this is bbc news broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. the headlines... in ukraine, evidence of intense fighting, as russian troops retreat, with civilians killed in the fighting. under the laws of war, civilians are supposed to be protected.- supposed to be protected. russia sa s supposed to be protected. russia says ukrainian _ supposed to be protected. russia says ukrainian helicopters - supposed to be protected. russia i says ukrainian helicopters attacked an oil depot and russian territory. ukraine has denied its behind the attack. as russian troops leave chernobyl — the head of the un's nuclear watchdog tells the bbc he'll send a team to the plant the as soon as possible. and amazon is beaten by workers in new york, as they vote in favour of a trade union — a first

for amazon in the us. covid—19 infections in the uk, hit a record high — nearly five million had the virus last week. the draw for the 2022 world cup finals in qatar is under way. we'll bring you news of the groups in the next half hour. hello and welcome. in ukraine, the bbc has found evidence that russian forces have been forced to pull back from positions they held at the start of their invasion, five weeks ago. russian armour has been heading west out of the capital kyiv, and a bbc team gained access to one area, just hours after their retreat. a stretch of the e—ao highway was where shocking images from the early days of the war emerged — showing russian

troops firing on civilians trying to escape. jeremy bowen and his team have now reached the scene of the attack, and found evidence that raises the possibility that war crimes may have occurred. a warning, his report contains some graphic and distressing images. on a stretch of road that runs between two villages with names that translate as "dream" and "sweetheart" is all the savagery and waste of war. ukrainian forces had just recaptured it, their troops moving in after a heavy bombardment from their artillery. this was only a few hours after the russian retreat. in the early hours of this morning, this was recaptured? absolutely correct. so, basically, around 2am today, our reconnaissance team report that they start to see movement. oleksandr, a ukrainian volunteer who is back home from england to fight, showed a position where a russian tank had been dug in.

so that is where the russian tank was and that is exactly where he... this is the line of fire, that's how they shoot. on the 7th of march, oleksandr's drone unit filmed the tank in action. the drone showed civilians trying to get to kyiv to escape the russians. and then, they saw the tank. one of the cars was forced to stop. the driver tried to show he was harmless. and the russians shot him dead. they also killed his wife. the dead couple were maksim and his wife, ksenya. they were travelling with their six—year—old son and a friend, who both survived. she said maksim had been shouting they were with a child when he was killed. almost four weeks later, maksim's badly burned body still lies next to the hulk of their car. ksenya's remains are inside. her mouth is open,

as if in a scream. the car and the back seat are riddled with bullets. the vehicle and their bodies were not burnt when they were killed. the hypothesis is that russian soldiers tried to destroy the evidence of what they had done. the drone operator who filmed their death said the russians must have known maksim's car was not a threat. so they were trying to say that they were civilians? yes, yes, they know it. you can see it, the whole car is civilians, not an army car, and they shoot it. in the woods near the road, there is evidence the russians left in a hurry. you can see the place where, in the trees, the russians were living. there is a dug—out. there's beer bottles. it's like the marie celeste, half—finished meals. they were here for a month. the camp is full of the soldiers' rubbish. on a front line, that is usually

the sign of an ill—disciplined unit. they tried, unsuccessfully, to hide another tank in the trees. that was punished by the ukrainians, who destroyed it. a much bigger question is whether there will be a reckoning for what happened on the highway. maksim and ksenya were not the only ones who were killed near the tank, dug into the roadside. more bodies here? yes. one, two, three bodies, ithink. yes. you're absolutely right. in a couple of hundred yards, with oleksandr from the ukrainian army, we counted 11 other dead bodies. it's ukrainian. three were wearing recognisable ukrainian military uniform. the others wore civilian clothes. some of the dead were piled up and surrounded by tyres. they deliberately burned them. they set on fire to hide their... to hide what they did.

in the desolation are a mass of questions about who they were and how they were killed. it's hard to imagine the fear these people must have gone through in the last few moments of their lives or, indeed, the anguish survivors, families, must be feeling right now. but this is more than just a collection of terrible deaths. it's a crime scene. because under the laws of war, civilians are supposed to be protected. we drove to the next village to confirm a ukrainian claim that they had destroyed more russian tanks. the russian armour was broken and, except for soldiers, the village was deserted and still. the russians could be redeploying to the eastern battlefields, butjust a few hours after they had left this strategic area close to the capital, it was clear they were being forced out.

many civilians are mourning relatives and friends they say were killed by russian troops. as and when they retreat, they might leave behind more evidence that could add up to war crimes. jeremy bowen, bbc news, outside kyiv. ukraine's top security official has denied accusations by russia that ukraine was behind an attack on an oil depot in the russian city of belgorod. the governor of the belgorod region, close to the border with ukraine said ukrainian helicopters have attacked the oil depot in the early hours of friday. russia claims it was caused by missiles from two ukrainian helicopters. but ukrainie's security council secretary oleksiy danilov said that, according to his information, this claim �*does not correspond to reality�*. the kremlin says the incident won't help the ongoing negotiations between the two sides. aid workers have once again been unable to take vital supplies into the besieged ukrainian city

of mariupol, and rescue civilians trapped there. the international committee of the red cross said several vehicles had been on their way, but couldn't enter the port because "conditions made it impossible". they will try again tomorrow. tens of thousands of people are trapped there, following weeks of russian bombardment. the un's nuclear watchdog says it will send a team to chernobyl i'm joined now by a ukrainian mp. thank you very much for talking to us. we have seen scenes of desperation in mariupol. what is the latest you're hearing from that city? latest you're hearing from that ci ? ,., latest you're hearing from that ci ? ., ., ., . city? the same humanitarian crime scene. hundreds _ city? the same humanitarian crime scene. hundreds of— city? the same humanitarian crime scene. hundreds of people - city? the same humanitarian crime scene. hundreds of people are - city? the same humanitarian crime scene. hundreds of people are stillj scene. hundreds of people are still in mariupol, and russia has blocked rear humanitarian convoys and corridors. the road is like

mariupol... red is under russian occupation. it gives opportunities to move, but between mariupol and divert aunt scott, there's no movement. there's no real humanitarian corridors. so a dangerous — humanitarian corridors. so a dangerous stretch _ humanitarian corridors. so a dangerous stretch there - humanitarian corridors. so a dangerous stretch there that you've mentioned. the international committee of the red cross says they'll try again to send a humanitarian convoy tomorrow. how hopeful are you that that will succeed? ., ., ., ., ' ':: succeed? zero. from a scale of 1-10, it's zero. because _ succeed? zero. from a scale of 1-10, it's zero. because the _ succeed? zero. from a scale of 1-10, it's zero. because the international. it's zero. because the international committee of the red cross does nothing in ukraine, really. what committee of the red cross does nothing in ukraine, really. what do ou mean nothing in ukraine, really. what do you mean by _ nothing in ukraine, really. what do you mean by that? _ nothing in ukraine, really. what do you mean by that? i _ nothing in ukraine, really. what do you mean by that? i mean - nothing in ukraine, really. what do you mean by that? i mean by - nothing in ukraine, really. what do you mean by that? i mean by that. you mean by that? i mean by that from the first _ you mean by that? i mean by that from the first day _ you mean by that? i mean by that from the first day of— you mean by that? i mean by that from the first day of the _ you mean by that? i mean by that from the first day of the war, - you mean by that? i mean by that from the first day of the war, the |

from the first day of the war, the ukrainian department of the red cross tries to do something in the hot place, but international committee does nothing, they have no resolve. the only position that is all they have is to open a place that will support the deportation of ukrainian people from mariupol to russian territory. so in ukraine now, the role of the international red cross — everybody is discussing it, and what was on the carpet is being discussed openly. we don't see the results of the international red cross action in the ukraine. what the results of the international red cross action in the ukraine. what is our ho -e cross action in the ukraine. what is your hope for— cross action in the ukraine. what is your hope for the _ cross action in the ukraine. what is your hope for the people _ cross action in the ukraine. what is your hope for the people trapped i cross action in the ukraine. what is your hope for the people trapped in mariupol? it is

your hope for the people trapped in mariu ol? , ., your hope for the people trapped in mariu ol? , . , ., your hope for the people trapped in mariu ol? , ., , ., . mariupol? it is a question we all have to ask _ mariupol? it is a question we all have to ask russia, _ mariupol? it is a question we all have to ask russia, and - mariupol? it is a question we all have to ask russia, and as - mariupol? it is a question we all have to ask russia, and as we . have to ask russia, and as we clearly see, russia is going to start hunger in mariupol, and it started already, they've organised hunger in the diplomatic process. in mariupol, people have already discussed... they have answers already, and i'm talking about half already, and i'm talking about half a million in the city in europe, and not because we have a shortage of food. no, just armed people killing everybody trying to escape mariupol, and 100 years ago we've already seen and100 years ago we've already seen it— and 100 years ago we've already seen it— it was called the holder more and it was done the same way. so what's your assessment of how the war is going and where the war is now? we see in russia say they'll focus their efforts on the country now, there are peace talks ongoing

which don't seem to be yielding much. how would you describe this moment? , ., _, , ., much. how would you describe this moment? , ., , ., ., moment? they have complete defeat on the northern direction _ moment? they have complete defeat on the northern direction near— moment? they have complete defeat on the northern direction near kyiv. - the northern direction near kyiv. they are moving not because — they said they decided to go out from ukraine, theyjust don't have an opportunity to move forward, the rain season is coming into weeks, they will be stopped totally. like in a mouse trap. so they are getting out. so if they run, we shoot, short story. they are trying to reorganise their troops to enforce the group on their troops to enforce the group on

the southern and eastern directions, and we are looking forward to to the big war there. it will intensify. and we understand that it's not over, it's for a long time, for months and months. and as we all know, russia never honours their agreements. so these peace talks, of course we are taking part in them without any doubt, ukraine will always take part in any peace negotiations. but we understand that russia doesn't want peace. thank you ve much russia doesn't want peace. thank you very much for— russia doesn't want peace. thank you very much forjoining _ russia doesn't want peace. thank you very much forjoining us _ russia doesn't want peace. thank you very much forjoining us and - russia doesn't want peace. thank you very much forjoining us and sharing l very much forjoining us and sharing your thoughts.

the un's nuclear watchdog says it will send a team to chernobyl as soon as possible after, ukraine said russian forces have withdrawn from the plant. the head of the international atomic energy agency, rafael grossi, spoke to my colleague lewis vaughanjones a little earlier. lewis asked him how worried he was by reports about potentially raised levels of radiation around chernobyl. all that you say, we are aware, we are also aware. there's a lot of work to be done in chernobyl. apart from this, the radiation situation is something that we need to confirm. there was, as you were reminding us, a slight increase in the levels of radiation caused by the movement of heavy armoured vehicles and military vehicles in general, when the plant was occupied a few weeks ago. now apparently, there has been a similar situation, perhaps on the way out of them from the plant, and the exclusion zone, which, as you know, is surrounding the the facility itself. so one of the things we are going to be doing,

if we can get there next week, is this work and many other things that we need to do there. well, on the work to do there, let's just try and get a quick idea of what exactly that is because you have a number of nuclear plant sites effectively in a war zone. how worried are you, and what are you doing to try and keep them safe? well, from the very beginning of the conflict, we have been saying that we have to have a system of protection, an ad hoc, if you want system to protect this, these facilities 15 nuclear reactors and four big sites, and other associated facilities scattered around the territory of one of the biggest countries in continental europe. so that, you can imagine, poses a huge challenge. so in the course of the past few

weeks, i've been consulting, negotiating with ukraine, and also talking to russia because of the facts on the ground, on how to go about it. you were mentioning that i was in ukraine. in fact, i landed in vienna just an hour ago from my trip there, and also to kaliningrad, in russia, and we agreed with my ukrainian colleagues to have a number of activities which we're going to be performing at different facilities on the safety of these plants, and also on some of the inspection work that we need to do to control the nuclear material that is in many of these facilities. the head of the international atomic energy agency. on thursday, president biden announced 1 million barrels of oil will be released daily for the next six months from

the us strategic reserve to help reduce international fuel prices which have been soaring since the russian invasion of ukraine. today he announced other countries were joining the us in releasing more oil reserves. , ., ., g; z: reserves. this morning, over 30 countries _ reserves. this morning, over 30 countries from _ reserves. this morning, over 30 countries from across _ reserves. this morning, over 30 countries from across the - reserves. this morning, over 30 countries from across the world | countries from across the world convened in an extraordinary meeting and agreed to the release of tens of millions of additional barrels of oil onto the market. hundreds of hours of meeting with key allies, keeping them together is paying off. nations are coming together to deny putin the ability to weaponize his resources against american families and families in europe and around the world. amazon workers in new york have voted to form their first union in the united states. it's a significant moment for a company that has been opposed to an organised union within its massive workforce. our business correspondent samira hussain joins us from new york. good to see you — this is being

described as an historic win for amazon workers. tell us why. it absolutely is because remember, amazon is an absolute juggernaut in terms of its retailing might, and its overall economic might. in america, amazon employs more than a million people. and since the company's inception in 1994, it has strongly pushed against any organised labour unions. but during the covid—19 pandemic, the plight of workers had really been exacerbated. and so this one individual started a union and pushed to have a union in one amazon warehouse in staten island, new york. today he managed to clinch a victory — something other amazon warehouses have not been able to do. it’s

other amazon warehouses have not been able to do.— been able to do. it's an amazing outcome for _ been able to do. it's an amazing outcome for this _ been able to do. it's an amazing outcome for this effort, - been able to do. it's an amazing outcome for this effort, but - been able to do. it's an amazing | outcome for this effort, but what might it change? customers have gotten used to ordering packages that arrive sometimes in hours. will this change any of the way that amazon has been doing business? it absolutely can. all the metrics that amazon has been using to keep workers working the most efficiently has taken a huge toll on the workers themselves. that was the driving motivation for this particular push to unionis? and it's possible now that we will see these movements happening at other amazon warehouses across the united states. and given just how big of an employer amazon is, this could fundamentally change things for american workers. amazon has responded to the union vote saying that they are disappointed with the outcome — because they never believed that a union would be the best for its employees, whether

it be staten island or any other warehouse that might unionis? and it is also taking issue with the regulatory body that oversees these kinds of elections, saying there was a lot more influenced by them then there should have been. tell a lot more influenced by them then there should have been.— there should have been. tell us more about some — there should have been. tell us more about some of _ there should have been. tell us more about some of that _ there should have been. tell us more about some of that pushed _ there should have been. tell us more about some of that pushed towards i about some of that pushed towards unionis? because not all the workers voted for the union. that's absolutely right, of all the members that voted, the people who voted in favour of the vote, they outnumbered them by some 5—600 votes. so there are people who definitely didn't want to have the union. but yes, amazon and other votes that have happened in other places have been unsuccessful. bud happened in other places have been unsuccessful.— unsuccessful. and in this one, you saw that the _ unsuccessful. and in this one, you saw that the company _ unsuccessful. and in this one, you saw that the company was - unsuccessful. and in this one, you saw that the company was really l saw that the company was really trying to encourage and push people to vote against unionis? forcing workers to go to specific meetings

that were against forming a union. thank you very much for that. it stirred up some fascinating fixtures. england has drawn iran and the usa in group b. the other place could be qualifiers for scotland and wales. germany and spain have both been drawn together in group e with japan. let's get more with dan rowen. ., japan. let's get more with dan rowen. . , rowen. the headline news here in doha are is _ rowen. the headline news here in doha are is we _ rowen. the headline news here in doha are is we could _ rowen. the headline news here in doha are is we could have - doha are is we could have the tantalising prospect of an all british affair at the world cup later this year, because in group b, england have been drawn alongside the winner of a playoff between either wales or scotland and ukraine. now that match, because of russia's invasion of ukraine, has been pushed back to later this year. but if scott and prevail in that,

it'll mean that either they or wales will play england on 29 november. let me show you the rest of group b, because alongside england and the winner of that playoff is iran, who england have never played in a world cup final, and the us. an intriguing group for a whole host of reasons. england have a good record against the us, only able to get a draw against them. in terms of the world rankings, this is a high draw for garris southgate, i think he'll be breathing a huge sigh —— huge sigh of relief. group b is where japan and spainfind of relief. group b is where japan and spain find themselves dashed group b. brazil in a tough group, well. and intriguing draw, and hopefully something that'll take away from the controversy in the build up. away from the controversy in the build u -. ., .. .,

away from the controversy in the build u. ., ., ., build up. for full reaction to the draw, to build up. for full reaction to the draw. go to _ build up. for full reaction to the draw, go to the _ build up. for full reaction to the draw, go to the bbc— build up. for full reaction to the draw, go to the bbc website. i build up. for full reaction to the| draw, go to the bbc website. or build up. for full reaction to the - draw, go to the bbc website. or you can download the bbc app. new figures suggest covid—19 infections in the uk have hit a record high. the office for national statistics, says it estimates nearly five million people had the virus, in the week ending to 26 march, compared with 4.3 million the week before. the new data comes as free covid testing ends, for most people in england. our health editor hugh pym reports. the roll—out of the fourth jabs for the most vulnerable is being stepped up, including four residents of this care home in surrey. they have got some long—term conditions that make it difficult for them to move around their community, so us coming into the care home means they are less exposed to the outside world. christine is one resident who feels the latestjab provides more confidence about life with the virus. i think we should all settle down and get on with our lives now.

it is definitely time. just live with it like we have lived with other things. but outside in the local communities, there are still relatively high levels of covid, it is still spreading. the latest survey by the office for national statistics suggests around 4.9 million people in the uk had the virus last week, the highest recorded yet. there were increases in england to one in 13 people and wales, one in 14 with the virus. in scotland, where there were one in 12 and northern ireland with one in 15, the trend was said to be uncertain. this virus expert who has been a member of the sage committee says the data underlines the importance of vaccination. although there is a huge amount of virus out there in the community, for most people who have received their full course of vaccines, they are catching the virus, they are getting a cold or a flu—like illness, but it is not making them severely ill. it is not causing the catastrophic

rises in hospitalisations and indeed deaths that we saw in earlier waves. so there are not the same pressures on the nhs and covid cases tend to be different. the number of covid hospital patients in england is close to january levels. yellow shows those being treated with other conditions who also have the virus. red shows those where covid is the primary illness and that proportion is lower. but even so, one former health regulator told me life is still very difficult for hospitals. if you are sick with a heart condition or diabetes or other long—term conditions and you get covid on top of that, it may not be your primary problem, but it does add to the problems and complications of treatment. remember, covid in hospitals affects the hospital's capacity because the hospital needs to segregate people with active covid from other people. restrictions on free lateral flow tests are being phased out around the uk, but that doesn't mean the virus is fading away. hugh pym, bbc news.

stay with us here on bbc news, more to come. hello there. it'll still be on the cold side this weekend, not quite as cold as it has been. and we should have fewer showers around, as well. now we've still a wintry look to the weather in some parts of the country, particularly here in kent, mostly from the snow that we had much earlier in the day and from overnight. most of the showers have been falling as rain, sleet, or some hail, there hasn't been as much snow falling today. seeing some snow over the hills of western scotland, and we could see a mixture of rain and snow coming into wales and the far southwest of england. still some showers for northern ireland. elsewhere, though, clearer skies with fewer showers dying back towards the north sea coast, where we could have some icy patches. so a frost tonight scotland, much of england — nowhere near as cold as it was last night, though, for northern ireland and wales. here we should see the back of that wet weather first thing, and then, a fair bit of sunshine

to start the day. we will see the cloud bubbling up again, and that will lead to a scattering of showers — most of those, i think, will be across england and wales, not as many as we had today, probably not as heavy either. and for much of scotland and northern ireland, it will be dry. the winds will be lighter everywhere, temperatures just sneaking up a little bit higher to around 9—10 celsius. now we're seeing fewer showers because we've got higher pressure across the uk, and it's changing the wind direction a bit, as well. that weather system, though, will change the weather for scotland and northern ireland. before that arrives, though, early sunday will start frosty widely, could be down to minus 4—5 in quite a few places. we'll see the cloud increasing in scotland and northern ireland, rain coming down from the north later on. cloud will tend to increase across england and wales, probably spread out a little bit. there could be 1—2 showers, but not as many showers on sunday. many places in england and wales will be dry with some sunshine at times, and those temperatures continuing to climb a little bit higher to around 10—11 celsius. that weather system, though, bringing the rain into scotland and northern ireland, pushes south overnight. and on monday, we're in between those two fronts.

we're in what we call a warm sector — that's warmer air, soft and cloudy air — and certainly looks cloudy on monday. we've got rain and drizzle at times, and it will be windy, winds could be touching gale force in scotland for a while. we should start frost—free, though, actually on monday morning, and temperatures are hovering at around 13—14 celsius for much of the day. looking further into next week, it's still not particularly warm, just not as cold as it has been. more unsettled, though, often windy with some rain or some showers.

this is bbc world news. the headlines... in ukraine, the bbc has found evidence that russian forces have been forced to pull back from positions they held at the start of their invasion, five weeks ago. russia says ukrainian helicopters have attacked an oil depot in russian territory. ukraine has denied it's behind the attack. as russian troops leave chernobyl, the head of the un's nuclear watchdog tells the bbc he'll send a team to the plant as soon as possible. amazon is beaten by workers in new york, as they vote in favour of a trade union — a first for amazon in the us. covid—19 infections in the uk, have hit a record high with nearly five million testing positive for the virus last week. and the draw has been announced for the 2022 world cup in qatar.

england has drawn iran and the usa in group b.