ukrainian forces are successfully driving back russian troops from around the capital kyiv, according to british military intelligence. ukrainian officials say they fear around 300 people may have died in a russian bomb attack on a theatre in the besieged city of mariupol. president biden warns that any russian use of chemical weapons in ukraine would trigger a response from nato, as he agrees a major deal with the eu to reduce europe's reliance on russian gas. i know that eliminating russian gas will have costs for europe, but it is not only the right thing to do from a moral standpoint but it will

purchase on a much stronger strategic footing. —— it will put us on. and also on the programme this lunchtime: covid—i9 infections are continuing to rise across england, scotland and wales, with just a small decrease in northern ireland. and wet weather volunteers — how thousands of people helped compile 200 years of data about uk rainfall. and coming up on the bbc news channel: wales captain gareth bale hits out at his critics in spain as he scores twice against austria to keep their hope of a first world cup in 64 years alive. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one o'clock. and welcome to the bbc as the war here rages on into its second bloody month,

british military intelligence says ukrainian forces are successfully driving back russian troops from around the capital, kyiv. as you can see from this map showing russian advances has remained practically unchanged over the past fortnight. the uk ministry of defence say ukrainian counter—attacks, and russian forces falling back on overextended supply lines, have meant ukrainian troops have been able to reoccupy towns up to 20 miles east of kyiv. it comes as the authorities in the besieged ukrainian city of mariupol now say they believe around 300 people may have died when russia bombed a theatre last week, where civilians were taking shelter including many children. officials say their assessment is based on witness accounts — it can't be independently verified. from here in lviv, jonah fisher has this report.

more than a week after it happened, footage has emerged from inside mariupol�*s theatre of the terrifying moments just after it was destroyed. "a missile hit the theatre right in the centre," the voice says, as people try to escape a building they had come to for shelter. fighting has made it hard to verify exactly how many died under the rubble. local officials today said it could be several hundred. what is clear is that the theatre was marked with the russian word "deti," or "children," and was targeted all the same. well, in mariupol the russians are still making slow progress. elsewhere, they have largely ground to a halt. indeed, there have been some indications, particularly around kyiv, the ukrainian army is forcing the russians back.

the now ruined town of makariv, a0 miles to the west of kyiv, was recaptured this week. and yesterday a large russian warship in the captured ukrainian port of berdyansk was sunk, and several other ships damaged. to the south, mykolaiv is another city that has defied the russian ground advance, and is now being targeted by artillery. on tuesday night, a russian shell hit tatiana's apartment building, killing two of her neighbours and badly damaging her home. a quarter of all ukrainians have been forced out of where they live, but tatiana says she won't be going. "we will fight till the end as best we can," she says. "some with weapons, and some will help with moral support and by giving money to the army." a month into this war, ukraine's president is still looking for a way out. translation: the country must move

towards peace, move forward. - with each day of our defence we are bringing the peace we need so much closer. we are bringing victory closer. because in this war, it is simply impossible for us not to win. ukraine is stopping russia winning, but there's no sign yet that moscow is for peace. -- is —— is ready for peace. jonah fisher, bbc news, lviv. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in kyiv. we have been talking for a few days about these ukrainian counterattacks around the capital, it seems they are succeeding in some areas and pushing russian forces back? we have been reporting — pushing russian forces back? we have been reporting for _ pushing russian forces back? we have been reporting for some _ pushing russian forces back? we have been reporting for some time - pushing russian forces back? we have been reporting for some time that - been reporting for some time that the russians were trying to advance, to move their artillery closer to the centre of the capital, and it

moving in multiple directions they faced different obstacles from different axes. as you have mentioned, we have heard from the british defence assessment this morning and also from the ukrainians that in the east they have been pushed back as much as by 20 miles, and they seem to be installed, there is a sense which they may have overextended. —— they seem to be stalled. the ukrainians say they have notjust been pushing the russians but actually recapturing territory like irpin and michael ruth, which were under incessant russian shelling. it should be under no illusion that the battle for kyiv has been stalled in anyway, the russians are said to have been consolidating the position, taking in artillery and we still hear the sound of explosions around the city's edge, so kyiv remains in moscow's sites.—

city's edge, so kyiv remains in moscow's sites. , , . ., ~ moscow's sites. lyse doucet, thank ou. president biden has announced a major deal with the european union to provide it with gas and help wean the eu off its reliance on russian energy supplies. the eu has already promised to substantially cut its use of russian fuel in response to the invasion of ukraine — and to drain russia's ability to finance the war. president biden has also warned that any russian use of chemical weapons in ukraine would trigger a response from nato. 0ur brussels correspondent, jessica parker reports. america is making its presence felt in europe. a us president at the eu's table, but he is far from just an observer, pledging to significantly boost the amount of gas being shipped from the us to europe, as the west tries to isolate russia. madam president, i know that eliminating russian gas will have costs for europe. but it's not only the right thing to do from a moral standpoint, it's going to put us on a much stronger strategic footing.

shipping all that gas across the atlantic isn't likely to come cheap — a fast tracking of fossil fuels, while the eu also emphasises its long—term green energy plans. but with some member states calling for a ban on certain russian energy sources, there's pressure to act now. we want to, as europeans, to diversify away from russia towards suppliers that we trust, that are our friends and that are reliable. europe isn'tjust grappling with energy supply but energy prices as well. eu leaders are today debating how best to help struggling households and businesses. it may be hoped this deal with america will inspire some confidence, but there's no silver bullet to solving europe's energy woes. so an additional 15 billion cubic metres of lng in 2022. how significant is that? well, that's an important contribution to—

europe to tackle this historical challenge of quickly replacing i russian gas. so this will be part of a wider mosaic that will allow - eventually europe to dramatically reduce its reliance _ on russian gas more easily. joe biden leaving brussels, heading to poland, as nato boosts its eastern flank. the president has warned that were russia to use chemical weapons in ukraine the alliance would respond in kind. those comments may be ambiguous. the kremlin says washington is trying to divert attention away from awkward questions. what can't be missed, the us again taking centre stage in european security. jessica parker, bbc news, in brussels. joe biden going to poland. in a moment we'll speak to our correspondent in warsaw, mark lowen, but first to our security correspondent frank gardner.

frank, joe biden said nato would respond to any russian chemical weapons attack. was he being specific? what kind of response was he talking about? this is either cunning ambiguity or a dangerous misuse of words, whichever way you want to look at it. ithink it is whichever way you want to look at it. i think it is deliberately ambiguous. the west does not have chemical weapons, ambiguous. the west does not have chemicalweapons, both ambiguous. the west does not have chemical weapons, both russia and america are signatories to the 1997 chemical weapons convention, 193 countries around the world have signed up to bits, banning these horrific weapons. it did not stop them being used in syria, the course, but there is no question of america or nato responded with a chemical weapons attack to a suspected russian one. what i think he means is that if russia escalates this war by deliberate use of, for example, toxic gas of which there are plenty of industrial stocks in ukraine, orammonia, something like that which causes mass civilian

casualties, then nato would respond in some way that ups the game, they have not specified how but we are into dangerous territory here because russia, as president putin has reminded us, is very much a nuclear weapon state with over 4000 strategic nuclear warheads and another 2000 tactical ones. it is dangerous to escalators, so far it is just rhetoric. dangerous to escalators, so far it isjust rhetoric.— isjust rhetoric. frank gardner, thank yon _ mark lowen, is in warsaw. what is the purpose of president biden's visit and what will he be doing? gilbert is profoundly symbolic significance, joe biden visiting the eastern edge of a continent whose illusions about post—war peace have been shattered by vladimir putin. he post-war peace have been shattered by vladimir putin.— by vladimir putin. he will soon arrive at the _ by vladimir putin. he will soon arrive at the easter _ by vladimir putin. he will soon arrive at the easter poland, . by vladimir putin. he will soon - arrive at the easter poland, closed to the ukraine border, an area where

we spent the last month. —— he will soon arrive in the east of poland. city authorities are preparing to clear up and clear out the cold war era shelters in basements across the city to prepare in case of an attack by russia, that gives a sense of the anxiety there. he will meet some of the 9000 us troops in poland and will be on the humanitarian front line meeting some new refugees from ukraine. poland has welcomed more than two point million refugees, president biden will thank the polish people and will be giving financial aid too. he will have talks with the polish president to discuss what is happening across—the—board. he writes after a recent disagreement between the two countries when poland offered to deliver fighterjets countries when poland offered to deliver fighter jets to countries when poland offered to deliver fighterjets to a us base countries when poland offered to deliverfighterjets to a us base in poland to be deployed in ukraine, the us said two were unhappy about that. president biden is trying to show unity to stop the kremlin being

able to exploit any division between western countries at the moment —— poland offered to deliver fighter jets to a us base in germany to be deployed in ukraine. for children in ukraine with serious health problems, the impact of war on their lives is especially agonizing. as part of a major international push to offer life—saving treatment, ukrainian children with cancer are being transported to six countries. sophie hutchinson reports from poland. they have cancer, they are catastrophically ill. unless treated, cancer is fatal, so they could all die with the interruption of treatment. lviv is where theirjourney begins. all these families are used to the stress, but now they have, like, two wars — one against cancer and the other against russia. this doctor has spearheaded the mission, gathering together young cancer patients from hospitals all over ukraine, and organising their onward journey to safety. hundreds of patients with cancer, children, being evacuated in convoys from one country to another.

this is something exceptional. this was the sixth major convoy of ambulances to set off, carrying 40 sick children and theirfamilies. the aim, to get as many out as quickly as possible before any russian attack. some ten hours later, they arrived in the middle of poland, and into the arms of the emergency services, doctors and volunteers. then, onto a modest roadside hotel, transformed into an international medical triage centre. a ray of hope for these children. translation: it feels very tough. my husband is fighting. we met lesia and her 18—month—old son, pavlo, after theirfirst good night's sleep. he has a very rare bone cancer, but treatment in ukraine was hard after they had to move to an air raid shelter.

translation: because of air raids, we were running down _ to the shelter night and day. the chemo, the drips — there was no rest. it was a great stress for my boy. at night, he was scared. i would take him asleep in my arms and run down the stairs. he simply wakes up and cries several times at night. without treatment, childhood cancer is fatal. but with the right care, there's an 80% chance of being cured. these children have already faced the threat of cancer in their young lives. add to that a war, and the threat of life—saving medicines and treatments being cut off, it's hard to overstate the importance to them of this rescue mission. around 600 young patients have been assessed here, and sent to hospitals in europe, including the uk, and north america. but there are several thousand more of these vulnerable children

with cancer still in ukraine. sophie hutchinson, bbc news, poland. more than 3.5 million people have left ukraine since the war began and millions more have been uprooted from their homes. for many, it's ukraine's trains that have delivered them from terrifying conditions to safety. our special correspondent fergal keane along with camera journalist nik millard have been travelling with some of the railway workers, and their report begins here, in the city of lviv. train horn honks. it's the sound of reassurance in a world of chaos. horn honks. the rescue express... horn honks. ..rolling through the night... ..and the day, from lviv to the war zones of the east and back. keeping these trains running,

running on time as they do, takes the work of so many people at all different levels on the railways. without them, it simply wouldn't have been possible to evacuate millions of people from the danger zone. many are railway veterans who started work in soviet times and are now rescuing people from their own home towns. translation: it is really terrifying. i i'm from kharkiv, and my native city is being bombed. i can feel it and i can see yet, but i cannot believe it. explosion. this is what people are fleeing. explosion. home is no longer safe. the war has displaced over 10 million... military band plays.

..and sent many fleeing onto trains heading west. dawn, and arrival at kyiv. this family are heading to lviv. translation: my heart is bleeding. i don't want to leave my home, but it is my duty to keep my children safe. when we will win the war, i'll take them back home. granddad 0leh hugs his wife, 0lena, but he must stay behind to care for an elderly relative. the women carry

the burdens of exile. train whistle blows. the family reached lviv eight hours later. but they have already caught another rescue train, west to peace and exile. fergal keane, bbc news, lviv. that is it for now from me and all the team in lviv in western ukraine and i will hand you back to the studio in london. ben brown, thank you. the time is 1:19pm. 0ur

studio in london. ben brown, thank you. the time is 1:19pm. our top story this lunchtime. ukrainian officials say they fear around 300 people may have died in a russian bomb attack on a theatre in the besieged city of mariupol. still to come, we speak to the cast of the small budget film which may now win big at this weekend's 0scars. coming up on the bbc news channel: the football association will provide 100 free buses for fans attending the fa cup semi—final between liverpool and manchester city at wembley, after complaints that there were no trains available. a volunteer army of 16,000 people has helped recover data about uk rainfall going back nearly 200 years. the volunteers have digitised millions of handwritten rain gauge totals — giving the met office a much clearer picture of our weather, and allowing experts a better understanding of climate change. 0ur climate editor justin rowlatt has more.

the british weather, it's a national obsession. and here in the uk we've been keeping rainfall records for hundreds of years. and this is where many of them are stored. this is the country's weather memory, the met office archives in exeter. but the data in these diaries and journals needed to go on a computer, and there are 66,000 pages of it, more than 5 million individual entries. back in about 2018, we'd identified this data as a really rich, new source of rainfall data, so the first thing we did was make sure that we scanned it all, got it all digitised, but that doesn't get it back into the supercomputer, and that's what we all really wanted. it's a huge task, absolutely, way beyond a few people in an archive.

you needed the nation involved. that's when this man had a cunning plan. we knew we needed an army of volunteers, and we saw lockdown approaching and we thought, "this is the time." and so we put all the sheets online and asked for volunteers to help us, and the response from the british public was extraordinary. 16,000 volunteers transcribed all of the data injust16 days. this new information has extended the uk's rainfall records all the way back to 1836, the year before queen victoria ascended to the throne. all that new data will help the uk to predict future floods and future droughts. that's because the better we understand the past, the more able we are to predict the future. so the army of weather enthusiasts who helped out can feel rightly proud of the work they put in. it feels a privilege. it's a fascinating project,

it is going to contribute to a greater understanding of our climate, climate models, and it has been thoroughly rewarding. the rainfall rescue project is the perfect example of citizen science in action. thousands of modern volunteers inputting the meticulous records kept by people who could be their great—great—grandpa rents. justin rowlatt, bbc news, exeter. covid—19 infections are continuing to rise across england, scotland and wales — though there's been a small decrease in northern ireland. new figures from the office for national statistics suggest one in 16 people in england and wales have coronavirus — in scotland it's as high as one in 11. our medical editor fergus walshjoins us now. he has been looking at the figures

and theyjust keep rising, it seems. absolutely, jane. no sign of this covid wave abating yet. last week it was estimated 4.3 million people almost had covid across the uk, that's up 1,000,001 week, and a near—record number. 0ne that's up 1,000,001 week, and a near—record number. one in 16 in london and wales, one in 11 in scotland, down slightly in northern ireland, one in 17. it is being driven by this more infectious sub—variant of 0micron ba.2 and the lifting of restrictions, less working from home, so more chances for the virus to spread and infect people. most people will have a mild illness but the numbers in hospital are going up too, around 17,000 covid patients now in hospital, although around half, or slightly more than half of those will have been admitted with something else.

fortunately, the numbers in intensive care remain low atjust about 300 covid patients on ventilators. that is testament to treatment but also to the vaccines. and of course we have more than 7 million people now eligible for this spring covid booster.— million people now eligible for this spring covid booster. fergus, thank ou. spring covid booster. fergus, thank yon fergus — spring covid booster. fergus, thank you. fergus walsh. _ the old bailey has heard that the man accused of murdering the essex mp sir david amess admitted to the killing in police interviews. ali harbi ali, who's 26, is accused of stabbing mr amess at a constituency surgery in leigh—on—sea in october. he denies murder and preparing terrorist acts. our home affairs correspondent, daniel sanford, is following the trial. daniel. yes, jane, thejury daniel. yes, jane, the jury have daniel. yes, jane, thejury have been watching some of the seven police interviews that ali harbi ali gave interviews that ali harbi ali gave in the days after the attack, all of which were videotaped, and where his lawyers were present. in the

first interview he was asked directly, mrali, is this first interview he was asked directly, mr ali, is this a terrorist act? and he says, i mean, yeah, i guess i killed an mp and i done it, yeah. he described over the course of the second interview how he was self radicalised, how he had originally thought about going to fight overseas but settled on the idea of carrying out an attack on britain. he decided the mostjust target would be an mp that had voted for air strikes target would be an mp that had voted forairstrikes in target would be an mp that had voted for air strikes in syria, he described going to michael gove's house, to the houses of parliament, he says he bottled to carrying out an attack on several other occasions and that he settled on sir david amess mp because he was the easiest. he'd simply found out about his constituency surgery times on twitter. he said one of the reasons that he hadn't carried out in attack for so long was that the concept of killing was strange to him. he said he had hoped to be a martyr but it didn't turn out that way. he has in court denied murder and preparing a

terrorist act. jane. thank you, daniel sandford. the transport secretary grant shapps hasjoined calls for the head of p&0 ferries to resign, following the sacking of 800 staff without notice. peter hebblethwaite admitted to mps yesterday that he broke the law by not consulting unions before making people redundant — but said he would make the same decision again. in hollywood, final preparations are under way for the 94th academy awards on sunday. 0ne film which is generating last minute excitement some last—minute excitement as a potential winner is coda — which stands for child of deaf adults. the film follows a 17—year—old girl with a love of music — who is the only hearing person in herfamily. sophie long has been speaking to the cast.

for ruby, following her dreams means leaving her struggling family at a time when they need her most. coda delves deep into the painful conflict faced by many children of deaf adults when the cost of breaking free is cutting a much needed line of communication with the outside world. a lot of people have asked me, what was the challenge on, you know, working, when you didn't all speak the same language? that's what film—making is about, you know. you're met with challenges and you find creative solutions. and this movie wasn't a challenge in that way. the challenge was getting six boats out at sea to fish and jumping off rocks at the quarry. it was just such a special movie with such special people. this low—budget independent film bridges the gap between the hearing and deaf communities, and has touched the hearts of both.

i think about how hard i had to fight to make this movie and how many battles i had along the way over how i wanted to make it come over the fact i wanted to use deaf actors to play these deaf roles. this is one story from this community. there are countless stories out there that haven't been told, and it's been a community that's been ignored. but i hope these projects get made now and i hope that other film—makers don't have to fight the way i did. marlee matlin who plays ruby's caring but conflicted mother... marlee matlin. ..made history when she won the oscar for best actress. but that was 35 years ago, and no deaf actor has triumphed since. but coda could change that. the fact that the film - is all about representation and inclusion and accessibility, - all that together, that's important. but what's great is that we can see artists at work, deaf artists - showing off their craft, showing how they can i jump into a character and— create a film like this. troy kotsur, who fought for years to get a foothold in the film industry, could become the first deaf man to

win an acting 0scar. it's really giving folks a new perspective, and this perspective is something that many have never thought of. when they see deaf people they think, "oh, you can't." but actually, they're dead wrong. we can. we still work hard. we fight. we support ourfamily. we can converse. and the only difference is our language, so that's what's so beautiful about coda. the deaf west theatre company is where he started out, and his success is already inspiring young actors following in his footsteps. hello, everyone. to see a deaf actor nominated for an oscar, that makes - me feel like i can do this too, you know? | there are so many people like me that should be included in the - industry, and it motivates me. it makes me feel like, | wow, i can do this too. so, can coda cause of this year's 0scars upset and win best picture?

0scars upset and win best picture?