there could be a lot more of this ahead. president biden warns there are clear signs vladimir putin may be preparing to use chemical and biological weapons. ukraine accuses russia of war crimes in the city of mariupol. president zelensky again calls forface—to—face talks. and a big week for girls in afghanistan as they're due to return to secondary education. hello and welcome to the programme. president volodymyr zelensky says ukraine will never bow to ultimatums from russia or surrender its biggest cities. it comes after he refused russia's demand to give up the southern city of mariupol. ukraine's capital, kyiv,

is under a new night—time curfew after residential areas were attacked by russia, killing eight people. one of the targets was a shopping centre, which russia claims was storing rockets. russian forces are trying to encircle and cut off the capital, but large areas around kyiv remain under ukrainian control, especially in the south. our international correspondent orla guerin reports. footage of the shopping centre in kyiv appears to show a military vehicle driving. and this was the russian attack which moscow says was targeting rocket launchers stored at the site. in the darkness, emergency services pick their way through ruins. from the rubble, hands emerge, trembling, and a survivor is pulled to safety.

but eight people were killed here in this latest attack on the capital. here's what's left of the retroville shopping centre. there are indications that the ukrainian military had a presence here. what russia has hit 20 of nonmilitary targets in kyiv and elsewhere. well, you can see here that the scale of the destruction is absolutely immense and spread over a wide area, surrounded by apartment blocks. there could be a lot more of this ahead for kyiv. russian forces are not inside the city, but they can hit hard from the outside. how are you feeling about the future here now in kyiv? i don't know now, but i don't want to leave kyiv. you want to stay? it's my home. even though things are so dangerous now? i know, but dangerous

in all ukraine, all cities. but the key city, the key target is kyiv — and in the forests on the outskirts, its defenders are preparing for battle. gunfire. these territorial defence recruits... gunfire. ..now training for urban combat. their instructor is a georgian who fought the russians during the war in his homeland in 2008. the concern here is not that russia can surround or capture kyiv, but that it may avenge itself on the city. i'm not sure that they will be able to besiege kyiv, because we're a large city with a lot of defence, and it would be really hard to encircle it.

but what i really am afraid is that out of weakness, out of despair, because they are losing this war, they will destroy it as much as possible — because of hate. then, time to get into position behind the sniper sights. alex has been a hunter since boyhood. he is unflinching and unapologetic about his new wartime role, hunting the enemy. it's our motherland and we must defend it. and in this case, i think it's no difference between animals which i try to shoot and the animals which come here to kill our people, kill our children, destroy our buildings and destroy our life. gunfire ukrainian forces may be facing a war of attrition here. british defence officials

expect russia to make a renewed push for the city in the coming weeks. 0rla guerin, bbc news, on the outskirts of kyiv. in the us, president biden says the russian leader, president putin, has his back to the wall as a result of ukrainian military resistance and the united response of the west. he said russia may be seeking to create a pretext to use them himself. let's have a listen. his back is against the wall, and now he's talking about new false setting up, including he is asserting that we, america, have biological as well as chemical weapons in europe. simply not true. i guarantee you. they are also suggesting that ukraine has biological and chemical weapons in ukraine. that is a clear sign he is considering using both of those. he has already used chemical weapons in the past and we should be careful what is about to come. he knows there will be severe consequences because of the united nato front, but the point is, it's real.

let's get more from our north america correspondent peter bowes who's in los angeles. what more was he saying? he has talked about _ what more was he saying? he has talked about the _ what more was he saying? he has talked about the possibility - what more was he saying? he has talked about the possibility of - talked about the possibility of cyber attacks, essentially warning us businesses that they could feel the heat, could feel some form of retaliation in large part retaliation by russia for the economic sanctions that have been imposed by the west over the past few weeks, and he went into some detail as to how businesses should be prepared for the onslaught, the cyber onslaught that could affect systems in this country. we also talked, as we have just heard there, about the potential for false trails, a false narrative being developed

by russia. we heard this just before. he is talking about it again in relation to biological and chemical weapons. he says mr putin, using those false claims about ukraine, possibly to justify russia using those kinds of weapons themselves. and what about the us response at the moment, lots of pressure clearly to increase its support, but obviously not provoke any large—scale conflict between the us and nato and russia? what other options at the moment? yeah, exactl , options at the moment? yeah, exactly. i _ options at the moment? yeah, exactly. i think— options at the moment? yeah, exactly, i think you _ options at the moment? yeah, exactly, i think you did - options at the moment? yeah, exactly, i think you did it - options at the moment? yeah, exactly, i think you did it it - exactly, i think you did it it on the head there. it is a fine line that the us and the west is generally walking to not provoke an even more serious response by mr putin, especially talking in terms of horrific things like chemical and biological weapons, horrific things like chemical and biologicalweapons, but horrific things like chemical and biological weapons, but the main tactic seems to simply be to keep the pressure up in terms of those economic

sanctions. this is a big week of course for mr biden. he is heading to europe later this week and then to poland on friday to talk with leaders of the west no doubt to discuss tactics further. but it seems to be, there is some sense here that the russian attack has stalled to some extent, and i think that the american tactic is that they want to keep the pressure on is hard as possible. without provoking an even more vicious and ferocious attack on those major cities in ukraine. attack on those ma'or cities in ukraine. ., ~ , ., , ukraine. peter, thank you very much for _ ukraine. peter, thank you very much for that, _ ukraine. peter, thank you very much for that, live _ ukraine. peter, thank you very much for that, live for - ukraine. peter, thank you very much for that, live for us - ukraine. peter, thank you very much for that, live for us in . much for that, live for us in washington. as we've been hearing, heavy fighting is continuing around the ukrainian capital, kyiv, but the uk ministry of defence says according to its analysis, the russian advance there has stalled. 0ur correspondent gordon corera has put together this assessment

of the russian military strategy. russia's strategy has changed since the war began. when russian forces first invaded, they came in broadly on three fronts — in the north, in the east and in the south. the aim was lightning strikes to try and seize key cities, but that failed. if we look at the capital, kyiv, they've been trying to encircle the city. but it doesn't look like they've got the combat power to actually go in and take it. if we move to the south, we can see here that they've had more progress, and this city, mariupol, has been hard fought over. you can see its strategic importance in connecting up russian territory. that has led to siege tactics and scenes of terrible devastation. russia's shift means more use of missiles and artillery to pound cities from a distance. the concern is its tactics will become more aggressive, using systems like these

thermobaric rockets. over the weekend, it said it used a hypersonic missile, seen here being tested. it flies five times the speed of sound. that was likely to remind the rest of the world that for all their problems, russia still has advanced weapons to deploy. meanwhile, the west is continuing to support the ukrainian resistance. today, the uk's ministry of defence showed off some of the air defence systems they're sending to the country to try to prevent the russians gaining full control of the skies. another shift we've seen is russia expand its attacks to the west of the country, launching missile strikes against infrastructure around lviv. this may well be partly about stopping supplies getting into the country. all of this makes it look like we're moving to a war of attrition in which russia tries to pound the cities

and do as much damage as it can against ukrainian military, while the west tries to support it. that all suggests we could be in for the long haul, which would mean significant casualties, many of them civilian. let's pick through exactly what that means now. mark cancian is a senior adviser at the center for strategic and international studies, and a retired marine colonel. hejoins us from arlington in virginia. thank you so much for coming on the programme. in thank you so much for coming on the programme-— the programme. in cuba having me on the _ the programme. in cuba having me on the show. _ the programme. in cuba having me on the show. if— the programme. in cuba having me on the show. if what - the programme. in cuba having me on the show. if what our. me on the show. if what our correspondent _ me on the show. if what our correspondent was - me on the show. if what our correspondent was outlining there, talking about siege tactics, potentially going on a long time, potentially lots more casualties, is that something that you can see? the russians have _ something that you can see? tue: russians have certainly something that you can see? tte: russians have certainly changed to a different strategy, as you noted, they are trying to continue to make progress, really coming in on for access. they really don't have enough

combat power and they are using firepower instead. whether that will succeed is up in the air, they are not making very much progress, a stalemate, they will use more firepower and bring in some reinforcements and keep at it. i don't think they are going to keep this a very long. they are running out of precision munitions, taking a lot of casualties also i don't think this is going to go on for months. it could just be weeks. tt on for months. it could 'ust be weeks. , ., on for months. it could 'ust be weeks. ,, _ , on for months. it could 'ust be weeks. , ., �* weeks. if you say they don't have the — weeks. if you say they don't have the equipment, - weeks. if you say they don't have the equipment, the i have the equipment, the personnel to sustain this, does that make it more likely that putin would use things like chemical weapons? putin would use things like chemicalweapons? it is chemical weapons? it is certainly _ chemicalweapons? it is certainly possible, - chemicalweapons? it is certainly possible, and. chemicalweapons? tt 3 certainly possible, and putin has launched a disinformation campaign, as people have heard, that will possibly set up the use of chemical or even nuclear weapons. we certainly hope that would not be the case, it would be terrible transgression, although they have used chemical weapons in the past,

in syria. it doesn't help that much on the military side, the troops are not affected, it is not a how protected the ukrainians are. it can be devastating for civilians. flan devastating for civilians. can i ask you _ devastating for civilians. can i ask you about _ devastating for civilians. can i ask you about what you think the us, nato, the west, europe ausmat response should be here? what is the best kind of help to give to ukraine right now? what the west is doing is very effective. we have sent thousands of weapons, they are clearly having an effect on the battlefield, in addition, the aircraft missiles and a wide variety of equipment, and allows the ukrainians to stay in the war, keep supplied to equip these militias that are now training, and firstly, the russians have dried down their supplies, they are not getting new equipment, everything they lose, it cannot be replaced, so that i was on the side of the ukrainians. it that i was on the side of the ukrainians.—

ukrainians. it is difficult, i see what _ ukrainians. it is difficult, i see what you _ ukrainians. it is difficult, i see what you are - ukrainians. it is difficult, i see what you are saying, l ukrainians. it is difficult, i. see what you are saying, the counterpoint is you look at mariupol and what has happened there. of russians could replicate that in other cities, it is hard to see how any country can withstand that. t country can withstand that. i don't think russia has a combat power to do that in many more cities, taking a long time to reduce mariupol, taking a lot of casualties. they may eventually take it but then they have to go to one city after another. they can't take the casualties. mariupol is holding out, and that is helping the ukrainians tremendously. helping the ukrainians tremendousl . . ,. ., ., tremendously. fascinating to net our tremendously. fascinating to get your insight. _ tremendously. fascinating to get your insight. thank - tremendously. fascinating to get your insight. thank you l get your insight. thank you very much for coming on the programme. very much for coming on the programme-— very much for coming on the rouramme. . ~ i. ., ., programme. thank you for having me on the — programme. thank you for having me on the show. _ stay with us on bbc news. still to come, escaping a city under siege: we talk to some of those who have fled from mariupol.

i'm so proud of both you. let there be no more wars or bloodshed between arabs and israelis. with great regret, _ the committee have decided that south africa be excluded . from the 1970 competition. singing in own language. streaking across the sky, the white—hot wreckage from mir drew gasps from onlookers on fiji.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines: a fresh curfew has been declared in the ukrainain capital kyiv, after a series of russian strikes on civilian targets. president biden warns there are clear signs vladimir putin may be preparing to use chemical and biological weapons. let's get more now on the situation in mariupol. the first international journalists have arrived into areas of the city under russian control, describing utter devastation. hundreds of thousands of civilians remain trapped there, with little access to food, water or power. in another development, the authorities in ukraine's biggest port, 0desa, say russian naval forces in the black sea have shelled some residential buildings on the outskirts of the city.

it's the first time buildings there have been hit. 0ur correspondent wyre davies has been speaking to families who've escaped mariupol to the city of dnipro. a warning, his report contains scenes you may find distressing. in recent days, we've seen how cruel this conflict is, especially for children. but there is just occasionally kindness and humanity, too. this community—run centre in the central city of dnipro is the first point of safety and refuge for many victims of the war from across eastern ukraine, including mariupol. the city they left behind is in ruins. barely a building is left unscathed by russian shelling, and according to the city council, 3,000 civilians have been killed. many of them lie where they fell, others are hastily buried by neighbours. a russian—imposed deadline for mariupol�*s defenders to surrender was ignored. so the shelling continues.

some residents stay in makeshift shelters. those who can, flee north. nearly everyone who leaves mariupol in cars packed with families, arrives here with absolutely nothing at all. and it is to places like this they come, waiting patiently for the very basics — food, clothes, and medicines. children get hand—me—down toys. their mothers, the bare essentials. here they avoid talking too much about what people have gone through. it's too soon. it's also an effort dealing with so many desperate cases. translation: everything that is brought here - isn't funded by large corporations or budgets, it's from local people, and some from charities, but you can see how many people there are and what we have just isn't sufficient. in what was a school canteen, volunteers package up basic food parcels that will keep refugee families fed for a few days. for schoolteacher vadim,

it is his civic duty to be helping out. because i'm ukrainian, and i must do what i can. this is myjob now. this is my front now. and if i can help people i must do it. some will stay in dnipro. for others it's the start of a long journey. as they escape to mariupol, some were told by russian soldiers to keep going as this city too would soon be under attack. "we were driving out under fire," says 0lga. "shells were exploding. "they were bombing us and there were dead bodies everywhere." the un says there are 6.5 million displaced people inside ukraine alone. the city and this community are doing their part to make that transition less traumatic. wyre davies, bbc news, dnipro. let's get some of the day's other news: the us senate has started four days of confirmation hearings for the first black woman to be nominated to the supreme court.

judge ketaanji brown jackson was picked by president biden afterjustice stephen breyer announced his retirement, in january. the man accused of murdering a british mp had carried out reconnaissance on other potential targets, including a cabinet minister. sir david amess was stabbed to death in his essex constituency, last october. the evidence was amongst the first presented by the prosecution on the opening day of the trial of 26 year—old ali harbi ali. he denies murder and preparing acts of terrorism. in southern china, more than 130 people are feared to have died, after a passenger plane crashed in a mountainous area. urgent efforts are under way to find out why the aircraft went down, near the city of wuzhou. china eastern airlines has reportedly grounded all its 737 planes. the us has formally declared violence against the rohingya minority committed

by myanmar�*s military amounted to crimes against humanity and genocide. thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands were forced to flee when the military began an offensive against them five years ago. us secretary of state, antony blinken, said a day would come for those responsible to answer for widespread appaling acts. this week could be incredibly important for girls in afghanistan, as many are due to return to secondary school. a ban on their attendance was imposed by the taliban and is now due to be lifted with girls returning to class on wednesday. but not all are convinced that will happen. over the past few months, the bbc�*s firouzeh akbarian has been following three pupils to find out how the ban has impacted them. what a difference a year can make. a busy girls�* school now turned into empty classes after the taliban took power.

this past seven months without school has been devastating for some girls. hawa is 13. she lives in the capital, kabul. seven months ago, around ten million students attended classes, including four million girls.

one of them, anusha sharifi, age 15. she lives in the remote province of ghor. she wants to become a journalist. girls her age feel they are trapped. the taliban have pledged that all girls will return to school from the next educational year on 21 march. they said... but the girls we've spoken to are not convinced. they think the school they once knew will change forever.

sanaz wants to become a designer in the future. this year will be the last chapter of her school life. for her, the taliban's reform of the educational system is limiting. in the �*90s, when the taliban were last in power, girls were banned from schools for five years. now, female students fear that history might repeat itself. firouzeh akbarian, bbc news. and finally, the duke and duchess of cambridge have

been visiting the ancient maya ruins in belize, on the third day of their caribbean tour. they were given a guided tour of the ancient palace's summit, which remains the tallest man—made structure in belize. the visit is intended to strengthen the uk's ties with commonwealth countries, as the queen marks 70 years on the throne. that's it for me for now. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones. iam i am lewis vaughan—jones. this is bbc news. it's very settled on the weather front right now, and that's how it's going stay generally over the next few days. how about the details? and there are a few to talk about — just the chance of catching a shower on tuesday. some of these fairweather clouds will build into shower clouds,

but i think the vast majority of us will miss them. now this is the high pressure that's dominating the weather across europe — it really is an extensive high, and so many towns and cities enjoying that spring sunshine. so the forecast, then, through the early hours shows a little bit of cloud here and there, perhaps some mist and murk forming through the early hours. generally frost—free with temperatures of around 3—6 celsius, but in northern parts of england, in the northeast and also in scotland, just a touch of frost, particularly in rural areas. so we wake up to lots of sunshine, and again, these shower clouds may develop across parts of wales, central england, and the north here. i mean, you could hardly see them on the weather map here, so again, for most of us, it's a dry day. temperatures typically 15—18, but some of us will warm up to around 20 or so, particularly across southern parts of england, the usual spots. so the forecast into wednesday, then, and light winds, again, lots of sunshine, again, just the outside chance

of those showers being sparked off by the higher temperatures. and i think widely in the high teens across england, and certainly in the lowlands of scotland easily 16 or even 17. and pleasant enough for northern ireland too, the mid—teens. that means very light winds across central areas now the high pressure is right over the uk on thursday. that means very light winds across central areas of the country. so even though the temperatures may be not quite as high on thursday in some areas, it's still going to feel every bit as warm because the winds will be light, and we'll have so much sunshine around, as well. now, friday and the weekend, the high pressure is going to wobble a little bit — all that means is that the winds will start to sort of change in direction. but on the whole, it means very little change in the weather overall. so here's the outlook, then, for the next few days — a lot of fine weather, it really is a cracking week of weather. i think the next spell of more unsettled weather won't arrive until around the end of the month. that's it for me, bye—bye.

this is bbc news. this is bbc news. the headlines: the headlines: a curfew is in place a curfew is in place signs his russian counterpart, in the ukrainian capital, in the ukrainian capital, kyiv. kyiv. it comes after residential it comes after residential areas were attacked by russia, areas were attacked by russia, killing eight people. killing eight people. russian forces are trying russian forces are trying to encircle and cut off to encircle and cut off the city, but large areas the city, but large areas around kyiv remain under around kyiv remain under ukrainian control, ukrainian control, especially in the south. especially in the south.

president biden has warned president biden has warned that there are clear that there are clear signs his russian counterpart, vladimir putin, may be preparing to use chemical and biological weapons in ukraine. mr biden said the russian leader "had his back to the wall." he also warned that russia may be preparing a cyber attack. the ukrainian president has again called for direct talks with vladimir putin to try to put an end to the fighting. but volodymyr zelenksy said that such a meeting would be unlikely to lead to agreement on longer term issues such