this is bbc news. the latest news and headlines follow after this programme. they're one of ukraine's most decorated brigades in a daily battle to hold back russia on the eastern front. for the 1st tank brigade, it's the fight of their lives. under constant attack from airand ground... come, quickly. ..they gave us unprecedented access to their front lines... ..while they fight to keep russia out from a town under constant attack. dog barks. explosion.

the bombing is relentless. explosion. shallow trenches offer the barest of protection from russian fire. come on! this way. down. down, down, down, down. get in, get down. we follow closely in their daily life—and—death struggle to halt their enemy. outgunned and outmanned, they refuse to give ground. explosion. they are the defenders of donbas. first light on the eastern front... ..and the opening battle of the day for ukrainian forces heading forward... ..is with the mud. war has left donbas ploughed and churned. this is their second spring

since russia invaded, their second season of muck and misery and their second year in their struggle to keep their country free. ukraine's eastern front stretches for nearly 1,000 kilometres, mostly across the luhansk and donetsk regions that make up donbas. capturing here is now russia's principal war aim. we met up with ukraine's 1st tank brigade on the zero line just outside velyka novosilka. few know how to handle this heavily contested ground better than them. with aged armour, the battle—hardened crew get ready to fuel up and face theirfoe. it's familiar territory. they've been fighting russia in one form or another in donbas for eight years. but the threat hangs

heavier now. their enemy is close by, and ukraine's forces are outmanned and outgunned. still they show no fear. he laughs. but does russia have a chance of winning this war? and this is a well—worn routine for tank commander serhii. first, he faced russian separatists in donbas, and now it's the russian army.

since the invasion, he's only had a week away from his tank and crew. his brigade is one of the most decorated in the ukrainian army. today, they're out to hit russian observation posts near their lines. their tanks may be old, but they've barely given the russians an inch of territory here. it's a fast game of cat and mouse, life or death, and it's left as deep an imprint on the landscape as it has on the men. the shell craters stretch for miles. and serhii and his crew are soon in the thick of it. they've found their target across the next field, over 500 metres away, and they unleash everything they've got.

gunfire. watch as serhii's rounds hit top right. seconds later, they lay down a smokescreen. the orders are get in, get out... gunfire. ..and take cover... ..before russian guns can start working on their positions. a response is expected, so it's time to move and to seek cover wherever it can be found. these fierce battles happen daily and have created a wasteland. explosion. go! drone.

quickly! it could be a reconnaissance drone or armed. they don't wait to find out. go to position. go quickly. 0pen ground is their enemy's friend. explosion.

message over radio. and the tank brigade doesn'tjust have tanks at its disposal. they're using everything they've got to defend the town of velyka novosilka. the reminders of lives once lived here are scattered everywhere. but the rubble of the town is now as much of a front line as the trenches. this was the local kindergarten. it's now the temporary base for the brigade�*s armed drone team.

they're a small, light unit constantly on the move, climbing and crawling their way through the town's ruin, always on the lookout for the closest position to the russians to launch an attack. these off—the—shelf drones are armed with a grenade and sent into flight. unlike the tanks, they're on the hunt for smaller targets. drones buzz. at the town's edge, a trench comes into their crosshairs. it's a direct hit. russian vehicles are next.

it's deadly effective. but their enemy is using these same tactics. war now occupies every inch of velyka novosilka. and months of russian bombardments are tearing apart what's left, piece by piece. its people have mostly fled, the pets they have left behind driven wild by russian shelling. dogs bark. at a secret location, we head to a mobile command post... dogs bark. ..to meet the man charged with holding the town. your men have seen some really hard fighting. as a leader, how do you keep your men motivated?

this is what a year of russian shelling does to a town. war�*s burden is crushing, and for most of the people who lived here, it was too much to bear. russian shelling has blown the life out of this place. and along 600 miles of the eastern front, the ukrainian army is absorbing russia's blows. but its enemy isn'tjust targeting soldiers, it's targeting towns and villages, it's targeting civilians. now, velyka novosilka, where we are now, was nothing special, but the people who lived here are very proud of their new school,

they sent the kids to the local kindergarten. russian bombs mean that all of that's gone now. emptied of life, the streets still have traces of a thriving town that once existed here. but few dare linger out in the open. as abandoned as it is, russian bombs still fall here. explosion. a mortar lands to the left of our car.

it's dangerous to spend too much time above ground here, but we risk the school run. rubble—strewn streets have become bombers�* alleys. much of the town is within range of russian guns. explosion. another mortar lands... ..even closer. they're zeroing in. any movement here captures russian attention, so speed matters.

0ut here in the open, a moment's hesitation can prove fatal, so we move fast in search of cover. the school lies broken and forlorn. piano plays. the last children were removed a few months ago. but the piano teacher clings on. across empty playgrounds and through silent hallways, her music echoes. piano plays. russia has shattered her town. it has dulled and deadened her piano. but it hasn't broken iryna babkina. the memories of the town that she loved and the children that she taught keep her here despite the hardship.

iryna takes us to one of the town's remaining shelters. oh, it's very cold. the conflict raging above has driven them down here. in the darkness they've made their home, they can survive. but it's a place of emptiness and sadness. and almost unseen in a far—off corner... violin plays. ..a woman sits alone and bereft. what was life like here before?

can you tell us what happened to your husband?

we head back out in the fading light, slowing only for broken bridges. russian guns are still within range and barricades and tank traps along the road. and we arrive at war�*s familiar, stricken landscape. here, russian eyes are always watching. the torn limbs of trees are a reminder of the reach of russian artillery and grenade fire. we're heading to zero line,

the closest trenches to the russian positions. brigade infantryman dima — he's just 22 years old — is escorting us forward. gunfire mortars, tank fires, grads — they get hit by everything here. dima'sjust told me the village over here is half held by the ukrainians and half held by the russians. we're told to tread carefully. land mines litter the ground. and they're not the only danger. gunfire

as we move closer, russian fire begins to fly overhead. explosion it's time to head for cover. even the shallowest trenches will do. gunfire but the team is split up after the first strike, and some of us are left exposed, out in the open. explosion whoa!

that shell hits just a few metres away. dima and my colleague darren conway call us towards the trench. liuba, fast, fast, fast. come on. let's get to that trench. quick. stuart, there's a bunker here. this way. come on, run, run. run. straight to me. come on, this way. down. down, down, down, down. down. get in, get down. that was two russian shells that have just come in. i think it's tank fire landing very close to these positions. it gives you an idea of how exposed it is here. there's absolutely no tree cover.

the safest place for these men is in the trenches. they've already taken a couple of casualties here in the last week. he breathes heavily you all right? yeah. keep down. there's no time to pause for breath. dima leads the way to better cover. these few logs offer some protection, but it's already packed tight in here. that was even closer. they grab every inch of shelter they can. explosion and when the next distant boom might end in a direct hit, it's hard not to flinch.

what is dima fighting for, we ask. those phone calls let his mother know her son has survived another day.

but does dima think russia could win here? explosion

dima stands lookout, waiting for a sign that the attack is over. explosion his adult life has barely started, and already war�*s toll is written plainly across his face. and, colonel, what's your message to the men out there, the men that are in the trenches, the men that are in the tanks, your men that are fighting every day? what's your message to them?

and what's your message to the rest of the world?

the war consumes every waking hour in ukraine. a day on the zero line can feel like a lifetime. but the cover of darkness brings dima relief... ..for now. in the gloom beyond lies a constant threat. russia could attack again at any moment. and while its guns are silent, dima shows us the path out. distant explosion but dima will stand his ground here. and he's not alone.

a shift change brings fresh reserves to the front. for the defenders of donbas, this is more thanjust the fight of their lives. their country is at stake, but so too is the right to live free for generations of ukrainians still to come. sunday brought some pretty warm weather in parts of the uk, but it also brought some really heavy downpours. there are some further showers in the forecast for bank holiday monday, but equally some spells of sunshine. many of us will again feel relatively warm, particularly in the sunshine. but northern parts, particularly scotland, will start to turn rather chilly because of this cold front. now, it doesn't look like much here on the chart. it's just going to bring some extra clouds, a little bit of rain.

but behind it, it will introduce some chilly air, particularly across parts of scotland. most of us, though, starting monday morning on a mild note, bit of showery rain across some eastern parts of england. across england and wales, we are going to see some spells of sunshine, scattered showers which could be heavy and thundery, particularly from east wales eastwards, west wales, the south west of england, not seeing too many showers. northern ireland brightening up through the afternoon with some spells of sunshine. most of us temperatures between 1a and 17 degrees. but through the afternoon, those temperatures dropping across the northern half of scotland. behind our weather front, some cloud, the odd spot of rain, that frontal system sinking further southwards as we go through monday night. not much more than a band of cloud, really, but to the north of it, it is going to be quite a chilly start to tuesday. we could well see a touch of frost across some parts of the highlands. so for tuesday morning, a rather chilly start. for many, this band of cloud likely to be left across the uk. maybe the odd spot of rain, the odd shower breaking out. but most places, i think, will be dry and we should see

some spells of sunshine, but a little on the cool side across northern scotland and down into the eastern side of england, ten to 12 degrees even further south and west, not as warm as it has been. now, on wednesday, a weak front is likely to bring a bit of patchy rain through northern ireland and western scotland. some showers may start to develop down towards the south as the winds begin to pick up through the day. temperatures generally between ten and 16 degrees. as we head towards the end of the week, we will see frontal systems squashing in from the southwest, reintroducing the chance for some rain and for a time a brisk easterly breeze, which will make it feel rather chilly, particularly for some eastern coasts. but through the week, a lot of dry weather for a time through tuesday into wednesday, but then turning more unsettled.

live from washington. this is bbc news. the united nations and african union warn that the people of sudan are in dire need of a humanitarian truce. nurses in england start a 28—hour strike — health service bosses say its the largest industrial action so far. # shimmering in the sun... # and we'll hear from the creator of this viral hit that's taken over tiktok.

hello, i'm carl nasman.