hello and welcome to bbc news, i'm nuala mcgovern. britain has accused the kremlin of planning to install a pro—russian leader in ukraine, as fears of an invasion grow. the foreign office in london says a former ukrainian mp is being considered as a potential candidate, along with four other politicians, who it says have links to the russian intelligence services. russia has a hundred thousand troops on ukraine's border, but denies it intends to invade. james waterhouse reports now from the ukrainian capital, kyiv. the friendship of nations arch, built by the soviets to celebrate the closeness

between russians and ukrainians. that crack was painted on by activists a few years ago as relations between the two countries deteriorated. and as talks intensify about a possible invasion, the hope is things don't break down completely. tensions are still rising on the border and today russian jets made their way to joint military drills with neighbouring belarus. ukrainian ministers have welcomed a delivery of american military equipment and now there's a call for the uk to step up its own support. the british government has delivered 2,000 anti—tank missiles this week and says it is open to sending more weapons. as president putin continues to up the pressure. he has actually boxed himself into a corner. because so much effort has been put into this. but he also recognised he will never again be as strong as this to take advantage of the west's weakness. i suspect invasion is now imminent. so does kyiv feel like a city

preparing for an invasion? evelyn and lillian are too small to appreciate the power struggle surrounding their country, but their parents obviously aren't. it is definitely concerning. it definitely seems more tense than the past times that we were concerned about this. i would say it is definitely increasing anxiety and stuff, for sure. i don't feel good that i can come back to my hometown easily. because i always have to think whether i will be able to do it safely or not. and of course i am afraid. translation: ifi see others do it, i'm ready to defend my country. i'm not going to run away, but then again there might not be anywhere to run away to. moscow denies it is planning an invasion. but it is easy to forget ukraine has already endured eight years of russian aggression.

it's brought fighting, cyber attacks, misinformation and constant uncertainty. next week the us will continue to discuss russian demands that nato will both scale back its military presence and rule out ever letting ukrainejoin. for the country at the heart of it, that uncertainty goes on. james waterhouse, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. a battle is continuing for a third day in syria between islamic state militants and kurdish forces guarding a prison, where thousands ofjihadists are held. more than 75 people, most of them jihadists, are reported to have been killed in the fighting in the northern city of hasakah. a un official in tonga says the country will be heavily reliant on food aid for some time, after last week's devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami. a national emergency team is distributing vital supplies, but workers say more than 80% of the population has been affected by the disaster. italy's former prime minister, silvio berlusconi, has

announced that he won't run for president — he said he would withdraw from the race for the sake of national unity. mr berluscon has been campaigning behind the scenes for weeks to replace sergio mattarella. parliament is due to begin choosing a candidate on monday. an unseasonal wildfire is raging in california's monterey county, forcing evacuations and the closure of a major highway. the blaze along the big sur pacific coast dubbed the colorado fire, has scorched about 1500 acres. strong winds have been recorded across the san francisco bay area and a swath of the sierra nevada. a 75—year—old frenchman who was trying to row across the atlantic ocean has been found dead at sea. jean—jacques savin had previously made the crossing in a large barrel in 2019. the adventurer had triggered two distress beacons on thursday night. the circumstances are not yet determined. you'll find much more

on all the stories we're covering on our website, updated 2a hours a day, including the latest on the situation in ukraine. borisjohnson�*s government is being urged to delay mandatory covid jabs for frontline national health service staff in england. workers have been told to get their firstjab by february 3rd or face losing theirjobs. on saturday, hundreds of people marched in cities across england to protest against the policy, as katharine da costa reports. save ourjobs! hundreds of health care workers gathered in london calling for the government's no jab, nojob policy in england to be scrapped. they were among large crowds of anti—vax demonstrators. nhs uniforms were thrown at police in protest. we've all got choices. we're born with choices, yeah?

i work for the nhs and i'm the only member of staff in my workplace that has not been vaccinated. and i've been threatened with losing myjob come april. and i will not be vaccinated. frontline nhs staff including gps and dentists as well as nonclinical roles such as receptionists and porters will need to have had at least two covid vaccines by the start of april unless they are medically exempt. more than 90% of health care workers are double jabbed, but 70,000 to 80,000 are still thought to be unvaccinated. there are a small number of people... some want to delay the deadline, warning the health service can't afford to lose more people. the risks are very significant for the functioning of the nhs. we are already short of staff in all parts of the nhs. if we lose these staff, it will impact on the quality of care that we're able to provide for patients, the access, and it will put extra pressure on those staff who are remaining. staff have less than a fortnight to get their first

jab in order to be fully vaccinated by the deadline. health chiefs say mandating vaccines is the right thing to do, to protect patients and are encouraging more staff to get their first, second and third jabs. it's so important as health care professionals that we are protected. but if you are not yet, you know that there are options available for you to have conversations with senior clinicians within your trust or organisation to help make that really important decision. and people are coming forward all the time to make sure they are protected, their families are protected, and their patients are protected as well. a similar policy has already been brought in for those working in social care in england, with care homes warning it has exacerbated staff shortages. scotland and wales have decided against compulsory vaccination for health and care staff, while northern ireland is planning to consult on whetherjabs should be mandatory for new recruits. katharine da costa, bbc news. the head of a british parliamentary standards committee says any attempt

by the conservative government to blackmail its own mps into supporting the prime minister would be illegal. chris bryant, who's from the opposition labour party, said he'd heard complaints from about a dozen conservatives. it comes amid reports that gatherings in borisjohnson�*s official residence are part of an investigation into parties held against covid rules. 0ur political correspondent damian grammaticas. already under pressure, the coming days could prove decisive for boris johnson. now, there is a new concern. the fact that one of the main rebel mps who've already written letters of no confidence in him is due to talk to the police, possibly on monday. the mp william wragg this week alleged he had been told others had faced threats that they might lose funding for their constituencies if they didn't back the prime minister. the intimidation of a member of parliament is a serious matter. moreover, the reports of which i am aware would seem to constitute blackmail. cheering. on wednesday, mrjohnson was there when another of

the rebels, christian wakeford, defected to labour. he claims he was told some time ago that funding for a school might not happen if he did not support the government on free school meals. today, a senior labour mp said he had heard more claims. i must have spoken to about a dozen tory mps in the last few days who have made similar allegations about whips either offering to withdraw financial support for their constituencies, either from the political party, so, for campaining, or for their constituents. that conservative mps are airing this publicly, and one even says he will go to the police about his own party, tells you much about tensions in the ranks. here, downing street says it has seen no evidence, and would take it seriously if it did. so, the important question for the coming week, will any tory mps step forward and corroborate the claims? i have voted against the government on occasions when i've thought it right, and i've always had

a very close relationship with the chief whip and a very productive relationship with the whips, so, i'm waiting to hear more about this because it's not something i've seen or been told about. but the inquiry by the civil servant sue gray into downing street parties due this week poses the biggest risk to the prime minister. it's now reported she is also looking into events in his private flat, too. the question for borisjohnson, who's at the official country of chequers, can he survive it unscathed? he's thought to be busy plotting his strategy and calling his mps to try to secure their support. in the last year, 40,000 people from kurdistan have attempted the journey to europe to seek refuge. at least 30 people died in november 2021 when their boat sank as they tried to cross from france to the uk. it's by far the worst migrant tragedy ever recorded in the english channel. in this programme, we piece together what happened

that night, and hear from the families left behind.