but this is also an extraordinary story of survival. and it is a testament to the power of love when all else is lost.

is itfairto is it fair to say from the moment you saw them you felt something special? buchais

bucha is only 30 kilometres from kyiv. a growing commuter town. and at heart is yablonska street. on the street a glassware factory help create a thriving community in soviet days.

new flats were being built for young couples creating their future in bucha.

for decades, bucha had known piece. nato says it's the biggest deployment of russian troops in belarus since the cold war. even when tensions started mounting on ukraine's orders, for your earlier

suddenly the russians had landed, trying to take the capital, kyiv. elite airborne forces staged a surprise attack just five kilometres from yablonska street.

across bucha, resident sought shelter underground. they filmed what was happening as they would throughout the unfolding crisis.

natalya and her son fled west to safety, joining hundreds and thousands of ukrainians in the face of the russian advance. her husband was to follow.

across ukraine, people joined the across ukraine, peoplejoined the territorial defence, the reserve military unit defending neighbourhoods. her husband joined a defence unit formed around friends and neighbours on yablonska street. julia's husband, the delivery driver, was the only one with army experience.

alongside him, his close friends and father of two, dennis, a mechanic at a local garage. this taxidriver also joined the unit.

but the situation was about to change. a bucha resident heard a menacing sound. a convoy of russians had broken into bucha, trying to get to kyiv. but they were moving

towards disaster. the ukrainian army launched ambushes. when the shelling stopped, she went outside. and found carnage.

battered, the russians retreated but not far. they were being held by ukrainian forces a few kilometres away. the territorial defence was operating checkpoints, among them the man of yablonska street helping their neighbours.

it seemed as if the danger was over. that morning, local officials even celebrated yablonska street's liberation. but nearby, the enemy was on the move. 0n the afternoon of march three, the russians were back and on yablonska street. hiding behind windows, some residents capture the moment.

unbeknown to the men's families, the russians had advanced towards the yablonska street checkpoint. ivan was on duty when the attack began.

0utnumbered and outgunned, the men sought shelter in a house at witty one yablonska street. the nine men abandoned their small supply of weapons and

agreed that if caught, they would claim to be builders sheltering from the fighting. that morning, russian troops had broken into the house and arrested nine men.

a local resident was filming as the russian forces gathered across the street, then, he saw something that troubled him.

the men had been brought to yablunska street 144, an yablu nska street 144, an abandoned yablunska street 144, an abandoned office, now the russian base in occupied bucha. ivan and the other men were forced to crouch with their heads and at this bar.

according to ivan, they singled out one man and shot him, to intimidate the others. it worked. 0ne intimidate the others. it worked. one man confessed, telling the russians they were all part of the territorial defence. worse was coming. the husband of natalia was taken inside the building, inside with ivan.

the russians believe some locals were tipping off ukrainian artillery about their positions and they were still being fired on. that day, all along yablonska street, they rounded up residence, taking them to the new base to check their identities. a woman named lucy was among them. while we were coming, we saw nearly ten people lying on the ground. 0ne people lying on the ground. one of them was covered with some tissue, i guess he was dead already. some of them, they were lying with their knees banked a little bit. there was a crowd of people very close to each other. we a crowd of people very close to each other-— a crowd of people very close to each other. we could see some traces of injuries _ each other. we could see some traces of injuries on _ each other. we could see some traces of injuries on their -

traces of injuries on their bodies but they were lying immovable.— bodies but they were lying immovable. ~ . ., , immovable. waiting outside the base with her _ immovable. waiting outside the base with her two _ immovable. waiting outside the base with her two teenage - base with her two teenage daughters, lucy was given a warning by one of the troops. i was terrified. by the phrase of one of the soldiers who told us put some hearts on your daughters heads because what they will see will stay in their minds forever. after about two _ their minds forever. after about two hours, - their minds forever. after about two hours, lucy - their minds forever. after. about two hours, lucy says their minds forever. after - about two hours, lucy says she and the other residents were sent home and the detained man when our loan with the russians.— when our loan with the russians. ., . ., ., , russians. one of the commanders told asked do _ russians. one of the commanders told asked do not _ russians. one of the commanders told asked do not look— russians. one of the commanders told asked do not look at - russians. one of the commanders told asked do not look at those . told asked do not look at those people lying on the ground. they are not humans. they are absolute dirt. they are beasts.

for one month, bucha lay under russian occupation, with only brief humanitarian corridors for those wanting to flee. the rest of the time, escape meant risking death. rapid gunfire.

those left behind trapped. without power, living amid constant fighting. bucha became a place of the missing. bell tolling.

after a month, ukraine's army forced the russians out. the secrets of bucha were finally being revealed.

now the searching began. at yablonska street, 144, resident entered the deserted russian base. images started appearing online.

in the courtyard of yablonska street 144, the bodies of eight men were found. the images of death difficult to watch. they had been lying there for four weeks surrounded by rubbish but authorities moved the bodies before families good identify them.

the truth of what happened at yablonska i44 the truth of what happened at yablonska 144 may have stayed hidden for ever. but for the testimony of a man who came back from the dead.

ivan has a terrible story to tell. from that moment when, alongside the husband of natalya, andriy, he was forced inside the russian base.

ivan recalled outside to his comrades. ivan says he was taken with several others to a courtyard beside the building. among them, katerina's son, dennis, and all up? husband.

ivan was alive. but the danger wasn't over.

after about 15 minutes, the killers left. ivan had survived. a few days later, he managed to reunite with his wife and four children and left for safety in poland. i'mjust wondering,

poland. i'm just wondering, what poland. i'mjust wondering, what do you feel now after surviving this? yablunska yablu nska i44 yablu nska 144 is yablunska 144 is now a war crime scene. investigators are gathering evidence for a potential prosecution, answering a call forjustice.

but who with the people responsible? this military credit card down by cleaners and other recovered documents place elite airborne forces at yablunska i44 place elite airborne forces at yablunska 144 at this time. at the man who sent them there was the man who sent them there was the commander—in—chief, at two. and he has often done for, the president denies any crimes.

would you like some water? the event at yablunska i44 transformed life into death. happy homes into places of grief. but bucha is still home.

where the reminders of the lost are everywhere.

what were the last flowers he gave you, can you remember?

you've probably heard already that a national emergency has been declared on account of this unprecedented heatwave. the english temperature record, which is also that of the uk, is going to get obliterated in the next few days, as indeed will the record for wales. in scotland, probably getting there or thereabouts, northern ireland perhaps just missing out. but this is an unprecedented spell of hot weather. a met office red extreme weather warning — the first one ever issued for all these areas

of england, including many of england's largest cities — that's in force for monday and tuesday, the peak of the heatwave. but across sunday through to tuesday, for england, wales, southern scotland, we have a widespread amber weather warning. impacts to health, impacts to infrastructure are expected. over the next few hours, seeing some showers push into northern scotland. look at these temperatures — this is as cool as our weather gets for the next few days, so if you're up early sunday morning, take advantage of this cool air, open your doors, open your curtains, open your windows, let that cool air into your house and into your flat and the first couple of the hours of the morning, shut everything — shut the windows, shut the doors, shut your curtains, shut that exceptional heat out. we're going to see temperatures building widely into the 30s across england and wales as well. what follows on monday is a spell of dangerous heat. we've got sunshine across the board and temperatures hitting 40 degrees celsius or so.

the current uk temperature record is 38.7, so this is going to be the hottest day we've ever had in our country. and it's notjust the daytime temperatures — overnight, 10 o'clock monday night, we're still widely into the 30s — that's going to be horrendous for getting a good night's sleep, hence the importance of keeping your flats and your houses as cool as possible. tuesday, we start to see some storms break out in the west, bringing some slightly fresher air into western areas but otherwise, it's another day of dangerous heat. this heat is dangerous for people's health, so you can mitigate some of those problems. i've already mentioned some tips — keeping curtains closed, particularly on the sunny side of your house. 0nly open windows and doors if it is actually cooler outside — that would often only be at the end of the night. drink plenty of water and remember, a cool shower can help you cope.

this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm rich preston. our top stories: europe's intense heatwave ignites wildfires. many have died in extreme temperatures across the continent. it isa it is a real struggle for the firefighters to try and stop the blazes. the air is full of thick smoke which stings your eyes and makes you want to cough. moscow orders its forces to step up operations across ukraine as russian missiles strike several cities. the un extends its mission in haiti for a further 12 months after petrol shortages and gang warfare in port—au—prince, fuels greater instability. president biden wraps

up his first middle east tour,