welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm mariko oi. the headlines... western officials say russia has mobilized enough troops to be able to invade ukraine at "the drop of a hat". ukraine's president remains defiant. translation: they tell us that february the 16th will be - the day of the invasion. we will make this into unity day. so, what's motivating the kremlin, and what do ordinary russians think? we'll go to moscow to find out. in a phone call, president biden and borisjohnson said a window for talks remained

open. also in the programme... canada's prime minister invokes rarely used emergency powers in an attempt to end the ongoing protests against covid measures. a month since the devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami wreaked havoc in tonga, we speak to the island's prime minister about the recovery effort. this is the first time we've actually had such a traumatic event so close to the capital of tonga. and russian ice skater kamila valieva cleared to compete at the winter olympics later today, despite failing a drugs test. but if she succeeds, she won't receive a medal. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello, and welcome to the programme. ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, has declared wednesday a day of national unity, after us intelligence suggested

that could be the day russian forces attack. earlier, he met the german chancellor, olaf sholtz, who said he wanted to see concrete steps from russia to try and de—escalate the crisis. and prime minister, borisjohnson, spoke with president biden — the pair said that a"crucial window for diplomacy" over the crisis remained. around 130,000 russian troops are massed on ukraine's border. russia for its part has said diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis should continue, and even be stepped up. 0ur correspondent, sarah rainsford, is in kiev. those warnings of a possible russian incursion have really escalated in recent days. so here in ukraine, you might expect there to be real tension, a sense of panic, possibly people rushing for the exit. but in fact, western embassies have been evacuating their staff — but ukrainians are staying put and doing their very best to try and stay calm. in fact, tonight there are couples out filling the restaurants here in kyiv,

celebrating valentine's day. and this country is now stuck in the very midst of a very real crisis — a standoff between russia and the west, and neither side in public, at least, looks ready to blink. russia is still building up its forces, parading its potential near ukraine's border. so much so that western governments are saying an invasion could be launched within days now — the war warnings coming thick and fast. so volodymyr zelensky has addressed the nation, assuring ukrainians the country is confident, stronger than ever, that russia is trying to scare them and they won't succumb. and the talks to defuse this crisis have been intensifying. today, it was the german chancellor's turn in town, showing support for kyiv, seeking ways to get russia to pull back its troops. president zelensky underlined that won't be by ukraine

dropping its right tojoin nato. tomorrow, the german leader heads to moscow. translation: i'm making it| clear once again, here in kyiv, that ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity are non—negotiable for germany. we therefore expect russia to take clear steps to de—escalate the current tensions. in russia, the foreign minister was shown, urging president putin to keep talking to the west. "it is worth it," he said. but borisjohnson spoke to the us president today too, and both are still sounding the alarm. we are on the edge of a precipice, but there is still time for president putin to step back, and what we are urging is for everyone to engage in dialogue, for a conversation to take place, and for the russians to avoid what i think everybody, certainly everybody in the uk could see would be a disastrous mistake. it can be hard to make a connection between all the politicians warning

of imminent, all—out war, even the bombing of this city, kyiv, and how things actually feel here on the ground. because even as the negotiations and diplomacy continue, so does life here, pretty much as normal. although beneath the surface, people do say they're feeling increasingly nervous now. what we have to say and what we have to do is to be brave, and being afraid every hour of our life, we don't want to live like that, ans we just want to live... yeah, we are patient and ready for anything. so we just hope that our city will be safe and our families will be safe. music plays for now, the musicians play on. even the school trips haven't stopped, as ukrainians still can't quite believe the worst predictions. sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv. earlier, i asked the bbc�*s

state department correspondent, barbara plett usher how likely a de—escalation is now. well, you have the west, the united states and its allies in europe talking constantly about a dual track — one of deterrence and diplomacy. so they're keeping the door open to talks on those issues they feel they can discuss with the russians — it does not include barring ukraine from joining nato, but other security issues. and at the same time, they keep threatening sanctions if there is an invasion, and they keep raising the alarm about the military build—up. so certainly, there is hope that there will be de—escalation. it was interesting, that signalfrom the kremlin, the russian foreign minister on television saying to president putin, "i think we should continue with talks, even though not everything we want discussed is on the table. but we should expand them and continue them." here in the united states, the state department noted those comments —

but again, the response was, "how serious are they? we still see the military build—up and the forces going to the borders of ukraine, and there's no de—escalation." so if those negotiations are supposed to be successful, then de—escalation will have to accompany it — and that's what we will be looking at closely. but that doesn't mean they won't talk. the secretary of state will probably again speak with the foreign minister of russia, and the dialogue will continue. it's just the question of how meaningful that dialogue can be. the united states has made it very clear that it will not send troops to ukraine, it will not fight for ukraine if the russians invade. but what they have done is send weapons and sent the message that there would be resistance from the ukrainians backed by the west if the russians took military action. so they are sending that message as a deterrent.

now the question is about ukraine's membership of nato, and that's something the russians want nato to say will not happen. the message publicly, very strongly, is that the open door policy of nato will continue, and if the ukrainians want to make a compromise or put a pause on membership to deal with the escalation, that's something that's up to the ukrainians. but from the united states, they say they are not pressuring that sort of action take place. we'll have more on ukraine later in the programme. don't forget, you'll find much more detail about the crisis on our website. it's updated 2a hours a day — just head to bbc.com/news, or download the bbc news app. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines... court documents in new york show the independent

us accounting company, mazars, has severed links with the trump organisation. mazars said it could no longer stand behind annualfinancial statements it had prepared for donald trump. the statements are crucial to legal cases alleging mr trump and his company exaggerated the value of their assets. mr trump denies wrongdoing. a federal hate crimes trial has begun in the us for the three white men convicted of killing a blackjogger, ahmaud arbery, in february 2020. the 25—year—old was chased, and then shot as he jogged through a neighbourhood in southern georgia. the jury will decide whether racial bias was a factor in his killing. schools and colleges in the indian state of karnataka partially re—opened, after being closed since last week following protests over the wearing of hijabs in classrooms. it coincides with the state's high court resuming its hearing on the issue.

the row was sparked after six female students were barred from entering college premises for wearing hijabs. new cybersecurity measures have come into effect in china and tech companies seeking to list their stock overseas will have to undergo a security review. the rules affect firms which hold data on more than a million users in china. the authorities in beijing are concerned that information could get into the hands of a foreign government. a study of nearly 260 rivers around the world has detected potentially toxic levels of pharmaceutical drugs in a quarter of them. researchers said drugs used to treat epilepsy and diabetes were the most widely found. they believe the scale of pollution threatens wildlife and could affect human health. the canadian prime minister, justin trudeau, has invoked rarely used emergency powers to try and end protests against covid measures.

demonstrations have taken place across the country, including this one at the busiest border crossing between the province of british columbia and the united states. here's some of what mr trudeau said. the emergencies act is not something that's been used ever. but it exists for a reason. invoking the emergencies act is never the first thing a government should do, nor even the second. the act is to be used sparingly and as a last resort. right now, the situation requires additional tools not held by any other federal provincial or territorial law. let's get the very latest from our north america correspondent, david willis. david, thanks for joining david, thanks forjoining us.

when we say rare, how rare are these emergency acts being evoked? , ., these emergency acts being evoked? , . , , evoked? extremely rare, this is the first time _ evoked? extremely rare, this is the first time in _ evoked? extremely rare, this is the first time in half— evoked? extremely rare, this is the first time in half a - the first time in half a century that the emergencies act has been brought into use, and it's only the second time in canadian history that measures of this kind have been implemented in peace time. it provides the canadian government with considerable powers, including the power to override the constitutional rights of its citizens in order to clear up any matter like this that is deemed a risk to national security. and the political optics of this for justin trudeau are somewhat sketchy — because as i mentioned, these measures enable the government to override constitutional rights, and of course, he has long been the one whose campaigned and championed the human rights of his citizens. the

championed the human rights of his citizens.— his citizens. the flow of goods bein: his citizens. the flow of goods being blocked _ his citizens. the flow of goods being blocked was _ his citizens. the flow of goods being blocked was one - his citizens. the flow of goods being blocked was one of - his citizens. the flow of goods being blocked was one of the | being blocked was one of the key issues being discussed around the world how often how likely that it will go back to normal anytime soon? that's a very good _ normal anytime soon? that's a very good question. _ normal anytime soon? that's a very good question. mr - normal anytime soon? that's a| very good question. mr trudeau has said he not intending to bring the army or military troops at this stage. but by invoking the emergencies act, he will basically be giving police powers to augment their ranks, to have greater powers to arrest people, and to clear the blockades. there will also be new powers conferred under this act, for example, to block the insurance of certain truck drivers who are involved in these blockades, and the ability to freeze the bank accounts of those who are using crowdfunding platforms — not go fund me, that's been shut down

by now — but other crowdfunding platforms to finance these measures that are going on in canada. mrtrudeau measures that are going on in canada. mr trudeau said measures that are going on in canada. mrtrudeau said it measures that are going on in canada. mr trudeau said it was essential to do this in the interest of national security. some reports are suggesting that misinformation played a role — can you talk us through that? role - can you talk us through that? ~ ., �* , ., ., that? well, that's right, a lot of peeple _ that? well, that's right, a lot of people have _ that? well, that's right, a lot of people have said _ that? well, that's right, a lot of people have said that - that? well, that's right, a lot| of people have said that there has been a lot of people joining the bandwagon, if you like, as faras joining the bandwagon, if you like, as far as that's concerned, who don't really have anything to do with the anti—vaccination people, those who are railing against the government over a variety of different things. and the response, of course, has brought parts of canada into a virtual standstill. canadian officials believe a lot of the financing is coming from outside canada — hence their desire to cut down on a lot of these crowdfunding platforms.

david willis, thanks so much for that update. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... the russian ice skater who failed a doping test prepares to hit the ice at the winter olympics, with one major caveat. nine years and 15,000 deaths after going into afghanistan, the last soviet troops were finally coming home — the withdrawal completed in good order, but the army defeated in the task it had been sent to perform. malcolm has been murdered. that has a terrible effect for the morale of the people. i'm terrified of the repercussions in the streets. one wonders who is next. as the airlift got under way,

there was no let—up in the eruption itself. lava streams from a vent low in the crater flow down to the sea on the east of the island, away from the town for the time being. it could start flowing again at any time. the russians heralded - their new—generation space station with a spectacular night launch. _ they've called it mir — l the russian for "peace". this is newsday on the bbc. i'm mariko 0i in singapore. 0ur headlines... as warnings persist that a russian attack may be imminent, ukraine's president zelensky says his country is ready to fight for its freedom. canadian prime minister, justin trudeau, invokes rarely—used emergency powers in an attempt to end protests against covid measures.

president putin has long made it clear that he considers ukraine and russia as one people, linked by history. his desire to keep ukraine within russia's sphere of influence is threatened in part by ukraine's desire to be part of nato, a defence alliance of countries in western europe and america. since the end of the cold war, countries have applied tojoin nato, expanding the organisation and pushing it eastward. ukraine has long wanted to join, and now the west believes russia, may be willing to go to war, to stop it. so, what's motivating the kremlin, in these next crucial hours? steve rosenberg reports from moscow. eight years after russia annexed crimea, is moscow on the brink of another invasion of ukraine? the west seems to think so, but what's the kremlin�*s view? western leaders may be warning of an imminent russian military escalation in ukraine, but moscow dismisses all of that as hype, hysteria.

and if you look at the way the state media here has been covering the ukraine story, you'll see that the picture presented to the russian public is the polar opposite of how the west sees things. so, according to that kremlin picture, russia has no plans for an invasion — instead, it's america who's the aggressor and pouring weapons into ukraine, it's nato that's threatening russia by expanding eastwards. still, that doesn't explain why russia is massing more than 100,000 troops right now near ukraine's border — and why it launched a large—scale military exercises in the region. so what is vladimir putin's aim? that is a difficult question to answer, because no—one's quite sure. some in the west think this is all about russia trying to force ukraine back into moscow's orbit. some believe the kremlin�*s objective is much wider — to carve out a new sphere

of influence for itself in europe, basically to dismantle the post—cold war european security order, to push nato back. today, with moscow sensing a lack of unity in europe and perhaps feeling that america is too busy with problems at home, a resurgent russia may feel that this is the moment to take action. but if there was all—out war with ukraine, how would the russian public react? it's hard to see the public here supporting a large—scale conflict with ukraine. many russians have said to me that they see ukrainians almost like brothers. there are very deep cultural, historical ties. war is the last thing that people want here. but it won't be the public that decides this. it'll be the president. so what happens next? well, that may depend on whether president putin is willing to compromise over ukraine and european security — even if he doesn't get

everything he wants, like an end to nato enlargement eastwards. whether he's willing to reach a deal or determined to continue with coercive diplomacy. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. it's been a month since the devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami wreaked havoc in tonga. on 15 january, a volcano located nearly 65km north of the capital erupted. the sheer scale of the explosion was unprecedented. nasa said it was hundreds of times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on hiroshima during the second world war. tonga was covered in ash and power lines were damaged, severing its connection from the rest of the world. tsunamis triggered by the eruption destroyed houses and threatened people's livelihoods. the international community

sent aid supplies to the disaster—struck nation to help with the recovery effort. but the aid effort was complicated in part due to tonga's strict covid measures, and ash cloaking a key runway. in an exclusive interview with the bbc, my colleague karishma vaswani spoke to tonga's prime minister siaosi sovaleni. we were at home that night. and that explosion was nothing — i mean, i haven't heard something like that. it was terrible, but at the same time, you know, all of a sudden, it was nightfall. just like in 20—30, to half an hour, we were in daylight, then all of a sudden it was dark, you know, it was night—time. and that's like in the middle of town — imagine going through that in some of the islands, it must be very terrifying. and that's why we believe

that we can rebuild some of the houses, but the mental state will take some time. i know that this disaster struck i thinkjust a few days after you were sworn in as the prime minister. having to deal with a challenge of this scale, just how difficult was that? what happened here with the volcano and this tsunami was unprecedented in terms of the scale, in terms of, you know, this is the first time that we've actually had such a traumatic event so close to the capital of tonga. so one of the big issues for us, again, is relocation — that comes with its own challenges, you know, taking you away from your home, rebuilding it somewhere else. some of them are actually having second thoughts about moving back to the island, they're looking at possibly relocating somewhere else. it's not an easy choice, trying to decide whether you stay in a vulnerable place, or move into a very new place,

leaving behind all the memories and what have you because, you know, all the homes were destroyed by the tsunami. but we recognise that, even though we might start rebuilding some of the houses like next month or so, the mental side of it will take a little bit longer. how difficult has it been not to have foreign aid workers on the ground — as many of them as perhaps you need to help with the recovery and the rebuilding process? very difficult, i mean... it would've been nice to have those extra hands on shore to actually help us with some of the efforts. we're accepting the fact that covid will be here to stay, and we have to live with covid—i9. now that the virus has, you know, made its presence felt there, will you consider allowing foreign aid workers on the ground to help with the rebuilding and recovery process?

in terms of changing the current protocols, we are still reviewing it. but we are hopeful that, with the current assistance and, of course, the new datas we are getting from some of our neighbouring islands, especially like new zealand and australia, we will have a more adaptable protocol in place given the situation we're in right now. 15—year—old russian ice skater kamila valieva has been cleared to compete later today at the beijing winter olympics, despite failing a drugs test. the world anti—doping agency says it's disappointed at the ruling, and promised to investigate the case properly. the doping of children was "evil and unforgivable", it said. the court of arbitration for sport made the decision, saying a provisional suspension should not be imposed on her. 0ur sports news correspondent laura scott in beijing has

more on the backdrop of the controversy. in explaining its decision to allow kamila valieva to continue competing here in beijing, the panel from the court of arbitration for sport relied upon a series of exceptional circumstances — including that valieva is only 15, and the fact that her positive drugs test results came back midway through these games, 44 days after her sample was taken — meaning she had little time to mount a defence. they said that provisionally suspending her would cause her irreparable harm. but that decision has prompted widespread criticism, with the world anti—doping agency saying that the panel had relied upon an exception in its rules that doesn't exist, and that mandatory provisional suspensions apply to adult athletes and minors, as well. laura scott in beijing for us. we have a lot more on bbc world news, stay tuned. thanks for

watching. hello there. a very powerfuljet across the atlantic will pick up areas of low pressure and deepen them into storms later this week. notjust one named storm, but two are heading our way. before this very windy weather arrives, we'll find some spells of rain, again, coming infrom the atlantic, you can see all that cloud that's pushing in from the west. and, after a wet start in scotland in the morning, we'll see that rain pushing up toward the northern isles. we've got this rain pushing its way towards southeastern parts of england, where it could stay a bit wet into the afternoon. but away from here, many places will brighten up — there'll be some sunshine, a few showers, mainly in scotland, where they could be a bit wintry in the hills. it will be a slightly cooler day here, but again, elsewhere, we'll find temperatures up to 9—10 celsius. it does cloud over in the afternoon in northern ireland, and that cloud will continue to thicken into the evening. rain soon arriving, and that

rain will push its way quickly eastwards overnight. could be a bit more snow perhaps over higher parts of northern scotland, it'll still be quite cold here, but elsewhere it should be fairly mild, the rain having cleared away by wednesday morning. but it's only a brief respite because we'll find more rain coming in from the atlantic, mainly affecting northern and western areas of the uk. and ahead of that rain, it'll be extremely mild on wednesday across more southeastern parts of the uk, temperatures at 17 celsius. but the winds will be strengthening through the day, and they will continue to strengthen as we head into the evening and overnight — that's because storm dudley is arriving, it races to the north of scotland with the strongest winds to the south of the storm itself. and, whilst it'll get very windy in most areas, this is where the core of strongest winds is expected to be. this is where we have this amber wind warning from the met office — gusts of 80mph or so could bring some damage and some disruption, as well. the winds do gradually ease during thursday as the storm races away. we've got a few showers and some sunshine, some wetter

weather in scotland, a mixture of rain and some snow to higher levels, as well. temperatures around 6—7 celsius here, highs of 12 in the south east of england. things get windier, though, as we head towards the end of the week. the next named storm — this is storm eunice — this area of low pressure will deepen. there's still a lot of uncertainty about the track, but it'll bring some very windy weather to much of the country, particularly so across england and wales. and further north in the colder air, particularly in scotland, there's likely to be some snow and some blizzards.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, as newsday continues — straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. russia and ukraine have powerful ties of geography, history and energy. and when it comes to the geopolitics of the current crisis, energy is a key factor. ukraine has long profited from being the middleman for russian gas exports into europe.

moscow is in the business of changing that reality.