welcome to bbc news — i'm rich preston. our top stories... president biden says he's convinced vladimir putin has made the decision to invade ukraine — with an attack on kyiv expected in the coming days. storm eunice leaves a trail of death and destruction in the uk — and across northern europe. hello and welcome to bbc news. president biden is convinced russian president vladimir putin has made the decision to invade ukraine with an attack on the capital, kyiv, expected in the coming days. speaking in a television address mr biden said the united states and its

allies in nato and across the world, would stand together in full support of the people of ukraine. we are calling out russia's plans constantly and pla ns co nsta ntly a nd repeatedly, plans constantly and repeatedly, because we want to remove any reason russia may give to justify to invade ukraine and prevent them from moving. ukraine and prevent them from movinu. a ~ ukraine and prevent them from movinu. ~ ., ukraine and prevent them from movin. -m ., , .,~ moving. make no mistake, if russia pursues _ moving. make no mistake, if russia pursues its _ moving. make no mistake, if russia pursues its plans, - moving. make no mistake, if russia pursues its plans, it l russia pursues its plans, it will be responsible for a catastrophic and needless war of choice. the self—declared people's republics of donetsk and luhansk have been fighting the ukrainian army in the east for the past eight years, in a conflict that's claimed more than 1a,000 lives. the west fears president putin couild use an incident in the separatist republics as a pretext to invade ukraine. our correspondent orla guerin has been to the frontline village of trudivske, and sent this report. an increasingly grim horizon in eastern ukraine.

we headed for the front lines, where shelling has intensified. a prelude, perhaps, to much worse to come. the village of trudivske is in the line of fire. emotions were rawjust hours after shells rained down. alexander basilev is lucky to be alive. he was at home with his wife when a shell landed in their garden. "they started at the hill," he says. "the last shell fell here. "now all the mud is inside my house." the attack here was part of a flare—up along the front line. the village is on ukrainian soil, but some here sympathise with moscow and put the blame on ukrainian troops. they insist it was russian—backed rebels nearby and say president putin

is laying a trap. "we think it's a provocation," she says, "because there is shelling of civilian areas where there "are no army positions. "the enemy wants to provoke the ukrainian army." the tension has been increasing here, and for communities living on the front line, the risks and the suffering are increasing also. the warnings about an invasion keep coming, but whether or not that happens, communities here are already trapped in a war of attrition. and across the front line, in the breakaway capital of donetsk, sirens wailing after the authorities announced women and children would be evacuated to russia. separatist leader denis pushilin said the operation was arranged on friday the 18th, because ukraine would soon attack.

but a bbc analysis of the metadata shows this footage was recorded two days earlier. video has emerged showing small numbers boarding buses, apparently bound for russia. the west has long feared that president putin would use the separatist areas as a pretext for an attack on ukraine. it looks like the stage is being set for something. orla guerin, bbc news, eastern ukraine. nine people have been killed as storm eunice left a trail of destruction across northern europe. deaths were reported in the netherlands, belgium, britain and ireland, many of themn caused by falling trees. gusts of close to 200 kilometres an hour have been recorded. canadian police say they've made at least 100 arrests as they move to end a truck drivers' blockade of the capital, ottawa. more than 20 vehicles — including lorries parked outside parliament — have been towed away. drivers spent the last three weeks protesting

against mandatory coronavirus vaccinations to cross into the united states. marieke walsh is a reporter with the globe and mail — shejoins us now from ottawa. good to see you again. there were scuffles earlier, what is the picture now.— the picture now. certainly, some skirmishes - the picture now. certainly, some skirmishes that - the picture now. certainly, some skirmishes that we l the picture now. certainly, - some skirmishes that we saw, especially later this evening. it is friday in the capital. what you see behind me is this black or dark wall, that is a wall of people facing off with protesters and police. the police are walking towards them very slowly and deliberately, a few steps at a time and all the while, protesters are trying to resist them, facing off with them, sometimes shouting at them. but the police are still moving forward, still pushing forward, they have a lot of back—up, police on horses for example. they have used pepper spray. it is certainly tense

behind me in ottawa. several of the key organisers _ behind me in ottawa. several of the key organisers have - behind me in ottawa. several of the key organisers have been i the key organisers have been arrested, what are the protesters who are still there saying? it protesters who are still there sa in: ? , , protesters who are still there sa inc? , , ., ., protesters who are still there sa inc? , ,., ., saying? it depends on who you talk to. some _ saying? it depends on who you talk to. some protesters - saying? it depends on who you talk to. some protesters have | talk to. some protesters have told us today that while they plan to stay in ottawa this weekend, they have actually moved their trucks off the area of the blockade so their trucks do not get caught up in the sweep of police where they could get impounded, seized, they could lose their insurance for example which of course if you are a driver, is very difficult and so some are taking precautions, trying to avoid the worst consequences while remaining here. 0thers while remaining here. others are digging in, leaving their trucks where they are and others are simply leaving entirely. we have seen some leaving parliament hill in front of me, driving by, the police check in with them and then they leave so there is a mixed reaction. i have to say how different the mood is,

behind me it's very tense, they are shouting freedom in french and english and ahead of me there was an ice hockey game, hockey game played in front parliament hill. there was still some horns, music, that has died down now but it's just to say no matter where you are in the city right now, the mood is very different depending on where the police are.- where the police are. briefly, away from — where the police are. briefly, away from the _ where the police are. briefly, away from the protests, - where the police are. briefly,j away from the protests, what are the residents saying? residents who live in the downtown are surrounded by a police perimeter so they have 100 checkpoints set down across the downtown and what that means is that lives are being encumbered right now as police moved in but i think they are generally happier to see this change in the disruption in their lives because for the last three weeks, it's been a very different mood and they have not felt safe and now the police are saying they are in

control. ~ , ., control. we must leave it there but thank _ control. we must leave it there but thank you. _ you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ rich preston more now on storm eunice, one of the most powerful storms to hit the uk in decades. three deaths have been reported — in london, hampshire and merseyside. high winds ripped panels off the 02 arena in london, and exceeded 120 miles per hour on the isle of wight. danny savage reports from bristol. cornwall was one of the first areas hit this morning. as storm eunice swept in from the atlantic, the water was whipped into huge waves, and coastal areas saw the highest gusts. i don't know what the actual wind speed is, but you can barely stand up in it. i'm guessing it's 80, 90 mph. the sea state along the south coast was frightening. the isle of wight recorded

a gust of 122 mph. in hampshire, a man in his 20s died when the van he was in hit a tree. the driver was also seriously injured. oh, my gosh! oh, my gosh. oh, my gosh! and it wasn'tjust trees falling. that is the spire of st thomas's church in wells being destroyed. near bristol, a speed limit on the m4 prince of wales bridge wasn't enough to keep traffic moving. for what's thought to be the first time ever, both bridges here across the severn estuary are closed because of the high winds. but the severe flood warnings here have now expired. thankfully, the worst—case scenario wasn't realised. temporary flood defences were not tested. but authorities say it isn't over yet. today, as serious as it is, and it is really a serious,

severe event today, but on the back of this, we have more rain coming, so there could be possibility of flooding, as the week pans out. let us get today out of the way, then let's make sure all of our infrastructure, all of our defences are still in good shape. as the day wore on, the storm headed east. for the first time ever, the south—east of england and london were also in a red warning area. in north london, a woman in her 30s died when a tree fell on a car she was a passenger in. the man who was driving was taken to hospital. a few miles away, the wind ripped off the roof of the o2 arena, leaving a gaping hole.

as the storm moved into europe, code red weather warnings were issued by the dutch authorities. three people have been killed in the netherlands by falling trees. a man died in belgium afterfalling from his boat. anna holligan reports from the hague.

this was no ordinary day at the beach. this was scheveningen on the edge of the hague. coastal areas felt the full force of storm eunice with gusts of up to 130 kilometres an hour. the dutch meteorological institute declared a code red emergency, which lasted well into the evening. just listen to that gale. this football stadium has heard some roars but none as ferocious as eunice. schools and universities closed early to ensure students could get home while the bike paths were still safe. most people realised it was best not to ride. across the border in belgium, transport services were also disrupted. and patients in this hospital had a very lucky escape

when a crane collapsed. whilst sunday is expected to bring some calm, another storm is on the horizon. it is forecast to hit while the netherlands is still clearing up the carnage caused by eunice. anna holligan, bbc news, in the hague. number ten's confirmed that borisjohnson has submitted his answers to a police questionnaire relating to gatherings held at downing street during lockdown. the prime minister was one of more than 50 people given a week to complete the form by the metropolitan police who are investigating around a dozen events. the questionnaire has the same legal status as information given in a police interview under caution. anyone found to have breached the regulations is liable for a fine. this is bbc news — a reminder of our headlines... president biden says he's convinced vladimir putin has made the decision to invade ukraine — with an attack on kyiv expected

in the coming days. storm eunice leaves a trail of death and destruction in the uk — and across northern europe. russian media have reported that a mass evacuation of russian speaking people in eastern ukraine — and in the last few hours, unverified claims of large explosions in luhansk. here's russian broadcaster ru24 — showing what it's saying are evacuations from donetsk and makiivka. they also cite reports of an explosion at the druzhba gas pipeline — again the incident is not verified. the reports — this from the ria news agency — rely heavily on quotes form russian backed seperatists — and directly accuse ukraine of provocation. and in some instances, use of incredibly evocative language — here accusing the ukraine of a blitzkrieg on the tass news agency. 0lga lautman is senior fellow at the center for european policy analysis and host of kremlinfile,

a weekly podcast on putin's russia. thank you for being with us. in the west we have seen ramping up the west we have seen ramping up of language, strong words being used but it seems it is the same in russian media. how has this changed over the last 48 hours?— has this changed over the last 48 hours? the change actually bean 48 hours? the change actually began last _ 48 hours? the change actually began last weekend. - 48 hours? the change actually began last weekend. it - 48 hours? the change actually began last weekend. it began | began last weekend. it began with this narrative that they started building of genocide being committed in ukraine, i mean, it varied which politician said it and which media outlets discussed it but it was basically ranging from politicians saying ukraine is committing genocide to ukraine is preparing a massacre of russians inside ukraine. and we saw this today from the foreign ministry spokeswoman, we saw it from putin and very much that is when you saw the shift take

place and then from there, by wednesday, we saw it shift over into these shillings and the increase of shillings and by yesterday, it was with the bombing of the kindergarten and now it's like every ten minutes, there's another event unfolding, bombing or shelling of a town. and you see the escalation with violence escalating, within the past 48 hours, and the propaganda since last weekend.— last weekend. media in russia is controlled _ last weekend. media in russia is controlled by _ last weekend. media in russia is controlled by the _ last weekend. media in russia is controlled by the state. - last weekend. media in russia| is controlled by the state. how is controlled by the state. how is this being received by people in russia, are they taking it with a pinch of salt? i mean, it's hard to get a measure. privately, when i speak with people inside russia they do not want a war right now, they have coronavirus and there is economic problems so privately, they do not want a war, publicly they cannot voice

that because anyone who makes any critical criticism of the putin regime immediately gets arrested or harassed by the russian intelligence services. so it's hard to get a good read. of what is happening. we did have the case of a future general sue came out and spoke out against a war and called for putin to resign and basically said what we are all saying, that nato poses no threat to russia.— threat to russia. what is president _ threat to russia. what is president putin - threat to russia. what is president putin 's - threat to russia. what is president putin 's aim i threat to russia. what is - president putin 's aim here? president putin �*s aim here? well, i have been thinking about that a lot for a while. he has ruled russia for over 20 years. he has nothing to show for it over the past 20 years. the economy is faltering, conditions inside russia are horrible. and i think he wants

to be simply capturing territory because he saw the soviet union collapse is one of the biggest catastrophes and he continuously repeated that over the last 20 years. and i think he wants to leave a legacy behind that he did recapture territory. we saw belarus which has been annexed because right now, putin controls basically the military side of belarus as well as having the territory to conduct exercises. and we know he has always wanted ukraine. he definitely does not want a democratic ukraine. so i think it's about restoring legacy and also ensuring his neighbours do not have successful democracies because then, people inside russia are going to look and say we want this type of country. say we want this type of country-— say we want this type of count . �* ., ~ ,, country. all god, thank you very much _ country. all god, thank you very much for— country. all god, thank you very much for taking - country. all god, thank you very much for taking the i country. all god, thank you l very much for taking the time to speak to us. the former minnesota

police officer who killed duante wright — a black driver — when she says she confused her handgun for her taser, has been sentenced to two years in prison. kim potter was convicted of first degree manslaughter for shooting 20—year—old daunte wright outside the city of minneapolis. his death came as another white police officer was standing trialfor the murder of george floyd, and sparked several days of demonstrations. barbara plett usher reports. this is one of the saddest cases... the case was about the killing of a young man, and about a police officer of 26 years who made a fatal error. i am so sorry that i brought the death of your son. kim potter turned to the family as she begged for forgiveness. daunte wright was a 20—year—old man of mixed race. last april, police pulled him over in his car. he tried to flee, and potter reached for her taser but grabbed her gun by mistake. he died laterfrom injuries. the shooting triggered days

of protests in a city on edge over the murder of another black man killed by police, george floyd. she took our baby boy. with a single gunshot through his heart, - she shattered mine. daunte wright's mother urged the court to hold kim potter accountable for taking a life, but the judge said this case was not the same as other high—profile police killings. 0fficer potter made a mistake that ended tragically. she never intended to hurt anyone. kim potter murdered my son, and he died april 11. _ today, the justice system . murdered him all over again. a system that still sees justice in black and white, the family said. this is the problem withl ourjustice system today. white women tears trumpsjustice. - amidst growing outrage, the state's attorney general has urged everyone to accept thejudgment. "no—one has won," he said.

"we have all lost. " barbara plett usher, bbc news, washington. the brazilian president, jair bolsonaro, has said emergency funds — amounting to half a million dollars — will be released to help rebuild the city of petropolis, which was devastated by torrential rains and landslides on tuesday. 123 people are now known to have died and more than a hundred more are still missing. flying over the city in a helicopter, mr bolsenaro said it looked like a war zone. 0ur south america correspondent katy watson is there. there has been a little letup here. the rain keeps coming. residents who have not already left our living dangerously. 0nce left our living dangerously. once again, the sirens sounded warning people to leave now or face the threat of more mudslides. in the centre of

metropolis, another search site, three people meeting. if it starts to rain again, that increases the chances of another mudslide, affecting our work. it is really hard—working in the rain. it makes everything much more risky. the recovery operation is still ongoing. the immediate concern is finding those still missing. the authorities have blamed intense rains and they were unprecedented but undoubtedly one of the causes was inequality, look at the houses still at risk. millions of brazilians live like that with little oversight from the state. this was not the first time this has happened and it will not be the last. for more than 100 people who have been displaced, this school is now home. 13—year—old marianna is one of them, she narrowly escaped the mudslides. translation: i looked up, my house started shaking, i ran to my neighbour

and you could see the entire mudslide. it was like a waterfall. marianna and her family are safe but history has repeated itself. this lady is now helping her community get back on its feet. 26 years ago a mudslide killed her mother, she wasjust 15 at a mudslide killed her mother, she was just 15 at the time. translation: we cannot afford to live anywhere else, nobody ever imagined it would be so dangerous. i do not believe in the authorities, i believe in the authorities, i believe in the power of the people. authorities must look out for us more. many people here feel forgotten and have little faith anything will change. for now, this community that has been ripped apart, is doing everything to come together. let's return to storm eunice. as the worst of the storm hit britain, tens of thousands were glued to big jet tv — a live youtube stream of planes trying to land at heathrow airport — as david sillito has been finding out.

it has been, shall we say, an interesting day to be an air passengerflying into heathrow. easy, easy, easy. go on, son! and watching it all and providing a live commentary on the extraordinary skills being displayed, big jet tv live. it has been a day to marvel at the skills of pilots as they've navigated these extraordinary winds, and following it minute by minute has been jerry here on big jet tv. it's been quite a day. this cockpit footage from qatar airways. 200,000 watched. touched down, at the third attempt. bosh! and in the cabin of this ba flight, you can feel the relief. applause. very, very skilled individuals. this is where their training and their years of experience...

i say years of experience — some of them are sprogs, aren't they, young pilots who haven't been flying for very long? but, you know, they do a greatjob. crabbing. look at him crabbing, man. "crabbing", "vectoring" — jerry's new viewers have been introduced to all sorts of new terms on a day when pilots have truly proved their mettle, and one that many passengers won't forget in a hurry. david sillito, bbc news, heathrow. go on, lad. oh, yes! a reminder of our top story. president biden is convinced russian president vladimir putin has made the decision to invade ukraine, with an attack on the capital kyiv expected in the coming days. speaking in a television address, mr biden said the united states and its allies in nato and across the world, would stand together in full support of the people of ukraine. much more analysis on that story on the bbc news website.

you can reach me on twitter, i'm @richpreston. hello there. storm eunice turned out to be every bit as powerful and damaging as anticipated. this storm swirled its way eastwards across the uk, with the strongest winds on its southern flank, across the southern half of the uk. the strongest gust, at needles on the isle of wight, was 122 mph, provisionally the strongest wind gust ever recorded in england, but plenty of other places, including gatwick and heathrow airport, had their strongest winds in around 15 or 20 years. and further north, winds were less of a feature, but snow came down, turning parts of scotland into a winter wonderland. now, our storm system is sliding quickly away eastwards, but there is more unsettled weather on the way for the weekend. we will have more wet and windy

weather, but nothing quite as stormy as we've seen over the last 24 hours or so. so, during saturday, outbreaks of rain pushing in from the west, snow over high ground in wales, the north midlands, north england, potentially even to low levels. some snow for parts of northern ireland and southern scotland as well. gales accompanying this weather feature across some southern and western coasts. there will be some sunshine to be had as well, temperatures north to south between 4 and 11 degrees. and then during saturday night, this first area of rain clears away eastwards, still some residual rain and snow moving across scotland, and then a more active weather system moves in from the west, heavy rain and once again some strengthening winds. but with that cloud, with the outbreaks of rain, it will be turning really quite mild as we head into the first part of sunday morning. for sunday, we find ourselves between these two weather fronts in an area of windy, cloudy and at times wet weather but mild weather. that could melt some of the snow in scotland. that could cause flooding issues. and through the afternoon, we will see cloud and rain continuing to affect parts

of england and wales, especially around western hills. brighter skies with showers, some wintry for northern ireland and scotland. gusty winds again, 40, 50, 60 miles per hour or more in the most exposed spots. not as windy as it has been, but it could hamper any clear—up operations. temperatures, 10 to 14 degrees, although i think northern areas will turn chillier as the day wears on. so the weekend summed up like this. more wet and windy weather, not as severe as it has been. but you can keep up—to—date with the latest weather warnings on our website.

this is bbc news, the headlines... president biden says he's convinced that the russian president vladimir putin has made the decision to invade ukraine, with an attack on kyiv expected in the coming days. mr biden said the united states and its allies would stand

together in full support of the people of ukraine. nine people have been killed as storm eunice left a trail of destruction across parts of northern europe. deaths were reported in the netherlands, belgium, britain and ireland — many of the victims crushed by falling trees. gusts of close to 200km an hour have been recorded. the former us police officer who killed a black motorist when she confused her handgun for her taser has been sentenced to two years in prison — a penalty below the state guidelines. kim potter had been convicted of first degree manslaughter for fatally shooting daunte wright last april. more on storm eunice now. and in wales, all train services were cancelled for the first time ever on friday. the majority of schools were closed, and tens of thousands of homes were left without power. our correspondent tomos morgan has been speaking to some of those in the worst affected areas. the sound will never, ever leave me.

it was just...