this is bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm nancy kacungira. the headlines: russia's army says the "first stage" of its military campaign in ukraine is over and it'll now focus on the disputed donbas region. western officials say it's a sign of failure. ukrainian troops successfully counter attack around the capital kyiv — destroyed russian tanks are seen on the road north of the capital. and ukrainian troops have been able to achieve this against a much larger army, a more powerful army. in places now, they are notjust resisting. they are mounting a counterattack. fears of starvation in the beseiged city of mariupol as hundreds queue for food and water. president biden visits poland to show support for ukraine's

neighbour and announces a deal on gas to reduce european reliance on russian energy. why a caribbean tour for the duke and duchess of cambridge has attracted controversy as well as crowds. and we meet the deaf actor troy kotsur — tipped for oscar success this weekend — as he returns to the deaf school inspired by his hollywood debut. hello, welcome to the programme. as the war in ukraine enters its second month, there are signs of a possible shift in russia's military aims. amid persistent reports that russia's advance on kyiv has stalled, commanders in moscow are suggesting they may now re—focus their military campaign on the east of the country.

according to the latest british military intelligence, the ukrainians have reoccupied towns and defensive positions 20 miles east of the capital kyiv while russian supply lines in that area are said to be overstretched. our international correspondent orla guerin reports from the front line on the outskirts of kyiv. on the northern outskirts of kyiv, the burnt—out evidence of russia's defeat — at least for now, on this front line. ukrainian troops say russian forces tried to get through here four times this month and were stopped in their tracks. "it's a grad rocket," says salim, the commander, showing us what landed overnight. he takes pride in what his men from the 72nd mechanised brigade have done against the odds,

and are continuing to do. there's plenty of outgoing fire against russian positions. among the wreckage, a sleeping bag and a uniform from a russian soldier who perished. and what if the enemy tries again to advance here? "they may try," he says, "but i don't think "we would let them through. "we have let them know who the ukrainian armed forces "are and who the boys from our brigade are. "we have taken out four tanks and eight fighting vehicles, "and killed about 60 of their people." well, this was a road of destruction for russian forces. there is one burnt—out vehicle here, another one just up ahead. there are two more

a short distance away. and ukrainian troops have been able to achieve this against a much larger army, a more powerful army. in places now, they are notjust resisting. they are mounting a counterattack. for troops here, the priority is to guard this approach to the capital, to make sure the enemy cannot advance. retaining the city is critical for ukraine. taking it is critical for russia. he wants things the way they used to be. "putin came", he says, "as you see." "our children and grandchildren are dying. "i am 62, i can't leave this place.

"i will stay here." "if needs be, i will die here, but i will not give them ukraine." "thanks to the english people for helping us." then in anger and in anguish, he kicks at the charred remains of a russian soldier. in a village nearby, more evidence of the damage wrought by russia and of its many miscalculations. this tiny hamlet of no strategic value was hit by two ballistic missiles. russia's invasion is not going to plan, and ukrainian forces are emboldened. orla guerin, bbc news, on the northern outskirts of kyiv.

there have been persistent reports in the western media that russia's military campaign may not be going according to plan. but according to the russians themselves, the focus of their operations is switching east towards the donbas because the objectives of the first stage of their military operation have largely been achieved. have a listen to the head of the general staff's main operational directorate a little earlier. translation: the main objectives of the first stage of the operation l have generally been accomplished. the combat potential of ukraine's armed forces have been considerably reduced, which makes it possible, i emphasise, to focus our core efforts on achieving the main goal the liberation of donbas. our moscow correspondent caroline davies gave us this update. nancy, i think we have to be careful about exactly how far this change of strategy might go. of course, we heard from the ministry of defence earlier, talking about the fact that the plan is all going according to exactly as they intended it

to and that the first stage of the operation now is complete, which, as you say, means that they are able to focus their attention on liberating, in their words, donbas in eastern ukraine. of course, many people will point to the fact that when this conflict started — or the "special military operation", as russia calls it — one of the justifications for it was demilitarisation and denazification of all of ukraine. and many people also, having seen the map we regularly show viewers of ukraine and where the russian troops are, will see that they are very much notjust in donbas, so that begs the question, why was that the case, and is this now this change of focus? now, if you look further into these statements from the ministry of defence, it's still too early to say definitively that they are changing tack entirely. they continue to talk about the fact president putin's aims are still going to be achieved and that, while they have previously decided to surround cities and be very close to cities like kyiv, they've decided not to storm those cities because they say they want to try to limit the loss

of civilian life as well as to limit the loss of their own soldiers as well, and they still say that they would maintain the ability to be able to do those sieges in the future and storm them if they felt it was necessary. it's also important to bear in mind that here in russia, one of the main keyjustifications for russia's involvement in ukraine has consistently been about looking after, defending, supporting people in the separatist—held areas in eastern ukraine, so the fact russia is re—emphasising this again is not necessarily surprising. but given that we've heard multiple things from the western side talking about the fact that they feel that the operation that russia is mounting has not gone to plan, many will be hoping that this is the first time potentially during the course of this conflict that we've seen a line where president putin might accept some form of negotiation, that this would be where he might be happy to come to some conclusion here. but at this stage, this is very uncertain, and it's still not guaranteed what direction exactly

russia will take next. so is there any indication what this announcement today might mean for people who are bearing the brunt of this in cities like mariupol, which is in the south and is still being bombarded? well, mariupol is still technically within these regions that russia is focusing on, so it's still no guarantee, there's still no suggestion at the moment that there will be any let up in mariupol at the moment. in terms of that, we don't know. there's no indication at the moment whether or not russia will decide to move its troops away from kyiv. in fact, there is no suggestion of that right now, so it's not certain exactly what russia means. it says it's the end of this first stage of the operation, but it hasn't detailed, of course, what the next stage of the operation, apart from this "liberating donbas", might actually mean. we don't know exactly what russia will do next, in the next stage, it says, of its operation of ukraine.

our moscow correspondent caroline davies. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in kyiv. a short while ago, she gave her assessment on how the announcement from russia is being read in ukraine. when this invasion began, there seemed to be wide reaching goals by president putin, who made it clear he did not accept the existence of ukraine and what he called a puppet government. the statement from moscow talked about the "first phase" of the military operation had gone according to plan, it was a success. we don't know how many phases of this military campaign there are going to be, but we have always known that it is that area of eastern ukraine, the donbas, which of course includes mariupol, and that land corridor around the south linking to the crimean peninsula, at the very minimum, were the main goals of moscow. and that has again been confirmed in this statement. is what's happening around kyiv — and there was just an explosion before we went on air — is this a diversionary tactic? is it meant to create pressure?

we have known in the last few days that while russian forces are being pushed back, while they're losing ground, they're also consolidating their position, but some of the best ukrainian fighters have been on that eastern front line, the line of contact between the areas seized by russia in eastern ukraine in 2014. and there's been some suggestion that russia will want to isolate them from the rest of ukraine. i think what's clear from this invasion is that president putin may keep shifting his war aims until he decides that he can declare victory — and he's not there yet. lyse doucet there. i'm joined now by rear admiral dr chris parry, a former royal navy officer and nato commander. thanks very much for talking to us, dr parry. what was your reaction to this announcement that russia was switching its focus to the donbas region?

switching its focus to the donbas re . ion? ~ . , switching its focus to the donbas reuion? ., ., region? may mediate reaction was, this is an excuse _ region? may mediate reaction was, this is an excuse for _ region? may mediate reaction was, this is an excuse for failure. - region? may mediate reaction was, this is an excuse for failure. when l this is an excuse for failure. when the campaign started, we know the russians expected to roll over the ukrainians in about three days, and they are now claiming they were simply fixing the ukrainian forces and position while they sorted out the eastern donbas region. i mean, any professional say to you that's not really borne out by the actions on the ground, and they have been catastrophically failing their troops and also the politicians. they have not delivered the knockout victory that they were promising. i the queen know that they already made the medals that would be awarded to soldiers —— i think we know. this is a catastrophic climb—down from the general staff, to say, actually, our war aims were the donbas. that is ridiculous and no professional is going to believe that. �* ., ., , , ., ., that. and what does this mean for the peeple — that. and what does this mean for the peeple that — that. and what does this mean for the people that are caught - that. and what does this mean for the people that are caught up - that. and what does this mean for the people that are caught up in i the people that are caught up in his conflict? because cities are still being bombarded cities are still

under attack. it being bombarded cities are still under attack.— being bombarded cities are still under attack. . , ., under attack. it means that it will continue, because _ under attack. it means that it will continue, because i— under attack. it means that it will continue, because i think- under attack. it means that it will continue, because i think you've. under attack. it means that it will| continue, because i think you've a lot of disappointed generals, you've got a very frustrated president putin, and i'm afraid, like any bully, they take it out on people. i think what we are seeing here is the consequences of failure at the political and military level and ero desperate attempt to say, actually, we didn't mean to do that in the first place, these are our limited war aims. first place, these are our limited waraims. he first place, these are our limited war aims. he will consolidate in the donbas, but he will be poised for the next move once he gets his act together, i think. the next move once he gets his act together, ithink.— the next move once he gets his act together, ithink. together, i think. many are worried that desnerate _ together, i think. many are worried that desperate could _ together, i think. many are worried that desperate could equal- together, i think. many are worried that desperate could equal more i that desperate could equal more dangerous. what do you make of the way nato has responded to this situation so far? i way nato has responded to this situation so far?— way nato has responded to this situation so far? i think, given all the circumstances _ situation so far? i think, given all the circumstances and _ situation so far? i think, given all the circumstances and the - situation so far? i think, given all the circumstances and the risks l the circumstances and the risks involved, i think nato has done really well. it has made it perfectly clear to president putin that any attempt to enter nato territory would be met with a very firm response. dave continued nuclear, and i hope the chemical,

risks as well —— they have contained the nuclear. president putin will be no doubt that his economy is due for a huge crash in may orjune. i don't think there's much more you can do without actually applying force, and i don't think that, for a defence alliance, is viable. we i don't think that, for a defence alliance, is viable.— alliance, is viable. we have heard president biden _ alliance, is viable. we have heard president biden say _ alliance, is viable. we have heard president biden say nato - alliance, is viable. we have heard president biden say nato is - alliance, is viable. we have heard president biden say nato is neverj president biden say nato is never been more united. is that assessment correct, in your opinion? i been more united. is that assessment correct, in your opinion?— correct, in your opinion? i think that is a bit— correct, in your opinion? i think that is a bit of— correct, in your opinion? i think that is a bit of an _ correct, in your opinion? i think. that is a bit of an overstatement. i think nato was very, very united during the cold war, when we are facing the soviet union was the buy think it is getting there, to tell you the truth. i think we have got a long way to go in terms of unity of effort, unity of funding. the united states still provides 75—80% of the funding for nato and now european partners have to step up to the plate, to deter russia in future. one of those deterrents, we have seen nato sending more troops to hungary, to slovakia, to bulgaria

and romania. thing that is something that you have been done earlier? i think, within the nato strategy, there is always provision for these readiness forces to move around where they're needed within the alliance's sovereign area, and so that has happened. at the end of the day, not one m2 of nato airspace or territory has been violated, so the deterrent position that was in place before has worked. it was never the intention of nato to deter entirely an attack on ukraine. that is not its role. ukraine is not a member of nato and has not been any past, so as as his primary role, to protect the citizens in the interests of nato members, it has succeeded magnificently. find nato members, it has succeeded magnificently-— nato members, it has succeeded mannificentl . �* , ., magnificently. and in terms of where this conflict might _ magnificently. and in terms of where this conflict might go _ magnificently. and in terms of where this conflict might go next, _ magnificently. and in terms of where this conflict might go next, give - magnificently. and in terms of where this conflict might go next, give us . this conflict might go next, give us your thoughts on that. i this conflict might go next, give us your thoughts on that.— your thoughts on that. i think ou're your thoughts on that. i think you're correspondent - your thoughts on that. i think you're correspondent lyse . your thoughts on that. i think -

you're correspondent lyse doucet said that president putin and his generals are likely to consolidate in the donbas region, to the southeast. i also think the reason they want mariupol is because they need that land bridge to crimea. i think they will continue fighting on that front and the best russian troops and agreement is in that area. i still think they will make some attempts in the north and northeast, car “ car —— carand —— car and kyiv. they are desperate to get rid of the lenski and his government. ukraine will be under artillery strikes —— get rid of zelensky. they want to make sure they can hold crimea. i think it will be a continuing threat to odesa, because i believe that the next phase will be for president putin to dominate the whole region, from the donbas across the odesa. there is a desire, i think, in his

mind to recreate the province of new russia that existed under catherine the great, and ten days ago, he gave a speech about the war in front of a statue of catherine the great. now, every russian will know what that means, and rebutted in the west you can read these things think we can know as well. he has this ambition to build cut ukraine off from the black sea and absorbed that province of new russia that used to exist in the 18th century what he has met a resistance in that.— resistance in that. president zelensky has _ resistance in that. president zelensky has rallied - resistance in that. president zelensky has rallied and - resistance in that. president zelensky has rallied and the | resistance in that. president - zelensky has rallied and the rest of the world. how much of an unexpected factor might that have been for president putin? i factor might that have been for president putin?— factor might that have been for president putin? i think, based on what happened — president putin? i think, based on what happened in 2014, _ president putin? i think, based on what happened in 2014, i don't - president putin? i think, based on l what happened in 2014, i don't think he or his advisers calibrated directly with the reaction would be both at the strategic level, or the extent to which western countries were prepared to supply arms and ammunition to the ukrainians. i

think it all of this, the figure, president zelensky has been markable. he has galvanised the defence of his country against, essentially, a totalitarian dictatorship —— the figure president zelensky has cut has been remarkable.— zelensky has cut has been remarkable. appreciate your thoughts. — remarkable. appreciate your thoughts. dr— remarkable. appreciate your thoughts, dr chris _ remarkable. appreciate your thoughts, dr chris parry - remarkable. appreciate your thoughts, dr chris parry is l remarkable. appreciate your thoughts, dr chris parry is a| remarkable. appreciate your- thoughts, dr chris parry is a former royal navy officer and nato commander. no city has suffered more than mariupol in the south, which has been virtually destroyed by a remorseless russian bombardments. yet the people of the city have held out — despite a lack of food, water and electricity. the authorities there now say they believe around 300 people may have died when russia bombed the city's theatre last week, at a time when civilians — including many children — were taking shelter in the building. the estimate is based on eyewitness accounts and can't be independently verified. our correspondent wyre davies

reports from southern ukraine. sergey scans the endless flatlands of southern ukraine — the rich, fertile farmland that russia wants for itself. the 62—year—old former fire engine driver never envisaged taking up arms against the might of moscow, but he knows full well what the russian army is capable of doing. translation: we can't see mariupol, but we know - what's happening there, and we must not let that happen here. these people know that we are here for them. these are the last ukrainian defensive lines in the south before the front line a couple of kilometres away, and all the while, russia continues to shell and bomb the city of mariupol, just down the road. the big question here is, what does russia do next? here, they say they are armed and ready. towns and villages across the region are targets for russian artillery.

the bombs are getting close. nowhere in the south is really safe. but there are few words to describe the horrors inflicted on mariupol and the 100,000 people trapped inside the city, a catastrophic landscape shredded by russian artillery. starving residents emerging from shelters queue for food. new footage, too, from last week's theatre attack, in which 300 people died, according to ukrainian officials. there is no shortage of volunteers and reservists wanting to avenge what's happening in mariupol. translation: many of our fighters come from places that are currentlyj under russian occupation. all of them have parents,

wives and families there, so each one of us is determined to win back our lands as soon as possible. but there's a reason these men are training underground in an undisclosed location. one thing they've learned in the last month is that the sky is full of russian drones trying to spot their every move. several military training facilities are reported to have been hit by russian fire. the road to mariupol is fraught with dangers, and it's a road and a destination pivotal to how this war pans out. wyre davies, bbc news, southern ukraine. president biden is in poland tonight. he's meeting the polish president andrzej duda, after earlier paying a visit to us troops and refugees close to the border with ukraine. he also announced a deal to provide more shipments of liquified natural gas to the eu, to help reduce europe's dependence

on russian energy supplies. our north america editor sarah smith reports from poland. every time air force one touches down, it is designed to send a message. president biden�*s trip to poland is notjust to reassure a nervous ally — it's to make clear the us will back military action if russia attacked poland or any other nato member. the men in the military barbers are his, the us having sent thousands of extra troops to poland. he has always said they're not headed to ukraine, as america fears sending forces over the border could start a world war. yet biden seemed to tell them they would witness the bravery of ukrainians "when you are there". the average citizen, look how they're stepping up, and you will see when you're there, you will see women, young people, standing in the front of a damn tank, just saying, "i'm not leaving."

the white house quickly clarified that america has not changed its stance on sending troops into ukraine. what these forces might be asked to do if russia uses chemical weapons is a more complex question. mr biden says russia would pay a severe price and that nato would respond "in kind". the us will not go into detail about what the response to a chemical attack might be, but on the way here to poland the president's national security adviser did say the us has no intention of using chemical weapons under any circumstances. while russia is accusing america of talking about an ephemeral threat to divert attention. while the kremlin today was complaining that the west is trying to "eliminate russian culture", comparing cancelled performances with russian artists and composers to nazi germany in the 1930s. translation: today, _ they are trying to cancel the whole

thousand—year—old country and our people. i'm talking about progressive discrimination of everything connected with russia. president biden and eu leaders know that russia will feel far more pain if europe buys less of its oil and gas, a tough ask for countries that are dependent on russian energy. 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, it will put us on a much stronger strategic footing. america is promising to help european nations wean themselves off russian energy supplies by providing large quantities of liquefied natural gas, but only enough to replace about 10% of the gas the eu currently buys from russia. president biden is now on his way to warsaw, where the polish president is a close ally but one that wants to offer ukraine much greater military assistance, including war planes. biden so far has blocked that plan. there may be tense talks ahead.

sarah smith, bbc news, warsaw. let's bring you now some updates that are just coming in regarding the war in ukraine. we've heard from you chief ursula von der leyen, who suggested that the blocks�*s current focuses on enforcing sanctions rather than introducing new ones. european commission president said that the four waves of sanctions approved by the use of our work biting hard and drying out the resources to finance this for —— the eu. and now all efforts should be on enforcing those sanctions and preventing circumvention and privation. that is the president of the eu saying the emphasis will be on enforcing current sanctions, not introducing new ones. also, one senior ukrainian official has said that 7300 31 people were evacuated from cities through unitarian corridors today, that is over 7000

people evacuated the acumen and terrien corridors —— 7,331. stay with us on bbc news. hello there. the weather story's certainly been dominated by the beautiful spring sunshine and warmth just lately, hasn't it? but all that is set to change over the next few days. i've taken york as an example, but we are going to start to see the temperature trend from above average temperatures to below average temperatures for the time of year through the middle part of the week. so, you really will notice the difference. hopefully you can get out and enjoy the spring sunshine over the weekend. there'll be plenty of it on saturday. as you can see, some of us will see sunshine from dawn till dusk, with some thicker cloud in the far north of scotland, maybe the odd spot or two of light rain into the northern isles.

there will be a little bit more of a brisk breeze, particularly running down through channel coasts, but also coming in off the north sea. so, here, those temperatures may be a little bit subdued in comparison to the last few days. sheltered western areas will see the best of the warmth, highs of 18 degrees. and don't forget, when you're off to bed saturday night into the early hours of sunday morning, we put the clocks forward. yes, it's the start of british summer time on sunday. so, we lose an hour in bed, but hopefully we'll gain some daylight hours. as you can see, the high pressure is still with us. there could be a little bit of stubborn cloud drifting in off the north sea, though, on sunday, and that could be a bit of a nuisance across england and wales. a level of uncertainty how far west that cloud is going to feed in, but it could just suppress the temperatures a little bit here. so, the best of any warmth and sunshine is likely to be further west. underneath that cloud, we're likely to see temperatures down a degree or so in comparison to of late. but the high pressure still stays with us. we have got this little front on monday starting to move in from the far north—east, and that's just going to enhance the risk of some showers. so, first thing on monday, there's perhaps a greater chance

of seeing more low cloud, some stubborn mist and fog in the morning. a few showers across north wales and northern england as well. to the north of that, it's going to start to turn a little bit cooler, 6—11 degrees. to the south of that, with some sunshine, we still keep some warmth. but the trend for this cooler feel arrives really from tuesday onwards as the wind direction changes and it drives that colder air a little bit further south. so, as you can see, from tuesday into wednesday, starting to get noticeably cooler with some outbreaks of rain at times. take care.

this is bbc news ? welcome if you re watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top storie... russia's army says the "first stage" of its military campaign in ukraine is over and it'll now focus on the disputed donbass region. western officials say it's a sign of failure. president biden visits poland to show support for ukraine's neighbour — and announces a deal on gas to reduce european reliance on russian energy. and — why a caribbean tour for the duke and duchess of cambridge has attracted controversy as well as crowds.

welcome to the programme. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here is lizzie greenwood hughes. hello there. we start with the crickets, and the final and decisive test in grenada. a had scripted 204 in the first innings, west indies had looked very comfortable in reply. after ben stokes made a breakthrough with the vacant of captain craig brathwaite, thank you than steadily picked them off and they wear 128 for seven just before tea. since then, joseph and da silva have dug in, but woke hasjust taken joseph thomas of the west indies are 182-8. joseph thomas of the west indies are 182—8. england are searching for theirfirst series win 182—8. england are searching for their first series win in the caribbean for 18 years. while, at the women's cricket world cup, australia continued to dominate. this time with victory over bangladesh, keeping their 100% record in the group stages. the aussies where given a scare,

chasing 136 to win, they lost their first three wickets for just 26 runs. but beth mooney and annabel sutherland combined for 76 to lead their team to a five wicket victory. as group winners, they'll meet the fourth—placed team in the quarterfinals. the saudi arabia formula one grand prix is still going ahead despite a missile attack, hitting an oil facility injeddah where the race is being held causing smoke to billow across the track. second practise was delayed for a quarter of an hour whilst the teams and drivers had a meeting with f1 management. race organisers said they will ensure all necessary security and safety measures continue to be implemented. the race is on sunday. meanwhile, saudi arabia's human rights records continue to be questioned. lewis hamilton says it should be "easy" for saudi arabia to make changes adding it's "mind—blowing" to hear some of the stories about abuses in the country. well, meanwhile, the human rights record of the nation hosting the world cup continue to be questioned — and while england

manager gareth southgate says he doesn't see the benefit of boycotting this year's tournament in qatar, he confirmed his team are having their own conversations in the camp about what they might be able to do. aspired to be able to do some them together maybe with some of the other european nations, whatever that might look like this conversation is going on all the time in the background, and it would be wrong to say that we are just pushing things to one side. frankly, we are talking more about it than many other things. i agree. i think the players have got a good voice. we should allow them to come up with their ideas if it can support that. if we can help shape that, we also want to help do that. wales captain gareth bale has hit back at spanish newspaper marca for a column which described him as a "parasite". bale has been criticised in madrid for being perceived to be more committed to playing for wales than real madrid. the real madrid forward —

who scored twice against austria says he wants to use his profile to "change the way we publicly talk and criticise people". now, the biggest shock from last night was the exit of european champions italy from the world cup. they lost 1—0 to north macedonia, and that means they've missed out on a second consecutive world cup finals. boss roberto mancini refused to be drawn on his own future but is dismayed by the defeat. translation: last summer, we have the most beautiful _ translation: last summer, we have the most beautiful and _ translation: last summer, we have the most beautiful and satisfying - the most beautiful and satisfying experience in my career, and right now, it's the biggest disappointment. it's difficult to speak about anything else in this moment, and it want to be easy in the next few days. i'm so sorry for the next few days. i'm so sorry for the players and i'd like them more tonight than lastjuly. that's all the sport for now. much more on our website, but that's

all the support for now. thank you, lizzy. more on ukraine, president biden has said nato would respond if russia resorts to using chemical weapons in the war here in ukraine, but what exactly did he mean? our security correspondent frank gardner has been looking at what the response could be. there is currently a fear in some western capitals that russia could be preparing to launch some kind of chemical weapons attack in ukraine. now, chemical weapons are abhorrent. they comprise poison gases, liquids, droplets, and they are banned by an international treaty, the chemical weapons convention of 1997, to which 193 countries have signed up, including the us and russia. and yet, despite this, four years ago in salisbury the nerve agent novichok was used to try to poison a former kgb officer. this chemical attack was blamed on russia. and in syrian cities like aleppo and ghouta, poisoned gas has been dropped on residential areas,

by the syrian air force supported by russian warplanes. so what exactly would be nato's response if russia used chemical weapons? well, the us national security advisor has absolutely ruled out any us use of chemical weapons. there are other things that nato could do. they could step up their military aid to ukraine. could that possibly include tanks and planes? we don't know yet. they could also increase the sanctions, although the sanctions already imposed on russia and its leaders are some of the strongest in history. the british prime minister boris johnson has had a "frank and candid discussion" with china's president xi jinping about the situation in ukraine, according to downing street. the call came after nato leaders urged beijing to "abstain" from supporting russia's war effort and to refrain from any actions that would help it circumvent sanctions. our political corresopndent helen catt had the latest.

it's the first time since november, i think, that the two men have spoken. it lasted, some reports say 50 minutes others an hour, so around that sort of length of time, and as you said, what we are told from downing street is that it was a frank and candid conversation. some of the bits that we do know that they spoke about were, for example, the prime minister again expressing his sympathy for the victims of the flight that crashed in china last week. president xijinping asking the prime minister to convey his best wishes to the queen on herjubilee. beyond that, we are told that they discussed a range of issues of mutual interest, which did include the situation in ukraine. now, if they were discussing, for example, the possibility of sanctions on china if china were to aid russia, we are told that wasn't planned to be in the conversation, but we're told that the prime minister put forward the uk's position on ukraine and his belief that pressure should be put on president putin to withdraw his troops.

ukrainian refugees escaping to the uk are facing difficulties getting visas under the government's homes for ukraine scheme according to charities. mark and heather easton are trying to help the woman who is the surrogate mother to their daughter. they say they're locked in a bureaucratic battle to help her and herfamily come to the uk. phil mackie has been to meet them. in december, mark and heather easton arrived in kyiv to await the birth of their daughter, and to meet their surrogate, vita. by the time sophie was born injanuary, they knew a russian invasion could be imminent. after a frantic few weeks, they got sophie an emergency passport, and they came home to rugby, less than a fortnight before the tanks rolled in. after eight years of trying, and six failed ivf treatments, mark and heather finally have the baby daughter they've longed for. now, they're desperate to help vita and her family escape the war. we just think she's wonderful. she gave us sophie. she basically saved me. i was in an immense amount of grief from infertility,

and she has put a smile on my face, and we'rejust trying to save her, basically. she doesn't know anybody else really outside of ukraine. she's never been there, has she? she's never left ukraine. so, we're her lifeline to say, come here and we'll help you. when we said goodbye in ukraine to vita, i says to her, i says, "oh, this isn't goodbye", you know, just saying it like that, you know. this isn't goodbye. we're always going to be friends, sort of thing. and here we are. that's going to go - outside the tumble dryer. there's a little shed built for it. the eastons are trying to raise money to help vita and her family when they get there, and there's already been a lot of generosity. steve walsh, who lives just five minutes away, has offered to host them in his ground floor flat. so, yes, it wasn't - meant for three people. however, needs must. vita, her husband, andrei, her son nazar, and their dog, muzzy, who wasn't interested in appearing on screen, are currently staying in a hotel in brussels,

waiting for their paperwork. we managed to talk to her on a video call, with the help of a ukrainian translator, who i called on my phone. vita told us that her hometown is being bombed every day. that's why she decided to leave. she's grateful, and is really looking forward to coming here. yeah, it's really great to see you, vita, and nazar and andrei. and i presume muzzy is there somewhere. we can't wait to have you, and hopefully, fingers crossed, a few more days or, come on, government, let you in. the eastons know that vita and her family are safe, but wish the government was speed the application process up. thank you very much. thank you, thank you. bye — bye. bye. just frustrated with the government, basically that they're making them dot the is and cross the t's, rather than just letting them come in and then process them here.

i think they've been through enough. they don't need this to be dragged out. baby sophie doesn't realise yet how much drama has been packed into her first seven weeks. phil mackie, bbc news, rugby. viewers in the uk who were expecting to watch newswatch right now, that can be watched instead on bbc iplayer, and, over the weekend, on the bbc news channel. let's take a look at some of today's other news from around the world rebel forces fighting in northern ethiopia have agreed to a government offer of a truce, in order to allow aid to be delivered to millions of people. both sides have accused each other of blocking supplies which have not reached the tigray region since december. thousands of people have died in the sixteen month war, and more than two million people have been forced to flee their homes. over the course of the conflict, the warring parties — including government soldiers and rebel tigrayan fighters —

have been accused of abuses and atrocities. some of the accusations were killings of unarmed civilians and sexual violence. the bbc�*s kalkidan yibeltal has travelled to amhara, a region that was the epicentre of fighting for five months. and a warning that you might find some of the content of this report distressing. it's been more than two months since kombolcha, an industrial city in the amhara region saw active fighting between government forces and rebels from neighbouring tigray. and life seems to be returning to normal, but the memory of the brutal war is still fresh. and many are living with the trauma it has left behind. a young waitress, who we will call fatima, just begun a newjob when tigrayan forces took control of the city. they entered around 2:00 in the afternoon. those passing by told us to close our doors and we did. they later ordered us to reopen.

they told us to give them food and we served them. what followed, as fatima tells it, were beatings and rape. in the first day, i was raped by two of them. the next day, three. we've spoken to multiple women who have been telling us harrowing stories of living through war and suffering its consequences. they were telling us of abuses, and some of these abuses were of sexual or physical nature. they were raped, some of them were gang raped. in this city of kombolcha alone, there are 35 women who reported being sexually abused. wbc met four women in kombolcha who said they were raped when tigrayan fighters held the city for six weeks between november and december. this woman said tigrayan and fighters threatened to kill her and her young daughter before sexually assaulting her.

sometimes i dream about it, maybe it's because i stress over it. i feel like the attackers are still here. in august last year, amnesty international accused the government of using rape as weapons of war against women and young girls in tigray. injanuary, a group of alleged tigrayan fighters raped women and girls in amhara at gunpoint, actions it said could amount to war crimes. the government called amnesty�*s report flawed but said it was committed to ensuring accountability. tigrayan forces also said they would welcome further investigations. here in tigray, thousands have reported to health facilities of being sexually assaulted. according to the un, many more cases remain unreported. those working to help the survivors say the scars run deep. translation: we have found survivors from all age and social groups. - there is always fear hanging. there is suspicion of others. and there is a desire

to be isolated. the marks of the war are still visible on the roads here, and we heard similar stories in other towns. this woman lived about 100 km to the north with her construction worker husband and baby son when rebels took control of the area. she said she was beaten and raped by two fighters in the presence of her child, and her husband was killed when he tried to stop the assault. my body was bleeding, my legs couldn't move. i couldn't even get up and move towards my son. they did inappropriate things on me. there are so many scars in my mind. they've made me hate that i was created. she's now trying to rebuild her life in a nearby town where she befriended two other rape survivors. tigrayan forces have not responded to the bbc�*s request to address these accusations. many of these places and the people that live in them are trying to recover.

but for some, the psychological damage may never be repaired.