quentin sommerville, bbc news, ukraine. quentin sommerville, bbc news. kharkiv _ ukraine., bbc news, kharkiv in _ ukraine. quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv in eastern _ ukraine. quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv in eastern ukraine. l in the besieged city of mariupol, there are reports many people have survived after a theatre was bombed by russian forces. hundreds of people were thought to be sheltering in the basement. president volodymyr zelensky has accused russia of deliberately targeting the theatre but russia has denied carrying out the attack. our international correspondent, orla guerin, reports on the continuing russian assault. fire and destruction at the theatre in mariupol. ukraine accuses russia of dropping a bomb on this cultural landmark turned shelter for terrified civilians. this satellite image shows the russian word for children clearly marked on the ground. it did not protect them from russian jets. ground. it did not protect them from russianjets. in the ground. it did not protect them from russian jets. in the darkness a week ago,... of wom

last week. , , this from quentin sommerville last week-— last week.ek. this is what russia does to cities. it _ last week. this is what russia does to cities. it bombards i does to cities. it bombards them, it besieges them, it surrounds them. it terrorises entire populations. and if these tactics are unfamiliar to you, then you haven't been paying attention, because this is the russian attack playbook perfected in over ten years of war in syria. perfected in over ten years of war in syria-— perfected in over ten years of war in syria. that report went on to show — war in syria. that report went on to show the _ war in syria. that report went on to show the dead - war in syria. that report went on to show the dead body - war in syria. that report went on to show the dead body of. on to show the dead body of ukrainian civilians and the corpses of russian soldiers. we will not be showing such images on newswatch, but madeline e—mailed us to say... so paul, you give a warning, but viewers are really wondering is it necessary to show dead bodies?- wonderi

quentin sommerville have spent theeek with ukrainian forces., this report does contain graphic images from the frontline that some viewers might find disturbing. >> head to the very eastern edge of ukraine, a ghostly vision of the country's fate unfolds before you. the city of kharkiv is being purged of life. a near total blackout, the police in the city take us on patrol. the russians are not far. [explosions] >> schelling happens every night. this close to the russian border, they are o the lookout for another threat. saboteurs. no one escapes scrutiny. alina, 76 years old, lost and confused. in an instant, everybody's life has been upended. but by this nation has surprised russia and the world with its resolve. we weave our way past the following come into no man's land with the ukrainian army. here is 20 wonder old -- where are the russians? over the sound of schelling -- shelling, he tellse russian soldiers are about 900 meters from here. they are firing on our positions and we are firing back. it is more than just the grenade launchers. i

quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv in eastern ukraine.are escaping from the beseiged city of mariupol, which is surrounded by russian forces. over 300,000 people are thought to be still trapped in the city — some were sheltering in the basement of a theatre that came under attack on wednesday. more from our correspondent, orla guerin. fire and destruction at the theatre in mariupol. ukraine accuses russia of dropping a bomb on this cultural landmark—turned—shelter for terrified civilians. this satellite image shows the russian word for children clearly marked on the ground. it didn't protect them from russianjets. in the darkness a week ago, glimpses of women and children who sought refuge in the theatre. the bomb shelter seems to have saved them. so far, there are no reports of any deaths, but there is fury here at attacks on civilians. translation: a theatre - that was a shelter for hundreds of people was blown up yesterday, a maternity hospital, a children's hospital, residential areas without any military facilities. they are destroyi

. >> quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv in eastern ukraine. >> quentin sommerville with cameramanek conway, the first journalists to be embedded with ukrainian army. let's bring you up-to-date with news coming from the reuters agency, reporting that russia will open humanitarian corridors from friday from kyiv, sumi, kharkiv, as we been hearing about, and also mariupol in another ci. something in advance before allowing them to leave the city. we will continue to monitor that to see what happens with them. let's turn to the diplomatic efforts to end this conflict. european leaders holding a summit in france discussing the humatarian crisis in considering further sanctions against russia. this was the moment the eu leaders arrived at the palace of versailles. poland and lithuania want to impose tough sanctions on russia. germany, france and some other western eu states are still very reliant on russian oil and gas. here is the president of the european commission highlighting key challenges. >> we will think european defense with strong capabilities. we will rethink energy. we have

quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv, in eastern ukraine. city of mariupol there are reports many people have survived after a theatre was bombed by russian forces. hundreds of people were thought to be sheltering in the basement. ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky has accused russia of deliberately targeting the theatre but russia has denied carrying out the attack. our international correspondent, orla guerin reports on the continuing russian assault. it's mariupol, he says, the theatre. here's the russian world. new footage shows what's left of the cultural landmark where so many sought shelter. ukraine says russia deliberately dropped a bomb here. this satellite image shows the russian word for children clearly marked at the front and back of the theatre. that didn't deter russian jets. in the darkness a week ago, crowds of women and children were filmed in the bomb shelter below ground. officials have said the shelter withstood the attack. so far, there are no reports of deaths, but mariupol is still being shelled, and information i

quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv, in eastern ukraine.hrough all of this fighting of course has been the hope of a peaceful outcome, and now what appears to be an outline of a peace agreement seems to be emerging. in a phone call between president putin and turkey's president erdogan, the russian leader set out his demands. our world afairs editorjohn simpson, who's in istanbul, has the details of that call. president putin's asking for six key things, four of them are relatively easy... that ukraine should announce its neutrality — that's to say it won'tjoin nato. well, it said it won't do that anyway. that it should disarm, relatively speaking — that it shouldn't have certain weapons to attack russia with if it actually ever did want to. that it should protect the russian language, something very important to mr putin. he claims that russians have been targeted because of their language in ukraine. and fourthly, something they call denazification. i thought that sounded really fierce, but, infact, the turkish official said no, he thinks

quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv, in eastern ukraine. that's the picture at the front line.et me tell you now about what's been happening in the besieged city of mariupol, where there are reports many people have survived after a theatre was bombed by russian forces. hundreds of people were thought to be sheltering in the basement. president volodymyr zelensky has accused russia of deliberately targetting the theatre, but russia has denied carrying out the attack. our international correspondent, orla guerin, reports on the continuing russian assault. it's mariupol, he says, the theatre. here's the russian world. new footage shows what's left of the cultural landmark where so many sought shelter. ukraine says russia deliberately dropped a bomb here. this satellite image shows the russian word for children clearly marked at the front and back of the theatre. that didn't deter russian jets. in the darkness a week ago, crowds of women and children were filmed in the bomb shelter below ground. officials have said the shelter withstood the attack. so far, there are no reports of

quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv.s nato has never been more united and that russia's president, vladimir putin, is getting the opposite of what he intended when he ordered the invasion of ukraine. the us president was speaking after a summit in which leaders approved plans to send new battlegroups to four countries. our north america editor sarah smith reports from brussels. this show of solidarity is why president biden�*s here with the nato chief and over 30 other world leaders, to display the unity they believe is their strength. the nato summit is naturally focused on defence, how to help defend ukraine. more weapons and equipment are being promised, with britain pledging to double the number of missiles being sent. but ukrainian president zelensky wants far more. translation: you can give us 1% of all your aircraft. _ i% of all your tanks. 196. we can'tjust buy it. such a supply directly depends only on nato's decisions, on political decisions, by the way. nato will not send troops to ukraine, but will station ma

quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv, in eastern ukraine.nce towards the capital. more than half the population has fled since the invasion began. the mayor of the city descibed it as a fortress. humanitarian organisations have warned that many people have run out of food, and are still living without water or gas. russian forces are said to have rolled their armoured vehicles up to the north—eastern edge of the city. jeremy bowen has sent this report from kyiv. when your world is turned upside down, there's separation, loss, confusion, and relief at getting out alive. hundreds more have been evacuated from villages in the firing line outside kyiv in the last few days. taking bad memories into new uncertain lives. did you see any russians? yes. what were the russians like, did they speak to you? they were mute, mute. they were mute. no comments, no words, no... and nothing. they were mute. they stayed like... ..stones. medics can help with the physical pain of wounds. kyiv�*s hospitals are ready, expecting many more. but what do you say to s

quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv. world leaders are in brussels ? ukraine. ajoint statement was a joint statement was issued condemning russia's war as unprovoked. today, the nato defence alliance approved plans to send thousands more troops to eastern europe, to counter what it calls the biggest security crisis in a generation. our north america editor sarah smith reports. the show of solidarity is why a biden is here with the nato chief and other world leaders to provide the unity they say is their strength. the nato summit is naturally focused on defence, how to help defend ukraine. more weapons and equipment are being promised, with britain pledging to double the number of missiles being sent back ukrainian president zelensky once far more. translation: ., farmore. translation: ., , far more. translation: ., , ' , far more. translation: ., ., translation: you can give us 1% of all of our translation: you can give us 1% of all of your aircraft, _ translation: you can give us 1% of all of your aircraft, 1% _ translation: you can give us 1% of all

quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv, in eastern ukraine.ce towards the capital, kyiv. more than half the population has fled since the invasion began. the mayor of the city described it as a fortress. humanitarian organisations have warned that many people have run out of food and are still living without water or gas. russian forces are said to have rolled their armoured vehicles up to the north—eastern edge of the city today. jeremy bowen sent this report from kyiv. when your world is turned upside down, there's separation, loss, confusion, and relief at getting out alive. hundreds more have been evacuated from villages in the firing line outside kyiv in the last few days. taking bad memories into new uncertain lives. did you see any russians? yes. what were the russians like, did they speak to you? they were mute, mute. they were mute. no comments, no words, no. and nothing. they were mute. they stayed like... ..stones. medics can help with the physical pain of wounds. kyiv�*s hospitals are ready, expecting many more. but what do you say

quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv.s nato has never been more united, and that russia's president, vladimir putin, is getting the opposite of what he intended when he ordered the invasion of ukraine. the us president was speaking after a summit in which leaders approved plans to send new battle groups to four countries. 0ur north america editor sarah smith reports from brussels. this show of solidarity is why president biden�*s here, with the nato chief and over 30 other world leaders, to display the unity they believe is their strength. ukrainian president zelensky wants far more.— ukrainian president zelensky wants far more. you can give us 1% of all wants far more. you can give us 196 of all your— wants far more. you can give us 1% of all your aircraft, _ wants far more. you can give us 1% of all your aircraft, 1% - wants far more. you can give us 1% of all your aircraft, 1% of- i% of all your aircraft, 1% of all your tanks. i%. we can't just find just a supply, that depends on nato's positions. 0n political decision

quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv.ays nato has never been more united, and that russia's president, vladimir putin, is getting the opposite of what he intended when he ordered the invasion of ukraine. the us president was speaking after a summit in which leaders approved plans to send new battle groups to four countries. our north america editor sarah smith reports from brussels. this show of solidarity is why president biden�*s here, with the nato chief and over 30 other world leaders, to display the unity they believe is their strength. the nato summit is naturally focused on defence, how to help defend ukraine. more weapons and equipment are being promised with britain pledging to double the number of missiles being sent. but ukrainian president zelensky wants far more. translation: you can give us 1% of all your aircraft, _ i% of all your tanks — i%. we can'tjust buy it. such a supply directly depends only on nato's decisions, on political decisions by the way. nato will not send troops to ukraine, but will station

quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv, in eastern ukraine.he russians started their attacks on ukraine, maria avdeeva has been documenting what is happening to her city kharkiv. the country's second largest city has faced continuous bombardment. let's have a listen. iam i am staying in kharkiv for more than three weeks now witnessing how this vibrant, young, beautiful city now becomes a ghost town with no people outside, with families hiding in the underground, with constant shelling bombardments of the residential areas. here you see that almost all the buildings are without the windows. it means that this family that used to live here are now fully kharkiv or hide somewhere because they have no place where they can stay. you hear that shelling right now when eyes speak to you. it doesn't stop, day and night. russia continues terrorising my city. lets speak to maria now, from kharkiv. thank you very much forjoining us today, maria. describe the last few days in your city? good morning, the last few days were very intent, because of the cons

quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv, in eastern ukraine. city of mariupol there are reports many people have survived after a theatre was bombed by russian forces. hundreds of people were thought to be sheltering in the basement. president volodymyr zelensky has accused russia of deliberately targeting the theatre, but russia has denied carrying out the attack. our international correspondent orla guerin reports on the continuing russian assault. its mariupol, he says, the theatre. here's the russian world. new footage shows what's left of the cultural landmark where so many sought shelter. ukraine says russia deliberately dropped a bomb here. this satellite image shows the russian word for children clearly marked at the front and back of the theatre. that didn't deter russian jets. in the darkness a week ago, crowds of women and children were filmed in the bomb shelter below ground. officials have said the shelter withstood the attack. so far there are no reports of deaths, but mariupol is still being shelled. and information is slow to em

quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv.a huge convoy of russian troops moved towards the capital kyiv, but its advance was stalled. since then, fierce fighting has taken place in the towns and cities outside the capital — and ukrainian forces now claim they've succeded in pushing russian troops back with a series of counter attacks, asjeremy bowen reports. in small groups, ukrainian soldiers are crossing the river irpin, joining the month—long battle to keep the russians out of kyiv. it's bad, said pavlo, one of the last civilians leaving. children are dying, everyone is dying. only a few other civilians are coming out of the ruins. slava emerged, desperate to save her dogs. thousands of civilians came this way when the war started, but now this whole area has been swept up by the fighting. ukrainian troops have broken all the russian ground attacks here so far. so now, moscow increasingly are using the weapon they trust most, heavy artillery. we were here about three weeks ago, and there is a massive difference. look at th

quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv. huge convoy of russian troops moved towards the capital, kyiv, but its advance was stalled. since then, fierce fighting has taken place in the towns and cities outside the capital, and ukrainian forces now claim they've succeded in pushing russian troops back with a series of counterattacks, asjeremy bowen reports. in small groups, ukrainian soldiers are crossing the river irpin, joining the month long battle to keep the russians out of kyiv. it's bad, said one of the last civilians leaving. children are dying, everyone is dying. only a few other civilians are coming out of the ruins. slava emerged, desperate to save her dogs. thousands of civilians came this way when the war started, but now this whole area has been swept up by the fighting. ukrainian troops have broken all the russian ground attacks here so far. so now, moscow increasingly are using the weapon they trust most, heavy artillery. we were here about three weeks ago, and there is a massive difference. look at the devasta

quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv, in eastern ukraine. industry experts have expressed fears that ground—to—air missiles sent to ukraine could end up in the wrong hands. safety analysts say they could end up on the black market and be bought by militant groups. the british starstreak missile is just one system being offered to kyiv to help troops there defend against russian attacks. the international atomic energy agency says the ukrainian authorities have confirmed they've lost all communications with the chernobyl nuclear power plant. on wednesday, ukraine said all external power supplies had been cut to the site, which was seized by russian forces two weeks ago. chernobyl is no longer a working power station, but it still requires constant management. meta, the parent company of facebook and instagram, says it's changing its rules on violent speech in several countries, including russia, because of the ukraine invasion. the company says it's temporarily made allowances for violent speech that would usually break its rules. the us sena

ukrainian side of the conflict and you and others will have seen that extraordinary report from quentin sommervillep the front line, it is hard imagine we would be able to operate with that editorial independence will be embedded with russian forces, but of course we would assess it on a case—by—case basis. course we would assess it on a case-by-case basis.— case-by-case basis. they haven't — case-by-case basis. they haven't offered _ case-by-case basis. they haven't offered it - case-by-case basis. they haven't offered it to i case-by-case basis. they haven't offered it to you, | case-by-case basis. they i haven't offered it to you, have haven�*t offered it to you, have they? no. we have seen interviews with nick robinson and victoria derbyshire with prominent persian supporters making false claims, many viewers are questioning the wisdom of putting such people on our live. == wisdom of putting such people on our live-— on our live. -- coochin. i understand. _ on our live. -- coochin. i understand. you - on our live. -- coochin. i understand. you have i on our live. -- coochin. i. understand. you

quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv, in eastern ukraine.harkiv. the country's second largest city has faced continuous bombardment. let's have a listen. iam i am staying in kharkiv for more than three weeks now, witnessing how this vibrant, young, beautiful city mall becomes a ghost town with no people outside, with families hiding in the underground, with constant shells and bombardment of residential areas. shells and bombardment of residentialareas. here, you shells and bombardment of residential areas. here, you see that almost all of the buildings are without windows. it means that this family that used to live here now flee kharkiv to find somewhere, because they have no place where they can stay. you hear the shelling right now when i speak to you. it doesn't stop, day and night. russia continues to arrive in my city. maria avdeeva. maria avdeeva told me what her last 72 hours has been like in kharkiv. the last few days were very intensive because of the constant shelling that doesn't stop, so it goes on throughout the day, and we ca

quentin sommerville is embedded with the ukrainian forces., instead it's creating a wasteland. what it can't have it destroys — with vengeance. these were family homes on the edge of kharkiv. civilians are daily targets of vladimir putin's war. by the back door, a dead russian soldier. suburban gardens have become battlefields from europe's past. but here the men of ukraine's 22nd battalion have pulled off a miracle. they've stopped the might of the russian army at their city gates. ill—equipped and vastly outnumbered, three weeks on they're still holding the line. russian boots have failed to gain hold here. frustrated, they've sent troops elsewhere, leaving heavy artillery to bomb the city into submission. kostyantyn, a former air force pilot, has come out of retirement to fight. translation: this is the first line of defence for the city. . if they get through here, they will enter kharkiv. this road takes you from russia to the very heart of the city. but the heart of kharkiv and ukrainian resistance is still beating. just beyond this pos

last week, the bbc�*s quentin sommerville documented this in kharkiv. en paying attention, because this is the russian attack playbook, perfected in over ten years of war in syria. the "russian attack playbook". and as quentin notes, it's been in plain sight in syria. back in 2011, a peaceful uprising against president assad began. a crackdown followed, and then a conflict that's claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and which still continues. but bashar al—assad remains syria's president. and arguably he owes that to vladimir putin. here are the two men together in moscow. this was back in 2015. and vladimir putin decided russia would become far more involved in the war. russian planes provided aerial support for the syrian government. and one focus was aleppo, the largest city in syria and a rebel stronghold. by 2016, this was eastern aleppo. with russian controlling the skies, the city below was devastated, as this rescue worker describes. translation: syrian and russian l warplanes carried out more than 150 air strikes on aleppo last night, causing

quentin sommerville is the first correspondent to be embedded with the ukrainian army as they fight thee russian border, there is another threat here. saboteurs. no one escapes scrutiny. olena, 76—years—old, is lost and confused. in an instant, everybody�*s life here has been upended. but this young nation has surprised russia and the world with its resolve. we weave our way past the fallen into no man's land, with the ukrainian army. here is 21—year—old yevgen gromanski. where are the russians? over the sound of shelling he tells me, the russians soldiers are about 900 metres away from here. you can hear right now they are firing on our positions and we are firing back. it is a grenade launcher, british. it is more than just a grenade launcher. it is a guided missile. is it good against tanks? it is the best we have right now. how are the russians fighting? like soldiers of 1941. they attack, they don't do any manoeuvres. they have a lot of people, a lot of tanks, a lot of vehicles, but we are fighting in our lands and we will protect our families, so it doesn't matter how they fight,

quentin sommerville is with two ukrainian fighters who have been there since the beginning.ight. he and fellow private mark have been here ever since. they have quickly grown comfortable with war�*s daily tempo. they have the upper hand in kharkiv. the first three days were the hardest, when they drove the russians out, but now their duties at the small base have fallen into a pattern. what are you fighting for? translation: for peace in ukraine. what about you, mark? translation: like my comrade 'ust said, for peace in ukraine. �* these people came to our land. no—one was waiting for them here. no—one asked them to come. and what do you want to tell the russian soldiers thatare shelling you? run. we were not calling you here. run away. there is nothing else to say. either you stay here forever in the ground or you go back home and stop killing children and destroying homes and families. go back home while you are still alive. their steady determination, and a little help from western weaponry, have got them this far. it is time to head out to the front again. this, they say

quentin sommerville is the first correspondent to be embedded with the ukrainian army as they fight thethe russian border, there is another threat here. saboteurs. no one escapes scrutiny. 0lena, 76 years old, is lost and confused. in an instant, everybody�*s life here has been upended. but this young nation has surprised russia and the world with its resolve. we weave our way past the fallen into no man's land, with the ukrainian army. here is 21—year—olds yevgen yomanski. where are the russians? over the sound of shelling he tells me, the russians soldiers are about 900 metres away from here. you can hear right now they are firing on our positions and we are firing back. it is a grenade launcher, british. it is more than just a grenade launcher. it is a guided missile. it's a good against tanks? it is the best we have right now. how are the russians fighting? like soldiers of 1941. manoeuvres. they attack, they don't do any manoeuvres. they have a lot of people, a lot of tanks, a lot of vehicles, but we are fighting in our lands and we will protect our families, so it doesn't matter h

our correspondent quentin sommerville and cameraman darren conway have spent time with two fighters whoeen on the front line since the very beginning. violin plays a month of fighting alone. and russian guns still have not silenced ukraine's cry for freedom. at the kharkiv philharmonic, maria may not have an audience, but this is not a city abandoned, only a city half gone. she remains here with her ten—month—old boy. staying is her duty. translation: i believe in our victory. _ i know that the armed forces of ukraine will protect their home. we just need to be a little bit more patient. standing united with the boys defending her and her son. a month ago, 22—year—old vlad said goodbye to his own mother and went off to fight. he and fellow private marc have been here ever since. they have quickly grown comfortable with war�*s daily tempo. they have the upper hand in kharkiv. the first three days were the hardest, when they drove the russians out, but now their duties at this small base have fallen into a pattern. what are you fighting for? translation: for peace in ukraine. and what abo

quentin sommerville and camera journalist darren conway are the firstjournalists to be embedded withan army as they fight the russian advance. i should warn you their report contains graphic images from the front line that some viewers will find disturbing. head to the very eastern edge of ukraine and a ghostly vision of the country's fate unfolds before you. the city of kharkiv is being purged of life. in near total blackout, the police in the country's second largest city take us on patrol. the russians aren't far. explosion. shelling happens every night. this close to the russian border, there's another threat here — saboteurs. no—one escapes scrutiny. alina, 76—years—old, is lost and confused. in an instant, everybody�*s life here has been upended. but this young nation has surprised russia and the world with its resolve. we weave our way past the fallen, into no man's land, but this young nation has surprised russia and the world with its resolve. we weave our way past the fallen, into no man's land, with the ukrainian army. here is 21—year—old yevgen gromadsky. where are the ru

our correspondent quentin sommerville and camera journalist darren conway are the first to be embeddedinian army as they fight the russian advance. i should warn you their report contains graphic images from the front line that some viewers may find disturbing. head to the very eastern edge of ukraine and a ghostly vision of the country's fate unfolds before you. the city of kharkiv is being purged of life. in near total blackout, the police in the country's second largest city take us on patrol. the russians aren't far. explosion shelling happens every night. this close to the russian border, there's another threat here... ..saboteurs. no—one escapes scrutiny. alina, 76—years—old, is lost and confused. in an instant, everybody�*s life here has been upended. but this young nation has surprised russia and the world with its resolve. we weave our way past the fallen, into no man's land, with the ukrainian army. here is 21—year—old yevgen gromadsky. where are the russians? over the sound of shelling, he tells me: "the russian soldiers are standing about 900 meters away from here. "you can

our correspondent quentin sommerville and cameraman darren conway have spent time with two fighters,n the front line in kharkiv from the very beginning. violin plays. a month of fighting alone. and russian guns still have not silenced ukraine's cry for freedom. at the kharkiv philharmonic, maria may not have an audience, but this is not a city abandoned, only a city half gone. she remains here with her ten—month—old boy. staying is her duty. translation: i believe in our victory. _ i know that the armed forces of ukraine will protect their home. we just need to be a little bit more patient. standing united with the boys defending her and her son. a month ago, 22—year—old vlad said goodbye to his own mother and went off to fight. he and fellow private marc have been here ever since. they have quickly grown comfortable with war�*s daily tempo. what are you fighting for? translation: for what are you fighting for? translation:— what are you fighting for? translation: for peace in ukraine- — translation: for peace in ukraine. what _ translation: for peace in ukraine. what about - transla

quentin sommerville is embedded with the ukrainian forces.ve it destroys with a vengeance. these were family homes on the edge of kharkiv. civilians are daily targets of vladimir putin's war. by the back door, a dead russian soldier. suburban gardens have become battlefields. from europe's pasztor. —— past. but here the men of ukraine's 22nd battalion have pulled off a miracle. they have pulled off a miracle. they have stopped the might of the russian army at their city gates. ill—equipped and vastly outnumbered, three weeks on they are still holding the line. russian boots have failed to gain hold here. frustrated, they have sent troops elsewhere, leaving heavy artillery to bomb the city into submission. constantine, a former air force pilot, has come out of retirement to fight. translation: , , , translation: this is the first line of defence _ translation: this is the first line of defence for _ translation: this is the first line of defence for the - translation: this is the first line of defence for the city. . line of defence for the ci

our correspondent quentin sommerville and cameraman darren conway have spent the week with the ukrainianere — and i should warn you their report contains graphic images from the front line that some viewers will find disturbing. head to the very eastern edge of ukraine and a ghostly vision of the country's fate unfolds before you. the city of kharkiv is being purged of life. in near total black out the police in the country's second largest city take us on patrol. the russians aren't far. shelling happens every night. this close to the russian border, there is another threat here. saboteurs. no—one escapes scrutiny. alina, 76 years old is lost and confused in an instant, everybody�*s life here has been up ended. but this young nation has surprised russia and the world, with its resolve. we weave our way past the fallen, into norman's land, with the ukrainian army. —— know man's land. —— no—man�*s land. here is a 21—year—old. where are the russians? over the sound of shelling he tells me, the russian soldiers are standing about 900 metres away from here, you can hear they are firing on ou

quentin sommerville is the part corresponding to be embedded with the ukrainian army as they fight thee escapes scrutiny. 0lena, 76 years old, is lost and confused. in an instant, everybody�*s life here has been upended. but this young nation has surprised russia and the world with its resolve. we weave our way past the fallen into no man's land, with the ukrainian army. here is 21—year—oldsjeff ken. where are the russians? 0ver over the sound of shelling he tells me, the russians soldiers are about 900 metres away from here. you can hear right now they are firing on our positions and we are firing back. tt our positions and we are firing back. , . . our positions and we are firing back. , ., ., ., . back. it is a grenade launcher, british. back. it is a grenade launcher, british- it _ back. it is a grenade launcher, british. it is _ back. it is a grenade launcher, british. it is a _ back. it is a grenade launcher, british. it is a guided - back. it is a grenade launcher, british. it is a guided missile. | british. it is a guided missile. it's a british. it is a guided missile. it's a

quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv in eastern ukraine. ibrahim kalin, gave more details to our world affairs editor, john simpson. president putin's demands are concise and, according to mr kalin, four of them are fairly easy to reach agreement on. they include an acceptance by ukraine that it should be neutral in future and shouldn't become a member of nato. ukraine's president zelensky has said as much just the other day. other demands which mr putin is making include denazification clause, which, though offensive to mr zelensky seems easy enough to accept, according to the turkish side. and there are undertakings as well to protect the russian language. but that is where the easy part ends. mr putin is also demanding parts of eastern ukraine and he wants ukraine's acceptance that crimea, which russia seized in 2014, is now a permanent part of russia. this, president putin said, can only be sorted out face—to—face with his ukrainian opponent, president zelensky, who has already said he's willing to talk. but the turkish side thinks it c

quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv. a powerful insight into life on the front lines. of 328 members of russia's lower house of parliament, the duma and 48 defence companies which it says "fuel putin's war machine". also targeted is herman gref, the ceo of russia's biggest financial institution, sberbank. president biden tweeted that the additional sanctions were in response to mr putin's "war of choice in ukraine", saying "they personally gain from the kremlin s policies, and they should share in the pain." the uk is sanctioning 65 more organisations and people, including the russian billionaire youjeen shvidler and also galina danilchenko, who was installed by moscow as the mayor of occupied melitopol — a city in south—east ukraine. also targeted are: the wagner group, a russian mercenary group seen as vladimir putin's private army, gazprombank, russia's third—largest bank and one of the main channels for payments for russian oil and gas. and the reported step—daughter of russian foreign minister sergei lavrov — polina kovalyohva — who is thought to own a london prop

quentin sommerville and camera journalist darren conway are the firstjournalists to be embedded withian advance around kharkiv. head to the very eastern edge of ukraine and a ghostly vision of the country's fate unfolds before you. the city of kharkiv is being purged of life. in near total blackout, the police in the country's second largest city take us on patrol. the russians aren't far. explosion. shelling happens every night. this close to the russian border, there's another threat here — saboteurs. no—one escapes scrutiny. alina, 76—years—old, is lost and confused. in an instant, everybody�*s life here has been upended. but this young nation has surprised russia and the world with its resolve. has surprised russia we weave our way past the fallen, into no man's land, with the ukrainian army. here is 21—year—old yevgen gromadsky. where are the russians? over the sound of shelling, he tells me, "the russian soldiers are standing about 900 meters away from here. you can hear right now that they're firing on our positions and we are firing back". it's a grenade launcher, british. bu

quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv, in eastern ukraine.en supporting veterans for the past seven years. now with most of the veterans fighting the russian invaders, she's supporting the families they've left behind. she joins us live from west ukraine. thank you for being with us, de vanna. tell us what you have been doing. ma; vanna. tell us what you have been doin:. g ., , ., ., doing. my role is leading an organisation _ doing. my role is leading an organisation that _ doing. my role is leading an organisation that before - doing. my role is leading an organisation that before we | doing. my role is leading an - organisation that before we were scattered in different regions and now we are bringing people in western regions to continue our work supporting the well—being of veterans and their families. of course now that mission is almost impossible for some time so we have dedicated ourselves to supporting the families as they have to once again relive this experience of solitude, separation and displacement around the country which is

quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv.yond the church you can see in the distant background. he spoke for a few minutes, then his security team ushered him out of the building. simon coveney had to end his speech in public and everybody else in the building was evacuated out of it as well, they have told us that they have been told a fan had been hijacked, it has been driven into the grounds of the building, and it was possible that an explosive device was in that van. as you can see, police here have sealed off a long stretch of the road. a police helicopter circling overhead, and army bomb expert have been here, it is understood they have been examining the van. nobody has been hurt, there has been severe disruption, a funeral in the church grounds could not go ahead, a church service had to be held outside, so there has been condemnation from community leaders about an event that should have been all about reconciliation but instead has been a reminder of a very dark past in this part of the world. [30 a reminder of a v