tonight at ten, we're in ukraine, where at least 50 people are dead and hundreds more injured after a rocket hit a train station in the east of the country. it happened as thousands of people were trying to escape heavy fighting in the region. russia denies any involvement. you can see the effects of the blast on these parked cars behind me, now burnt out. and on the pavement, you can see bags of food that they were taking for their journey to safety, along with dried blood that's smeared across the pavement. meanwhile, the president of the european commission sees for herself the horrors of the war in the city of bucha, as britain and germany agree more military aid for ukraine. we take a first look at the chernobyl nuclear site, now back in ukrainian control after the russians fled. and the other main stories

on the programme tonight: after growing pressure on the chancellor, his wife akshata murthy says she will now pay uk tax on her overseas income. he can still pull a crowd, but will he get enough votes? emanuelle macron faces a tightening race ahead of the first round of the french presidential election this weekend. and tiger in the woods, as he fails to burn as brightly on the second day of the masters in augusta. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel, ellen white passes 50 senior international goals for england during their world cup qualifying match against north macedonia. good evening.

we're live from the ukrainian capital, kyiv, with news of missiles hitting a train station packed full of people in the east of the country. at least 50 are dead, including five children, while many more are injured. the station, in the city of kramatorsk, had become a major hub in the war for civilian evacuations from the donbas region, which has seen fighting by russian separatists for many years, and is now the focal point of vladimir putin's war effort. it's thought around 4,000 people were in and around the station when the missiles hit, most of them women, children and the elderly. russia denies any involvement, and is blaming ukraine for the attack. the pentagon says moscow's denials are not credible. jonathan beale has the very latest from kramatorsk, and a warning — you may find his report distressing. all they were trying to do was to flee their city for safety. but many never made it out.

these were the scenes outside kramatorsk�*s train station soon after the explosion — killing dozens, including children, and injuring many more. the emergency services were soon on the scene, collecting the bodies and taking the wounded to hospital. among the bodies, their belongings, still scattered across the station — a mobile phone and a children's toy. translation: | jumped into - the passage where there are walls. everyone was panicking. people were screaming and crying. then i saw a wounded woman. she was bleeding heavily. she was taken somewhere into a room. there were also several wounded people there. i saw people lying in front of the building. i don't know whether they were wounded or dead. translation: people - were panicked and stressed. some of them were badly wounded and we tried to help them.

the remains of a missile lay close by. painted on the casing — in russian — the words "for the children". but why? questions, too, as to why no crater and why so much was still intact. did it malfunction, or could it have been shot down? western officials still believe it's likely it was a russian missile fired indiscriminately. with the sound of air raid warnings, this has been the scene at kramatorsk station over the past few days — thousands of people trying to get out. they've been told to leave as russia steps up its offensive in the east. kramatorsk has already been targeted. as you can see, the station, outside it, it's empty. but this morning, it was packed with people, many of them women and children, trying to flee this city to safety. you can see the effects of the blast

on these parked cars behind me, now burnt out. and on the pavement, you can see bags of food that they were taking for their journey to safety, along with dried blood that's smeared across the pavement. russia says it wasn't responsible. it even claims that it wasn't its missile. but ukraine's president has dismissed those denials. the region's governor believes this was a cluster munition designed to kill and maim over a wide area. if this was a deliberate attack on civilians, then the british government says it's another russian war crime. jonathan beale, bbc news, kramatorsk. just the latest outrage in this war. international efforts to step up pressure on russia are continuing. borisjohnson says the uk is sending another £100 million worth of military equipment to the ukrainian army, including surface to air missiles

and anti—tank weapons. he's been holding talks with the german chancellor 0laf scholz at downing street, while the eu president, ursula von de leyen, has been here in ukraine offering her support. here's our diplomatic correspondent, paul adams. in bucha, a chance to ponder the brutal realities of this war. ursula von der leyen, president of the european commission, in the town where ukraine says hundreds of civilians were killed by russian troops. the whole world is mourning with the people of bucha, and they are the ones who are, as you said, defending the border of europe, defending humanity, defending democracy, and therefore, we stand with them. but how much more are ukraine's friends willing to do to help? today, slovakia became the first country to send a major air defence system. with another russian offensive looming, this is the kind of equipment ukraine says it badly needs.

in downing street, with germany's new chancellor by his side, borisjohnson said britain was also doing more. today, i can announce that the uk will send a further £100 million worth of high—grade military equipment to ukraine's armed forces, including more starstreak anti—aircraft missiles, which fly at three times the speed of sound, another 800 anti—tank missiles and precision munitions capable of lingering in the sky until directed to their target. supplies are coming in from all over the world. the czech republic has sent a fleet of russian—made battle tanks. the ukrainians know the t—72 well and can use it with no extra training. russian military wreckage litters the roads where they've been and gone. ukraine's armed forces have fought tenaciously and with great skill, but most believe sterner tests lie ahead. will all the new equipment arrive

in time, and will it be enough? and could the west do more on the economic front? the german chancellor facing difficult questions about his country's continued reliance on russian oil and gas. do you really think that germany has gone far enough, fast enough to move away from russian energy? i can give you the very clear answer, we are doing the strongest investments and we are doing the hardest activities feasible to get independent, and we will be successful. britain is also bolstering nato. the defence secretary, ben wallace, in romania today, offering two more raf typhoonjets. whoever wins the war in ukraine, nato's presence in eastern europe has been utterly transformed by this war. paul adams, bbc news. during the war here, the chornobyl former nuclear power site was occupied by russian

troops, but is now back in ukrainian hands. there were concerns the plant may have been damaged in fighting. 0ur correspondent, yogita limaye, is one of the first journalists to reach the site, north of the capital kyiv, since russian forces left. access to chornobyl has onlyjust opened up on an off—road track. the bridge to it was destroyed to stop the russian advance. this is the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, among the first parts of ukraine to be captured when russia invaded. "they surrounded us with tanks and there were aircraft flying overhead", security officer petro says. russian forces broke into monitoring and control stations. electricity was cut off for a few days — a major threat. translation: we store nuclear waste.

if we'd lost power, it would have been catastrophic. radioactive material could have been released. i wasn't really worried for my life, i was scared of what would happen if i wasn't here. it's not possible for us to go any further because it could be risky but, if you walk down here, in that direction is an area of very high levels of contamination known as the red forest. and drone video has now come out which officials here have seen and they've confirmed to us the russian soldiers not only built trenches there, but they appear to have stayed there as well. this is evidence of how little they knew about nuclear safety. the soldiers were exposed to significant doses of radiation, ukraine says. below the plant is a basement, where 170 members of the national guard securing chornobyl were held captive. no—one still knows where they are. they were taken by russian forces.

former ukrainian president petro poroshenko visited chornobyl today, with a warning for the world. are we sure that tomorrow, russian troops cannot appear here? my answer would be no. putin is completely unpredictable. and nuclear, the nuclear smoke can reach eastern europe, central europe and even great britain. for now, there is relief here, but also a sense of unease. the threat is just ten miles away, across the border. yogita limaye, bbc news, chornobyl. that's all from me in ukraine for the moment — i'll be back later in the programme with an extended report from jeremy bowen on the war so far. but for now, back to reeta in the studio in london.

clive, many thanks. clive myrie there. here in the uk, the home secretary, priti patel, has apologised for the visa delays which have prevented thousands of ukrainians fleeing the violence from entering the country. new figures show more than 40,000 visas for ukrainians have now been issued, and a total of 12,000 refugees have arrived in the country — that's in stark contrast to the hundreds of thousands who've been accepted in some european nations. our home editor, mark easton, has more. the welcome flags are out in north devon, in private gardens, on public buildings, the blue and yellow of ukraine illustrating a deep desire here to help those fleeing a war more than 1,500 miles away. chris tattersall is a local apple farmer and cider producer who got in touch with the ukrainian consulate to say he wanted to welcome a family of refugees. he was put in touch with eleanor, her elderly parents and nine—year—old son five weeks ago. they're still surviving on hand—outs in poland. right, so this is the room

where they'll be staying. i think it'll be perfect. devon's generosity, though, is being thwarted by whitehall bureaucracy. ..turn up tomorrow if we could get the visa. it's taken chris weeks to navigate the forms and documents required by the government, including getting a passport for anna, the cat. it's a sham excuse for slowing the process down, and i don't know why the government wants to slow it down. they're people who are desperate. there's families sleeping on park benches in freezing temperatures in poland. why? on a visit to the ukrainian institute in london, i asked the home secretary about the hold—ups in getting war refugees to the uk. so, completely, it's been frustrating. will you apologise? i apologise with frustration myself, and i've spoken about this previously too. it takes time, mark. it takes time, butjust 12,000 ukrainians arriving in the uk doesn't look like the very generous scheme the home secretary promised.

in germany, it's 300,000. in ireland, its 17,000. why is britain playing catch—up? so, mark, if i may politelyjust say, this isn't about catch—up and this is not about comparing us to other countries. why? well, first and foremost because we have an uncapped scheme. we demand visas, other countries don't. so, that is because they're eu member state countries. we've left the eu and it's right that we document people that come to our country. back in devon, chris's wife anne showed me the e—mails from people who want to support her charity auction for ukraine. i've been inundated with offers - of help, and unlike this government, who've dressed everything up with platitudes and barriers, i saying "we stand with ukraine". the community here in torrington and north devon, we really do - stand by the ukrainians. for north devon, read the uk, a country moved by the awful stories unfolding on the other side of europe, but often exasperated by what people see as unnecessary red tape.

mark easton, bbc news, devon. the wife of the chancellor, rishi sunak, has said that she will pay tax in the uk on her overseas income, something she avoided — legally — until now. akshata murthy, who is a multi—millionaire, said she didn't wish her tax status to be a distraction for her husband. our business editor, simonjack, joins me now. this is quite an about—turn? up up to now, the chancellor has said the financial affairs of his wife had no bearing on his role. she has a couple of homes here, three in fact, if you include downing street, but she isn't resident for tax purposesin but she isn't resident for tax purposes in the uk. she is a non—dom so she doesn't pay tax on overseas earnings, which is legal. tonight, she said in a statement, it's become clear that it isn't compatible with

my husband's as chancellor. i understand the british sense of fairness and i don't want my tax status to be a distraction from a husband or affect my family. i do this because i want to not because the rules require me to. her overseas earnings are substantial, she earns a £700 million stake in the company herfather she earns a £700 million stake in the company her father founded and she gets £11.5 million annually in dividends and right now she pays about £2 million less in tax than she would if she was a uk citizen, so she is going to voluntarily pay the full amount, but she going to remain a non—dom and, thanks to an old treaty, that means for inheritance tax purposes she will either be able to pay 40% here or 0% in india, which could be a saving of £280 million. 0ur political correspondent, iain watson, is at westminster for us. how much will this change of heart help the chancellor? it will certainly help a bit. i don't expect him to be quitting

number 11 downing st tonight. but it might not help him as much as he might not help him as much as he might like, because only this morning he was saying that attacks on his wife's tax status were a smear and she had done nothing wrong but tonight, under pressure, tax status has changed, leading to some conservatives questioning his politicaljudgment. 0ne former cabinet minister said, where was his political brain? is conservative critics are worried this continued focus on his family's tax arrangement at a time when everybody else's taxes are going up is damaging for the supporters say this is the politics of envy and they accuse opponents inside and outside the party hopping out to get him fit up the party hopping out to get him fit up but i think it's a reminder, if any were needed, that political fortunes, just like investments, can rise but they can also fall. thank ou. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. and the man who murdered the primary school teacher sabina nessa has been

jailed for a minimum of 36 years. 36—year—old koci selamaj, from albania, drove from eastbourne to south—east london last september to carry out what police said was a random, sexually motivated attack. he killed ms nessa in a park in kidbrooke — striking her head repeatedly with a metal traffic triangle and then strangling her. covid infection rates in the uk are showing signs of levelling off after last week's record high, according to the latest figures. it comes as older and vulnerable people across the uk are invited for their extra boosterjab. the office for national statistics estimated that last week one in 13 people had covid in england, wales and scotland, and one in 16 in northern ireland. in all, that's 4.9 million people — down very slightly from the week before. the three—time wimbledon champion boris becker has been found guilty of four charges related to his bankruptcy in 2017.

appearing at southwark crown court in london, he was accused of hiding millions of pounds' worth of assets, including two wimbledon trophies, to avoid paying his debts. he was cleared of 20 other charges. the 54—year—old will be sentenced later this month. the actor will smith has been banned for ten years from any event organised by the american film academy, which hosts the oscars. will smith had already resigned from the academy and apologised for slapping the comedian chris rock at this year's 0scars ceremony, after he made a joke about the actor's wife. latest polling suggests the french president, emmanuel macron, isjust two percentage points ahead of his main rival, the far—right candidate marine le pen, as france prepares to vote in the first round of the presidential election on sunday. there are nine candidates, with macron and le pen the favourites to win the most votes and go through to a deciding run—off vote in a fortnight. lucy williamson reports

from the campaign trail. he won the presidency last time by standing out from the crowd. five years on, emmanuel macron, seen by many as arrogant and out of touch, is keen to show he is close to the people. a classic defence, when your far—right rival is right behind you in the polls. the message here in brittany, he's notjust a president for capitalists but for left—wing voters, too. translation: it's europe that allows us to reform excessive _ and sometimes crazy capitalism. if we want to put social and environmental concerns at the heart of the market economy, it's europe that allows us to act. left—wing territory like this backed mr macron five years ago against his far—right rival, marine le pen. many left—wing voters are more disillusioned now, but polls suggest that marine le pen is closer than ever to winning this election, and mr macron is hoping that's enough to get the left

to vote again. down the road, in the local boulangerie, sophie said she voted for president macron five years ago because she was nervous about voting for marine le pen. not this time. translation: she's evolved. she learnt from her mistakes. she is very human. we understand her when she speaks. i think, this time, the right person will win. i hope so, because i'd never bet with my customers. marine le pen has worked hard to soften her image. she still wants to ban muslim headscarves in public places and give french nationals priority in benefits, housing and jobs. but her focus in this campaign has been rising prices, made worse by the war in ukraine. at a rally in the southern city of perpignan this week, 18—year—old anwar flores said le pen

was right to focus on the things that matter to french people and less on security issues. mr macron still has the edge in this election, but he has warned that nothing is impossible. as the man who broke the political mould here five years ago, if anyone should know that, it's him. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. the queen has pulled out of attending the annual royal maundy thursday church service. buckingham palace said she would be represented for the first time by the prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall. the 95—year—old queen has had mobility issues and has been taking part in virtual audiences this week. the scottish national party says next month's elections in scotland are a chance to "send a message to borisjohnson". at the launch of her party's campaign, nicola sturgeon said the vote came amid what she called a "tory—made cost—of—living crisis", promising the snp would focus

on the issue if elected. we need to see borisjohnson and rishi sunak wake up and start to take serious action to help people here, and this council election is an opportunity for people to send that message to them loudly and clearly. plaid cymru has launched its welsh election campaign with a pledge to extend free school meals to all pupils. the party leader, adam price, who unveiled their manifesto, said that housing and safeguarding jobs and incomes were also key priorities. free school meals, free childcare, these radical policies would not have happened if it wasn't for plaid cymru, and that's a flavour, if you like, at the national level of the difference that we can make in communities throughout wales if we were able to run more local authorities following the may 5th elections. golf, and, in the second round of the masters at augusta, it's not quite been tiger woods' day. after coming back to the sportjust a year on from a car crash

that nearly killed him, the five—time champion has slipped back. 0ur sports correspondent, andy swiss, was watching. so, could he continue his remarkable return? after a fine first round, tiger woods was out to prove once again that anything is possible. but he was soon struggling. he dropped four shots in the first five holes. was there any way back? well, this is tiger woods, of course. he'll need a few more of these to keep any lingering hopes alive. 0thers, though, were very much flourishing. england's danny willett won the masters in 2016, and this briefly took him to the top of the leaderboard. in blustery conditions, though, others made heavy weather. rory mcilroy hung in there, but at 2—over, he's a long way off the pace. but what they all would have given for something like this, a hole—in—one from america's stewart cink, making this trickiest of sports look oh so simple.

tracking down the slope. surely not. 0h! andy swiss, bbc news. that's all from me here in london, i'll now hand you back to clive in kyiv. russia invaded ukrainejust six weeks ago but, in that time, we've seen entire districts destroyed, there's possible evidence of war crimes being committed, and more than ten million people have been forced to leave their homes. the war is transforming this nation. jeremy bowen has been reporting on the conflict for more than a month, and he's sent us this report. a warning — it does contain some upsetting scenes. yuri went back to the place where his daughter ina was killed. the war has changed everything for ukrainians. "why did you burn her?" these ashes, he says,

are all that's left. ina was a doctor, his only child. she was picking up medicines at a humanitarian centre when it was destroyed in one of russia's last attacks before the retreat from kyiv. explosions. it took hard fighting for the ukrainians to win the battle of kyiv, the first battle. there could be another. ukrainian willingness to fight and die upended every prediction of a swift russian victory. men under 60 have to stay to fight, but everyone i've met is a willing volunteer. we followed two students, maxim, aged 19, and his friend, demetro, who is 18, since they signed upjust after the invasion. i am studying the economy. and i am studying biology. they looked like friends

off to a festival, except they had weapons. kyiv was turned into a fortress in a remarkable feat of national mobilisation. demetro and maxim's military career started on the checkpoints. since then, they have seen active service fighting on the front line. and there's the volodymyr zelensky effect. that's why i ask you to stand against the war. the ukrainian president ditching his suit for army green and sharing the people's dangers is sharpening ukrainian identity and independence in the eyes of the world. just before russia pulled back from kyiv, it hit a big food warehouse. the invasion means ukraine, once on the edge of europe and european minds, is now centre stage. this is a world crisis notjust because the russians have driven

a tank through international law or because of what they're doing to civilians, though that matters a great deal. it's because the world's biggest military powers, armed with nuclear weapons, have come closer to a potential direct confrontation than at any time since the cold war. the world has seen the damage inflicted on the russians by motivated, well led ukrainian troops armed with nato weapons. this was bucha. butjust as plain are the risks of escalation if nato gives the ukrainians the much more deadly weapons they've requested. the head of ukrainian military intelligence says the dangers of not confronting putin's russia are much worse. translation: this is the war- of aggression in the heart of europe

that completely destroys the world's existing political and military institutions. if the world swallows putin's aggression and offers no radical solution, it will be repeated over and over again. russian atrocities are helping ukraine win the argument in the west. we saw dead bodies, some definitely civilians, left where they were killed by the russians. and after they killed irina's only son alexei, she had to bury him in the garden on her own. the young soldiers, maxim and demetro, are back in kyiv. like all ukrainians, they believe they're in the fight of their lives. i think we are fighting not only for our country's life, we are fighting for the life of the whole civilised world. have you changed ? yeah, i've become, like, more systematic, probably.