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. in the south of the country, there are fears —— ukrainian troops have achieved this against a much lather to make larger army, a more powerful army. and they are notjust resisting but launching a counter—attack. 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. and in other news, taylor hawkins, the drummer with the rock band

the foo fighters, has died at the age of 50. 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 bbc news. 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. "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 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. at 62, valeri can't recognise world around him. vladimir putin came, he says, as you can see. our children and grandchildren are dying. i won't 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. this tiny hamlet of no strategic value was hit by two ballistic missiles. this crater was caused by a russian missile strike. remnants of the missile are still here. nobody was killed in this attack but russian forces are not far away and they have 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 guerin, bbc news, on the outskirts of qi yu. —— kyiv. areas to the east and north—east regions of ukraine, we will update you on that as we get developments into us. we know that no city in ukraine has suffered more than mariupol in the south. it has been visually 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 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. us 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. as we mentioned earlier, russia has indicated it's changing its approach to the war. a senior general said the first stage of the campaign is over, and the focus will now shift to the eastern donbas region. our reporter mark lobel has been following events. there was a strategic presentation when this was announced, a top russian general there. announced, a top russian generalthere. let's announced, a top russian general there. let's hearfrom him now. translation: the general there. let's hear from him now. translation: the main tasks of the _ him now. translation: the main tasks of the first _ him now. translation: the main tasks of the first stage _ him now. translation: the main tasks of the first stage of - him now. translation: the main tasks of the first stage of the - tasks of the first stage of the operation have been completed. to combat potential of the ukrainian armed forces has been significantly reduced, which allows us to focus our main efforts on the main goal — the

liberation of donbas. efforts on the main goal - the liberation of donbas.- liberation of donbas. what could this _ liberation of donbas. what could this all _ liberation of donbas. what could this all mean? - liberation of donbas. what could this all mean? it - liberation of donbas. what - could this all mean? it depends who you ask. it could be a russian military analyst, a western diplomat, or ukrainian politician. if we start with the russian military analyst, they say they have been memories from other debris from the defence forces of security services has been appearing in public for around two weeks in russia. so this was answering that call. they also spoke about russian casualties, their own figures, and also the evacuation of the ukrainians to russia and the hundreds of thousands. some look at that as a kind of kidnap to russia. and also this — the second reading, from the western diplomat, we remind you that the map of russian control in ukraine, of course it is a multifronted invasion. they would say, the suggestion that the fighting will focus on the east is, if you take it at face value, things are not going to bed. so then you look at what could happen next. the is becomes the

focus. the two big questions remain: what would happen to mariupol adidas are? with abbey part of the plan? they would have to seize those two before achieving next part of their goals. and what would become of the northern troops hanging around their? with they wait until there was a peace deal until there was a peace deal until they retreated? the third option is ukrainian politician. in their view is that this is reverse psychology from vladimir putin. you can't trust him. this could be some regrouping. but still to expected attack on care. then the question of handing over territory in the east. they say if you do that then somebody like vladimir putin will come for more and they would be more dangerous to other countries outside of the ukrainian borders on the east of europe. interesting, so it may not make a difference to the fighting on the ground. one of the aspects, of course, with the fighting taking place is the humanitarian crisis, particularly in the south, in mariupol, as we spoke about

earlier. but there are plans by the west to introduce more aid. what are they saying? fine the west to introduce more aid. what are they saying?— what are they saying? one big lan what are they saying? one big plan being _ what are they saying? one big plan being described _ what are they saying? one big plan being described by - plan being described by president emmanuel macron in france but also turkey and greece is a proper evacuation of mariupol, tens of thousands of mariupol, tens of thousands of people that we have been covering the past few days, getting out of the city. ukrainians have been asking for food aid in besieged cities encircled by russian troops in the uk will provide about $2.6 million worth of food aid, you know, food, water, ten goods. and the african development saying that africa needs about $1 billion worth of food to help its produce to help wheat exports there because of a lack of the foods exporting from ukraine that they normally rely on to stop a food crisis there. but let me show you these pictures because it is also affecting russia, there is. this is a scramble for sugar filmed in russian supermarkets,

widely circulated on social media. it is driven by government attempts to regulate prices, skyrocketing demand, and a crash on the value of the russian currency. it is true that russia it was a relatively small amount of sugar but the russian authorities say it is being driven by consumer panic buying and so they have imposed a temporary ban on sugar exports. those pictures might not be the last time we see scenes like that. 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 counter—attack around the capital kyiv. in the south of the country, there are fears of starvation in the besieged city of mariupol as hundreds queue for food and water amid the devastation. taylor hawkins, the drummer for the foo fighters, has died at the age of 50. the texas—born drummer, who grew up in southern california, was the touring drummer for alanis morissette beforejoining the foo

fighters in 1997. our correspondent colin paterson has been following the story and hejoins me now from los angeles. all good to have you with us. i think a lot of people are waking up to the news in certain parts of the world and something that came through to us a few hours ago. tell something that came through to us a few hours ago.— us a few hours ago. tell our viewers _ us a few hours ago. tell our viewers what _ us a few hours ago. tell our viewers what you _ us a few hours ago. tell our viewers what you know. - viewers what you know. absolutely shocking news, this. the foo fighters were on a huge tour of south america, playing lolla palooza tour of south america, playing lollapalooza events, argentina lolla palooza events, argentina five lollapalooza events, argentina five days ago, friday night they were supposed to be playing in columbia and then the news came in, this statement from the foo fighters which simply said: so so very few details. the band have cancelled their forthcoming conference next

sunday they were supposed to be playing the grammys in las vegas and it is just important to emphasise just how big the foo fighters are. they are one of the few bands that can sell out stadiums on any continent around the world. taylor hawkins was such a huge part of that. when you went to see the foo fighters, it was his enthusiasm and infectious love of drumming from behind the kit that helped fire the band. it was the fact that he had dave groll, of course, used to be the drummer in the band but is now the singers microphone other singer and once the concert they would swap positions, taylor hawkins would become the front man and sing a song by the band who love the most, queen, and possibly do this five days ago he swapped and sang somebody to love by queen —— grohl. this would be shocking used to so many people this morning. shocking used to so many people this morning-— this morning. also taking a look at so _ this morning. also taking a look at so many _ this morning. also taking a look at so many of - this morning. also taking a look at so many of the - this morning. also taking a i look at so many of the people that are expressing their shock and also their love for him,

and also their love for him, and for his profession in the sense of the drummer that he was that he seems to be kind of a drummer's drummer. absolutely, tom morell from rage against the machine was one to pay tribute, he says rest in peace my friend, in 1997 he was the drawing, with alanis morissette, one of the biggest artist on the planet. dave groll phoned him up because the foo fighters needed a new drummerfor their third a new drummer for their third album a new drummerfor their third album and he said he wanted advice from him because he was admiring advice from him because he was a drummer, thinking for a minute who should be the new drummer for the foo fighters? he would reply me! and that's when rock history changed forever. he joined the band and changed the sound and dynamic many ways and co—wrote any of the biggest hits, the likes of best of you, times like these, best of you, these are songs that he wrote, he was a songwriter, as i keep

saying it was this enthusiasm and love of music. a final thought, this is a man who loved drumming so much that when the foo fighters would finish a massive year—long international tour and he went home, what would he do? it would join his local covers band that would worry songs are the core ——by the police and queen. the core --by the police and cueen. ~ ., ., the core --by the police and .ueen. ~ ., ., ., the core --by the police and cueen. ~ . . ., ., ., queen. what a treat that would have been _ queen. what a treat that would have been for— queen. what a treat that would have been for local _ queen. what a treat that would have been for local people. - queen. what a treat that would | have been for local people. sad for the foo fighters and for his family and friends. thank you, colin. 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. it was notjust it was not just the aviator

shades and the bomberjacket that made this north korean television peace such as a prize. the hollywood movie stylings at odds with the serious tone the country's people have come to expect. they don't see hollywood movies in north korea so what they might�*ve made a bit in pyongyang is hard to know. this man said, for the cameras, "because of comradejong—un, "because of comrade jong—un, the "because of comradejong—un, the power of north korea and the power of north korea and the dignity of the people are gloriously shining." but the dignity of the people are gloriously shining."- gloriously shining." but this is not tom _ gloriously shining." but this is not tom cruise _ gloriously shining." but this is not tom cruise and - gloriously shining." but this is not tom cruise and this l gloriously shining." but this | is not tom cruise and this is not a movie. it is real and very dangerous. coutdown in korean. -- countdown in korean.

flight data indicated the missile flew higher and longer than any of north korea's previous tests, before crashing into the sea west of japan, eliciting this from japan's defence minister. translation: compared to previous launches, this one was a more serious threat on different levels to japan and the region. it's also a risk to the peace and stability of the international community. stability of the international community-— stability of the international communi . , community. other neighbours were equally _ community. other neighbours were equally outraged, - community. other neighbours were equally outraged, south | were equally outraged, south korea's president accusing him of breaking his 2018 promise to suspend such launches and of posing a serious threat to the korean peninsula. musical flourish. the whole production might have appeared surely unintentionally comic but the threat is not. and the message has been delivered — north korea has the ability to strike

with a nuclear warhead almost anywhere in the world. gail maclellan, bbc news. onto other news now, and the us has strongly condemned houthi attacks on saudi arabia. the rebels targeted energy facilities close to thejeddah track, where the saudi arabian grand prix is due to run on sunday. a huge plume of black smoke could be seen rising over the city as cars went around the circuit during friday's first practice. two oil tanks were hit by yemen's houthi rebels, but there were no reports of casualties. the organisers say the formula 1 race will still go ahead. 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's 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 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. they spoke to one another at a deaf school in los angeles and, as you'll see, katie's report is subtitled.

it looks very good. before we go, 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. we have seen that air raid sirens have now wrung out across a number of cities across a number of cities across ukraine, but according to local media reports. updates on that will be on the page. don't forget, you can get in touch with me and some

of the team on twitter. i'm @bbcnuala. i'm also at instagram. thank you for watching. 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 fair weather 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 the 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 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.

the cause of his death is unclear.