioning of the war. the russian parliament is considering a law that basically

prohibit saying anything critical of the russian foreign ministry. we are seeing a huge increase in propaganda efforts and an increase in repression, so people are either leaving the country or have left the country or are preparing to sustain a very hard period of their lives, or they are still not yet quite understanding what is happening. a lot of people in russia that believe the propaganda about the war and i think this is something that it is not. they think that russian forces are fighting nazis and they think this is for the good of the world. they think western sanctions will be lifted quite soon. there is a split within russian society. fin lifted quite soon. there is a split within russian society.— within russian society. on that oint within russian society. on that point about _ within russian society. on that point about the _ within russian society. on that point about the propaganda, i within russian society. on that. point about the propaganda, putin within russian society. on that - point about the propaganda, putin is dismissing fact as fake news, also pushing fake news as fact. it is a dublin version. is it succeeding

internally, do you think? 50 dublin version. is it succeeding internally, do you think? so far it is kind of a _ internally, do you think? so far it is kind of a generational - internally, do you think? so far it is kind of a generational thing. i is kind of a generational thing. generally, you could say that people younger than 35 or a0 are much more sceptical towards the official line and propaganda. they are more digital, they have more capabilities to access different kinds of information. they understand the situation much better. when we are talking about groups 55 and older, they are more inclined to believe putin or doubt every version of reality, doubt everything and consider well, reality, doubt everything and considerwell, maybe reality, doubt everything and consider well, maybe russians are wrong in the war, but it is nato, the ukrainians, there has to be something there, as well. by and large the majority of society is not protesting. you see a lot of people fearing, essentially, going out because they don't want to end up in jail. propaganda is still holding it together but it is a question of time. �* ., ., .,

time. anton barbashin, we have to leave it there, _ time. anton barbashin, we have to leave it there, but _ time. anton barbashin, we have to leave it there, but thank _ time. anton barbashin, we have to leave it there, but thank you - time. anton barbashin, we have to leave it there, but thank you for i leave it there, but thank you for joining us on bbc news. i am back in 30 minutes with all the latest headlines from around the world. see you then. hello there. it certainly has been a glorious start to the weekend. hardly a cloud in the sky out there at the moment. take a look at suffolk from a few hours ago. a beautiful scene here along the coast, but there is a nagging easterly breeze which willjust take the edge off the feel of the weather through this afternoon. a different story, though, further north and west and in highland, absolutely beautiful this morning. here is where we could see the highest values as we go through the afternoon. it is this area of high pressure keeping things pretty quiet. it is drifting off into scandinavia and so that is where we have more of a squeeze on the isobars. stronger winds around the edge of that high pressure and it's coming from an easterly direction, a coolish source at this time of year. there will not be much in the way of cloud at all. we keep the blue sky and the sunshine and because the wind direction is coming in from the east, that

could have an impact because the sea temperatures at this time of year are on the cool side. here they are, around seven or eight degrees. so the wind direction widely around 25 to 30 miles an hour, but we have seen gusts of wind so far today in excess of a0 miles an hour across the channel coast and the south west. so, here, temperatures perhaps around nine to 12 degrees. further west, across england and wales, we will see 16, but it could be that the highest temperatures today will be across western scotland and highland, where we could see 17, possibly 18 degrees. if we get 18 degrees, it will be the warmest day of the year so far. high pressure stays with us tonight. the isobars open up just a touch and the winds will fall lighter. we keep more cloud out to the west, so temperatures holding up, but in central and eastern areas, we could see temperatures low enough for a touch of light frost, maybe some patchy mist around, as well. 0n the whole, as we go into a sunday, we keep that dry theme, but it could be a little bit colder and there could be more

in the way of cloud around, as well. some early morning mist and fog across the north—east and, as we go through the day, east anglia and south—east england could see more cloud drifting in and a few nuisance showers by the end of the afternoon. temperatures through sunday afternoon nine to 13 degrees, but the dry weather is here to stay and, if you haven't already heard, it is going to continue to warm up, particularly through the middle part of the week, with temperatures at mid—to—high teens, perhaps 20 degrees somewhere in the south east by wednesday.

both inside ukraine and the countries on its borders, welcome back to bbc news. the bbc�*s teams on the frontlines, both inside ukraine and the countries on its borders, give a day—by—day analysis of the critical moments in this conflict in ukraine: reporting from the frontlines. a warning — this programme includes images you mind find distressing. three weeks in, and despite the continuing diplomacy, kyiv is a city on edge. nowhere is safe. this russian aggression is spreading westwards towards lviv — until now, a relatively safe city.