we know that we are on the right side of fighting off this illegal aggression. all we need to show is that we have the political will. hello. we'll have the latest from ukraine and from a nato meeting this afternoon and we'll be taking a look at what we know about these pictures. ukrainian drones sinking a russian ship, say the ukrainians. we'll look at what we can verify. in the uk, inflation stays at 4%, and food prices fell injanuary for the first time in two years. and we'll look at al fakes and elections. can we spot them, and can we stop them? we are going to start in ukraine.

pictures of a russian warship being hit by drones, take a look, here they are. seems to show a drone hitting the ship of explosive see drones, we are told. this is a large russian landing ship in the black sea. this footage was released by ukraine's defence intelligence, and they say the ship started to sink after these moments. but no comment from russia. our team at bbc verity have been investigating the footage. here's our correspondent nick eardley. the sea has become a key strategic location for the russian navy, and ukraine has said that this attack this morning happened on crimea's southern coast, near a place called alupka. and there is a pretty dramatic video that was released by the ukrainian military. you can see it on your screen now. it shows vessels. we think that they're naval drones approaching, then hitting the ship. we found other material

from the same location which suggests or backs up the idea there was a major incident in the black sea, although at the moment, we can't be completely certain of the location. this ship, i think we can show you an image of it, has been identified by ukraine as the tsezar kunikov. now, vessels like that are big. they can hold 190 people and ten tanks. we don't know how many people were on board because russia hasn't commented yet, but this would be a big moment. it would be the second successful strike in the black sea in this month. it could be a sign that ukraine's drone attacks are starting to work. the war in ukraine's been stuck for months. we've heard a lot about that in recent weeks. attacks like this are unlikely to change that materially, but they would be a big confidence boost to ukraine's armed forces. nowjoining me is taras berezovets, ukrainian army major and the press officer of the 1st special forces brigade.

thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you very much for coming on the programme-— thank you very much for coming on the programme. thanks for having me. we have any — the programme. thanks for having me. we have any more _ the programme. thanks for having me. we have any more details _ the programme. thanks for having me. we have any more details about - the programme. thanks for having me. we have any more details about what l we have any more details about what you claim actually happened to that russian ship?— russian ship? actually, today, the ukrainian military _ russian ship? actually, today, the ukrainian military intelligence - ukrainian military intelligence claimed another impressive victory over russian naval ship, and the russian... the ship tsezar kunikov was hit at least three times from the port side ineffectively sank in the port side ineffectively sank in the crimean city, the number of casualties is still unknown. the russian minister of defence was not commenting until now. the outcomes of this attack, but at least about 80 through personnel was aboard this ship, according to the official information of ukrainian general staff. ., ., , , ., , staff. 0k, and more broadly, what is the significance _ staff. ok, and more broadly, what is the significance of— staff. 0k, and more broadly, what is the significance of russian _ staff. 0k, and more broadly, what is the significance of russian ships - staff. 0k, and more broadly, what is the significance of russian ships in l the significance of russian ships in that area and ukrainian's efforts

against them?— that area and ukrainian's efforts against them? actually, ukrainian armed forces _ against them? actually, ukrainian armed forces and _ against them? actually, ukrainian armed forces and ukrainian - against them? actually, ukrainian l armed forces and ukrainian military intelligence managed to sink at least 13 russian naval ships since beginning of full—scale invasion, and the 12 naval ships have been damaged. this is a very huge blow, and it is another sign of incompetence of russian naval command and inability of russian black sea fleet to repel attacks and it gives another impression that the ukrainian naval forces, ukrainian army, is winning this battle in the black sea. so far, we managed to destroy one third of the russian battleships in the black sea. ., , i. black sea. ma'or, stay there, if you will. i black sea. ma'or, stay there, if you win. i want — black sea. ma'or, stay there, if you will. i want to— black sea. major, stay there, if you will. i want to come _ black sea. major, stay there, if you will. i want to come back to - black sea. major, stay there, if you will. i want to come back to you - will. i want to come back to you just in 20 seconds. i want to ask you about another area of the war.

we've heard from ukraine's new commander in chief of the armed forces. he says things on parts of the front line are extremely difficult. this is general 0leksandr syrskyi. he visited avdiivka in the east and the kupyansk area in the northeast. russia has been carrying out offensives in both places. the general called the situation there "extremely complex and stressful". ta ras taras, if we can come back to you, just how difficult is the fighting in those areas?— just how difficult is the fighting in those areas? general cornel all exec or searcy — in those areas? general cornel all exec or searcy as _ the defence sector made the area of kupyansk, and recently, what the cleanin commander of armed forces said today, the situation there is very complicated and tense. russian continue their so—called assault —— 0leksandr syrskyi. according to

today, russians lost more than 200 tanks and armoured vehicles during these four months of continuing assaults. so far, what general 0leksandr syrskyi said, there will be necessary decisions made in coming days and ukrainian armed forces will continue their active defence operation in the area of avdiivka and kupyansk. but those 0 erations avdiivka and kupyansk. but those operations on _ avdiivka and kupyansk. but those operations on the _ avdiivka and kupyansk. but those operations on the front _ avdiivka and kupyansk. but those operations on the front line, - avdiivka and kupyansk. but those operations on the front line, isn't| operations on the front line, isn't it the truth that they are very, very difficult, displays not coming through, and there is not an expectation of lots of supplies coming through at least this year? could we see a stalemate, potentially, for the rest of the year? {lit potentially, for the rest of the ear? . ., , potentially, for the rest of the ear? , ,, ., ., , year? of course, ukrainian president volod m r year? of course, ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky _ year? of course, ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky mentioned - year? of course, ukrainian president| volodymyr zelensky mentioned many times that ukraine is dependent on the west for supplies, and since we have the situation within our

strategic partner in the united states, we mainly rely upon support of our european allies but also we have plan b, ukraine is producing its own armaments, shells, landmines and other equipment, so i would say that next month will be quite hard, but still we are absolutely confident we will keep the ground and ukrainian armed forces will continue their active defence operations on the eastern front. taras berezovets, thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you. we are going to turn to nato now. and that meeting a few hours ago. the head of nato says he expects more than half its members — a record number — will meet their defence spending target this year. this is after donald trump said he'd

encourage russia to attack countries who didn't spend enough. at the moment, 11 members spend at least 2% of their gdp on defence every year that includes the us, uk and poland. the alliance says, it expects 18 countries will meet the target by the end of the year. but some countries still have a way to go. a reminder nato is an alliance of countries who promise to support each other, if any are attacked. here's the head of nato responding directly to mr trump. the purpose of nato is to paren more, preserve peace, and we've done so successfully for decades because the deterrence is credible. any suggestion we are not standing up for each other, we are not going to protect each other, that is undermined the security of all of us, increasing the risks, and therefore it is so important we both in actions but also in words communicate clearly that we stand by nato's and admits to protect and defend all allies.

let's bring in kristine berzina from the american public policy think tank german marshall fund. thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you very much for coming on the programme-— thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you for having me. we the programme. thank you for having me- we haven't— the programme. thank you for having me. we haven't talked _ the programme. thank you for having me. we haven't talked about - the programme. thank you for having | me. we haven't talked about ukraine, there is clearly — me. we haven't talked about ukraine, there is clearly a _ me. we haven't talked about ukraine, there is clearly a big _ me. we haven't talked about ukraine, there is clearly a big overlap - me. we haven't talked about ukraine, there is clearly a big overlap here, - there is clearly a big overlap here, but we will leave ukraine just for the moment, just want to focus on nato and the spending —— we have talked about. there is a link with the concern it stressed about armaments among countries not having enough supplies themselves, not spending enough. what is the situation amongst nato members? mata situation amongst nato members? nato members are — situation amongst nato members? iisgtf: members are getting their act together. if you look at the increase in defence spending across nato members, especially those who find themselves to be on the front lines, you've seen a dramatic increase in 2014, when russia attacked crimea, in defence spending, and that has consistently increased and that we have the forecast of 1831 going to be this year above 2% but the high end there is definitely in the threes. you have defence spending and more portly capability development,

suspending not simply to make sure there is bureaucracy at work but spending to mention that there are arms, that there will provisions troops, that it is a defence capable alliance and that is a dramatic transfer may. there are some countries that lag behind, there are some countries, if you look at luxembourg or belgium, that are also not on the front line that should be spending a lot more. germany has a lot of need to spend, but really also despite a lot of criticism, it is stepping up. stand also despite a lot of criticism, it is stepping up-_ also despite a lot of criticism, it is stepping up. and bring you the link to ukraine, _ is stepping up. and bring you the link to ukraine, is _ is stepping up. and bring you the link to ukraine, is the _ is stepping up. and bring you the link to ukraine, is the thinking i link to ukraine, is the thinking clearly that, as countries, nato members, increase their spending, increase their supply, that has a knock on effect and is a good thing there for ukraine, because countries are able to commit more support? absolutely. the first step right now is to create enough ammunition and to create an industrial base that is

going to first and foremost help ukraine, but this is also for europe's long—term strategic interests and for its own defence. 0nce ukraine has protected itself, ukraine can also be a part of protecting the rest of the alliance, and so this is the transformation from an era in which nato was thinking about the middle east and thinking about the middle east and thinking about the middle east and thinking about out of area operations to going back to its basics of protecting territory and signalling a significant deterrence to adversaries like russia, but increasing also to iran, north korea and to china. we increasing also to iran, north korea and to china-— and to china. we heard then in my interview there _ and to china. we heard then in my interview there with _ and to china. we heard then in my interview there with the _ interview there with the spokesperson for ukrainian forces, saying, interestingly, they do have a plan b, which is ramping up their own supplies. have any idea, in any kind of context, how significant thatis kind of context, how significant that is or is the reliance still really on the us, eu for support? it depends on kind of operations talking about. the first path of

that previous segment was about the successful naval operations and the drones used there. ukraine has very significant drone manufacturing capability ends on the forefront of how drones can be used modern warfare. this is to ukraine's advantage and they are using this for strategic and cyclical victories, as we're seeing right now with the ship that was attacked —— psychological victories. the problem is that on land, on the front lines, the russians are playing a numbers game, using all of their past refurbished artillery shells and creating more, buying them from other questionable countries, from north korea, for example, drones from iran, and they are that numbers game on the front line. for this to be the stalemate that many see it to be the stalemate that many see it to be today, there needs to be enough coming from the west, in particular ammunition and in particular shells, in order to keep the line where it is. ukraine needs a lot this year to

be able to maintain its defences, with the increase in ammunition production and the increase of military funding, across the alliance and the increase in production in ukraine itself, 2025 could be a very different year on land then 2024 could be, but the pressure on the united states to pass this bill is to have that ammunition for ukraine now, this year, in the next few months. kristine berzina, thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you. much for coming on the programme. thank ou. ., ~ much for coming on the programme. thank ou. ., ,, ,, around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other news now. the conservative mp for bournemouth east device i would says campaigners outside his house was a step too far. —— tobias ellwood. he was believed to have been at home. no arrests were made. violence and abuse against shop workers rose to 1,300 incidents a day last year according

to a leading trade body. incidents against staff were up by 50% in the year to september 2023, up from 870 incidents a day the year before. the british retail consortium criticised the "woefully inadequate" action taken by the government to address the "crisis". radio 2 has announced that liza tarbuck will present a special love songs programme to pager b to steve wright, who died at the age of 69. “ pay wright, who died at the age of 69. —— pay tribute to steve wright. you're live with bbc news. the israel—gaza war now. israel will press ahead with its offensive against hamas in rafah despite international warnings. israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, says the offensive will happen after civilians are allowed to leave the area in gaza's south.

in at nasser hospital in khan younis, take a look at these images here verified by the bbc. you can see a large crowd of people leaving the hospital. the israel defense forces says its troops were opening a secure route to evacuate civilians sheltering near the hospital, but it did not intend to evacuate patients and medical staff. this video shows a tank at the north gate of the hospital. israel claims hamas uses this and other hospitals in gaza as cover for its operations, a claim strongly denied by staff. we've verified this footage showing a drone over the hospital annoucing tannoy announcement in arabic in a separate development, palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas, who is based in the occupied west bank, urged hamas to reach a ceasefire agreement in gaza quickly to avoid

"another catastrophic event". negotiations are under way in cairo aimed at securing a new temporary ceasefire deal, including the release of more israeli hostages in exchange for palestinians held in israeli jails. but so far, no breakthrough. 0ur correspondent injerusalem, nick beake, has more. well, tonight, the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has doubled down. he's told the israeli people, "we will fight until complete "victory, and that includes powerful action," as he put it, "in the city of rafah after we allow the civilian population to leave the battle zones." those were his words tonight, and i think what he's basically saying or what he's indicating is despite all these warnings from the united nations, aid agencies, notably from the united states, he is going to pursue this course of action. and that means moving 1.5 million palestinians out of the city of rafah, so that the israeli military can embark on this big military

operation to try and wipe out the remaining hamas fighters. of course, fighting continues elsewhere in the gaza strip. there's been a particularfocus in the city of khan younis around the nasser hospital, a really big medicalfacility. the israelis have been telling civilians who sought shelter there to move. they're being encouraged to evacuate. in fact, they're being instructed to evacuate. the israelis saying, though, that patients and doctors, they do not have to move. all of this, of course, makes a pretty bleak backdrop for the negotiations that continue to try and find some sort of cease—fire or a lull in the fighting. they've been taking place in cairo, and we hear that representatives from hamas will be joining the discussions in the days to come. today, though, we've also heard from the palestinian president, mahmoud abbas, and he is urging hamas to do a deal very quickly. he says that has to be done, otherwise there will be, in his words, "another catastrophe". that was nick beake there.

here in the uk, inflation — the rate at which prices are rising — remained unchanged injanuary at 4% despite a rise in energy bills. the figures from the office for national statistics show that prices are still going up, but at exactly the same rate as december. but the price of food fell last month for the first time since september 2021. 0ur chief economics correspondent, dharshini david, reports. up to the middle, and tap this... from food... to shoe repairs... warrington market hosts a range of traders with one thing in common — surviving, ratherthan thriving, as costs rise. historically, shoe repairs should sort of increase on, you know, times like this, really. but we've just not seen it, i think largely down to sort of lack of footfall, really. people just don't have the money. instead of buying a pound of cheese, they'll buy three quarters of a pound of cheese. you know, which is fine,

you know, but i'd rather have the pound of cheese. for their customers are struggling, and notjust because of a hike in energy bills injanuary. mortgages, bills, food, everything. everything's getting more expensive. just struggling. some things are coming down, but on a general basis, it's not really coming down enough. i essentially have to cut my maternity leave early, - just to be able to go back to work | so i can put him in nursery to be| able to afford things. for many things are still getting more expensive. well, inflation overall stayed at 4% in january, and that was a relief for policymakers, who were concerned that those energy bills would have pushed it up. but those were offset by heavy discounting in clothes and furniture, as retailers slashed prices after some disappointing sales in the run—up to christmas. and food prices, too, slipped between december and january, the first such fall in two years as ingredients became cheaper. and inflation overall should fall below the bank of england's 2%

target later in the spring, when the energy price cap falls back. but its other parts of inflation that those interest rate setters watch more closely, those for services such as restaurant meals and hotel stays. that rose injanuary, while wage growth, which the bank also watches, is easing quite slowly. so they don't want to risk reigniting inflation by cutting rates too soon, leaving more cash in pocket for us to spend. but the bank's also aware the economy isn't blooming. back in warrington, florist elizabeth says customers have been finding creative solutions to afford valentine's day treats. red roses were the bestsellers, and lily bouquets, but the tulip bouquet is the most popular so far this year, and they're half the price of what the roses are, and lilies. for some of those customers,

the ultimate delivery would be lower interest rates. they may have to wait until the summer. wa nt to ta ke want to take you to the us, to kansas city. these are live pictures we are getting, some disturbing reports, but this is from the reuters news agency for multiple people were struck by gunfire in kansas city, missouri, during a super bowl victory parade there for the kansas city chiefs. this is coming from police. condition of the victims, not immediately clear. two armed people were taken into custody. so, over the last couple of hours, we've been reporting very different scenes, really, from here, kansas city, with the celebrations, the players and fans out celebrating that remarkable victory in the super bowl, watched by millions and millions across the us and around the world, so these were the

pictures from a little earlier. you can see there, relatively warm weather, which they were talking about getting even more people out and about there, the schools were closed, some people were on the streets there of a jubilant occasion, clearly, for the kansas city chiefs, winning the super bowl back to back last year and this year. with that in the last 20 minutes or so, we have got these live pictures and we are getting news reports from different news agencies, quoting the police, with these different details. so, reports coming in of a shooting at the kansas city victory parade for the american football team kansas city chiefs. the police say multiple people have been shot near the city's union station. huge crowds were there to attend the parade, of course, as you can see there. so, within the last 20 minutes or so, it seems those celebration pictures,

now something very, very different. afp news agency confirming again that two armed people have been detained, that tallies with what the reuters news agency recoding from police there as well. so, multiple people hit in this shooting, two armed people detained and all this pretty close to union station, in kansas city, in missouri, and within the vicinity, it seems, of this parade, this celebration of the kansas city chiefs winning a super bowl actor back, their star cornerback patrick mahomes, travis kelce the other star player of course and his girlfriend, taylor swift, bringing many, many more eyes and attention to the kansas city chiefs —— actor back, their star quarterback. many, many people out on the streets, celebrate and that win in the super bowl over the

49ers, but a pretty different turn of events, it seems, since we have been on air with two armed people detained and multiple people hit by these shots. let's take a look now, but we are getting on social media, from the kansas city police there... so, shots were fired...

so, that update there from the police department, two armed people detained, multiple people hit there ijy detained, multiple people hit there by union station, pretty close to that victory parade from the kansas city chiefs after winning the super bowl. we will keep across all the details here as we get them. for the moment, i am details here as we get them. for the moment, iam lewis details here as we get them. for the moment, i am lewis vaughanjones. this is bbc news. hello there. there's been a lot of cloud around today and it's been quite misty and murky around some hills and coasts. few lucky places, though, did manage to see a peep of sunshine coming through that cloud. that was barnsley. and this weather watcher picture is in newquay, and both locations reached 13 degrees this afternoon. we had temperatures reaching 15 degrees in herefordshire and norfolk with a bit of rain and drizzle around too. but it's getting wetter, actually, this evening and overnight. and that wet weather will drive

its way northwards up into scotland. at the same time, southern areas may turn drier later on. temperatures are going to rise actually in scotland overnight with that wet weather coming in, and elsewhere, temperatures really aren't going to drop very much at all. it'll be a very mild start to tomorrow. 0ur air originated, actually, from the azores, and at the moment we're seeing a southerly breeze coming in, bringing that milder air our way ahead of this weatherfront, which will bring some rain back in from the west. but we've got a wet start in scotland. that rain moves up towards the north and rain clears northern ireland but heads back into scotland. and then we'll see some rain for wales and western england, maybe some heavier bursts later in southwest england and the midlands. but ahead of that, lincolnshire, east anglia, the south—east should stay dry and bright, maybe a bit of sunshine coming through, and these are the temperatures we'd normally get at this time of the year. but this is what we're seeing on thursday, even milder than today, 16, possibly 17 degrees is on the cards across east anglia and the south—east, if the cloud does break up sufficiently to give us some sunshine.

but that's still quite a long way off that february temperature record set back in 2019. now, there will be some rain pushing eastwards on thursday night. there's more weather fronts queuing up in the atlantic. that one's just going to fade away. this one will bring some rain eastwards during the weekend. but with some rain overnight moving eastwards, we're going to see the last of that clear away from east anglia and the south—east. and then we're all in the same boat. there'll be some sunshine coming through now and again, a fair bit of cloud, the odd shower around, but not very many of those. large parts of the country will be dry. so a drier day on friday, not quite as mild, but still those temperatures above average — 12, central scotland, 14 in the south—east of england. and we've still got that same sort of mild air in place on saturday. there could be quite a bit of cloud. best of the sunshine in the east, and out to the west, where we see that weather front that's bringing rain, northern ireland, western scotland and the far south—west of england. and ahead of that,

it's about 12 degrees.

hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. you're watching the context on bbc news. we start this section of the programme with breaking news from the us will so this is kansas city, missouri. what we are looking at there is the aftermath of a shooting which came shortly after eight victory parade for the kansas city chiefs american football team. they won the super bowl back to back, second year in a row and lots people

out on the streets celebrating and then we got reports of a shooting. we just had this then we got reports of a shooting. wejust had this in then we got reports of a shooting. we just had this in from kansas city police department, a statement and i will read it for the first time as i'm bringing it to you. it says "at the conclusion of the rally, there were shots fired west of union station near the garage and several people were struck. there have been two armed people detained for more investigation. when he people to exit the area as quickly and safely as possible and avoid the parking garage in order to facilitate treatment of shooting victims. many of you have footage of many officers securing union station. they are working to provide for the safety of everyone inside union station and expedia at care of those injured. " so there are multiple people hit,

multiple people injured. two armed