welcome to bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories — ukrainian wounded soldiers are driven away, after being trapped in the azovstal steel plant siege. it's been under fierce attack for weeks by pro—russian forces. ukraine's president calls them hereoes. we have a special report from the front line in the donbass in eastern ukraine, which has seen the heaviest fighting of the last few weeks. mcdonald's is pulling out of russia in response to the kremlin's war on ukraine. permanent closure for more than 800 restaurants.

a 17—year—old striker becomes the first english professional footballer in the men's game, for three decades, to come out as gay. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. this we start with the news that more than 200 wounded soldiers this from the azovstal steelworks on the edge of the city of mariupol have been evacuated. pictures suggest that they have been bussed out and have now reached novoazovsk, which is a russian—controlled town in eastern ukraine. at least 50 of them are said to have been taken to local hospitals. the forces had been withstanding a russian offensive for almost three months, gaining almost legendary status among many ukrainians. it's not clear at this stage if they will be released into ukrainian government hands.

translation: we hope to save the lives of _ translation: we hope to save the lives of our _ translation: we hope to save the lives of our boys _ translation: we hope to save the lives of our boys was - translation: we hope to save the lives of our boys was among them are the heavily wounded. they are being treated. i want to underline, ukraine needs its ukrainian heroes alive. this is our principle. i think these words can be understood by all adequate people. president zelenskyy speaking just a short while ago. elsewhere, ukrainian troops are thought to be back in control of territory on the russian border near kharkiv — the country's second largest city. but that doesn't mean the fighting is over. russian forces have been focusing on the donbas region further south. the bbc�*s quentin sommerville and cameraman darren conway have been near the eastern city of izyum, known as the gateway to donbas, where they have been on patrol with volunteer fighters of the territorial defence force. war descended suddenly upon ukraine.

along the eastern front, its men may be in bunkers but they do not cower here. three times in the last month, the russians have attacked this base with infantry and tanks, and three times they have been repelled. another attack may be imminent. so here they wait. vladimir putin has turned their days into night, and taken them away from theirfamilies. but for the men of this territorial defence unit, this is now home. above their heads hangs a constant threat. the town they have dug under is all but abandoned, its people gone. orphaned pets have sought shelter here, too. the men know it won't be long before the next attack. explosion. above, a russian barage is the signal. it's time to get to work.

outside these walls, everything is in the line of fire, and these men face it daily. distant explosion. they need little reminder that to the north, the majority of russia's forces are headquartered and, to the south, most of their ukrainian comrades. their patrols in defence along this front—line, keeping these two mighty forces apart. missile whistles. explosions. the shells start landing closer, as the russians adjust their aim. loud explosion. so you get a sense of what russia's artillery tanks can do to ukrainian homes.

this is relentless. but the reason that these men are holding on so tight here in these defensive positions is because they simply cannot let the russians through here. if they do, more ukrainian troops to the south in the donbas will be under threat. so they're hanging on for dear life here. explosion. at the front, there's no bunker, but they're armed to the teeth. yuri, this is a volunteer battalion, these men were doing ordinaryjobs before the war, and they're facing against russian tanks, russian heavy artillery, indirect fire — how are they managing to hold the russians off? our men, they are going... they fight every day by this fire, you can watch it, because we believe that all the democratic countries, all the world will help us, and when we will take,

we give more than weapon. these brave men, they can destroy completely, the russian army. as the day grows long, it's time to pick up the pace. on open ground, there's no safe hiding place. explosion. pinned down, their route back is cut off by artillery fire, so, through gardens and back yards, they search for an escape. a soldier calls out, "leave this place as soon as possible", and it is here we find natasha, stubbornly hanging on. "do you need help leaving?", yuri asks her. explosion. translation: i don't

have anyone here. - but she is defiant. this war wasn't her choice. it's as if she refuses to acknowledge it, even as russian shells soar overhead. explosion. let us go to her house, she invites us. we can't go forward, can we? loud explosion. very close to us. very close to us, on our way. yuri tries to convince her to come with us. explosion. to stay risks death. translation: idon't- want to betray my husband, he's buried in the cemetery here. i won't leave him. explosion. we try, one last time. natasha, why don't you leave here?

translation: because it's myl home and i have nowhere to go. yuri implores her, "natasha, go to a nearby town, "they will help you there." this explosion. translation: why? i got used to it now. he says, "we can help you, are you ready to be evacuated?" translation: ifi go there, what willl do next? - off you go, guys, thank you. we have to leave, but natasha is told to pack her bags. they will come back for her when the shelling stops. despite the onslaught, the men pushed forward. loud explosions. this is what stalemate sounds like on the eastern front. and this is what it takes to keep the gateway to the donbas firmly shut. quentin somerville, bbc news, near izyum, ukraine.

we can now speak to nato expert michael hanlon who's s a senior fellow and director of research in foreign policy at the brookings institution. quentin sommerville, our correspondent there, spelling out what stalemate looks like. that's what it is, too, isn't it, now? that's what it is, too, isn't it, now— that's what it is, too, isn't it, now? �* . . , it, now? i'm afraid it may be startin: it, now? i'm afraid it may be starting to — it, now? i'm afraid it may be starting to look _ it, now? i'm afraid it may be starting to look like - it, now? i'm afraid it may be starting to look like that - it, now? i'm afraid it may be starting to look like that and j starting to look like that and i appreciated the choice of the phrase eastern front, evocative of course of the phrase of the western front in world war i. it is far too soon to talk about that kind of stalemate but things aren't happening that fast. now, they still could. things could change for a lot of reasons pretty quickly, and here of course with our modern attention span we sometimes forgetjust how long previous wars lasted, and how in retrospect something that stayed static for a month wasn't really a stalemate at all, and that's all we have so far here, is a month of relative, you know, relatively limited gains by each side. a little bit of ukrainian

progress near kharkiv, a little bit of russian progress in other areas. bit of russian progress in otherareas. basically bit of russian progress in other areas. basically cover the whole thing becoming a fight for kilometres and tens of kilometres at a moment. but i'm not prepared to predict that's going to be the case indefinitely.— that's going to be the case indefinitely. right, no, but would you _ indefinitely. right, no, but would you share _ indefinitely. right, no, but would you share the - indefinitely. right, no, but. would you share the tendency there seems to be developing among certain military expects to say that actually ukraine has one already to a certain extent now? we have had a suggestion that their own sovereign status is now secure, that that is the direction of travel. i that that is the direction of travel. ., ., that that is the direction of travel. . ., , travel. i agree, that is the emerging _ travel. i agree, that is the emerging consensus - travel. i agree, that is the emerging consensus and l travel. i agree, that is the| emerging consensus and it travel. i agree, that is the i emerging consensus and it is probably right. there certainly is good reason to think that way. as with most kinds of emerging consensus, but there is also a danger in really latching onto that too confidently. we don't know what russia might do next, we don't know if russia still may get lucky and figure out where zelinsky is on a given day and target him. we don't know if russia has a plan up its sleeve to bring down ukrainian

commanding control with a cyber attack of the type that they have not been able to muster or carry out very effectively. we don't know if they can somehow move ten or 20 kilometres on a given day in a way that wasn't previously predicted. they could begin to cut off some of those brave and competent ukrainian forces in the eastern part of the country. so i still think there are a lot of ways this could go badly and i'm not predicting victory. i predicting victory. i understand that. we can assume less there will be a sense of mounting pressure from russia. whether that is the likes of finland and sweden indicating their desire tojoin finland and sweden indicating their desire to join nato. finland and sweden indicating their desire tojoin nato. in fact, we heard in the last 30 minutes or so from the us that they have now tested a hypersonic weapon, which is a clear message at least that is what they are up to at the moment. they are ratcheting up their tramp cards. you moment. they are ratcheting up their tramp cards.— their tramp cards. you know, ma be. their tramp cards. you know, maybe- itut _ their tramp cards. you know, maybe. but finland - their tramp cards. you know, maybe. but finland and - their tramp cards. you know, - maybe. but finland and sweden, i fully support their

membership ifully support their membership in nato but it is not going to change the battle in ukraine. that american hypersonic weapons test is not going to change a war that we have no interest in engaging directly ourselves anyway. so people have to be careful, not read too much into these symbolic gestures or efforts to try and get today's headlines or momentum somehow on their side. it is not really changing the dynamics on the side and i still worry that russia has a lot of cards to play. so i am not in any way disparaging ukraine's incredibly brave and competent military performance but they are not winning. they are simply over performing relative to expectations. they still have russian troops on a lot of their soil and russia has four times the population base and is still earning almost a day in hydrocarbon exports so let's not get too confident here in the west. important point. thank you very much indeed.

stay with us on bbc news. still to come — the latest analysis from the us after a mass shooting at a church in california on sunday. police say a chinese—american man was motivated by hatred of taiwanese people. this morning, an indian air force plane carrying mr gandhi's body landed in delhi. the president of india walked to the plane to solemnly witness mr gandhi's final return from the political battlefield. ireland has voted overwhelmingly in favour of gay marriage. in doing so, it has become the first country in the world to approve the change in a national referendum. it was a remarkable climax. to what was surely the most extraordinary funeral ever given to a pop singer. - it's been a peacefulfuneral demonstration so far, but suddenly, the police are tear—gassing the crowd. we don't yet know why. the pre—launch ritual is well—established here.

helen was said to be in good spirits, butjust a little apprehensive. in the last hour, east timor- has become the world's newest nation. it was a bloody birth for a poor country, i and— the challenges ahead are daunting. but for now, at least, i it is time to celebrate. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: wounded ukrainian soldiers are driven away from the azovstal steel plant after months under russian siege. us presidentjoe biden will visit buffalo in new york state on tuesday to meet with families of the victims of saturday's mass shooting that killed ten people. the attack is thought to be the worst so far in the us this year. an investigation into

the incident is under way to see whether authorities missed telltale signs left by the suspected gunman. an update for you now on another shooting in the us, police there say the suspect behind a mass shooting at a church in california on sunday was a chinese—american man motivated by hatred of taiwanese people. the fbi is investigating the attack as a hate crime. one person died and five others were wounded when the gunman opened fire on the taiwanese congregation in laguna woods, near los angeles. i'm joined now by lance hunter, an associate professor of international relations at augusta university and lance has conducted research on mass shootings in the us. ajust wonder, a just wonder, lance, ajust wonder, lance, what a just wonder, lance, what your reaction is to that shooting, in a church for goodness sake but in california, being deemed

as a hate crime.— as a hate crime. yes, and i thinkthat _ as a hate crime. yes, and i think that is _ as a hate crime. yes, and i think that is appropriate i as a hate crime. yes, and i think that is appropriate to | think that is appropriate to deem this as a hate crime, it is a tragic event and if we look at the potential motivation based on the evidence we have seen so far, it looks like that is accurate and that the individual had hatred and anger towards taiwanese individuals so that would fall under the umbrella of a hate crime but also by estimation could be potentially considered an act of domestic terrorism too if we are applying standard terrorism definitions to the action that occurred there in california. that appears very much to be the thought of the moment, about whether it is the buffalo attack or indeed this one individual targeting of a taiwanese congregation that it is time to start dealing with this as domestic terrorism? it this as domestic terrorism? it really is because for far too long i think individuals both government leaders and researchers have thought about maths shootings as just simply criminal acts and haven't thought about them as being potentially terrorist act and

in our research what we find is that roughly about half of maths shootings can be labelled terrorism if we apply definitions of terrorism from the united states or look at other democracies' terrorism definitions or look at the united nations terrorism definitions, that these attacks fall under the umbrella of terrorism and it is really important to appropriately labelled these attacks as terrorism for a number of purposes. terrorism for a number of purposes-_ terrorism for a number of --uroses. ,, ~ . purposes. do you think that view, purposes. do you think that view. you — purposes. do you think that view, you are _ purposes. do you think that view, you are a _ purposes. do you think that view, you are a specialist i purposes. do you think that view, you are a specialist in this area, that view is gaining ground amongst the public generally? it ground amongst the public generally?— ground amongst the public tenerall ? , ., generally? it is. i would say a number of— generally? it is. i would say a number of years _ generally? it is. i would say a number of years ago - generally? it is. i would say a number of years ago before l generally? it is. i would say a l number of years ago before we published research in 200018 there was a lot of resistance to the notion that maths shootings could be acts of terrorism, because in some instances people view terrorism as simply acts that involve bombings or hijackings, not an attack that was carried out with a rifle or an automatic weapon, but one of the things thatis weapon, but one of the things that is really important when we are looking at terrorism definitions, the motivation is critical there. and a lot of

these motivation have a political, religious, social or ideological component that would in fact make them terrorism combined with that violent action so i think the momentum is moving towards more individuals, more government officials, are considering these acts as terrorism, where these acts as terrorism, where the criteria does fit we see presidentjoe biden recently called the action in buffalo an act of domestic terrorism so i'd you believe we are seeing momentum in that area where we are appropriately labelling these more so as acts of domestic terrorism rather than just criminal act.— domestic terrorism rather than just criminal act. and how much de-ends just criminal act. and how much depends on _ just criminal act. and how much depends on the _ just criminal act. and how much depends on the understanding l just criminal act. and how much | depends on the understanding of what the motive was in each case because a maths shooting and a mass killing is a mass killing and that obviously terrorises a significant number of people. terrorises a significant number of people-— terrorises a significant number of people. absolutely, so if we look at the _ of people. absolutely, so if we look at the case _ of people. absolutely, so if we look at the case in _ of people. absolutely, so if we look at the case in buffalo, - of people. absolutely, so if we look at the case in buffalo, in l look at the case in buffalo, in california, what we see is that in each case there seems to be at point a clear motivation that clinical or social or both, like the case in buffalo

we see there is clearly a social and political motivation ijy social and political motivation by targeting african—american individuals, this would certainly fall under the umbrella. looking at the case in california within the targeting taiwanese individuals, having notes in his car stating his anger and hatred towards taiwanese individuals, and then also making other statements that he is upset at the relations between china and taiwan, that evidence shows the motivation can be political, social or both and it certainly falls under the umbrella of being an act of domestic terrorism. clearly, a lot of those references are allegations at this stage but obviously fully appreciate the direction you are coming from. lance, thank you very much indeed. lance hunter. mcdonald's is pulling out of russia in its entirety. the fast food giant has said it will sell all 850 restaurants in the country, which it has built up over the last three decades. mcdonald's closed those stores in march in response to the kremlin's war

on ukraine, but had continued to pay the salaries of its 62,000 workers. the company says it is is seeking a russian buyer who will continue to pay its employees at least until a sale closes. we can now speak to nina khrushcheva who's is a professor of international affairs at the new school in new york. nina's great grandfather was former leader of the soviet union, nikita khrushchev. thank you very much indeed for joining us. arejust wonder what think is behind mcdonald's' decision. i'm sure it will be very well received in the us. it it will be very well received in the us-_ it will be very well received in the us. ., , . in the us. it has been decided for tuite in the us. it has been decided for quite some _ in the us. it has been decided for quite some time _ in the us. it has been decided for quite some time now, - in the us. it has been decided for quite some time now, i . for quite some time now, i think they announced they were withdrawing a few months ago, but now i think it seems to be a final decision. it is a symbol of kind of the global

world, that russia joined in 1990 when russia, the soviet union is still the soviet union was opening up and now it is the end of that era, but what is also important for the russians is that all this places where mcdonald's used to be are now going to be renamed and used by russian companies but they say they are going to serve essentially almost the same menu, so it is the symbol that matters but not so much as a sort of a consumer product thatis a sort of a consumer product that is going to remain in russia. �* , russia. and the message i suppose — russia. and the message i suppose for _ russia. and the message i suppose for russians - russia. and the message i i suppose for russians looking russia. and the message i - suppose for russians looking at this is that they are pariahs, aren't they? they are being cast out once and for all from the western way, the things that they become very familiar and comfortable with. does that have much of an impact at the moment?—

have much of an impact at the moment? ~ ., moment? well, it had, when it all began _ moment? well, it had, when it all began three _ moment? well, it had, when it all began three months - moment? well, it had, when it all began three months ago, i all began three months ago, that was an absolute shock in the society, and it almost seemed inconceivable that mcdonald's, especially the one right in the centre of moscow, that opened as i said over 30 years ago would be gone, because that was just such a significant spot for the post war, for the post—soviet union russia's development, but i think by now russians have gotten used to the idea that everything has left and now they are just left to their own devices essentially. they are paying collectively for putin's war and a lot of them do understand that it is putin's war and it is a horrible thing but at the same time they are also very disappointed and upset with the west because they feel that they are oppressed inside russia now, there's very little protest

that can happen, but also they are being completely abandoned by the west and whatever was left of russian civil society and russian openness to the world now is being cancelled out too, so it is kind of... works both ways. nina, thank you very much indeed for your analysis. nina khrushcheva. a 17—year—old footballer who plays for blackpool in the championship — the second tier in english football — has become the first professional player in the men's game in the uk for more than 30 years to declare publicly that he's gay. jake daniels said the time was right to come out, and explained that hiding his identity had caused stress and mental health problems. the striker also said his team mates had been supportive and he hoped to become a role model for others. our sports editor dan roan reports. he may be at the very start of his career but jack he may be at the very start of his career butjack daniels is already a footballing trailblazer17—year—old only made his debut for black hole

earlier this month stopping today he became the first professional in the british men's game for more than 30 years to come out publicly as 9“- years to come out publicly as gay. it years to come out publicly as ta _ ., , , years to come out publicly as ta , ., , , , . ., years to come out publicly as gay. it has been such a long time of lying _ gay. it has been such a long time of lying and _ gay. it has been such a long time of lying and i've - gay. it has been such a long time of lying and i've just i time of lying and i've just processed and processed every day of just about processed and processed every day ofjust about how processed and processed every day of just about how they want to do it, when they want to do it. that out of my mum and my sister, the day after escort for so itjust shows how much a weight off my shoulders at was. lying all the time isn't what i've wanted to do and it has been a struggle but nowjust to feel like i'm ready to be myself, be free and just be confident with it all. myself, be free and 'ust be confident with it all._ confident with it all. with more of _ confident with it all. with more of a _ confident with it all. with more of a focus - confident with it all. with more of a focus on - confident with it all. with - more of a focus on inclusivity in recent years there has been some progress since, last year josh carvalho, who plays in australia, revealed this. i’m josh carvalho, who plays in australia, revealed this. i'm a football and _ australia, revealed this. i'm a football and i'm _ australia, revealed this. i'm a football and i'm a. _ australia, revealed this. i'm a football and i'm a. the - australia, revealed this. i'm a football and i'm a. the only i football and i'm a. the only current top-flight _ football and i'm a. the only current top-flight male - current top—flight male professional football in the world to come out. in making his decision, daniels has

received the support of his club blackpool and praise from across the game. some will be surprised that any make this day and age a player revealing their sexuality has made so many headlines, but others believe this is truly a historic moment for foot fall, despite the issues that it continues to confront. he is ttoin continues to confront. he is going down _ continues to confront. he is going down a _ continues to confront. he is going down a path - continues to confront. he is going down a path that - continues to confront. he is i going down a path that many, many others will follow. they have probablyjust been waiting to see how it pans out for others first and i think once they see that the overwhelming majority of people have been more than accepting, others will follow suit.— more than accepting, others will follow suit. when it comes to ta will follow suit. when it comes to gay players _ will follow suit. when it comes to gay players the _ will follow suit. when it comes to gay players the women's - to gay players the women's professional game remains far more representative than the men's but many will hope that by leading the way daniels now breaks the stigma attached to homosexuality in the sport. very much a headline story. if you go to the bbc news website, it is one of the main stories for you there but obviously the main story we have been focusing on is the besieged merrier poll soldiers being

evacuated and moved out of the azovstal steelworks —— mariupol soldiers. you are watching bbc news. hello. the weather's been all over the place in the last few days. yes, we've had some sunshine, some warmth, too, but also big thundery downpours, particularly in northwestern england and in northern ireland recently. now, on the satellite picture, you can see the motion of the cloud — it's mostly coming in out of the south and the south—west. so that's where the warm weather is coming from, too. and here are the thunderstorms we've recently had — now most of them have died away, we still have a little bit of rain here and there, but i think through the early

hours of tuesday morning, it is a mostly dry picture out there with clear spells, a bit of residual cloud, that's pretty much it. oh, and mistand murk forming in the countryside, too. now, the temperatures early on tuesday will range from around eight celsius in aberdeen to 12 in norwich, london, and along the south coast of england. now there is rain in the forecast for tuesday, but it'll be mostly affecting western areas of the uk. so, here it is, this weather front — in the morning, maybe just about fringing cornwall into western parts of wales, and spreading northwards. but notice how this area of rain expands during the course of the day, progressively getting wetter around these western areas. but further towards the east, the weather will be dry, hazy sunshine at the very least, and sunny closer to the north sea, and look at the temperatures — 26 in london, and easily into the low—to—mid—20s in yorkshire, as well. and then, tuesday evening, that rain will reach wales, the north—west of england, and move further north into scotland, as well, and there could be some thunderstorms returning to southern parts of the uk, as well, tuesday evening.

here's a look at wednesday's weather map — still dominated by an area of low pressure and these south—westerly winds pushing in very volatile weather systems, difficult to predict, really. but the thinking is that on wednesday, we'll see a return of thundery showers quite probably to south—western parts of the uk, whereas further east and north, it should be sunnier. but look at that, northern ireland closer to the weather front — so there's likely to be some rain, too. and here's the outlook from tuesday onwards, just about into the weekend — it will be changeable, staying on the warm side with sunny spells, but always a risk of showers with thunderstorms.

this is bbc news. the headlines — ukraine says more than 200 and 60 soldiers from the azovstal steelworks in mariupol have been evacuated. the deputy defence minister said all of them would eventually return to ukrainian territory under exchange agreements with moscow. 50 of them are said to have been taken to local hospitals but in russian—held areas. elsewhere, ukrainian troops are thought to be back in control of territory on the russian border near kharkiv — the country's second city. western military sources say president putin is now directly involved in the day—to—day running of the conflict — a sign the war wasn't going to plan. president biden is expected to visit buffalo, new york, to meet with families of the victims of saturday's mass shooting that

killed ten people. it's the worst so far in the us this year.