if it falls, it would be the first russian victory of note in more than six months. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, james landale, reports from kyiv. munitions explode this is bakhmut, or at least what s left of it, after some of the fiercest fighting since russia invaded ukraine. for more than six months, as the bbc has reported, ukrainian forces have held off a ferocious onslaught, but now russian commanders are growing increasingly confident, including the leader of the mercenaries known as the wagner group, which have been at the heart of the assault. translation: we have - almost surrounded bakhmut. there s only one road that remains in and out of the city, the pincers are closing. before, we were fighting against the professional ukrainian army, but now we fight against old men and boys. ukrainian forces are still defending the city, street by street and reports suggest reinforcements are being sent in, but these russian troops say the ukrainian army is destroying bridges
were being broken. i believed implicitly that these events were within the rules. nor did anybody tell me before afterwards anything to the contrary. with the oscars a week away, we hear from some of those involved in the film living. for me i didn t feel daunted or oppressed by the original film or by the situation. ijust felt that i was very fortunate. and memories of 1930s glasgow we meet the artist holding his first exhibition at the age of 95. i think ithinki i think i got that atmosphere here. i think ijust got it right. here. i thinkl “ust got it riuht. ~ here. i thinkl “ust got it riiht, . ., right. welcome to the programme. - right. welcome to the programme. first, - right. welcome to the - programme. first, russian mercenaries say that they have surrounded most of bakhmut in eastern ukraine. the city has been the focus of extensive fighting in recent weeks. ukraine has acknowledged that its troops in bakhmut are under severe pressure and may have to pull out.
the white house confirms president biden had a cancerous skin lesion removed from his chest during a routine health screening. with the oscars a week away we hear from some of those involved in the nominated british film living. idid not i did not feel daunted or oppressed by the originalfilm i did not feel daunted or oppressed by the original film or by the situation, ijust felt by the original film or by the situation, i just felt that i by the original film or by the situation, ijust felt that i was very fortunate. hello and welcome to bbc news. we begin in ukraine where a senior official in the besieged city of bakhmut has said that there is fighting on the streets, but that russia hasn t taken control. the city in the eastern donetsk region has been almost destroyed during more than seven months of shelling. despite having little strategic value, its capture would mark moscow s first notable victory in half a year. meanwhile the authorities have ordered some resi
history: lgbt special. hello. i m ben boulos. thanks forjoining me at the queer british museum in london for this edition of witness history. i ll bring you important moments from the past as told by the people who were there. in this episode, we re focusing on lgbt history, stories about lesbian, gay and trans people from all over the world. coming up: we hear how lesbian activists broke through bbc security to stage a protest on live tv. plus, the fight for lgbt rights in uganda where being gay was punishable by death. how the balkans war inspired a groundbreaking film about trans sex workers. and the fight to use the word 0lympics for the very first gay games. but first to san francisco, and the aids memorial that would make headlines all over the world. activist cleve jones was living there in the 19805 when a mysterious disease started killing his friends. the suffering he saw inspired him to create one of the world s biggest ever arts projects. i talked about this ide