welcome to bbc news. i'm nuala mcgovern. our top stories... russia signals a shift in its military strategy in the war — narrowing its focus to the east of the country. 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. 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 the drummer with a rock band foo fighters has died at the age of 50. hello and thanks forjoining us. 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 not just 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 recognise 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. russia has bombed and destroyed more than it has captured — a poor return on a costly invasion that may now have to change course.

orla geurin, bbc news, on the 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. 0ur 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. president biden has announced a major deal with the eu to reduce europe's reliance on russian gas. mr biden said the us would step up its own supplies of liquified natural gas to the eu this year, sending an additional 15 billion cubic metres. he said europe and the us would also accelerate efforts to reduce demand for gas overall and switch to renewable energy. robert horvath is a specialist in russian politics at la trobe university. hejoins me from melbourne.

good to have you with us. i want to turn first, a lot of our viewers are thinking about when russia talks about that it has completed its first phase of its operation as they call it, the special military operation, the western intelligence celsius are saying that it shares a failing of russian names in this war. how do you say? it russian names in this war. how do you say?— do you say? it is too early to “udue do you say? it is too early to judge the — do you say? it is too early to judge the long-term - judge the long—term significance of that statement. from the beginning of the war, russian propaganda has basically had two narratives. 0ne basically had two narratives. one of those narratives is that russia is seeking regime change in ukraine, according to putin,

need that —— denazification of ukraine. the other narrative that has been prominent on russian domestic television has been that we are going in there to rescue the people of the donbas who have suffered terrible things at the hands of ukraine over the past eight years, allegedly. that has played an important role in containing domestic anxieties about the war, and this statement does mark a shift of emphasis to that second narrative. however, the statement also claims victory during this first phase of the war and makes claims about how

ukraine has suffered a number of military casualties than russia has suffered, and the ukrainian armed forces were on the verge of collapse. so i think it is too early to read any deep significance into it. there is also the other interpretation you probably saw as well, robert, of ukrainian politician who was saying that this was a distraction and that russian forces could be trying to regroup, to again attempt to capture kyiv. what do you think of that analysis?— of that analysis? russia and its armed — of that analysis? russia and its armed forces _ of that analysis? russia and its armed forces have - its armed forces have historically waged information warfare to create surprise, to mislead their opponents. a classic example of this is the

invasion of crimea and the proxy war in south—east ukraine in 2014. whilst it is too early to make any confident judgments, there are certainly strong reasons for not yet seeing this as the beginning of a change in rush—hour's conduct. i5 a change in rush-hour's conduct-— a change in rush-hour's conduct. , ., ., conduct. is it possible to now, robert, whether _ conduct. is it possible to now, robert, whether mr _ conduct. is it possible to now, robert, whether mr putin - conduct. is it possible to now, robert, whether mr putin is i conduct. is it possible to now, robert, whether mr putin is in any trouble domestically? i think putin is an immense trouble domestically, because this war is a disaster. there are clearly fractures in the regime. reports we have had of arrests of senior officials,

the escape of one of the leading technocrats who help maintain the regime, and there is evidence of evidence that things are not going well. there is also an interesting tension between the rhetoric of vladimir putin during the last 48 hours or so, and the statements from the army. putin just had a meeting with cultural figures where he was comparing the west with its cancel culture, and cancellation performances of tchaikovsky, he likened that to the burning of books in nazi germany, so, putin, his mind is

engaged in this cosmic struggle between good and evil in which the west and not merely ukraine but the west is the heir of nazi germany and there is the statement from the army which is that we are now going to concentrate on donbas. the contrast between one person who has identified the west as totally evil and the army, which seems to be indicating that it wants to fight and the donbas, that is interesting. whether it means anything, it is too early to tell. it whether it means anything, it is too early to tell.— is too early to tell. it is very difficult, - is too early to tell. it is very difficult, as - is too early to tell. it is very difficult, as we - is too early to tell. it is very difficult, as we tryj is too early to tell. it is i very difficult, as we try to sometimes understand what some of the strategies and goals might be. thank you for spending time with us today, joining me today from melbourne. i want to turn to a story that the foo fighters

drummer taylor hawkins has died at the age of 50. his bandmates have led the tributes to him. i'm talking about his death, as you can see, here is the statement they made, the foo fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved taylor hawkins... they go on to offer their condolences to his family. many people at the moment are paying attributes online as that news has come in and about the past hour or so. this is bbc news. let me bring you 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 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. mark lobel has more on the military situation in ukraine. this is how it was announced in a strategy presentation from a top russian general. let's have a listen. translation: the main tasks of the first stage i of the operation have been completed _ the combat potential- of ukraine's armed forces has been significantly reduced, which allows us to - focus our main efforts - on achieving the main goals, the liberation of donbas. so what could this all mean? it depends who you ask. you could ask a russian military analyst, western diplomat or ukrainian politicians. starting with the russian military analyst, they say that there have been murmurs for a while but no—one from the defence or security services has been appearing in public for about two weeks in russia. so this was answering that call. they spoke about

russian casualties. their own figures. and also the evacuation of ukrainians to russia, in the hundreds of thousands, some people look at that as a kind of kidnap, to russia, and also this. the second reading from this western diplomat, just remind you of the map of russian—controlled ukraine. it is a multi—fronted invasion. a suggestion that the fighting is only going to focus on the east, if it is taken at face value, things are not going to plan. so what could happen next? the east becomes the focus. two big questions remain. what would happen to that route to crimea? mariupol and odesa, would that be part of the planned? they would have to seize those two before they achieved the next part of their goals, and what of those northern troops hanging around, would they wait until there was a peace deal

until they retreated? and the third option is a ukrainian politician. their view is, this is reverse psychology from putin, you cannot trust him and actually this might be some regrouping, but still to expect an attack on kyiv, and on that issue of them handing over territory in the east they say that if you do that, then somebody like putin willjust come for more, and that will also be more dangerous to the other countries outside of ukraine's borders on the east of europe. that could make a difference to the fighting on the ground. one of the aspects with fighting taking place is the humanitarian crisis in the south, in mariupol as you were talking about earlier, but there are plans by the west to introduce more aid, what are those? one plan being discussed by president macron of france in conjunction with turkey and greece is for proper evacuation of mariupol, to get tens of thousands of people we've covered over the past few days out

of that besieged city. he is saying that he's going to speak to president putin imminently about that. the ukrainians have been asking for food aid in those besieged cities encircled by russian troops. the uk will be providing $2.6 million worth of food aid, water, tinned goods, and the african development bank saying africa needs around $1 billion of food to help wheat exports there, because of a lack of food exporting from ukraine that they normally rely on, to stop a food crisis there. let me show you these pictures. it is also affecting russia. this is a scramble for sugarfilmed in russian supermarkets, widely circulated on social media. it is driven by government attempts to regulate prices, skyrocketing demand and a crash in the value of the russian currency. it is true russia imports a relatively small amount of sugar but russian authorities say it is being driven by consumer panic buying and it has imposed a temporary ban on sugar exports,

and those pictures might not be the last time we see scenes like that. the united states has called for tougher international sanctions on north korea following its latest missile test. washington's ambassador to the un accused pyongyang of �*increasingly dangerous provocations' after the north korean leader, kimjong—un, oversaw the launch of its largest ever intercontinental ballistic missile. gail maclellan reports. dramatic music. a leather bomberjacket dramatic music. a leather bomber jacket that made bomberjacket that made this north korean television piece such a surprise. hollywood movie stylings, at odds with the series town the country's people have come to expect. they do not see hollywood movies in north korea, so what

might they made of it in pyongyang is hard to know. this man said for the cameras, because of comrade kim john own, the power of north korea and the dignity of the people are gloriously shining. but this isn't tom cruise, and this isn't a movie. it is real and very dangerous. echoing shouting. flight data indicated the missile flew higher and longer than any previous north korean missile test before crashing into the sea of japan. test before crashing into the sea ofjapan. eliciting this from the japanese defence ministry. translation: ., ., translation: compared to most

recent watch _ translation: compared to most recent watch as _ translation: compared to most recent watch as this _ translation: compared to most recent watch as this was - translation: compared to most recent watch as this was on - translation: compared to most recent watch as this was on a - recent watch as this was on a different— recent watch as this was on a different level— recent watch as this was on a different level to— recent watch as this was on a different level to japan - recent watch as this was on a different level to japan and l different level to japan and the region _ different level to japan and the region. it— different level to japan and the region. it is _ different level to japan and the region. it is a - different level to japan and the region. it is a risk- different level to japan and the region. it is a risk to. different level to japan and i the region. it is a risk to the peace — the region. it is a risk to the peace and _ the region. it is a risk to the peace and stability - the region. it is a risk to the peace and stability of - the region. it is a risk to the peace and stability of the i peace and stability of the international— peace and stability of the international community. other neighbours _ international community. other neighbours were _ international community. other neighbours were equally - international community. other neighbours were equally at - neighbours were equally at ranged with south korea accusing kim of breaking his 2018 promise to suspend such launches, and posing a serious threat to the korean peninsula. the whole production might have appeared, surely unintentionally, comic, but the threat is not, and the message has been delivered. north korea has been delivered. north korea has the ability to strike with a nuclear warhead, almost anywhere in the world. gail maclennan, bbc news. 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. our royal correspondent, jonny dymond, is travelling

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 attended a platinum jubilee regatta. the tour has hit some choppy waters. it is back on track, but there will be hard questions asked about how future trips are planned and carried out. the foo fighters drummer taylor hawkins has died at the age of 50. that is a statement that is “p 50. that is a statement that is up on their twitter feed at the

moment. thank you very much for watching. stay with us. we will be hearing more headlines in just a few minutes. 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 milder 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 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. 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 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 we 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. taylor hawkins — the drummer of the rock band, the foo fighters has died at the age of 50. he was found unresponsive in his hotel room in colombia where the band are on tour. hawkins joined the band in 1997 after plating drums

for alanis morissette.