hello, this is bbc news, i'm rich preston. our top stories: as the un calls for an end to hostilities, we report on the battle for a key town in the south of ukraine where russian forces are being pushed back. 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 besieged city of mariupol — survivors tell of children starving to death. a prominent kremlin critic gets anotherjail sentence — the us says it's part of the crackdown on dissent to hide the war in ukraine. and a welcome for william and kate injamaica, but they could face protests

over the british monarchy�*s past links with slavery. the un secretary—general antonio guterres has appealed for an end to the war in ukraine. he warned the situation�*s becoming more destructive and unpredictable by the hour. ukraine says 10 hospitals have been destroyed in the russian bombardment so far, and major cities are running short of food and medical supplies. heavy fighting is continuing in many parts of the country. but our first report comes from the southern town of voznesensk, where troops and a small population ofjust 35,000 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. a local shopkeeper, alexander, filmed himself on the front lines.

"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's 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're grateful for western supplies, but we need more. "you 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. the southern port city of mariupol is a key strategic target for russia. many have fled but around 300,000 people are believed to be trapped there, with food and water running out. 0ur correspondent wyre davies sent this report from 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 their journey 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. in russia, the country's most prominent opposition figure, alexei navalny, has been given a nine year prison sentence after being found guilty of fraud and contempt of court. charges which are widely considered to be fabricated. mr navalny is already in prison. he was detained when he returned to russia last year, after surviving being poisoned, something he blamed 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 "no war" are detained. russian mp maria butina thinks that in times of trouble, russians should support the motherland. as for alexei navalny? he cheated on the government. he cheated on certain businesses. it is widely seen as politically motivated. it is not politically motivated. absolutely not. so there are no political prisoners in russia?

there are no political prisoners in russia. not a single one? not a single one, absolutely. and 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. for more on this, we�*re joined by maria snegovaya, visiting fellow at george washington university, and senior fellow at the center for a new american security. she for a new american security. joins us from washini dc. she joins us from washington, dc. thank you for being with others. nine years, it is a long time, were you surprised by the sentence? good evening, good afternoon. unfortunately, no, not surprised. the prosecutor actually asked for 13 years of imprisonment, so it is unparallel of an ironic world,

you know, it is a decrease in sentence. unfortunately, russia�*s quickly sinking into darkness with an opposition to destroy, and of course the key 0pposition leaderjailed, essentially follow. we all understand that alexei navalny will stay in jail for as long as putin is a lie. as of now, he is to be released in 2031, as horrible as it sounds. the kremlin has _ as horrible as it sounds. the kremlin has tightened rules on what the media can report in russia. what are russians being told about alexei navalny�*s sentence, and how much of what is going on in ukraine played into this?— into this? unfortunately, the ukraine situation _ into this? unfortunately, the ukraine situation has - ukraine situation has distracted this major process, major trial, the public attention from this trial, and unfortunately — it is very well—deserved that you gets all of the attention but all of these other horrible things unravelling and russia therefore are not noticed by many, including the domestics. especially now there is a huge

breakdown on all independent media. we practically have no independent media lab, even on internet in russia at all. and now, navalny is seen as somebody who allegedly committed another crime and will be placed in a special high security colony, where any public access or even his lawyers�* access will be extremely complicated. we will hear less and less from navalny and his life is threatened. the kremlin has already tried to kill him. of course, on tv, on state—owned control tv, people do not hear anything about this. the very best of what they hear is that alexei navalny as a traitor. you know, traitors should be eliminated, particularly during these times of crisis when, as putin has said, they need unity and defence. you mention the high security colony. he has been sentenced to nine years of strict regime. what does that mean for him?

unfortunately, it means way less public access, stricter conditions under which he will be held, less freedom, essentially inside of the colony. most importantly, the public lawyers, journalists will have very limited access to him. of course, we know that the government already tried to murder, to poison navalny back in 2020. unfortunately now, especially limited media access, and growing domestic crackdown on internet, independent media, they will be less and less opportunity to hear about navalny. his life is really endangered, and i really hope that international community and russia�*s domestic will keep humanitarian accesses for navalny. will keep humanitarian accesses for navalny-— for navalny. thank you, maria snegovaya _ for navalny. thank you, maria snegovaya from _ for navalny. thank you, maria snegovaya from washington l for navalny. thank you, maria l snegovaya from washington for joining us. still to come on the programme: who might own this multi—million dollar yacht that�*s set sail to avoid sanctions? find out later.

i�*m so proud of both of 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: ukraine�*s president says there�*s a chance of surviving the war, as his military stops the russian advance on some key targets. the us condemns the latestjail sentence given to kremlin critic alexei navalny, washington says it�*s part of the crackdown on dissent, to hide the war in ukraine. 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. the un says 10 million people have now fled their homes in ukraine, but as we�*ve seen, escaping from the russian

invasion is not easy. ronny sleiman is a ukrainian—american who got out of ukraine with his wife and three—year—old, and is now safely in the us. thank you very much for being with us, i�*m very glad you and yourfamily are safe with us, i�*m very glad you and your family are safe and well. you made this journey from kyiv to romania then to the us over several days. tell us about your journey and several days. tell us about yourjourney and how several days. tell us about your journey and how you several days. tell us about yourjourney and how you did it. your “ourney and how you did it. ~ ., , your “ourney and how you did it. ~ . , ., ., , it. we were in a very dangerous sot it. we were in a very dangerous spot outside — it. we were in a very dangerous spot outside of _ it. we were in a very dangerous spot outside of kyiv _ it. we were in a very dangerous spot outside of kyiv and - it. we were in a very dangerous spot outside of kyiv and we - spot outside of kyiv and we basically took that chance because it was getting very risky. so we were able to kind of navigate through a few little towns but when we got to the villages, we didn�*t have any gps, we didn�*t have any internet, so we were lucky enough to be with a convoy of self organised people who wanted to leave and it took us about three hours but, it was

very dangerous. we ran into a colony of russian tanks but luckily we were not fired upon. the locals had kind of warned us about it but we got through, but it was a very scary time not knowing where you were and not knowing where you were and not having access to anything. i can imagine it must have been absolutely terrifying. we�*ve heard about these humanitarian corridors being set up in various parts of the country. how useful have they been for people? how useful have they been for eo - le? ~ how useful have they been for --eole? ~ ., ., people? we were quite fortunate because we _ people? we were quite fortunate because we left pretty _ people? we were quite fortunate because we left pretty much - people? we were quite fortunate because we left pretty much in l because we left pretty much in the middle of this whole thing of the corridors right now are not safe at all stop even if they say they are guaranteed we�*ve heard many stories especially out of mariupol that the convoys are being fired upon or buses are being turned back, so even when they say that they have come to an agreement, the agreement is not being followed through and it is very dangerous. you being followed through and it is very dangerous.— being followed through and it is very dangerous. you are now safely with _ is very dangerous. you are now safely with family _ is very dangerous. you are now safely with family and - is very dangerous. you are now safely with family and texas, i safely with family and texas, do you have to be able to

return to ukraine at some point? i return to ukraine at some oint? ., , ., ., point? i do but i am not too optimistic— point? i do but i am not too optimistic about _ point? i do but i am not too optimistic about it - point? i do but i am not too optimistic about it stopping | optimistic about it stopping the war has basically broken the war has basically broken the country and we are trying as much as we can to help right now to bring the humanitarian aid and help as much as we can but life as it is, as we know it, i was there for 18 years and that life, i don�*t think is ever going to come back to normal. ~ . , ., ., normal. we are very glad that ou are normal. we are very glad that you are safe _ normal. we are very glad that you are safe and _ normal. we are very glad that you are safe and well- normal. we are very glad that you are safe and well for- normal. we are very glad that you are safe and well for the i you are safe and well for the time being. 0nce you are safe and well for the time being. once again thank you forjoining us from texas. america and its allies have, so far, refused to respond militarily to moscow�*s invasion of ukraine. but they have mounted a concerted campaign against the russian economy. sanctions have been imposed and assets seized. the latest potential target is a multimillion—dollar yacht that might have a very significant owner, as the bbc�*s tim allman explains.

almost hidden away on the tuscan coast, this yacht is no ordinary vessel. registered in the cayman islands, some say it could be the personal property of vladimir putin p 140 metres of vladimir putin p140 metres in length, it is the very epitome of wealth and extravagance. 0ne epitome of wealth and extravagance. one of the world�*s biggest super yachts, it is believed to be worth around $700 million. anticorruption activists claim some of its crew work for a security for high—ranking officials including president putin. in his speech to the italian parliament, not a zelensky called for the yacht to be seized by the authorities. translation: we need to authorities. translation: - need to freeze all their bank accounts, there yachts, from

scheherazade all the way down. this is the eclipse owned by russian billionaire roman abramovich and this is another one, also the property of mr abramovich, trying to dock in the port of drome. pro ukrainian demonstrators aiming to get on the way. as for the scheherazade, italy�*s natural police service are believed to be investigating. they have already seized yacht�*s longing to several russian oligarchs. 0f to several russian oligarchs. of this vessel does turn out to be owned by vladimir putin, it could be next in line.

president biden�*s nominee for the supreme court has been questioned by senators on the second day of her confirmation hearing. kentaji brown jackson rejected republican allegations she had been too lenient in her sentencing in child sex cases. she also defended her work representing terrorism suspects. the 51—year—old judge is expected to gain enough votes to secure the confirmation. 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, asjonny dymond reports. 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 made vast profits from, the slavery that did so much damage to this country. and there is talk of financial compensation too. 0utside britain�*s high commission, its embassy to jamaica, today, a reminder of past pain and present anger. this is an issue that is

only building momentum. it�*s clear to see that belizeans value their environment, whether it�*s the marine environment or the land environment. from the couple�*s household, new pictures from their last stop, belize. the government there wanted the couple to see the country�*s barrier reef. as jamaicans waited for the couple�*s arrival, it was football star raheem sterling that took the spotlight. the prince will address the issue of slavery here tomorrow night. as jamaica�*s future turns out to see the couple, there�*s no escaping the shadow of the past. jonny dymond, bbc news, kingston, jamaica. a reminder, that you can keep across all the developments on the russia—ukraine war by visiting the bbc news website.

the live page is updated with all the latest reports from our correspondents on the ground. that�*s it from us, goodbye for now. hello there. at this time of year, warm days are often followed by decidedly chilly nights. and tuesday was certainly a warm day, with temperatures in northwest wales getting close to 21 degrees, the warmest day of the year so far. plenty of other places not too far behind. but as soon as the sun went down, the temperatures followed. it has been turning quite chilly out there. high pressure still close by on wednesday. it stays mostly dry, but with those clear skies overhead, quite a chilly start to the morning, with temperatures down around freezing, below freezing in a few places. one or two early fog patches around as well. they should tend to lift and clear by the middle part of the morning. and then it is another beautiful spring day, with lengthy spells of sunshine. the vast majority

will stay dry. there�*s just a small chance of one or two showers popping up in northeast scotland and maybe across eastern counties of england. not as breezy as it was on tuesday across western areas and every bit as warm. top temperatures between 16 and 20, maybe 21 degrees. but as we head through wednesday night, again, the sun goes down, the orange colours drain away from the map, replaced by blues and greens, with temperatures again dropping down to around freezing. those are the values for the towns and the cities. out in the countryside, i think there will be a touch of frost, and again potentially some fog patches on thursday morning. now, england and wales will once again have a mostly sunny day, with just the odd rogue shower. for scotland and northern ireland, expect more cloud creeping in from the northwest, with some spots of light rain and drizzle. top temperatures through thursday between 16 and 19 degrees in most places. now, for friday, again, the further north you are, there will be a bit more in the way of cloud. some rain for the northern isles. further south, more in the way of sunshine, a bit more of a breeze through the english channel at this stage, and

temperatures maybe down just a fraction but still getting up to between 15 and 19 degrees. and then we head into weekend, and some of that cloud in the north associated with a weak frontal system will try to work a little further southwards, but high pressure continues to hold firm, so despite that extra cloud and the greater chance of a bit of fog, it is going to stay fine and dry with some spells of sunshine. into next week, though, we develop a northerly wind. it�*ll start to feel quite a lot colder and there could even be some wintry showers.

this is bbc news. the headlines: ukraine says continued russian shelling is still stopping rescue workers reaching the theatre in mariupol targeted in an earlier attack. they say hundreds of people are trapped in the bomb shelter under the building. there are reports that food and water shortages mean children are starving to death. ukraine says its troops have managed to stop russian soldiers advancing on the port city of 0desa. heavy fighting is continuing in many parts of the country. united nations head antonio guterres has appealed for an end to the war warning it�*s becoming more unpredictable by the hour. the us has condemned what it called russia�*s orchestration of a sham trial against the kremlin critic, alexei navalny. his prison sentence was extended to nine years