orla guerin, bbc news, on the outskirts of kyiv. orla guerin reporting from the town of bucha.pital kyiv — where our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is. today, not a lot of air activity around the city. we often see surface—to—air missiles fired by ukrainian forces streaking across the sky. there was occasional air raid sirens. the priority for russian forces, even as they regrouped, it seems from around the capital, is there pounding cities, particularly to the south, including, of course, mary and paul, which seems to be the most grave humanitarian situation. you hear from so many people who desperate to find out about what's happening to their relatives, are they safeand i made those reports of more than 1200 bodies lining the and bodies being buried in mass graves, people fear the worst, but it's really hard to know what's happening in a place like mariupol. but it is absolutely barbaric conditions. figs like mariupol. but it is absolutely barbaric conditions. as mentioned, russian forces _ barbaric conditions. as mentioned, russian forces have _ barbaric condi

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv. —— orla guerin, bbc news, irpin.er look now at that proposal by russia for humanitarian corridors from key cities where civilians are trapped by the fighting, without enough food or water. four of the six routes to safety that moscow suggested go to russia in the east, or to belarus, its key ally, to the north.the other two routes take those fleeing further into ukraine. president zelensky has condemned the proposals as "completely immoral".meanwhile, there are desperate scenes at the train station in dnipro — where families are trying to flee from the fighting. our correspondent , sarah rainsford, sent this report from dnipro — kharkiv is burning again. a russian speaking city, bombed by russian planes, battered by russian shells, in a war vladimir putin says is to protect russian speakers. but his troops are destroying their homes and their lives. the woman who filmed this footage told us ukraine is being punished for its free will and its democracy. valentyna sent her sister and mother to safety today. she told me

orla guerin, bbc news, on the northern outskirts of kyiv.ntry has suffered more than mariupol in the south, which has been virtually destroyed by remorseless russian bombardment. yet the people of the city have held out — despite a lack of food, water and electricity. this evening, president macron has said france, greece and turkey are hoping to convince russia to help people to leave the city. the authorities in mariupol now say they believe around 300 people may have died when russia bombed the city's theatre last week, at a time when civilians, including many children, were taking shelter in the building. the estimate is based on eyewitness accounts and can't be independently verified. 0ur correspondent wyre davies reports from southern ukraine. sergey scans the endless flatlands of southern ukraine, the rich, fertile farmland that russia wants for itself. the 62—year—old former fire engine driver never envisaged taking up arms against the might of moscow, but he knows full well what the russian army is capable of doing. translation: we

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv.een told that president putin relayed to his turkish counterpart that he's close to an agreement with ukraine — on at least four of russia's six demands. among russia's conditions for ending the war is that ukraine doesn't join nato. i asked ukraine's ambassador to the us, oksana markarova, whether it's true that negotiators are close to a deal. let's talk about the facts. it's the 22nd day of heroic defence of ukrainians of our freedom, our homes, our lives. the rockets are still falling on our heads and the russian army or the russian war criminals if we can call them, is in the country killing ukrainians. and the city of mariupol remains encircled and they're not allowing people to get out. so as we said, we are always ready to negotiate but i think all we will see is the end of successful negotiations when russian troops will stop shelling at us and get out from our country. ambassador, on this key question though of donetsk and luhansk in the east, could ukraine agree that donetsk

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv.this fighting of course has been the hope of a peaceful outcome — and now what appears to be an outline of a peace agreement seems to be emerging. in a phone call between president putin and turkey's president erdogan, the russian leader set out his demands. the bbc�*s world afairs editor, john simpson, who's in istanbul, has been given details of that call. he started to tell me what had been happening. that ukraine should be neutral. there should be disarmament which, simply means, you claim will not have the kind of heavy weapons to attack russia if it wanted to, thirdly, that it should protect the russian language inside ukraine and fourthly the question of denazification. in the strange thing to my mind. still not have figured out what that means. it is insulting to ukraine. you might guess. there's never been notification in ukraine or ukrainian lands but the russian side has brought this up. i think that is one of the easier items to deal with. those are the four easy things. no

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv.aine and the west assessed russia's scaleback announcement? ukraine's president zelensky has said while initial signs from the talks were "positive", they do not "drown out" the explosions of russian shells. the us said they would judge moscow on its actions rather than its words. again, very early stages here. they only just recently in the last few hours made this proclamation. so, we have seen a small number begin to move away from kyiv, that's about the most i can give you. i don't have any information on their resupply efforts for troops that are still going against kyiv. the russians still have a significant majority of their assembled combat power, to include logistics and sustainment capability available to them inside ukraine. in other news, officials say five people plus a gunman have died in shootings east of tel aviv, in the third such attack in the past week. it happened in the strictly orthodox city of bnei brak. police believe he was a palestinian from the occupied west

our international correspondent orla guerin reports on the continuing russian assault.he says, the theatre. here's the russian world. new footage shows what's left of the cultural landmark where so many sought shelter. ukraine says russia deliberately dropped a bomb here. this satellite image shows the russian word for children clearly marked at the front and back of the theatre. that didn't deter russian jets. in the darkness a week ago, crowds of women and children were filmed in the bomb shelter below ground. officials have said the shelter withstood the attack. so far, there are no reports of deaths, but mariupol is still being shelled, and information is slow to emerge. here's what three weeks of russian bombardment have done to the city. the authorities say around 2500 people have been killed, but many bodies lie uncounted in the rubble. hard to believe it looked like this last month, when we filmed these pictures. then, it was a bustling port city. families strolling past the theatre that was loved by so many, including an opera singer who has managed to flee. yo

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv.pany said new managers also show ground troops and attack helicopters in southern belarus, less than 33 kilometres from the ukraine border. the interior ministry says dozens were killed. mr zelensky called for the whole of ukraine to become a no—fly zone for a russian aircraft. also called for a global boycott of russian goods and the closure of all ports and airports to russia. in any war — the human toll and upheaval is inevitable. the un says more than half a million people have fled ukraine since the invasion began last week. many are travelling to poland, which borders the west of the country. our special correspondent, fergal keane, reports from from the ukrainian city of lviv, close to the polish border, on the growing refugee crisis. to the edge of desperation and beyond. in a bewildering crisis. the women and the children of ukraine fleeing their country. "you will not be allowed," the policeman shouts to the men on the stairwell. "women and children only." tempers fray. back

orla guerin, bbc news, irpin.ef international correspondent, lyse doucet, who's in the capital kyiv. what on earth do we make of a day like today, when the russians allow safe passage to some ukrainian citizens, but then bomb a maternity ward? ukrainians, including president zelensky, keep begging the world for help in a war which every day that passes beggars belief. we still don't know if russia deliberately targeted that hospital. that would be a war crime. but it fits the pattern in this war. the united nations has said 18 hospitals have been targeted so far, along with schools and orphanages and kindergartens. and in the case of marie uppal —— of mariupol, it is notjust a case that marie uppal —— of mariupol, it is not just a case that the marie uppal —— of mariupol, it is notjust a case that the maternity hospital was shattered, it is an entire city of suffering, for the past week, they've been without food, water, heat and gas. today was the fifth straight day where they tried to take advantage of what was

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv.ghting continues, so does the exodus of people trying to flee ukraine. an estimated 20,000 civilians have managed to leave the besieged city of mariupol in southern ukraine. but in many areas of the south, people have been trapped by the fighting. russia says it's now in control of the entire region of kherson, also in the south of the country. 0ur correspondent andrew harding reports. in a city under russian occupation, another display of public fury. the citizens of kherson hurling insults at russian troops. we are against the russian invasion. we can't reach the city right now, but a local teacher agreed to film for us... look, almost the entire city is here. ..describing what it's like to confront russian soldiers. i was crying to them, "go home, go to your mum." and did they reply? two were laughing. i was really furious, so then ijust cried out some curse words to them. usually, i don't. away from the protests, empty shells at some local supermarkets, but for now, there is still

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv.s announced a 38—hour curfew in the southern city of zaporizhzhia, following a russian rocket attack. our correspondent wyre davies is there. this is the town of zaporizhzhia. it's about 130 miles just to the north—west of the besieged city of mariupol, which, of course, has been virtually flattened by russian artillery fire. now, in recent days and weeks, those people who've been able to flee from mariupol have been coming through here. many of them, including children, being treated at local hospitals. but the big fear here now is that this city will become the next target for the russian offensive. indeed, in recent weeks, there have been sporadic missile attacks in the area. and in the last 2a hours, seven people were reported to have been killed in attacks against a local training base and factories. and that's meant a curfew has now been declared, a 38—hour curfew, in this city declared by the army and by local authorities, and that's already led to pretty big queues at checkpoin

orla guerin, bbc news, on the outskirts of kyiv.you heard earlier, dnipro in the east was attacked for the first time with a shoe factory targeted by the shelling. the city is home to around i million people, and our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford has been assessing the impact of the attack on the ground. they struck at dawn, and dnipro wasn't expecting it. this was not a military target. russia's missiles have destroyed a shoe factory and they have shattered the idea many had clung to here — that this city was safe. amongst the rubble of their workplace were factory staff trying to clean up. dazed and disbelieving. many more could have died here had the factory not stopped work because of the war. "you see that black bag," this woman says. "that is where our "security guard died." "what else can i tell you? you can see it all." many ignored the wail of the air raid siren because central dnipro had never been hit. this site is one of complete devastation. the smoke is still rising from the ruins of this building hours

orla guerin, bbc news, on the outskirts of kyiv.us, president biden has warned vladimir putin may be considering using chemical and biological weapons in ukraine. the president said that by making false chemical weapons allegations against ukraine and the united states russia may be seeking to create a pretext, to use them itself. let's have a listen to what he said. his back is against the wall, and now he's talking about new false flags he's setting up, including he's asserting that we, america, have biological, as well as chemical weapons in europe. simply not true — i guarantee you. they're also suggesting that ukraine has biological and chemical weapons in ukraine. that's a clear sign he's considering using both of those. president biden also said the us had "evolving intelligence" to suggest russia may be planning a cyber attack, in response to western support for ukraine. he has a capability, he hasn't used it yet and — but it's part of the playbook. i've warned he will maliciously use cyber activity in response to the cost w

our international correspondent orla guerin reports.tage of the shopping centre in kyiv released by russia appears to show a military vehicle driving up. and this was the russian attack which moscow says was targeting rocket launchers stored at the site. in the darkness, emergency services picked their way through the ruins. from the rubble, hands emerge, trembling, and a survivor is pulled to safety. but eight people were killed in this attack on the capital. here is what is left of the shopping centre. there are indications that the ukrainian military had a presence here, but russia has hit plenty of non—military targets, in kyiv and elsewhere. you can see here that the scale of the destruction is absolutely immense, and spread over a wide area, surrounded by apartment blocks. there could be a lot more of this ahead for kyiv. russian forces are not inside the city, but they can hit hard from the outside. how are you feeling about the future here now in kyiv? i don't know now, but i don't want to leave kyiv. why you want to stay? it's

orla guerin, bbc news, on the outskirts of kyiv.oss ukraine, military funerals are now a daily occurrence. this country's regular armed forces — its soldiers, sailors and airforce — have beenjoined by volunteers, men and women who three weeks ago had never picked up a weapon, but who are now fighting and dying in defence of their land. three soldiers were buried here in lviv today. fergal keane was at the ceremony. sung prayers, weeping. the dead are returning... ..to homes far from the battlefield. today, they buried dmitro kabakov, 59, andrei stefanushin, 40, taras diduk, aged 25. for all the solidarity of crowds... ..this grief is solitary. prayers continue. each loss individual. forfamilies. for comrades. prayers continue. singing. ukraine's dead in this war are full timers, reservists, and conscripts. andrei stefanushin was a permanent soldier, married, with a three—year—old daughter. jaroslav is a friend from when they worked on the railways together. translation: we kept in touch, talked. - he was a great guy. god takes away

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv. united nations�* head of humanitarian affairs has called for civilians in ukraine to be allowed safe passage out of areas under russian attack on a voluntary basis and in any direction they choose. martin griffiths told an emergency meeting of the security council in new york that corridors were also needed to deliver aid. meanwhile, speaking at the meeting, the ukrainian representative to the un said russia is cynically disregarding international humitarian law by blocking human corridors. he also accused russia of deliberately attacking civilians. it is even more appalling that the russian troops open firing on evacuees and evacuation vehicles, shell the roads allocated for humanitarian corridors. for instance, they shelled depots with evacuation buses near mariupol, blew up railway near irpin in the kyiv region to prevent evacuation by train, destroyed the bridge on the way to another city. all dimensions where the main routes to evacuate civilians. that was the ukrainian perspecti

orla guerin, bbc news, irpin.h—east of ukraine, in the city of sumy, thousands of civilians are escaping to relative safety after the russians agreed to a humanitarian route. some 7,000 people were evacuated from the city on tuesday, including hundreds of international students who were taken to safety in two convoys of buses and cars. our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford is in poltava, where people have been arriving from sumy. they've not eaten like this for two weeks. because these children have been hiding beneath ground, as their city above was bombed and shelled by russian troops. this morning, they made it to safety. their care home evacuated from the front line. the director tells me the air strikes were the scariest. as we speak, a door bangs somewhere and shejumps. translation: it's not normal. it's so far from normal. at the start, we didn't tell the youngest children that there was war. they didn't know, but theyjust started drawing tanks because they heard the shooting. that's not normal.

orla guerin, bbc news, irpin.h east of ukraine, in the city of sumy, thousands of civilians are escaping to relative safety after the russians agreed to a humanitarian route. some 7,000 people were evacuated from the city on tuesday, including hundreds of international students who were taken to safety in two convoys of buses and cars. 0ur eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford is in poltava, where people have been arriving from sumy. they've not eaten like this for two weeks. because these children have been hiding beneath ground, as their city above was bombed and shelled by russian troops. this morning, they made it to safety. their care home evacuated from the front line. the director tells me the air strikes were the scariest. as we speak, a door bangs somewhere and shejumps. translation: it's not normal. it's so far from normal. at the start, we didn't tell the youngest children that there was war. they didn't know, but theyjust started drawing tanks because they heard the shooting. that's not normal.

orla guerin, bbc news, on the outskirts of kyiv.ve been in france for a scheduled summit, which is now focusing on the emergency in ukraine. the french president has been consistently engaged in talks with his russian counterpart. after the summit, he said he was committed to keeping the dialogue going. we constantly engaged in the discussions with president putin till the very last minute before he launched his war and after he decided to launch this war to try to reopen negotiations and get a ceasefire. nevertheless, i have to confess that today the conditions he put on the table are not acceptable by anybody and we will remain engaged to discuss with president putin and try to get what seems to be a realistic, but i think this option remains for me the best one, a ceasefire and a negotiation. i don't see the ceasefire realistic in the coming hours, to be honest with you. well, joining me now from brussels is william drozdiak. he is the former foreign editor of the washington post. he is also author of the last president of europe

orla guerin, bbc news, on the outskirts of kyiv.s to fight alongside its troops in ukraine, suggesting there were thousands in the middle east ready tojoin. us officials said these could include fighters from syria, which is a long—standing ally of russia.. from moscow, our russia editor steve rosenberg reports. for russia's defence minister, sergei shoygu, it was a busy day. medals for his troops wounded in action. and a video call with the kremlin to announce that 16,000 volunteers from the middle east want to fight for russia in ukraine. "good idea," said the president. translation: if you see that some volunteers - would like to come and help people in the donbas, especially without being paid, then we should meet them halfway and help them relocate to the war zone. soon after, this. chanting. russian tv showed what it said were pro—russia fighters in syria, ready and willing. they've helped moscow in the syrian war, but what will happen if they fight in ukraine? they'll be very ruthless, and they'll use syrian tactics liberatin

orla guerin, bbc news, irpin. mikey kay, retired raf officer and former advisor to the uk's ministry of defence whether he thought the russian military was deliberately targeting hospitals. this isn't the first time this tactic has been used in contemporary history. putin has been using this type of tactic at length and very frequently in syria over the last seven years since 2015 since putin entered syria. and putin will say and i know this from experience because this is what him and his spokespeople always say, is that the target will have been inhabited by ukrainian forces and therefore made it a legitimate target, and under the law of armed conflict, and i have worked in the targeting chain in baghdad in a previous life when i was in a previous life when i was in the military but under the law of armed conflict, when a building has a protective status such as a hospital or a school, if the building houses the enemy, then under the law of armed conflict it loses that protection, so that is the guys under which

orla guerin, bbc news, on the northern outskirts of kyiv.ty in ukraine has suffered more than mariupol in the south, which has been virtually destroyed by russian bombardment. yet the people of the city have held out despite a lack of food, water and electricity. on friday, president macron has said france, greece and turkey are hoping to convince russia to help people to leave the city. the authorities in mariupol now say they believe around 300 people may have died when russia bombed the city's theatre last week at a time when civilians, including many children, were taking shelter in the building. the estimate is based on eyewitness accounts and can't be independently verified. our correspondent wyre davies reports from southern ukraine. sergey scans the endless flatlands of southern ukraine — the rich, fertile farmland that russia wants for itself. the 62—year—old former fire engine driver never envisaged taking up arms against the might of moscow, but he knows full well what the russian army is capable of doing. translation: we can't se

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv.ng west out of ukraine into neighbouring states. look at female peer. you will see the larger arrows indicate the biggest numbers people moving. poland has taken in the most. jules jones poland has taken in the most. julesjones is an american screenwriter living in warsaw, and is one of many people in poland offering shelter to refugees. as soon as i found there was a way to connect with people fleeing ukraine i immediately talked to my husband about it and we agreed to take people in. who have you got? have one family he just left this morning and went to a long—term apartment and tomorrow a new families on the bus on the way here and will arrive in the evening. you have any way of communicating? a shared language? we use a bit of google translate and a little polish but my polish is not that good. we will make it work though! do you have space in your house? i'm actually in the room right now. this was the office but we cleared it out on the day that we decided we would do this and f

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv.anctions on russia continue to grow — and some european leaders have been showing their support for ukraine in the most visible way. the prime ministers of poland, the czech republic and slovenia all travelled to kyiv to hold direct talks with president zelensky. and amid the diplomatic to—ing and fro—ing, ukraine's president said his country should recognise that it won'tjoin the military alliance of nato. the alliance's defence ministers will be meeting later on wednesday. our diplomatic correspondent james landale has more. ukrainian troops north—west of kyiv, slowing the advance of russian forces, hoping to save their capital and, perhaps, focus minds in moscow. officials from both sides continue to talk, looking for a negotiated settlement. the kremlin said the discussions were positive, but neither side says where progress has been made. today ukraine's president address talks with european union leaders and hinted at what may be part of a future settlement. translation: ukraine

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv.dimir putin has accused ukraine of using its civilians as human shields and holding foreign students captive. but in an address today, he's admitted his soldiers are being killed and stood for a moment's silence for russia's losses, before describing the ukrainian army as neo—nazis and bandits. here's our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg. from president putin, a moment's silence, an admission that russian soldiers have been killed in ukraine. but apparently no regrets for sending them there. translation: our soldiers and officers are fighting - for russia, for a peaceful life for the citizens of the donbas, for the denazification and demilitarisation of ukraine, so that the anti—russia on our borders will not threaten us. total control of the messaging is what the kremlin wants now in this war. this is echo of moscow. they are still broadcasting in social media, but there radio programmes and website have been blocked — censorship over their coverage of the war in ukraine. this wom

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv.efence ministers will meet in brussels today to discuss what further support they can offer ukraine — having already made clear the alliance will not engage in a direct conflict with russia. it's the first such meeting since the invasion began 20 days ago. international sanctions on russia continue to grow — the prime ministers of poland, the czech republic and slovenia all travelled to kyiv to hold direct talks with president zelensky, just as the city's residents were preparing for the curfew. ukraine's president has now said his country should recognise that it won'tjoin the military alliance of nato. our diplomatic correspondent james landale has more. ukrainian troops north—west of kyiv, slowing the advance of russian forces, hoping to save their capital and, perhaps, focus minds in moscow. officials from both sides continue to talk, looking for a negotiated settlement. the kremlin said the discussions were positive, but neither side says where progress has been made. today ukrain

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv.eanwhile, world leaders continue to meet to try and find a way through the crisis, with us secretary of state antony blinken visiting eastern european nations today. opposition to the war continues to be silenced in russia. thousands have been detained for protesting against the invasion. our diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley has the latest. they flew in from their battle—ravaged nation, the ukrainian delegation arriving on the border with belarus for a third round of talks with the enemy, with more meetings planned. but there's almost no faith in the sincerity of russia's side. the russian defence ministry today released these images, said to be of tanks around ukraine's capital, kyiv. it is the military hardware, the guns and the bombs that are doing the talking, and the kremlin has repeatedly made clear it will be satisfied by nothing short of ukraine's surrender. chanting "no to war," this russian man shouts before he's carted away. independent monitors say 5,000 people were

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv.ake a closer look now at that proposal by russia — dismissed by ukraine — for a number of safe escape routes from key cities. four of the six suggested safe corridors go to the east — to russia — or to belarus, its key ally, to the north. the other two routes take those fleeing further into ukraine. president zelensky has condemned the proposals as "completely immoral". and as our correspondent sarah rainsford found, people in the cities of dnipro and kharkiv are planning their own journeys to safety. kharkiv is burning again. a russian speaking city, bombed by russian planes, battered by russian shells, in a war vladimir putin says is to protect russian speakers. but his troops are destroying their homes and their lives. the woman who filmed this footage told us ukraine is being punished for its free will and its democracy. valentyna sent her sister and mother to safety today. she told me she wants one thing now, for nato to stop russian planes flying over ukraine. "we see them," she

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv.e been more talks between russian and ukrainian officials, and while they discussed creating humanitarian corridors for civilians, there was no firm agreement. meanwhile in moscow, president putin made a televised address insisting the military operation was going to plan and accused ukraine of putting its own civilians at risk. translation: they place military artillery in residential _ quarters of the cities. at the same time, they are acting as the ultimate bandits. still to come a bit later in the programme, we'll look how the million—strong wave of people fleeing the fighting in ukraine is affecting the international community. but first — the united states turned up the pressure on russia earlier. it's imposing fresh sanctions on at least eight oligarchs and associates of president putin. those targeted include alisher usmanov, owner of a giant mining company, and the kremlin�*s spokesman dmitry peskov. let's hear from the united states. our correspondent duncan kennedy is in was

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv.iged city of marryoopol in southern ukraine, in the beseiged city of mariupol in southern ukraine, a convoy of around two thousand civilian cars has been able to leave. but across the south, people are still trapped by the fighting. russia says it's now in control of the entire region of kherson. our correspondent andrew harding is in southern ukraine — he's been talking to those living under russian occupation in kherson. in a city under russian occupation another display of public fury. the citizens of kherson curling insults at russian troops. we are against the russian invasion. we can't reach the city right now but a local teacher agreed to film for us. look, the entire city is here. describing what it is like to confront russian soldiers. i was crying to them go home, go to your mothers. did they reply? two were laughing. i was really furious so then ijust cried out some curse words to them. usually, i don't. away from the protests empty shells at some local supermarkets, but for

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv. stay with us on bbc news — still to come... the first time in weeks to commemorate the life of the duke of edinburgh. the accident that happened here was of the sort that can, at worst, produce a meltdown. in this case, the precautions worked, but they didn't work quite well enough to prevent some old fears about the safety features of these stations from resurfacing. the republic of ireland has become the first country in the world to ban smoking in the workplace. from today, anyone lighting up in offices, businesses, pubs and restaurants will face a heavy fine. the president was on his way out of the washington hilton hotel, where he had been addressing a trade union conference. the small crowd outside included his assailant. it has become - a symbol of paris. 100 years ago, many parisians| wished it had never been built. the eiffel tower's birthday is- being marked by a re—enactment of the first ascent by gustav eiffel. i this is bbc world news, the latest headlines. a glimmer of hope in ukraine — russia has said it will sca

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv.nt volodomyr zelensky of ukraine has thanked the prime ministers of poland, the czech republic and slovenia for travelling to kyiv to meet him, despite the continuing bombardment by russian forces. their visit to the ukraine capital at such a difficult time was, he said, greatly appreciated. the polish prime minister, mateusz morawiecki, said ukraine could count on the help of its friends, and he admired theirfight against what he called a "cruel aggressor". our diplomatic correspondent james landale has more. ukrainian troops north—west of kyiv, slowing the advance of russian forces, hoping to save their capital, and perhaps focus minds in moscow. officials from both sides continue to talk, looking for negotiated settlement. the kremlin said the discussions were positive but neither side says where the progress is being made. today though, the ukrainian president addressed a gathering of northern european leaders in london and dropped a hint of what may be a part of any future negotia

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv. in any war, the human toll and upheaval is inevitable.ys more than half a million people have fled ukraine since the invasion began last week. many are travelling to poland, which borders the west of the country. our special correspondent fergal keane reports from from the ukrainian city of lviv, close to the polish border, on the growing refugee crisis. to the edge of desperation and beyond. in a bewildering crisis. the women and the children of ukraine fleeing their country. "you will not be allowed," the policeman shouts to the men on the stairwell. "women and children only." tempers fray. back and forth go the arguments and pleas. shouting. the police move to help those allowed to board. so, the women and children are being pulled from the crowd on the stairs now so that they can board the train. the police again are outnumbered, but they are doing their best. i've seen them go down there into the crowds to try and calm people. but it's very, very difficult, given the volatility of the situation. i saw you in the queue. what do you fe

orla guerin, bbc news, irpin. me now is mikey kay, who is a retired raf officer and former advisor to the uk's ministry of defence. he served in afghanistan. hello, lewis. let's start with this attack — hello, lewis. let's start with this attack on _ hello, lewis. let's start with this attack on this _ hello, lewis. let's start with this attack on this hospital, i this attack on this hospital, this attack on this hospital, this children's maternity hospital. why would anyone bomb that? , ., , , that? lewis, that is the number one question- — that? lewis, that is the number one question. this _ that? lewis, that is the number one question. this is _ that? lewis, that is the number one question. this is not - that? lewis, that is the number one question. this is not the i one question. this is not the first time this tactic has been used in contemporary history. putin has been using this kind of tactic at length and very frequently in syria over the last seven years, since 2015, since putin entered syria. putin will

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv.nt lyse doucet is in kyiv — and she gave me the latest as russian troops continue to head towards the city. i think the foreboding is right across this country, with this attack that we have been reporting, so close to the polish border, so close to the position of nato forces, you really get the sense of the heightened risks, the escalation with every day that passes. in contrast, while the air raid sirens were wailing today and the sounds of explosions in kyiv, we didn't or at least not yet see that kind of loud explosions, the kind of rolling thunder we heard last night at the time that we spoke to each other. we still hear, though, of the fierce fighting, particularly on the approaches to the city, in the north—east, and the north west and today in the north west there was the first death of a foreign journalist, a ukrainianjournalist had been killed and injured in this war but today was the first death of an americanjournalist who was shot in irpin. that is a suburb north west of

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv. so much has changed for people in ukraine in that city of kherson. this, i'm joined now by mark lobel in london. what more can you tell us about the situation in kherson? yes, picking up on what orla was saying about kherson, if we can just show you some pictures of russian tanks rolling through that city on tuesday, what appears to be the first major city to fall to russian forces, it is a fluid situation, ukrainian forces could push back on that but right now it is an important city because it is a regional centre as you can see, north of crimea. it sits on a strategic position at the mouth of the river that reaches the black sea and the reason we are saying it has been taken is because of a statement from the mayor, saying: and to underline the new rules that they are under, he said that they are under, he said that there will be a curfew from eight until six, only because with food and medicine can enter the city and finally said that citizens were being asked to walk one by one and to stop at first demand to show that nobody was a risk. it is re

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv.gence reports suggest moscow's invasion has "largely stalled", with heavy russian losses and fierce ukrainian resistance. for places in ukraine like the city of odesa, yet to witness an offensive, residents are faced with a difficult decision — to leave or stay. russia is eager to take the crucial port city on the black sea coast. our correspondent andrew harding is in odesa as it prepares its defences, and he sent this report. on ukraine's black sea coast, they're getting ready for the russians. filling sandbags... ..and blocking the streets of odesa, an ancient port city once attacked by lenin, then by hitler, now braced for putin's invasion. some here cling to a sense of normality. "of course the war will come, with all its death and suffering, and for what?" asks 77—year—old alexander. others are already facing immediate, impossible decisions. in odesa's main orphanage, 18 of its children are too sick to be taken abroad. translation: they need oxygen. how can i move them? am i supp

orla guerin, bbc news, irpin.ome pretty stark video now — the alliance persistently refused to contemplate an no—fly zone. russian aircraft had been in the skies over ukraine, outnumbering defenders. that's led to calls for what's known as a no—fly zone to prevent them posing a threat. so far, the western military alliance nato has been reluctant to use its air power to impose such a zone, in which other planes would be told not to fly over ukraine. why the reluctance? the concern is that, in practice, a no—fly zone carries real risks. if the russians flyjets like these into ukrainian airspace, then nato planes would directly engage them in combat in the skies. but it also means taking out threats on the ground to nato planes so they can enforce the zone, so potentially attacking russian surface—to—air missile sites, and russia has advanced saoo systems which could, in theory, shoot down nato planes even from over the border in belarus. nato has been building up its air power in the region but its secretary genera

orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv. stay with us here on bbc news.ionaire roman abramovich who denies links to vladimir putin says he is now selling his chelsea football club. first, the plates slid gently off the restaurant tables. then suddenly, the tables, the chairs and people crashed sideways and downwards. it was just a matter of seconds as the ferry lurched onto her side. the hydrogen bomb on a remote pacific atoll. the americans had successfully tested a weapon whose explosive force dwarfed that of the bomb dropped on hiroshima. i had heard the news earlier, and so, my heart went bang, bang, bang! - the constitutional rights of these marchers are their rights as citizens of the united states and they should be protected, even in the right to test them out, so that they don't get their heads broken and are sent to hospital. this religious controversy — i know you don't want to say too much about it — but does it worry you that it's going to boil up when you get the states? well, it bothers me, yes, but i hope everything will be all right - in