Evening briefing: Today's essential headlines

       Madeleine suspect | The German paedophile believed to have murdered Madeleine McCann refused to answer questions in his first interrogation since he was identified as a formal suspect. Christian Brueckner was repeatedly asked where he was on the night the three-year-old girl went missing while on a family holiday in the Algarve 15 year ago. So what is the case against him? Will Bolton examines all the previous evidence.

       Bill Murray | Star accused of 'inappropriate behaviour' on film set 'Gasping for air' | Mother guilty of letting asthmatic son, 7, die alone Net tightens | How an Irish family became a most-wanted gang Video | Grandmother uses broom in daring quarantine escape University | Student 'bullied' by trans activists loses bid to sue The big story: Russia bids to capture southern Ukraine

       Moscow's war goals may have expanded once again. Russia now aims to occupy all of southern Ukraine as well as taking the Donbas in the east, a top Russian commander said today.

       Maj Gen Rustam Minnekayev outlined one of the current objectives for Russian troops in Ukraine.

       As our Russia correspondent Nataliya Vasilyeva reports, taking enough territory to physically reach Transnistria in Moldova would require Russia to not only hold the territory it has seized so far – including Mariupol – but also to make gains further west, including the city of Odesa, where there has been relatively little fighting so far.

       It came as Boris Johnson announced that Britain will send tanks to Poland so it can provide similar machinery to the Ukrainians in a significant increase in UK military help.

       The Prime Minister said he wants to "backfill" supplies of Soviet-era T-72 tanks being provided by Warsaw to help fight off the Russian invasion.

       Ben Riley-Smith, our political editor who has been travelling with Mr Johnson on a trip to India as he warned that the war in Ukraine could go on for a year, has the latest from New Delhi.

       Meanwhile, it also emerged that Slovenia will give tanks to the Ukrainians after Germany agreed in turn to pay for the country's new armoured vehicles. See a graphic showing the battle tank losses so far.

       Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor, warned today that everything possible must be done to avoid a direct confrontation between Nato and Russia that could lead to nuclear war.

       In other developments today:

       Britain will reopen its shuttered embassy in Kyiv next week; up to 9,000 could be buried in a "mass grave" near Mariupol; and Vladimir Putin's alleged mistress has resurfaced in Moscow. 'One minute from death'

       After being trapped for 56 days in besieged Mariupol, the Grinchuk family had two hours to make their way from the ruined building in which they were sheltering to the evacuation point. It would take yet another 24 hours to reach safety, navigating a gauntlet of a dozen Russian checkpoints along a "green corridor". They were among 79 people on the first evacuation convoy. Ms Grinchuk described surviving "apocalyptic" conditions in basements and ruined buildings as fighting raged over the crucial port city, whose capture would offer the Russians a land bridge. "The whole time I felt one minute away from death," she said. "Helplessness in the face of danger was the hardest thing to bear." Read our correspondent Campbell MacDiarmid's latest dispatch.

       Tools of propaganda

       The parading on Russian state television of two British men, Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin, captured while fighting for Ukraine has raised questions about the fate of modern prisoners of war (POWs). It is a far cry from romanticised escape narratives of gentleman POWs, such as The Colditz Story, about a legendary breakout from the apparently impenetrable Saxony castle. So is treatment becoming more brutal – or does it reflect a longer history of using POWs for propaganda? Heather Jones examines how they became the ultimate tools of propaganda.

       Comment and analysis Patrick O'Flynn | Face it, Tories, you haven't an heir to Boris Tom Harris | Labour's big problems still haven't gone away Jeremy Warner | Thatcher was right about German unification Alan Cochrane | Sturgeon’s bare-faced antics have cost support Telegraph View | Partygate delays are not justified Around the world: Last-ditch French election bids

       Emmanuel Macron admitted his rival Marine Le Pen has seized upon anger felt in the country he had failed to quell. The French president said Ms Le Pen, who is seeking to oust him in Sunday's election, had used the dissatisfaction of the French public to succeed in her campaign. Mr Macron has been campaigning heavily to win re-election after admitting that nothing was certain following the first round of voting, which saw the far-Right candidate gain ground. See the latest opinion polls.

       Friday long-read: The death of beauty – and why women are going back to basics

       The pandemic saw many women embrace a more natural look and ditch expensive cosmetics. Laura Craik says the trend is not going anywhere. Read the feature.

       Sport briefing: Kenny reveals personal heartache

       Dame Laura Kenny, Team GB's most successful female Olympian, has revealed that she suffered a miscarriage in November and then had her fallopian tube removed following an ectopic pregnancy two months later. Kenny, who won gold and silver at last summer's Tokyo Olympic Games to add to four previous Olympic golds, posted a message on her Instagram profile. Meanwhile, Arsenal fan Lewis Hamilton has explained why he joined a consortium bidding for Chelsea FC.

       Editor's choice Why don't you hear Irish accents on radio? | Meet Dublin's Fontaines DC, new kings of rock Katie Morley Investigates | 'I'm a single mum and HMRC is chasing me for ￡5k I don't owe' The Midults | 'My family won't accept I'm a 52-year-old grandmother dating a man of 29' Business briefing: How Twitter could fight back

       The revelation that Elon Musk has secured a ￡36.5billion financing package to fund his bid to buy Twitter has put the social media giant's board on the back foot. Despite a host of critics voicing doubts about the billionaire entrepreneur's attempts to swoop, he emerged with an ace up his sleeve. So what does this latest development mean for Twitter's board? Simon Foy considers what it can do to fight back against Musk. Meanwhile, Britain is "teetering on the edge of a recession" as inflation forces hard-pressed shoppers to tighten their belts.

       Tonight starts now

       New cinema releases | In our pick of new films released today, we have two must-see movies – and one that you might consider avoiding. Chief film critic Robbie Collin says that Playground captures exactly what it feels like to be seven and starting a new school, churning a microcosm of terror, anxiety and sorrow. Read his four-star review. Robbie also gives Happening, an abortion drama that will make your heart race, four stars. And, in a scathing one-star review, Tim Robey says The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is an unbearable waste of Nicolas Cage.

       Three things for you Watch | The Rising, Sky Max, 9pm – and more TV listings for tonight Listen | Chopper's Politics: Ex-chief whip Mark Harper on partygate Play | Telegraph Puzzles featuring today's crossword and sudoku And finally... for this evening's downtime

       Nicolas Cage's Face/Off freak-out | To action aficionados, it is one of the most thrilling, beautiful and ridiculous movies ever made. But, to its leading man, it was all real. Alexander Larman explains how a deranged action film sent him over the edge.

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