tonight at ten — russia is dealt a series of new western sanctions as the crisis in ukraine escalates. nato reports that russian troops are heading for eastern ukraine as the us becomes the latest to announce economic and financial sanctions against moscow.

who in the lord's name does putin think gives him the right to declare new so—called countries on territory that belonged to his neighbours? we'll be reporting from the frontline where ukrainian forces are preparing for an invasion that looks increasingly likely. in eastern ukraine troops say they will stand their ground and if president putin invades he will have a fight on his hands. we'll have more from ukraine and we'll have details of the new western sanctions against russia including those announced by the uk. also tonight... the latest on the damage caused by storm franklin with more than 75 flood warnings in place across england and wales. may be a bit naive to think things aren't going to happen but it does seem to be dramatically changing. in scotland, most covid restrictions will end in a month's time but self isolation is not being scrapped. and coming up in the sport

on the bbc news channel: chelsea are in champions league action but could the final be moved away from st petersburg amid the ukraine—russia crisis? good evening. russia has been dealt a wave of new economic and financial sanctions as the west tries to head off a military invasion of ukraine. nato says there's evidence that russian troops are moving towards areas of eastern ukraine and that there's every indication president putin is still planning a bigger offensive. within the past couple of hours, president biden accused russia of a clear violation of international law and announced new financial sanctions. this is the flashpoint, eastern ukraine, and more

specifically the donbas region where parts of donetsk and luhansk have been controlled by russian backed fighters since 2014. yesterday, president putin recognised these areas as independent states and said he would send troops there on what he called a "peace keeping mission". in a moment, we'll look at the latest international reaction to the crisis but first the latest from the frontline, and our international correspondent orla guerin in eastern ukraine. tonight the embattled ukrainian leader volodymyr zelensky has called on reserves for a limited period, he has ruled out a general mobilisation, saying he still looking for a diplomatic path out of the crisis but there's more at stake than the future of ukraine. there are long—term implications for the security and stability of europe. the feeling is that president putin has made one more move in a long game and he may be waiting now to gauge the strength of the

international reaction before he moves again. a glimpse of the kremlin�*s firepower today, near the russian city of rostov—on—don, close to the border with ukraine. if president putin's forces cross that line, which will come as no surprise, many in ukraine will be bracing for the worst. dog barks. and on the front lines here in zolotar in the east, they've been getting in some target practice. president putin has his eye on ukraine. the world watching and waiting for his next move. they know all about waiting here. this man has been in the trenches for seven long years, fighting kremlin—backed rebels, trying to keep moscow off ukrainian soil. "russia is rotten", he tells me.

"and ukraine must blossom. that's why i'm here. "i want my wife and my daughter to live in peace and quiet." well, we've just started hearing some shelling in the last few minutes. the troops here say they have been fighting a long war against russian—backed separatists. they know that president putin may now send more forces and the question is, if his troops arrive, how far will they go? how much of ukraine will he try to take? troops here tell me russian forces are already in the separatist areas and have been for years. now that president putin has officially recognised the breakaway enclaves, he can openly send in more. translation: now we can hear

the shelling continue. _ we are already prepared. everybody knows what to do in any situation. you just have to follow your orders. for you here on the ground, does anything change now? translation: absolutely no changes, except more motivation to do - what we do on a professional level. we're standing here just for this. and some have paid with their lives. in kyiv today, the state funeral for a fallen soldier. captain anton sidorov, a father of three daughters, was killed by shelling on saturday. he had been fighting the separatists since war broke out in the east in 2014. on the other side of the front lines last night, small scale celebrations in the separatist enclave of donetsk, which moscow has

declared to be an independent state. the reverberations may be felt for years. in the past 2a hours president putin has redrawn the map of ukraine and in recent years he has been handing out passports to civilians living in the separatist areas, as many as 700,000. as far back as 2014 he annexed the crimean peninsula and now it seems clear he wants more territory and he is claiming that civilians in the separatist enclaves need protection from ukraine and ukraine denies it has any plans to attack. but it seems clear that the playbook foreign invasion has been written and written long ago, and the only question now is how quickly it may all play out. the only question now is how quickly it may all play out-— it may all play out. thanks for “oininu it may all play out. thanks for joining us- — now, we mentioned the wave of sanctions announced by western leaders during the day. as we noted in the past few hours,

president biden accounced us sanctions against two large russian banks while limiting access to international financial systems. germany has suspended the major gas pipeline project which would have doubled the flow of russian gas to germany. borisjohnson said uk sanctions would be imposed on five russian banks and three russian individuals. our political editor laura kuenssberg has more details. darkness gave no cover for russia's brazen move. these images said to show military vehicles rolling on the outskirts of donetsk last night. the west has condemned putin's actions, but how will it answer back? it won't be with its own boots on the ground. will sanctions be enough to stop putin, prime minister? - the prime minister's plan — to squeeze the kremlin in the pocket so much it hurts. the deployment of these forces in sovereign ukrainian territory amounts to a renewed invasion

of that country. it's precisely because the stakes are so high that putin's venture in ukraine must fail. must ultimately fail, and must be seen to fail. as a start, there'll be what the prime minister claimed was a barrage of economic sanctions. the assets will be frozen and travel banned for three wealthy individuals with ties to putin's kremlin. five russian banks will have their assets frozen, too, and similar sanctions against some members of the russian parliament. eu ministers huddled together, also agreeing to target russian politicians and banks, and that stance was mirrored in the last couple of hours by the american president with moves against finance and individuals, the beginnings of punishment for russia. who and individuals, the beginnings of punishment for russia.— and individuals, the beginnings of punishment for russia. who in the lord's name _

punishment for russia. who in the lord's name does _ punishment for russia. who in the lord's name does putin _ punishment for russia. who in the lord's name does putin think- punishment for russia. who in the | lord's name does putin think gives him the right to take the so—called new territories of his neighbour? this demands a firm response from the international community. western uni , the international community. western unity. perhaps? _ the international community. western unity, perhaps? strong _ the international community. western unity, perhaps? strong enough - unity, perhaps? strong enough action? a different question. but there was a dramatic move, billions of pounds worth of pipeline, built under the baltic sea to export gas from russia to europe, nord stream 2, controversial, but panned for now ljy 2, controversial, but panned for now by the german leader, and if money talks, cancelling this deal was a big shout. translation: notification ofthe big shout. translation: notification of the pipeline — big shout. translation: notification of the pipeline can _ big shout. translation: notification of the pipeline can take _ big shout. translation: notification of the pipeline can take place - big shout. translation: notification of the pipeline can take place now. i of the pipeline can take place now. olaf scholz did not say never but in an unexpected blow to moscow's wallet, it is off for now, but how confident is the west that this will

halt further action? the chief of nato on higher and higher alert. we are nato on higher and higher alert. - are on high alert and there are more than 120 allied ships in the sea from the high north to the mediterranean. we will continue to do whatever is necessary to shield the alliance from aggression. but whether it is borisjohnson's please or those of other western leaders, vladimir putin has ignored weeks of louder and louder calls for a halt, and a volatile leader whose next moves are just impossible to predict. and here there are questions even in the prime minister's own party about whether the uk's and response is strong enough. there is unease. russian cash has been swilling around the city for so long. the government's promised with putin's next move they'll tighten the screw, yet it's unclear whether the uk or anyone in the west can right now squeeze russia to stop.

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. as we heard, one of the main elements in any package of sanctions will affect energy supplies given the eu's heavy dependency on gas from russia. european union states imported more than 40% of their gas supplies from russia last year. our economics editor faisal islam looks at the potential impact that sanctions on russia could have on the rest of the world. at times of actual war, economic war always plays its part. sanctions aim to put pressure on governments and nations by limiting their flows of trade and finance. so, will they work here? by far the most impactful thing that occurred today was that germany unexpectedly put a key new pipeline for russian gas on hold. the new pipeline, nord stream 2, which connects russia directly with its main customer, has now had its legal certification withdrawn after an announcement by the german chancellor. although the pipeline

into germany has been completed, it is yet to be used, but the news pushed gas prices in markets back up 10% again, just as they'd started to fall. if sustained, that will add to bills in the autumn, which are already going up by record amounts in the next few months. there are lots of russian investments, financing and assets, that operate through the uk. some had expected a targeting of significant russian firms such as sparebank or vtb, but the uk sanctions announced today were very targeted, on individual allies of president putin and some relatively small banks. one long—standing putin critic said much more could have been done. the sanctions announced today were very tepid. the three oligarchs who were sanctioned have already been sanctioned by the united states back in 2018 and they have surely rearranged all their affairs since then. borisjohnson knows who he really needs to sanction if he wants to change putin's calculus and that's the top 50 russian oligarchs who hold putin's money

and have a lot of that money in the uk. so, what can russia do as new cold war turns to cold winter? former president and putin ally dmitry medvedev took to social media to warn germany about a brave new world where europeans are very soon going to be paying huge prices for natural gas. russia has upped its economic defences, building up a war chest of foreign exchange and a very low national debt. this could protect it from more significant sanctions. russia has a pillow of international resources so it can endure such negative shocks of sanctions for some time. what next? there are still plenty of weapons left in the economic armoury, from targeting russia's energy companies to removing russia from the international financial system. but these sanctions so far have seen punches pulled. that could be to leave room for escalation should there be a wider invasion of ukraine.

tonight, in west london, a champions league match on the road to st petersburg — the planned host of the final in may. the government said today it would lobby to shift the showpiece occasion away from russia's second city. faisal islam, bbc news. in paris this evening, there's been a special meeting of european union foreign minsters to discuss the next steps following the announcement by president biden. in a moment, we'll be in washington with our north america editor sarah smith but first, our europe editor katya adler in paris. are we detecting signs of a really concrete unity among these ministers are not? . , . concrete unity among these ministers are not? ., , ., , ., are not? that is a good question that i are not? that is a good question that i think _ are not? that is a good question that i think amongst _ are not? that is a good question that i think amongst all - are not? that is a good question that i think amongst all the - are not? that is a good question - that i think amongst all the western allies, there is a belief that vladimir putin likes to divide and rule are amongst his opponents. so it was important for the eu today to have a real show of unity around

this initial sanctions package and they pulled it off here in paris with that meeting of eu foreign ministers. but there are cracks underneath the surface. why? because sanctions against russia and counter measures against moscow affect some european countries more than others. everyone is worrying about energy prices at the moment but the germany, austria, hungary, italy, they are particularly reliant on gas supplies are very close trade ties with moscow. i can tell you another sign of a division and that is between france, germany, who have concentrated very much on the diplomatic track, and more hawkish countries like poland and the baltics that neighbour russia and they believe what vladimir putin really want here is to change the balance of power in europe away from the west. if you listen to the polish prime minister this week he said, look, today it is ukraine, tomorrow it could be the baltic states, the day after, finland or poland that mr putin had his eyes

on. for months he's been calling on fellow eu allies and all the west to wake up. fellow eu allies and all the west to wake u -. a , fellow eu allies and all the west to wake u. , ., ., wake up. many thanks. katya with the latest on the — wake up. many thanks. katya with the latest on the meeting _ wake up. many thanks. katya with the latest on the meeting in _ wake up. many thanks. katya with the latest on the meeting in paris. - and our north america editor sarah smith. we talked about the sanctions announced by president biden, what is your sense of what people think, did they go far enough, is there a consensus view? hat did they go far enough, is there a consensus view?— consensus view? not quite a consensus — consensus view? not quite a consensus because - consensus view? not quite a consensus because the - consensus view? not quite a - consensus because the president biden has already been criticised by his republican opponents by making the us look weak on the world stage and they are calling for a sanctions regime from hell, as one put it. but what's happened here instead is that president biden, using strong words but not the most harsh economic sanctions, is deliberately holding back. he says this is just the first round of sanctions. the idea is to try and deter russia from further aggression against ukraine by saying there will be further economic

sanctions if you continue. although that has led to criticism, as i say, from his political opponents. in addition to what sanctions he did announce, he also said they would be further troop movements, us forces moving into baltic states and poland. that is not with any intention at all that they would move into ukraine and take any action there are any intention they would confront russian forces. president biden said himself a few days ago that when russians and americans are shooting at each other, that is a world war. that is not their intention but they want to send more troops to bolster some of those baltic states and poland that neighbour russia. there is practically no hope left here that there can be a diplomatic solution found to this crisis. the secretary of state in the us has just announced that he is cancelling a planned meeting with the russian foreign secretary that was going to take place in two days' time. what the us is hoping as they can avert a worst—case scenario, full military russian assault on ukraine. that is

why they are holding back some sanctions and holding out the possibility that there might still be room for some diplomatic action. many thanks. sarah smith with the latest at the white house. and katya adler in paris. in the russian media there's been universal praise for president putin's latest moves and his case for denying ukraine's basic right to exist as an independent country. mr putin dismissed ukraine as �*a colony with a puppet regime'. he announced his decision to deploy troops last night but 24 hours later it's still not clear if any troops have arrived in the two breakaway regions. our correspoindent steve rosenberg reports from moscow. russia's parliament rubber—stamping the kremlin's request for permission to send troops into the rebel republics of eastern ukraine. when they voted, there was no surprise — a unanimous "yes."

cue the president. vladimir putin continues to keep everyone guessing about his plans but this sounded like an ultimatum. translation: the best solution | would be for the authorities in kyiv to give up their ambition to join nato and adopt neutrality. but if our so—called partners from ukraine full of modern weapons, a solution will become impossible, so the most important thing is that ukraine should demilitarise. down at the russian foreign ministry, we detected little desire for compromise, and much irritation at the latest round of western sanctions imposed on moscow. translation: these sanctions are illegal. | we understood long ago that this is the only tool the west

has to use against us — to contain us. but does russia not care that its international reputation in the west is getting lower and lower, and your country is seen, increasingly, as an aggressor? it's you. you are inventing this reputation. because of your actions. you are inventing this reputation for us. but the west's reputation is covered in blood. a shining example of how differently moscow views the world. the russian authorities brush aside western criticism. they claim not to care about sanctions. but this country is facing growing international isolation over the ukraine crisis. for now, that is a consequence moscow seems willing to accept. and the russian people? geopolitical tension is fuelling fear of conflict. "we should be worried that

all of this could spin out of control," pavel says. "it's very serious." "of course i'm nervous," says this woman. "we have sons, husbands. i don't want there to be war." russians are hoping that those leaders who take the decisions will take the right ones. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. for all the background on this story you can visit the bbc news website — at bbc.co.uk/news — where we'll be bringing you all the latest developments as they happen. and worth noting it is ten: 22 on the 22nd day of february. fancy that! it takes us to the stories for the rest of the day. more than 65 flood warnings remain in place across england and wales after another storm, storm franklin, hit parts of the uk yesterday. people were rescued after

the river severn burst its banks and homes had to be evacuated. a severe flood warning is in place in ironbridge in shropshire, parts of shrewsbury town centre are under water, and a major incident has been declared in bewdley in worcestershire. our correspondent jo black reports. as the river levels continue to rise, for many, it's an anxious game of watch and wait. we're having to pump the water out of the cellar to stop it coming up into the house. in the georgian town of bewdley, david hegarty lives around 40 feet from the river, but today he's pumping it out from his cellar. and that's his furniture suspended in midair by rope, in an attempt to try and keep it dry. this is the third time in three years. prior to that — never. it'd be naive to think things aren't going to happen, but it does seem to be dramatically changing. more than 100 properties here in bewdley, and further up the river in ironbridge, could be at risk of flooding. an evacuation programme is in place, with many people now staying in hotels.

and although some flood barriers are doing theirjob, there are concerns these temporary structures could be overtopped. we can't ever stop flooding, and with climate change, that risk is becoming greater. we do everything we can to minimise it, but that's why we issue warnings. in york, the owners of these cars face a long wait before they can return to rescue their vehicles. in nearby tadcaster, a clear—up operation after the river wharfe broke its banks. and in shrewsbury, large parts of the town are still under water. so as you can see, the whole kitchen is lifted up. nearby, sarahjackaman and her family are stuck upstairs, escaping the floodwater in their home. this is three years, three floods, all of them at record—breaking levels. this isjust becoming impossible. here in bewdley, the river levels are expected to peak tomorrow morning. the storms may have passed but their impact is still being felt.

jo black, bbc news, in bewdley, in worcestershire. the charges against four men accused over the shooting of a black equal rights campaigner sasha johnson have been dropped. the mother of two remains in hospital after she was shot in the head in south london last may. a judge at the old bailey recorded formal not guilty verdicts after the prosecution reviewed the case and said it would not be offering any evidence. the brother of the manchester arena bombing, have been found guilty of attacking a prison officer. paul edwards was attacked in belmarsh prison in may 2020. smiling and joking as he comes upstairs in belmarsh prison' high security unit, the manchester bomber�*s brother, serving life at 22

murders, furrow by the convicted terrorist and the failed parsons green tube bomber. they have made a plan to attack a prison officer. they paused briefly and then run. the assault itself happened in an office where there are no cameras. paul edwards, the officer who was attacked, said it started with saeed launching a karate kick at his head and abedi trying to hit him with a heavy office chair. he ended up on the floor with the prisoners kicking and punching him, and he was worried he might be killed. he was rescued by colleagues and escaped with cuts and bruising to his ribs and face. the former chief inspector of prisons says officers need more specialist training for dealing with islamist terrorists. it is no good just treating them as other prisoners are treated. there needs to be a unique and a tailored approach. the assault in the high security unit, with its covered exercise yard, came just four months after a convicted terrorist

attempted to murder an officer in whitemoorjail. the prison service still struggling to adjust to this uniquely dangerous group of ideological inmates. daniel sandford, bbc news, belmarsh prison. the queen, who tested positive for covid at the weekend, had to cancel her planned virtual engagements today because of what are described as "mild symptoms." buckingham palace said her majesty would continue with light duties. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell is here. for those viewers wondering if we really know what is going on, what would you say to them?— would you say to them? well, we don't, would you say to them? well, we don't. really. _ would you say to them? well, we don't, really, is— would you say to them? well, we don't, really, is the _ would you say to them? well, we don't, really, is the truth - would you say to them? well, we don't, really, is the truth of - would you say to them? well, we don't, really, is the truth of the l don't, really, is the truth of the matter. she had various virtual engagements in her diary today but according to the palace she is still experiencing these mild cold like symptoms, exactly the same words they used on sunday when they confirmed she had tested positive for covid—19. so these virtual audiences with new ambassadors are

not able to take place. where does that leave us? without really a clear idea of what is going on. i have no doubt that the palace does genuinely want to get out some visual evidence to reassure everybody that there is nothing to worry about but they were not able to do that today. she is continuing with these light duties according to the palace, going through paperwork and that sort of thing. she has a regular weekly phone call with the prime minister knew tomorrow, clearly a lot to talk about at the moment, and an important engagement of the diary next week, the reception for the members of the diplomatic corps taking place at windsor this year and according to officials, that engagement is still in the diary. officials, that engagement is still in the diary-— the first minister of scotland, nicola sturgeon, says covid restrictions including the wearing of face coverings will end in four weeks' time. she said that from march 21st, the need to wear face masks in public places would switch from legal requirement to guidance.

our scotland correspondent lorna gordon has the details. the covid strategy has been different here. more cautious. facemasks are still law in indoor public places, including at concerts like this. that now, soon to end. i think it is far too soon. i'm just sticking with my mask anyway, there is no way i'm taking it off tonight. i think we need to go back to some sort of normality, and live with it rather than fight against it. all legal restrictions in scotland, including the wearing of face coverings, will end on march the 21st, although people will still be advised to wear masks in some indoor settings — including shops and on public transport. ahead of that, from next monday, scotland's covid passport scheme will finish and there will be no changes to the self—isolation guidelines. support payments will also remain. the first minister also says scotland was committed

to free testing, but... i must express frustration at the uk government's position. we have no clarity on how much of the covid testing infrastructure the uk government intends to retain, no clarity on how much investment will support it in future, and no clarity on whether the treasury will provide additional resources or demand instead that funding is taken from elsewhere in the health budget. the challenge is that covid testing is administered by the uk government and while the scottish government says they want free pcr and lateral flow tests to continue, free mass testing will end in england in april. the scottish government seems to want to retain lateral flow tests at the point of care. it is possible that this will go in line with the free prescription scheme of the scottish government, and that then the costs would have to come out of the scottish government's health budget. testing, the latest area where four—nation policy diverges, as we find our way out of this pandemic. lorna gordon, bbc news, glasgow.