a little earlier, we had a quite a detailed statement from the uk ministry of defence in what they calledhat the feud between the wagner group and the ministry of defence in russia had escalated to what they called outright military confrontation. as we've been hearing, they confirmed from their sources that wagner forces crossed from occupied ukraine into russia in at least two places. rostov one of them, as we've mentioned. they also say that further wagner groups are heading north to get to moscow. they say there has been very limp limited evidence of fighting between business groups and the russian military. they say that overall, the coming hours, what will be key is the loyalty of russian security forces, especially the russian national guard. that is the latest from the uk ministry of defence. thank you. let's speak to sergey markov who is a former political advisor to vladimir putin. thank you so much forjoining us. i'm interested for your reaction to what is happening inside your country at the moment. at what is happening inside your country at the moment. of course, it's very n

we had the russian defence ministry - after a brief delay.e ministry came claiming to have killed 250 ukrainian soldiers, they released footage appearing to show armoured vehicles coming under heavy fire as they moving across fields and what kyiv has said is do not rely on information coming out of russia's defence ministry. if you want up to date details, come to us, this is just an attempt to undermine our actions. i think the russian ministry of defence will stay the same, but for moscow trying to put out this video it is clearly trying to seize control of the narrative and that usually happens when there are developments on the ground. we saw it last year with the liberation of the southern city of kherson, where we were drip fed information, access would follow and then we would realise that liberation was taking place in what was uncovered where the familiar skulls of russian occupation. i expect that to happen again, albeit over death the familiar scars of russian occupation. i expect that to happen again albeit over a longer time. tha

he says i am in constant contact with defence ministry officials. as not been heard or spoken of in the last day or so. vladimir putin says he is in contact with officials and says russia feels confident in realising all its plans and tasks related to what he calls the special military operation and what the rest of the world refers to as a war or full scale invasion. what the rest of the world refers to as a war orfull scale invasion. he says i give top priority to the special military operation. i start and end my day this. these are new comments from state tv in russia. let's join my guest. let'sjoin my guest. conservative mp tobias ellwood chairs the commons defence select committee and joins me now from bournemouth. iam i am interested how you feel the uk and the rest of the world should react to the events of the past few days? react to the events of the past few da s? , ., ., , ., , days? very good question. it is important _ days? very good question. it is important to — days? very good question. it is important to recognise - days? very good

you very bitter fight with the defence ministry itself.— very bitter fight with the defence ministry ed to hold accountable _ ministry itself. you said we wanted to hold accountable those - ministry itself. you said we wanted to hold accountable those who - ministry itself. you said we wanted i to hold accountable those who made mistakes during a special military operation. it is totally clear as we are talking, wherever there has been any sort of change or accountability. —— he said. any sort of change or accountability. -- he said. yes, let's say — accountability. -- he said. yes, let's say first — accountability. -- he said. yes, let's say first and _ accountability. -- he said. yes, let's say first and foremost - accountability. -- he said. yes, let's say first and foremost that sergei shoigu appears to still be in thisjob. this morning, the first div element on the story we got was that video of the defence minister, who had been visiting forward positions of the command points, down in southern russia for the war in ukraine, i think that was a measure is to say that sergei shoig

he pays all of it as a fight with the russian defence ministry. ight that had been brewing for a long time between him and the defence minister and he claims it was triggered, this march on moscow, when that russian defence ministry fired on positions on his group within ukraine although we have never seen any proof of that. although he is trying to say this was not a challenge to putin, the very fact of this march and the detail of what happened, they have i think dented to the authority of vladimir putin. he is a president who makes control and stability is by words and those have been challenged very directly by what happened over the weekend. so i think it is important that today we discovered that the criminal charges against yevgeny prigozhin are still in force. there is still a case out against him which is potentially why he is lying low, potentially why we still don't know an awful lot including where exactly he is. i spoke to democrat congressman raja krishnamoorthi, who serves on the house committee on intelligence, about putin's comment

who are rivats _ the ministry of defence who are rivats of— the ministry of defence who arend off ramp _ yevgeny prigozhin was just given and off ramp and in inability to go off and have — off ramp and in inability to go off and have retirement and see his fighters — and have retirement and see his fighters under amnesty. i think if we see _ fighters under amnesty. i think if we see significant development within— we see significant development within the russian ministry of defence — within the russian ministry of defence in the coming days, we would have a _ defence in the coming days, we would have a more _ defence in the coming days, we would have a more clear picture of what the cushions were taken place. thank oujohn the cushions were taken place. thank youjohn lechner— the cushions were taken place. thank you john lechner and _ the cushions were taken place. thank you john lechner and leon _ the cushions were taken place. thank you john lechner and leon aron - the cushions were taken place. t�*iafia; you john lechner and leon aron to get your analysis. the us coast gu

live now to yuriy sak in kyiv, who's an adviser to the ukrainian defence ministry.you on the programme. the suggestion is that this appears to be start of the ukrainian counteroffensive. is it? good afternoon. we have been saying for quite a while now that counteroffensive, or offensive, or the next stages of military operation will not be announced, for good reason, but more importantly, they have never stopped. it would be a mistake to think that the front was never idle. the military operations along the front line have been very active and some days more intense, some less. you have mentioned in your report the city of bakhmut. around there, ukrainian forces have been in the last couple of weeks counter attacking and achieving some relative progress and we see that the terrorists, wagner group, has left and we understand we have degraded the russian army, our estimate and our understanding is that russians, russian losses around bakhmut have been seven and a half times larger than our losses. that was the strategy, to inflict losses on the enemy and allow the uk

now, the russian defence ministry is trying to deceive the president and the public by claiming therepart of ukraine and they were going to attack us along with the entire natal block. so the so—called special military operation on february 2a, was launched for completely different reasons. earlier, i spoke to our russia editor steve rosenberg who detailed the timeline of events over the last 2a hours. it began yesterday morning, i was astonished to watch mr progozhin�*s video address that was posted online where he basically accused the russian defence minister of being behind the war in ukraine. and saying that the justifications that the kremlin had given, the originaljustifications, the need to denazify and demilitarise ukraine, rememberthose back from february 2022, that this is not about those at all. he claimed that the russian defence minister had wanted to be promoted from general to marshall and at that point, i thought, and other people thought, that perhaps this was a ploy to give vladimir putin a way out of this war which has not gone to plan, to make the russian military

we had russia's defence ministry claiming to have killed 250 ukrainian forces.y artillery fire as they moved across fields, and what kyiv has said it is, do not rely on information coming from russia's defence ministry. if you want up—to—date details, come to us, it isjust an attempt to undermine our actions. i think the russian defence ministry would say the same, but for moscow to be putting out this kind of messaging, it is clearly trying to seize control of the narrative and that usually happens when there are developments on the ground. we saw it last year with the liberation of the southern city of kherson, where we were drip fed information, access would follow and then we would realise that liberation was taking place and what was uncovered where the familiar marks of russian occupation. i expect that to happen again, albeit over a longer time line because russia have had time to prepare and there are no guarantees that ukraine will make the gains it daily wishes to.— daily wishes to. that was james waterhouse. _ the situation is so fluid on the ground.

and the defence ministry, the defence minister, who mr prigozhin hates so much, is still in hisjob.ou know, things moving and changing all the time. extremely unsettling developments, certainly within russia, both politically and, of course, in terms of the military leadership there. events over the weekend unfolded rapidly. on friday, yevgeny prigozhin releases a video stepping up his feud with russia's military top brass. for the first time he questions putin's justification for invading ukraine. in response, russia's fsb security service opened a criminal case against him. by saturday, wagner fighters enter the southern russian city of rostov—on—don. they quickly take control of the all important army headquarters. under intense, pressure vladimir putin makes a televised address. he accuses prigozhin of treason" and a "stab in the back". he urges a consolidation of all forces. reports say wagner mercenary troops are heading north in a convoy. some estimates predict they will reach moscow by saturday evening. russian soldiers set up defence positions around moscow, according to ph

in the last little while the defence ministry _ forward.ce ministry has also been speaking about the offensive or the beginnings of what we think is the offensive from ukraine saying it had come from seven different directions. come from seven different directions-— come from seven different directions. , ., directions. yes. basically as far as russia is concerned _ directions. yes. basically as far as russia is concerned ukraine's - russia is concerned ukraine's counteroffensive has been going on for three days. putting forward some figures, i don't know how accurate these are. he suggested that more than 3000 ukrainian soldiers had been killed in three days. he said everyone russian soldiers had been killed. we have to be very careful with these figures. we cannot verify them. what is interesting about that is the defence minister very rarely comes up with figures of the number of russian soldiers killed. i think the last time he came out with figures was last september, last autumn. but for some reason he was talking about 71 russian sol

again, his forces, the ministry of defence forces, the ministry of defence forces, have the equipmentave the tanks. they have the military equipment to, in numbers, put down prigozhin�*s forces. prigozhin�*s forces are mainly infantry. they have some equipment, some armoured vehicles, they apparently have some artillery as we have heard over the last couple of weeks. prigozhin has complained that the ministry of defence is not giving him enough ammunition for his artillery. so we know he has some heavy equipment. the question really comes down to the loyalty of those other units that putin hopes will defend him and stay loyal to him, but putin has got to worry that there are a lot of soldiers who have been killed, and that means there are a lot of russian families who have had brothers and fathers and sons killed, and they may be more sympathetic to prigozhin. so how do you think then, in light of what you have just said, how do you think putin will respond?— said, how do you think putin will respond? undoubtedly he will respond? undoubtedly he will be pushing _ will respond? undoubte

the defence ministry has also been _ put forward.as also been speaking about - put forward. the defence ministry has also been speaking about the| has also been speaking about the offensive, the beginnings of what we think is the offensive from ukraine saying that it had come from seven different directions.— different directions. yes, basically. _ different directions. yes, basically, as _ different directions. yes, basically, as far - different directions. yes, basically, as far as - different directions. yes, | basically, as far as russia different directions. yes, i basically, as far as russia is concerned, ukraine�*s counteroffensive has been going on for three days. it was put forward some figures, not sure how accurate these are that suggested that more than 3000 ukrainian soldiers had been killed in three days. he said that 71 russian soldiers had been killed. we had to be very careful with these figures, we cannot verify them. what is interesting about that is the defence minister very rarely comes up with figures about the

deciding their fate, he said some might go back to theirfamilies, some mightjoin the russian defence ministry they were welcome in belarus if they chose to go there. there has been no sign yet that that is actually happening. sign yet that that is actually happening-— sign yet that that is actually haueninu. ., . sign yet that that is actually hauuenin, ., ., happening. back to kiel, what has been the reaction _ happening. back to kiel, what has been the reaction from _ happening. back to kiel, what has been the reaction from ukrainian l been the reaction from ukrainian officials to the announcement that the wagner mercenary group will effectively have to hand their weapons over, how do they see that in terms of the ongoing war? for ukrainian authorities, the presence of wagner— ukrainian authorities, the presence of wagner on ukrainian territory, like the _ of wagner on ukrainian territory, like the president of armed forces has been _ like the president of armed forces has been something they do not want and so _ has been something they do not want and so the _ has been something they do no

yesterday, the defence ministry talked about the handover of heavy weaponry from the 500 wagner groupnce ministry and even though it appears that they are not fighting and having done a deal in great haste and under great pressure, now the reality of how that actually works on the ground is being worked out. what does mr lukashenko want out of this situation, what is he hoping to gain? i think he was dragged into this situation to give some kind of resolution to it, so he's making the most out of a situation that was thrust upon him. he's really enjoying the moment, presenting himself as the hero that saved the day, although he said clearl,y don't although he said clearly don't portray me as a hero or even a mediator, although that is clearly how he wants to be seen. then there is a question of what happens going forward. if this army, essentially, the wagner group, end up in belarus, what does that mean for lukashenko? are they armed, is that some potential threat to him that vladimir putin could somehow use against him, or is it potentially a force that he can count on? publicly all

now the russian defence ministry is trying to deceive the president and the public by claiming there was insane aggression on there was insane aggression on the part of ukraine and they were going to attack us along with the entire nato block. so the so—called special military operation on february 24 was launched for completely different reasons. meanwhile, the deputy commander of the russian ukraine campaign, sergey surovikin told wagner soldiers to stand down. translation: i addressed the command officers and fighters of wagner pmc. together we went down a long and difficult road, with what we do, we rested, we suffered losses, we had victories together, we are of the same blood. we must do this before it is too late. 0bey the same blood. we must do this before it is too late. obey the will and command of the elected president of the russian federation. stop the convoys, return to bases and places where you are stationed. live now to vitaliy shevchenko from bbc monitoring. thank you so much forjoining us. just bring us up—to—date with the latest, what you're hearing. with the late

verge of reacting against this, because there was this idea of integrating wagner into the ministry of defencenk prigozhin realised that he was running out of time and decided to move before he loses wagner. do you think mr prigozhin is now counting on discipline completely breaking down within the russian military, whilst president putin is looking at his allies? we have already seen the chechen leader saying that he is going to be sending units. for prigozhin, where does his strength like? let's be straightforward about this. prigozhin is facing a really difficult battle if he is going to capture power. i think it is highly unlikely at this stage. simply because look at the forces that are lined up against prigozhin. we have the ministry of defence, we have the fsb that is seeking his arrest and in fact just recently raided his office in saint petersburg. as you said, we have the chechen leader who is already sending his troops to an area that was captured by prigozhinjust now. so prigozhin is facing a really difficult struggle ahead. what he does count on is that there is going to be genera

is this it for this open feud with the defence ministry?it is a huge question, but where could this potentially go? you question, but where could this potentially go?— potentially go? you know, the auestion potentially go? you know, the question does _ potentially go? you know, the question does anybody - potentially go? you know, the question does anybody think l question does anybody think prigozhin is going to quietly go into retirement and live happily into old age— people who challenge russian leadership, that does not often happen to them. so that will be one thing to watch. what will happen with the wagner group? they have some 50,000 fighters inside ukraine, according to the british mod, at one point. and the big question, perhaps, right now is what about putin? how damaged is he? is his position weaker? will he lash out? and the russian military high command, the defence minister, shoigu, the chief of staff, these are guys that putin— he had been estranged from them in recent days. perhaps the one thing he had in common with prigoz

on saturday he urged russians to join the conflict against the defence ministry.'t happen. and when the kremlin was asked about shoigu's position, its spokesperson said, "i'm not aware of any changes in this regard," which could mean a number of things. for now, shoigu keeps hisjob. he's gaining wagner fighters, gaining more control, but as he and putin know, the struggles of the russian military have not gone away and our fourth consideration is the president himself. on saturday he went on national tv accusing prigozhin of treason, but having to address a mutiny by a mercenary force that he's backed is unlikely to have been on putin's list of things to do. nor would have been moscow having to prepare in case wagner arrived. and watching on is the us. so, i think this is clearly... we see cracks emerging. where they go, if anywhere, when they get there, very hard to say. i don't want to speculate on it. it is very hard to say. but putin has been under pressure as rarely seen before. that happened connects to our fifth issue — the state of the war. because putin b

on the one hand, prigozhin sees putin and the ministry of defence with blood on their hands because theyf wagner group mercenaries in ukraine and on the other hand prigozhin just staged a rebellion and so i don't think that putin is going to be viewed as the same strong person that he was a couple of days ago today because prigozhin is still alive and well, and i think that he has thousands of people in russia who still pledge their loyalty to prigozhin. the eu's foreign policy chief argued what you said today. he said that the ukraine what is cracking russia. do you think this is a window of opportunity for ukraine's allies to capitalise or do you worry we could see the russian president further consolidate power, maybe even escalate the conflict further? possibly. so we have to monitor the situation very closely in concert with our allies and friends and partners. that being said, the wagner forces were most effective component of the russian military forces in ukraine so the extent they are somehow disengaging from that conflict weakens the overall effectiveness of the russian militar

he faced all of it as a fight with the russian defence ministry, the result of a huge feud that has beenhe defence minister, and he claims it was triggered, this much on moscow, when the russian defence ministry fired on positions of his wagner group inside ukraine, we have never seen any proof of that. now, though he is trying to say that this was not a challenge to president putin, i have to say that the very fact of this match and the details of what happened, they have, i think, this match and the details of what happened, they have, ithink, dented the authority of vladimir putin. he is president who makes control and stability has bywords, and those of been challenged very directly by what happened over the weekend. so i think it is important that today we discovered that the criminal charges against yevgeny prighozhin are still in force. there is still a case out against him, which is potentially why he is lying low, potentially why we still do not know an awful lot, including where exactly he is. we are getting these pictures in, just to explain, from an agency, so we do not have

how can they operate outside the structures of the russian defence ministry? many unknowns. what situation with many unknowns. what does putin do _ situation with many unknowns. what does putin do to _ situation with many unknowns. what does putin do to try _ situation with many unknowns. what does putin do to try to _ situation with many unknowns. what does putin do to try to show an image of strength again? hit back, reduce civil liberties, what will he do in the coming days? he reduce civil liberties, what will he do in the coming days?— reduce civil liberties, what will he do in the coming days? he won't like what has happened _ do in the coming days? he won't like what has happened in _ do in the coming days? he won't like what has happened in any _ do in the coming days? he won't like what has happened in any sense. - do in the coming days? he won't like what has happened in any sense. i i what has happened in any sense. i suspect there will be a kind of, there is always a ratcheting up of there is always a ratcheting up of the hunting out of anyone who

even russia's defence ministry reported three major counterattacks, which it says it repelled.ed this footage from near the city of donetsk. bbc verify has confirmed it was shot there, but we don't know when. "the enemy launched an unsuccessful attempt at a large—scale offensive in the south donetsk direction," said its military spokesman. so, has ukraine's counteroffensive started? well, if you look at the heightened language from both sides, as well as the military movement, it certainly looks to be in the early stages, but what will take longer to answer is the question of whether it will be successful. any potential liberation will rely on continued political support, today coming in the form of the uk's foreign secretary, james cleverly, with an exchange of pleasantries with president zelensky. when we made the commitment publicly that we would continue backing you and your country until you are victorious in your self—defence, we meant it. when we said that we would do more and go further, we meant it. it's about opening the possibility for training missions for our pilot

of crisis, which isjust a repeat almost of a date kremlin is saying and what are the russian defence ministryst night saying that putin was aware of the situation and the necessary measures were being taken. it wasn't until this morning when putin himself gave that address which we have just heard, and since then, i think you could say that we have seen attempts to reassure the russian population that things aren't as frightening and as shocking as they might seem. there was a correspondent speaking from rostov the city in southern russia where things are unfolding today, and she was speaking to passers—by and she was speaking to passers—by and asking them what was happening and asking them what was happening and they were telling her that things were pretty much fine. that they had seen these russian soldiers from the wagner group on the streets but there wasn't any kind of violence and that of the situation was calm. i think that is the message that of the russian state tv is trying to put across to the population today.— is trying to put across to the population today. lets turn to social

according to the uk ministry of defence. — according to the uk ministry of defence, they say they believe has— this village is one of the places that has been land reclaimed by ukraine, — that has been land reclaimed by ukraine, learned that was held since 2014. _ ukraine, learned that was held since 2014. and _ ukraine, learned that was held since 2014, and this will be one of the first bite — 2014, and this will be one of the first bite of _ 2014, and this will be one of the first bits of land that has been reclaimed. to put this in context, the amount— reclaimed. to put this in context, the amount of land reclaimed by ukraine — the amount of land reclaimed by ukraine from the invading russian forces _ ukraine from the invading russian forces since they began at the counteroffensive earlier this month is absolutely minuscule. everyday we hear announcements from ukraine about— hear announcements from ukraine about advancing 200 metres here, 400 metres— about advancing 200 metres here, 400 metres there. it is tiny. i don't think— metres there. it is tiny. i don't think they— metres there.

russia's defence ministry claims to have thwarted a major ukrainian push — while kyiv says it's movingorward in what appears to be the start of a counter—offensive. prince harry prepares to become the first senior british royal for more than a century to give evidence from the witness box — as his legal battle against a newspaper publisher heats up. we'll have the latest live from london, as the high court begins hearing detailed arguments. the uk prime minister set to again promise to "stop the boats" — under pressure over his government's migration policy. we are expecting now the uk prime minister, rishi sunak, to speak shortly from a border force patrol boat. let's cross live now. risking their lives, let's cross live now. risking their lives. gangs _ let's cross live now. risking their lives, gangs taking _ let's cross live now. risking their lives, gangs taking upon - let's cross live now. risking their. lives, gangs taking upon themselves to decide who comes to our country. our asylum system is being overwhelmed with people travelling from safe countries, taking away our capacit

the wagner group does not have reporting lines up through the russian ministry defence, they are independentof a corporation that owns these trips reports directly up to putin. to the extent they have fallen out, putin owns it, it is has direct responsibility, nobody else, you cannot blame anyone else, it is his fault, it is not like the initial military defeats in ukraine he can take his minister of defence and others and string them up, the severity, is a very different story but it also means mr prigozhin and his wagner supporters do not have political influence inside the inner circle in the kremlin. indeed for the last 1.5 years they have been increasingly critical except for putin so it is very unlikely that prigozhin has, is going to be able to coordinate with some kind of internal group on that front there is probably more stability around. it is coming to about 7:15pm in russia. we are getting reports that throughout the david wagner trips appear to have been moving north towards moscow. the other big is when they get there what happens and what does the army do. keep when they get

ukraine claims to have made two small advances in the east, as russia's defence ministry says kyiv has started a large—scale military operation. 275 people are now known to have died and more than 1000 are injured in india's deadliest train crash this century. and coming up — we speak with the first arab female astronaut to go to space. i'm helena humphrey. we begin in ukraine, where the nation's military says it has made two small advances in the east. this comes as russia's defence ministry says kyiv has started a large—scale military operation — something that has not been verified by the bbc. earlier in the day, the ukrainian army released this video which appears to refer to the long—awaited counter—offensive. in the video, the words �*plans love silence — �*there will be no announcement about the start�* appear. and on twitter, ukraine's defence minister posted the video quoting lyrics from depeche mode — �*words are very unnecessary — they can only do harm.�* meanwhile, despite the danger in certain areas, thousands of ukrainians are returning to their homes close to the front l

even russia's defence ministry reported three major counterattacks, which it says it repelled.his footage from near the city of donetsk. bbc verify has confirmed it was shot there, but we don't know when. "the enemy launched an unsuccessful attempt at a large—scale offensive in the south donetsk direction," said its military spokesman. so, has ukraine's counteroffensive started? well, if you look at the heightened language from both sides, as well as the military movement, it certainly looks to be in the early stages, but what will take longer to answer is the question of whether it will be successful. any potential liberation will rely on continued political support, today coming in the form of the uk's foreign secretary, james cleverly, with an exchange of pleasantries with president zelensky. when we made the commitment publicly that we would continue backing you and your country until you are victorious in your self—defence, we meant it. when we said that we would do more and go further, we meant it. it's about opening the possibility for training missions for our pilots on

now, the russian defence ministry is trying to deceive the president and the public by claiming theree part of ukraine and they were going to attack us along with the entire nato bloc. so the so—called special military operation was launched for completely different reasons. a couple of things coming into the newsroom, including zelensky saying russia's weakness is obvious. we have also been talking about a city further up the m4 highway towards moscow. the governor of that region says emergency services are working at the scene of a fuel dump fire. that is according to the reuters news agency. that is according to the reuters news agency. earlier, i spoke to our russia editor steve rosenberg, who detailed the timeline of events over the last 2a hours. it began yesterday morning, i was astonished to to watch mr prigozhin�*s video address that was posted online, where he basically accused sergei shoigu, the russian defence minister, of being behind the war in ukraine, blaming him for the war and saying that the justifications that the kremlin had given, the originaljustifications, the

ukraine's defence ministry, meanwhile, confirmed the recapture of the village of rivnopil in the donetsknsky visited soldiers fighting near the eastern city of bakhmut and handed out awards to boost the morale of troops engaged in a counteroffensive, as some ukrainians hope russian forces might be undermined by saturday's mutiny. our international editor, jeremy bowen, reports from kyiv. anything that's bad for president putin and for russia is good, as far as the ukrainians are concerned. from presence lansky right down to his chain of command, but what has to be remembered as problems in russia do not translate automatically or rapidly into advances on the battlefield for the ukrainian army —— president zelensky. since they started their offensive earlier on this month, they have recaptured a number of villages from the russians, but what they haven't managed to do yet, and they haven't really tried either, as to make those of vital tactical breakthroughs that will be necessary if they wanted change to the course of the war, which is of course their objective and nato's as well, the pe

even russia's defence ministry reported three major counterattacks, which it says it repelled.leased this footage from near the city of donetsk. bbc verify has confirmed it was most likely filmed there, but we don't know when. "the enemy launched an unsuccessful attempt at a large—scale offensive in the south donetsk direction," said its military spokesman. so, has ukraine's counteroffensive started? well, if you look at the heightened language from both sides, as well as the military movement, it certainly looks to be in the early stages, but what will take longer to answer is the question of whether it will be successful. mr president, welcome. any potential liberation will rely on continued political support, today coming in the form of the uk's foreign secretary, james cleverly, with an exchange of pleasantries with president zelensky. when we made the commitment publicly that we would continue backing you and your country until you are victorious in your self—defence, we meant it. when we said that we would do more and go further, we meant it. it's about opening the possib

and so it remains unclear where this spat between prigozhin and the defence ministry will end and how 0lga robinson, bbc news. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. voiceover: bbc news - bringing you different stories _ from across the uk. every week, these volunteers are testing the water quality — and the results are getting worse. extremely frustrating because you can see this area of outstanding natural beauty being degraded. what volunteers have found is one of the main problems with this river are high levels of cow poo and chicken poo. it's being spread as a manure, and when it rains, of course, it then washes off the land and seeps down into the river. the poop produces phosphate which attacks the water quality — and with the number of chickens being farmed in the area going up, the wildlife in the river has been going down. two years ago, the friends of the lower wye action group were set up with a single goal — to have a clean, pollution—free, healthy river and valley. i'm hoping what we're doing will make a difference. voiceover: for more stories from across

he is not going to hand it overjust because the russian defence ministry wants it.oing situation. i don't think any agreements are set in stone. we will need to watch the coming days and weeks. [30 in stone. we will need to watch the coming days and weeks.— in stone. we will need to watch the coming days and weeks. do you think he could be — coming days and weeks. do you think he could be controlling _ coming days and weeks. do you think he could be controlling the _ coming days and weeks. do you think he could be controlling the wagner. he could be controlling the wagner group operations in africa? that he could be controlling the wagner group operations in africa?- group operations in africa? that is kind of what _ group operations in africa? that is kind of what he _ group operations in africa? that is kind of what he suggested - group operations in africa? that is kind of what he suggested in - group operations in africa? that is kind of what he suggested in his . kind of what he suggested in his latest statement, when he said that wagner group will continue to

the defence ministry says ukrainians have been trying to break through some russian defences and you not achieve your tasks and had no success. let me put it to you this way perhaps, these are what i described in military circles is probing. you're trying to size up what defences russia has in place and that will then determine the next steps of this war. is that a fair assessment?— next steps of this war. is that a fair assessment? the so-called shaina fair assessment? the so-called shaping or— fair assessment? the so-called shaping or probing _ fair assessment? the so-called shaping or probing operations l fair assessment? the so-called . shaping or probing operations have been taking place for some time now but one thing we know by now in ukraine as well as beyond ukraine is that if anyone is interested in understanding what is happening in ukraine on the battlefield, the ministry of defence is not a source to go to in russia because they are lying about everything. they are lying about everything. they are lying about their imaginary successes on the battlefield, if we trusted th

now the russian defence ministry is trying to deceive the president and the public by claiming thereas insane aggression on the part of ukraine and they were going to attack us, along with the entire nato bloc. so the so—called "special military operation" on 2a february was launched for completely different reasons. well, in response to the developing situation, russian state tv�*s channeli interrupted regular programme to broadcast an emergency news bulletin, recapping official statements about prigozhin and wagner, and stating that president putin was kept informed of developments. russian general vladimir alekseyev described mr prigozhin�*s actions as madness, whilst the deputy commander of the russian ukraine campaign sergei surovikin told wagner soldiers to stand down. you must do this before it is too late. obey the will and command of the elected president of the russian federation. stop the convoys, return to bases and places where you are stationed. meanwhile, the war in ukraine continues. air raid alerts have been issued across ukraine for a second night. two people were r

it's defence ministry has released this video, that it says shows ukrainian armoured vehicles comingvy fire. moscow says 250 ukrainian troops were killed and a number of armoured vehicles were destroyed. the claims have not been verified by the bbc. here's a map showing you some of the areas where ukrainian forces have made several probing attacks, along the south and eastern front line. around bakhmut and also the western part of zaporizhzhia region, and, as i mentioned, in the eastern part of donetsk. in particular, around the town of vuhledar, some 150 km, or 93 miles, south—west of bakhmut. meanwhile , ukraine's military has released this cryptic video, which appears to refer to the counter offensive. take a look: distant explosions. the words written in ukrainian read "plans love silence. "there will be no announcement about the start". it then shows two fighter jets, f—16 aircraft which ukraine has been pushing western countries to send. i asked our ukraine correspondent, james waterhouse, whether it's unusual for most of the information to come from the russian side. i don't t

, brought— absorbed into the defence ministry, brought under control.ing on right now, and it is right across the — going on right now, and it is right across the political border. the defence — across the political border. the defence minister was shown a video, of him _ defence minister was shown a video, of him visiting the command centre for russia's — of him visiting the command centre for russia's war against ukraine. the message was clear, the defence minister— the message was clear, the defence minister sergei shoigu is still putin's— minister sergei shoigu is still putin's man, putin hasn't paved end. he is— putin's man, putin hasn't paved end. he is still— putin's man, putin hasn't paved end. he is still the — putin's man, putin hasn't paved end. he is still the president the country— he is still the president the country should rally about. we headed — country should rally about. we headed directly from the prime ministen — headed directly from the prime minister. he called in all the top ministers — minister. he called in all the top ministe

and as for his mercenary group, the kremlin and the russian defence ministry want the mercenaries to reason why yevgeny prigozhin led the mutiny, trying to avert the disbandment of his group. if that was his objective, he has failed. if that was his ob'ective, he has failed. �* , , ., ., ., failed. briefly, you mention a contract but _ failed. briefly, you mention a contract but we _ failed. briefly, you mention a contract but we believe - failed. briefly, you mention a i contract but we believe chechen forces have signed contracts to align themselves more closely with the russian military so is this a bad attempt by vladimir putin to try and exert more control over these private military companies that he allowed to establish and flourish? it may well be because he has allowed the system to get out of control where there were a number of private military arm is competing with each other and one of them apparently challenging the president himself. another question is what wagnerfighters himself. another question is what wagner fighters will do and i have seen reports of discontent,

situation has been escalating over the last several months between yevgeny prigozhin and the ministry of defenceincreasingly berated senior russian ministry of defence officials including minister shoigu and the chief of staff of defence. they have obtained —— complained repeatedly about the failed efforts of the russian military to defend against ukrainian counter—attacks, and providing munitions, support and others to wagner group fighters in places like buckboard. this has clearly now escalated to a level —— bakhmut. this has escalated to a level we have not seen. the wording that yevgeny prigozhin uses sounds more like a revolt against the russian military than what we have seen previously. you point out the fact _ have seen previously. you point out the fact that _ have seen previously. you point out the fact that this _ have seen previously. you point out the fact that this feud - out the fact that this feud between prigozhin and putin has been out in the open four weeks and now coming to this moment, prigozhin saying that he and his men were embarking on what he called in his own words, a

the ministry of defence ofjapan is taking all precautions to monitor the situation on a daily basis. down chinese balloons in the future. for protecting lives and property of people in the territory of japan, it is possible to respond to the situation with the use of a weapon. the ai software also found evidence of another balloon off the coast of taiwan. the taiwanese government says it believed this was a weather balloon. but corey says that's unlikely. so i suspect, just based on the diameter of the balloon and the fact that the operating altitudes look similar, that looks an awful lot like the balloon that flew over the united states, overjapan. the chinese embassy say they respect all countries sovereignty and territorial integrity. but former us intelligence officials say they believe china may be using balloons to intercept communications. if you're trying to pick up cell phone transmissions or understand communication patterns, then i could theoretically see where the balloon could be a useful platform for that. countries spy on each other all the time. but the very public na

returning now to our top story — russia's defence ministry says it has thwarted a ukrainian attack inhe occupied donetsk region. kyiv hasn't responded directly, but says there had been almost 30 clashes in donetsk and luhansk. the increase in activity is the latest sign that an expected ukrainian counter—offensive appears to have begun. what to have begun. exactly do we know? live now to ed arnold — research fellow for european security within the international security studies department at rusi — a defence and security think tank. thank you for being with us. there is a lot i want to ask you and a lot to get through given what we have seenin to get through given what we have seen in recent hours about what is happening in ukraine and indeed in russia. what's your assessment first of all about whether this much touted counteroffensive is actually now begun?— touted counteroffensive is actually nowbeuun? , ., , now begun? yes, the main point is that ukrainian _ now begun? yes, the main point is that ukrainian operational- now begun? yes, the main point is that ukrainian operational se

the russian ministry of defence denies the accusation.eve rosenberg, who's live in moscow. steve, a major development on what has been a tortured relationship between the russian military and the mercenaries. between the russian military and the mercenaries-— between the russian military and the mercenaries-_ mercenaries. absolutely, clive. it's no secret tension _ mercenaries. absolutely, clive. it's no secret tension has _ mercenaries. absolutely, clive. it's no secret tension has been - mercenaries. absolutely, clive. it's no secret tension has been growing between russia's ministry of defence and russian�*s wagner mercenary group on the other over how the war in ukraine has been fought and that tension came to a head tonight. first, yevgeny prigozhin, the head of wagner, accused the russian military, so his own side, of launching a missile strike on a wagner base camp killing he's had lots of wagner fighters although he presented no evidence for that, but he used the claim to then declare a march ofjustice, he called it, saying he had

where he bodies behind him, dead bodies of wagner fighters where he was accusing the russian ministry of defence him. him and his units marching towards moscow.— him. him and his units marching towards moscow. thank you so much for “oininr towards moscow. thank you so much forjoining us— towards moscow. thank you so much forjoining us and _ towards moscow. thank you so much forjoining us and for— towards moscow. thank you so much forjoining us and for breaking - towards moscow. thank you so much forjoining us and for breaking all - forjoining us and for breaking all that down for us and of course we do have a live page with the latest updates of developments and i can just see another alert that has come on in the last few minutes saying that the wagner are inching towards the russian capital, that throughout the russian capital, that throughout the day, wagner troops appear to have been moving north towards moscow as we have been reporting and talking to our guests. let's see if we can get that map up for you again to show you the route, the m4, the motorway that leads to moscow and so when we

it followed important of elements, a video released by the defence ministry this morning with sergei the man against whom this mutiny was ostensibly launched in the first place, he was being shown as a man very much still in his job, still on the front line, still at the command centre of russian forces fighting their war on ukraine. we don't know where the video was filmed or the exact circumstances but we know the message that and everything else happening today was meant to send, that president putin is in control, not weakened by this, not fragile, that was all a big blip and he is back, the strongman at the top and his team is behind him. that's the message but not necessarily the reality. what for putin do next? prigozhin has been sent to belarus, but we haven't heard from him. and what is this going to do with regard to the situation in ukraine and the fighting there?— situation in ukraine and the fighting there? situation in ukraine and the fiaahtin there? ~ ~ fighting there? well, i think the auestion fighting there? well, i think the question of— fighting there? well, i thi