this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories... 10 million people have now fled their homes in ukraine since the start of the war — more than a quarter of the population. among them — children who escaped from besieged mariupol but are left with life—changing injuries. all of these are victims of russian attacks. it isn'tjust the physical injuries though, many of these children have deep psychological trauma that they will perhaps never get over. in mariupol itself, the bombardment is said to be constant — many are believed to be trapped in shelters below destroyed buildings.

russia is urging the city to surrender. russia has confirmed the first death of one of its senior naval commanders. i'mjames i'm james reynolds i'mjames reynolds in lviv, in western ukraine, i will bring you right up to date with events inside this country. welcome to the programme. ten million people in ukraine — or around a quarter of the entire population — have now been forced from their homes by russia's attacks. those figures, from the united nations, show the extent to which more than three weeks of invasion and bombardment have devastated people's lives. most of the displaced are still within ukraine's borders — but more than 3 million have escaped to other countries. russia has asked people in the besieged city of mariupol to

surrender. an art school where 400 people had been sheltering is said to have been destroyed. among those who have made it out of the city are children some of whom have been left with severe injuries. we'll have more on that shortly. these are the latest pictures we have from mariupol where local politicians say the bombardment is constant. they say russia is not letting in humanitarian convoys. many people are trapped in shelters below destroyed buildings, including a theatre that was bombed on wednesday. russia says it will open humanitarian corridors on monday, but previous arrangements to evacuate civilians have been targeted by russian fire. my colleaguejames reynolds is in lviv in western ukraine with all the latest. good to speak to you and good evening from lviv in western ukraine rather is a curfew in place but where there is also a relative safety. we are some way from the front lines air, but the attention

of all ukrainian stones to the south of all ukrainian stones to the south of the country and the south—east and that besieged city of mariupol. we understand from the ukrainian authorities and deputy prime minister that 3985 ukrainians were able to evacuate through an escape route of a humanitarian corridor from mariupol to the town of zaporizhzhia, about 120 miles away. my zaporizhzhia, about 120 miles away. my colleague wyre davies reports. you may find some parts of his report distressing. this is what vladimir putin's war has done to the children of ukraine. in his hospital bed, little artem stares into emptiness. the russian shell that blasted shrapnel into his belly also wounded his parents and grandparents as they fled from mariupol. a victim of the war and not yet three years old. next to artem, 15—year—old masha, also from near mariupol.

her right leg amputated after being torn apart by the blast from a russian shell last tuesday. she and artem, in some senses, are lucky. they've been evacuated to the city of zaporizhzhia. 0ther victims, adults and children, died where they fell in the streets. these are just some of the hundreds of casualties of what's been happening in mariupol and the surrounding region. all of these are victims of russian attacks. it's notjust the physical injuries, though. many of these children have deep psychological trauma that they will perhaps never get over. these doctors and the children's surviving relatives asked us to tell their stories. the head of the children's hospital, can't hide his contempt for what russia has done. translation: i hate russia. the girl who lost her leg was so traumatized

she wouldn't eat or drink for days. she couldn't mentally handle it. we had to feed her intravenously. another boy, a six—year—old with shrapnel in his skull, described without tears or emotion, watching his mother burn to death in their car after it was hit. he then said, "dad, buy me a mum, i want someone to walk me to school". what is happening in mariupol is a humanitarian disaster, even perhaps a war crime. 90% of the city's buildings have been damaged or destroyed in blanket russian shelling. after last week's destruction of a theatre where more than a thousand people were said to be sheltering, reports that an art school with more than 400 people inside has also been attacked. at the hospital, vladimir wanted to tell me about his daughter, natasha, and his granddaughter dominika, whose picture he almost caressed

on his phone. they were both killed by a russian shell inside mariupol. "i ran up to my granddaughter and i'm screaming, dominika, dominika, "but there she lies", says vladimir. "i then rushed to natasha, grabbing whatever i can find, a scarf "to bandage her legs." vladimir, whose other daughter is still in a serious condition, knows he has to try and stay strong. "god, why would you bring this all upon me?" he says. "my lovely girls, i failed to protect you." wyre davies, bbc news, zaporizhzhia.

we can now talk to deb barry, save the children team leader in poland. people in that theatre wrote the words "children" in big letters on either side of that data hoping that it would stop the data from being struck. it was struck. i wonder what are your thoughts on children in this war. , , , ., ., this war. just listening to that grandfather — this war. just listening to that grandfather speak, _ this war. just listening to that grandfather speak, you - this war. just listening to that grandfather speak, you can i this war. just listening to that l grandfather speak, you can feel this war. just listening to that - grandfather speak, you can feel the realness of the situation and as i have spent hours and days at the border watching these families come across and just seeing that pain intensify every time i go down to a border crossing, and just knowing that we have so many children, mothers, fathers, grandfathers, grandmothers living through this every single day, and every day that

this goes on it gets harder and harderfor this goes on it gets harder and harder for these children, this goes on it gets harder and harderfor these children, harder for them to understand, harderfor their mums, fathers and grandfathers to be able to answer their questions that we just put there, why is this happening? to children. even as adults we cannot explain why these things are happening to these people right now. and so it is really difficult. 0ne right now. and so it is really difficult. one of the things we are trying to do at save the children is to try as families are coming across to try as families are coming across to poland, when he first meet then we give them advice how they can help their children, what is something really practical they can do when children ask these questions, because it is really difficult. as a mother, grandmother, auntie, all these people want to be able to help their children find a little bit of peace. peace is what we all crave for, and how we find

out when there is so much horror around them and so much conflict. here in lviv, which is still relatively safe, i have seen some children playing at a playground, much the happiness of their parents who think they do get a few minutes breakfrom the who think they do get a few minutes break from the war. how are kids while you are?— break from the war. how are kids while you are? that is exactly the same. i while you are? that is exactly the same- i was _ while you are? that is exactly the same. i was about _ while you are? that is exactly the same. i was about to _ while you are? that is exactly the same. i was about to say - while you are? that is exactly the same. i was about to say that. i while you are? that is exactly the i same. i was about to say that. one of the things we have been able to do with our polish partners is as soon as they come through to the reception centres is set up a space for children and you can just see the relief on the faces of the mothers as they watch their children just play for that first time, just for of the world, being able just to laugh with their friends, and that moment is so important and we are also seeing as seeing as soon as children come across, there are a few things i first want to do. they want to get hold of that same card and be able to call back to their loved ones to let them know that they have made it safely. and for they have made it safely. and for the other children it is about getting some time on their phones

and watching things like crazy cat videos and crazy little memes and youtube things, just to have that belief i forget what i have gone through. you canjust see belief i forget what i have gone through. you can just see the faces of these mothers when they cross the border and i have that opportunity to just border and i have that opportunity tojust sit for a border and i have that opportunity to just sit for a few hours, at the reception centre and just be able to reflect. some mothers i have talked to, when i asked him how are you doing right now, they say don't ask right now, wejust doing right now, they say don't ask right now, we just need to get to the next place, so you find them giving their children extra doughnuts, extra treats, whatever they want to watch on youtube, until they want to watch on youtube, until they get to the next place of safety, which could be warsaw, about five hours away, or it could be going to germany or italy, then the parents realise that they will really have to start addressing these really tough issues. on the border, it is, whatever the children need to be will try to help them to just feel a little bit more comfort and to try and forget because just

getting into poland isn't enough, they still have a long journey ahead of them. and they could be single parents or grandparents travelling with children and that is exhausting as well, so we want to be helping the caregivers to be able to help these children when they get to these children when they get to these locations so save the children is setting up locations around poland, so that when they get to these places they have that longer term help, and as you said earlier in your interview, we will give psychological assistance and mental health support which starts then when everything has got a little bit more safe, as much as it can, to really talk about what has happened, how can we get a sense of normalcy, still in this crazy world, and how we turn off the tv and actually start listening to children and understand how they feel about all this. , . , ., this. dead barry from save the children in _ this. dead barry from save the children in warsaw _ this. dead barry from save the children in warsaw in - this. dead barry from save the children in warsaw in poland, | this. dead barry from save the - children in warsaw in poland, thank you veryjoining us —— deb barry. we

have news about sevastopol, where the mayor has confirmed the death of the mayor has confirmed the death of the death of the captain of the russian black sea fleet. that is in mariupol were some of the fiercest fighting has been taken place. 0ne fighting has been taken place. one of the first high—ranking russian naval officers to be confirmed at scale. ukrainians have killed that they have killed high—ranking brushes but this is the first to be confirmed by official russian celsius. 0ne confirmed by official russian celsius. one of the things that struck me here believe in recent daysis struck me here believe in recent days is just how much people cling to the normal rituals and rhythms of daily life if they can. i spoke to one man after there was an explosion here on friday morning. we saw black plumes of smoke on the western outskirts. i asked plumes of smoke on the western outskirts. iasked him how plumes of smoke on the western outskirts. i asked him how he reacted. he had a couple of cups of coffee, then he and his wife took the dog for a walk. people are

trying to hold onto normality, be it here in lviv or in the capital kyiv. jeremy bowen reports from there. the roar of ukrainian air defence missiles reverberates through kyiv�*s main cemetery. rest in peace. not here, not now. explosions have felled trees and broken headstones. trace alexander, an army volunteer, was killed fighting the russians five days ago, just before what would have been his 27th birthday. almost no—one at the funeral knew alexander, not the guard of honour or the priest in army green. his commander was the only one from his unit, dressed to go back to the front line only a few miles away. he said they all had to honour him because alexander's family is not here. his father's in the besieged

city of mariupol. they can't reach him to say his son is dead. before the war, alexander was a children's entertainer and illusionist. he went to the front with no real training and was killed less than two weeks after he signed up. close by, graves of people killed fighting russian—backed separatists since 2014. these days, the sirens feel routine. it's been quieter the last few days here in the city. the analysis, fear, perhaps, is that the russians are gathering their strength, resupplying, trying to reorganise, getting ready to do something else to push again at kyiv. relative quiet does not mean peace or ceasefire.

st volodymyr�*s ukrainian 0rthodox cathedral was heavy with incense and the pain of war. the orthodox church here broke with moscow in 2018. it was a blow for president putin, who insists that ukrainians and russians are one people in one country who should be in one russian church. jeremy explained how the russian advance wasn't going to it's expected plan. their expectation appears to be that they would have got in very quickly and, in the first couple of days, decapitated the government and that would be it, and they would put their own people in, and bob's your uncle. well, that didn't happen,

because the ukrainians resisted, and they continue to do that, and they are trying to push the russians further away. it is hard for them to manoeuvre, hard for them to move their heavy armoured vehicles because it is getting a little bit warmer. what was frozen is not frozen. it's muddy. and i think, as a result of all that, they are facing a lot of logistical and military difficulties. however, even though, to the people here, it feels like this thing has already been going on for horrendous amounts of time, it is only the first month. the russians have a great deal of firepower. really, what it comes down to, is if they decide they can't try and get troops into the city, which is increasingly well defended and well organised, then they have missiles and they have other things they can fire from far off if they take that political decision to do a great deal of damage to the city, which is deeply rooted in russian history, culture and religion.

jeremy bowen in kyiv. the united nations' refugee agency says ten million ukrainians — a quarter of the population — have now fled their homes because of the war, a quarter of the population. i saw several people at an aid distribution centre next to the railway, a young 19—year—old who plans to be a professional musician. across the border, to the west, more than 3 million ukrainians have gone into the eu, to poland and other countries where, as soon as they cross that border, they become refugees. my colleague nick thorpe has been

following the journeys of people who have fled to romania from ukraine. the river danube cuts ukraine in the north from romania to the south. so many people are fleeing ukraine, it is easy to miss the few returning by river ferry. you still need a ticket if you are going the wrong way. it is a romanian ship flying the ukrainian flag as a courtesy. irina is one of the passengers, a lawyerfrom kyiv. she hasjust taken her twin children to safety in germany. now she is on her way back to fetch her mother. 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 natalia are among them. many are from 0desa, but there are also some from mykolaiv, a city further east still blocking any russian advance along the coast. in romania, the ukrainians get a warm welcome. she was crying, that she thinks that we will never see each other again. i will feel happy when i return to ukraine. i will be happy. as the sun sets, another ferry embarks from the romanian shore to bring more ukrainians across. nick thorpe, bbc news, in izakcha in the danube delta. here in the west of ukraine it is night and we await further potential air raid warnings. across the

country, particularly in the south and the south—east, and in mariupol, many people will be spending another night in basements and shelters, hoping to make it through to the morning. the dead of night in normal times is when people sleep. fears come out, rational or otherwise, and war makes all of that so much worse. that's it from the deed. back now to lewis in london. thank you, james reynolds and ukraine. more than 60 workers at the decommissioned chernobyl nuclear power plant in ukraine have finally been able to leave — after being held there by russian troops for more than three weeks. they had been stuck there with members of the ukrainian national guard since february 24th when the war started and russian troops seized the facility. with the russian side unable to guarantee their safety if they tried to leave, the workers were trapped, with food and medicines in short supply. the 64 workers have been replaced

by 46 employees who volunteered to travel to take their place. a short while ago i spoke to a former us ambassador to nato, ivo daalder — president of the chicago council on global affairs. i asked him what he thought president putin's next move in the war in ukraine would be. clearly we are in a different place than president putin thought. you thought this was going to be a cakewalk were the russian soldiers would be greeted as liberators and instead, they have been greeted by stingers and javelin missiles and extraordinary tenacity on the part of the ukrainian people. many have left, many are continuing to fight the fight, so putin has to question what he does next, does he try to salvage as much as he can from negotiations or does he double down, as the us intelligence community thinks he will do, and inflict even further harm

on the people of ukraine, perhaps notjust with conventional munitions, but perhaps chemical or biological agents or even nuclear weapons, which is what he has been threatening these last few weeks. given that assessment, what should nato do with that information? i think we have to be pretty clear that there are certain lines we do not want to be crossed, and if we are talking about chemical agents being used, or an industrial facility being bombed then we need to reassess where we are in this conflict, at the worst of the escalation, i think we should give serious consideration to directly helping let mejump in there. there is a history here of drawing red lines, think of syria, and then not being fully backed up, and that is a problem. it is a problem.

that is why when the nato leaders gather in brussels on thursday, they should have a serious conversation about how far they are willing to go, what are they willing to accept on the part of the russian regime, and where are they going to push back? is the red line that we have currently drawn between direct military confrontation between russian troops and us and/or nato troops going to stay on the matter what even if chemical weapons are used, even if biological facilities are being bombed, even if god forbid, nuclear weapons are used? that is the consideration we need to get to because my fear is that the better ukrainians are fighting, the more likely it is that putin finds a need to escalate and we need to make very clear to vladimir putin that escalation doesn't get him more, it will mean that he will lose even more than he is already losing. even if that means nato directly coming into conflict with russia and everything that brings with it. everything that brings with it, in order to defend ukraine.

it is not about going to war with russia, it is about defending ukraine, an independent state. it was peaceful, it was democratic and it was attacked without any provocation. under article 51 of the un charter it has a right for self defence and a right of collective self—defence. so, if there are certain escalations being contemplated by putin, he should be aware that there is the possibility for direct confrontation in ukraine with nato forces. i think that is where we are getting to. thanks to ivo daalderfor that. as a gesture of unity and solidarity with the people of ukraine, st paul's cathedral rang its bell

at the same time as churches in the ukrainian city of lviv earlier today. the ukrainian catholic bishop of london, said he hoped people caught up in the conflict would find comfort from it. today's action, beautiful gesture of solidarity by ringing the bells of st paul's cathedral here in london with the bells that will be ringing across ukraine today is very significant. it will be a great morale booster for all ukrainian people in ukraine, and especially ukrainians here in great britain, in this darkest hour that we are facing right now. people are certainly sending solidarity from all over the world. and just before we go — a reminder — that you can keep across all the developments on the russia—ukraine war by going to our website. that's all on the bbc news website — or download the bbc news app.

i'm @lvaughanjones on twitter. this is bbc news, goodbye. hello, here's the good news, the weather will stay settled and sunny all week long, that is if you like settled and sunny weather. the high pressure which is centred around poland and lithuania has really spread right across the continent, around it you can see the clouds rotating, just clipping western fringes of the uk so skies hazy at times so mostly a case of clear skies through the night with all night on the way, a frosty starting monday but it will be mostly sunny. here are the temperatures in most towns and cities, around freezing or even below and in rural spots of northern england and scotland,

it would not be surprised if it falls to minus six celsius but that is the exception. a chilly start across many areas, sunshine right from the word go, there will be a build—up of a bit of cloud through the afternoon and then pleasant temperatures across central and southern britain, 15—16 celsius, a bit cold on the north sea coast there off aberdeen, 10 celsius. in the days ahead, turning warmer, much warmer weather spreading in from the southern climes all the way from spain, the mediterranean, across france and i think temperatures are likely to hit 20 celsius. we've already had 20 celsius this weekend in western parts of scotland but that was a very, very local effect i think high teens and 20 degrees will be more widespread across this portion of the uk and in fact temperatures may spark off one or two showers across central and northern england come tuesday. a really pleasant, warm, sunny day with temperatures above average for the time of year.

0nce spot the difference, give or take a degree. the high pressure is then centred around the uk on thursday. light winds blowing around in most of the places themselves in centre of that high and you see the whole of the week and then looks bright and sunny and turning more and settled towards the end of the month.

this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: the united nations says 10 million ukrainians have now been displaced by the invading russian forces since the war began. they have either fled abroad or moved to safer parts of the country. in the besieged southern port of mariupol, local politicians say the bombardment is constant. russia has urged people to surrender, offering to open up humanitarian corridors. previous arrangements have been targeted by russian fire. president zelensky has addressed the israeli parliament, comparing russia's actions in ukraine to those of hitler in the 1940s. he said the kremlin was talking about the final solution to the ukrainian issue. the deputy commander of russia's black sea fleet has been killed in mariupol.

he's the first high—ranking russian naval officer to be confirmed dead. other sources have reported the deaths of five russian generals since the invasion. boris johnson is facing angerfor comparing ukrainians resisting russia to people in britain voting for brexit. also in the programme: how the power of flowers is boosting morale for those who've chosen to stay in ukraine's capital. hello, welcome to the programme. in an address to members of the israeli parliament, ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, has questioned why some countries officially appear to be indifferent to russia's invasion of his country. israel — which has ties to both ukraine and russia — has taken a somewhat neutral

position during the war. let's have a listen to some of what he said. translation: listen - to what the kremlin is saying, simply listen to that. they even used such terminology that were mentioned then, when the nazi party was marching through europe and wanted to destroy everyone and everything, to subjugate peoples and to destroy us and you completely, without even a word. they were calling it the "final solution" for thejewish question. you remember that. and you will never forget that. but you are hearing they are speaking these words again, "the final solution." 0ur israel correspondent, yolande knell, was listening to that speech. well, we have seen him, haven't we,

trying to rally support when he has spoken to groups of lawmakers around the world. and he has really proven very skilful at honing his message, at really targeting the people he is talking to, so when he spoke to the british parliament he brought up winston churchill, when he addressed the israeli parliamentarians on this mass zoom call he brought up golda meir, the israeli prime minister who was born in kyiv, and he quoted her words where she famously spoke about how, "we intend to live, but our neighbours want to see us dead. "that doesn't leave much room for compromise." and then he went on comparing the actions and words of russia, as we were hearing, to those of nazi germany in the second world war. this was a very short speech, really, only about 15 minutes, but quite strong and to the point and really he was questioning israel's position of official neutrality, if you like. because israel has close relations with both ukraine

and with russia, it has tried to walk a sort of diplomatic tightrope during this war. it hasn'tjoined many western countries in imposing sanctions on russia. while the foreign minister has denounced the russian invasion of ukraine, the israeli prime minister has been very careful not to do so. he has positioned himself as a kind of mediator, a go—between of the two sides, went two weeks ago, even though it was thejewish sabbath and he is a religiousjew, to go and visit president putin for a long meeting. he has taken multiple calls from both leaders, but what is also at stake here for israel and what makes it a very delicate situation is its vested interests, the fact that russia remains a very important military player in the middle east, particularly when it comes to syria. there is this unofficial security coordination when israel has been carrying out repeated air strikes against hezbollah, its sworn enemy, the lebanese militant group, and of

course iran and syria, those targets, and it does that with basically russia giving it almost a free hand, so long as russian troops on the ground are left untouched. the united nations' high commissioner for refugees says 10 million ukrainians have now fled their homes because of devastation caused by the war. in just over three weeks since russia invaded, nearly 3.5 million people have left the country, while the rest have sought refuge elsewhere within ukraine. the total figure is about a quarter of the population. one of the 2 million ukrainians who have made it out and into poland is 0ksa na yevzikova. i spoke to her earlier and she told me her story. i lived and worked a city in the south of ukraine and we decided to

flee on the 6th of march because things got hotter and hotter. we were under shelling and we were attacked by ground forces and other artillery and there were about from 3-5 artillery and there were about from 3—5 air raids every day, so the conditions were awful, we didn't have a bombproof shelter, so we had to hide in a cellar in a shed where we kept potatoes, so actually it isn't very safe to hide anyway and this time we spent so much time there, almost half a day or so and has more underground, sometimes during the day, sometimes at night, so we could hardly eat or sleep and

so, we understand the conditions were not exactly suitable. i’m so, we understand the conditions were not exactly suitable. i'm sorry about that, — were not exactly suitable. i'm sorry about that, and _ were not exactly suitable. i'm sorry about that, and no, _ were not exactly suitable. i'm sorry about that, and no, not _ were not exactly suitable. i'm sorry about that, and no, not suitable . were not exactly suitable. i'm sorry about that, and no, not suitable is| about that, and no, not suitable is an understatement and given those arrayed in those conditions, given that you are not in a proper shelter, you took the decision to try to leave. how did you escape? actually, i urged my husband to it. unfortunately he isn't very experienced driver, but we decided to take our chance, so we know our city lies between two rivers and usually the bridges are raised to protect the city from invasion from the russian army. russian tanks. but during several hours a day, the bridges are lowered and they can operate and people could use them to leave the city if they want. so we had to stand in a big queue of cars,

in the big trafficjam and slowly we left the country, but i can't say that the road was really safe and easy. fit that the road was really safe and eas . . ., , that the road was really safe and eas . u, , ., that the road was really safe and eas . _, , ., . that the road was really safe and eas. , ., . ., , easy. of course not. well, i am very leased easy. of course not. well, i am very pleased that — easy. of course not. well, i am very pleased that you _ easy. of course not. well, i am very pleased that you are _ easy. of course not. well, i am very pleased that you are now— easy. of course not. well, i am very pleased that you are now out - easy. of course not. well, i am very pleased that you are now out and i easy. of course not. well, i am veryl pleased that you are now out and you are safe. can ijust ask, are you keeping in touch with your husband and where is he? filth. keeping in touch with your husband and where is he?— and where is he? 0h, he is still in... because _ and where is he? 0h, he is still in... because he _ and where is he? 0h, he is still in... because he needs- and where is he? 0h, he is still in... because he needs to - and where is he? 0h, he is still in... because he needs to be i and where is he? 0h, he is still i in... because he needs to be able and where is he? 0h, he is still - in... because he needs to be able to stay to be able to serve in the army to protect the country and i... so i call him everyday. stay in touch and i hope that he is fine, i hope our country will win and i am very thankfulfor country will win and i am very thankful for the country will win and i am very thankfulfor the support country will win and i am very thankful for the support we get from ourfriends, from different countries, especially i am grateful for polish people who stand with us

and of course it would bejust perfect if european countries at nato could close this site, so i definitely think we would be able to then win this war.— definitely think we would be able to then win this war. thanks to 0ksana yevzikova for _ then win this war. thanks to 0ksana yevzikova for speaking _ then win this war. thanks to 0ksana yevzikova for speaking to _ then win this war. thanks to 0ksana yevzikova for speaking to me - then win this war. thanks to 0ksana yevzikova for speaking to me a - yevzikova for speaking to me a little earlier. earlier, my colleaguejames reynolds spoke to the secretary general of the norwegian refugee council about the 10 million people who are estimated to have fled the fighting. we are only beginning to grasp the extent of this catastrophe in europe. we have to go back to the second world war to have anything comparable and i don't think even at that time you would see more than 3 million people were displaced per week. it is three and a half weeks since this started and now 10 million people have had to flee their homes, flee all that they hold dear. it is mind—boggling. still, of course, there are more than 30 million people left

behind and many of them are in the crossfire, many people in mariupol in the east of the country cannot leave the devastation. it is just beyond belief. what lessons have you drawn from the refugee experience in syria, which has experienced 11 years of civil war and what lessons might be useful for this crisis? there are many similar lessons, really. unfortunately, from these two wars, the first one is it is madness to take the war into the cities. this war is now fighting street by street in urban areas, which means it becomes a bloodbath, really. there are civilians filled to the brim in these places. you cannot, you must not take

the war to the cities. the second lesson is that because it is so difficult to take a city fighting street by street and basement by basement, we may see many more besiegements like the one we have seen in mariupol. in syria many besiegements took years and in the end people were starved to death. so this madness has to stop, there has to be progress in the negotiating table and the first thing they have to agree on is a ceasefire so that our relief can get into the cities and the civilians can get out. you have worked for many, many decades on the subject of refugees and you will know as well as anyone else that these people weren't always refugees.

in no conflict do they begin as refugees. they were accountants, book—keepers, salespeople, sportspeople, singers, ordinary people who have had to take on that title of refugee now. what do you say to someone who has just become a refugee from all the experience you have had? that they must not lose faith and hope, that they can return and that they must keep their dignity. i have a poster in my office saying, "the refugee is notjust bringing a bundle of belongings along with him or her." einstein was a refugee. the refugees are incredibly resourceful, they are like you and me and they need to be integrated when they come, they need to be welcomed, need to have a right of protection and they need to be helped to help themselves so that one day they can return,

which the ukrainians want to. they want to return to this ancient civilisation which is ukraine. ijust want i just want to bring you ijust want to bring you a bit of raking news we are receiving here in the uk from the ministry of defence, basically the latest defence intelligence update on the situation intelligence update on the situation in ukraine. three quick points to bring new. firstly, they say the russian forces are dancing from crimea and are still attempting to circulate the colour aisles as they look to drive west towards 0desa, and these temps have made little progress over the past week. second point is the russian naval forces continue to blockade the ukrainian coast and to launch missile strikes on targets across ukraine from there. the third point is that that blockade of the ukrainian coast is likely to exacerbate the humanitarian situation in ukraine, preventing vital supplies reaching the ukrainian population. so they

are three main the ukrainian population. so they are three main updates, the ukrainian population. so they are three main updates, intelligence update there from the ministry of defence here in the uk. and just one other quick line to bring you news agency reuters, from ukraine itself, and that is from keast�*s they are, the capital city of ukraine, of course, reporting several blasts in the city and sirens have been going off in kyiv, the capital there, as well. we are going to leave ukraine for a moment and come back to news here in the uk now. ahead of the chancellor's spring statement on the economy this week, rishi sunak has told the bbc he will help households with the cost of living — where he can make a difference. among the calls he is facing ahead of the speech on wednesday is to cut fuel duty to help reduce the prices motorists are currently being charged. here's our political correspondent, ben wright. soaring fuel prices at the pump, energy bills going up and up, rising inflation feeding through into higher shopping

bills at the tills. with national insurance contributions set to rise in april as well, the chancellor is under real pressure to cushion the blow to people's pockets. today he said he would help where he could. i will stand by them in the same way that i have done over the past couple of years, people can see that. where we can make a difference of course we will, and you saw that with energy in particular. we know the price cap is going up in april and that is why we acted last month to announce £9 billion worth of support, £350 for most households. he is the chancellor who oversaw massive state action, higher spending and taxes to deal with a pandemic. now he has to choose where to target help in this cost of living crisis. many tories are lobbying for motorists. it is absolutely vital that the government cuts fuel duty or vat on fuel because it is unsustainable for millions of people up

and down the country. notjust motorists, but businesses as well. the health service will get more money when national insurance increases in april. the chancellor has ruled out scrapping the rise, but it is possible he could tweak the threshold people start paying certain taxes to help lower earners. with a typical household energy bill going up by almost £700 a year from next month, labour says more action is needed. what is needed is a windfall tax on the big profits being made by the north sea oil and gas companies right now and using money and using that money to take money off people's domestic gas and electricity bills because everybody pays a gas and electricity bill. with wages and benefits rising less quickly than prices, inflation is really starting to bite. and it is the poorest households who spend a bigger proportion of their income on energy and food who will be hardest hit. after the economic shock of the pandemic, another one looms. the squeeze on living

standards is set to tighten, and while the chancellor has levers to pull, today he warned he could not protect people against all the challenges that lie ahead. ben wright, bbc news. the uk's prime minister, borisjohnson, has been criticised at home and abroad, after drawing a parallel between ukraine fighting the russian invasion and britons voting for brexit. here's what he said to the conservatives' spring conference. it is the instinct of the people of this country, like the people of ukraine, to choose freedom every time. i can give you a couple of famous recent example — when the british people voted for brexit in such large numbers, i don't believe it was because they were remotely hostile to foreigners, it's because they wanted to be free. earlier, our political correspondent, ben wright, described some of the reaction to the prime minister's comments. 0utrage, i hearfrom many quarters.

he was talking at a meeting of the tory party faithful, the spring conference in blackpool. this was a speech. it wasn't unscripted remarks. he knew what he was saying, and this is an audience that wants to hear about brexit. and borisjohnson clearly thinks that is still good territory for him to be in. but the link he made between the 2016 referendum vote and ukrainians fighting for their lives now caused a lot of people to be very angry. 0pposition parties here said it was distasteful, insulting. that's what labour said. the snp said they were crass comments. even a number of tories have distanced themselves from those particular words. the chancellor, rishi sunak, was asked about all this this morning, and he fairly uncomfortably tried to defend or explain the comments and said that what mrjohnson was doing was trying to talk about freedom more broadly, and he wasn't making a direct link between ukraine and brexit, he said. but a number of foreign and european leaders have been very angry about this as well.

i should say, though, today, the ukrainian embassy in britain has tweeted approvingly of borisjohnson, saying "he is our good friend," congratulating him, praising him for standing with the ukrainian people and ukraine's ambassador here was actually at that speech, so clearly he doesn't share the interpretation that some have taken from these words. 0ther opposition politicians and others commentators, pointing out that ukraine wants tojoin the eu, or be part of it. exactly. i think there are lots of reasons why this upset people. it is the fact that ukraine wants tojoin the european union, but fundamentally, the fact that they are such totally different things. the brexit referendum was a democratic vote to leave a group of democratic countries. ukrainians are dealing with the illegal invasion of their country by russia. so i think it is the fact that it jars as a comparison so much that has caused so much upset. ok, let's move on to prime minister

borisjohnson and a phone call with zelenskyy. he talks to the ukrainian president quite a lot, actually, borisjohnson. number ten said there was a call this afternoon. and number ten are saying that borisjohnson was asking, really, what firm military support ukraine wants to see. what further military support ukraine wants to see. and this is at the beginning of a really important diplomatic week because in brussels we are going to see a meeting of eu countries, to which borisjohnson has not been invited, and there was some question mark over whether that might happen. i think in light of these comments he said he will not be going to that, but there is a nato meeting as well, a g7 meeting and joe biden, the us president, will be coming over to brussels, for those talks, so this is a conversation that happened between them. boris johnson clearly wanting to know more about the situation on the ground, expressing solidarity over the appalling scenes that we have seen in the last few days in particular, and the situation in mariupol, but asking what further assistance ukraine wants.

the uk is already giving a lot, particularly in terms of anti—tank missiles at the moment. and that assistance could be increasing. let's get some of the day's other news. covid restrictions have been further tightened in north—east china's region ofjeelin. everyone in jeelin city must stay at home next week during another round of mass testing. jilin is the worst—hit province as china confronts its worst covid outbreak since the start of the pandemic. a man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman was found dead in student accommodation in central london. the body of 19—year—old sabita thanwani was discovered early on saturday morning. 22—year—old maher maaroufe was detained by police this afternoon. around 600,000 people in england will be invited this week to book another covid vaccination. the so—called spring booster will be available to over—75s, care home residents, and those over 12 who are at high risk — that's a total of around 5 million people.

back to ukraine now. nearly 2 million people have fled the capital, kyiv, in the past few weeks as russian forces approach and launch artillery strikes on the outskirts of the city. but many have stayed to help in whatever way they can. 0ur chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, met two people joining the effort to boost 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. 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, on the land. 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. 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 irpin, from chernihiv, from kharkiv, everyone doing the best what you can

do from their place. people from across the city are being drawn to this intriguing installation, including a very popular rock star, 0leg skrypka. hi. 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 it's my country, it's my city and now we are in the war, but mostly important is 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 emotional for people. you try to inspire them? because music can't

stop russian tanks. absolutely, we'll do it. he sings ukrainian national anthem # shche ne vmerla ukrainy # ni slava, ni volya # shche nam, brattya molodiyi # usmikhnet'sya dolya. 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 there on the war being fought on many fronts there. right, but is it from me. remember, you can always catch up with the very latest online on the bbc news website and the app and you can get me online as

well. in social media. 0n the app and you can get me online as well. in social media. on twitter i am @lvaughnjones. i am lewis vaughan jones and this is bbc news, goodbye. hello. here's the good news, the weather is going to stay settled and sunny all week long. that is, if you like settled and sunny weather. the high pressure, which is centered around poland and lithuania, has really spread right across the continent. around it, you can see the clouds are rotating. they've just been clipping western fringes of the uk, so skies at times have been hazy. but for most of us, it's a case of clear skies through the night. so that means a cold night's on the way. a frosty start to monday, but it will be mostly sunny. here are the temperatures in most towns and cities, in most towns and cities — it will be around freezing or even below and in rural spots of northern england and scotland i wouldn't be surprised if it falls to —6

degrees, but that's going to be the exception. so chilly, chilly start across many areas, sunshine right from the word go. there will be a build up of a little bit of cloud through the afternoon, but very pleasant temperatures across southern and central britain. temperatures of around 15 or 16 degrees, still a little cold on the north sea coast there off aberdeen, around ten degrees. now, in the days ahead, it's actually going to turn warmer. we'll see much warmer weather spreading in from the southern climes all the way from spain, the mediterranean, across france, and i think temperatures are likely to hit 20 degrees. we've already had 20 degrees this weekend in western parts of scotland, but that was a very, very local effect. i think the high teens and 20 degrees will be more widespread across this portion of the uk. and in fact, the temperatures may spark off one or two showers, particularly across central and northern england, come tuesday. so a really pleasant, warm, sunny day. but mind you, these temperatures are above the average for the time of the year. now, wednesday, spot the difference, maybe give or take a degree here and there, again really pleasant weather.

the winds should be light as well, and it will start warming up on the north coast 17 degrees, for example, in hull. so the high pressure is then centred around the uk on thursday, just light winds blowing around it. much of the country will find itself in the centre of that high, so it means hardly a breath of wind with those sunny skies. and you can see we keep that fine weather into the whole of the week. and then the weekend looks at least bright or sunny as well. it will turn more unsettled end of the month. bye— bye.

this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm lukwesa burak. our top stories... 10 million people have now fled their homes in ukraine since the start of the war — more than a quarter of the population. among them — children who escaped from besieged mariupol — but are left with life—changing injuries. all of these are victims of russian attacks. it isn'tjust the physical injuries though, many of these children have deep psychological trauma that they will perhaps never get over. in mariupol itself, russia has urged people to surrender, offering to open up humanitarian corridors. previous arrangements have been targeted by russian fire. ukraine's president tells the israeli parliament

his country is facing the threat of destruction — and compares