tonight at six. we're live in ukraine, as outgunned and outnumbered government troops nevertheless get the upper hand on russian forces, driving them back to the border, here in the north. we go there, behind the fence. we're on the front line of the counter attack, near the second city of harkeev. near the second city of kharkiv. but despite ukrainian advances, the dangerfrom russian artillery is very real. every inch of ground they gain here, every other mile, gives their city respite from the russian

guns that you can hear. also on tonight's programme. having your say on your neighbours�* home extension — ministers announce new planning proposals. there could be street votes to determine what gets built — but critics say the plans will make the housing shortage even worse than it already is. i understand the need for housing. i mean, it would change my outlook on it obviously if it was built right on my doorstep, but that's probably a bit selfish. the hidden curse of chronic pain — up to a quarter of people in uk suffer in silence, and many end up on opioid drugs that aren't the answer. the one time friends who are now facing off in court — rebekah vardy admits she asked her agent to monitor coleen rooney's instagram account. and coming up on sportsday later in the hour on the bbc news channel. the scottish premiership title could be celtic�*s tonight.

theyjust need to avoid defeat at dundee united. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six, live from the ukrainian capital, kyiv, as government forces successfully counter attack against russian troops just north of the country's second largest city of kharkiv. in recent days, they've been retaking a number of towns and villages, pushing russian infantry and artillery back towards the border. the fighting, which has led to a dramatic fall in russian shelling of kharkiv, has been slow and costly, but ukrainian forces, say they now have the upper hand. kharkiv is just 30 miles from the frontier, with russia's

retreat possibly posing a wider threat to moscow's stated aim, of capturing significant territory in the east. our correspondent, quentin sommerville, and camera journalist darren conway have spent the last week with ukrainian troops, in and around the town of ruska losova, and they've sent us this report. air raid sirens. the spectre of russian victory once haunted this city. but no more. for months, the invaders were at the city gates, but kharkiv has cast doubt vladimir putin's foot but kharkiv has cast out vladimir putin's foot soldiers, forcing them back towards the border. this road is deadly. there are landmines either side, and a number of times vehicles have been hit by russian shelling.

so the russians are retreating, but they're not giving up. they're trying to pin these men down, but retreating they are. there is a lot more at stake here than just the city of kharkiv. the russian supply lines to the donbas are also under threat, and these men, they say that if they can take back their city, the second biggest in this country, just by the russian border, why can't they take back all of ukraine? for more than a week, they've been fighting and winning. still, they have to move fast. an army in retreat is just as dangerous. so they're on guard. above them they know that enemy drones are watching. these men are exposed.

at the top of this ridge, russian tanks and artillery still roam and still lay down fire. this has become a far more mobile fight. a deadly game of hide and seek in the kharkiv countryside. you will go there, behind the fence, yeah? 0k? we're following a ukrainian territorial defence unit, all volunteers. sit down. every second out in the open risks targeting from russians who are less than half a kilometre away. the men you see are from kharkiv. they're fighting for ukraine, but they're also fighting for their city, and it's a close quarters battle.

but every inch of ground they gain here, every other mile gives their city respite from the russian guns that you can hear. explosions. we're now in the third month of this war. who's winning? we are winning, of course. ukrainians are winning. every day that our guys do in mariupol, every day that our guys are doing brave acts that they commit, you know, all these are small wins in the big war. their fields and villages, they gain ground. from here, russia attacked kharkiv

dozens of times daily. now only a handful of shells make it to the city. but there's still a danger in the village. a shell whizzes just overhead. explosion. the enemy is there in the forest. out there, a russian tank is on the hunt. but they've grown used to these tactics, so already the men who make up this unit, an economist, a businessman, a mechanic, have taken cover. little prepared them for this, but they haven't flinched. a direct hit knocks out the power. tank fire hammers the bunker. but the men are

untroubled and unharmed. and what of the people above ground? a lull, of sorts, gives 66—year—old raissa a chance to escape. she grew up in the soviet union, lived in east germany. she can't believe it's come to this. her home and her history in ruins. translation: shards of the glass hit me in the face. _ how could she forgive russia these wounds? translation: why didn't the shrapnel hit me in the head so that _ i would die immediately? for days, she suffered through this.

but i hardly feel physical pain any more. the pain is in my soul. you're lucky to be alive, says the medic. yes, my arm is working. but lucky? god didn't let me die. now i have to live in pain. in a time gone by, raissa's father and vladimir putin's father battled hitler. but that shared memory is now lost to history. here in russian—speaking ukraine, the past runs deep and the suffering brought here won't be easily forgiven norforgotten. quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv. the very latest from the frontline.

well, borisjohnson has signed a mutual security deal with sweden, pledging support if the country comes under attack. the pact will guarantee more intelligence sharing, joint military exercises and closer ties, to combat cyber attacks. james landale, our diplomatic correspondent, is travelling with the prime minister, and joins us from the finnish capital, helsinki. the prime minister has signed a similar deal with the finn, is that a precursor to full nato membership perhaps for both these countries. the prime minister has been at pains to say he is not intervening the prime minister has been at pains to say he is not intervenin- in the prime minister has been at pains to say he is not intervening the prime minister has been at pains to say he is not intervenin- in the to say he is not intervening in the debate here in finland and sweden about potentiallyjoining nato, he said these are internal matters to be decide democratically. the security guarantees are part of growing moves within europe to try and bolster its northern flank and its defence up there. the prime minister said look, this particular

sort of deal is not short—term stopgap it is for the long—term, but it is clearly going to be helpful for both finland and sweden if they decide tojoin for both finland and sweden if they decide to join nato for both finland and sweden if they decide tojoin nato because for both finland and sweden if they decide to join nato because there will be a gap between applying to join nato and getting full membership of the military alliance and the security guarantees that involve. in other words, an attack on one is an attack on all and during that gap, in the middle while they are waiting for their application to be ratified and agreed, that is a potentially vulnerable moment. if russia were to respond, were to say this was a provocative attack as it has suggested in the past, then in those crucial months, before full nato membership, both sweden and finland if they go for it, might be very glad of any security assurances they can get. james landale live in helsinki.

we began the programme with the situation on the front line in northern ukraine, well, how are things in the south? all eyes are still on mariupol of course, and just take a look at these pictures from the ukrainian azov brigade, newly released today, showing the squalid conditions of around 100 of their fighters, holed up in tunnels under the azovstal steel plant, and refusing to surrender to russian troops. they've been underground for several weeks now, and are calling for their wounded to be helped. mariupol has all but fallen to the russians in the south, but here in the north, the fortunes of war have changed dramatically. russian troops near kharkiv are in retreat and in the coming days may even be forced back across the border. on parts of the front line, ukrainian soldiers say they're outnumbered io—i by the russians. but smaller, more agile government units, highly motivated

in defending their homeland, are cutting russian supply lines, leaving the already demoralised foreign forces stuck, with no place to go, but back home. that's it from me and the team in kyiv, now it's back to you george in the studio in london, for the rest of the day's news. how would you feel if your neighbours could decide whether or not you could extend your home or whether there should be a new estate in your area? street votes are part of a package of measures being proposed by ministers in reforms to local planning rules. critics are already warning that the reforms will lead to even fewer new homes being built. it comes as the minister in charge of housing, michael gove, admitted the government will fail to meet its housing target this year. here's our home editor mark easton. borisjohnson loves a hard hat. elected on a promise to build, build, build, his manifesto set

a target of 300,000 extra homes a year in england by 2025, with new planning rules to stop so—called nimbys saying "not in my backyard". now those plans have been scrapped in favour of giving people living close to a development a street vote on whether it should go ahead. this place perhaps explains the u—turn. the true blue constituency of chesham and amersham in buckinghamshire went lib dem in a shock by—election last year. the tory defeat was blamed on local worries over housing development. trying to convince people that new homes in their area are a good thing is never easy, but the housing secretary's convinced that if local communities are confident that new houses will be beautiful and will come with the right infrastructure, opposition will fall away. people have been resistant to developments because far too often you've had numbers plonked down simply in order to reach

an arbitrary target, you've had dormitories not neighbourhoods. so, beauty, infrastructure, democracy, environment, neighbourhood. joe is worried about a housing development near his home in chesham, and says the street vote idea is a good one. yet more consultation, and nicer looking, because the ones that are built at the end of our street are definitely not in keeping. you would be happily if that would happen? absolutely. the problem with democracy and housing is that the people with votes are those who already live in a place, not those who'd like to. in principle that's a great idea, but it has to involve people from across the spectrum within a context of everybody understanding that we needed to build more homes to house us properly as a nation. if we don't manage that, there is a risk that actually it becomes a lever. for stopping development, which is not what the government once. despite government promises to make housing more affordable, the price of the average home in england has soared. now at almost £300,000.

when you compare the average house price to average annual earnings, back in 1997 it was 3.5 times, last year it was more than nine times, and set to go higher still. 19—year—old law student imani is helping out at the housing conference in brighton, but wonders if she'll ever be able to afford a home of her own. i am quite worried that people of my generation aren't going to be able to buy a house in our lifetime, really. i think we're going to be quite pushed back and not have the chances or the resources to do so. reaching the target of 300,000 new homes in england a year means increasing supply by almost 40% from current levels. will that happen? 0n the evidence, no. mark easton, bbc news. now to the increasingly acrimonius relationship between the uk and the european union over the northern ireland protocol — that's the post—brexit trading arrangements that mean goods from britain going to northern ireland have to be checked.

and that's because northern ireland still follows some european union rules. it has emerged as a stumbling block to setting up a new power—sharing executive in stormont after last week's elections. for some businesses in northern ireland, trading opportunities have grown, but the rules have meant difficulties. it but the rules have meant difficulties.— but the rules have meant difficulties. . , , ., , difficulties. it has slow deliveries down. we would _ difficulties. it has slow deliveries down. we would all— difficulties. it has slow deliveries down. we would all the - difficulties. it has slow deliveries down. we would all the stuff- difficulties. it has slow deliveriesl down. we would all the stuff from england, but we are an independent business, and as soon as the weather changes, we need to order on monday for a friday, now we have to order two or three weeks ahead and it is hard to do that with the weather. and that is why the extra checks are happening. when we left the eu it was agreed that goods arriving in northern ireland from the rest of the uk would be monitored to make sure they met eu standards. that's

because northern ireland shares a land border with eu member island, and brussels doesn't want unchecked products ending up in its single market. an open border is seen as an essential part of the peace process. last week's northern ireland assembly elections have upped the pressure again. sinn fein won. they say the brexit arrangements must stay, but they can't govern unless unionists share power, which they're refusing to do unless the protocol is scrapped. and uk ministers are in washington explaining why changes are essential. this washington explaining why changes are essential.— are essential. this is the bundle of documents — are essential. this is the bundle of documents that _ are essential. this is the bundle of documents that has _ are essential. this is the bundle of documents that has to _ are essential. this is the bundle of documents that has to be - are essential. this is the bundle of documents that has to be filled - are essential. this is the bundle of| documents that has to be filled out by companies moving goods within our own country. we still want a negotiated solution, but if you negotiating partner is at the point of saying, there is nothing to talk about, then we have a moral obligation to take action to protect

our citizens in northern ireland. in the uk government wants smoother trade arrangements, and is threatening to take matters into its own hands by scrapping parts of the brexit treaty it signed up to, which could mean trouble ahead. unilateral action will make _ could mean trouble ahead. unilateral action will make all _ could mean trouble ahead. unilateral action will make all of _ could mean trouble ahead. unilateral action will make all of this _ could mean trouble ahead. unilateral action will make all of this worse, - action will make all of this worse, because _ action will make all of this worse, because what it will do is it will result— because what it will do is it will result in— because what it will do is it will result in legal action. it will result— result in legal action. it will result in_ result in legal action. it will result in potentially countermeasures. and nobody wants to see friction _ countermeasures. and nobody wants to see friction between the european union _ see friction between the european union and — see friction between the european union and the uk right now. but senior union and the uk right now. emit senior cabinet ministers here think this situation has dragged on for far too long. they're even considering the dramatic step of drawing up a new law which would allow them to ignore parts of the brexit treaty that boris johnson signed. that could come as soon as next week, and could lead to a trade war. many fear this is sowing the seeds for a wider confrontation with the eu that could affect businesses across the uk. vicki young, bbc news, westminster.

the time is very nearly 20 past six. our top story this evening. ukraine says its forces have recaptured villages from russian troops north and north—east of kharkiv, pushing them back towards the border. and still to come — we'll have the latest on day two of the so—called wagatha christie libel trial at the high court. coming up on sportsday in the next 15 minutes on the bbc news channel. it looks as though england will turn to brendan mccullum to turn their test team round. the former new zealand captain is expected to be given the head coach role by the end of the week. relentless, unbearable and overwhelming — just some of the words used by people to describe the chronic pain that blights their lives for months, even years. medical specialists have told the bbc they fear that millions are not receiving effective treatment to help them manage the condition. an exclusive survey, carried out for bbc news,

suggests 26% of the uk has chronic pain — defined as pain that lasts longer than three months. of those, nearly a quarter are taking opioids, powerful painkillers which are extremely addictive and are not recommended for most long—term pain conditions. and we can reveal that ai% started taking these drugs — anything from codeine to fentanyl and morphine — more than five years ago. 0ur health correspondent, dominic hughes, has been to meet a woman who is desperate to wean herself off such powerful painkillers. i get this overwhelming rage. you know, i never thought i could be capable of murdering somebody, but when i'm in withdrawal, i could murder. iwant to... hit my horses. which is so against who i am. hey, baby. these other terrifying feelings that withdrawing from opioid painkillers can stir up. niki's horses are perhaps the most precious thing in her life.

she is devastated by even thinking she could harm them. daisy! but that shows just how difficult and dangerous this process of withdrawal is. i woke up one morning and ijust wanted to die. i couldn't access any feelings of love, and i realised this is withdrawal. 0pioids such as the highly addictive drug fentanyl first entered niki's life because of a rare and excruciatingly painful nerve condition which developed 20 years ago. it's as if somebody�*s stuck a cattle prod to the side of my face. it's extraordinary, overwhelming pain. i literally hit the floor, and it basically destroyed my life. this is the patch that i'm on, so this is the fentanyl patch. and the patch is actually these orange bits? yeah, these ones here. you see this one is a whole one, and you see i've cut off little bits. there is no real exit

strategy for these patches. in a bid to withdraw safely, niki shaves off tiny slivers from her fentanyl patches, less than a millimetre at a time. every time i reduce my opioids, my pain increases as i go through the withdrawal process, and then it decreases, and ifeel so much better each time. and i think that one of the things that would help is for medicine to be a little bit more supportive and a little bit more humble about the way they treat people in withdrawal. because we're not the ones writing those prescriptions, they are. so opioids are the whole class, it's everything... a leading pain expert has looked at our nationwide survey, which suggests millions of people are taking powerful medication they may not need. the whole system is set up to support prescribing. we have prescription pads, we have pharmacies where people can collect things. but the other things that people

with chronic pain can benefit from, physical activity programmes, programmes to help people with their mental health, community support, peer support, all these sorts of things, they're not so readily available, and even when they are available, they're not well connected in with health services. in three, two, one! modern pain management involves a different way of thinking about pain, bringing together notjust medication but other therapies including physio and psychological help. niki's taken that on board, so much so that despite her pain she's completed a i70—mile charity bike ride. through breathing exercises, mindfulness, understanding the brain can misinterpret the signals it receives, nick is receives, niki is managing pain better. there is a massive misunderstanding of pain. we think hurt equals harm, but knowing that persistent pain is very different and very complex means that you actually have the ability to change it yourself, and that's

actually enormously empowering. with so many people dependent on painkillers, that better understanding of how to cope with pain could help transform the lives of millions of people. dominic hughes, bbc news. and for more on the life changing impact of the condition and how people can regain control of their lives, head to bbc iplayer and watch a life of pain. that's available now. the aljazeera news channel has accused israel of deliberately killing one of its journalists during fighting between israeli security forces and palestinian gunmen in the occupied west bank. one of the most famous journalist in the region died from a bullet wound to the head while covering an israeli army raid on a refugee camp. israel's prime minister denied that journalists were targeted, and suggested the fatal shot was likely to have been fired by a palestinian.

for millions of families, the pandemic meant hardships they had never known before, but now new research suggests it could get worse for them. an independent think tank, the national institute of economic research, says the cost of living crisis could push a quarter of a million into destitution, meaning that they will lack housing and other essential needs. our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith reports. no one here needs to be told that prices are rising. food costs a lot of money. gas and electric has gone up. so we can't afford it. it's unreal. there's queues out the door here, with members getting £40 worth of food for a lot less. £7.50 please, jonathan. thank you. without this, i couldn't survive, i really couldn't. so, oh, my gosh, yeah. over the next few months, food prices are going to be going up even more, and we know that in the autumn it's likely that gas and electricity prices will be going up again too. that's putting every body

here under even more pressure, and that in turn is putting more pressure on the government to do something else to help out with living costs. 61, 62, 63... the government say they're taking action to support households through these anxious times, but this charity is already oversubscribed. we have around 25,000 people who have reached out to us. it's just a case of trying to figure out how best to feed, help as many people as possible, really. malcolm's one of the volunteers, but he is a member, too, sharing his weekly bags with neighbours and family. my daughter is a community midwife, and her partner's a nurse, and they've got three children, and even they're struggling. the food is donated by supermarkets and manufacturers, with members paying enough to cover costs. we've had people in tears, saying i don't know how i've come to this point.

and we say, look, it's not charity, you're paying. and that's what matters to kylie too. it's nice to have your independence, and it also gives you stability - to get on with life and then go, right, i'm going to go and get i ajob, like i have done. instead of going, can i have, can i have? . as more families need help to fill the fridge, people here can still carry their sense of dignity. colletta smith, bbc news, in south manchester. now to the high court, where it was the second day of rebecca vardy�*s libel case against coleen rooney. while giving evidence, vardy conceded that she told her agent to look at coleen rooney's private instagram account. colin paterson reports. coleen rooney arriving at court with her husband, the former england footballer wayne rooney. but it was rebekah vardy, the wife of leicester city's jamie vardy, who was in the

witness box all day. in court, coleen rooney's eyes did not move from rebekah vardy the whole time she was answering questions about allegedly leaking stories to the sun newspaper. in one example, rebekah vardy told someone that riyad mahrez had not turned up to training for the second day in a row, and when her agent suggested selling the story, rebekah vardy replied, let's do it. the court heard that rebekah vardy�*s agent, caroline watt, seen here on the left, was repeatedly asked by her client to leak stories to the sun, something rebekah vardy denies, although she did concede that on one occasion she specifically directed her agent to get information from coleen rooney's private instagram about a damaged car. at one stage rebekah vardy broke down in tears when it was mentioned how trolls threaten to harm herfamily. she was mentioned how trolls threaten to harm her family. she was offered the chance to take a break, but chose to

continue. so, an uncomfortable day in the witness stand for rebekah vardy. she will face more questioning tomorrow. colin paterson, bbc news, the high court. so, was it you? camelot says that a claim has been received for the record—breaking euromillions jackpot prize won by a single uk ticket last night. the lucky ticket holder matched all seven numbers to secure the biggest ever lottery win in the uk. the record was previously held by an anonymous ticket holder who bagged £170 million, and that was in october 2019. let see if we are going to be lucky with the weather. here is nick miller. it depends on what you are after, george. that has been rain around today, in northern ireland and scotland it has been in showers and rainbows, in wales and england more persistent rain, south wales saw up to 30 millimetres, and it may not be the same as a lottery win, but parts of the south—east had five millimetres. that is more than has fallen for quite some time, so may

have pleased some gardeners. i'm sure there may be more that is wanted. this is how the rainfall