tonight at ten: world leaders have gathered to discuss the war here in ukraine, one month on from the russian invasion. we have a special report from the front line, in the city of kharkiv that's under constant russian bombardment. you can see what they are up against here. this is daily. notjust in kharkiv but around the still they remain. the russians have not been able to break their lines. western leaders meeting in brussels have promised to increase military

aid to ukraine and said more trips to neighbouring countries in eastern europe. nato has never, never been more united than it is today. putin is getting exactly the opposite of what he intended to have as a consequence of going into ukraine. we'll have the latest on the conflict in ukraine, and the day's other main stories, including this footage shown to a jury at the old bailey... dirty dog! it's all right, it's all right, it's all right. we've got him. the images are from a police body—camera — they were shown during the trial of the man accused of murdering the mp sir david amess. p&0 ferries admit they did break the law by sacking 800 staff without consultation — their new workers will be paid £5.50 an hour. it's bale! and a stunning performance by gareth bale against austria takes wales even closer to the world cup finals. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel, can england recover from a disappointing start in the third and final test against west indies in granada?

good evening, from lviv in western ukraine. a month ago today the world changed when russia invaded this country. since then, thousands of russian and ukrainian troops have been killed, and a huge number of civilians. more than 3 million people have been forced to flee from ukraine. and today leaders of the western military alliance, nato, met in brussels to discuss what the world should do now. well, we start tonight with a special report from the city of kharkiv, less than 25 miles from the russian border. it has faced relentless russian

missile strikes and shelling. our correspondent quentin sommerville and cameraman darren conway have spent time with two fighters who have been on the front line since the very beginning. violin plays a month of fighting alone. and russian guns still have not silenced ukraine's cry for freedom. at the kharkiv philharmonic, maria may not have an audience, but this is not a city abandoned, only a city half gone. she remains here with her ten—month—old boy. staying is her duty. translation: i believe in our victory. _ i know that the armed forces of ukraine will protect their home. we just need to be a little bit more patient.

standing united with the boys defending her and her son. a month ago, 22—year—old vlad said goodbye to his own mother and went off to fight. he and fellow private marc have been here ever since. they have quickly grown comfortable with war�*s daily tempo. they have the upper hand in kharkiv. the first three days were the hardest, when they drove the russians out, but now their duties at this small base have fallen into a pattern. what are you fighting for? translation: for peace in ukraine. and what about you, marc? translation: like my comrade “ust said, for peace in ukraine. �* these people came to our land. no one was waiting for them here, no one asked for them to come. i when you are speaking to your mother

or your girlfriends, what do you tell them? translation: mainly, we discuss the time when all of it will end, i when we will come back to normal life, when everything will be good and it won't be dangerous to go outside and have a walk. what do you want to tell the russian soldiers who are shelling you? translation: run. we were not calling you here. run away _ there is nothing else to say. either you stay here forever — in the ground — or you go back home and stop killing children and destroying homes and families. translation: go back home, while you are still alive. - their steady determination — and a little help from western weaponry — have got them this far. it's time to head out to the front again. this, they say, is their land. they know these fields and villages better than the invaders. and here, amid the melting winter snows, they cover every inch of ground.

ukrainian mud is the defenders' friend. marc's foxhole has room for one and offers just about enough protection from exploding russian shells. suddenly, on the horizon, there is movement. an enemy scouting party is spotted. gunfire the russians shoot back. gunfire but the danger here is artillery. marc tells us we have to move. the russians will definitely respond, he says, 100%. it's time to seek better cover.

what is it like spending day and night out in those tiny, tiny little trenches? translation: the shifts| are longer during the day, but at night when it's cold we swap often. explosion what about you ? translation: it's ok. you get used to it. humans can adapt. gunfire. translation: humans can adapt to everything. - what is... explosion gunfire what is going on right now? translation: they are targeting our position. l gunfire the shells begin to land all around us, only metres away. explosion

you can see what they are up against here. this is daily, but the steadfastness of these men has been felt notjust in kharkiv, but around the world. they have had four weeks of this and still they remain. the russians have not been able to break their lines and this invasion might have come as a surprise to the rest of the world, but this is what they have been expecting and training for for years. unable to move... explosion ..the shelling is relentless. these bombardments are endless. explosion this is russia's tactic of choice. shouting

we are told for the third time that day to get into a nearby underground shelter. here, some sanctuary and a brief moment of respite for vlad and marc, amid this unending chaos. a month into this war ukrainian confidence is growing, not weakening. while russia stumbles, ukraine stands firm. the russians are pretty determined to break these lines. are they going to get past here, are they going to get past you and these men? translation: i think no. we will not surrender kharkiv. our loved ones have got our backs. explosion. explosion translation: they won't get through here. - they both lament the colleagues lost, and another has just been injured. russia isn't done here yet, but neither are these men and neither is ukraine.

quentin somerville, bbc news, kharkiv. violin plays well, three weeks ago a huge convoy of russian troops moved towards the capital, kyiv, but its advance was stalled. since then, fierce fighting has taken place in the towns and cities outside the capital — and ukrainian forces now claim they've succeded in pushing russian troops back with a series of counterattacks — including in irpin, north—west of kyiv, asjeremy bowen reports. in small groups ukrainian soldiers are crossing the river irpin, joining the month—long battle to keep the russians out of kyiv.

"it's bad," said one of the last civilians leaving. "children are dying, everyone is dying." only a few other civilians are coming out of the ruins. slava emerged, desperate to save her dogs. thousands of civilians came this way when the war started, but now this whole area has been swept up by the fighting. ukrainian troops have broken all the russian ground attacks here so far, so now moscow's men increasingly are using the weapon they trust most, heavy artillery. we were here about three weeks ago, and there is a massive difference. look at the devastation around this area. it's been hit very heavily. the shelling makes all movement here dangerous, so the command posts are underground. the ukrainians say the russians have only a toehold in irpin. outside, they have been pushed back. you say they can't get into the city. why is that?

apart from your own resistance, what do they lack? commander oleg said the russians don't have the combat power, his men are hitting their supplies and, in kyiv, there'd be armed citizens shooting from every window and door. they know the russians want to break their will to resist. among the men here, one who came home to fight after 25 years in britain. everybody fears for their life, but the most important thing is freedom, freedom of our nation and future of our nation. what should the british do? thanks a lot to the british. they are helping a lot and i believe they can support us not only with weapons but with good political

decisions to help to stop the war. he came over with shane matthews, a former british soldier who's joined the war as a medic and a sniper — he says this is the worst he's seen. i have seen lots of civilians killed. we witnessed a car with four people in not ten days ago get blown to pieces. it was a family evacuating from the city. took a direct hit from a 155—mil artillery round. nothing left? nothing. you could've swept them up and put them into a bin liner. on the road to kyiv, which the russians have tried repeatedly to seize, the forest either side is burning from the shells. back in the city centre, more volunteers were waiting to be transferred to the long fight in and around irpin. it was quiet, a little tense. they knew what would be waiting for them. katrine had a few minutes with her son. she's a sniper.

she said his name is nikita, he's 18 months old. "i will kill," she said, "to protect his future." the war has changed everything for these volunteers, for all of ukraine, and the world now feels more dangerous. whatever happens in the battles that these soldiers are going to fight, it's clear already after a month that this is the biggest threat to international peace and security in decades. and the consequences, the impact of this war is already being felt beyond the borders of ukraine. the younger ones were born when europe was hopeful, in the 1990s. the men in their 60s grew up when this city was part of the soviet union. it was time to say goodbye. the old drumbeat of the cold war, of the risks of confrontation between the big powers, is back for a new generation.

the buses left for the front line. jeremy bowen, bbc news, kyiv. president biden has said the nato military alliance has never been more united than it is today, in the wake of the russian invasion here in ukraine. mr biden was speaking after an emergency nato summit in brussels. leaders approved plans to increase military aid to ukraine, and to send more troops to neighbouring eastern european countries, as our north america editor, sarah smith, reports. this show of solidarity is why president biden�*s here, with the nato chief and over 30 other world leaders, to display the unity they believe is their strength. putin was banking on nato being split. in my early conversations with him in december and earlyjanuary, it was clear to me he didn't think

we could sustain this cohesion. nato has never, never, been more united than it is today. putin is getting exactly the opposite of what he intended to have as a consequence of going into ukraine. putin will also get far more nato forces far closer to russia, as the alliance agreed to station troops in four member states in eastern europe. along with more sanctions on russia, additional weapons are being promised to ukraine, with britain pledging to double the number of missiles being sent. but ukrainian president zelensky wants more. translation: you can give us 1% of all your aircraft, _ 1% of all your tanks — 1%. we can'tjust buy it. such a supply directly depends on nato's decisions. on political decisions, right away. you heard from president zelensky at the nato summit meeting today and he said, "the alliance

is yet to show what it can do to save people". how do you reply to that? i understand very well the message he is sending to all of us to do more. what i say is that nato has stepped up and we are providing unprecedented military support to ukraine, to help them defend themselves. nato countries are all agreed that sending troops into ukraine could escalate the conflict into a world war. borisjohnson looked a little isolated but remains in step with allies over ukraine. everybody wants peace, including the united kingdom. you know, if this thing could be solved it would be fantastic. i've got to tell you that i'm not optimistic that vladimir putin really wants that. i think he has decided to double down and to groznify the great cities of ukraine in the way that he has always tried to do.

and i think that's a tragic mistake. nato remains resolute it is ready to fight to defend every inch of its territory if any member state is attacked and there is increasing troop readiness in response to what they are calling the new security reality in europe. nato is being rapidly reshaped by this war in ways frankly the us has been pressing for four years, frankly the us has been pressing for fouryears, in frankly the us has been pressing for four years, in the plane on the way here president biden�*s national security adviser told me it's time for member countries to put their money where their mouths are, in other words european countries need to spend more and contribute more forces for many years to come. sarah smith, bbc news, brussels. the russian president, vladimir putin, has never called what is happening here in ukraine "a war", but rather a "special operation" to demilitarise his neighbour. but russia has seen anti—war protestors take to the streets, and life for many russians has been changed drastically by economic sanctions. our russia editor, steve rosenberg,

reports from st petersberg. at the age of 76, she's a prolific artist but, for yelena, the priority now isn't paintings, it's placards. they�* re anti—war and anti—putin. "putin is war," this one says. "we don't want to die for putin." after russia attacked ukraine, yelena took to the streets of st petersburg. like many anti—war protests in russia, it ended like this. she describes one of her favourite placards the police haven't given back. translation: i'd been given some red tulips, | beautiful young flowers. but very quickly they died and wilted. they reminded me of young men falling into their graves,

so i made a poster and wrote, "the people were being sent to their deaths." in vladimir putin's home city, home truths about ukraine... ..and deep concern. this human rights group is taking calls from russian mothers worried that their conscript sons are in ukraine. under intense pressure from the authorities, the group is having to close down. translation: the authorities prefer to cover up problems, _ to give society a false picture that everything in the army's absolutely fine. they want soldiers' mothers to be patient and to be silent. for the staff, a moment of reflection and prayers for an end to the fighting.

but, when this conflict does end, life here will never be the same. when vladimir putin came to power in russia more than 20 years ago, he promised russians security and stability. today, his army is suffering losses in ukraine, the economy here is suffering from sanctions and russia is facing growing international isolation. but, from the kremlin, no hint of regret. quite the opposite. the authorities are rallying support for their offensive in ukraine. st petersburg riot police made this video to show they back it. the letter z has become the symbol for the kremlin�*s special operation. and many russians believe their president has got it right. i trust him 100%, dennis says, no, 150%. but then vladimir putin controls

the media here and the messaging. without that, it would be much harder to convince his people that he is taking russia in the right direction. steve rosenberg, bbc news, st petersburg. our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, has been in the ukrainian capital, kyiv, since the start of the invasion. shejoins us now. lyse, your reflections today, after a month an unimaginable suffering in this country? well, this entire programme tells all of us that this has been a month like no other for all of us that this has been a month like no otherfor ukraine, for europe and the rest of the world. but, for every ukrainian, life as they knew it has been upended brutally, homes, streets, entire

towns, a city, mariupol, wiped off the map, and everyone you meet here, you feel that pain, but also this patriotism. a month ago, you could feel the dark foreboding here, that russian soldiers would be on the streets in a matter of days, but that hasn't happened yet. as the war enters its second month, no one can say with any certainty what lies ahead. will president putin halt this invasion if and when he secures that land corridor along the southern coast, or does he still have this city and many others in his sights? if so, the dark, smouldering ruins of mariupol are just a small, terrifying glimpse of what could lie ahead. how this capital and many others hope not. thank you. lyse doucet, our chief international correspondent. that's it from me in lviv in western ukraine. back to you in the studio in london.

thank you to the entire team in ukraine. p&0 ferries did break the law when it sacked 800 workers last week without consulting the trade unions. the company's chief executive made the open admission in response to questions from a parliamentary committee at westminster. peter hebblethwaite said he had chosen not to consult because he didn't believe "there was any other way to do it". the staff are being replaced with agency workers, earning an average of £5.50 an hour. mr hebblethwaite told mps that reducing p&0's wage bill was the only way to make the company viable, as our transport correspondent, katy austin, reports. arriving to face mps this morning... are you ashamed of sacking the staff? ..the boss of the ferry company which suddenly fired 800 workers last week. the difficult questions started straightaway. are you in this mess because you don't know what you're doing or are you just a shameless criminal? before i answer that question, can i start,

please, with an apology? that question didn't get a direct answer. later, peter hebblethwaite insisted the law hadn't been broken when it came to notifying relevant authorities of the redundancy plans. 0n the lack of consultation, though, he said this. there is no doubt that we were required to consult with the unions. we chose not to do that because we believed... you chose to break the law? because we chose not to consult, and we will compensate everybody in full for that. he said replacement agency crew will be paid on average £5.50 per hour. that's below the national minimum wage of this country. _ how do you reconcile that? where we are governed by national minimum wage, we will absolutely pay national minimum wage. this is an international seafaring model that is consistent with models throughout the globe and our competitors. mr hebblethwaite argued the decision he made last week was the only

option to save the business and he'd make it again. save the company... save the company? you've trashed its reputation! john, one of the workers who lost his job, listened to today's hearing. this is outrageous. i'm shocked, i'm sickened and his position is untenable. labour said the government had still done nothing to act. this afternoon, the transport secretary announced a review of maritime employment laws and said protections for seafarers' minimum wages would be strengthened. the political row over the sackings continues but there's no sign p&0 ferries intends to reverse its decision. peter hebblethwaite faces calls to resign. a week on, many sacked workers are still shocked. for now, most of the company's ferries are going nowhere. they all have to pass inspections before they can sail again.

katy austin, bbc news. the chancellor, rishi sunak, has been under growing pressure to defend the choices made in his spring statement yesterday, amid claims that he hasn't done nearly enough to help the poorest households. the cost of living is rising at the fastest rate for 30 years, and planned increases in benefits will be much smaller than the rise in inflation this year. our economics editor, faisal islam, has the latest. in this part of manchester, reverend ellie trimble, who runs a discount food market, says she can see with her own eyes the historic fall in living standards revealed by the government's official forecasters yesterday. increasing numbers of those needing help havejobs. we know that the cost of living is just going through the ceiling. and it's really scary for people that are actually earning a living. and it's terrifying for people

who are having to rely on benefits. as experts pored over the decisions, it became clear the chancellor has kept some powder dry to help, for example, with an expected further significant rise in energy prices in the autumn. in its analysis of winners and losers from the chancellor's decisions, the institute for fiscal studies showed how yesterday's measures might help an average earner and someone on the national living wage and universal credit. before yesterday's announcements, this was the substantial hit to both their incomes due to prices rising faster than wages and tax rises. after yesterday, the average earner on a salary of about 27,500 will now take a lesser hit but still a hit of £359 over a year. while, for someone on the national living wage and universal credit, they still take an overall hit of £519. he indicated in the spring statement that he will keep things under review and he may do more if needed, so there is certainly a rationale for that, given the degree for uncertainty.

having said that, some of the costs on people's budgets are going to feed through more quickly than the energy price cap increase in october and therefore households are likely to feel the squeeze before that autumn budget. both pm and chancellor, just hours after their spring package of measures, including a fuel duty cut, acknowledged that more support might be needed. it's the hardest part about this - job, not being able to do everything that people would like you to do, but i cannot make _ every problem go away. but where we can make a difference, we want to, and that is _ what yesterday was about. the chancellor's choices mean consequences for millions of people beyond those on benefits. there will be about 3 million new taxpayers and 2 million new higher rate taxpayers as a result of the freeze in income tax thresholds and high rates of inflation. and then there's also a decision to be made for 6 million people about public sector pay. we are a trade union, strike action is always an option for us. i would never rule it out

but i think our key focus at the moment is to try and change the government's mind. the government is adamant that it cannot prevent all of the impact of a global shock to energy and food prices hitting british households. faisal islam, bbc news. the man accused of murdering the conservative mp sir david amess last october told police he'd committed an act of "terror". ali harbi ali, who's 26, denies charges of murder and preparing acts of terrorism. the jurors were shown body—camera footage of a confrontation between the suspect and two unarmed police officers, as our correspondent daniel sandford reports. armed only with batons, the first two police officers arriving at the church where sir david amess mp had been stabbed. they hesitate, but then decide to go in and confront the suspect.

drop the knife. drop the bleep knife now!