tonight at ten — the united nations appeals for an end to the war in ukraine. it says people here are enduring a "living hell." explosion. we have a special report on the battle for a key town in the south of the country where ukrainian troops and local people have pushed back russian forces. this war is only a few weeks old, and the russians will almost certainly be back with more soldiers and a lot more firepower. fleeing the beseiged city of mariupol — survivors tell of children dying there because of a lack of food and water. russia's opposition leader alexei navalny is sentenced to nine years injail after being

convicted of fraud. we'll also have the latest on ukrainian refugees — so far 150,000 people in the uk say they want to offer a temporary home. we talk to some of those britons trying to make contact with refugee families about the difficulties they face. there are some issues with the process that is blocking people being able to help these refugees fast enough. 0n the eve of his spring statement, the chancellor is under pressure to do more to help with the rising cost of living. and william and kate are welcomed to jamaica, but they'll face some protests about the monarchy�*s past links with slavery. and coming up in the sport, on the bbc news channel... wembley could host the final of euro 2028 as a joint uk and ireland bid for the tournament is set to be the only one submitted to uefa.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at ten, live from the western ukrainian city of lviv. the head of the united nations has appealed for an end to the war in ukraine, saying people here are enduring "a living hell". ukraine says ten hospitals have been destroyed in the russian bombardment so far, and major cities are running short of both food and medical supplies. heavy fighting is continuing in many parts of the country. but our first report tonight comes from the southern town of voznesensk, where troops and a small population ofjust 35,000 people have seen off an attack by the russian army. 0ur correspondent andrew harding has been there. in war, a single bridge can

sometimes make all the difference. a bridge and a town determined to keep it from the enemy. and that's what happened here in voznesensk, a quiet farming community that stood its ground. security cameras captured the moment russian tanks roared into town, determined to seize the bridge, and beyond it, a clear road across southern ukraine. but the locals were already setting a trap — all hands on deck — blocking off roads, guiding the russians into an ambush. rapid gunfire a local shopkeeper, alexander, filmed himself on the front lines. explosion "you little beauties!" he shouts.

"it was a colossal effort by the whole town," he says. "we used hunting rifles, people threw bricks, "old women loaded sandbags, the russians didn't "know where to look. "i've never seen the community come together like that." as the invaders approached the bridge, the locals blew it up. at which point these british anti—tank weapons played a decisive role. the ukrainians destroyed almost every russian vehicle, denying them the chance to seize the town and to rebuild the bridge. tank tracks still mark svetlana nikolajevna's garden. her outhouse took a direct hit. she says the russians took two ukrainian soldiers prisoner in there, and she feared they were going to kill them but then the battle got out of hand.

that's the blood of russian soldiers who were sheltering in her house. while she hid in a cellar, her cottage became a russian field hospital. translation: they left at night in such a hurry. | they left almost everything behind. theyjust took their dead and wounded. it may be russia's heaviest defeat so far — their troops retreating far to the east. this town, this community achieved something remarkable here. but we need to put it in perspective. this war is only a few weeks old and the russians will almost certainly be back with more soldiers and a lot more firepower. not surprisingly the town hall is crowded with people wanting help getting out of voznesensk. 0thers go straight to the 32—year—old mayor. he is well guarded these days, brimming with confidence, but realistic about what lies ahead.

"we know we can't win here without more anti—tank weapons," says yevheni velichko. "we are grateful for western supplies but we need more. "we know the russians will be back." back for the bridge and back for the town that stood its ground. andrew harding, bbc news, in voznesensk, southern ukraine. so, as we've been hearing, much of the focus of the current fighting is in the south of the country where cities of key strategic importance lie along the coastline. 0ur security correspondent gordon corera has this assessment of russia's military tactics, almost one month on from the invasion. russia invaded ukraine from a number of directions, but it's the south where the fighting has been fiercest and which looks to be strategically most important. russian forces entered through crimea, which they had already seized in 2014.

we've just seen details of some of the fighting around voznesensk. it is one of a number of places where russia has met much tougher resistance than it expected. this is a strategically important place. the reason is, if russia seized it it would offer them a land route towards the historic city of 0desa. the port of 0desa has already been preparing its defences. 0ne western official today said it remains a prime military objective for moscow. there has been concern there could even be an amphibious assault from the sea where russia has assembled dozens of vessels but an attack from the sea would be hard, unless there was also a move from land towards the city. so let's look at the south—east now. we have heard a lot about mariupol. you can see the importance of the city because it would give russia a land bridge between the east and crimea if they were able to seize it. russian forces, seen here in red,

have encircled the city and have started to go in. and the devastation has been pretty terrible, with some estimates putting up to 90% of mariupol destroyed. so the russian ambition may be to seize the whole of the south, leaving ukraine landlocked. that would impose economic as well as military costs. but russia has faced fierce resistance, its forces are spread thin, and it's not always been able to keep territory it has taken, so that may be an ambition too far. as we've heard, that southern port city of mariupol is a key strategic target for the russian military. many have fled the city but around 300,000 people are believed to be trapped there, with food and water running out. ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, says the city is in ruins and that there's nothing left of it.

wyre davies sent this report from nearby zaporizhzhia, where some people from mariupol have managed to flee. after 170 miles, mined roads and 15 russian army checkpoints — freedom. their ordeal is by no means over, but for these families who have escaped from mariupol in a motley convoy of bomb—damaged vehicles, the last month has been as close to hell as any human should ever get. it was bombing every ten, five minutes and we haven't any central heating, gas, electricity, food or water, nothing. before leaving, katya grabbed her obstinate dog jesse, but this isn't the first time she's fled war. i passed through war in 2014. i'm from donetsk. but it was light variant, really.

and now it's my second war but it is harder. this van, filled with 25 people, also made it through today. all occupants of the same bunker in mariupol escaping together — from ages 2—75. 0vercome with emotion, babushka, or grandmother, anna, says, "it's all too much for me at my age." some of those arriving today gave us videos, a snapshot of the nightmare in which they've been living and the perils of theirjourney out. around 300,000 people are still thought to be trapped inside the besieged city, much of which has been destroyed by the russian bombardment. from the sky in particular, russia is causing real damage to mariupol�*s civilian and industrial infrastructure. it was a bombardment that almost took the life of two—month—old volodymyr. when a shell landed near their apartment, his father

instinctively threw himself over the baby. dad alexei was hit by shrapnel and glass. his son, born only a month before the war, bears no injuries. "after that we lived in the shelter cooking with wood and just trying to survive," says alexei. ukrainians have their differences, but the war has brought people together in adversity. volunteers provide anything those escaping mariupol need for their onward journeys, knowing full well that their town could be next. wyre davies, bbc news, zaporizhzhia. lyse doucet, our chief international correspondent, is in kyiv. lyse — a mixed picture tonight because we have those reports of increasingly dire conditions in some beseiged areas — but also we've seen ukrainian forces still managing to hold back the russian advance.

quite extraordinary. in the invasion began the ukrainians were the defenders, and here we are nearly a month on and the ukrainians on the offensive, recapturing or trying to recapture territory and we heard in the report about voznesensk in the south, and it is not the only place. and in kherson, the place closest to the crimean peninsula, ukrainian forces are trying to recapture territory there, as well. the residents of kherson have never accepted russian control, and they still go out into the streets saying, russians, go home. here around have we hear reports that the ukrainian flag has again been raised, in the suburbs to the west, that had been captured by the russians, and tonight the us assessment is that the russian

forces are still being held back in all directions. but in mariupol, the fighting has reached the centre of the city, where president zelensky said mariupol no longer exists. after all the russian bombardment and besieging, it will live in infamy. lyse, thank you. and that's all from us here in lviv in the west of ukraine tonight, so it's back to huw in the studio. many thanks to you and the team in ukraine. in russia, the country's most prominent opposition figure, alexei navalny, has had his prison sentance extended to nine years after being found guilty of fraud and contempt of court. he was detained when he returned to russia last year after surviving a poisoning which he blamed squarely on president putin and those who serve him in the kremlin. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg has more details.

the images are grainy, but the meaning was clear. kremlin critic alexei navalny, already a prisoner, was about to receive anotherjail term. his prison colony had been turned into a courtroom. his supporters call it a show trial. he was sentenced to nine years, maximum security, for fraud. this was mr navalnyjust over a year ago, russia's most prominent opposition figure detained when he flew into moscow. his arrest and imprisonment sparked nationwide protests. but what followed was a kremlin crackdown. the result — more repression, less freedom. so much has happened here in the last year. the russian opposition has been crushed, kremlin critics have been silenced.

this feels like a very different russia. and that feeling is all the stronger after president putin's decision to send his troops into ukraine. the kremlin calls what it's doing in ukraine a special military operation. it demands that everyone do the same. the freedom of speech is non—existent. this is the horrible war that we are not even allowed to call the war, because here it is called a special operation. and people that come onto the streets with a banner saying "no war" are detained. this russian mp thinks that in times of trouble, russians should support the motherland. as for alexei navalny? he cheated on the government and certain businesses.

this is seen as widely politically motivated. it is not politically motivated. so there are no political prisoners in russia? there are no political prisoners in russia. not a single one? not a single one, absolutely. that is precisely the picture that the kremlin paints for the russian people, hoping they'll believe that there's no repression here, no war, no problem. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. here in the uk, more than 150,000 people have said they want to provide a temporary home for ukrainian refugees. a scheme was launched last week which requires people to identify who they want to sponsor. but with no formal process for that to happen, the scheme has been criticised for being far too complicated. our special correspondent lucy manning has the story. tranquil marlow on the river, signs of renewal — a long way from the thunder of shells where lives end. but ukraine isn't forgotten

here — farfrom it. houses are ready, but those sponsoring refugees complain the system isn't. how many houses have you got in the community for ukrainian refugees? we've got 35. and how many refugees have come so far? zero. and how long do you think it's going to take for the first ones to start coming? i would say, if my people get here in a week, i'll be happy. it could be two weeks. they have got no heating. they're running out of money. is it your birthday soon? rebecca lewis is sponsoring maria and her two children, currently living in a room with ten people after fleeing ukraine. we put their visa application through, but it's taken us hours and hours, so my husband wrote a document to explain the process. the document is nine pages. the homes for ukraine scheme is absolutely brilliant, but there are some issues with the process that is blocking people being able to help these refugees fast enough. and how does it leave you feeling

that you haven't managed to bring any of your ukrainians over yet? it makes me sad and it makes me frustrated, because it's not the image of the united kingdom that i have. in wroclaw in poland, steve mclean found the clothes he brought to donate weren't needed — homes were. he's trying to help some of the refugees come to britain, where he has 25 other homes lined up in his community. just really frustrating. we have applied for one family to go to the uk, but the visa application process has been taking them a long time. it needs to be a lot faster — the uk need to do a lot more. the family he's sponsoring are now thinking of heading to germany instead. as the exodus continues, there are no figures for how many visas have been issued on this scheme. scotland and soon wales are doing things a little differently so ukrainians don't have to find named individuals.

but the uk government says it is moving as quickly as possible to help people find safety, and it says the home office has streamlined the visa process to welcome people faster. but most of the 150,000 rooms offered are still empty. lucy manning, bbc news. the latest snapshot of the state of the uk economy and the public finances will be published by the chancellor of the exchequer in his spring statement tomorrow. rishi sunak is under mounting pressure to bring forward new measures to help households with the sharply rising cost of living and the expected economic impact of the war in ukraine. 0ur economics editor faisal islam has been looking at the challenges facing the chancellor. the fuel price shock is already here for those that use heating oil, such as this derbyshire farm. there is no cushioning or cap from surging international energy prices here.

these heating fuels are in the process of trebling in cost. it could be a sign of what is to come more widely. there's no protection there. no protection. it's hitting you straight away? that's right, it's another £400 just on that one load so over a year you're talking £3,000 or £4,000 extra you've got to find. how will people afford that? i've no idea! you'lljust have to juggle and do without. what, and turn down thermostats? turn thermostat down, put extra clothes on. here, there's a long history of fuelling the world, but the global price shock from imported energy is hitting hard at alfreton market. everything's going up and the rate of pay and things like that is not going up to match it. it's notjust going up a little bit, like a couple of percent, it's really quite significant? yeah, fuel and, you know, gas and electric prices. courgettes, normally £5 a box, £12 a box. i 12? yes.

stuff'sjust ridiculous. bananas used to be about eight, ten. £18, £19 a box now. and you just have to pass that on? you've got to pass it, you've got to pass it. | just as the economic picture was beginning to brighten up after two years of the pandemic, the spring statement will reveal the impact of those clouds of rising prices, made darker by russia's invasion of ukraine. the surge in energy prices and coming food crisis is a global phenomenon affecting the world, but the rise in taxes, which is really quite significant, that is only really happening here in the uk, and the pressure is on the chancellor to show what help he can give. at the david napier clothing factory, they've expanded british manufacturing using green energy, but there's frustration about taxing jobs.

the national insurance increase which is proposed is going to cost us and our staff £150,000. that's a lot of money for us to find extra. faisal, what we've got to do here is, we've got to be able to pay more to our staff. the pain is being felt in households and businesses across the nation. the chancellor's message tomorrow that he can offer some help, but only so much. faisal islam, bbc news, in derbyshire. charities are warning that the number of disabled people who are struggling to pay their energy bills could more than double this year to over 2 million. those with disabilities or long—term health conditions often need a range of electrical equipment to survive, and that's increasingly expensive to run. 0ur social affairs correspondent michael buchanan has the story. ruby walsh has done well to reach 15 years of age, but she needs help. this is where ruby spends most of her time. the teenager, who is blind and deaf, has cerebral palsy and is under a palliative care team.

she's got a nebulising machine and she has a feeding pump and her oxygen concentrator. all of this life—saving equipment costs over £6 a day to run and the family's energy bills have risen to £225 a month. charlotte worries about what her daughter's final few months will be like. we just want a simple life where we can enjoy ruby and she can enjoy the outside world, stay indoors if she needs to be, comfortably, rather than having to think about what we're going to forfeit for her to have pieces of equipment on. being disabled costs money — almost £600 a month more according to one survey, and that's before the impact of rising energy bills. people are turning off power, parent carers are turning off essential equipment for their children's health in order to save money. this is a humanitarian crisis and it's only going to get worse. come here, this side. anne pridmore is mentally alert but physically unable, relying on personal assistance and kasey for her everyday needs. that's it. nice and gently.

good girl. the 82—year—old, who also has cerebral palsy, has seen her energy bills rise by nearly 50% sincejuly, forcing her to cut back on heating. if i feel cold, i go really tight and i can't really do anything, so it's really worrying. my legs and my hands are always frozen. and that makes me have added pain. ministers say they want disabled people to ensure they're claiming all the benefits they're entitled to and that they're spending an extra £9 billion helping all households with rising energy bills. increasing costs are forcing felix halliwell to consider stark choices, too. he has chronic kidney disease and undergoes dialysis at home. to save money, he might need to get treated in hospital, where he'll likely get less dialysis. there are potential detrimental effects to my blood chemistry and therefore my physical and mental

health as a result. it literally feels like you don't matter and you are being priced out of existence. campaigners say capped energy prices for disabled people and substantial benefit increases would make a significant difference. michael buchanan, bbc news. so on the eve of the chancellor's statement, live to westminster and our political correspondent chris mason. how do you read the prospects for tomorrow? we how do you read the prospects for tomorrow?— how do you read the prospects for tomorrow? ~ ., ., ., _ tomorrow? we are told tonight by the chancellor that _ tomorrow? we are told tonight by the chancellor that there _ tomorrow? we are told tonight by the chancellor that there will _ tomorrow? we are told tonight by the chancellor that there will be - tomorrow? we are told tonight by the chancellor that there will be things i chancellor that there will be things in his statement at lunchtime that address the cost of living. and what he acknowledges will be challenging times ahead for many families in the coming months. why? prices are going up, bills are going up, and as faisal mentioned, taxes are too with that rising national insurance. the government says that is important to fund the nhs and social care. it was a big promise. it would be a huge thing to go back on. plenty of tory mps have been pleading with the

chance to either bennett or postpone it. perhaps instead, there could be a middle ground. there could be a raising of the threshold. in other words, people wouldn't pay national insurance until they were earning more money, and that would help the poorest or the least well off as far as income is concerned, the most. the other thing to keep an eye out for its fuel duty. huge amounts of ourfuel bills for its fuel duty. huge amounts of our fuel bills swallowed up for its fuel duty. huge amounts of ourfuel bills swallowed up in for its fuel duty. huge amounts of our fuel bills swallowed up in duty. could that be reduced? there is a big expectation of that. but overall, this is a chancellor whose political instincts say there should be a limit on how much of a role the government should have in society, and yet, yet again for rishi sunak, the expectation from many is that he should be doing something pretty big given the scale of the challenge around the corner for so many. we will see tomorrow. chris mason, with the latest at westminster. a court at the old bailey has heard a recording of the emergency call which was made moments after the conservative mp sir david amess was fatally stabbed last october. ali harbi ali is on trial

for murder and preparing acts of terrorism, which he denies. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports. heading from london to leigh—on—sea by train for what the prosecution says was a terrorist assassination. ali harbi ali is accused of researching several mps, including michael gove, before settling on sir david amess as his target. screen grabs left on his phone show he had booked an appointment and it said, "i don't think i'll take too long, thanks." the appointment was at belfairs methodist church where, in a room beside the altar, the prosecution says he said "sorry" and then stabbed sir david amess to death. yvonne yves, who was also waiting to see the mp, dialled 999. emergency. police, please, quick now. a man is wielding a knife and he threatened me. they say he's killed david amess at belfairs methodist church. he wants to get shot, apparently. he wants to be a hero. he wants the police to come and shoot him.

who, the person with the knife? yes. he's wielding the knife now. he says if we go near him, he will stab us. the prosecution says that just before the attack, ali harbi ali messaged family and friends on whatsapp, saying he'd done it for the sake of allah. he denies murder and preparing a terrorist act. daniel sandford, bbc news, at the old bailey. a little girl who died after being attacked by a dog at her home on merseyside has been named as bella—rae birch. she was 17 months old. the animal had been with the family for just a week and has now been destroyed. police said they would also try to identify its previous owners as part of the investigation. within the past hour, the biden administration has confirmed it will abandon tariffs on the imports of british steel and aluminium which were imposed by president trump in 2018. in exchange, the uk has pledged to end duties on a range of us

imports including whiskey. to explain the significance, our global trade correspondent dharshini david is here. what should we read into this? harley davidson motorbikes, levi jeans and bourbon whiskey all became very unlikely weapons in this long—running trade battle, which started when president trump decided to protect americanjobs by started when president trump decided to protect american jobs by taxing foreign steel. so in return, we taxed some high—profile american goods, and it was consumers and producers on both sides that paid the price. we saw sales of british steel into america halving. the same happen to imports of american whiskey. so this announcement comes as a huge boost to those industries, but it also raises hopes within the uk government that we could see a resumption, perhaps, of those talks for a full free trade deal, and that is a relationship worth £200 billion. it would be a huge coup to post—brexit britain. however, it was the biden administration that pause

to those talks last year and tonight, there is no indication that they want to start again. so our government's american dream may not become realityjust yet. dharshini david, many thanks. one more story tonight — the duke and duchess of cambridge have left belize after a four—day visit as part of their caribbean tour marking the queen's platinum jubilee. the next stop is jamaica, where the nation is also marking the 60th anniversary of its independence from britain, and as our royal correspondent jonny dymond reports, there have been protests calling for the uk to apologise and pay reparations for slavery. into the sunshine and into controversy. it all looks like business as usual. the governor—general brought a warm welcome. the couple brought thanks from the queen for seven decades of support over her reign. but not everyone is feeling supportive. some here, and some in government, want an apology for slavery,

the slavery that britain ran and that some britons have