this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm nancy kacungira. russia signals a shift in its military strategy in the war narrowing its focus to the east of the country. ukrainian troops successfully counterattack 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're not just resisting, they're mounting a counterattack. in the south of the country, there are fears of starvation in the beseiged city of mariupol as hundreds queue for food and water amid the devastation. president biden visits poland to show support for ukraine's neighbour and announces a deal

on gas to reduce european reliance on russian energy. the duke and duchess of cambridge on the last leg of a caribbean tour that's attracted crowds and some controversy. they were met with real enthusiasm on the ground at every stop they made, but the wider perception of some engagements was not so positive. 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, and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. the russian military have signalled they are shifting the focus of their campaign in ukraine and will concentrate their efforts

on the east of the country. it's being seen as a scaling back of the kremlin�*s war aims, and it comes as ukrainian forces have succeeded in counterattacking russian troops on a number of fronts, especially around the capital, kyiv. according to the latest british military intelligence, the ukrainians have reoccupied towns and defensive positions 32 kilometres east of the capital, while russian supply lines in that area are said to be overstretched. our international correspondent orla guerin reports from the front line on the city's northern outskirts. 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's 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're not just 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. no city in ukraine has suffered more than mariupol in the south, which has been virtually destroyed by russian bombardment. yet the people of the city have held out despite a lack of food, water and electricity. on friday, president macron has said france, greece and turkey are hoping to convince russia to help people to leave the city. the authorities in mariupol 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, of course, 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? and 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's no shortage of volunteers and reservists wanting to avenge what's happening in mariupol. translation: many of our fighters come from places i that are currently 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, but it's a road and a destination pivotal to how this war pans out. wyre davies, bbc news, southern ukraine. douglas lute is a former us ambassador to nato. hejoins me from arlington, virginia. good to see you. thanks for making time to talk to us. we have heard russia frame this

pivot towards the donbas region as part of the plan and something they are doing because some of their objectives have been reached. looking at the evidence on the ground, how much does it support that narrative? i agree with ou. support that narrative? i agree with yom the _ support that narrative? i agree with you. the announcement l support that narrative? i agree . with you. the announcement does not match the reality on the ground. you don't seize ukraine by securing several eastern provinces. and obviously a putin objective which was originally a regime change and focused on key if and if this announcement is to be believed has now shifted. what is credible about the announcement is that it reflects the shift in momentum on the battlefield that we have seen for at least a couple of weeks now, and it's a couple of weeks now, and it's a shift in favour of the ukrainian forces.- a shift in favour of the ukrainian forces. but can russia sustain _ ukrainian forces. but can russia sustain this - ukrainian forces. but can | russia sustain this assault ukrainian forces. but can - russia sustain this assault and for how long? is looking out like a battle between firepower and willpower, taking a city is one thing but keeping a city is quite another. so is russia going be forced to change the

in game as well here? perhaps for some i _ in game as well here? perhaps for some i mean _ in game as well here? perhaps for some i mean there - in game as well here? perhaps for some i mean there is - in game as well here? perhaps for some i mean there is a - in game as well here? perhaps| for some i mean there is a long printable, long—standing printable, long—standing printable of war that dates on the way back to napoleon, who noted that in war, the moral factors are at 3—1 more important than the material factors. and i think we have seen that play out. the morale hymn of the cohesion, the leadership of the ukrainian forces is actually winning out over the superior russian materiel. over the superior russian materiel-— materiel. we have seen president _ materiel. we have seen president biden - materiel. we have seen president biden in - materiel. we have seen i president biden in europe. materiel. we have seen - president biden in europe. he is making visits to nato, the g7 income of the european council. what is the hoping to achieve? i council. what is the hoping to achieve? ~ . council. what is the hoping to achieve? ~' ., ., achieve? i think he had a re achieve? i think he had a pretty good _ achieve? i think he had a pretty good day - achieve? i think he had a i pretty good day yesterday. achieve? i think he had a - pretty good day yesterday. in those three visits beginning with nato and the g7 and the european council, he essentially sustained the momentum inside the alliance and inside or with our european union partners. that sustain

the military assistance to ukraine, very critical, and that was the key outcome of the no meeting and with both the g7 and the european council, the political and the economic momentum in particular by way of deepening and broadening the sanctions regime. so what it was a pretty good day for the president of the data states. all right, thank you very much forjoining us with your thoughts was that we really appreciate them. president biden is in poland, where he's been meeting american troops and refugees close to the border with ukraine. earlier, he announced a deal to provide more shipments of liquid 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's 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 attacks poland or any other nato member.

the men in the military barbers are his. the us has sent thousands of extra troops to poland. he's 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 at how they're stepping up, look at how they're stepping up. and you're going to see when you're there, and some of you have been there, you're going to see women, young people standing in the middle in 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. 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's not only the right thing to do from a moral standpoint, it's going to 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. in warsaw this evening, people watched the president

sweep into town as many are calling for nato to enforce a no—fly zone over ukraine. poland is offering to transfer fighter planes to ukraine via a us air force base. america's blocking that plan. these close allies don't agree on everything. sarah smith, bbc news, warsaw. this is bbc news. the headlines — russia signals a shift in its military strategy in the war, narrowing its focus to the east of the country. ukrainian troops successfully counterattack around the capital, kyiv. in the south of the country, there are fears of starvation in the beseiged city of mariupol as hundreds queue for food and water amid the devastation. let's stay with ukraine now and as we have been hearing the russian military says the first phase of the military campaign in ukraine has been completed and it will now focus on the

donbas region in the east. 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're able to focus their attention on liberating, in their words, donbas in eastern ukraine. now, 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 that we regularly show viewers of ukraine and where the russian troops are, will see that they are very much not just in donbas, so that begs the question why was that the case and is this now this change of focus? now, if you look a little bit 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 key sort of justifications for russia's involvement in ukraine has consistently been about looking after, defending, supporting people in these separatist—held areas in eastern ukraine, so the fact russia is re—emphasising this again is not necessarily surprising. but given that, of course, 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 sort of regions that russia is focusing on, so it's still no guarantee, there's still no suggestion at the moment that there's going to be any let up in mariupol at the moment. so, 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 the capital, kyiv. in fact, there's 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 term "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. caroline davies reporting from moscow. the us is strongly condemned a houthi attack in saudi arabia. this has disrupted the formula 1 this has disrupted the formula i event injeddah. two oil tanks were hit by the houthi rebels were there were no reports of any casualties. organisers say the formula i race will still go ahead this weekend as planned. a p&o ferries ship has been detained in northern ireland in the past few hours over safety concerns. the vessel was detained in the port of larne

and is being held while checks are carried out on the ship's documentation and staff training. it's thought the ship was detained before re—entering service after crews were sacked last week. the company has faced wide criticism after sacking the staff last week without warning and replacing them with foreign workers pay less in the uk at minimum wage. the duke and duchess of cambridge have spent the day in the bahamas on the final leg of their caribbean tour. the couple left jamaica yesterday after a visit which attracted the usual crowds, but also some criticism. the week—long trip marking the queen's platinum jubilee also saw the couple visit belize. our royal correspondent jonny dymond is travelling with the couple. perhaps not the bahamas they were expecting. as their caribbean tour is drawing to a close, weather they might recognise from home. inside, a traditional tour event, a school, closed, like so many, through the pandemic. kate paid tribute to parents, guardians and teachers.

they, i'm sure, have found the pandemic equally hard but they're doing one of the most importantjobs out there, nurturing your young minds and helping to shape your futures. we all owe them a huge debt of gratitude. our future society depends on it. the couple will hope that the criticism of their tour injamaica will fade here in the bahamas. they were met with real enthusiasm on the ground at every stop they made, but the wider perception of some engagements was not so positive. the couple were rapturously received at one event in downtown kingston. but the photo that circulated later had, to some, unfortunate overtones of privilege and separation. this afternoon, in the bahamas, the couple thanked pandemic workers. then it was time to party. even as the heavens opened,

the joy was inescapable. kate had to take shelter from the storm. the tour has hit some choppy waters. the tour is back on track, but there will be hard questions about how future trips are planned and carried out. jonny dymond, bbc news, nassau, the bahamas. one of the most hotly—tipped films for best picture at the oscars this weekend is coda, a movie that celebrates deaf culture. its star, troy kotsur, is the first deaf male actor ever to be nominated for an oscar. our culture editor katie razzall spoke to troy and writer and director sian heder, who's nominated for best adapted screenplay, at a deaf school in los angeles. and as you'll see, katie's report is subtitled.

it is one of the most hotly tipped films at the oscars this weekend. will it when? i would

love to hear your predictions. i'm @kacungira. stay with us here bbc news. see you in a short while. hello there. there's going to be some major changes next week, and things could look a little different on sunday across some parts of the country. but on saturday, we've got more of the same. it's going to be a cold start, but there will be plenty of warm sunshine. temperatures early on saturday could be close to freezing in some rural areas. it'll warm up quickly. any mist and fog in northern ireland will lift. it will stay quite cloudy in the far north of scotland. otherwise lots of sunshine, just a bit of fairweather cloud once again and the winds will be light. and temperatures on saturday similar to what we had on friday, could again make 19—20 degrees in some northern parts of england. a reminder that on saturday night, the clocks spring forward by one hour as we move into british summer time. so, an hour less in bed. for many people waking up across the eastern side of england, it could be a cloudy start,

though, on sunday. we've still got high pressure around, but there's more cloud coming in off the north sea. it could be quite low cloud, misty as well. it means it's going to be a mild start to sunday across eastern parts of the uk. a little bit chillier further west. there's the cloud that we've got across eastern areas. it will tend to filter its way through the midlands towards east wales. some of that cloud could linger all day through parts of the midlands, around some eastern coasts of england, but for many, i think the sunshine will come through. it may not be quite as warm as it has been of late. more sunshine, though, further north for scotland and northern ireland, so again here, temperatures are likely to reach 17 degrees or so. major changes, though, heading into next week. high pressure that's brought the fine, warm weather is no more. pressure's going to be dropping. and at the same time, we're going to find more cloud moving in as well. not everywhere, mind you. and many places are still going to be dry even though pressure is falling, but we could see some rain across these central areas. north and south of that, though, i think we are likely to find some sunshine.

and the temperatures are still reasonable for this time of the year. 16 degrees in the sunshine, won't feel too bad at all. but it is a downward trend, really, through next week. not only will see more cloud and an increasing chance of getting some rain, those temperatures are really going to be dropping away as well. so, rather than being warmer than average, it will get colder than average, especially later on next week as the wind changes to more of a northerly. that brings the colder air, and across some northern parts of the uk, it could even bring some snow.

this is bbc news, the headlines. russia has signalled a shift in its military strategy towards the ukraine invasion — narrowing its focus to the east of the country. moscow says the "first stage" of its military campaign is over and it will now focus on the disputed donbass region. western officials say it's a sign of failure. in the south of the country there are fears of starvation in the besieged port city of mariupol as hundreds queued for food and water. authorities are hoping russian occupiers will allow un vehicles to bring in badly needed food and medicines.