this is bbc news, i'm matthew amroliwala. reports of street fighting in the centre of mariupol in the south of ukraine. 80% of buildings in the port city have been damaged by russian attacks as hundreds remain trapped under a bombed theatre. dozens have been killed in an attack on a ukraine military base, as president zelensky urges russia to join meaningful peace talks. 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. russia says it's used hyper sonic missiles — which travel 5—times the speed of sound — in western ukraine. we'll find out more about these weapons. former british prime ministers gordon brown and sirjohn major

join calls for a nuremberg—type tribunal to investigate vladimir putin. and the bombardment continues on kharkiv in the east. we hearfrom an mp originally from ukraine's second city. welcome to bbc news. ukraine's president has called for comprehensive peace talks with russia without delay. volodymyr zelensky also accused russian troops of causing a humanitarian disaster in the besieged city of mariupol. the m=mayor of the strategically important port city says — street fighting is hampering efforts to rescue, hundreds of people trapped inside the basement of a theatre, that officials say was bombed by russia on wednesday. our correspondent jonah fisher reports.

mariupol is russia's warning to the rest of ukraine. for more than two weeks this city of several hundred thousand has resisted. russia's response has been to surround it and destroy it. local officials say more than 2000 people have died and 90% of the buildings have been damaged in some way. in kharkiv it's a similar story. in the first few days of this war the russians tried to drive into ukraine's second city. they were repelled and now kharkiv is being targeted by shelling. incredibly, this man emerged almost unscathed after a university building was hit. "there were two strikes," vladislav says. "the second one was above us and ifell down and covered my head. i was lucky the wall came down in a way that didn't crush me". russia is making very little progress on the ground,

so its tactic now appears to be one of fear. by targeting and destroying mariupol and kharkiv by artillery and air strikes it is sending a very powerful message to the rest of ukraine — "this could happen to you too." ukraine's president knows things could get much worse and in a late—night video appealed yet again for russia to seriously talk peace. translation: we have always insisted on negotiations. - we have always offered dialogue, offered solutions for peace, not just for 23 days of invasion. and i want everyone to hear me now, especially in moscow. it's time to meet, time to talk. and it's time to restore territorial integrity and justice for ukraine. at ukraine's borders with the european union people keep on leaving. this group crossed today into romania. the united nations said 6.5 million people are displaced

inside the country. president putin's liberation war has now driven a quarter of all ukrainians from their homes. jonah fisher, bbc news, lviv. russia's been besieging mariupol for weeks, as it tries to cement control of a land route to annexed crimea. refugees fleeing the violence there have been telling stories of how they escaped the heavily shelled city. 0n the 12th, on the 12th, 13th, 0n the 12th, 13th, and on the 12th, 13th, and 14th, 0n the 12th, 13th, and 14th, there were constant air strikes. we on the 12th, 13th, and 14th, there were constant air strikes. we were all sittin: were constant air strikes. we were all sitting in _ were constant air strikes. we were all sitting in the _ were constant air strikes. we were all sitting in the cellar. _ were constant air strikes. we were all sitting in the cellar. the - all sitting in the cellar. the windows were shattered, the residents went to their sellers. those who could do so the city but a lot of cars were bombed and they burned down so those people couldn't leave. there were lots of people dying in the streets, dead bodies

were lying in the streets.- dying in the streets, dead bodies were lying in the streets. there is no mariupol- _ were lying in the streets. there is no mariupol. we _ were lying in the streets. there is no mariupol. we sat _ were lying in the streets. there is no mariupol. we sat in _ were lying in the streets. there is no mariupol. we sat in a - were lying in the streets. there is no mariupol. we sat in a cell - were lying in the streets. there is no mariupol. we sat in a cell of i were lying in the streets. there is no mariupol. we sat in a cell of a | no mariupol. we sat in a cell of a ten days— no mariupol. we sat in a cell of a ten days and did not read —— even once _ ten days and did not read —— even once. neither had water nor electricity. it was, shelter, well, cellar. _ electricity. it was, shelter, well, cellar. not— electricity. it was, shelter, well, cellar, not really a seller. i am an english _ cellar, not really a seller. i am an english language teacher, ijust some _ english language teacher, ijust some of— english language teacher, ijust some of the people that have managed to gel— some of the people that have managed to get out— some of the people that have managed to get out of mariupol, 300,000 are still trapped in that city. a short time ago i spoke to uk—based anton levsiushkin, whose family has managed to escape from the besieged city of mariupol. but he hadn't been able to reach his twin sister for 11 days before that. i asked him what his sister had told him about what it was like in mariupol. she said it was absolutely horrible. they have been two or three weeks now without any electricity, water, heating, nothing. food was running out.

she was more afraid of hunger than being shelled. the shelling never stops since the beginning of march. 0n the street they have ended up, all of the nearby houses were destroyed. 0nly their house, luckily, survived. that house was the sole place she has been hiding since the start of the war. let's bring you these pictures that have come into us. this is a rescue operation after a military barracks was hit in the southern city of mykolayiv. dozens of people have been killed. that dry was about 36 hours ago. —— that dry. a military spokeswoman has said the final toll is still unknown, as rescuers and soldiers are still pulling out bodies as well as survivors.

dozens of people have been killed in one of these latest attacks on a military base in ukraine. in the last hour, our chief international correspondent lyse doucet gave us the latest from the capital kyiv. when people wake up here, if they are not woken up by the air raid sirens, i guess the first question it has to be said, the earlier feeling, the real sense of foreboding here that russian forces, these armoured convoys, it would just be a matter of time before they were approaching from multiple directions, now we know because we can see and hear the surface to air missiles being fired by the ukrainian forces. we can see the black smoke principally from the north—west where there is said to be

intense fighting as ukrainian forces actually succeed in pushing back the russian forces. have they decided to focus on other parts of the country now while they regroup and reassess around the capital? it doesn't seem to be the principalfocus, but of course it remains the main prize of this war. the same question has been around since before this invasion. how much does president putin once before he decides it is time to bring an end to this conflict? on that point, president zelensky talking and urging president putin to add meaningful talks. what are you hearing about the potential of those two leaders actually meeting? president zelensky has been asking to meet president putin since january. i remember his bitterness here when one after another to german chancellor, the french president, borisjohnson, the american president were all talking

to president putin and he said, why isn't he talking to me? 0n the eve of the invasion he appealed notjust putin but to the russian people in the russian language to stop the invasion. now he says let's talk. what will be the topics on the table? we understand that the negotiators have been making progress. the main points we know from what president putin has already demanded, that ukraine must renounce any ambition to join nato. russia wants the recognition of crimea as part of russia, once the independence of the east. ukraine wants a ceasefire, it wants russia to pull out all of those forces. the negotiators have said that some of the issues are easier to resolve. the tougher ones will need a meeting. president zelensky definitely wants to meet. we understand from the mediators that president putin has already agreed. what will be the venue? how big a table?

remember how big the table with president macron? president zelensky says he doesn't want to meet at a table metres long. the meeting will have to be the first of many. there is so much to discuss, so much disagreement and those thick red lines on both sides. everything out of mariupol is hellish. the pictures. tell us the significance of that southern port city and why russia is pushing so hard around mariupol. mariupol used to be blessed by its geography. it is that big boards, it was an industrial town, central to the economic development of this country. now it is cursed by its geography. it stands in the way of russia seizing a land corridor which connects eastern ukraine and the crimean peninsula.

the two areas of land it is held sway over since 2014. that is why literally it is throwing everything at mariupol. when i couldn't get it with land forces, it has been bombarding aids, encircling it in the type of cruel medieval stages we sought time and again in syria. mariupol is now on its last legs. we heard from the mayor today saying we are fighting back, but their numbers are more than we have. we are fighting back in the city centre, but the city centre, like 80% of mariupol, has now been flattened. they have even said they had lost control at least for now of the sea of as ours. it mayjust be tragically a matter of time for what was a city of nearly half a million people. what next? where else? will the forces go along the southern coast to the magnificent city of 0desa?

these are life and death questions for ukraine. then getting russian forces to withdraw even if there is some sort of ceasefire becomes even more difficult. in terms of the resistance, and you were talking about it, it has been ferocious from the ukrainians. already, as she suggested, russian tactics are morphing into a more grinding offensive, weeks, months, perhaps even longer. starving a city into submission, that seems to be what has been happening in mariupol. in kharkiv, close to the russian border, the ukrainians are fighting back and holding back. in mykolaiv in the south, recently they were able to repel a major russian advance. in city after city, region after region, we are saying the ukrainians fighting back

on the ground and in the air. we have seen the resistance of civilians, but if this war continues to drag on, it becomes a question of numbers and firepower. on both counts, russia is far mightier. let's hear from our correspondent across ukraine. in a moment we'll hear from wyre davies, who's in the south east city of zaporizhzia, but first, james reynolds reports from an aid distribution centre near the city of lviv in the west. in normal times, this was a furniture warehouse, but since the start of the war, this has become an aid distribution centre. it receives and then sorts through tonnes and tonnes of supplies which have been sent from across the world. let's split up, you go this way and i'll go that way, just to get a sense of the scale of what has been donated. and you are now walking through this column where people are sorting out clothes and shoes.

on my side people are sorting through tins and tins of food. there are lots of volunteers here. some of them have been older, retired people. and they decided to sign up for six to eight hour shifts here. they get bussed in and they sort through everything to make sure everything is in good order. and then the business people who run the centre organise it. they will start to repackage it and they then are in contact with places across the country, which really need food and shoes and tins of food. and one of the most important needs of all is medicine. if you just look over there, you will see the pallets that need to be sorted out. those have to be sorted out by specialists, by doctors and pharmacists and they will then be sent out or driven out to the hospitals

that need them the most. this is the town of zaporizhzhia. it's about 130 miles just to the north—west of the besieged city of mariupol, which, of course, has been virtually flattened by russian artillery fire. in recent days and weeks, those people who have been able to flee from mariupol have been coming through here. many of them, including children, being treated at local hospitals. but the big fear here now is that this city will become the next target for the russian offensive. indeed, in recent weeks, there have been sporadic missile attacks in the area. and in the last 2a hours, seven people were reported to have been killed in attacks against a local training base and factories. and that's meant a curfew has now been declared, a 38—hour curfew, in the city declared by the army and by local authorities and that's already led to pretty big queues at checkpoints in the city. people fleeing the city to the north. of course, the fear is that

even though many of these big old civic buildings are standing, that this city will soon resemble what has happened in mariupol. earlier today, russia said it had used hyper sonic missiles to destroy an underground weapons storage unit in western ukraine. it's the first time they've admitted using these types of missiles in combat. i'm nowjoined byjames bosbotinis, an independent specialist in defence and international affairs, to tell us all about them. welcome to their programme. tell us a bit more about these types of missiles. ,., ., ., ., ., a bit more about these types of missiles. _, ., ., ., ., ., ~ a bit more about these types of missiles. ., ., ~' , ., missiles. good afternoon, thank you for havin: missiles. good afternoon, thank you for having me- _ missiles. good afternoon, thank you for having me. the _ missiles. good afternoon, thank you for having me. the kinzhal- missiles. good afternoon, thank you for having me. the kinzhal is - missiles. good afternoon, thank you for having me. the kinzhal is an - missiles. good afternoon, thank you for having me. the kinzhal is an air. for having me. the kinzhal is an air launched ballistic missile. it can travel at speeds up to ten times the speed of sound and has a range of about 2000 kilometres. it is designed to provide precision strike

capability against both targets are land and at say. it entered service in late 2017 and this is its combat debut. in in late 2017 and this is its combat debut. , ., debut. in terms of defending themselves, _ debut. in terms of defending themselves, the _ debut. in terms of defending themselves, the ukrainians, | debut. in terms of defending i themselves, the ukrainians, we debut. in terms of defending - themselves, the ukrainians, we have seen different types of tactics to fend off russia's tactics so far, and the armoury used so far. as a —— is there a way of defending themselves from these types of missiles? ., ., , ., missiles? unfortunately not. the s - eed missiles? unfortunately not. the seed of missiles? unfortunately not. the speed of the _ missiles? unfortunately not. the speed of the kinzhal _ missiles? unfortunately not. the speed of the kinzhal puts - missiles? unfortunately not. the speed of the kinzhal puts it - missiles? unfortunately not. the l speed of the kinzhal puts it beyond the reach of any ukrainian air defence system. and the launch platforms, in this case, the mid 31, they can launch from rangers beyond they can launch from rangers beyond the reach of ukraine. the kinzhal was likely launched from southern russia. so, unfortunately for ukraine, there is no chance of defending against these hypersonic weapons. in

defending against these hypersonic wea ons. , ., defending against these hypersonic weaons. , ., ,, ., weapons. in terms of russian strategy. _ weapons. in terms of russian strategy. what _ weapons. in terms of russian strategy, what is _ weapons. in terms of russian strategy, what is your - weapons. in terms of russian - strategy, what is your assessment of them deciding to use them now? 0bviously, they have been wanting to hit a hard underground facility, which is the sort of high—value target that the kinzhal was designed for. it is sending a message that russia has a means of escalating this conflict further, and it is also a warning to the west that russia can of course up the anti—in ukraine and the kinzhal could also be employed if the war escalated and drew in external powers. it could be used against targets in europe and united kingdom. so, it's messaging. and whatever the facility was that russia chose to hit, they are sending the message that this was something so valuable that they would utilise what is a niche

capability. the russians will have only a very small number of kinzhal missiles are available to them. i suppose you are describing that it underlines in fact the part that russia are using medieval siege like tactics and we also see them using the most modern warfare tactics and weaponry. you've got both things happening at the same time. is there more potentially they can also turn to? , , , ., , .., , to? yes, the russians can utilise their stockpile _ to? yes, the russians can utilise their stockpile of _ to? yes, the russians can utilise their stockpile of conventional i their stockpile of conventional long—range strike systems more. and they can launch wider scale strikes against ukrainian infrastructure, targeting power stations, bridges, economic facilities etc to try to cause as much disruption to the ukrainian economy and its ability to stay in the fight as long as possible. as well as of course the more brutal siege tactics and

strikes against civilian residential targets that we have seen thus far. it highlights the nature of the russian armed forces that at one end we had seen how their logistic problems have caused such massive problems have caused such massive problems for them and the convoy, for example, north of kyiv breaking down. yet at the other end of the spectrum, they have systems that very few of other countries currently operate, such as the kinzhal. . ., currently operate, such as the kinzhal. ., ~ , ., currently operate, such as the kinzhal. . ~' , ., currently operate, such as the kinzhal. ., ~ , ., . currently operate, such as the kinzhal. ., ~ . ., kinzhal. thank you so much for “oininu kinzhal. thank you so much for joining us. _ kinzhal. thank you so much for joining us, thank— kinzhal. thank you so much for joining us, thank you _ kinzhal. thank you so much for joining us, thank you for - kinzhal. thank you so much for joining us, thank you for your l kinzhal. thank you so much for- joining us, thank you for your time. the us president has warned china of the consequences if it gives support to russia in its war against ukraine. there was that two—hour conversation between the chinese president and the us president. i'm joined now by yawei liu, director of china program at the carter center. welcome to the programme. what is

your reading of those talks between xi and biden because they lasted more than two hours? last xi and biden because they lasted more than two hours?— xi and biden because they lasted more than two hours? last time they talked in november _ more than two hours? last time they talked in november 2021, _ more than two hours? last time they talked in november 2021, the - talked in november 2021, the conversation lasted close to five hours so the length of the conversation indicates that both leaders are seriously looking into how they are going to assure each other of what they want and what the two countries can do to coordinate their policies so as to bring the war in ukraine to an end as soon as possible. war in ukraine to an end as soon as ossible. , , ., war in ukraine to an end as soon as ossible. , ., ,, ,, war in ukraine to an end as soon as ossible. , i. ., ,, ,, ., possible. give me your assessment of what ou possible. give me your assessment of what you think — possible. give me your assessment of what you think china's _ possible. give me your assessment of what you think china's position - possible. give me your assessment of what you think china's position is. - what you think china's position is. do you think they want to get further involved? you saw that request being reported about requests for chinese assistance. 0r requests for chinese assistance. or do you think they want to bring this to a negotiated settlement of some kind? ., ~ ., ., , ., kind? no, i think china have shown all the size — kind? no, i think china have shown all the size that _ kind? no, i think china have shown all the size that they _ kind? no, i think china have shown all the size that they are _ all the size that they are interested in bringing this war to an end and to prevent a humanitarian

crisis on the ground in ukraine. so, they are talking to the leaders in europe and finally president xi is talking to president biden because china does need some assurances from washington so that it can seriously and meaningfully look into how to distance itself from moscow and how to facilitate the mediation process, if not to get involved by themselves.— if not to get involved by themselves. , ., , ., themselves. the statements, though, from beijing. — themselves. the statements, though, from beijing. on _ themselves. the statements, though, from beijing, on the _ themselves. the statements, though, from beijing, on the surface _ themselves. the statements, though, from beijing, on the surface don't - from beijing, on the surface don't seem to hold out a huge amount of hope, but a behind—the—scenes how much concern do you think that is? i think both statements from beijing and dc indicate that the team, the china team and the us team are going to do a lot of follow—ups. i think the fact that both sides have acknowledged that indicates that they probably have discussed a lot more detail action plans that they are going to do. so, on the surface,

obviously china once the us to hear what its concerns are and us wants china to look at the serious consequences if they are going to get closer to russia, but overall i think this is a very positive development that china can play an active role, and particularly in working with the us and european counterparts to bring this to an end. . , , counterparts to bring this to an end. ., , , ., counterparts to bring this to an end. ., ,, end. there has been that assessment, that theory that _ end. there has been that assessment, that theory that anything _ end. there has been that assessment, that theory that anything that - that theory that anything that damages the us reduces their sphere of influence benefits beijing, i mentioned that request for help from moscow. if they were to help moscow, that would be a major, major crossroads, wouldn't it? it that would be a major, ma'or crossroads, wouldn't it? it would be. first crossroads, wouldn't it? it would be- first of— crossroads, wouldn't it? it would be. first of all, _ crossroads, wouldn't it? it would be. first of all, i— crossroads, wouldn't it? it would be. first of all, i am _ crossroads, wouldn't it? it would be. first of all, i am not - crossroads, wouldn't it? it would be. first of all, i am not sure, i crossroads, wouldn't it? it would l be. first of all, i am not sure, you know, this is for real, that china is looking into providing economic

and particularly military assistance to russia. russia made try to hype up to russia. russia made try to hype up this, but morally to tacitly support the russian position is not equivalent of providing actual support. i personally, i don't think that will be the position that china was going to take. we that will be the position that china was going to take.— was going to take. we shall watch with interest, _ was going to take. we shall watch with interest, it _ was going to take. we shall watch with interest, it is _ was going to take. we shall watch with interest, it is such _ was going to take. we shall watch with interest, it is such an - with interest, it is such an important dynamic in what we are seeing. thank you very much for being here on the programme, thank you for your time. 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've 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 four 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 is unique about this is that we are seeing, as you just reported from mariupol, the indiscriminate bombing of civilians, which is against international law, the targeting of schools and hospital buildings, which is against international law, we are seeing the breach of humanitarian ceasefires and humanitarian corridors that are being created by the russians and of course we are seeing a nuclear blackmail. all of these things are adding up to massive loss of life, let me show you pictures from space but russia and the us are working together in the close confines of the international space station. three russian cosmonauts docked safely on friday for a six—and—a—half—month mission. the three entered the iss from their soyuz capsule wearing yellow and blue flight suits — colours which resemble the ukrainian flag. it's unclear whether their choice of kit was an intentional show of solidarity for ukraine while it's being attacked by russian forces.

i'm back in half an hour with all the latest from ukraine. hopefully, i will see you then, by finance. dashed by four now. despite the sunshine many of us would agree it feels on the courtside particularly the wind. the skies were clear with lots of fine weather around and that will lead to a frost tonight. high pressure will stick around for the weekend and into next week but around this area of high pressure the winds are pretty strong, blowing in from the east and the sea is very chilly this time of the year. in fact the temperatures around coastal areas are seven or eight degrees. that wind blows off the sea gusting to around 30 mph and drag that

chilly air off the water inland and then it feels cold. of course it does warm up a little bit inland. in western parts of scotland we have more shelter with temperatures going up to 17 degrees so hints of spring across those parts of the world. tonight clear skies with the nagging wind out there but we are the windfalls light, particularly inland, there will be a touch of frost, probably around freezing in rural areas and two or three degrees above freezing and city centres. high pressure still with us tomorrow. this area of cloud across the netherlands and belgium is heading our way and for some of us it will be a bit more cloudy on sunday, maybe a few more showers around in east anglia and the south—east. it starts off sunny and breezy and chilly first thing and the area of cloud from belgium and the netherlands moved into east anglia and maybe brings a couple of showers. many central areas from the south of

the north lots of sunshine around. a bit chilly on north sea course and about 9 degrees in newcastle with the wind blowing off the north sea. monday and tuesday, the wind switches from the south and it will be much milder. i would say it is even going to feel warm and a really promising outlook for the second half of the week. temperatures up to 17 or 18 and will probably touch 20 degrees, fingers crossed, for the first time this year.

hello, as governments around the world race to sanction associates of vladimir putin, the british media is turning its attention to the role russian oligarchs have played in public life. this week, an edition of panorama aired allegations about the source roman abramovich's wealth. at the weekend, the sunday times reported that newspaper owner evgeny lebedev was made a peer despite the concerns of the security services. and the gossip sites are all over the gilded lifestyles of the oligarch kids and their swanky homes around the world. but why is it only now that the mainstream press has put the oligarchs in the spotlight? what has stopped them before? just some of the big questions for my guest today. they are, paul caruana galizia, who is a generalist behind a new podcast for tortoise media called lebedev: lord of siberia. adam bienkov is political editor at the byline times.

laura kayali is tech corresponded at politico.