live from washington, this is bbc news. the ukrainian president vows to hold russia to account after an attack that killed 51 people. ukraine's poltava is pelted with the deadliest single russian strike on a ukrainian city this year. 12 people have died after a vote capsized with migrants in the english channel. hello. i'm helena humphrey. good to have you with us. we begin in ukraine, where more than 50 people have died in a russian missile strike that's being described as the moscow's single deadliest attack so far this year. the target was

the city of potalva, in central ukraine. a military training insitute and nearby hospital were hit. this is the scene of the aftermath. a military communications institute was hit, along with a nearby hospital. ukraine's armed forces confirmed soliders at the military institute were among the dead. the country's president volodymyr zelensky said those responsible for the attack would be held accountable. he also renewed his calls to allies for more air defences. the white house condemned the attack and said military assistance would be arriving to ukraine in the coming weeks. nick beake sent us this report from the scene. the missiles tore through the ukrainian military academy at 9 o'clock this morning, just as lessons were starting, levelling huge parts of the complex and killing dozens instantly. army medics battle to save the injured. "hold on," he shouts, "you're a good lad." tonight we arrived in a stunned city. the emergency services of poltava could do little more than clear up the wreckage. we met mikita, a cadet, who was inside the training centre when it happened.

"the second missile hit three seconds after the first," he tells us, "i ran outside, there was smoke and dust everywhere. "lots of people were outside having a cigarette, "and many of them were killed." yana, one of the many locals whose windows were smashed. ukraine has taken a body blow, too. translation: it's very hard. i take it personally. my husband is fighting on the front line. soldiers have died here, and i know there are still soldiers under the rubble. their wives are waiting for them. then, as we were moving location, another air raid alert blared, and the instant fear of another possible hit here. the air raid sirens have just gone off once again, and so a lot of the emergency services who are inside the building, clearing out the debris have now moved out, even though there are still some people we know underneath the rubble. president zelensky condemned the attack, calling the russians "scum" and promised to get answers.

translation: i've ordered i a full and prompt investigation into the circumstances of what happened. all necessary services are involved in the rescue operation. i am grateful to everyone who has been saving lives from the very first moments following the strike. president putin had vowed that punishment was on its way after the incursion into russia a month ago. and it seems it arrived today, in seconds, in the deadliest attack on ukraine for a year. nick beake, bbc news. evelyn farkas served as deputy us assistant secretary of defense for russia, ukraine and eurasia from 2012 to 2015. she's now executive director of the mccain institute for international leadership at arizona state university. she spoke to me a short while ago. evelyn, good to have you with us. what we have seen is the deadliest attack in ukraine this year today. do you see this as russia trying to ramp up its attacks

before the winter? yes, absolutely. and of course, it is also revenge, if you will, because the russians are quite frustrated. the ukrainians have been striking oil depots, they have been striking into russia, and of course they invaded russia and they have been on russian territory for now coming onto a month. so i think the russians are taking revenge and they're trying to do everything they can to cripple ukrainian will and of course the will of all of us supporting ukraine. you mentioned there the operation in kursk and its month anniversary. from what you're seeing, do you think that what is happening there can end up prolonging this war or in fact bringing it closer to an end, in your opinion? i would think that it would bring it closer to an end but i am not going to say that it is going to come to an end soon, so it is closer than if the ukrainians had not invaded and seized this territory because it gives the ukrainians some leverage and puts pressure

on putin today. eventually, there will be a peace agreement, eventually the russians will have to give the ukrainians something in order to get their territory back so it has brought a peace agreement closer, i would argue, but of course that also depends on the ukrainians been able to maintain control of this territory. absolutely, and on the homefront president zelensky has said once again today that this makes the case for further weaponry. he has also urged allies to allow those long—range weapons to be used for strikes deeper within russian territory. we know for example washington and berlin have been among those who have said that they are not comfortable with it at this stage. do you see that line as movable at all? it has to be movable. i do not see the logic. i really do not see the logic. what would russia escalate to do? they are attacking ukrainian civilians, they clearly see no boundaries when it comes to the laws of war,

so the ukrainians are well within their right to take out for example there are about 16 russian bases within range of the longer range missiles that we could give ukraine permissions to use against russia, so that would cripple russia's ability to strike and most of the time they are striking civilians or civilian infrastructure. again, escalation, i do not see where they would escalate to? we know putin is not going to escalate to nuclear use, especially when it would involve fall back, literally, fall out, if you will, on his own territory. so i do not understand the hesitation frankly on the part of all the governments involved. coming back to that point. what we're seeing is a non—nuclear country, ukraine, now carrying out an offensive within the territory of russia which is a nuclear country. so how can we be sure that he would not reach that far?

because i do not think vladimir putin is that desperate and i do not think the russian elites are that desperate and ultimately the russian military would not obey a command coming from vladimir putin to use nuclear weapons against ukrainians which again would result in harm to russian soldiers, russian civilians, so the logic is not there for me. yes, there might be some chance, you cannot rule it out 100%, but again, the stakes are so high. every day ukrainians are losing their lives and it is notjust about ukraine and ukrainians, this is really important, we have to hold the line against russia because if russia prevails in ukraine, they will be emboldened to strike against republic of georgia, moldova and frankly ultimately nato countries. one other point i wanted touch on today. there are reports there is a major government reshuffle underway in ukraine. what do you make of that and why now? first of all, there is fatigue.

second of all i think president zelensky is feeling pressure and so he wants to make sure that the people who are working for him are loyal, that they are on their toes. i think ultimately that is probably what is going on but it is hard for me to tell from so far away. coming back to that point in the discussion we were having about russian president vladimir putin. we heard from the german foreign minister annalena baerbock on x today and she said he must be held accountable. we know he has been in mongolia, a country which is a member of the international criminal court and he has not been arrested despite the fact there is a warrant out for him. do you ultimately see that future accountability? there has to be. i agree with the german foreign minister. there has to be accountability. if mongolia gets away with thumbing their nose at the icc, which it's a member of, then it is a further strike against international law and accountability and as we know, the russians have already made severe dance in our regime. it is on very shaky ground as it is. it is really important

that the international stands up and holds mongolia accountable and ultimately holds vladimir putin accountable. as we were discussing. russian president vladimir putin arrived in mongolia earlier on monday despite warrant the international criminal court issued for the leader's arrest last year. it was his first visit to a country that is required to adhere to the international court's decisison but he's been welcomed at a lavish ceremony in the capital of ulaanbaatar and a spokesperson from the kremlin said it was not concerned that mr putin would be arrested during the visit. kyiv has condemned mongolia's decision to not arrest the russian leader, accusing it of sharing responsibility for war crimes. russia has been looking to build a gas pipeline through mongolia to china to increase its fossil fuel exports and compensate for losses of european markets. these due to sanctions.

the united states has charged several hamas leaders in connection with the group's attack on israel on october the seventh last year. the justice department said it was indicting six hamas members with crimes including the murder of us citizens and conspiracy to finance terrorism and the use of weapons of mass destruction. among the accused is ismael haniyeh, the hamas political leader, who was killed injuly, as well as his successor, yahya sinwar. earlier today us state department spokesperson matthew miller said that both israel and hamas must be willing to find points of agreement to reach a ceasefire deal. there are dozens of hostages still remaining in gaza, still waiting for a deal that would bring them home. it is time to finalise that deal. the people of israel cannot afford to wait any longer. the palestinian people, who are also suffering the terrible effects of this war, cannot afford to wait any longer. the world cannot afford to wait any longer.

over the coming days, the united states will continue to engage with our partners in the region to push for a final agreement. pros test over the death of sex is rally hostages in gaza continue with glee struggling with protesters in tel aviv. the prime minister faces the prime ministerfaces mounting the prime minister faces mounting pressure to have a ceasefire deal with hamas. the protesters demand they prioritise the lives of remaining hostages, this is one of the biggest displays of wartime dissent since the conflict erupted last year. mr netanyahu says he is not backing down that the war must continue on concessions must not be made to hamas. i spoke to an expert on the middle east. he did protesting in israel continuing for the third straight day, publicly it seems

from his comments the prime minister seems unmoved. do you see that changing anytime soon? we know that he is sending negotiators to know how to continue the negotiations with the egyptians, qatari is an hamas representatives to further enable a deal to be achieved and yet publicly he is maintaining his position. is still on the same bind he has beenin still on the same bind he has been in that any attempt to compromise on his position would risk undermining his coalition and topple this leadership. so he still remains in that bind. we leadership. so he still remains in that bind.— in that bind. we know one of the key sticking _ in that bind. we know one of the key sticking points - in that bind. we know one of the key sticking points as - in that bind. we know one of| the key sticking points as the philadelphia corridor, today we had comments from bin against part of the war cabinet saying the corridor should not be used as a reason, that would stop the remaining hostages and getting them home. does israel have any security options short of permanent control of that corridor?— corridor? there are reports indicating _ corridor? there are reports indicating netanyahu - corridor? there are reports indicating netanyahu has. indicating netanyahu has designated his representatives and hard to negotiate a

solution whereby israel does not need to take full control of that corridor in fact, would grant that as a concession, pending other concessions be granted in return. if there is anyplace we can see some compromise reached on the status of the philadelphia corridor that leaves major issues outstanding but that is more attainable in days to come. ~ ., a, a, a, come. wanted to ask about the news development _ come. wanted to ask about the news development united - come. wanted to ask about the | news development united states charging yahyah sinwar the leader of hamas and other senior members of the group for planning attacks in israel including the —— october seven attack, what you think that could for negotiations? it attack, what you think that could for negotiations? it will make the _ could for negotiations? it will make the position _ could for negotiations? it will make the position of - could for negotiations? it will make the position of hamas i make the position of hamas difficult from a fundraising standpoint, given hamas is already a designated terrorist organisation in the us, the justice department case against them will bring additional resources of the us government to be in close of

organisations, charitable and otherwise that have been open in the us to raise money that has been funnelled made its way to hamas or to those who support hamas it will be an attempt to cut down on those pipelines and resources hamas is used, and it does highlight the liability that hamas poses notjust the liability that hamas poses not just to the liability that hamas poses notjust to its own members but those who affiliate themselves with them. it will make it difficult for hamas to negotiate from a position it has been. i negotiate from a position it has been-— negotiate from a position it has been. ., a, a, a, has been. i want to ask about the international _ has been. i want to ask about the international perspective | the international perspective on all of this the us, i should say the prime minister president biden was asked whether he believed mr netanyahu was doing enough to get the hostages home. he said rather bluntly, no, we know the uk is limiting weapon supplier, do you think that is weighing on the prime minister netanyahu, does that exert further pressure? i netanyahu, does that exert further pressure?— further pressure? i think really the _ further pressure? i think really the pressures - further pressure? i think really the pressures and | further pressure? i think- really the pressures and large part coming from the israeli public, mobilising in the

streets in protest of his intransigence and position on the negotiations, what you're seeing now is president biden and others echoing the frustrations of israelis themselves feel against the prime minister. and bringing additional pressure to bear but the ultimate pressure the greatest source and impact is coming from within. that greatest source and impact is coming from within.— greatest source and impact is coming from within. that is the rovision coming from within. that is the provision of _ coming from within. that is the provision of international - provision of international studies at ucla. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news: a report says there were almost 2,400 claims of historical sexual abuse in more than 300 schools run by religious orders in the republic of ireland. the government in dublin, which commissioned the inquiry, described the findings as "truly shocking". the education minister norma foley said they found there were 884 alleged abusers who formerly ran schools, or still do. an 80—year—old man who died after being attacked in leicester on sunday has been named as bhim kohli. mr kohli was walking his dog in a park in braunstone town when he was assaulted.

three girls and two boys, three of whom are aged just 12, have been arrested on suspicion of murder. scotland's finance secretary has set out £500 million of cuts to balance the budget this financial year. shona robison said the current situation was not sustainable, and that spending would oustrip the available budget. she said there were more tough decisions to come, but ruled out increasing income tax at the next scottish budget, in december. you're live with bbc news. it is just over seven years since the greenbelt tower disaster in west london when a fire which burned for 60 hours killed 72 people. cladding added to make the building warm and dry had turned into a fire trap, the public inquiries final report into the blade is expected to be published in the coming hours in london.

for a long time, those screams really did haunt me. i felt helpless. there was nothing really i could do. it is only through being brave enough and honest enough to look at our failings that we can grow. there is not closure to the whole situation. there's still an awful lot of people stuck as a result of what happened at grenfell tower. many lives have been lost and scarred by this tragedy and its still unfolding consequences. every major milestone in my life, i try and make sure that i come here to pay my respects to... physics students tiago alves didn't hesitate the night his dad said... get ready, we need to leave. i think there's a fire in the building. it likely saved his life. he watched helpless as the fire destroyed the tower and killed many of his friends and neighbours. what i actually want from this report is true is written down on a page, something that we can point to and say, "this is what the truth is, this is what happened, and these are the companies or entities responsible for what happened that night". i could feel my wrists and my neck burning.

i checked the temperature and it was 550 celsius. firefighter ricky nuttall and dozens of his colleagues battled the heat and smoke in the building's only staircase, but too late to save many. what felt like a failure is 72 people not surviving that fire. that is what felt like a failure, and that failure extends past our actions on the night. it extends to the refurbishment companies and everything else that we are going to hear about in the inquiry. but grenfell�*s legacy does not end here. in sheffield, jenni garratt is stuck with a flat she cannot sell and massive service charges to pay for fire precautions because after grenfell, her building was also found to be dangerous. comparatively to other people, i am one of the lucky ones. i am one of the people who has actually got remediation happening. we don't know how long it is going to take. everything keeps getting extended. but there are so many people across the country that don't even have an assessment for their building. it is hard to think of a disaster in british history which has highlighted so many points of failure. more than anything, grenfell�*s legacy will be the lessons it will teach us.

tom symonds, bbc news, at grenfell tower. at least 12 people have died in what's being called the deadliest migrant disaster to happen this year in the english channel. on tuesday morning, a boat carrying dozens of migrants capsized. the french coastguard says the boat got into difficulty off the coast of cap gris—nez at around 6:00am with everyone on board ending up in the water. an emergency medical care centre has been set up at boulogne—sur—mer. at least 51 people have been rescued but many are in need of medical treatment. our correspondent andrew harding sent this update. the rescue operation at the harbour here in boulogne is now over. a little earlier today the french interior minister visited emergency workers at the quay site, praising them for responding so quickly to the incident a little further north off the coast here. saying 51 people had been rescued from the waves because they responded

so quickly. but he did say that amongst the 12 were a pregnant woman and also a number of children. he did not reveal the nationalities of those involved. he said most of them he believed were from africa. he mentioned that some of them, perhaps most of them, could have come from eritrea in east africa. as for the broader reaction here, there has been shock from the mayor of boulogne, who was appalled by this huge disaster that's arrived in his port city. this is the worst incident of its kind along the coast since november 2021 when 27 people drowned. as for the bigger picture in terms of the attempts to end these migrant crossings in these small boats, well, the british authorities continue to focus on the smuggling gangs and on the need to tackle them, to break down their network, and talk of cooperating more closely with french and other european officials,

in france the focus, as it has been for a long time, is very much and what they believe the lure of britain's poorly regulated job market. the interior minister in france here saying today he believes that is the key issue that britain needs to resolve in order to tackle this migrant crisis and stop people from taking these acute risks and being lured to britain because they believe that they will find work. andrew harding reporting they are. trust's interior minister gerald darmanin is now calling for a migration treating, seeking to establish a traditional relationship with british friends and neighbours. we also added that britain should be able to fund security operations it into the smuggling gangs exploiting the migrants. the latest uk government figures show that the number of migrants crossing the channel on small boats this year was 21,403.

pope francis has spent his first day injakarta, in indonesia, at the start of an historic and ambitious trip to the asia—pacific region. indonesia is the world's most populous muslim—majority country and the vatican says the focus of the trip is inter—faith harmony. the pontiff was welcomed to jakarta by refugees and orphaned children, at a reception at the city's papal diplomatic mission. on wednesday, he's due to meet with presidentjoko widodo in the indonesian capital. the 87—year old has reduced his travel in recent years due to health problems, but this twelve—day trip is his longest as pontiff. as well as visiting indonesia, he will also travel to papua new guinea, east timor and singapore. he is set to travel nearly 33,000 kilometres during the trip. and he is scheduled to attend more than lto events. our southeast asia correspondent jonathan head is following the indonesia stop of the tour. he's continuing a long—standing policy of the vatican of upholding the best possible relations with a country which in many ways is a model of multifaith tolerance. i mean, indonesia does have the world's largest muslim population but it

is not an islamic state. islam is not the official religion. there are significant minorities, including around 8 million roman catholics and the indonesian modern state has always accepted a place for all faiths and so i think it's always seen, given that it has such a large muslim population, as a sort of showcase of how relations between different faiths can be managed. and in general, most indonesian governments have stuck to the secular origins of the modern country, when it declared independence and made a place for all these religions, and the vatican has kept significant diplomatic representation there. it has been 35 years since the last visit of a pope so this pope, pope francis, visits a very different country from the one that his predecessor, popejohn paul ii, visited back in 1989. at that stage indonesia was still an authoritarian government, the issue of east timor, which is a roman catholic country, caused a lot of friction between the vatican and the then indonesian government.

this time around, of course, pope francis will be celebrating the openness of indonesia but that does not mean there are no problems between faiths in indonesia. it is always a sensitive issue managing them. the issue of whether relations in different parts of indonesia between christian and muslim communities have been strained in recent years when we have had the growth of for example of islamic extremism in the region. those are all factors that the pope will be very conscious of as he goes to these very symbolic big meetings. the one at the istiqlal mosque, the largest mosque in southeast asia, the main mosque injakarta, to highlight valuing these relationships between the different faiths and then a big rally, a big mass to be held in one of the largest stadiums in jakarta to which roman catholics from all over indonesia and many from quite far—flung islands will travel for this probably once—in—a—lifetime trip to see a pope.

main opposition leader in uganda says its leader has been shot while taking in an anti—government protest near kampala. while he received hospital treatment it's not clear how bad his wounds were. the party claims it was an attempt on his life. the ugandan police say they shot the leader but gave different accounts as to how he was injured, they claim he stumbled while getting into his car or had an altercation with police while pushing past a roadblock. although defeated on the 2021 election he has become of the most formidable challenges to the president who has been an office for a0 years. the us said the harassment of opposition voices damaged prospects for ugandan progress and its partnership with the international community.

stay with us here on bbc news. hello. a lot brighter out there today than we saw through yesterday, but still enough cloud around to produce some showers here and there, especially across eastern and the far west of the country. but overall a much better day than we saw through yesterday. showers this afternoon mainly will be across parts of east anglia, the southeast, the odd sharp one, still humid here and some across western scotland, northern ireland, though western parts of northern ireland will continue to brighten up. eastern scotland, northern england, western parts of england and also wales, many places actually dry through this afternoon and with just light winds it will still feel quite pleasant out there, even though we have got fresher air pushing into how we had at the weekend. the most humid air still across east anglia and the southeast. any lengthier, brighter breaks here, we could see temperatures between 2a and 26 degrees. now into this evening and overnight. some showers continue to filter across the country in batches, particularly later on in northern ireland and southwest scotland. but for southern scotland and the north east of england,

where we could see some clearer skies, here the lowest of the temperatures into tomorrow morning, maybe down to around it or 5 degrees. not quite as humid as last night either across some southern and eastern parts of england. but where we've got the coolest of the weather to begin with, the best of the sunshine, enjoy the morning sunshine because there's going to be more showers cropping up as we go through the day. east anglia, south east again and more widely across southern scotland, northern ireland, wales and western england in particular. temperatures also continue to drop that little bit more as well. tomorrow, around 15 to 20 degrees, the highs, if anything a nudge down where you want early september. beyond that, it looks increasingly light now. we'll see low pressure develop to the south of us, across france through the second half of the week, strengthening these easterly winds, bringing rain across southern half of the uk, but also introducing, reintroducing, i should say, more in the way of humid air. and you'll see temperatures creep up as we head towards the weekend. not quite there on thursday. thursday is almost the transition day. outbreaks of rain across england and wales, heaviest towards central and southern areas.

does look like scotland, northern ireland, savejust one or two showers, will be largely dry. best of brightness in the north west, and temperatures actually creeping up here compared with what we've seen during the next couple of days. but as we go towards the end of the week, whilst rain continues on and off across southernmost parts, it does look like we will see increasing amounts of sunshine to the north and west. and as you can see in oban, enniskillen and manchester, temperatures rising too in the low to mid 20s. take care.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. vladimir putin talks of restoring greatness to what he calls the russian world — an expansive territory which, as ukrainians know to their cost, stretches far beyond russia's current borders. putin's expansionist nationalism requires military power, but it's harnessed the cultural spiritual authority of the russian orthodox church, too. my guest, andrey kordochkin, was a russian orthodox priest who spoke out against the ukraine war and the "putinisation" of his church.

but is he swimming against an unstoppable tide?