tonight at six, a glimmer of hope here in ukraine as russia says it will "drastically" reduce military operations around the capital kyiv and the city of chernihiv. it follows some progress at peace talks in istanbul — the first face—to—face negotiations for a fortnight. but on the front lines near kyiv, ukrainian forces are not dropping their guard and they're confident of victory. together we are stronger and the other main stories on the programme: 20 police fines for breaking lockdown rules in downing street and at government events — the prime minister hasn't

but the met says there could be more. and the queen attends a memorial service for prince philip accompanied into westminster abbey by prince andrew. and on sportsday on the bbc news channel: a momentous match for north macedonia — who look to cause another upset, and knock portugal out, in tonight's world cup playoff. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. there's been a glimmer of hope at face—to—face peace talks between russia and ukraine today. the negotiations, in istanbul, were the first for a fortnight. ukraine confirmed it was prepared to be a neutral country and abandon

ambitions to join the nato military alliance — in line with key russian demands. for its part, moscow announced what looks like a change of military strategy — it says russian troops will "drastically reduce" their operations around the capital kyiv and the northern city of chernihiv and focus on donbas in the east of the country. more on that from kyiv in a moment, but our first report tonight is from our russia editor, steve rosenberg. away from the fighting, another attempt at diplomacy. delegations from ukraine and russia came to istanbul. but would there be any room for compromise? negotiating behind the scenes, the russian billionaire roman abramovich. today, the kremlin dismissed reports he had been poisoned at a previous round of talks as an "information war". president erdogan was the host. he called on both sides

to push for peace. translation: it will be in everyone's interest i to achieve a ceasefire and peace as soon as possible. as members of the delegation, you have taken on a historic responsibility. the whole world is waiting to hear good news from you. at these talks, ukraine made concrete proposals to russia it hopes could end the conflict. ukraine proposed becoming a neutral state. it won't join military alliances or host foreign military bases. in return, it has asked for a system of security guarantees with other countries acting as guarantors. ukraine also wants to discuss the status of crimea and has asked russia not to oppose ukraine joining the european union. translation: our proposal has not been accepted - yet by russia. we are handing it over to the russian side. we say this is our position, our official position. we will wait for their answer.

russia's deputy defence minister responded quickly. translation: the ministry of defence of _ the russian federation has taken the decision to drastically reduce combat operations in the kyiv and chernihiv areas in order to boost mutual trust and create the conditions for further negotiations and signing of the agreement. if russia does scale back its military activity around ukraine's capital, that would mark a significant change in what moscow calls its "special military operation," but what most of the world calls russia's war. an admission perhaps that after struggling to make advances, russian troops have realised they can't take the city of kyiv. but, and there are lots of buts here, russia has not ceased hostilities in ukraine. it made that clear today. its troops are continuing to fight. although the main focus now, moscow says, is on the donbas in eastern ukraine.

what about those areas in the east and their status under any potential deal? also not clear. and remember, from the very beginning, vladimir putin's objective was to force the whole of ukraine back into russia's orbit. will he really give up on that? steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. since russia began its invasion of ukraine, the capital kyiv, has been a key target. but its forces have not got past the outskirts of the city. now russia says it will drastically reduce its offensive around the capital. the ukrainian general in charge of defending kyiv has told the bbc that russia is suffering heavy losses and can't win. our international correspondent, orla guerin, sent this report from a front line north of the capital. keeping watch on a critical front line to the north of the capital. the russians now say

they will drastically reduce attacks around kyiv. these ukrainian troops will not be dropping their guard. the man in charge of defending the city, colonel general oleksandr sirsky, was handing out promotions and medals today. he has been fighting the russians in eastern ukraine since 2014. now, they are on his doorstep. the russians are four kilometres from here. is it painful for you that they have come so far on this soil? it is painful, yeah. especially here because i fight against russia during eight years. so i would like to say

together we are stronger. and we will win. he told me his men are being shelled constantly but are on the offensive in some areas. and he insisted the russians would never set foot in kyiv. sirens and inside the city there is vigilance, night and day. territorial defence units out on patrol. through deserted streets now lined by checkpoints and roadblocks. their mission, to monitor any movements and search for the enemy within. saboteurs passing information to the russians. after being stopped and searched, this man was allowed to go on his way. but in the past month in this area they have detained about 30 alleged informants. a sudden threat over our heads.

they spot a russian drone and follow its path. i'm working on it, says this fighter, nicknamed chechen. blasts well, it was quite tense here in the last few moments with that russian drone overhead. it has now disappeared. but members of the unit say this is happening as often as ten times a night. the russians are sending their drones to try and gather intelligence from above. then, incoming fire. russia says it will cut back its offensive around the capital.

but fighters here remember it also said it had no plans to invade ukraine. orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv. jeremy bowen is in kyiv. russians say they're scaling back there — operations around the capital — can we take them at their word? well, not if you're sensible, i don't think anyone will take them at their word whether it is in ukraine or in the wider world as well. also in terms of you have been hearing in steve's piece from moscow that they are asking for guarantees of their future security, if they become neutral, and they have said that they want that and further clarification, they have said that they want that guaranteed by some of they want that guaranteed by some of the big military powers of the world. now, will the russians agree to something like that? i wonder.

when the russians say they are scaling back, are they making a virtue out of necessity because the advance on kyiv has stalled and the ukrainians have been counterattacking for a number of days. counterattacking for a number of da s. , ., ., ., ., , days. they have not made any rouress days. they have not made any progress towards _ days. they have not made any progress towards the - days. they have not made any progress towards the city, - days. they have not made any - progress towards the city, despite encircling it for weeks and weeks, they have taken casualties and have taken bad tactical decisions. they have been caught up in the mud, they have been caught up in the mud, they have lost men and machines. that is part of it, i think. but, they are not saying that they are going to have a ceasefire. they are saying that they are going to concentrate on a different part of the country. while i have been standing here, i've heard distant rumbles of artillery, i don't know who is worrying it and it is some miles off, but it is far from worrying it and it is some miles off, but it is farfrom quiet on those battlefields to the city, where a lot of the military activity has been focused, and it seems,

continues. has been focused, and it seems, continues-_ has been focused, and it seems, continues. . ~ , ., g , �* ., well russia may have said its scaling back some of its attacks — and there may have been some limited progress in the peace talks — so there is perhaps a sliver of light amidst the darkness — but after 3a days, this terrible war grinds on, taking with it more lives every hour of every day. back to you in the studio in london. ben brown reporting. the metropolitan police are to issue 20 fixed penalty notices after covid laws were broken during lockdown at downing street and in whitehall. the met have said they will not reveal who is to be fined nor which events they relate to, but that more fines could be on the way. stratton has said that he will tell

the public if he has been fined. he is facing opposition calls to resign following statements in parliament that all guidance was followed completely. our political editor laura kuenssberg has the latest. a moment to stand on ceremony. the prime minister on the list or a grand gathering that would have been forbidden under the covid loci set. laws that meant the queen mourned her husband alone. today, arriving for this major memorial, quietly through a side door. borisjohnson has already had to apologise to the monarch for rules being flouted under his own roof. diagonally opposite each other today, the queen, frail, and tucked at the end of a row, but ministers are trying to avoid the subject.— to avoid the sub'ect. people are d in: in to avoid the subject. people are dying in ukraine _ to avoid the subject. people are dying in ukraine and _ to avoid the subject. people are dying in ukraine and there - to avoid the subject. people are dying in ukraine and there is - to avoid the subject. people are dying in ukraine and there is a l to avoid the subject. people are i dying in ukraine and there is a cost of living crisis and challenge and we should be focused on that. how damauuin we should be focused on that. how damaging is _ we should be focused on that. how damaging is it _ we should be focused on that. how damaging is it that fines are being

issued? not so long ago, claims of rule breaking in downing street where a full—blown political emergency. today the police have concluded that the law was broken at least 20 times. we don't know who is receiving fixed penalty notices, but we do know that they are issuing 20 wines, and this isjust we do know that they are issuing 20 wines, and this is just the first batch, with more likely to come. fines are expected to be £100 or £200 but do not come with a criminal record, and the individuals will not be named by the police although number ten has vowed to reveal if mr johnson is one of them. so far, that has not happened. it is johnson is one of them. so far, that has not happened.— has not happened. it is important that justice _ has not happened. it is important that justice is _ has not happened. it is important that justice is done _ has not happened. it is important that justice is done without - has not happened. it is important that justice is done without fear l has not happened. it is important| that justice is done without fear or thatjustice is done without fear or favour in cases of this nature, and we all want to see people held to account if they have done wrong. but i do not deflect from the seriousness of the issues at hand but we live in the world, where very serious things are happening, and we cannot afford to be indefinitely

lost in this conversation. this may all be hard — lost in this conversation. this may all be hard to _ lost in this conversation. this may all be hard to dismiss. _ lost in this conversation. this may all be hard to dismiss. evidence i all be hard to dismiss. evidence emerged over many weeks of gatherings during lockdown, e—mail invites, loud music, staff laughing about what happened. claims and denials of parties even in the downing street flat. we know now that some laws were broken but this is what the prime minister used to say. mil is what the prime minister used to sa . �* . ~ is what the prime minister used to sa . ~ . . ., , is what the prime minister used to sa. say. all guidance was followed completely _ say. all guidance was followed completely during _ say. all guidance was followed completely during number - say. all guidance was followed l completely during number ten. say. all guidance was followed - completely during number ten. some number ten — completely during number ten. some number ten staff _ completely during number ten. some number ten staff already _ completely during numberten. some number ten staff already paid for theirjobs, and one civil servant found that there were serious failings in leadership and with the first fines now emerging is the opposition says that mrjohnson was not handling of this means he should go. not handling of this means he should io, , , ., not handling of this means he should oi, , , ., not handling of this means he should go. first he said it was outrageous that there had _ go. first he said it was outrageous that there had been _ go. first he said it was outrageous that there had been some - go. first he said it was outrageous that there had been some partiesl go. first he said it was outrageous i that there had been some parties and then when he found out he was at he said i didn't know that they were a party. the prime minister has completely lied about the situation, the police have issued fines,

lockdown rules have been reached and the prime minister has to go. boris johnson denies _ the prime minister has to go. boris johnson denies misleading anyone but spin back a couple of months and some tories were so dumbfounded by the mess that they believed he would have to quit. a few of them were publicly prepared to say so, but privately more of them were plotting to make it happen. but russia's invasion of ukraine upended priorities round here, the upset faded, but it was never forgotten. the first fines bring the downing street saga back to life with a vengeance. and if the prime minister has to square off the charges of having broken the law, he will face questions about him clinging on. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, downing street. the time is 6:15pm. our top story this evening. russia says it will "drastically" reduce military operations around kyiv and chernihiv at peace talks in istanbul. and coming up — glasgow's burrell collection reopens to the city after a five—year refurbishment.

coming up in the bbc news channel, denmark's christian eriksen returns to the scene of his cardiac arrest. the midfielder is back playing at the same stadium in copenhagen for the same stadium in copenhagen for the first time since collapsing on the first time since collapsing on the pitch. the queen hasjoined other members of the royal family at a service commemorating the life of the duke of edinburgh, who died last year at the age of 99. she was accompanied into westminster abbey by prince andrew, in his first public appearance since settling a civil sex assault case last month. there had been uncertainty about whether the queen would be able to attend, and she only made the final decision in the hours before the service. here's our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. trumpet fanfare discomforts and mobility

issues were set aside. this was a service that could not be missed. more personal than a state occasion, this was a service of thanksgiving for a beloved husband. for a man who had been the most constant presence in the queen's life for the 73 years of their marriage. the queen had made her way to her seat accompanied by the duke of york. his first appearance in public since his enforced withdrawal from royal life. already in their places, four generations of the british royal family, including prince george. the only notable absentees were the sussexes, who chose to remain in california. we give thanks for his royal highness, the prince philip, duke of edinburgh. a man of rare ability and distinction. the duke of edinburgh had championed young people through his award scheme, and one of its gold award recipients spoke of its importance. the world has been through so much turmoil and in these times it is so important to show our support to young people.

to encourage them to have opportunities and empower them to reach their full potential. the dean of windsor recalled a man who could be abrupt but had devoted his energy to many different causes. as we give thanks for the life of a remarkable man, perhaps our greatest tribute to him, most especially in these far too troubled times, will be for us to accept the challenge to play our part, however small in working for a kinderfuture. # god save our gracious queen... the service had been a chance denied by the pandemic at the duke's funeral, for family and so many more to come together in tribute.

a long life had been honoured. for the person who knew that life best, it will surely have stirred many memories and moments of reflection. the service had been a short one. at its end, the queen left, walking with care, escorted once again by the duke of york. nicholas witchell, bbc news. the uk has seized its first superyacht in british waters, worth £38 million, as part of sanctions against russia. it is owned by an unnamed russian businessman who is not currently sanctioned — but the transport secretary grant shapps said he had close connections to president putin. 0ur economics editor faisal islam takes a look now atjust how effective the sanctions are in hampering russia's war effort. seized. a super yacht moored in london's financial district, now detained under new laws aimed at the russian elite. we cannot have any benefit to these oligarchs with close connections

to putin whilst that terrible war is going on in ukraine and so many people are suffering. it reflects a new approach to russian money after the invasion of ukraine, and other western nations are doing the same. as the us minister coordinating president biden's economic hit on russia told the bbc. we are going to come for your resources. we are going to make sure that we are in a position where we will use our authorities to ensure that your resources are not able to be used to support the kremlin's illegitimate activity in ukraine and ability to project power. we are watching you. however there are fears that a month on from the sanctions, they are beginning to run out of steam. the russian currency, the rouble, has for example recovered most of its sharp losses from the record lows reached after sanctions against its central bank. as russia invades ukraine and tries to seize its territory, the west responds by detaining assets linked to russia like that, and cutting russia off from the global financial system,

which has squeezed the russian elite but hasn't yet changed president putin's mind. and he will see that the rouble has started to recover because of the flow of hard currency back to russia to pay for its oil and gas. that war chest is effectively filling up again. they can defend their currency, they can defend their economy. the truth is that the money they are taking in today is no longer filling their warchest. they are using that money to buy roubles to try and prop up their economy. we are forcing the kremlin to make choices, to choose between supporting their domestic economy and their domestic needs rather than being able to support the war in ukraine. the russian government complains of total economic war against it but the message from ukraine's allies is that more financial retaliation against the kremlin is on the way. faisal islam, bbc news. over 200 babies might have survived had better maternity care been provided by an nhs trust, the bbc has learned. dozens of other children sustained

life—changing injuries as a result of the failure to provide adequate treatment by shrewsbury and telford nhs trust. 0ur social affairs correspondent michael buchanan helped uncover the story and joins us now. 200 avoidable deaths and many injuries — this is a very serious finding. it is indeed, and tomorrow is the culmination of a five year investigation into maternity care in shropshire, shared by the senior midwife which started out as an investigation into 23 cases but it has mushroomed and the review team looked into 1862 cases and it is the largest inquiry into maternity care in the history of the nhs. ahead of the publication, what we have learned is that the review team have concluded that 131 stillbirths and 70 neonatal deaths might not have happened had better maternity been

provided in the vast majority of cases are from the year 2000 up to 2019. poor care is also said to have been a contributor to the death of a number of women in childbirth and to dozens of children sustaining avoidable harm such as cerebral palsy and brain injury. the trust will respond fully to the findings tomorrow. they have previously said that they take full responsibility for their failings and that they sincerely apologise to every family that they have failed. but tomorrow, it is going to be a difficult day for hundreds of families across shropshire. a public recognition, if you like, of two decades of private grief and unfortunately, a grim way for many of the families that campaigned for the nhs to accept that there was poor maternity care being provided here, tomorrow will being provided here, tomorrow will be a vindication for them, unfortunately.— be a vindication for them, unfortunatel. a . �* . ., ., the chief executive

of p&0 ferries has hit back at government calls to reverse the decision to sack 800 workers, saying it would cause the whole company to collapse. peter hebblethwaite said reinstating the staff could lead to the loss of more than two thousand jobs — and also said he had no intention of resigning. in response, the transport secretary grant shapps called the boss a pirate of the high sea and accused him of shredding the reputation of the company. children with special educational needs or disabilities in england would receive earlier help from schools under proposals put forward by the government — in a delayed review which was launched in 2019. £70 million of additional funding would be made available for the measures, which aim to put an end to patchy provision across the country. 0ur education correspondent elaine dunkley reports. funny ears... there's no pins in the ears. harrison is nine years old and has autism. getting him the support he needs in a mainstream school has been difficult. in one term alone,

he was excluded 1a times. school were terrible. they were sending him home on a daily basis. i was called out of work to go support in school. he wasn't doing any teacher—led activities at all, he was just going in, sitting in a room with two teachers on his own. for too many children like harrison, there are delays and disruption, with varying support across england. years of trying to get a diagnosis, a lack of funding from local authorities, and navigating a complicated system are all part of the problem. last year, 1.4 million children in england were identified as having special educational needs. the government is promising early intervention. and a simpler process. we propose to establish a new, single national special educational needs and disabilities alternative provision system across education, health and care. you haven't told me what you are! proposals also include changing

the culture in mainstream schools to be more inclusive, with additional training and staff. lilycroft primary has been part of a trial, bringing together health and local education teams. it would take you between five and six years to get a diagnosis of autism for children in the centre of bradford. and sometimes parents would then give up, if you like, because it was such a stressful process. we don't wait any more — we get the child the help they need, so the gap between the children and their peers is minimised. labour and teaching unions agree that change is needed, but say the plans are not ambitious enough to transform a system in crisis. for this family, things are looking up. after battling for six years, harrison has now been placed in a special school in huddersfield. the first time i spoke to his new head teacher, he had me in tears. you can see a future for him, you can see, you know, potential that wasn't there before,

and it's brilliant. elaine dunkley, bbc news. the burrell collection in glasgow has reopened to the public today. it's home to an internationally—renowned collection of 9,000 artefacts and has had a five—year renovation costing more than 68 million pounds. the gallery now has considerably more exhibition space, which means some items which haven't been seen in public for decades are on show. 0ur scotland correspondent lorna gordon has been to look round. welcome to the burrell collection. the first visitors back at one of glasgow's best—loved museums. reopening after renovations lasting more than five years. it looks fabulous. really fabulous. delighted to be here and see everything they've done. it's fantastic. what do you think of the burrell? excellent! the vastly increased gallery space ensuring more of this collection can be seen than ever before. i initially had a list of 800

objects for me to look at and start thinking about conservation treatment. and this is definitely one of my favourite objects. i think it's their facial expressions and the hand gestures. and you canjust imagine any kind of group of people maybe listening to someone, and the two there in the background look a bit like they are starting to whisper or have a bit of a gossip! the museum's walls of glass a virtue which had become a challenge. the building has been made watertight, less vulnerable to changes in heat, and more accessible for those they are hoping will visit post—pandemic. a place like this gives that communal coming together, you know, that we didn't have during lockdown. but the collections themselves, they are real glory here. the burrell, a stunning space in a unique location. this huge personal collection gifted to the city many decades ago offering a unique window on the world. lorna gordon, bbc news, at the burrell collection in glasgow.

time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. you were saying yesterday it would get cold and it has. it you were saying yesterday it would get cold and it has.— get cold and it has. it has started to, and temperatures _ get cold and it has. it has started to, and temperatures have - get cold and it has. it has startedl to, and temperatures have further get cold and it has. it has started - to, and temperatures have further to fall. the really cold air today has been working into the north of scotland and this was the scene earlier in shetland with snow falling and more and more of us will get into that really cold air. the very cold conditions are to the north of this band of cloud, rain, sleet and snow starting to mixing as it pushes out of scotland into northern england tonight. ahead of it, areas of low cloud, mist and fog and in relative terms a mild night but in the cold air there will be a frost and temperatures well below freezing and further snow showers feeding in and the potential for ice across northern scotland to take into tomorrow morning and for southern scotland and northern ireland, cloud, outbreaks of patchy, like rain, sleet and snow and northern england seeing rain and

sleet and snow and certainly snow piling up over the high ground of the pennines and rain into the north midlands and north wales and to the south, are mainly dry but rather murky start to the day and we take our band of cloud, rain, sleet and snow south and much of the snow over high ground but we could see wintry nurse coming to low levels and plenty of snow in the showers pushing into the north on a brisk breeze. 12 degrees in the south but for most of us we are looking at highs between five and 8 degrees, below the normal, well below for the time of year. tomorrow night, the area of rain, sleet and snow pushes south and could give a covering over high ground and possibly even at low levels and for thursday, sunny spells, but lots of wintry showers and a brisk, cold north or north easterly wind and top temperatures for most of us between five and 8 degrees, may be getting up to ten in the west in glasgow and in plymouth. things slowly turn a bit less cold,

but only a bit, through friday and into the