this is bbc news with the headlines... on the first anniversary of russia's invasion of ukraine, president zelensky hails his nation's "year of invincibility", and said it would "do everything to win". translation: it's important for everyone to focus. - and then, we'll have victory because the righteous is on our side. solemn ceremonies are taking place all around the world, marking the day including in the uk where a minute's silence has been observed. as the fighting continues with no end yet in sight, we report from the front line, to assess the impact the conflict has had on ukraine. and the us announces new sanctions, and an additional $2 billion support package aimed at helping

the ukrainians in the fight. welcome to the programme. if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in the— on pbs in the us, or around the world, on pbs in the us, or around the world. it's _ on pbs in the us, or around the world, it's great _ on pbs in the us, or around the world, it's great to _ on pbs in the us, or around the world, it's great to have - on pbs in the us, or around the world, it's great to have your. world, it's great to have your company. it's the first anniversary of the ukraine war one year since vladimir putin ordered his forces to launch an all—out assault on ukraine with the aim of taking kyiv within days. the strategy failed. ukrainian resistance has been fierce, though it has come at an immense cost. many have died on the battlefield, and accusations of war crimes by the russian troops have shocked the world. the war has changed europe, and the world leaving russia

diplomatically isolated, and revitalising the nato alliance. unexpectedly revitalising the nato alliance, which many thought was out of date. our international editor jeremy bowen has reported on the conflict from the very beginning. he's kept in touch with many of the ukrainians he's spoken to along the way, and he's been back to meet some of them to get their reflections, on 12 months of war. the russians expected a quick victory, taking back what president putin believes is theirs. a year later, the war is not close to over. ukrainians are fighting back in a war nato believes is vital to global security. this volunteer sniper kept the video of his first firefight. i was crying because i was thinking that i did things which i've never done before. i was thinking about these dead

guys, like, hey, they have families, some of them maybe have children. any sympathy you had at the beginning forjust poor russian soldiers has gone? they should suffer. they should not like just be killed, they should suffer about things which they've done. their families should never see them, even dead bodies. millions of ukrainian civilians have been forced from their homes. these were escaping from the suburb of irpin into kyiv last winter. it looked like a throwback to europe's dark 20th century. in fact, the war has initiated a new and dangerous era. the threat for people a long way from the battlefield is that the war might spread beyond ukraine. a year on, a new irpin bridge and the old challenge — avoiding direct confrontation between russia and nato.

the way that the ukrainians stopped the russians just back there changed every calculation about the war. nato saw it had an ally worth supporting, and then moved very fast to do that. now, that has carried some heavy costs — economic, a massive military commitment, and even a risk of nuclear war. now, the ukrainians are conscious that future nato governments might not want to carry that heavy a burden, which is why they're calling 2023 their year of victory. ukraine's fighting spirit is intact, but neither side has the edge it would need to win. these were ukrainian volunteers signing up a year ago, from 60—somethings to young men just out of school. the war started here for maxim, then 19, and his friend dmytro, 18. what are you studying? i am studying economy. and i'm studying biology.

good luck, guys. yeah, thank you. good luck. they didn't feel as brave as they tried to look. there was a lot of fear, i'm not going to lie, because i haven't experienced anything like that before. we had some stupid brave...braveness, bravery, and it helped us to overcome our fear. after a few days on checkpoints and some basic training, both dmytro and maxim were plunged into the fighting. when the war switched to the east, dmytro stayed in kyiv. maxim has fought and was wounded in some of the toughest battles in donbas. this video is from his bodycam. by the summer, in the ruins of eastern ukraine, as the battle for control of bakhmut was starting,

maxim was an experienced fighting soldier. we were defending the... explosion ..the chemical factory. he's still only 20. explosion both maxim and dmytro share their president's view, no trading ukrainian land for peace with putin's russia. we have a joke, putin will be awarded as a hero of ukraine for hisjob that he did to unite ukraine, to build our economy, to build our army, and to make ukrainian nation great. and that unity was strengthened when ukrainian troops fought their way into bucha, outside kyiv, and found evidence of russian war crimes. a few miles from bucha, irina,

on her own, buried her son in her garden after russians shot him on the 10th of march last year as he went to work. this was 0leksei as a boy. he was 27 when he was killed. a year later, irina walks to the cemetery every day where he was reburied. she dressed her boy in new clothes with a flower in his buttonhole, as he was engaged. she is tormented by what happened. she sobs the russians wrecked her house after they killed her son. translation: we were hungry and cold. - you shudder all the time, can't get any sleep. how long do you think the war might last?

translation: until putin dies. that's how long we have to suffer. until that animal dies. the cemeteries are expanding and more offensives are coming. ukraine will get more support from nato. russia could get more from china. one big challenge for the war�*s second year — controlling the pace of escalation, keeping the killing in ukraine. jeremy bowen, bbc news, kyiv. at a press conference in kyiv, ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky urged the west to step up its delivery of weapons to ukraine. translation: if all of us will perform our tasks, i then we will have victory. victory awaits us, i'm convinced. it's not something

i think or i wish. we have everything for it this year. we have the motivation, the friends, the diplomats. we have you. we have united all the forces against that invasion. i think not a single country in the world would be able to independently withstand such aggressive war. the united nations security council has been meeting today in new york. let's hear now from un secretary—general, antonio guterres, who spoke earlier about the suffering of the ukrainian people. the russian invasion of ukraine is a blatant violation of united nations charter and international law. it has unleashed widespread deaths, destruction and displacement. attacks on civilian and civilian infrastructure have caused many casualties and terrible suffering. the office of the high commissioner for human rights has documented thousands of cases of conflict—related sexual violence against men, women and girls.

and serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law against prisoners of war and hundreds of cases of enforced disappearances and mandatory detentions of civilians were also documented. mr president, life is a living hell for the people of ukraine. the us secretary of state antony blinken also addressed the un — here's what he had to say. members of this council should not fall into the false equivalency- of calling on both sides to stop - fighting or calling on other nations to stop supporting ukraine in the name of peace. - no member of this council should i call for peace while supporting i russia's war on ukraine and on the un charter. | in this war, there is an aggressor and there is a victim. _ russia fights for conquest. ukraine fights for its freedom. if russia stops fighting and leaves ukraine, the war ends. _

if ukraine stops - fighting, ukraine ends. let's go live to the united nations and our correspondent not a topic. this war had the potential to completely divide the un — in light of the vote in the general assembly, but also the voices on the security council, what's your assessment of how the un is dealing with this ongoing crisis? i how the un is dealing with this ongoing crisis?— how the un is dealing with this ongoing crisis? i think the biggest take away has _ ongoing crisis? i think the biggest take away has been _ ongoing crisis? i think the biggest take away has been over - ongoing crisis? i think the biggest take away has been over the - ongoing crisis? i think the biggest take away has been over the past| take away has been over the past year, despite everything we've seen with the war — you've had the international court ofjustice chiming in, telling rush the war, you've had alleged crimes against humanity, you've had a globalfood and energy crisis, countries dealing with the war — despite that, countries positions haven't changed

all that much. you have supporters in the west, supporters of ukraine, largely the west — as we saw, 1111 countries, so it is a strong showing of those who believe it is extremely important to show that the un charter, this is a blatant violation of that. but you have others who have ties to russia and who, quite frankly, believe that the west has to work with others on the international world, to further relations and cooperate on a peace plan. so there is a bit of pushback, i would say, here at the un. russia has been successful in painting this as a war against the west and russia, i would say.— as a war against the west and russia, i would say. there's been a lot of focus — russia, i would say. there's been a lot of focus on _ russia, i would say. there's been a lot of focus on china, _ russia, i would say. there's been a lot of focus on china, hasn't - russia, i would say. there's been a lot of focus on china, hasn't it, - lot of focus on china, hasn't it, because china took this approach in using its votes on the security council to argue against interventions by powers in other

countries — so consistently on the us invasion of iraq, saying that's wrong because you're intervening in the internal affairs of another country. this decision by russia to attack ukraine, and then invade, as far as it's been able to do, must of put china in an awkward position not just internationally, but with its dealings with the security council? absolutely, and i think we've seen a number of times that china has been uncomfortable. in every statement at the united nations, it has talked about sovereignty and territorial integrity — in fact, when you hear the american representatives, whether it's the us secretary of state or ambassador here, when they talk about the peace plan, the policy paper china has proposed, they say, "look at .1, if russia respects sovereignty and territorial integrity, there would be no war." that's why we've seen china has

talked about this no limits partnership with russia despite china's top diplomat they in moscow this week, we've seen them abstaining on these resolutions because in the history books on paper, they don't want to be seen as voting against these resolutions. but also there's been criticism that, while china has tried to portray itself as a neutral party in all this, that it is providing support to russia, and the rhetoric about china saying it's against unilateral sanctions, that russia's series acute dutch security must be taken into consideration as well, there's been criticism that that obviously overlooks what ukraine is going through at the moment as the victim of its territory being invaded by a neighbour country. but again, there's been nuance in china's position certainly. hat again, there's been nuance in china's position certainly. not a toffee, thank— china's position certainly. not a toffee, thank you _ china's position certainly. not a toffee, thank you very - china's position certainly. not a toffee, thank you very much. i

stay with us on bbc news, still to come... we report from the front line and look at the impact this conflict has had on the whole of ukraine. prince charles has chosen his bride. the prince proposed to lady diana spencer three weeks ago. she accepted, she says, without hesitation. as revolutions go, this has had its fair share of bullets, a climax in the night outside the gates of mr marcos's sanctuary, malaca nang. the name itself symbolising one of the cruellest regimes of modern asia. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly using a cell from another sheep. warren beatty and faye dunaway announced to the world that the winner of the best film was la la land, the only trouble was it wasn't. the mistake was only put right in the middle of gushing speeches by the team behind the modern musical. not for 20 years have locusts been seen in such numbers in this part of africa. some of the swarms have been ten miles long.

this is the last time the public will see this pope very soon for the sake of the credibility and authority of the next pope, benedict xvi will in his own words be hidden from the world for the rest of his life. hello, i'm shaun ley, welcome back. on the first anniversary of russia's invasion of ukraine, fierce fighting is continuing in the east of the country, with heavy losses of troops on both sides. at least 8,000 civilians have been killed according to the un, which says the true number is likely to be much higher. and 1a million ukrainians have been forced to flee. one of russia's key targets is the strategic town of vuhledar in the donbas region. the latest russian attempt to take the town earlier this month ended in humiliating defeat. from the town, our senior international correspondent orla guerin and cameraman

goktay koraltan sent this report. deep in the forest near the town of vuhledar, we get a close—up of the war. the daily battle to hold off the russians, who aren't winning but aren't giving up either. inside the town, ukrainian troops lobbing mortars and obscenities. moving fast to avoid being targeted themselves. a once prosperous coal—mining town is now a wasteland. we head towards the front line, with soldiers

at the heart of the battle. their commander, codenamed beast, has been up all night fighting. how far away are the nearest russian positions? one kilometre. we move forward carefully. the russians have no line of sight here, but they have eyes in the sky. plane. get down, goktay! we've just been told to duck down here now and take cover at the wall. the troops have heard something, possibly a russian drone. the front line is about 500 metres away. they say russian troops are trying to advance, but they're holding them back. a few hundred souls remain in this broken place, without light or heat,

without peace or safety. solace comes in the form of oleg tkachenko, an evangelical pastor in camouflage gear who braves the shelling to deliver aid. "it's a matter of life or death", he tells me. "we bring bread and water. the risk is huge, but so is the reward — saving people's lives." "hang on", he says. "it's one loaf per person." valentyna waits her turn. she's 73 and says she has nowhere else to go. "we are frightened, of course, but what can we do? we live with it.

you can't say don't shoot. they have theirjob. we have our lives." what was life like here before the invasion? how were things before? the town was quiet, calm and clean. people worked. we had money. what can i say? it was a good town." and there was a good life for many in ukraine, like ruslan and denys, nine—year—old twins, the stars of this family video. they were side by side always until russian shelling tore them apart. their mother, anastasia, takes me to the park in central

ukraine where denys was hit by shrapnel last september. "he was lying next to my legs," she says. "why didn't it hit me? "ruslan was screaming, denys, get up!" on his grave, this photo, taken two days before his death. ruslan cannot accept his best friend is gone. he sends himself messages from denys�*s phone. that piece of shrapnel will follow him through life and follow her. one family, one loss, one year of russia's war. orla guerin, bbc news, eastern ukraine.

i'm joined now by ukrainian mp and leader of the golos political party, kira rudik. it's good to speak to you again, despite the nature of this anniversary, it's a poignant day for ukraine in many ways as you remember all those who have suffered so much or given their lives for your country. what's your assessment at the moment of the political challenge the country faces, both in holding morale up inside and ensuring support outside of ukraine? thanks so much for having me. despite the fact that it was indeed the toughest, most painful year in my nation's life, we still have it in ourselves to fight further. we are still united inside, and we know that there is no other way for us, there's no alternative for us.

because we've seen what russians do to people in the occupied territories. and it is very important to understand that we are fighting because it's a matter of life and death for us. we do not have any other alternative. so this is why it's critical to do two things — the first is to win the war by pushing russia away from her territories, but the second is to ensure that russia will not attack again. and there are challenges with both of these goals. the first challenge, of course, is in winning the war — and in that, we know that we have the morale, we have the ability to fight, we have 1 ability to fight, we have1 million people in our army but we still need weapons and supplies, and we need more and more of them so we can push russia back. but the second, and similarly critical, is to ensure that our children will not have to go through the same atrocities,

through the same pain. so we need to make sure we are the generation that finishes this warfor make sure we are the generation that finishes this war for long, so russia cannot attack again. we need a leader in the free world that says, "i will step up and vouch that boudin will not break his word, that we can have a deal with him." what we can have a deal with him." what about the prime _ we can have a deal with him." what about the prime minister— we can have a deal with him." what about the prime minister of namibia who said last weekend, "whatever the virtues of the conflict on either side, the reality is that the west continues to provide weapons, we hear china might provide weapons, they are generating and contributing to a war which then has terrible consequences in other countries too" — we think of the problems caused by lack of grain supplies, the effect of recession and parts of africa that stem directly from this conflict. and for those countries,

how do you say to them that this is worth the sacrifice were making, but also the sacrifice we are asking your people to make? you also the sacrifice we are asking your people to make? you know, last ear at the your people to make? you know, last year at the end _ your people to make? you know, last year at the end of _ your people to make? you know, last year at the end of the _ your people to make? you know, last year at the end of the year, _ your people to make? you know, last year at the end of the year, i - your people to make? you know, last year at the end of the year, i had - year at the end of the year, i had been to south africa where i gathered leaders of the liberal political parties throughout africa. and i was explained to them why we are fighting. and my question to them was, please, if your country has a neighbour that always wanted to conquer you, that would definitely raise their heads if russia succeeds in ukraine. and they will definitely decide to attack you, please raise your hands. i was standing in a room full of hands — because what is happening right now is also a precedent that's being built for russia, but also for so many authoritarian regimes throughout the world that are working precisely at democratic

countries and their reactions. you make a very _ countries and their reactions. you make a very powerful point, thanks very much for giving your views on this first year of conflict between russia and ukraine. you're watching bbc world news. hello. the weather this weekend for most of us isn't looking too bad. plenty of sunny spells on the way, but it will remain chilly. and the settled weather is thanks to a large area of high pressure which has decided to park itself over the uk, and here it is as it wobbles into the weekend, the centre of the high pretty much over scotland. now, it's not necessarily a sunny high pressure. in fact, a fair amount of cloud. and you can see on the satellite picture here broken cloud out towards northern ireland and western scotland, but elsewhere it has actually been quite an overcast friday with some spits and spots of rain. but through the course of the night, the skies will clear, and out towards the west with lighter winds,

there will be a frost. but closer to the north sea coast, exposed to that wind, it will be frost—free, so three degrees in newcastle, about that in hull and norwich as well. elsewhere it will be more like —3 outside of town. lots of sunshine to start the day on saturday, but notice how the clouds develop through the morning and into the afternoon, and that same breeze will actually push some clouds further towards the west and one or two showers as well. temperatures about 7—8 degrees, which is bang on the average for the time of year, but the wind is quite strong. it's a dry wind, and there'll be a wind chill, so the feels—like temperature will be closer to around 2—3 celsius. so wrap up warmly despite the sunny spells. and more of the same to come on saturday. the high pressure centred over scotland. in fact, that does mean that high pressure will stick for quite some time because if you look at the jet stream pattern, it's in the shape of an omega, and when weather forecasters see that on the weather maps, that omega shape, it means that the high pressure is a blocking area of high pressure, or otherwise known as an omega block.

it's a technical term, but basically it means that the high will stick around for most of the week, possibly the next ten days or so. so, the one thing that will vary from day to day is the amount of cloud we're going to get because it all depends on the wind direction. sometimes areas of cloud will drift to the north, to the south, but generally speaking, it is looking dry. and if you look at the outlook, it hangs around, 7—8 degrees celsius, some days are going to be cloudier than others. but plenty of dry weather, and of course it's been so dry in february, that is going to continue into march.

welcome back, you are all watching bbc news. it's the first anniversary of russia was make invasion of ukraine, president zelensky told journalists at a news conference in kyiv on friday that he welcomed the un vote calling for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of russian troops. is he does web resolution is a powerful signal of global support. ukraine's allies have pledged help kyiv with the russian invasion, the us has announced more sanctions against russia and said it would provide ukraine with another $2 billion worth of weaponry. took part in a parade in the centre of kyiv on friday morning after a minute's silence, the president handed out awards to soldiers and families of those who died. no comment on the wall in russia,