this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm shaun ley. our top stories: ukrainian authorities say russia has bombed a school in mariupol where around 400 people were sheltering. president zelensky says moscow has committed war crimes in the city. translation: to do this to - a peaceful city that the occupiers did to it is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come. iamjames i am james reynolds at the main train station in lviv in western ukraine. we will bring you the very latest from inside this country. fleeing the war across the danube river between ukraine and romania — we follow those searching for a safer life. their thoughts as they reach safety themselves between one world at war and another world at peace are with those

they've left behind in ukraine. the duke and duchess of cambridge arrive in belize as part of their tour of the caribbean to mark the queen's platinum jubilee. hello, welcome to bbc news. good to have your company. the authorities in the beseiged city of mariupol have accused russia of bombing a school where around 400 people were sheltering. there's no word yet on casualties. president zelensky says russia's siege of the port is a "terror that will be remembered for centuries to come". let's get the latest from the west of the country — my colleague james reynolds is in lviv.

good afternoon, james. great to speak to you and good afternoon from lviv in western ukraine which has been a relative safe haven from the rest of the war. the current front lines are still several hundred miles away. we are in that train station, you might have seen packed platforms in recent times with women and children trying to get on trains to safety a0 or 70 miles away in poland but things are relatively calm. this train on the platform is heading east towards some of the more dangerous zones and what we have realised from speaking to people there is some of the people came from the east, dropped off theirfamily members, women, children and elder men and are now heading back east and that is where many people's attention now turns, especially the besieged city of mariupol. it is on the south—east

coast along a strip of land rush at wants to take to allow a land corridor from the east to the south. the mayor of mariupol has said russians are forcibly taking ukrainians across the border into russia. russia has not addressed those claims but says it is helping people who want to get to russia. it's worth stressing we try to independently verify all claims made from mariupol but it's very difficult to do so as for the moment it's impossible for us to get there. with an overview of what is happening there, here is my colleaguejon donnison. increasingly, ukraine's eastern cities are in ruins. kramatorsk one of the latest towns to come under heavy russian bombardment. the un says it's confirmed more than 8a0 civilians have so far been killed across the country, but says the actual figure is likely far higher.

this is the latest satellite picture, the theatre in the southern city of mariupol, bombed by russia on wednesday. four days on, officials say hundreds are still trapped in the basement but reports of fighting nearby are hampering rescue efforts. mariupol was once a bustling port city, but now after weeks of shelling, and encircled by the russians, it's almost unrecognisable. and this morning there are unverified reports of an art school building where a00 people were sheltering being bombed yesterday, with many still trapped in the rubble. translation: the blockade - of mariupol will go down in history of responsibility for war crimes. to do this to a peaceful city that the occupiers did to it is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come. and the more ukrainians tell the world about it, the more support we find. the more russia uses terror

against ukraine, the worse the consequences will be for it. and the mayor of mariupol says thousands of residents have been forcibly deported to russia, with some taken to remote cities, a claim the bbc cannot independently verify, but those lucky enough to escape west tell of days of terror. translation: i could never imagine| that a bomb would hit the house next to mine, that my district would be literally wiped out. the outskirts of the city were simply destroyed. and then i realised there were no safe places in the city any more. and that's now the case in a number of ukrainian cities. in mykolaiv, in the south, around 200 soldiers were sleeping in barracks when three russian missiles hit. a glimmer of hope as one man is pulled from the rubble, but with temperatures reaching lows of —6,

it's feared there might not be many more survivors. around ten million ukrainians have now been forced to leave their homes. officials say more than 6,500 people were evacuated from cities through humanitarian corridors yesterday. among them, some of the most vulnerable, 71 babies and small children from an orphanage in the north—eastern town of sumy. they had been sheltering in a bunker under russian bombardment for several weeks but have now been moved to somewhere at least relatively safe. jon donnison, bbc news. from our bbc positions are ukraine we continue to monitor and investigate what's happening in the besieged city of mariupol. my colleague james waterhouse is in kyiv, the capital, information as ever when it comes coming out of the south—east is very difficult to verify straightaway, but nevertheless we have another claim from authorities in mariupol that a building where people

were taking shelter from the constant bombardment, that has now been targeted itself. we know a00 people were inside an art school. no word yet on casualties, but it comes as rescue teams try and pull people out of the rubble at a theatre. hundreds are thought to be trapped there after a theatre housing more than 1,000 was struck a couple of days ago, and what is making their efforts all the more difficult is fighting breaking out in the streets. there are now russian forces in the heart of mariupol, we understand, suggesting, as feared by the west, that the level of ukrainian resistance might be starting to falter under intense pressure. sustained bombardment, sustained siege for more than two weeks, where more than coming up to 2,500 people are known to have died. the figure is thought to be higher, but nevertheless it has come at a cost for the russians. they have sustained unexpected

losses, and the thought from military experts is should mariupol fall, yes, it's strategically significant, it gives the russians a land corridor across the south east of ukraine, but it also means that the russians' priority is to now regroup instead of launch new attacks because of the costs they've sustained. james waterhouse reporting from kyiv. here in lviv things are reasonably quiet. there was an air raid siren about 5:30am, there was the all clear about one hour later, assigned the war has come to this region but i was struck by a conversation with an evacuee, a young woman training to be a psychologist who was there with her young daughter and her mother. she told me she had to hold it together, she didn't allow herself to cry and

she didn't allow herself to cry and she said herfather, her grandparents, her husband and her heart were all the way in the east and that she was simply trying to carry on and this train in perhaps some minutes or hours will head to the east and it's fascinating come to the east lies danger come to the west lies in safety and every family has to choose which direction to head. meanwhile for those who remain in lviv and the areas surrounding the city, there must be something unnerving about this period were there aren't so many attacks in western ukraine and yet they hear so much destruction, so many lives ending in the east and in the south in particular. i think the accumulation of conversations i have had brings out a pattern. everyone i have spoken to feels torn, i almost felt like they are living in two different places. physically they might be here were

some family members but mentally and when they go to sleep they are still in the east with other family from whom they are separated but some people are trying to deal with an interim beyond 2a hours. i spoke to people who have kids and asked them about school and they said we want our kids to go to school here or go to school in poland to give them some routine and only lighter note both these mothers laughed and said our kids are delighted they are not having to go to school but we want them to go to school, we want them to have that structure. james reynolds in lviv as people try to maintain daily life as best they can, thank you. a ukrainian mp has warned that russian forces could make another attempt to get from the outskirts into the capital, kyiv, in the next few days. kira rudyk, who's also the leader of the opposition golos party, says residents are doing everything possible to repel them. one of those residents, alex borovenskiy, has turned the rehearsal room at his theatre in central kyiv into a bomb shelter for artists and the local community. hejoins me now.

thank you so much for talking to us on bbc news. can i ask you first of all, what prompted you to make this decision to provide shelter in the theatre? we decision to provide shelter in the theatre? ~ . ., , ., decision to provide shelter in the theatre? ~ . . , ., , theatre? we are a small independent theatre, that — theatre? we are a small independent theatre, that is _ theatre? we are a small independent theatre, that is what _ theatre? we are a small independent theatre, that is what we _ theatre? we are a small independent theatre, that is what we were - theatre? we are a small independent theatre, that is what we were always | theatre, that is what we were always in a basement and the basement is the safe place so in an invasion you know where you will go, to a theatre underground and one by one local peoplejoined. hats? underground and one by one local peeple joined-— underground and one by one local --eole'oined. ., ., , , ., people “oined. how many people are in people joined. how many people are in there with — people joined. how many people are in there with you _ people joined. how many people are in there with you at _ people joined. how many people are in there with you at night _ people joined. how many people are in there with you at night quarter - in there with you at night quarter right now it's 25. we in there with you at night quarter right now it's 25.— in there with you at night quarter right now it's 25. we used to have more but some _ right now it's 25. we used to have more but some people _ right now it's 25. we used to have more but some people fled - right now it's 25. we used to have more but some people fled kyiv l right now it's 25. we used to have| more but some people fled kyiv in the first week so here are the strongest and toughest stage so 25 people, some publishers, some artists. —— some babushkas. fit, liat

people, some publishers, some artists. -- some babushkas. a lot of --eole artists. -- some babushkas. a lot of peeple coming _ artists. -- some babushkas. a lot of people coming into _ artists. -- some babushkas. a lot of people coming into the _ artists. -- some babushkas. a lot of people coming into the shelter - artists. -- some babushkas. a lot of people coming into the shelter have| people coming into the shelter have presumably never met each other. hats? presumably never met each other. now we are like one — presumably never met each other. iirrw we are like one big presumably never met each other. now we are like one big family, everyone knows everyone, i now their personal stories and the stories of their children, we know whether birthdays are and everyone is united. i never knew these people before, they are local people and friends of friends but now i know each one and we know that ukraine is going to kick rush at�*s as is. i that ukraine is going to kick rush at's as is. , ., , ., that ukraine is going to kick rush at's as is. , . , ., . at's as is. i understand you are livin: at's as is. i understand you are living through _ at's as is. i understand you are living through a _ at's as is. i understand you are living through a curfew - at's as is. i understand you are living through a curfew so - at's as is. i understand you arei living through a curfew so have at's as is. i understand you are - living through a curfew so have you had a chance to get above ground in the next few days. i had a chance to get above ground in the next few days.— the next few days. i went to a small town in the — the next few days. i went to a small town in the outskirts _ the next few days. i went to a small town in the outskirts of _ the next few days. i went to a small town in the outskirts of kyiv, - the next few days. i went to a small town in the outskirts of kyiv, not. town in the outskirts of kyiv, not the war zone but another direction and i have seen the territorial defences and army, i've seen quite a lot. the curfew has been lifted from the curfew right now starts around 8pm and is lifted in the morning so

curfew has finished. 50 8pm and is lifted in the morning so curfew has finished.— curfew has finished. so you are on our own curfew has finished. so you are on your own right _ curfew has finished. so you are on your own right now. _ curfew has finished. so you are on your own right now. kyiv - curfew has finished. so you are on your own right now. kyiv is - your own right now. kyiv is protected- _ your own right now. kyiv is protected- i— your own right now. kyiv is protected. i mean - your own right now. kyiv is protected. i mean you - your own right now. kyiv is protected. i mean you are | your own right now. kyiv is i protected. i mean you are on your own right now. kyiv is - protected. i mean you are on your own in the — protected. i mean you are on your own in the theatre _ protected. i mean you are on your own in the theatre or— protected. i mean you are on your own in the theatre or the - protected. i mean you are on your own in the theatre or the shelter. | own in the theatre or the shelter. yes, the inhabitants of the theatre are here, a couple of my friends are volunteering around the town in their cars, a couple of my friends went to work because they work with the news, your colleagues, they went to work with the news and i am an actors are here, in one art we are going to rehearse a new play so artwork never stops. find going to rehearse a new play so artwork never stops.— going to rehearse a new play so artwork never stops. and it's a very to - ical artwork never stops. and it's a very topical play — artwork never stops. and it's a very topical play in _ artwork never stops. and it's a very topical play in the _ artwork never stops. and it's a very topical play in the circumstances. i artwork never stops. and it's a very topical play in the circumstances. ai topical play in the circumstances. a very appropriate play given the circumstances you are currently trying to cope with. this circumstances you are currently trying to cope with.— circumstances you are currently trying to cope with. this one we have a play _ trying to cope with. this one we have a play about _ trying to cope with. this one we have a play about germany - trying to cope with. this one we l have a play about germany being bombed by the allied forces in i9a3, in a small town and i think it's

very ironic and scary because the history is repeating it should revert because russia is doing pretty much what was happening in that time. �* 1, ., ,~' , pretty much what was happening in that time. �* 1, ., , ., ~ that time. alex borovenskiy, thank ou, tood that time. alex borovenskiy, thank you. good luck _ that time. alex borovenskiy, thank you, good luck with _ that time. alex borovenskiy, thank you, good luck with the _ that time. alex borovenskiy, thank you, good luck with the rehearsals| you, good luck with the rehearsals in strange circumstances, good luck with your new—found family, i hope you guys can hang together in the coming days and weeks and that you will get an audience to see your plate once things start to in kyiv. thank you very much. let's get more on the refugees leaving ukraine to find safety in other countries. more than half a million people have now fled into neighbouring romania. i'm joined now by the bbc�*s nick thorpe who's in siret, romania. forgive me if i have mispronounced that. tell me about the town that you are in and the numbers, we can see some of them behind you and the efforts people are putting in to help those seeking refuge.

this is siret in north—eastern romania, the biggest border crossing here, as you can see pretty well organised, this is a group of volunteers, fire brigade, police preparing herejust behind me in the white building, that's the actual border crossing. every few minutes another few people walk across the border and immediately a lot of people are waiting to help them. siret an important strategic location, this is the way many people leaving central ukraine, even coming south from kyiv or cities like veneta might come to if they felt the polish border is too crowded, too difficult, it takes too long to cross and we are also getting many people coming through chernihiv, the city about a5 minutes drive the other side of this border. there people, it is a big historical cultural city and ate rail and road

hub, many people are reaching there from eastern ukraine as well on their way out of the country. the situation here also very different to where i have spent the last few daysin to where i have spent the last few days in south—eastern romania where the river danube forms a border with ukraine. the river danube cuts ukraine in the north from romania to the south like a knife. so many people are fleeing ukraine, it's easy to miss the few returning by river ferry. you still need a ticket if you're going the wrong way. it's a romanian ship flying the ukrainian flag as a courtesy. irina is one of the passengers, a lawyerfrom kyiv. she's just taken her twin children to safety in germany. now she's on her way back to fetch her mother. i have a happy life in ukraine. my native language is russian. but i don't want

putin to protect me. i don't know his protection. ukraine was a great country. but now everything is ruined and i don't know will stay my house in safety. i don't know when i can come back to ukraine. the ferry docks and a dozen or so people disembark. barely an hour later, the ferry fills with refugees. irina and her mother, natalya, among them. many are from 0desa, but there are also some from mykolaiv, the city further east still blocking any russian advance along the coast. they came by boat, by train, by car to the water crossing, their thoughts as they reach safety themselves between one world at war and another at peace are with those

they have left behind in ukraine. in romania, the ukrainians get a warm welcome. he was good, she was crying. she thinks that they will never see each other again. are you happy you are at home? i am not at home. i will be happy when i return to ukraine. i will be happy. as the sun sets behind the granite mountains, anotherferry embarks from the romanian shore to bring more ukrainians across. interestingly there and indeed here in siret, a pent north—eastern romania, several people, a significant trickle of people returning across the border. some of the people i've been talking to this morning going across, local people,

to feed their animals or take humanitarian supplies back into ukraine from romania. how unnerved would you say people are in neighbouring countries like romania about what has happened in ukraine? they are unnerved but i think to some extent they are getting over the shock and the white they are getting over it is to help, a huge outpouring of support. i was speaking to a policewoman at this border crossing this morning saying she was amazed and impressed by the weight her country folk are getting together but also at a place like this you spend days or hours here and realise this is really an international effort, there are greeks here, turks, israelis, a spanish ngo who felt there was so much support already flowing in here that they have crossed to chernihiv on the other side of the border. every few minutes people arrive

bringing more food from different organisations, so one has a sense here and i think the romanians appreciate that, they don't feel alone. the huge generosity of this and other countries, but you also feel this is an international effort with ordinary people piling in to help in whatever way they can. nick thorpe in siret, thank you. as the russian forces bombarded the city of mariupol, many people watch with foreboding. many residents have stayed, some to pick up guns to fight, others to help in whatever way they can. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucet met two people joining the effort to sustain the city's morale. in the heart of kyiv, in st sophia's square, thousands of tulips. a trident takes shape, a three—pronged spear. it's our symbol, the symbol

of ukraine and once more symbol of peace and of our country, for one side we want to stay in peace but for another, all of us are ready to stay and to defend our country. and so many people have left kyiv, especially women and children. why are you still here? i don't want to go anywhere. my grand—grand—grandfathers, mothers were born and died in my city and for me kyiv is my heart and i understand and i am absolutely sure that people who have small children, they must leave because it's not possible to stay when bombs will come, putin, i don't know. when you see what's happening to mariupol and kharkiv and so many other parts of the country, does it worry you this could happen here? it's a very big pain in my heart

and daytime i am a restaurateur and daytime we are cooking for our people. in the night time i'm praying. it's my way how to support these people. also i do a lot of volunteer work with people who come from mariupol, from bucha, from chernihiv, from kharkiv, everyone doing the best what you can do. people from across the city are being drawn to this intriguing installation including a very popular rock star, 0leg skrypka. why are you here? a lot of ukrainians left the country but i think we have to stay here to support our land, to support ukrainians and support our warriors and this is my country, it's my city and now

we are in the war but mostly important it's in the culture, and it's the action installation with flower because the flower is the symbol of freedom. so are you fighting this war with your culture, with your music? i found the channel to support for people. you try to inspire them? because music can't stop russian tanks. absolutely, we'll do it. he sings. slava ukraini! that's the power of music. he claims it can stop russian tanks but certainly it does inspire ukrainians and they are looking

for inspiration at this time of devastating war, now in its first month and no sign it's going to end any time soon. lyse doucet and company in kyiv. the duke and duchess of cambridge have arrived in belize, as part of their week—long tour of the caribbean to mark the queen's platinum jubilee. part of the tour, which will also see the couple visit jamaica and the bahamas, has been altered following opposition from local people. 0ur royal correspondent, jonny dymond, is travelling with the couple and has sent this report. not quite the welcome they were hoping for. at one of the first places william and kate were supposed to visit, protests forced the couple to cancel. protester: this is our land, this is our property! - they were meant to visit a cocoa farm, but some objected to prince william's links to a conservation charity that has been working in the area.

what would have been the first stop of the first full day of the tour was dropped. but as this week—long caribbean trip kicked off at belize's main airport, it was all smiles from the couple. it is the first official trip they have done together since the pandemic broke. and across three countries, all of which have the queen as head of state, william and kate will raise the royal profile. and they will be thanking people, on behalf of the queen, for their support over seven decades of her reign. jonny dymond, bbc news. jonny dymond there in the heart of the caribbean with the royal couple on tour to mark the queen's big jubilate this year, celebrating 70 years on the british throne. those

are the headlines. we will have more in the next hour. it has been a glorious weekend so far with all four nations recording its warmest day of the year so far but the top temperature was 20.2 celsius in kinlochewe. a beautiful day in the highlands without a cloud in the sky but today we may see a bit more in the way of fairweather cloud and it mayjust be a bit cooler with a maximum of 13 or ia degrees. two areas of cloud i need to point out to you, one down into the south—west and affecting parts of south wales and this curl of cloud across the low countries which may drift towards the coastline of east anglia as we go through the late afternoon. it may well produce one or two isolated showers. generally a bit more fairweather cloud to the east of the pennines and the best sunshine in sheltered western areas away from the cloud

down into the south—west which could trigger an isolated shower. cooler on the east coast, nine or ten, top temperatures of ia degrees. tonight that cloud will continue to drift from the north sea and produce a bit more cloud across the east of england. nothing significant in terms of rainfall. further inland we will see the lowest temperatures, just below freezing and a touch of light frost in sheltered rural parts is possible but as we go through the next few days it looks likely that warmth is set to build. again we could see that cloud just interfering with the far east coast of aberdeenshire and to the south a little more fairweather cloud but the wind direction light, turning round to a southerly, warmer still, 15 or 16 degrees the high here and we're looking at ten to 13 degrees across scotland and northern ireland. as we move from monday into tuesday, warmer air continues to push up

from the west of europe and it will get noticeably warmer with each day. so as we move into tuesday, dry, settled and sunny, but as the warmth builds it may trigger a few very isolated showers. nothing too widespread but it is worth bearing in mind. temperatures are likely to peak into the mid to high teens in many places. that story will continue through the week ahead and we could see temperatures once again back up to 20 degrees, 68 fahrenheit, way above where they should be for this time of year.

this is bbc news. the headlines... ukrainian authorities say russia has bombed a school in mariupol where around a00 people were sheltering. president zelensky says moscow has committed war crimes in the city. as the un says ten million people have now fled their homes in ukraine, we follow those escaping the conflict. the duke and duchess of cambridge arrive in belize as part of their tour of the caribbean to mark the queen's platinumjubilee. unspun world — provides an unvarnished version of the week's major global news stories. reliable, honest and essential viewing with the bbc�*s world affairs editorjohn simpson.