welcome to bbc news. i'm nuala mcgovern. our top stories... russia signals a shift in its focus to the east of ukraine. 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'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. 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 counter—attacking 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 frontline on the city's northern outskirts. on the northern outskirts of kyiv, burnt out evidence of a russian defeat on this front line. ukrainian troops say russian forces tried to get through here four times this month and were stopped in their tracks. they are still firing from a few miles away. it's a grad rocket, says salim, the commander, showing us what landed overnight.

he takes pride in what his men from the 72nd mechanized brigade have done against the odds and are continuing to do. there's plenty of outgoing fire against russian positions. russia. 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 will 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 notjust resisting, they are mounting a counterattack. for troops here the priority is guarding the approaches to the capital. more than a month on russian forces are stuck on the outskirts, clearly not what president putin had in mind. at 62 valery can't recognize the world around him.

putin came, he says, as you can see. our children and grandchildren are dying. i will stay here. if needs be, i will die here. but i will not give them ukraine. then, in anger and in anguish, he kicks at the charred remains of a russian soldier. in a village nearby, more evidence of ukraine's suffering and russia's miscalculations. it fired two ballistic missiles at this tiny hamlet of no strategic value. well, you can see the devastation, and this massive crater was caused by a russian missile strike. remnants of the missile are still here. no—one was killed in this attack, but russian forces are not far away, and they've

been flying a drone in the area in the last hour.

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. 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. stay with us on bbc news, still to come... the deaf actor troy kotsur tipped for oscar success this weekend. applause i'm so proud of both of you.

let there be no more wars or bloodshed between arabs and israelis. with great regret, the committee have decided that south africa be excluded from the 1970 competition. praying streaking across the sky, the white—hot wreckage from mir drew gasps from onlookers on fiji. wow! this is bbc world news.

the latest headlines... russia signals a shift in its military strategy in the war — narrowing its focus to the east of the country, as ukrainian troops successfully counter—attack 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 get more on ukraine. our reporter mark lobel is here. good to have you with us. thank you forjoining us. we were just telling our viewers in those headlines that russia are talking about the first phase of the war over, focusing on donbas. what do you know? focusing on those progression east on breakaway states. the west reading it is the fact that the military strategy, the original one, has failed. that is their view. this is how it was announced in a strategy presentation from the top russian general. let's have a

listen. translation: ., ., , ., translation: the main tasks of the first stage — translation: the main tasks of the first stage of _ translation: the main tasks of the first stage of the _ the first stage of the operation _ the first stage of the operation have - the first stage of the operation have been| the first stage of the _ operation have been completed. the combat _ operation have been completed. the combat potential— operation have been completed. the combat potential of- the combat potential of ukraines— the combat potential of ukraine's armed - the combat potential of ukraine's armed forcesj the combat potential of- ukraine's armed forces has been significantly— ukraine's armed forces has been significantly reduced, _ ukraine's armed forces has been significantly reduced, which - significantly reduced, which allows— significantly reduced, which allows us_ significantly reduced, which allows us to _ significantly reduced, which allows us to focus - significantly reduced, which allows us to focus our - significantly reduced, which allows us to focus our main| allows us to focus our main efforts _ allows us to focus our main efforts on— allows us to focus our main efforts on achieving - allows us to focus our main efforts on achieving the - allows us to focus our main i efforts on achieving the main goals, — efforts on achieving the main goals, the _ efforts on achieving the main goals, the liberation- efforts on achieving the main goals, the liberation of- goals, the liberation of donhas _ goals, the liberation of donbas— goals, the liberation of donbas. . , goals, the liberation of donbas. ., donbas. so what did this all mean? there _ donbas. so what did this all mean? there is _ donbas. so what did this all mean? there is the - donbas. so what did this all mean? there is the view . donbas. so what did this all mean? there is the view of| donbas. so what did this alll mean? there is the view of a russian military analyst, western diplomats and ukrainian politicians giving you the broad sweep, starting with the russian military analyst, there have been murmurings for a couple of weeks, that we have not heard from russian generals and public service was just to answer that call, they covered it in the briefing, the military debt according to the russians, the relocations of ukrainians, hundreds of thousands to russia from ukraine, just some people concerned that is being seen as a kidnap, and this news. the second from a western diplomat, if i remind you of russian —controlled areas, this was a multi—fronted invasion and so western diplomats view it is not going to plan. if

taken at face value, the east becomes the focus of the fighting. two big questions remain. what does it involve when you look at the route to crimea? does it mean taking mariupol and possibly odesa? is that still part of the plan and what becomes of the northern troops? days sit and wait until there is perhaps agreement, and finally, the third option from the point of view of the ukrainian politician, then don't believe president putin, it is reverse psychology, wishful thinking, and if anything they need to be ready for kyiv to be attacked, and still the view from caves that you cannot negotiate away territory otherwise it will only encourage this kind of behaviour. than only encourage this kind of behaviour.— only encourage this kind of behaviour. �* ,., ., ,., behaviour. an important point, but the language _ behaviour. an important point, but the language is _ behaviour. an important point, but the language is so - but the language is so interesting and the interpretation, depending who we're from. also talking about our colleague sarah smith talking about the us, this plan to try and supply 10% of your�*s gas which previously would have been served by russia but also,

the eu have their own plan, we are hearing. talk us through that. , ., ., ., that. they are dealing with a su -l that. they are dealing with a sopply problem _ that. they are dealing with a supply problem but - that. they are dealing with a supply problem but there . that. they are dealing with a supply problem but there is | that. they are dealing with a | supply problem but there is a surging price problem being exacerbated by ukraine so the answer from the european commission answerfrom the european commission is to buy answer from the european commission is to buy gas answerfrom the european commission is to buy gas on behalf of all member states to use their enormous purchasing power and this is how the president of the european commission, who said that 75% of global pipeline gas market is coming from the european markets, put it. we will now use our collective bargaining power. instead of outbidding each other and driving prices up, we will pool our demand. also pressure from spain and portugal, i should say, to cap the price of gas so that they can control electricity prices, which is still under discussion. it which is still under discussion.- which is still under discussion. it will be interesting - discussion. it will be interesting to - discussion. it will be interesting to see i discussion. it will be i interesting to see how discussion. it will be - interesting to see how the unity continues under those issues as well. mariupol, for example, we are seeing people that are needing food, water, electricity and the humanitarian crisis as people appointed to. some efforts by

the eu to tackle issues there. led by france, greece and turkey they are hoping to set “p turkey they are hoping to set up a humanitarian corridor to get a mass evacuation out of that besieged city that we have been covering for a long time. president macron will be speaking to president putin about that and some other lines to bring you on food aid. the uk will be paying about $3 million, £2 million, to ukraine to bring food aid to areas is encircled by russia, and the african development bank saying $1 billion is needed to avoid a food crisis in africa to boost production of wheat and other crops in africa because of what's happening in ukraine. just show you a video, this is in russia. in russian supermarkets, this widely circulated, a scramble for sugar driven by government attempts to regulate prices, skyrocketing demand, crashing the value of the russian

currency, russian imports small in terms of trigger back the russian government has put a ban on sugar exports and at home, we have vladimir putin telling us is the west is discriminating against russian culture and dragging jk rowling, who has been criticised over her views on transgender rights, into that. she said we should not be listening to president putin for lessons on council culture. i noticed a lot of chatter around that online. thank you for bringing us that, that video with the sugar was quite something, thank you for sharing it. william and kate — 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 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. 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. the authorities in northern ireland have detained a p&o ferries ship because of safety concerns. officials said the vessel wouldn't be allowed to sail again untila number of problems, including inadequate crew training, had been resolved. p&o has faced widespread criticism after sacking 800 staff last week without warning, and replacing them with foreign workers paid less than the uk minimum wage. 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.

a reminder of our menus the first phase of its military offensive in ukraine has been mostly accomplished and it will now focus on the donbas region. just a reminder if you want to keep up with events in ukraine, as they happen — just go to our website anytime — you'll find a live page which is continually updated with the latest developments. that's all at... bbc.com/news — or you can download the bbc app. thank you for watching. stay with us, if you can. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some

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 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. president biden has visited eastern poland to express his gratitude to workers dealing with the refugee crisis — and us troops defending nato's eastern flank. mr biden also announced

a deal to provide the eu with more natural gas, to help reduce its dependence