russian attacks, with vladimir putin saying capturing kharkiv isn't part of russia's current plan. jonathan beale in the city? yes, you still cannot— you, jonathan, in the city? yes, you still cannot hear— you, jonathan, in the city? yes, you still cannot hear it. _ you, jonathan, in the city? yes, you still cannot hear it. it _ you, jonathan, in the city? yes, you still cannot hear it. it is _ you, jonathan, in the city? yes, you still cannot hear it. it is almost - you, jonathan, in the city? yes, you still cannot hear it. it is almost a - still cannot hear it. it is almost a week since russia launched this fresh assault into kharkiv. president putin claiming his troops are advancing every day, ukrainians top military commander admits the russian offensive operations are expanding. he says there will be difficult battles ahead but he says the line is slowly being stabilised. as for president zelensky, he says artillery ammunition, which ukraine has been short of, is now arriving at the front and that they have enough. what he says ukrainians most is her defences, as we witness last night with a

jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv. an associate professor at the university of michigan and a national security expert. he previously held roles at the fbi and on the national security council under the trump administration. how much of a challenge to think that is for the ukrainians, to be confronting multiple fronts now? and do you think they will be able to push the russians back? helena, thank you for having me this evening helena, thank you for having me this evening and excellent question and based on all the reporting that is coming out, not only over the last 2a hours but the last several weeks, i would argue that it appears that russia has the tactical and operational advantage along this very long front on the eastern side of ukraine and it appears that in these different moments in time, the russians will try and probe and advance either from the air or on the ground and use these different tactics and weapons and try to really weaken ukrainians' defence. and ukraine is under a lot of pressure to maintain th

jonathan beale and your team, thank you very much for your reporting. very much for your reporting. we will leavejonathan for the moment will leave jonathan for the moment and will leavejonathan for the moment and go straight to russia. i'm joined by our russia editor steve rosenberg. he is in salford for us at the moment. i'm going to go back to the main story, which are the kind of changes that have been announced in russia — the biggest one shoigu being removed from a post he's had for many years. what's your take with you though i think the first point to make is that whoever the russian point to make is that whoever iiufi russian government ministers point to make is that whoever tte: russian government ministers are, there is one man and one man alone in russia who calls the shots, and thatis in russia who calls the shots, and that is vladimir putin. he's a man with all the power. having said that, a government reshuffle in russia is interesting particularly when key ministers like the defence minister who is big change. the foreign minister has b

jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv.is javed ali an associate professor at the university of michigan and national security expert, previously holding roles at the fbi and on the national security council under the trump administration. thank you forjoining us. let's start with the situation we were seeing there on the ground. the ongoing battle in the northeast, the second new front that has opened up at the time when forces are still confronting battles along the front line including at donbass. how much of a challenge to think that is for ukrainian to be confronting multiple fronts now and do you think they will be able to push the russian�*s back? think they will be able to push the russian's back?— think they will be able to push the russian's back? thank you for having _ the russian's back? thank you for having me _ the russian's back? thank you for having me this _ the russian's back? thank you for having me this evening. . the russian's back? thank you for having me this evening. an excellent question and based o

our defense correspondent jonathan beale has sent us this special report from the frontline.ondent: near the village of lipsi, the russians are closing in. fire from a russian rocket attack near the position. we are told to immediately head to a bunker. taking shelter, recently arrived ukraine reinforcements. a week ago, they were fighting elsewhere on the front. andriy tells me the situation is dynamic and tense. from a drone feed, they are nervously watching and waiting for another attack. he says it is time to leave. they just spotted enemy forces advancing. this is where they are directing artillery fire. they have told us to get out. they said this area is under threat, and we are going to go. [beeping] at a field hospital further, medics are tricking viktor. he lost his fingers in a mortar explosion. he said he and his men were fending off wave after wave of russian attacks. they were outnumbered and also outgunned. >> they have everything, whatever they want, and we have nothing to fight with, but we do what we can. anchor: the president -- president zelenskyy says the

jonathan beale, bbc news, vovchansk.usand people have gathered outside parliament in georgia, continuing a campaign of demonstrations against a new law that would force organisations to declare foreign funding that they receive. protesters are back on the streets outside parliament and this time around, they're planning to spend the night here. we've seen some of the demonstrators with sleeping mats, with camping gear. we've met protesters of different generations here. there are parents with their children and even grandparents with their grandchildren. actually, i'm here to protect the independence of my country. i don't want to go back to ussr. back to the russia's influence. i don't want to be back to the russia's influence. my final expectation is that we're going to win since this is going to be out, we're going to win the election. and we already see that georgian people is so ready to be part of the european union. it is peaceful so far. some of the demonstrators are playing games to entertain themselves or makin

jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines.entral southern united states have killed at least fourteen people. at least seven were killed in texas near the border with 0klahoma after a tornado ploughed through a rural area near a mobile home park. forecasters have warned of more severe weather over the memorial day holiday weekend. a fire at a children's hospital in the indian capital, delhi, has killed at least six babies. several other newborns are receiving treatment after being rescued from the burning building. the cause of the fire is not yet clear. a severe cyclone has made landfall in southern bangladesh triggering heavy rains and gusting winds. wind speeds of up to ninety kilometres per hour have been recorded. more than 800—thousand people have been evacuated from vulnerable areas. they say you never forget how to ride a bike — but what about playing the piano? one woman has returned to the keys after a break of 80 years — thanks to the help of a teenage volunteer. juliette phillips reports. 90—year—old sybil has neve

john jonathan beale jonathan, thank you. jothonathan beale live in kharkiv in northern ukraine.he uk's history, and only the conservatives could keep the country safe. in his first speech since suffering heavy losses in the local elections, he pointed to threats coming from the likes of china and russia, as well as from global migration. labour said the tories had left the uk less secure at home and abroad. here's chris mason. the pace is quickening. the election is almost certainly still months away, but the two candidates vying to live here in downing street next year and beyond are limbering up. announcements, news conferences, bashing their opponent. first up this week, rishi sunak. i feel a profound sense of urgency, because more will change in the next five years than in the last 30. i'm convinced that the next few years will be some of the most dangerous, yet the most transformational that our country has ever known. the prime minister, nursing a cold as he turned 44 this weekend, he's the best part of 20 years younger than keir starmer, is trying to argue he is a more cr

jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv.rsary of its independence from russia... with official ceremonies being held in the capital tbilisi. it comes as the country continues to grapple with the mass protests against a controversial, so—called "foreign agents" law which opponents believe would put georgia's independence at risk. 0ur south caucasus correspondent rayhan demytrie is in tblisi now and gave me this update. well, there are some celebrations, the street party is wrapping up now. there were a lot of people earlier today, just kind of buying food and celebrating georgia's independence, but a little bit further up this main street, where i am standing now, just outside the parliament, there is a protest, once again. some thousands of people have gathered, and they are marching towards the nearby park to protest these law on the transparency of foreign influence, which the georgian government introduced back in april, and it provoked this weeks of mass street protests. it is controversial, because people fear that this

jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv.ave marched in the capital tbilisi to mark family purity day. it was established by the country's orthodox church to counter international day against homophobia. it comes amidst the ongoing mass protests against a controversial "foreign agents" law adopted by the georgian parliament earlier this week. our correspondent rayhan demytrie sent this report. today, georgians are marking family values day. may the 17th is the international day against homophobia and transphobia in the rest of the world. here in georgia, some years ago, there were serious attacks against lgbt activists on this very day, 17th of may, and after that, the georgian orthodox church proclaimed it as family purity and family values day. so important to us to have a family which is very strong, which has a strong base, based on georgian traditions, history, and mostly on georgia's religion. it's like family is love, i think, and god is love. and we should celebrate this day. a lot of people here, thousands and thousa

jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv.s emerged of the rap artist sean "diddy" combs physically assaulting his then—girlfriend cassie ventura in the corridor of a hotel in 2016. ms ventura made allegations of rape and physical abuse against him in a lawsuit that was settled last year. combs is at the centre of several civil lawsuits accusing him of sex offences. i should warn you that this report by our correspondent emma vardy contains images which may distress you. cassie ventura claims she suffered years of abuse in her relationship with p diddy, one of the most influential artists in hip—hop. in the cctv footage, she is seen leaving a hotel room. sean combs appears to run after her before carrying out a violent assault. the full tape shows her being kicked as she lies on the ground. after taking her items, next, the rapper seems to be seen throwing an object towards her. the video — obtained by the american news channel cnn — has not been independently verified, but lawyers for cassie ventura, who has not objected to i

our defence correspondent, jonathan beale, sent this special report from the front line.e village of lyptsi, the russians are closing in. the fire from a recent rocket attack near a ukrainian position. we are told to immediately head to a bunker. taking shelter, recently arrived ukrainian reinforcements. a week ago, they were fighting elsewhere on the front. andrei tells me the situation is dynamic and tense. from a drone feed, they are nervously watching and waiting for another attack. he says it's time to leave. they've just spotted enemy forces advancing. this is where they are directing artillery fire. they are telling us to get out. they've said this area is under threat, and we're going to go. at a field hospital further from the front, medics are treating victor. he has lost his fingers in a mortar explosion. he says he and his men were fending off wave after wave of russian attacks. they were outnumbered and also outgunned. translation: they have everything, whatever they want, and we have - nothing to fight with, but we do what we can. ukraine's been starved of a

jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines., against a controversial, so—called "foreign agents" law — which opponents believe would put the country's independence at risk. earlier, georgia celebrated the anniversary of its independence from russia with official ceremonies being held in the capital tbilisi. a fire at a children's hospital in the indian capital, delhi, has killed at least six babies. several other newborns are receiving treatment after being rescued from the burning building. the cause of the fire is not yet clear. a severe cyclone has made landfall in southern bangladesh triggering heavy rains and gusting winds. wind speeds of up to ninety kilometres per hour have been recorded. more than 800— thousand people have been evacuated more than 800—thousand people have been evacuated from vulnerable areas. tributes are being paid to one of hollywood's most successful songwriters, richard m sherman, who has died at the age of 95. he wrote over 150 songs with his brother robert for classic films such as mary poppins, j

the goal of the offensive was to create, as he says, a sanitary zone, well bbc correspondent jonathan beale is currently in kharkiv oblast, and here's what he says about the situation there. i spoke with representatives of the local authorities here and there is an opinion that russia had a plan, in particular to seize this city - kharkiv. russian president vladimir putin has talked about the creation of a kind of buffer zone between russia and ukraine to prevent ukrainian strikes on russian territory, and according to him, this is what this operation is focused on. he says that his forces are advancing every day , and ukraine claims that ukrainian forces are slowly stabilizing the front line. the commander-in-chief of the ukrainian army admits that russian troops are expanding their offensive. operations, there will be tough battles ahead. ukraine believes that the russians may launch another offensive in sumy oblast, if they do, it will further stretch the limited resources of the ukrainian military and make life very difficult for them. it is known that the ukrainian authorities evacuate

jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv.stern ukraine and speak to maria avdeeva, a security expert at the european expert association. maria, how worried are you that russia seems to be making quite quick gains in that part of north eastern ukraine? i quick gains in that part of north eastern ukraine?— quick gains in that part of north eastern ukraine? i was there at kharkiv several _ eastern ukraine? i was there at kharkiv several days _ eastern ukraine? i was there at kharkiv several days before - eastern ukraine? i was there at kharkiv several days before so l eastern ukraine? i was there at i kharkiv several days before so the mood is quite grim because of the russian advance. but people in kharkiv belief that ukrainian armed forces will be able to defend the city itself. the biggest concern is that the russian artillery fire will be too close to the city and russia will be able to smash residential areas as they have already done in the first days and months of invasion. actually, in the border areas of kharkiv, you ca

jonathan beale, bbc news, vovchansk. the north of afghanistan. a spokesman for the interior ministry told the bbc that most of the casualties were in the province of baghlan. emergency teams have been sent to rescue those stranded by the floodwaters. on friday, a massive torrent of water swept away hundreds of houses in several villages. dozens of people are still missing. in the last hour, i spoke with our south asia editor for the bbc world service, anbarasan ethirajan. i asked him what do we know about the impact of these floods. as we speak now, thousands of people have been left homeless, they are waiting for food, shelter, and other help from humanitarian agencies and the authorities. now, these calamitous floods on fridayjust swept through villages, taking down walls on its way, houses, livestock, and also farmland, importantly, for many of those living in the rural areas. so these are devastating floods. we are talking about hundreds killed and thousands injured, and the economic impact is quite huge because peop

jonathan beale, bbc news, vovchansk.reaking news which we will bring you more on. the russian defence minister, sergei shoigu, is being removed from his post and will become the new secretary of russia's security council. that is in according to a decree posted on the kremlin�*s website. will have more on that and what it means for russia's ongoing conflict in ukraine when we can. for the moment, that breaking news that vladimir putin has moved someone from the security council to the defence brief. to the caucasus now, and georgia has vowed to arrest protesters if they block parliament. the warning comes as more protests are expected in tibilisi against a controversial bill that would brand organisations that receive funding from abroad as "agents of foreign influence". the bill is similar to a law passed in russia that critics say was used to crack down on independent media and activtist groups. earlier, i spoke to nino lomjaria — former public defender of georgia — she explained what her biggest concern is — about thi

jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv.ne today, america's top diplomat, secretary of state antony blinken, made an unannounced visit. he said the war with russia was at a critical moment and promised unwavering us support — with this message for moscow. there's one more crucial step that we can take, making russia pay for ukraine's recovery and reconstruction. what putin destroyed, russia should and must pay to rebuild. let's speak to michael bociurkiw, a senior fellow at the atlantic council and global affairs analyst. many thanks for your time on the programme. you havejust beenin the programme. you havejust been in ukraine. how is secretary blinken�*s visit likely to be received? {iii likely to be received? of course. _ likely to be received? of course, promises of aid are good, any message that the aid that the united states pledged is going to be sped up is very, very good, but at the moment these are just words, and unfortunately words don't deter russian missiles the way patriots do. this is what i'm hearing from th

jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv.e on this i'm joined from rome by maryan zablotskyy, a member of ukrainian parliament. thank you forjoining us. we were afraid —— reflecting about the changes and trying to get more men particularly fighting and president zelenskyy said it is affecting morale. what are you seeing and hearing? you visit the frontline yourself, don't you? i visit the frontline yourself, don't you?— visit the frontline yourself, don't ou? ., ., ., , don't you? i do have relatives servin: don't you? i do have relatives serving and — don't you? i do have relatives serving and those _ don't you? i do have relatives serving and those people - don't you? i do have relatives serving and those people to l don't you? i do have relatives. serving and those people to me that have been on the frontline without change for two years. maybe a one or two week vacation. as we see, there are about six to seven people addressing logistical and supply needs of every person fighting. they need at least some reprieve. they ar

jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv.lican us senator and former us ambassador to nato. a lwa ys always good to have you on bbc news. how serious do you deem the situation to be?— the situation to be? thank you. i am very _ the situation to be? thank you. i am very concerned, _ the situation to be? thank you. i am very concerned, of- the situation to be? thank you. | i am very concerned, of course, that there has been such a russian offensive. i am hopeful that what our supreme allied commander has said is that russia really does not have the troops to do the necessary events to take over kharkiv however i do hope that america will get its weapons to help the ukraine and nato is certainly doing that and i hope that we will be able to allow the ukrainians to attack the areas in russia that are lobbing the bombs and the missiles into ukraine from the russian side. i think that is the next step that needs to be taken. ., . ., ~ the next step that needs to be taken. ., ., ., ~ ., taken. you are talking about the us providing

jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv.riters, richard m sherman, who has died at the age of 95. he wrote over 150 songs with his brother, robert, for classic films such as mary poppins, thejungle book and chitty chitty bang bang. across his 65—year career, richard sherman became part of walt disney's "inner circle of creative talents". the sherman brothers were inducted into the songwriters hall of fame in 2005 and received the us national medal of the arts in 2008. and just before we go, let's leave you with these pictures. it's a giant picnic on paris's most famous avenue, the champs—elysees. you can see here, the french capital's iconic boulevard was laid with a 216—meter—long red—and—white chequered rug, thought to be the world's largest picnic blanket. but it wasn't open to everyone, nearly 273,000 people applied to take part in the event, and only 4,000 were chosen. eating on a slightly different scale, at a state banquet we have the german president hosting the french president for a state visit, we are keeping an e

jonathan beale, bbc news.chard m sherman, who has died at the age of 95. he wrote over 150 songs with his brother robert for classic films such as mary poppins, jungle book and chitty chitty bang bang. and just before we go, let's leave you with these pictures. it's a giant picnic on paris's most famous avenue — the champs—elysees. you can see here — the french capital's iconic chequered rug, thought to be the world's largest tablecloth. but it was not open to just everyone. 0ver252,000 but it was not open to just everyone. over 252,000 people applied to take part in the event and only 4000 people were chosen and the lucky picnickers were treated with delicacies from some of the top paris chef. look like a lot of fun. thank you for your company on bbc news. business today follows, i will tell you about how ai is being used to help artists get over their stage fright on stage. does sound quite remarkable. to stay with us on bbc news. i will see you soon. hello. thanks forjoining me. the weather, this bank holid

jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv.ays it has recovered the bodies of three hostages whom it says were killed by hamas on 7th october and taken into gaza. the idf say the bodies of shani louk, amit buskila and yitzhak gelernter were recovered in an operation overnight. meanwhile, the us military says the first aid shipment for gaza delivered via a temporary pier has gone ashore. it's hoped this will help some of the 2.2 million palestinians in dire need of food and shelter. lucy williamson is injerusalem. israel's army has said tonight the 3d but returned to israel were all killed as they were trying to flee the nova festival site and one of them, shani louk, had already been confirmed to have been killed and her body was filmed on the back of a pick—up truck being taken into gaza, surrounded by hamas fighters. in response to this news, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu described it as a terrible and heartbreaking loss and vowed he would return all the remaining hostages, both living and dead. but that promise i

jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv. next to the israel—gaza war. military says at least eight rockets were launched from the rafah area of southern gaza, most of which it intercepted. some did get through — landing in open fields — but no injuries or significant damage has been reported. a pilot who died after a spitfire crashed in a field in lincolnshire has been named by the raf. squadron leader mark long was killed when the world war two—era fighter came down near raf coningsby on saturday afternoon. he had been a part of the battle of britain memorial flight team for the past four years. in a statement, the raf said mark long, long was �*a great friend, colleague and a passionate, professional aviator�*. an investigation into the cause of the crash is now under way. and just before we go — let's leave you with these pictures. it's a giant picnic on paris's most famous avenue — the champs—elysees. you can see here — the french capital's iconic boulevard was laid with a 216—meter—long red—and—white chequered rug — thought to be the world's larges

jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv.landslide in the pacific nation of papua new guinea. dozens of houses are thought to have been buried in rock and earth. the disaster was sparked by an earthquake that hit enga province, some 370 miles north west of the capital port moresby. this report is from our correspondent katy watson a scene of total devastation. in an area so remote and with land here still unstable, rescuers are struggling to do theirjob. more than two days after the landslide, villagers aren't giving up in their hunt for survivors but the situation on the ground is difficult. the landslide struck in the early hours of friday morning. more than 100 houses were buried at a time when most of the villagers would have been asleep butjust a few bodies have been recovered so far. debris from the landslide is up to eight metres deep in some places but getting heavy machinery to this remote area of highlands is difficult. people are using whatever tools they can get their hands on, be it shovels or sticks, to help dig

jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv.killed at least 11 people and injured dozens more, leaving a trail of damage across parts of texas, arkansas and oklahoma saturday night. dave malkoff from our us partner cbs news is on the ground in valley view, texas. we spoke a little earlier. we can see the damage there behind you. talk to us about the level of destruction that you and your team have been seeing on the ground.- seeing on the ground. these storms are _ seeing on the ground. these storms are already _ seeing on the ground. these storms are already on - seeing on the ground. these storms are already on the i seeing on the ground. these - storms are already on the move, even right now, throughout the southin even right now, throughout the south in the midwest. there are multiple tornadoes that came through here in texas and we are right on the oklahoma border, we also have tornadoes that happened in arkansas as well. specifically at this gas station, and this used to be a gas station along the highway, there were about

jonathan beale, bbc news, vovchansk.ing comes as more protests are expected in tbilisi against a controversial bill that would brand organisations that receive funding from abroad as "agents of foreign influence". the bill is similar to a law passed in russia that critics say was used to crack down on independent media and activist groups. for more, i'm joined by nino lomjara, former public defender of georgia. welcome to bbc news. the scene protests growing in scale. what's your biggest concern about this law? thanks for having me. we are already witnessing for and agents practising this. last week was marked by terror. hundreds of citizens, including minors and elderly parents, received threatening phone calls demanding them to refrain. this was involving politicians and vandalism... over100 this was involving politicians and vandalism... over 100 people have been detained facing charges. the objective of those highlighted attacks against protesters... citizens responded to the situation with humour and solidarity, and

jonathan beale live in ukraine.guards have been shot and killed in france, after their prison van was ambushed. a notorious criminal is now on the run. will is now on the run. it be fourth time lucky for the biggest will it be fourth time lucky for the biggest indoor arena in the uk? manchester's co—op live is set to finally open in a hometown show by elbow. and coming up on bbc london: charity workers, police officers and fund raisers walk to honour those killed on our roads. plus, star stylist sam mcknight reflects on a 50—year career working with royalty and supermodels. donald trump's former lawyer, michael cohen, is back for his second day of testimony in court in new york in the ex—president�*s hush—money trial. he testified that he lied many times for trump, including under oath, out of "loyalty" and to "protect" the president, when he was his personal counsel. sarah smith, has more from new york. did you get some sleep last night? michael cohen, the prosecution's star witnesses helping to build the case agai

jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv.arch, but the decision was later overturned. the elections will be held on the 29th of may. we can cross to our deputy africa editor, anne soy, injohannesburg. how is jacob zuma viewed inside the country? he how is jacob zuma viewed inside the count ? , ., , country? he is quite a divisive fiaure country? he is quite a divisive figure here — country? he is quite a divisive figure here in _ country? he is quite a divisive figure here in south _ country? he is quite a divisive figure here in south africa, i country? he is quite a divisive i figure here in south africa, which is why when he launched the new party, which is barely four months old, we have seen holes show it has run up to 8% in popularity. that tells you he has some support in the country, particularly in the province where he comes from. that is really the big worry for the ruling party, the anc, which he led and through which he was president from 2009 to 2018, that he is going to eat into the support. it is important for

jonathan beale, bbc news, vovchansk.the israeli military says it has opened a new aid crossing into gaza, in co—ordination with the us government. the opening is called the western erez. it's exact location has not yet been confirmed — and it's not yet known whether it will make a difference to aid reaching those most in need. meanwhile, more palestianians have been told to leave the southern city of rafah towards a coastal area around al—ma—wasi, which israel calls an "expanded humanitarian zone" the un says there is no sanitation or clean running water in the area. (biv 0ur middle east correspondent, lucy williamson, reports from jerusalem where citizens are marking israel's remembrance day. a country increasingly divided by its war aims, brought togetherfor a day by its war dead. israel's prime minister marked the start of the nation's annual remembrance day, honouring those who died at the hands of israel's enemies, and seven months after the hamas attacks, the soldiers now fighting in gaza, who he said wanted to fin

the bbc's jonathan beale has returned from there. the road to russia, only a few kilometers from the border, and evidence that the russians have again... returned to the kharkiv region. the city of vovchansk was liberated during a surprise attack by ukrainian troops less than a year ago. now it is again in the hands of the russians. alexei, the local policeman is calling again population to leave. he says it is better than dying. the shelling is constant and chaotic throughout the city. we move quickly after hearing the sound of a russian drone. and look at the copter, and that's all, that's all that's left of serhiy's house, go through, it's gone, familiar russian tactics, turning cities into ruins, but serhiy says he can't leave, he has to look after the goats, that's all, what he has left you can hear, the day before it was more intense, what was once one man's house has now been destroyed by a russian guided air bomb, and this is the sound jet plane. russia outnumbers ukraine in armaments and numbers and uses aerial guided bombs

our defence correspondent jonathan beale is in kharkiv with this update.sia claims it is still advancing, it says it is now entered at vovchansk, which is just a few miles from the russian border. ukraine firmly denies that, the governor showing video of himself in vovchansk, saying civilians were still being evacuated, still in ukrainian hands. there are not many left there now and not many buildings intact. we spoke to a number of civilians who have already fled the town in the last 2a hours, they told us they could hear the sound of heavy machine—gun fire, which means the fighting has been that close. the bigger debate in ukraine has been about the state of its defence lines and clearly there was a problem here, even officials admitting that the defences, they could have been stronger, they are not in the right place. the fact that the senior ukrainian commander has been removed from his post after what has happened tells you that this should not have happened. i think the bigger problem for ukraine is these new assaults are not on his own, not isolated

jonathan beale is near the front line. he sent this report. first crossed the border. this video shows ukrainian border guards trying to stop that advance. but others simply walked in, and russia's taken more than 50 square miles of ukrainian territory in a matter of days. russian troops have now entered vovansk. this recent drone feed shows a fierce fight for the town. even ukraine's most senior commanders admit the situation is critical and tense. one reason why they're now restricting access to the front. people living close to the fighting taking everything they can, by any means possible, are leaving in their hundreds. the local officials are trying to dispel any sense of panic. translation: no, i we were not surprised by this attack. we just didn't know where exactly it would happen. we knew that some kind of attack was expected and that they would look for a place to find the weakness. he said the situation had stabilised, but that's not how it felt to valentina, who had to be rescued from her home. translation: it wasn't 'ust loud, it

jonathan beale, bbc news, vovchansk.ir putin has removed his defence secretary sergei shoigu from his post, appointing him head of the country's security council instead. mr shoigu has been a long—standing ally of the kremlin leader and has served as defence minister since 2012, playing a key role in russia's invasion of ukraine. his replacement will be andrey belousov, an economist and the deputy prime minister. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, explains why reshuffles are unusual for the kremlin. whoever the russian government ministers are, whoever�*s sitting around that cabinet table, there is one man and one man alone in russia who calls the shots, and that is vladimir putin. he's the man with all the power. having said that, a government reshuffle in russia is interesting, particularly when key ministers like the defence minister is being changed. they don't happen too often. the foreign minister, he's been in his post for 20 years. mr shoigu, he has been defence minister for 12 years. he was appointed by vladimi

jonathan beale, bbc news, vovchansk. powerful front line reporting from the team in ukraine.t's get the low down on who won what, with entertainment journalist caroline frost. the results are in, as they say. let's talk about some of the major winners in the night, then. i'll let you kick off with what you want to start with. ., you kick off with what you want to start with. . . . ., , you kick off with what you want to start with. . . _, , ., start with. ok, great, a couple of surrises start with. ok, great, a couple of surprises to _ start with. ok, great, a couple of surprises to start _ start with. ok, great, a couple of surprises to start with. _ start with. ok, great, a couple of surprises to start with. top - start with. ok, great, a couple of surprises to start with. top boy, , surprises to start with. top boy,, it was originally on channel 4 and was dropped and picked up by netflix with the champion drake so good to have him in your corner but since thenit have him in your corner but since then it has gone from strength to strength and it has gone out with a bang aft

jonathan beale sent this report.s ukrainian border guards trying to stop that advance. but others simply walked in, and russia's taken more than 50 square miles of ukrainian territory in a matter of days. russian troops have now entered vovchansk. this recent drone feed shows a fierce fight for the town. even ukraine's most senior commanders admit the situation is critical and tense. one reason why they're now restricting access to the front. people living close to the fighting taking everything they can, by any means possible, are leaving in their hundreds. the local officials are trying to dispel any sense of panic. translation: no, i we were not surprised by this attack. we just didn't know where exactly it would happen. we knew that some kind of attack was expected and that they would look for a place to find the weakness. he said the situation had stabilised, but that's not how it felt to valentina, who had to be rescued from her home. translation: it wasn't 'ust loud, it was very loud. h we hardly had time to g

our defence correspondent jonathan beale sent this report from kharkiv in north—eastern ukraine.s for ukraine. remember, since the start of this year, russia has taken about 300 square miles of ukrainian territory. the focus of its efforts have been in the east where it's been making slow but significant progress. but at the same time, russia has been massing forces, tens of thousands of troops just across the border from europe 20 miles from the city of kharkiv where i'm speaking to you now from, and in the early hours of this morning, some of those troops crossed the border from what we toured where a massive air and artillery strikes and they now have a foothold in the kharkiv region. president zelensky says they have repelled those initial attacks but there are concerns that there will be another wave in the coming days. there is no doubt president putin believes he has a window of opportunity here, notjust because ukraine is outgunned or outmanned but also because of the delay in us military support, delay of six months and aid is only slowly coming to the front line and the

jonathan beale, bbc news, vovchansk. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.over why some women have traumatic experiences in childbirth has called for a huge overhaul of maternity and post—natal care. the report, led by a group of cross—party mps, refers to "harrowing evidence" from more than a thousand women. the findings of the birth trauma inquiry will be presented to the government today. our correspondent louisa pilbeam reports. the birth of gill castle's baby boy was traumatic. she was left needing stoma bag after mistakes in her maternity care. she spoke to bbc breakfast earlier this year. i she spoke to bbc breakfast earlier this year.— she spoke to bbc breakfast earlier this year. i ended up with a fourth _ earlier this year. i ended up with a fourth degree - earlier this year. i ended up with a fourth degree tear. earlier this year. i ended up | with a fourth degree tear and earlier this year. i ended up i with a fourth degree tear and a wreck vaginally fistula stop i had a missed abscess as well, which both. none of this was diagnosed until five da

our defence correspondent jonathan beale is in kharkiv, around 20 miles from the russian border.e are in kharkiv and we just heard the air alarms going. this city is pretty much targeted every night by ukrainian missiles. russia's focus, as you say, has been in the east. it's worth remembering that they have taken, since the start of this year, about 300 square miles of ukrainian territory. that focus in the east but at the same time they've been building up tens of thousands of troops just over the board here about 20 miles away. and in the early hours of this morning some of those troops crossed the border, made an incursion of several miles, followed, says ukraine, by massive artillery and air strikes. president zelensky has said that they have repelled those attacks. that said, they now have, the russians, a foothold in kharkiv again and there are fears there will be more waves of assault. they get is important to say that president putin believes he has a window of opportunity to exploit here. not just outnumbering and outgun in ukraine, but also ukraine being starved of tha

jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv.et — our state department correspondent tom bateman was travelling with antony blinken. he is in kyiv now. what was his message to ukraine? i think that this has been a trip meant to show solidarity, in the form of a fresh flood of american ammunition. we arrived via the sleeper train from the polish border, 9.5 hourjourney, arriving in kyiv first thing this morning. the first meeting that mr blinken had was with president zelensky. we heard from the ukrainian leader, really profuse thanks to the americans were finally breaking that partisan paralysis in washington that delivered more than $60 billion worth of military assistance to ukraine. we learn something significant on this trip, and that is that artillery and other ammunition from that package is now being used on the front line for the first time since it was announced just three weeks ago. the question is, is this going to be enough? you can mr blinken convince ukrainians that the americans are in this for the long term? we sa

james, thank you very much. 0ur defence correspondent jonathan beale is in kharkhiv with the latest.re are some people here, i'vejust been well, i think there are some people here, i've just been speaking to the governor of this region who thinks that there was a plan. which included trying to capture, eventually, the city of kharkiv but president putin has also been talking about creating this buffer zone between russia and ukraine to prevent ukraine firing into russian territory and that is the focus, he says, these operations. he says his forces are advancing every single day. what ukraine says is that they are slowly stabilising the front of their weaving ukraine's top military commander admits that russian forces are expanding offensive operations and that there will be difficult battles ahead. i think, last night, what we saw here was a large attack by russian kamikaze drones and missiles to a long sustained attack overnight since the war began. the buzzing of drones followed by loud explosions often only met by machine gun fire. and what ukraine also needs, of course, is notju