ukraine's president says his country has suffered a �*brutal�* night, this is either the headlines in the uk and around the world. ukrainian soldiers tried to repel russian soldiers tried to repel russian soldiers in the city of kharkiv. russian infantry vehicles as heavy fighting is spotted in ukraine's second largest city. russia stepped up second largest city. russia stepped up its attacks. unless all strike on an oil thermaljust outside kyiv sparks fears about toxic names. firefighters searched the rubble for survivors after russian shelling in the east. president zelensky accuses russia of deliberately targeting residential areas and reject an offer of peace talks in belarus. translation:— offer of peace talks in belarus. translation: ., , ., , , ., translation: last night was brutal in ukraine. again _

translation: last night was brutal in ukraine. again the _ translation: last night was brutal in ukraine. again the shelling - translation: last night was brutal in ukraine. again the shelling and i in ukraine. again the shelling and bombing of residential areas and civilian infrastructure. eli bombing of residential areas and civilian infrastructure.— civilian infrastructure. eu states move towards _ civilian infrastructure. eu states move towards a _ civilian infrastructure. eu states move towards a ban _ civilian infrastructure. eu states move towards a ban on - civilian infrastructure. eu states move towards a ban on all- civilian infrastructure. eu statesl move towards a ban on all flights civilian infrastructure. eu states - move towards a ban on all flights by russian aircraft over the block's airspace. western allies agree more sanctions against moscow banning russian banks from the financial system swift. welcome to day of the invasion. officials say the second city of kharkiv remains under ukrainian control despite heavy street fighting. russian infantry vehicles have been seen driving through residential areas as troops entered the city in the

north—east of the country. ukrainian fighters have been clashing with russian soldiers on foot. the situation is currently quiet in the capital kyiv. smoke continues to billow from an oil depot that was hit close to the city last night. residents have been warned of toxic fumes. residents are lenski has accused russian troops of deliberately bombarding civilian residential areas in what he called a brutal night of assault. he said he is open to honest talks with moscow but ruled out negotiations being held in belarus saying attacks had been launched from that neighbouring country. the united nations refugee agency estimates that 368,000 people have now fled ukraine to escape the conflict. angus crawford has a latest. combat on the streets of european city. rocket propelled grenades in kharkiv in the north—east of the country.

putting up a fierce defence but still the russian forces come. the ukraine president again addressed his people. translation: last night was brutal in — his people. translation: last night was brutal in ukraine, _ his people. translation: last night was brutal in ukraine, again - his people. translation: last night was brutal in ukraine, again the - was brutal in ukraine, again the shelling and bombing of residential areas and civilian infrastructure. and he rejected offers of peace talks in neighbouring belarus. homes are now targets. apartment blocks in a northern suburb of kyiv burn. it by russian fire as attacks continue across the country. a complete curfew here, with mayor and former heavyweight boxing champion vitali klitschko ruining of russian infiltrators. the situation in the capital is complex and tense, he

said. the enemy has not broken into the city but saboteurs are operating. people remained defiant. these women singing the national anthem as they packed supplies for the front line. to the west of the desperate mopping the trains. trying to escape. and at border crossings tens of thousands arrived. queues stretching into the distance. russia has not achieved the quick victory it wanted and kyiv has not fallen. president putin paid tribute to his troops. translation: you're always i honouring your military duty to protect the country and citizens to ensure the national interests of russia. and, in truth, on the southern front, the russian forces have gained ground. with more troops and armour

waiting in reserve. angus crawford, bbc news. the latest line regarding airspace. we have seen a number of eu countries in norway, now adding their voice, countries in norway, now adding theirvoice, closing countries in norway, now adding their voice, closing airspace to russian air traffic stop we will keep an eye on that and bring you any more as it comes in. let's get the latest on the ground. let's talk to harry league, a british teacher based in kharkiv, ukraine's second city. so thank you so much for being here. when 0g start byjust ascribing to us what is happening all around you?— ascribing to us what is happening all around ou? ., all around you? good afternoon. last niuht was all around you? good afternoon. last night was quite _ all around you? good afternoon. last night was quite a _ all around you? good afternoon. last night was quite a busy _ all around you? good afternoon. last night was quite a busy night - all around you? good afternoon. last night was quite a busy night in - night was quite a busy night in terms of the bombing. it was more or less continuous in the evening until about one in the morning. then starting up again at about six o'clock today. it has been continuous. they have been getting louder and a bit closer potentially,

and throughout the day there have been periods of quite heavy bombing followed by an hour or hour and a half of a bit more quiet and peace. pictures as you speak of some russian military vehicles actually in kharkiv. you use that phrase right at the beginning, busy night, how frightening has it been? obviously hearing bombing and the sounds and following things on the news is something, not something thatis news is something, not something that is easy or nice to listen to, but i think keeping a level head and keeping realistic and reasonable and rational is the most important thing to do at this time. giue rational is the most important thing to do at this time.— to do at this time. give me an idea of who was — to do at this time. give me an idea of who was with _ to do at this time. give me an idea of who was with you _ to do at this time. give me an idea of who was with you there - to do at this time. give me an idea of who was with you there in - to do at this time. give me an idea l of who was with you there in kharkiv where you are, because looking at the picture it looks like you are in your flat or house, not in any sort of basement.

your flat or house, not in any sort of basement-— of basement. yes, i am currently livin: of basement. yes, i am currently living with _ of basement. yes, i am currently living with my — of basement. yes, i am currently living with my partner, _ of basement. yes, i am currently living with my partner, her - of basement. yes, i am currently living with my partner, her mum| of basement. yes, i am currently . living with my partner, her mum and her son. a ground—floor apartment in the centre not far from independence square. we are not in a shelter or in the metro. we have been to the metros to have a look around to see what it is like but we haven't stayed anywhere other than the apartment stop right there have been reports of street fighting there in the second city step have you seen anything like that, is that happening in the particular part of the city where you are? we have seen nothing directly, no smoke, no explosions. we have seen no fighting at all. we have heard it, you can hear the explosions echoing around, but we have seen nothing with our own eyes on the street. has but we have seen nothing with our own eyes on the street.— own eyes on the street. as far as ou own eyes on the street. as far as you know — own eyes on the street. as far as you know is _ own eyes on the street. as far as you know is the _ own eyes on the street. as far as you know is the city _ own eyes on the street. as far as you know is the city still - own eyes on the street. as far as you know is the city still under i you know is the city still under ukrainian control?— you know is the city still under ukrainian control? 1, , . ., ukrainian control? based fay watson media are it — ukrainian control? based fay watson media are it is. _ ukrainian control? based fay watson media are it is. they _

ukrainian control? based fay watson media are it is. they have _ ukrainian control? based fay watson media are it is. they have claimed i media are it is. they have claimed control of the city. looking on the news and social media it is saying about three hours ago have the russian vehicles have been destroyed and they have certainly reduced throughout the day. there was an air raid siren about half an hour ago, one explosion hasjust raid siren about half an hour ago, one explosion has just gone off now, but quite a distance sound. i think the news ukraine does control the city remains true.— city remains true. when you last soke to city remains true. when you last spoke to the _ city remains true. when you last spoke to the bbc— city remains true. when you last spoke to the bbc indicated - city remains true. when you last spoke to the bbc indicated that l city remains true. when you last. spoke to the bbc indicated that you would try to leave the city if russian troops entered. what are your plans now? have you tried to leave, are you planning to leave? i think what i said was that if our personal safety was at risk we would leave. at the moment our personal safety, it doesn't seem any more in danger, any more at risk. there is

no direct bombings on civilians or residential areas. that would be the cue for us to go. we have a planet should we have to leave but it is not something we are actively doing at the moment.— at the moment. does it feel to you there in the _ at the moment. does it feel to you there in the second _ at the moment. does it feel to you there in the second city _ at the moment. does it feel to you there in the second city with - at the moment. does it feel to you there in the second city with so - there in the second city with so much attention, it is quite clearly an area where the russian forces have surrounded, we have seen those pictures of vehicles entering parts of it, does it feel incredibly fluid to you that things are changing as we speak? {iii to you that things are changing as we seak? u, , to you that things are changing as we seak? , to you that things are changing as weseak? , , to you that things are changing as we seak? , , ., we speak? of course there has been a bi shift in we speak? of course there has been a big shift in even _ we speak? of course there has been a big shift in even the _ we speak? of course there has been a big shift in even the last _ we speak? of course there has been a big shift in even the last couple - we speak? of course there has been a big shift in even the last couple of - big shift in even the last couple of days when the bombing has got heavier and has got more consistent. we have been told to stay indoors, and told to not go out of your house or you shelter. so that has been in new development, but one or two of the bombs or explosives have felt a

bit closer, setting off car alarms nearby but it doesn't feel like we are on the verge of being attacked or having soldiers on the doorstep in the foreseeable.— in the foreseeable. thank you so much for talking _ in the foreseeable. thank you so much for talking to _ in the foreseeable. thank you so much for talking to as _ in the foreseeable. thank you so much for talking to as and - in the foreseeable. thank you so much for talking to as and givingj in the foreseeable. thank you so i much for talking to as and giving us a latest picture of their where you are. thank you for your time and joining is on bbc news. we have also been speaking to someone who has actually escaped from kharkiv, the knees from the ukrainian youth delegate to the un who is now displaced inside the country. he told us his story of getting out. i just left kharkiv yesterday, and now i am staying just near the oil station which was blown up by russians yesterday, but i am staying safe and working constantly because we need everyone to fight in this work. we need digital warriors and

europeans to come to our country to help us. i wasn't really frightened. i was frightened just in the first hours of invasion, i have said they need to act so there were lots of people and we told everyone that there is a train the next day that we can go and it was free to use, if you just come to it. we went to kyiv, i slept one night under severe bombarding, so it is hard but we are really resistant and we are protecting the whole western civilisation from russia. let me show you more live pictures, this time from prague and the protests there, that anti—war protests there, that anti—war protests just like we were watching a few lives ago from germany. many people coming out to lend their support and voice as they watch the scenes from ukraine that have been beamed in all the while, the latest

pictures, latest detail, and all of it alarming is the situation on the ground continues to deteriorate. those are live pictures from prague. we were showing pictures from germany a short while ago and there it is. the largest of the gatherings there at brandenburg gate with berlin police estimating more than 100,000 people havejoined this pro—ukraine, anti—war demonstrations. huge numbers coming out there in germany as their politicians make a number of important political moves around the sanctions. there was the latest pictures there from germany. let's get back to what is happening in ukraine itself and the capital because of the last hour our chief international correspondence lyse doucet gave me the latest on the situation there in kl. taste doucet gave me the latest on the situation there in kl.— doucet gave me the latest on the situation there in kl. we have been heafina situation there in kl. we have been hearin: at situation there in kl. we have been hearing at regular _ situation there in kl. we have been hearing at regular intervals - hearing at regular intervals explosions, the landing of russian missiles, but they are all on the edge of kyiv and they have been that

way for a few days now. we get a sense of their moving closely, but the centre of kyiv, you can see it is a bright sunny day. but most residents of the city won't be seeing that son. life is gone underground here in the basements and bomb shelters and the metro which has now been shut, it is a 24—hour refuge. there was a curfew enforced as we have been reporting which will last until eight tomorrow morning. and of course with the possibility that it will be extended again. yes, we went into the shelter last night with the air raid sirens, warnings not to leave the shelter, warnings that it was going to be a difficult night, where the russian attacks would escalate, led by the broad light of day, it wasn't as intense as it had been expected and feared, but this is still a city which is under threat, with russian tanks and heavy

weaponry and russian forces trying to inch ever closer. for those living through all of this, the terror must be cumulative, days and nights in the shelter, that fighting getting closer, the unknown. you have to just think of houses emptying and everyone in that house going downstairs, and we have seen in our basement there are dogs and cats. my colleague sarah rainsford had a rabbit in her basement. stories of hamsters also. elderly people, very young children. children were doing somersaults on cots on the floor. how do you explain to little children that you can't go outside, you have to stay in this dark basement for 36 hours, and it is notjust what is happening

to those who are downstairs, down underground, they are constantly on their phones if they have internet, checking to see how their families are, families have been divided, some men have sent their elderly relatives out or families out so they are worried as their city, town or village in ukraine or did they cross the border, and you can hear another explosion, there is a ripple of anxiety which has threaded through the society, but also a ripple of defiance, patriotic resolve. there have been these extraordinary videos coming from villages of entire villages, including the most elderly going onto the streets, taunting the russian tanks. there was even an image of a man standing in front of the russian tanks, the arriving procession, and miraculously he stopped it. there is a real sense that they know their country is under attack, their president day in, day out calls on them to defend their country. whether they are doing it

with a gun, resolve, even in shelters people say to me, i have to be happy, i can't be sad, i have to be hopeful because i am part of the resistance. it is remarkable as you say because it is not the army, we have seen those scenes with just ordinary people, but it is politicians, bank managers, shopkeepers picking up guns and saying they will use them when the time comes. what are you actually hearing from the second city because exactly that street fighting is currently being reported. yes, and civilians are picking up guns and picking up their resolve but this is also a bloody 21st—century war. street fighting against russian forces, armoured vehicles in the streets, russian warplanes in the sky, really bloody clashes. this is army against army and that is also happening. it is also happening about 15 miles, 25 kilometres just north—west

of where we are speaking in bucha where there is also russian warplanes in this guy, armoured vehicles, street fighting. it is a bloody war in the heart of europe and around that war is also an upsurge and a patriotic push back the enemy. what are ukrainian officials saying about casualties numbers, civilian, military, what are they saying to you? we have heard in the last hour from the authorities here that more than 200 civilians have been killed in the past four days of the invasion, 1,100 injured including children. a child was killed when a hospital was shelled here in the capital kyiv. there was another incident of someone being killed where there was street to street fighting. just underlining that president putin, russian officials have said they are only going to target military infrastructure, not target

civilians, but we had yesterday the images of a huge high tower block targeted, there was reports of the hospital being targeted. it is always the way in war. this expression, civilians caught up in the fighting. in some way civilians are targeted because when wars are fought on cities that is where civilians live, it is a city not of targets but civilians and families and streets where people live and where there is the risk of dying once the missile start flying and the troops move in. a final thought for now in terms of those talks with what moscow has been saying, in terms of president zelensky, along non—starter because it is in belarus but is any mileage in this area or is it a total distraction from moscow? the russians said they sent officials to belarus to start

working on these negotiations but it is a nonstarter to have it in belarus. i was in minsk in 2015. we followed the talks, went into the night with the german chancellor angela merkel, the french president francois hollande, it resulted in the 2015 minsk agreement which was never implemented and ukrainian officials say, to use their expression, we had a gun to our head. russian forces had annexed crimea, they were in the donbas, we had to accept that agreement. to go back to minsk now at a time when belarus is giving open passage to russian tanks and russian troops to invade ukraine, this morning president zelensky had one of his videos addressing the people of belarus saying, "be belarus, don't be russia." that was geared for us. let's turn to the humanitarian situation, the refugees, 150,000 people have

crossed into poems of her. let's go to the border and see the pictures there because all the while that steady stream of people coming with some of their possessions and animals and crossing that border into the neighbouring countries, not just poland but all those countries bordering with ukraine. it is a similar story but kasia madera is there at this particular border. take us series of the things people have been saying to you. this take us series of the things people have been saying to you.— have been saying to you. this is med ka, have been saying to you. this is medyka. one — have been saying to you. this is medyka. one of— have been saying to you. this is medyka, one of those _ have been saying to you. this is medyka, one of those border. medyka, one of those border crossings that is a lot of people coming through here. this is right on the border of ukraine and poland. we have had thousands of people just today cross over. the stream of people coming over is continuous and this is their first port of call when they get here. they have spent

hours travelling to this border. they spent hours waiting at the border under ukrainian side. then by the time they get here this is the first thing they see. the weather has massively dropped in the last few hours. it is, it is starting to snow here and these people are cold, tired, haven't slept. local people have been galvanising as much as they can to give them some kind of welcome. there are positions for hot food, hot drinks but these people have been waiting so many throughout the night and they are exhausted and tired. people dropping off clothes as well. there are just massive stacks of clouds and people have been taking what they need. like i say as the wind has picked up and this now, almost sleet and snow, all of that stuff is going to be beyond useful step the situation here is pretty grim. people have had various

differentjourneys pretty grim. people have had various different journeys to pretty grim. people have had various differentjourneys to get here. i have been speaking to people throughout the day. one woman shared her story. she had come from chernobyl. this is what she told me. we have started ourjourney on the 23rd _ we have started ourjourney on the 23rd it _ we have started ourjourney on the 23rd it was — we have started ourjourney on the 23rd. it was really tiring. why we have started ourjourney on the 23rd. it was really tiring.— 23rd. it was really tiring. why did ou leave 23rd. it was really tiring. why did you leave ukraine? _ 23rd. it was really tiring. why did you leave ukraine? we _ 23rd. it was really tiring. why did you leave ukraine? we were i 23rd. it was really tiring. why did i you leave ukraine? we were inside the bunkers _ you leave ukraine? we were inside the bunkers because _ you leave ukraine? we were inside the bunkers because i _ you leave ukraine? we were inside the bunkers because i heard i you leave ukraine? we were inside the bunkers because i heard the i the bunkers because i heard the sirens — the bunkers because i heard the sirens we — the bunkers because i heard the sirens. we were hiding there for the whole _ sirens. we were hiding there for the whole night — sirens. we were hiding there for the whole night and morning, again the same _ whole night and morning, again the same situation. again sirens. we 'ust same situation. again sirens. we just need — same situation. again sirens. we just need to run. because all the locals _ just need to run. because all the locals were — just need to run. because all the locals were also going out of the place _ locals were also going out of the place we — locals were also going out of the place. we just booked a taxi and by -ods place. we just booked a taxi and by gods grace — place. we just booked a taxi and by gods grace we got one and we had around _ gods grace we got one and we had around seven or eight hoursjourney

by taxi _ around seven or eight hoursjourney by taxi and — around seven or eight hoursjourney by taxi and there was a huge traffic jain _ by taxi and there was a huge traffic jam the _ by taxi and there was a huge traffic jam. the rest of our friends did not -et jam. the rest of our friends did not get any— jam. the rest of our friends did not get any taxi, — jam. the rest of our friends did not get any taxi, they were stuck the whole _ get any taxi, they were stuck the whole night. again sirens, the whole region— whole night. again sirens, the whole region was— whole night. again sirens, the whole region was a — whole night. again sirens, the whole region was a red zone. it was really scary _ region was a red zone. it was really sca . ., .., region was a red zone. it was really sca . ., _, , ., region was a red zone. it was really sca. ., ,., region was a red zone. it was really sca. ., ., region was a red zone. it was really sca. ., region was a red zone. it was really scary. how come you brought a cat? i actually did — scary. how come you brought a cat? i actually did not _ scary. how come you brought a cat? i actually did not buy _ scary. how come you brought a cat? i actually did not buy it. _ scary. how come you brought a cat? i actually did not buy it. she _ scary. how come you brought a cat? i actually did not buy it. she just i actually did not buy it. she just entered — actually did not buy it. she just entered our home. she was very basic and it— entered our home. she was very basic and it was— entered our home. she was very basic and it was snowing and we didn't want _ and it was snowing and we didn't want to— and it was snowing and we didn't want to give her up and then we just thought— want to give her up and then we just thought that they don't have any official— thought that they don't have any official documents, a passport, nothing — official documents, a passport, nothing i— official documents, a passport, nothing. i would take her with me, that is— nothing. i would take her with me, that is all~ — nothing. i would take her with me, that is all. . , ., that is all. the crossing over the border.

that is all. the crossing over the border- it _ that is all. the crossing over the border. it was _ that is all. the crossing over the border. it was really _ that is all. the crossing over the border. it was really scary. i i that is all. the crossing over the l border. it was really scary. i went to a et border. it was really scary. i went to a pet shop- — border. it was really scary. i went to a pet shop- i— border. it was really scary. i went to a pet shop. i did _ border. it was really scary. i went to a pet shop. i did not— border. it was really scary. i went to a pet shop. i did not get i to a pet shop. i did not get anything _ to a pet shop. i did not get anything to carry her because since we were _ anything to carry her because since we were travelling the 0 shop was empty— we were travelling the 0 shop was empty and i had to carry her in my and in_ empty and i had to carry her in my and inat— empty and i had to carry her in my and inat one— empty and i had to carry her in my and in at one point she just fell down _ and in at one point she just fell down from _ and in at one point she just fell down from my hand and she went inside _ down from my hand and she went inside a _ down from my hand and she went inside a car— down from my hand and she went inside a car engine and we had to take— inside a car engine and we had to take her— inside a car engine and we had to take her out. do inside a car engine and we had to take her out-— inside a car engine and we had to take her out. i. ~ ., ., take her out. do you know what will ha en to take her out. do you know what will happen to you _ take her out. do you know what will happen to you next? _ take her out. do you know what will happen to you next? i _ take her out. do you know what will happen to you next? i hope - happen to you next? i hope everything _ happen to you next? i hope everything goes _ happen to you next? i hope everything goes good. i happen to you next? i hope| everything goes good. right happen to you next? i hope i everything goes good. right now happen to you next? i hope - everything goes good. right now we have been_ everything goes good. right now we have been there in the camps for a while _ have been there in the camps for a while and — have been there in the camps for a while and then we will go tight to the capital so that we can get some help from _ the capital so that we can get some help from our government. one the capital so that we can get some help from our government.- the capital so that we can get some help from our government. one of the many people — help from our government. one of the many people we _ help from our government. one of the many people we have _ help from our government. one of the many people we have been _ help from our government. one of the many people we have been speaking l many people we have been speaking to. she brought her cat with her. they travelled all the way from chernobyl to get to this part and the next part of herjourney starts

all over again. the next part of herjourney starts all overagain. lots the next part of herjourney starts all over again. lots of women and children because of because ukrainian men are being asked to state within ukraine and fight if they are between the ages of 18 and 60. a lot of women and young children as well, we are seeing toddlers, people leaving nappies and children's clothes pick up, but now the weather, the temperature has dropped at this stuff will get damaged. i guess people are concerned about that. some people have been travelling the opposite direction. we spoke to a couple of men who were going back to ukraine. one gentleman told me his family were in lviv and he wanted to go and fight so there has been a bit of movement. every now and again you will see some men dressed in camouflage and hard wearing gear. they go to the other side and cross over to the other side of the berjer but predominantly it is this trickle

of people coming through, thousands of people coming through, thousands of people coming through, thousands of people just today. we just assumed the numbers are going to be even higher because we know the tailbacks at the border are really long and the ukrainian side. authorities there are trying to stagger the number of people because theyjust stagger the number of people because they just don't want the borders stagger the number of people because theyjust don't want the borders to be overwhelmed. there is also concerns that it there was any action, artillery action on that side of the border, it could cause a massive panic and there would be a rush to the physical border itself, so a lot of concerns on that side. meanwhile here, local people are doing the best they can, trying to bring medicalfacilities, covid tests as well, people offering those because in poland it is still in a pandemic and masks are still obligatory within enclosed places. that is another thing just to bear in mind amongst all of this that is happening on the border between

poland and ukraine. we know the polish president has been advocating that ukraine should have an express pathway to eu membership, candidate status should be granted immediately. he was saying ukraine must also have access for eu funds for reconstruction. at the moment before you can think about things like that it is the people that arrive here and are making their next onward journey and it is them that i guess our thoughts are with as they first crossover to the safety of poland and then take the next steps into finding some kind of rest at least after a very difficult journey to get here.— rest at least after a very difficult journey to get here. thanks very much. breaking _ journey to get here. thanks very much. breaking news _ journey to get here. thanks very much. breaking news coming i journey to get here. thanks very i much. breaking news coming from moscow. the reuters news agency is reporting vladimir putin has ordered military command to put nuclear deterrent forces on high alert after

what he says is aggressive statements by nato countries. i will repeat that because that is a significant line, ordering military command to put nuclear deterrence forces on high alert after what they describe as aggressive statements by nato. let's head straight to moscow and jenny hill our correspondent. tell us more. and jenny hill our correspondent. tell us more-— and jenny hill our correspondent. tell us more. that is what we have at the moment. _ tell us more. that is what we have at the moment. mr— tell us more. that is what we have at the moment. mr putin - tell us more. that is what we have at the moment. mr putin has i tell us more. that is what we have at the moment. mr putin has beenj at the moment. mr putin has been meeting with his chief of staff, is defence minister. in a televised grip, video clip, we have been able to see him telling them that they need to put the staff who work in the deterrence, by which he means nuclear deterrence, on special alert, as he put it. that is he says in response to aggressive statements by nato and the west. it is not the first time mr putin has brought up the subject of nuclear weapons. when

he first invaded there was a long speech he gave in which he referred to russia being a nuclear power. we also now he has threatened any country which tries to get anyway of his invasion, although here you are not allowed to call an invasion, war or attack if you're part of the russian media. that they will suffer consequences beyond what you have experienced in your history which most people take to be a veiled threat. about the use of nuclear weapons. he has really upped the ante. this kind of rhetoric is of course not something that anyone wants to hear and we will have to see what the response is from nato and the west. i must say here there are concerns. there are several schools of thought on what mr putin is doing. there is one argument that he is not getting advice from anyone who has the courage to speak candidly to him. there is a school

of thought that says he is now so consumed with this idea of russia that he wants to make more powerful and influential that he is not listening to nav advisers around him. ~ , , him. we were 'ust seeing the beginning — him. we were 'ust seeing the beginning of— him. we were 'ust seeing the beginning of e— him. we were just seeing the beginning of a picture - him. we were just seeing the beginning of a picture feed i him. we were just seeing the beginning of a picture feed of exactly that televised meeting with military chiefs. as soon as we get the relevant bit where he references putting the nuclear deterrence forces on high alert we will play that to viewers watching, but exactly as you say, it is again upping the stakes here as the whole of this crisis in terms of how this evasion has been reported in russia, what are people being told? the been reported in russia, what are people being told?— people being told? the narrative from russia _ people being told? the narrative from russia is _ people being told? the narrative from russia is and _ people being told? the narrative from russia is and always i people being told? the narrative from russia is and always has i people being told? the narrative i from russia is and always has been that this is a necessary operation, that this is a necessary operation, that moscow is trying to in effect come to the defence of the russian speaking populations of eastern ukraine, defend them against what

russia says is the aggression of the ukrainian government in kyiv and thatis ukrainian government in kyiv and that is how it is being reported on state media here. we get updates from the defence ministry here most days. they talk a lot about the inroads that russian forces are making, they said this morning russia took a couple of cities... well, apologies, we have clearly lost the sound there to moscow and to jenny lost the sound there to moscow and tojenny hill. apologies for that. i will repeat that line that has come and we will try to bring you more because there is a significant line, that vladimir putin in that televised address, it is not life, this is just a televised address, it is not life, this isjust a picture televised address, it is not life, this is just a picture feed. televised address, it is not life, this isjust a picture feed. sorry to lose that again. ordering military command to put military build up a nuclear deterrent on high alert after aggressive statements by nato countries. i'm sure there will be more reaction to that and more

analysis of exactly what he has said. we have clip, get more reaction and return to that strand of the story. european leaders have agreed a significant escalation of sanctions against moscow, among them excluding some russian banks from the swift system for international transactions. ursula von der leyen said the aim was to cripple president putin's ability to fund his war machine in ukraine. eu foreign ministers will meet later today to discuss further military and support. jessica parker has this report. protests have been taking place around the world. there is real angry deliver her anger at president putin and new—found international resolve to try to hurt ability to finance the war with a raft of further economic sanctions announced late last night. shell raft of further economic sanctions announced late last night. bill of announced late last night. all of

these measures _ announced late last night. all of these measures will— announced late last night. fill rrf these measures will significantly harm put in's ability to finance his war. putin embarked on a path aiming to destroy ukraine but what he is also doing, in fact, is destroying the future of his own country. with the future of his own country. with the us and uk there is a plan to cut some russian banks out of the payment system known as a swift and also to limit russia's ability to access its overseas reserve. there was another _ access its overseas reserve. there was another major _ access its overseas reserve. there was another major shift _ access its overseas reserve. there was another major shift in - access its overseas reserve. there was another major shift in german foreign and defence policy today with a commitment to significantly increase defence spending to above the nato target of 2% of gdp. the chancellor olaf schultz described the russian invasion as a turning point in the history of europe.

translation: with this assault - on ukraine, russia's president putin has launched a cold—blooded war with a single reason, to deprive ukrainians of their freedom and the country of its independence. this is a human rights violation and inhumane. no one can justify it. there was applause in the german parliament for those people in russia protesting against president putin's actions. but the discussion about what can and must be done by western powers to help ukraine is sure to carry on. what has already been done is enormous help, this swift, the central bank of russia, these major banks that have been hit, this is something the russians will feel. on top of it we will need notjust sanctions on russia, we want also ukraine to be supported, and that is also in the package, to support ukraine to supplier there would survive this. a growing number of european countries are also closing their airspace to russian airlines. belgium, italy and the netherlands the latest to make such

an announcement today. events are moving fast. let's speak live to jessica. let's speak live tojessica. the list has been added to since you filed that report. take me through the sort of now being considered in terms of how they the screw more. i found that report is not very long ago and just in terms of airspace, france has announced it is going to close its airspace to russian airlines tonight. malta has announced it will do that, as well. i don't know an exact time for when that will happen but it seems that one by one eu countries by making this move. more broadly on what else we can expect to try to put pressure on vladimir putin, quite an interesting development. tonight eu foreign affair ministers are meeting

again and i think it was their third meeting in a week, pretty unusual. one of the things on the table is to potentially fund what they are calling lethal equipment but it seems to be ammunition, to ukraine. this is a first for the eu, i am told. it is not something it would normally do. but the eu chief is saying that they wanted to help the brave ukrainian army. there was profound shock in a way when president putin ordered the invasion of ukraine despite all the western intelligence and that shop is growing day by day at seeing what is happening on ukrainian soil, seeing what is happening on the ground and also the way i think the president of ukraine, he has been praised very much for his efforts and they have had the foreign minister of ukraine hitting the phones all weekend trying to get european leaders on board with new sanctions. there has

just been i think growing pressure on the eu to do more and perhaps a growing appetite, as well, development with olaf schultz announcing a boost in defence spending that looks like it will take them over the nato target of 2% of gdp. that is seen as highly significant, given germany's historic reluctance to do that. it seems like the profound shock there has been in response to what has happened over the last few days is leading to some profound changes in european defence and foreign policy. there are multiple huge challenges because the whole humanitarian side needing to be addressed, as well, we have shown you the pictures, it's heard the stories from the bodice, huge numbers expected over the coming weeks and months up to potentially it million and that side of things, i was looking at a denmark's interior minister saying a few moments ago that they will open their door to help people who are fleeing all of this.— fleeing all of this. yeah, another meetini fleeing all of this. yeah, another meeting is _

fleeing all of this. yeah, another meeting is going _ fleeing all of this. yeah, another meeting is going on _ fleeing all of this. yeah, another meeting is going on in _ fleeing all of this. yeah, another meeting is going on in brussels. meeting is going on in brussels today of interior ministers who are discussing exactly that. the unfolding refugee crisis. of course ukraine is not in the european union but it borders many eu countries so we are seeing families, particularly women and children, heading for countries like poland, countries like slovakia, hungary. so i think there is going to be a lot of conversation and discussion about what the eu can do to try to help people, whether they need to offer them refuge in their country or help transport them to another place where maybe they have family or friends that they can go and stay wet so that is absolutely up for discussion this afternoon. it is interesting because things havejust been moving all weekend on this story in terms of the response of the eu. a third package of sanctions emerging just late last night in terms of what was agreed with the uk, the us, and of course many have

criticised the west for its response or its failure to actually really prevent president putin and there has been a failure in the sense that russian tanks are on ukrainian soil and so i think they will continue to be a debate about whether the west has acted too late and done enough but this certainly seems to be now the aim to do as much as possible to try to help ukrainians, although i think there will be calls for more and more support, but also to isolate president putin as much as possible, and the star of his ability to finance his war. thank ou for ability to finance his war. thank you for the _ ability to finance his war. thank you for the latest _ ability to finance his war. thank you for the latest there - ability to finance his war. thank you for the latest there from i you for the latest there from brussels. let's return to that significant breaking development from moscow because we were telling you a short while ago that vladimir putin, we saw him on state tv. this is footage of that statement, he is meeting the defence minister, the chief of the general staff. the significant topline of this, vladimir putin ordering the russian military to put it strategic nuclear

forces on "special alert". he says in a statement, dear colleagues, you see that western countries take not only unfriendly action towards our countries, these are economic, i mean illegitimate, sanctions that everyone knows about, he says. top ranking officials of nato's leading countries allow for aggressive statements towards our country. therefore i order the defence minister and the head of the general staff to put the strategic deterrent forces on special alert. and then the footage shows those two military chiefs acknowledging that order and in terms of the context, special alert is the highest level of alert for russia's strategic missile forces. that is the footage that has just been released in moscow. vladimir putin ordering the russian military to put its strategic nuclear forces on special alert. there has been instant reaction from the us, the us ambassador to the

united nations are saying only a few moments ago that vladimir putin ordered his order on nuclearforces shows that russian leaders are escalating the conflict in manner thatis escalating the conflict in manner that is unacceptable. he has just said that in a cbs interview so we will get you that clip in a short while. that is a significant move coming out of moscow and instant reaction to it. i want to just recap some of today's latest developments because officials say the country's at second city kharkiv remains and you can control despite heavy street fighting and gritting vehicles driving through. president zelensky has accused russia of targeting civilian areas including ambulances in a brutal campaign. earlier president zelensky ruled out holding talks in the belarusian capital minsk saying attacks had been launched from ukraine's a

neighbouring country. plus have been head with the one in kyiv, last night an oil depot was blown up close to the capital. there have been warnings of potential toxic fumes as a result. the un refugee agency has estimated 368,000 people have now left ukraine to escape the conflict and demonstrations are taking place in several countries with more than 100,000 people attending a solidarity march in berlin. let's get the latest from nick beek. an oil pipe ablaze in ukraine's second city and down the road when residents peer out of their windows in kharkiv, this is what they see, russian vehicles rolling in. the conflict is now fierce here so civilians take shelter in underground metro carriages. moscow's forces are also making ground in the south and east of the country, prompting some to appeal directly to the russian troops. translation: what are you doing?

you are our brothers. please stop. we have kids. we are peaceful citizens. the capital, kyiv, is also burning and more homes have been hit. the fighting is moving ever closer to the city centre. here in one suburb, these ukrainian soldiers regroup just moments after coming under attack. ukraine's president said russia should be prosecuted for a brutal assault on civilians. translation: russia's criminal actions against| ukraine show signs of genocide. i talked about this with the un secretary general. russia is on the path of evil. but in moscow no backward step from the russian president, who praised his troops for heroically carrying out his instructions. translation: you are always honouring your military duty i to protect your native country and our citizens, to ensure

the national interests of russia. here in the heart of kyiv, we are hearing the explosions get louder as the russians draw ever nearer. seizing this european capital while the world looks on is for now president putin's prime objective, and everyone living here has no idea just how much force he is prepared to use to do that, and just how many people could die. this is now an age of wartime leaders, a moment when former ukrainian prime ministers post online tutorials instructing their people on how to make petrol bombs to defend themselves. and this is how children in the capital play today — in an underground world mirroring the gruesome reality of what's unfolding above them. nick beake, bbc news. let me bring you more significant

breaking news on this story because in the last few minutes ukraine's president has said ukrainian and russian delegations will meet without preconditions. they will meet on ukraine and belarus' at bordeaux. the earlier ukraine's a president dismissing any talk of negotiations in the belarus capital minsk, —— on the border. clearly those discussions have been continuing and now it has been confirmed from the office of the president of ukraine that talks will take place at the border and i will repeat that phrase, "without preconditions". an interesting development as we have had those elements out of moscow that i was just telling you about and we are seeing the situation deteriorating rapidly on the ground. there is a street fighting in the second city with an increase in the intensification in terms of the

russian bombardments across different locations of ukraine. so just a glimmer of something positive, which is that talks will take place. interesting that phrase, "without preconditions". a few days ago vladimir putin had appealed to ukraine's are military to surrender, to lay down their weapons and to negotiate, in a sense making that appeal over the head of president zelensky. that of course was not followed up in terms of ukrainian reaction. they held firm. but now these talks are going ahead on the border between belarus and ukraine, between the two delegations, the russian delegation, the ukrainian delegation, without preconditions. that news just coming into us, we'll keep an eye on that and bring you more as it develops, as it clearly well, because no timeline exactly on that. so much detail to add to just those couple of sentences released

by the office of ukraine's president. let's savour some of the politics because the uk foreign secretary has told the bbc�*s on sunday morning programme that she would support anyone from britain who chose to go and fight alongside ukrainians. she later modified those words to say she would not oppose people actually going. her remarks follow an appeal by ukrainian president for international help. liz truss also said the government would look urgently at what more could be done to help ukrainian refugees who wants to come to the uk. in chilling darkness ukrainian refugees queue to cross the border into neighbouring poland. hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes into neighbouring countries, many with small children. the uk and other nations have sent humanitarian aid but the government is under pressure to commit to taking in more refugees. natalia lives in the uk.

her 69—year—old mother fled from kharkiv in ukraine to hungary on foot. the trip to hungary was initially by foot and then we are not sure, i think she stopped some cars and got in and got herself to a train station somewhere and then got to budapest and then from budapest she managed to fly to paris which was very brave because she doesn't speak english and doesn't travel so much on her own. she has managed to do all of that and arrived to paris yesterday morning and i arrived here from london and i met her here. but when they reached the uk border in paris she was denied entry because she didn't have a visa. i have my indefinite leave to remain so there was no problem with me but my mum has claimed asylum and humanitarian assistance but they said they couldn't consider this because the border post was not on uk soil. the home office say

their priority is supporting british nationals and their dependents who want to come to the uk. visa services in ukraine are suspended for everyone else but if they reach a neighbouring country they can apply for a visa to work or study in the uk under the points—based immigration system. but labour and some tory mps want the government to ditch normal restrictions for ukrainians trying to flee war. we have to have a generous scheme that is equivalent to the scheme we offered people after the balkans crisis. we are asking people tojump through hoops, there is bureaucracy and red tape. why would we ask people what their salary levels are when they are fleeing war? so what is the uk doing? the foreign secretary liz truss said for the uk has ruled out sending troops to fight in ukraine, she would support british citizens going to fight. i do support that and of course that is something that

people can make their own decisions about. but when it comes to refugees as she said ministers were looking at what more they can do. britain has always welcomed refugees fleeing from war and we are urgently looking at what more we can do to facilitate that but what we need to make sure is that we protect ukraine as a sovereign democracy. ultimately the people of ukraine want to live in ukraine. valentina is one of those people. she didn't want to leave her country but missiles have rained down on her home town and she tells me president putin must be stopped. ione wells, bbc news. another development. elon musk has deployed his starlink broadband in ukraine following disruption caused by the mission of age. he said he was responding to a request from the ukrainian deputy prime minister. let's take a closer look at the role

of social media in this conflict and speak to our correspondence joe tidy. tell us why. this speak to our correspondence joe tidy. tell us why.— speak to our correspondence joe tidy. tell us why. this was a direct result of a — tidy. tell us why. this was a direct result of a tweet _ tidy. tell us why. this was a direct result of a tweet that _ tidy. tell us why. this was a direct result of a tweet that elon - tidy. tell us why. this was a direct result of a tweet that elon musk i tidy. tell us why. this was a direct l result of a tweet that elon musk was sent, public tweet which went viral saying that we need help, we need connectivity and musk responded saying his starlink system is available for ukrainian airspace and terminals were on the way and this is crucial because the starlink system is a new type of internet which allows you to beam down connectivity from effectively space with all of those that you need the terminals to be able to do this so the real challenge will be getting those terminals in the country. generally speaking the internet connectivity in ukraine has remained fairly robust, i have been surprised, i expected that to be one of the first things to go but we

have seen a pretty free—flowing situation in terms of the pictures, videos and information coming out of the country. the other side is the slowdown of information on social media. particularly in russia, russians have got into an argument with facebook and youtube about fact take billy monger fact checking and there has been a lot of —— about fact checking. there has been a near total block on twitter in russia. we have seen youtube take them the monetisation process of some of the state back to tv channels, saying that these channels are able to operate although they will not be promoted by the algorithm is a future that will not be able to make money. in future that will not be able to make mone . , ., ., ., money. in terms of the role of social media _ money. in terms of the role of social media we _ money. in terms of the role of social media we have - money. in terms of the role of social media we have already. money. in terms of the role of i social media we have already seen it with the various posts, so many different pictures, glimpses of what is happening across ukraine. it is

vitally important, isn't it? the connection — vitally important, isn't it? the connection broke _ vitally important, isn't it? tue: connection broke up vitally important, isn't it? tte: connection broke up but vitally important, isn't it? t'te: connection broke up but i vitally important, isn't it? tte: connection broke up but i think you are asking how important is social media for the flow of information and we are seeing this as being a real war are played out and particularly twitter and tiktok has emerged a summer people are getting a lot of information. some is incorrect. look at the one rumour about this ghost of kyiv, this story about this ghost of kyiv, this story about a potential hero of ukraine air force he was taking down lots of planes on his own. some videos posted purportedly showing those kind of activities were actually from a tiktok and a lot of people including the russian government i ask you for the russian government i ask you for the networks to do more to stop this misinformation spreading. jae the networks to do more to stop this misinformation spreading.— misinformation spreading. joe tidy, thank ou misinformation spreading. joe tidy, thank you for— misinformation spreading. joe tidy, thank you for the _ misinformation spreading. joe tidy, thank you for the latest _ misinformation spreading. joe tidy, thank you for the latest on - misinformation spreading. joe tidy, thank you for the latest on that i thank you for the latest on that part of the story. let's go straight back to those breaking developments because they are significant, in the

last 20, 25 minutes. both from moscow but also that news emerging from kyiv about talks on the board it with belarus and ukraine without precondition, that is the phrase being used by ukraine's president's office. pauladams being used by ukraine's president's office. paul adams our correspondent in kyiv giving a few more details, saying it followed a conversation between volodymyr zelensky and belarus' leader alexander lukashenko. we agreed the ukrainian delegation would meet with the russian delegation without preconditions on that border between ukraine and belarus, and it said alexander lukashenko has taken responsibility of ensuring that all planes, helicopters and missiles are stationed on the belarus territory remain on the ground during the ukrainian delegation's travel, talks and return. we don't have any

indication from that exactly when thatis indication from that exactly when that is taking place but a significant development because initially at the talks were offered initially at the talks were offered in minsk, that was turned down by the ukrainian president saying that country have been used to help russia launch the attacks. clearly the negotiations have continued and we now know that delegations both in russia and ukraine will meet for talks so that is significant, it is worth returning to the other line from moscow, vladimir putin ordering the russian military to put its strategic nuclear forces on special alert. these are the pictures from the last hour, he was meeting with his defence minister and the chief of the general staff. he blamed the aggressive statements, he said, towards our country, from nato countries and he has now put his forces on special alert. special alert is the highest level of alert for a russia's strategic missile forces. that was instantly condemned by the us ambassador to the united

nations. very important developments happened there from moscow, from ukraine itself. we will have more on all of that here on bbc news. do not go away. hello. tuesday marks the start of meteorological spring, and there's a sense of spring in the air for many this afternoon — lots of sunshine around, tempered at times by quite a brisk breeze. and not everyone has the sunshine because, out to the west, we've got our next atlantic system approaching — that has been bringing a lot of cloud across northern and western scotland and northern ireland this morning, with some patchy rain — although it'll tend to ease through the rest of the day. we could see more cloud just pushing into the far west and south of wales and southwest england, but for most it's a fine, dry afternoon, plenty of sunshine, temperatures generally between eight and i2 celsius. but behind me, you can see that cloud and rain — that will be moving its way eastwards through this evening and overnight, initially into northern ireland and scotland, then eventually into northern england, wales and southwest england. further east we'll keep the clearer skies for longer, it will stay dry for much

of the night, and where we've got the clear skies initially temperatures getting close to freezing for some eastern counties of england. the temperatures will rise as the night wears on. it's an unsettled start to the new week — the rain will soon be clearing from scotland and northern ireland, but behind it, some showers interspersed with sunshine. heavy rain through the morning through parts of northern england, wales, southwest england, gradually working its way eastwards — may not get across to east anglia and south east england until later in the afternoon. coupled with that rain will be some strong winds — likely to see gales across the western isles. but it's still a mild day for many — ten to 12 celsius, the top temperature. and then through tomorrow evening, that band of rain will continue slowly on its journey eastwards, eventually arriving into east anglia and southeast england. then, behind it, we see some clearer skies, perhaps with the risk of ice across parts of northern scotland. then we see this area of high pressure building as we head through tuesday — complicated, though, by this frontal system, which wants to linger through tuesday. so for many on tuesday, underneath that area of high pressure, fine, dry, plenty of sunshine, with the winds gradually easing down across northern scotland.

however, more cloud across southern counties of england, perhaps with some rain lingering here through the day, and temperatures down slightly — so we're looking at nine to ii celsius as a top temperature on tuesday. and then that system is still lingering through wednesday, pushing more cloud northwards, some patchy outbreaks of rain. and then our next atlantic system is arriving from the west. so through wednesday and thursday, a fairly unsettled picture across the uk, with many of us seeing further spells of rain. goodbye.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. as the battle rages, ukraine agrees to talks with russia without preconditions on the ukraine and belarus border. president putin orders russia's nuclear deterrence forces to be placed on special alert. he said western leaders had made aggressive statements against russia. heavy fighting in kharkiv as ukrainian soldiers clashed with russian forces. ukrainian forces inspect abandoned russian vehicles. the governor of kharkiv says ukraine has reasserted full control of the country's second city. i am a lease to set in the capital

kyiv which remains eerily quiet but russian attacks come ever closer. thousands take part in anti—war protest in berlin. the german chancellor accuses president putin of trying to create a russian empire. eu states move to a ban on all flights by russian aircraft over the block's airspace. and ayange kasia madera on the poland and ukraine border where thousands of people are still pouring in across the border to safety. hello and welcome to bbc news. let's return to the breaking developments, significant developments in the last half an hour, president putin has

ordered russian military commanders to put the country's strategic nuclear forces on special alert, their highest level. speaking at the kremlin, he said western countries had taken unfriendly actions towards russia, including what he called unlawful economic sanctions. and as we have just heard unlawful economic sanctions. and as we havejust heard in unlawful economic sanctions. and as we have just heard in a statement from ukraine's president zelensky, he has said that he has agreed to talks between russia and ukrainian delegations at the border with belarus, the active element in the last 20 minutes as well. in terms of what is happening on the ground, the russian assault on ukraine, that continues on several fronts. officials say the second city of kharkiv remains under ukrainian control, despite heavy street fighting. russian infantry vehicles have been seen driving through residential areas. have been seen driving through residentialareas. ukrainian residential areas. ukrainian fighters have residentialareas. ukrainian fighters have been clashing with russian soldiers on foot. the situation is currently quieter in the capital kyiv, although smoke continues to billow from an oil

depot that was blown up close to the city last night. residents have been warned of the potential of toxic fumes. president zelensky has accused russian troops of deliberately bombarding civilian residential areas in what he called a brutal night of assaults. the un refugee agency estimates that almost 400,000 people have fled ukraine to escape the conflict. angus crawford has the latest. combat on the streets of the european city. ukrainian soldiers using rocket repelled —— a rocket propelled grenades in kharkiv, in the north—east of the country. putting up a fierce defence, but still, the russian forces come. ukraine's president again addressed his people. translation: last night was brutal in — his people. translation: last night was brutal in ukraine, _ his people. translation: last night was brutal in ukraine, again, - his people. translation: last night was brutal in ukraine, again, the i was brutal in ukraine, again, the shelling, again, the bombing of residential areas and civilian infrastructure. he

residential areas and civilian infrastructure.— residential areas and civilian infrastructure. . , infrastructure. he re'ected offers of -eace infrastructure. he re'ected offers of peace teiies h infrastructure. he re'ected offers of peace talks in i infrastructure. he rejected offers of peace talks in neighbouring i of peace talks in neighbouring belarus, and the killing goes on. four people died in this building close to the russian border. homes are now targets. apartment blocks in are now targets. apartment blocks in a northern suburb of tf burn, hit by russian fire, as attacks continue across the country. —— suburb of kyiv. a complete curfew come here, with the mayor and former heavyweight boxing champion vitali klitschko warning of russian infiltrators. "the situation in the capital is complex and tense", he said. "the enemy has not broken into the city but saboteurs are operating". people remained defiant. these women sing the national anthem as they pack supplies for the front line. to the west, the desperate,

mobbing the trains, trying to escape, and at border crossings, tens of thousands arrive, queues stretching into the distance. russia has not achieved the quick victory it wanted, and kyiv has not fallen. but president putin paid tribute to his troops will stop translation: you are always honouring your military duty to protect your native country and our citizens, to ensure the national interests of russia. and in truth, despite losses on the southern front, the russian forces have gained ground, with more troops and armour waiting in reserve. angus crawford, bbc news. things are moving apace because angus referred to the talks that had been rejected by ukraine's president earlier in the day when they were supposed to be in minsk, and as we have been reporting in the last 20

or 25 minutes, now that development has emerged from the president's of is that there will be talks on the border between the two delegations, the russian and ukrainian delegations, without preconditions. so developments on that particular aspect of the story. let's lead to kyiv and our chief international correspondence lyse doucet. that is a significant new so tell me what you are hearing. you know when those talks will happen? yes. you are hearing. you know when those talks will happen?— talks will happen? yes, we understand _ talks will happen? yes, we understand it _ talks will happen? yes, we understand it came - talks will happen? yes, we understand it came after. talks will happen? yes, we understand it came after a | talks will happen? yes, we - understand it came after a telephone conversation between the ukrainian president, zelensky and the president, zelensky and the president of belarus, alexander lukashenko, who of course, is a very close ally of president putin, who is allowing belarus to be offered as a pathway to invade ukraine, and thatis a pathway to invade ukraine, and that is why president zelensky initially said, "i am open to dialogue but not in belarus while you are being used as a staging post

to attack my country". any moment now, there is going to be a press conference online with the ukrainian foreign minister who will answer some of the questions because it is understood that the location of these talks which are meant to take place on the belarus and ukraine border has not been confirmed by the ukrainians, although there was a report earlier that it had been, nor has it been confirmed who will lead the delegation. there is some concern here that it could simply be some kind of a trap, some kind of cover, so the ukrainians are proceeding very cautiously. president lukashenko says that he has taken all responsibility for ensuring "planes, helicopters, missiles stationed on belarusian territory remain on the ground during the ukrainian delegation's travel to belarus, their time there,

and as they return". this is very, very important development, but taking place at a time —— is a time ofa taking place at a time —— is a time of a lot of scepticism and mistrust and as the russian forces continue to advance including closer to the capital kyiv. th to advance including closer to the capital kyiv-— capital kyiv. in terms of the last -hrase capital kyiv. in terms of the last phrase you _ capital kyiv. in terms of the last phrase you use. _ capital kyiv. in terms of the last phrase you use, and _ capital kyiv. in terms of the last phrase you use, and that i capital kyiv. in terms of the last phrase you use, and that was i phrase you use, and that was significant, what you told us about the information around where it might happen, these talks, and who might happen, these talks, and who might lead the delegations, so we wait to get answers on that but in terms of how close the russian forces are to where you are, what is the best guess?— the best guess? well, there were explosions _ the best guess? well, there were explosions at _ the best guess? well, there were explosions at regular— the best guess? well, there were explosions at regular intervals i explosions at regular intervals today, matthew, and they are still at some distance from the city, mainly on the north, north—west of the city, but it seems that they are getting closer. there have been reports today of heavy fighting, not far, in the north—west, about 15 miles from where we are reporting

from. but the fear and expectation that russian forces would accelerate their assault on the capital kyiv overnight did not materialise, gratefully for the residents of the city who are now living underground, but there is still a deep, deep concern that at some point, russian forces will try to push forward. we have heard from the mayor, vitali klitschko, in the last few hours, saying there are no russian forces in the centre of the city, groups that they describe as saboteurs come in other words, russians who are trying to infiltrate the city, he said have been detected and neutralised, in his words. but everyone is on high alert here, only soldiers, police and civilians who are armed are able to go out during what is a strict curfew lasting until 8am tomorrow, which could possibly be extended. fiend until 8am tomorrow, which could possibly be extended.—

until 8am tomorrow, which could possibly be extended. and of course, awa from possibly be extended. and of course, away from where _ possibly be extended. and of course, away from where you _ possibly be extended. and of course, away from where you are, _ possibly be extended. and of course, away from where you are, in - possibly be extended. and of course, away from where you are, in the i away from where you are, in the second city, there are reports of street fighting between ukrainian forces and russian forces, with ukrainians still insisting they controlled the second city. yes. controlled the second city. yes, there are _ controlled the second city. yes, there are two — controlled the second city. yes, there are two faces _ controlled the second city. yes, there are two faces of— controlled the second city. yes, there are two faces of this i controlled the second city. yes, there are two faces of this war. controlled the second city. yes there are two faces of this war as it unfolds, dave four of russia's invasion, from the second city, kharkiv, as you mentioned, where there is a street to street fighting, images and videos coming from the city which is close to the russian border of armoured vehicles advancing, casualties on the street, straight to street fighting at close combat, but we also get images of villages where russian troops are advancing in tanks and armoured vehicles and villagers are coming out and by sheer force of patriotism, they are taunting the russians. there was even one extraordinary video coming from a village in the north of ukraine where one man put himself right in front of the tank and miraculously,

managed to stop it. this is really an army to army but also an army against the people kind of war. iligrse against the people kind of war. lyse doucet in kyiv. _ against the people kind of war. lyse doucet in kyiv, thank you again. let's go to moscow now, and get more from jenny hill. we were bringing you those developments in the last little while of vladimir putin going on state television, putting his strategic nuclear forces on special alert. jenny, we have had a bit more detail, a bit more of the translation, so tell us more and bring us up—to—date. translation, so tell us more and bring us up-to-date._ translation, so tell us more and bring us up-to-date. yes, this was mr putin sat _ bring us up-to-date. yes, this was mr putin sat in _ bring us up-to-date. yes, this was mr putin sat in the _ bring us up-to-date. yes, this was mr putin sat in the kremlin - bring us up-to-date. yes, this was mr putin sat in the kremlin with i bring us up-to-date. yes, this was| mr putin sat in the kremlin with his defence minister, his chief of staff, telling them that in view of the so—called aggressive statements coming from nato and the west, he was ordering them to put russia's deterrence forces, which include nuclear capable units, on special alert, meaning that they would be

easier to launch. at this stage, it is a very dramatic sounding development and it certainly does increase, i think, development and it certainly does increase, ithink, the development and it certainly does increase, i think, the tensions here. it is not the first time, of course, that mr putin has referred to russia's nuclear capabilities around this particular invasion. he has talked about russia's nuclear capabilities before, during the launch of the invasion. he has of course also warned any country that tries to interfere with what he is doing in ukraine that there would be consequences which would go beyond anything that you have seen in your history, which most people took as a veiled reference to some kind of nuclear attack. veiled reference to some kind of nuclearattack. it veiled reference to some kind of nuclear attack. it is clear that mr putin does not want to back down, despite the sanctions, despite his increasingly isolated position on the world stage. but this i think has dismayed many in the west, certainly in the us, who have said

it is an irresponsible thing to have said. , ,, ., , ., ., said. yes, the us ambassador to the un describing _ said. yes, the us ambassador to the un describing it _ said. yes, the us ambassador to the un describing it as _ said. yes, the us ambassador to the un describing it as unacceptable. it| un describing it as unacceptable. it may well be, though, part of a classic putin strategy which is in effect to scare people, worry people with statements like that, while at the same time, offering talks on the border between belarus and ukraine in the hope of i suppose securing some kind of basic concession from ukraine. , ., ., , , ukraine. yes, that of course is entirely possible. _ ukraine. yes, that of course is entirely possible. actually, i i entirely possible. actually, i should say that i am not sure whether we have reported this yet but the kremlin spokesperson is saying that the talks will take place on the belarus side of the border. that is of course what russia wanted and you can read into that what you will, of course, ukraine had always said it would not be prepared to go to belarus which is not a neutral country in this conflict, to hold those talks. we

will have to wait and see what comes out of them. but it is interesting to see what mr putin is doing, here. many analysts are looking at his behaviour and wondering what his plan is, what his endgame is, what he really wants to achieve from what he really wants to achieve from what he calls his special military operation in ukraine. you are not allowed to call it a war or an attack or an invasion if you are the media here in russia. he says this is a very specific operation to go into effectively defend the russian speaking populations in the east of ukraine against what mr putin terms the aggression from the government in kyiv. t the aggression from the government in k iv. ., the aggression from the government in k iv. . ., ., , the aggression from the government inkiv. . ., , in kyiv. i am going to pause you there because _ in kyiv. i am going to pause you there because just _ in kyiv. i am going to pause you there because just talking i in kyiv. i am going to pause you there because just talking nowl in kyiv. i am going to pause you| there because just talking now in brussels is the ukrainian foreign minister and i want to put the sound and the pictures up to hear the latest from there.— and the pictures up to hear the latest from there. shot down mh17 fli . ht in latest from there. shot down mh17 flight in 2014 _ latest from there. shot down mh17 flight in 2014 when _ latest from there. shot down mh17

flight in 2014 when russia - latest from there. shot down mh17 flight in 2014 when russia killed i flight in 2014 when russia killed hundreds of innocent lives. we also destroyed 30 vehicles, 60... two drones and two boats. russian losses of troops are at roughly 4300 killed in action and wounded in action. hundreds of russian soldiers became prisoners of war. this data is preliminary because battles are ongoing and the exact numbers fluctuate. at this moment, heavy fighting continues. the enemy was able to move forward in the south of ukraine, in the north—east and in the north, including in the chernobyl exclusion zone. movements of russian heavy armoured vehicles there have disturbed the radioactive soil, which has already led to an increase of radiation levels. russians maintain control over the confinement and the station itself,

prohibiting the rotation of personnel. this is a clear violation of international nuclear safety rules. but even with these local advances and with such catastrophic losses, putin, as i already mentioned, has not been able to achieve a single strategic goal. no major city is captured by the russians. despite numerous attempts of shelling, bombing and ground offensive on the capital city of kyiv, the enemy has not been able to take any control. ukraine's defence forces fought back all of the attacks on cities. some heavy fighting took place in kyiv in recent days, but in all cases, the groups trying to invade the city were destroyed. now, i want to draw your attention to russia's war crimes committed in the process of the invasion. 0n crimes committed in the process of

the invasion. on february the 25th, the invasion. on february the 25th, the russian army shelled with imprecise grad missiles and orphanage in the kyiv region. 50 children were inside at the moment of the attack. 0n the same day, russian artillery and even heavier or a gun hit a kindergarten, where at least five people died and 15 were heavily injured, all civilians, including children. one more child succumbed to his wounds later in hospital. in the morning of february the 26th, russian invaders shot down an entire civilian family, 56—year—old anna and oleg, irina and two grandchildren, six—year—old anna and 18—month—old ivan are dead. multiple civilian objects were hit,

thousands of residential buildings in major cities, a multi—storage building in kyiv was hit with a cruise missile, oil refinery in the city of vasiliev was hit this night, threatening an ecological catastrophe. these are only a few of the hundreds of war crimes committed by russia in ukraine in the course of this blatant military aggression. i assure russian war criminals that we will bring all of them to responsibility in international courts. you will face justice for what you did. no matter how much time and effort it takes us, we will not rest until all of the criminals responsible for the deaths of our men, women and children killed during these war crimes are put behind bars. now to the international reaction. first of all, i would like to thank from the bottom of my heart to the hundreds

of millions of people abroad, ukrainian communities and foreigners, who demonstrated and continue to demonstrate their solidarity with ukraine, demand their governments to act, donate money and provide other support to ukraine's defence. we see you. we feel your support. ukraine is not falling. we are bleeding but we continue to successfully defend ourselves. so should you continue to do everything possible to help us win this fight. those foreign individuals who have the will and ability to fight alongside ukrainians against invaders are welcome tojoin the ukrainians against invaders are welcome to join the international legion of the territorial defence of ukraine. please, address ukrainian embassies in your countries for further details. we have been working hard during these dark times to quickly consolidate a global anti—putin coalition of states which

support a free ukraine and oppose russian war criminals. at this moment, this coalition includes 84 states and 13 international organisations. russia already faces massive isolation. i thanked all countries which have already severed ties and cut any engagement with russia on international and bilateral levels. putin has effectively closed the window to europe, opened 300 years ago by his predecessor, peterthe europe, opened 300 years ago by his predecessor, peter the first. this is a turning point in the history of russia, which will certainly plunge ordinary russians into poverty and isolation, as well as perhaps leading to the collapse of the russian political system as such. belarus will face similar consequences as an accomplice of the crime of aggression against ukraine if it continues to provide its

territory and, god forbid, its human resources to the russian aggression against ukraine. governments around the world have already imposed massive costs on the russian economy, elite and ordinary people. sanctions have hit russia's biggest banks, its weapons industry, its largest energy company and everyone to putin. the coalition of allies have also cut russia off from access to financial and economic tools, banning all operations, stopping the issuing of visas to russians, and many other actions. i also welcome the creation of a special group to research russian assets abroad. the list of actions is to long to name them all now. however, and what i am going to say is extremely important, i want to warn every government that might think now that after imposing these sanctions, they can rest, sanctions and actions must be

elevated. the pressure must be elevated. the pressure must be elevated until russia and its accomplice belarus. killing ukrainians —— belarus stop killing ukrainians —— belarus stop killing ukrainians and bombing our cities, our men, women and children. until russia entirely withdraws its forces from ukraine, and removes its occupation of our territories, this is the angle of the anti—putin coalition in the world. unfortunately, there are no signs that russia is ready to do it and to stop the war. hence, i call on you to hit russia more, hit russia harder, hit russia now. it is a matter of hours and not days to do this important, to make these important decisions and to make the steps. we, ukrainians, do it on the

front line, sacrificing our lives. and we have only one request you — back us up. i also want to say, if you separate words, to those few european governments which are now trying to water down the sanctions packages, including the banning of russia from swift, that i will not be diplomatic. some countries are trying to leave loopholes, excluding a number of banks so that they can apply some measures with their left hands and continue to trade with russia with their right hands. stop doing this now. stop trading with the blood of ukrainian men, women and children. this is not a metaphor. but the reality of what you are doing. history willjudge you are doing. history willjudge you and your names will forever remain in the history books as names of traitors of humanity, who failed to oppose the aggressor in europe at a crucial time. there are other

examples of such names in the 20th century. i am confident that you do not want to add your names after them. it is critically important that russia is disconnected from swift on the fullest possible extent, all possible banks. don't play political games and stop earning money soaked in our blood. let's stop putin. let's stop the war. let's restore the world order and the european order and only then will you be able to restore at least some of the business connections with russia. not to mention the political ones. the second most fundamental issue right now is global and severe sanctioning of the

central bank of russia. once again, we demand and we need immediate steps to impose full financial isolation of russia from all civilised systems, applying to all russian banks, including its central bank. some actions were already taken and we are deeply grateful to our partners for them, but they are not enough. more. it is not us ukrainians who need it, it is peace in europe, it is the world order that needs more actions. we also demand to impose a full oil and gas embargo on russia. this oil and gas now also contains ukrainian blood. anyone buying it has to be ashamed of doing so. i welcome the first decisive steps by a number of european countries in this regard, and urge all andy pope —— anti—putin coalition allies to proceed without delay with the strongest possible measures. i would like to thank all

partners who have already provided ukraine with weapons to defend itself from russian invaders. we will never forget your help, never forget your help at this dark moment... forget your help at this dark moment- - -_ forget your help at this dark moment... ~ ., ., ., _, forget your help at this dark moment... ~ ., ., ., ., moment... we are going to come away from the ukraine _ moment... we are going to come away from the ukraine foreign _ moment... we are going to come away from the ukraine foreign minister i moment... we are going to come away from the ukraine foreign minister in i from the ukraine foreign minister in kyiv, just running through at the start of that statement in terms of the attacks, the casualties, he mentioned some of the areas that have been targeted, the death of civilians, of children, talking about the oil refinery, we have seen the pictures of that being hit overnight, and then going on to say that no major city in ukraine is being held by any russian forces, ukraine is not falling, he said, and he pushed harder in terms of the west's approach to russia, saying that russia needed to be hit harder, and hits now. he talked about, and used the phrase, war crimes, echoing

what we had from president zelensky earlier today, who said there were signs of genocide in the attacks so farfrom russia, and he also thanked the help so far that had been offered by the west, and repeating actually that call for people from other countries to go to ukraine and help fight against russian forces and concluding, there, saying at the end, let's restore the world order. so just some of the lines there from ukraine's foreign minister. here in the studio with me, our security correspondent, gordon corera, monitoring so many different lines that have been developing in the last hour. i want to take you straight back to the news that we heard from moscow around alerting their nuclear forces, heard from moscow around alerting their nuclearforces, because heard from moscow around alerting their nuclear forces, because there has been reaction from the us straightaway, and reactionjust in the last few minutes as we were listening to that from the white house. , ~ listening to that from the white house. , . ., , ., house. yes, the white house that said putin 's _ house. yes, the white house that said putin 's order— house. yes, the white house that said putin 's order on _ house. yes, the white house that said putin 's order on putting i house. yes, the white house that said putin 's order on putting the l said putin 's order on putting the deterrent forces as they are called

in russia on high alert is a pattern of manufacturing threats don't exist to justify aggression. what this order looks like from president putin is he is saying that he is doing this because of aggressive statements from nato. remember, actually last week, he gave a kind of coded warning, saying that if anybody tried to hinder campaign in the ukraine, they would the consequences of the like they had never seen in their history and that was read as a kind of coded warning about the use of nuclear weapons and what we are seeing now is a much more expensive move, with him going on tv with his defence minister and the chief of the general staff and saying, push them up to a higher level of readiness. that is a very public move and i think what we can interpret that as it is a kind of warning from putin to say to people, i want you to be nervous about russia using nuclear weapons, and to what extent you give support ukraine might trigger doing that. but it does not necessarily mean he's planning to do it now. it is a

messaging, warning move by moscow. does it perhaps indicates that some of the action that has been taken in western capitals is beginning to have an impact? because we saw what the germans have announced today, just in the last few seconds, the white house has added to what you read out, that the us is open to providing additional assistance to ukraine. we know that more help is being given to ukraine and perhaps thatis being given to ukraine and perhaps that is what vladimir putin is responding to. t that is what vladimir putin is responding to.— that is what vladimir putin is res-iondin to. ,, . , responding to. i think always the danier in responding to. i think always the danger in these _ responding to. i think always the danger in these kind _ responding to. i think always the danger in these kind of- responding to. i think always the danger in these kind of crises i responding to. i think always the danger in these kind of crises is| danger in these kind of crises is miss calculation. i think the risk for vladimir putin is that he must calculate it militarily about how quickly the campaign and the invasion of ukraine might go and how much resistance he would face but also he may have miscalculated about how much pressure the outside world and the west would be able to put on in terms of sanctions and it may be that now those two things are hitting him and he is realising this is going to be a lot more challenging than he expected, and this is one of his ways, if you like, of escalating in response. let's try and look at what is actually happening on the ground,

between us, we have a map in terms of some of the key areas that we have seen the attacks, those orange areas are the ones now under russian control, just take us through what we are seeing and where the movement is and where the most serious fighting is? we have seen the russian occasion from three sides come into the donbas region where there has been fighting from the south from crimea and on two fronts effectively in the north and north—east. what is noticeable is last night there was a lot of concern there would be a big battle over kyiv but that did not happen. what we have seen as russian troops and cycle and move towards it and more combat in kharkiv and there was an attempt by the russians to go into the city though not with heaviest forces but with some forces and i was writing but ukrainians say they are back in control of the town. we have another map, i hope, which is one which comes from the uk

government and what that map shows a sum of the directions of travel which russia is moving. it is moving on different axes. i think the crucial thing to see here is the push towards kyiv and it looks like the russian strategy all along has been to tie up forces elsewhere but crucially get some of those heavy troops around kyiv. i think their strategy, it looks from that, is to encircle the city, i don't think they want to go in there and fight a street by street, they would rather encircle it and get a surrender but obviously we are seeing a lot more resistance than they expected. igiigihat resistance than they expected. what do we know about _ resistance than they expected. what do we know about the _ resistance than they expected. what do we know about the pace of the russian progress, whether it is going to plan, whether it is not going to plan, whether it is not going to plan, whether it is not going to plan? i was looking at pictures of one tank column that had run out of fuel, i suppose that indicates whether there were any supply line issues. what was the thought from the intelligence services around how long it might take to have full control of

ukraine? t take to have full control of ukraine?— take to have full control of ukraine? ,, ., , . ., ukraine? i think it was clear the russians thought _ ukraine? i think it was clear the russians thought they - ukraine? i think it was clear the russians thought they could i ukraine? i think it was clear the j russians thought they could get ukraine? i think it was clear the i russians thought they could get to kyiv very fast and they believed they could encircle it, encircle the rest of the ukrainian army in the east and then enforce a quick surrender but clearly they have met more resistance. that has slowed them down in places. it looks like them down in places. it looks like the ukrainians have been quite effective going after some of the supply lines, so some of the fuel and logistics behind the russian advance which has also slowed them down further and that will clearly be worrying moscow but moscow has more firepower. that is the thing to remember. they have not deployed their heaviest weaponry yet. if they really want to do that, to bombard the capital, they could. they haven't done that yet and i think everyone is waiting to see what the next move will be a bite putin, particularly if he feels he is slightly on the back foot because of sanctions and what is happening on the battlefield —— back at their next move by putin. the battlefield -- back at their next move by putin.— the battlefield -- back at their next move by putin. thank you that, does lines coming _ next move by putin. thank you that, does lines coming from _ next move by putin. thank you that, does lines coming from the - next move by putin. thank you that, does lines coming from the white i does lines coming from the white house, we will return to that if there is more. another couple of

lines coming in as i was talking to gordon. we were hearing through the course of the last couple of hours of air space being closed down. reports on the reuters news agency take that and aeroflot flight from moscow, russia, has made a u—turn over the baltic sea after france, one of the eu partners, announced that the shutdown of airspace, so instantly the impact of that move beginning to kick in with one airline having to turn back to moscow. in the last little while, we have heard from the eu interior commissioner saying at least 300,000 ukrainian refugees have now entered eu territory so far. that is the latest estimate from brussels in terms of the humanitarian side, which is where we will go to it now because it has been reported that around 150,000 people have crossed into poland so let's head to the polish border with ukraine. those

numbers as i was alluding to, they are growing all the while. yes. numbers as i was alluding to, they are growing all the while. yes, and i ex-ect are growing all the while. yes, and i expect them _ are growing all the while. yes, and i expect them to _ are growing all the while. yes, and i expect them to get _ are growing all the while. yes, and i expect them to get even - are growing all the while. yes, and i expect them to get even higher. l are growing all the while. yes, and i i expect them to get even higher. we have been here for the whole day at medyka, this is one of the number of crossings on the polish ukrainian border and there has been a steady stream of people coming through. thousands of people. we will get figures at the end of the day from the polish border guards. yesterday 45,000 people crossed over in one day and i was speaking to one of the people that normally works as a border patrol person and he said that on average, back in normal times, only about 1000 people would come through per day. yesterday 45,001 day, to date we really expect that to be even higher, to bring those figures up. this is one of the first things people coming across from ukraine will see, a huge effort by local people to get food, to get

warm drinks, it is really cold here, eastern europe, it was snowing earlier on. to getjust some kind of a welcome for these people that have been travelling for such a long time. there was a lot of concern that not everybody was getting across the border but the polish border patrols have said that they were letting in anyone, regarding of their nationality, and they stressed their nationality, and they stressed the dominant group in need are refugees coming in from ukraine, but they have also been clearing at nationals from the united states, they say, nigeria, india, georgia, other countries. there have been a bit of concern that perhaps not everybody was getting through, but the polish border guard has been tweeting that that is not the case.

they are bringing lots of different people through. bearing in mind those people have been waiting for hours and hours and hours on the other side of the border. they have been trying to stagger that side because they don't want to overwhelm the boiler itself. here on the ground the first kind of meeting that people get. they are exhausted, obviously, they are tired, cold, so there have been clothes brought over, loads of stuff brought over that people can pick through if they need to but again there is concern that this is all getting wet in the snow. and there is, just behind us, you won't be able to see but there has been setting fire to some debris so that is why there is movement here, but i don't think there is anything to be concerned about. we know that these people have been travelling for such a long time, it has taken them a very long time to get here. there is transportation

thatis get here. there is transportation that is being supplied that they are being encouraged to take. the buses have been facilitated by the local administrations, that then take the people on to other areas, and school halls, and to community centres, and bosses like this. they turn up, they have their destinations written on them, and they are encouraging the people that turn up here, a lot of them by fault, to get on the bus and then they drive them on. also a lot of people just turning up privately with bits of card with a destination saying, "we will take you to this place." a large ukrainian community lives in poland. they are also rallying here, we have spoken to ukrainians who have spent the two or three years in poland and they say they are simply staggered, they are absolutely overwhelmed by what is happening in their country. i have also been speaking to people who have been coming from bangladesh, who lives in ukraine. people who

were describing how they had escaped the war in afghanistan, ended up in ukraine, and once again facing a war exodus situation. the difficult situation here. of course people are trying to help each other but this is the beginning of a journey and of course we just is the beginning of a journey and of course wejust don't is the beginning of a journey and of course we just don't know how long people will have to be away from their homes, given the volatility of their homes, given the volatility of the situation in ukraine itself. thank you very much for that latest update. a little earlier my colleague spoke to the ukrainian ambassador to the uk, who told her more about the current military situation on the ground.

you described more or less accurate the importance of a particular small town in the south, which has been shown specific because that is where the canal that used to supply water to crimea comes to our major river. russians already took it and they are stealing water. so they come notjust to make a point, they are doing some economic damage and providing something they needed. two major cities are symbolic for them to take over — kyiv as a capital, notjust of ukraine, the capital of all people of slavic descent. they stole even the name from us. now they came again. in terms of casualties, what are the numbers you have got of civilians, and military on both sides? ijust read the numbers from the ministry — in terms of civilians, the casualties in hundreds, we have thousands of people wounded — kids, as well. we know we are trying not to disclose losses on the military side for obvious reasons, but we know we inflicted at least 3,000 people dead on the russian side. wounded, taken. we are trying to establish the hotline for russians to find their loved ones, those who fight in ukraine. it is life or death so they might reach out to them.

we are doing all of this, as well. i understand you don't want to give away your own military casualties, but can you give us any sense of the losses? the losses are enormous because of the rockets being used, and the shelling from the black sea. the missiles in residential houses. you can imagine how the military installations were suffering. that was what they tried to do in the first wave — to hit the military installations, waters, ammunition depots — so the loss of those people are great but we have enough people to survive, we are a big nation and everyone in ukraine, a noble effort. many people in ukraine can hold arms. we have been through the army, conscription — myself, for example. it is understandable that you are not allowing men to leave the country. but it is also distressing to witness that because if a man does not want to fight and feels he wants to leave with his wife, children, mother, sisters,

should he not be free to be able to leave if he wants to? we are taking case—by—case. we understand sometimes these men are needed to support the family. we also try to to create the possibility for the families to be safe at least a couple of days. their neighbouring nations are coming to help. the small nations, they need financial support from bigger nations to be able to open up whatever the places are. at the same time it is a critical time for us. nobody wanted to fight. not even those soldiers wanted to fight, but we are fighting and we have to find the resources for this — sorry. germany said it is breaking with its post—war policy and going to supply military help. it will be too late. we asked them so many times, for so many years. they were notjust not providing — they were blocking the support from other nations, from nato nations, using their right of veto on nato decisions. they came to change their mind but just a bit too late.

ukraine's ambassador to the uk. the presumption was that overwhelming infantry and air superiority would see the ukrainian military fall within days. it hasn't. we just take ukraine's foreign minister saying in that the dress that russia was trying to destroy ukraine but we will not fall. let's talk to an expert in russian foreign policy and security policy. and professor at king's college london. thank you for joining us. in terms of what we have seen so far, day four of this invasion, this attack. has it been slower than what moscow would have envisaged or is it, do you think, proceeding to plan. . shes envisaged or is it, do you think, proceeding to plan. ._ proceeding to plan. . as your correspondent _ proceeding to plan. . as your correspondent explained, i proceeding to plan. . as your i correspondent explained, excuse proceeding to plan. . as your - correspondent explained, excuse me, your military expert explained, i think it is clear that russia is facing a lot of difficulties in its

advancement. we know it is going much slower than they planned because it is clear they were hoping that they could advance faster towards kyiv and also to encircle the armed forces of ukraine which are located in areas of the donbas, where the bulk of the ukrainian army was fighting on the front lines in donbas. this is not really happened. they have faced a lot of problems in terms of logistics and the strength of the ukrainian response. i think this has caught the leadership in moscow by surprise but also, and this also probably explains why they have resorted to much significant use of artillery and bombardment in cities such as kyiv and kharkiv. there are risks, of course, if they start moving into cities with tanks, they can face significant damage with urban warfare. it is very

important to see now what may come out from the possible negotiations. does it also perhaps explain what we have heard in the last hour or so, that's news that vladimir putin has ordered the russian military to put its strategic nuclear forces on special alert? that is quite deliberate in terms of articulating the reasons, but the threat is quite clear there. the reasons, but the threat is quite clearthere. do the reasons, but the threat is quite clear there. do you think that is also linked to perhaps slow pace on the ground? t also linked to perhaps slow pace on the ground?— the ground? i would not think so. i don't think— the ground? i would not think so. i don't think the _ the ground? i would not think so. i don't think the russians _ the ground? i would not think so. i don't think the russians are i the ground? i would not think so. i don't think the russians are using | don't think the russians are using nuclear weapons against ukraine, i think that was a message directed at western countries because there were some declarations that russia should be very careful about using nuclear weapons and then these threats and counter threats, weapons and then these threats and counterthreats, i weapons and then these threats and counter threats, i think were coming on both sides. this is really a message of deterrence to western and nato members. i think of course it

might seem as if putin is raising the stakes but i think what is important is that the situation on the ground still is difficult for russians but they are still advancing and they have still a lot of firepower they can use and a lot of firepower they can use and a lot of armoury and weaponry. so they are in a position where they could... they probably think they are in a position where they can still set some terms of some kind of surrender but at the same time they are in this very thin moment where if they do not surrender they know they will face a lot of casualties. they may prevail in the end but that will be at a higher cost, so now it is an interesting moment for them to negotiate because they could advance further and the ukrainians know that, but ukrainians seem ready to take a lot of casualties and that is something that the russians will have to consider. but at the same time they can threaten that the attacks and violence can be much

more and there could be more civilian casualties. this is a very interesting moment of the negotiations. it will be interesting to see how they take place and what kind of decisions are taken. maybe a ceasefire could be agreed for a while and that would be something positive. so i think it will be interesting to see what comes out of that. , ., ,, interesting to see what comes out of that. , , , that. yes, as you suggest, some re that. yes, as you suggest, some pretty critical — that. yes, as you suggest, some pretty critical hours _ that. yes, as you suggest, some pretty critical hours with - that. yes, as you suggest, some pretty critical hours with news i that. yes, as you suggest, some i pretty critical hours with news that these talks will take place, although we still don't know quite when or where and all of those details. as you say, a significant moment potentially here in terms of the direction we travel in the next couple of days. thank you for being here on the programme. the conflict in ukraine poses a problem for russia's most powerful allies. the chinese government thinks it cannot be seen to support war in europe whilst strengthening military and strategic ties with moscow. i am

joined by the director of the china institute in odesa in ukraine. we are four days now into this military invasion. where is bashan, do you think, in terms of their positioning?— think, in terms of their -iositionin? �* , , positioning? bei'ing basically still su -orts positioning? bei'ing basically still suppens russia— positioning? beijing basically still supports russia because - positioning? beijing basically still supports russia because putin i positioning? beijing basically stilli supports russia because putin went to china and xijinping that supports russia because putin went to china and xi jinping that there is no limits to friendship between china and russia. but the chinese foreign ministry is less comfortable with how the russians are managing it so they are moderating their positions a little bit. th it so they are moderating their positions a little bit.— it so they are moderating their positions a little bit. in terms of the sanctions _ positions a little bit. in terms of the sanctions we _ positions a little bit. in terms of the sanctions we have _ positions a little bit. in terms of the sanctions we have seen i positions a little bit. in terms of the sanctions we have seen so i positions a little bit. in terms of i the sanctions we have seen so far, a lot of attention around injecting russia from the swift system, but china has its own secondary system. is there a potential here, a downside, that it could potentially drive moscow closer to beijing?

beijing almost certainly will offer its own rival systems to swift to the russians and the russians will almost certainly pick that up. the two are already fairly close, so i think the idea that this will drive them to be even closer is really just... not really terribly significant. just. .. not really terribly significant.— just... not really terribly siunificant. ~ ., ., , significant. we saw the two leaders meet before _ significant. we saw the two leaders meet before the _ significant. we saw the two leaders meet before the start _ significant. we saw the two leaders meet before the start of _ significant. we saw the two leaders meet before the start of the - significant. we saw the two leaders meet before the start of the winter olympics here in beijing. there were fears since then that's perhaps the two leaders had reached some sort of accommodation around russia's are plans for ukraine, china's plans for taiwan. is that potentially worrying, do you think? well, it is certainly something _ worrying, do you think? well, it is certainly something we _ worrying, do you think? well, it is certainly something we need - worrying, do you think? well, it is certainly something we need to i worrying, do you think? well, it is| certainly something we need to be very careful about. the chinese are very careful about. the chinese are very supportive of russia for a whole variety of reasons, but how the western democracies respond to

the western democracies respond to the crisis in ukraine will give the chinese government a sense of what to expect when they are ready to use force against taiwan and because they also claim that taiwan is not an dependent country, as putin claims that ukraine should not really be allowed to exist as an independent country stop so there is a player out there that they do take seriously. a player out there that they do take seriousl . ,, h, ., ~ a player out there that they do take seriousl . ,, u, ., ~ , ., seriously. steve tsang, thank you for our seriously. steve tsang, thank you foryourtime- _ seriously. steve tsang, thank you for your time. as _ seriously. steve tsang, thank you for your time. as we _ seriously. steve tsang, thank you for your time. as we have - seriously. steve tsang, thank you for your time. as we have seen, l for your time. as we have seen, there have been protests around the world against the invasion and in support of ukrainians. we were seeing those pictures from berlin only a short while ago with 100,000 people around the brandenburg gate. let's speak to a professor of politics at the london school of economics specialising in russian politics. she has been going to downing street for the last couple of days to test against invasion of ukraine and shejoins me on the

programme. thank you for your time. in terms of your presence there, i say you have been there for the last couple of days. what more do you want to see?— couple of days. what more do you want to see? ~ ., ., ., ., ., want to see? what more do i want to see? let me — want to see? what more do i want to see? let me say _ want to see? what more do i want to see? let me say thank _ want to see? what more do i want to see? let me say thank you _ want to see? what more do i want to see? let me say thank you for- see? let me say thank you for inviting me to be on the programme and let me start by saying that i am wearing three hats. one is a political scientist, the second is a british citizen and a third, also dual nationality as a russian citizen and over the years i have been deeply concerned about democracy in russia and the putin regime and i think in some ways in terms of all the warnings, a lot of us specialising on the mission regime have been issuing over the years, the danger increasingly

authoritarianism and the possibility of a global conflict. really uniting the leaders of the western nations. yes, that is some of the backdrop with so many different warnings about vladimir putin that have not been heeded and a lot of key diplomats and politicians in so many different capitals looking at that in hindsight i'm thinking perhaps these were fundamental mistakes, but going forward, what is now, what more should be done? can going forward, what is now, what more should be done?— going forward, what is now, what more should be done? can you hear me well? i can- _ more should be done? can you hear me well? i can. what _ more should be done? can you hear me well? i can. what i _ more should be done? can you hear me well? i can. what i would _ more should be done? can you hear me well? i can. what i would like _ more should be done? can you hear me well? i can. what i would like to - well? i can. what i would like to see, and well? i can. what i would like to see. and this — well? i can. what i would like to see, and this is _ well? i can. what i would like to see, and this is something - well? i can. what i would like to see, and this is something that l well? i can. what i would like to | see, and this is something that a lot of the experts are russia have been calling for, is a more robust sanction regime. we live in a city in london and the uk that has been

laundering the proceeds of corrupt money and we are not seeing a rebuttal response and we have not seen it from the government, there is deep concern. we are not seeing a strong response in terms of the sanctioning of oligarchs and the wealth that has been in the uk and i would like to see, as a british citizen, political signs of more robust forms when it comes to the wealthy individuals. if they feel the pressure that will have, and make sure they have the era of president

putin, that could start the shift of the autocratic regime.— the autocratic regime. listen, the line is slightly _ the autocratic regime. listen, the line is slightly difficult _ the autocratic regime. listen, the line is slightly difficult so - the autocratic regime. listen, the line is slightly difficult so we - line is slightly difficult so we will end it there but thank you for your thoughts from downing street, the british government would argue that those measures they have brought in through the course of the week, aimed at those oligarchs and the russian banks, exactly addressing what we were just hearing there. the latest in terms of some of those anti—war protests going on across various european capitals. let's turn to those economic sanctions we were alluding to the idea of cutting russia off from the swift international payment system has been seen as a huge threat because it will have a major impact. the european commission president has announced eu countries together with the uk and canada have agreed to cut up a number of russian banks from sweat. ursula von der leyen said the aim was to cripple russia's

up said the aim was to cripple russia's up ability to finance the war effort. katie prescott told me the move was highly significant. universal payment system allows payments around the world to be sent quickly and easily across borders. it really is universal. there is absolutely nothing like it. the reason western governments have been holding back at cutting russia off from it, because these systems work both ways. it makes it harder for russian businesses to get paid for their goods but also makes it very difficult for western companies who want to buy mission energy to pay them, so the solution may have come up them, so the solution may have come up with is to just cut certain of russia's banks out of the system and we will get more details on how exactly that will work tomorrow. the idea being that blowback were collateral as it were for western companies will be limited. in collateral as it were for western companies will be limited. in terms ofthe companies will be limited. in terms of the impact. _ companies will be limited. in terms of the impact, this _ companies will be limited. in terms of the impact, this was _ companies will be limited. in terms of the impact, this was tried - companies will be limited. in terms of the impact, this was tried once l of the impact, this was tried once before against iran, it had a major, a 30% hit on their economy. so that is the prospect but one of the

worries, the hesitations of doing this is china has a similar secondary system and whether it drives russia towards china and that system. drives russia towards china and that s stem. , ., ., , ,, ., system. there is no doubt russia will be looking _ system. there is no doubt russia will be looking elsewhere - system. there is no doubt russia will be looking elsewhere to - system. there is no doubt russia will be looking elsewhere to get. system. there is no doubt russia i will be looking elsewhere to get its products and services but i think what is so interesting great important about swift is it is so universal and i have spoken to people in moscow this morning who say itjust makes doing business with russia nigh on impossible, so there might be some danger that russian companies are going to look elsewhere, but frankly it really has been the nuclear option. in elsewhere, but frankly it really has been the nuclear option.— elsewhere, but frankly it really has been the nuclear option. in terms of the moves on _ been the nuclear option. in terms of the moves on the _ been the nuclear option. in terms of the moves on the central _ been the nuclear option. in terms of the moves on the central banks, - been the nuclear option. in terms of the moves on the central banks, we| the moves on the central banks, we were talking through moments ago when you are talking about the importance and significance of that. this in many ways is even more significant than what has gone on with swift. by isolating pressureis central bank, what western governments are trying to do is really stop it from using that bank to mitigate the effect of any sanctions. russia has been building up sanctions. russia has been building up massive war chest of foreign currency, of dulles, in order to try to prop up the rouble, to buy

roubles as investors withdraw from russia. i cutting up the central bank they are far less able to do that. that drops the value of the rouble, increases prices for ordinary russians, and i'm afraid this really could have devastating consequences, eroding people's savings and making price risesjust enormous. we will take a break, we will have much more on the main developments, including those talks between ukraine and russia coming up in a moment. don't go away. hello. tuesday marks the start of meteorological spring, and there's a sense of spring in the air for many this afternoon — lots of sunshine around, tempered at times by quite a brisk breeze. and not everyone has the sunshine because, out to the west, we've got our next atlantic system approaching — that has been bringing a lot of cloud across northern and western scotland and northern ireland this morning, with some patchy rain — although it'll tend to ease through the rest of the day.

we could see more cloud just pushing into the far west and south of wales and southwest england, but for most it's a fine, dry afternoon, plenty of sunshine, temperatures generally between eight and i2 celsius. but behind me, you can see that cloud and rain — that will be moving its way eastwards through this evening and overnight, initially into northern ireland and scotland, then eventually into northern england, wales and southwest england. further east we'll keep the clearer skies for longer, it will stay dry for much of the night, and where we've got the clear skies initially temperatures getting close to freezing for some eastern counties of england. the temperatures will rise as the night wears on. it's an unsettled start to the new week — the rain will soon be clearing from scotland and northern ireland, but behind it, some showers interspersed with sunshine. heavy rain through the morning through parts of northern england, wales, southwest england, gradually working its way eastwards — may not get across to east anglia and south east england until later in the afternoon. coupled with that rain will be some strong winds — likely to see gales across the western isles. but it's still a mild day for many — ten to 12 celsius, the top temperature. and then through tomorrow evening, that band of rain will continue

slowly on its journey eastwards, eventually arriving into east anglia and southeast england. then, behind it, we see some clearer skies, perhaps with the risk of ice across parts of northern scotland. then we see this area of high pressure building as we head through tuesday — complicated, though, by this frontal system, which wants to linger through tuesday. so for many on tuesday, underneath that area of high pressure, fine, dry, plenty of sunshine, with the winds gradually easing down across northern scotland. however, more cloud across southern counties of england, perhaps with some rain lingering here through the day, and temperatures down slightly — so we're looking at nine to ii celsius as a top temperature on tuesday. and then that system is still lingering through wednesday, pushing more cloud northwards, some patchy outbreaks of rain. and then our next atlantic system is arriving from the west. so through wednesday and thursday, a fairly unsettled picture across the uk, with many of us seeing further spells of rain. goodbye.

is and where the most serious fighting is? this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. as the battle rages, ukraine agrees to talks with russia without preconditions on the ukraine and belarus border. president putin orders russia's nuclear deterrence forces to be placed on special alert. he said western leaders had made aggressive statements against russia. heavy fighting in kharkiv as ukrainian soldiers clashed with russian forces. the governor of kharkiv says ukraine has reasserted full control of its second city. ukraine's foreign minister says his country is fighting back. i minister says his country is fighting back.— minister says his country is fighting back. minister says his country is fiaahtin back. ., ., , ,, ., fighting back. i want to stress that in the first four _ fighting back. i want to stress that in the first four days _ fighting back. i want to stress that in the first four days of— fighting back. i want to stress that in the first four days of russia's i in the first four days of russia's invasion, russia has not achieved a

single strategic goal.— single strategic goal. almost 400,000 — single strategic goal. almost 400,000 people _ single strategic goal. almost 400,000 people have - single strategic goal. almost 400,000 people have now. single strategic goal. almost i 400,000 people have now fled the violence into neighbouring countries, with long queues forming at the borders. hello and welcome back to bbc news. there are two significant developments on the fourth day of russia's invasion of ukraine. first, ukraine has agreed to hold talks with the russian delegation without preconditions on the border with neighbouring belarus. in a statement released by ukraine's presidents are lenski, he says... that will be during the ukrainian delegation's travel, talks and

return. in the second major developer, president putin has ordered russian military commanders to put a country's strategic nuclear forces on special alert, their highest level. the russian president says the move is in response to nato aggression, including statements and sanctions. in response, the white house says that the putin orders are part of a pattern of manufacturing threats that don't exist to justify aggression. nato called putin's threats dangerous and irresponsible. meanwhile, the russian invasion of ukraine continues on several fronts on the ground. officials say in the second city, kharkiv, it remains under ukrainian control despite heavy street fighting. russian infantry vehicles were seeing earlier driving through residential areas and ukrainian fighters have been clashing with russian soldiers on foot. the situation is currently quieter in the t have, although smoke continues to billow from an oil depot that was blown up close to the city last night. residents have been warned about the potential of

toxic fumes. —— quieter in the capital kyiv. let's look at the latest situation on the ground now, and the latest developments from angus crawford. combat on the streets of a european city. ukrainian soldiers using rocket—propelled grenades in kharkiv, in the north—east of the country. putting up a fierce defence, but still, the russian forces come. ukraine's president again addressed his people. translation: last night was brutal in ukraine. i again, the shelling, again, the bombing of residential areas and civilian infrastructure. but a glimmer of hope, after a call with this man, president lukashenko of belarus, an agreement to hold peace talks with russia. but the killing goes on —

four people died in this building close to the russian border. homes are now targets. apartment blocks in a northern suburb of kyiv burn, hit by russian fire, as attacks continue across the country. a complete curfew here — with mayor and former heavyweight boxing champion vitali klitschko warning of russian infiltrators. "the situation in the capital is complex and tense," he said. "the enemy has not broken into the city but saboteurs are operating." singing ukrainian national anthem. people remain defiant. these women singing the national anthem as they pack supplies for the front line. to the west, the desperate, mobbing the trains, trying to escape. and at border crossings, tens of thousands arrive — queues stretching into the distance.

siren. russia has not achieved the quick victory it wanted, and kyiv has not fallen. but president putin paid tribute to his troops. —— but president putin remains defiant, announcing his nuclear forces were being placed on high alert. and in truth, despite losses in the south, the russian military has gained ground, with more troops and armour waiting has gained ground, with more troops and armourwaiting in has gained ground, with more troops and armour waiting in reserve should peace talks fail. angus crawford, bbc news. let's you bring more —— bring in more need of elements out of moscow with what president putin has been say, jenny hill sent us the latest on putin's instruction to his military generals to put russia's nuclear capability on special alert. at this stage, it is a very dramatic sounding development and it certainly does increase i think the

tensions here. it is not the first time that mr putin has referred to russia's nuclear capabilities around this particular invasion. he has talked about russia's nuclear capabilities before, during the launch of the invasion. he has of course also warned any country that tries to interfere with what he is doing in ukraine, that there would be consequences which would go beyond anything that you have seen in your history, which most people took as a veiled reference to some kind of nuclear attack. it is clear that mr putin does not want to back down, despite the sanctions, despite his increasingly isolated position on the world stage, but this i think has dismayed many in the west, certainly in the us, who have said it is an irresponsible thing to have said. , ,, ., , ., ., said. yes, the us ambassador to the un described — said. yes, the us ambassador to the un described it _ said. yes, the us ambassador to the un described it as _ said. yes, the us ambassador to the un described it as unacceptable. it l un described it as unacceptable. it may well be, though, part of a sort

of classic putin strategy which is in effect to scare people, worry people with sort of statements like that, while at the same time, to be offering talks on the border between belarus and ukraine in the hope of i suppose securing some sort of basic concession from the ukrainians. yes. concession from the ukrainians. yes, that of course — concession from the ukrainians. yes, that of course is _ concession from the ukrainians. yes, that of course is entirely _ concession from the ukrainians. ike: that of course is entirely possible. actually i should say that i am not sure we have reported this yet but the kremlin spokesperson said that these talks will take place on the belarusian side of the border, that is what russia wanted and you can read into that what you will, of course, ukraine had always said it would not be prepared to go to belarus which is not a neutral country in this conflict to hold those talks. we will have to wait and see what comes out of them. but it is interesting to see what mr putin is doing, here. many analysts looking at his behaviour and

wondering what his plan is, what his endgame is, what he really wants to achieve from what he calls his special military operation in ukraine. you are not allowed to call it a war, an attack or an invasion if you are the media here in russia. he says this is a very specific operation to go in to effectively defend the russian speaking populations in the east of ukraine against what mr putin turns the aggression from the government in kyiv. aggression from the government in k iv. , , aggression from the government in kiv. , kyiv. jenny hill in moscow, there. and following _ kyiv. jenny hill in moscow, there. and following on _ kyiv. jenny hill in moscow, there. and following on to _ kyiv. jenny hill in moscow, there. and following on to what - kyiv. jenny hill in moscow, there. and following on to what i - kyiv. jenny hill in moscow, there. and following on to what i was i and following on to what i was asking her, ukraine's foreign minister has been talking, we played that a little earlier, but he said that a little earlier, but he said that russia's leader's orders to put the country on special nuclear alert had been timed in his view to put maximum pressure on the ukrainian delegation head of the talks with the russian counterparts on the border. ukraine's foreign minister quite clear as to why vladimir putin

has made this move in order to, as he thinks, maximise the pressure on the ukrainians and those talks that are taking place on the border. he also went on to accuse russia of war crimes and said its aim was to destroy ukraine but they would fail. he gave an update on the military situation on day four of the russian invasion. for the fourth consecutive day, the ukrainian army, national guard, national plays, units of territorial defence and the entire forces of ukraine resist and fight back russian invaders. ukraine's ability to resist has been extremely high and unexpectedly high for putin. i want to stress that in the first four days of russia's invasion, russia has not achieved a single strategic goal. president putin had planned to conduct a blitzkrieg

operation, to force ukraine on its knees, break us down, make us retreat and capture our capital, kyiv. none of this has happened. we are bleeding but we are inflicting disastrous losses on the enemy. according to the data from the ukrainian ministry of defence, the overall russian losses in these three and a half days are approximately at the following numbers. ukraine downed 46 russian war aircraft, 26 helicopters. we destroyed 146 tanks, 706 armoured vehicles, 49 cannons, one missile complex book, the same one that was used to shoot down mh17 flight in 2014, when russia killed hundreds of innocent lives.

we also destroyed 30 vehicles, 60 systems, two drones and two boats. russian losses of troops are at roughly 4300 killed in action and wounded in action. hundreds of russian soldiers became prisoners of war. this data is preliminary because battles are ongoing and the exact numbers fluctuate. at this moment, heavy fighting continues. the enemy was able to move forward in the south of ukraine, in the north—east and in the north, including in the chernobyl exclusion zone. movements of russian heavy armoured vehicles there have disturbed the radioactive soil, which has already led to an increase of radiation levels. russians maintain control over the confinement and the station itself, prohibiting due rotation of personnel. this is a clear violation of

international nuclear safety rules. but even with these local advances and with such catastrophic losses, putin, as i already mentioned, has not been able to achieve a single strategic goal. that was the ukraine foreign minister speaking in the last hour. let's get the latest from the ukrainian capital kyiv from lyse doucet, i spoke to her a short while ago and i got an update on the latest on the new talks. we understand _ latest on the new talks. we understand it _ latest on the new talks. , understand it came after a telephone conversation between the ukrainian president, vladimir zalevski, and the president of belarus, alexander lukashenko who causes a very close ally of president putin, who he is allowing belarus to be offered as a pathway to invade ukraine and that is why president zelensky initially

said, "i am open to dialogue but not in belarus while you are being used as a staging post to attack my country". any moment now, there is going to be a press conference online with the ukrainian foreign minister, who will answer some of the questions because it is understood that the location of these talks which were meant to take place on the belarusian and ukrainian border has not been confirmed by the ukrainians, although there was a report earlier that it had been, nor has it been confirmed who will lead the delegation. there is some concern here that it could simply be some kind of trap, some kind of a cover, so the ukrainians are proceeding very cautiously. president lukashenko says that he has taken all responsibility for ensuring that "planes, helicopters, missiles are stationed on belarusian territory remain on the ground during the

ukrainian delegation's travel to belarus, their time there and as they return". this is very, very important but it is taking place at a time of a lot of scepticism, a lot of mistrust and as the russian forces continue to advance, including closer to the capital, kyiv. in including closer to the capital, k iv. , ., i, , including closer to the capital, kiv. , kyiv. in terms of the last phrase ou kyiv. in terms of the last phrase you used. _ kyiv. in terms of the last phrase you used. that _ kyiv. in terms of the last phrase you used, that was _ kyiv. in terms of the last phrase you used, that was significant, i kyiv. in terms of the last phrase i you used, that was significant, what you used, that was significant, what you told us about the information about where it might happen, these talks, and who might lead the delegation, so we wait to get answers on that but in terms of how close the russian forces are to where you are, what is the best guess? where you are, what is the best cuess? , ., , where you are, what is the best ruess? , ., , ., where you are, what is the best cuess? , ., , ., i, guess? there were explosions on a reuular guess? there were explosions on a regular basis _ guess? there were explosions on a regular basis today, _ guess? there were explosions on a regular basis today, matthew, i guess? there were explosions on a regular basis today, matthew, and | regular basis today, matthew, and they are still at some distance from they are still at some distance from the city, mainly on the north, north—west of the city. but it seems they are getting closer. there has been reports today of heavy fighting

on the north—west, about 15 miles from where we are reporting from. but the fear and expectation that russian forces would accelerate their assault on the capital kyiv overnight did not materialise, gratefully for the residents of the city who are now living underground, but there is still a deep, deep concern that at some point, russian forces will try to push forward. we have heard from the mayor, vitali klitschko, in the last few hours, saying there are no russian forces in the centre of the city, groups that they describe as saboteurs, in other words, russians who are trying to infiltrate the city, he said have been detected and neutralised, in his words. but everyone is on high alert here, only soldiers, police and civilians who are armed are able to go out during what is a strict curfew lasting until 8am tomorrow, which could possibly be extended.

and of course, away from where you are, in the second city, there are reports of street fighting between ukrainian forces and russian forces, with ukrainians still insisting they controlled the second city. yes, there are two faces of this war as it unfolds, day four of russia's invasion, from the second city, kharkiv, as you mentioned, where there is a street to street fighting, images and videos coming from the city which is close to the russian border of armoured vehicles advancing, casualties on the street, street to street fighting at close combat, but we also get images of villages where russian troops are advancing in tanks and armoured vehicles and villagers are coming out and by sheer force of patriotism, they are taunting the russians. there was even one extraordinary video coming from a village in the north of ukraine where one

man put himself right in front of the tank and miraculously, managed to stop it. this is really an army to army but also an army against the people kind of war. lyse doucet, there. let's turn to the latest of elements of those talks, in the last three minutes, while we were listening, reuters reporting that an adviser to ukraine's interior ministry saying the talks between ukraine and russia have started. we still don't know the location of the talks but russia's foreign ministry also in the last few minutes saying that the talks have not started, so contradicting what the ukrainians are saying but they say the two sides have arrived at the meeting point. one way or another, it looks very clear that those talks are about to start or are in the process of those two teams actually meeting. the governor of ukraine's second

biggest city kharkiv says ukrainian forces have now retaken full control there after street battles with russian troops. harry lee is a british teacher based there and describe the situation to me a little earlier.— describe the situation to me a little earlier. . , i, , little earlier. last night was quite a busy night _ little earlier. last night was quite a busy night in — little earlier. last night was quite a busy night in terms _ little earlier. last night was quite a busy night in terms of - little earlier. last night was quite a busy night in terms of the i a busy night in terms of the bombing. it was more or less continuous in the evening, until about 1am. and then it started up again at about 6am today. it has been continuous. they have been getting louder. they have been getting louder. they have been getting a bit closer potentially. you know, throughout the day, you know, there have been periods of quite heavy bombing followed by an hour or an hour quite heavy bombing followed by an hour oran hourand a quite heavy bombing followed by an hour or an hour and a half of a bit more quiet and a bit more peace. pictures 0's you speak of russian military vehicles actually in kharkiv, you used the phrase at the beginning, it was a busy night, how frightening has it been?—

obviously hearing bombing and the sounds and following things on the news is something, not something that is easy or nice to listen to, but i think keeping a level head and keeping realistic and reasonable and rational is the most important thing to do at this time. give me an idea of who was with you there in kharkiv where you are, because looking at the picture it looks like you are in your flat or house, not in any sort of basement. yes, i am currently living with my partner, her mum and her son. we're in a ground—floor apartment in the centre not far from independence square. we are not in a shelter or in the metro. we have been to the metros to have a look around to see what it is like but we haven't stayed anywhere other than the apartment. a british teacher who was staying put in ukraine's second city and we have also spoken to someone who

escaped kharkiv from the ukrainian youth delegation to the un who is now displaced inside ukraine. he told us his story. i now displaced inside ukraine. he told us his story.— told us his story. i 'ust left kharkiv yesterday,i told us his story. ijust left kharkiv yesterday, i i told us his story. ijust leftl kharkiv yesterday, i jumped told us his story. ijust left i kharkiv yesterday, ijumped on told us his story. ijust left - kharkiv yesterday, ijumped on one of the trains to car give and now i am staying near the oil station which was blown up by russians yesterday but i am staying safe and working constantly because we need everyone to fight in this war. we need digital warriors. we need new europeans to come to our country also to help us. i was not truly frightened, i was right and just in the invasion but then they need to act took over so we gathered a lot of people and told everyone that there is a train next day that you can go. it was free to use, you just come to it. we went to kyiv, i slept one night in kyiv, under severe bombardment, so it is really now hard but we are really resistant and we are protecting the whole of

western civilisation from russia. staying with the thought of the flood of people trying to get out of ukraine, let me show you some of the live pictures from another of the border crossing points, this one between ukraine and romania, with the same story as at all the crossing points, with peoplejust continuing to cross, to flee everything that is happening in ukraine, the eu's interior commissioner staying awhile that at least 300,000 ukrainian refugees have entered territory as ever. that is the border between ukraine and romania and poland said earlier that at least 150,000 people had crossed from ukraine into their since russia began its invasion on thursday. a short while ago, our europe correspondence mark lowen spoke to us from the south—eastern poland border with ukraine. this spoke to us from the south-eastern poland border with ukraine.- poland border with ukraine. this is what solidarity _ poland border with ukraine. this is what solidarity looks _ poland border with ukraine. this is what solidarity looks like. - poland border with ukraine. this is what solidarity looks like. these i what solidarity looks like. these are all donations from the people of

poland that have been gathered from people right across the country in fact, and brought here to the border with ukraine, where they are being kept and sorted in this converted sports hall, ready to take to the border with ukraine. we're very close to the border, but everything is being stored and sorted here because at the moment there aren't the facilities on the border to house all this material. but you can see there's a lot of food, there's water, there are blankets, there are nappies for babies, a lot of supplies and this has all been donated. and everybody here are volunteers of all ages, really from young to old. and you can see how the the poles are absolutely rising to this occasion, really, and the sort of outpouring of support and solidarity for their ukrainian neighbours. poland says that more than 150,000 ukrainians have already crossed over the border to here in poland. they are being housed in hotels,

dormitories, otherfacilities. polish hospitals are getting ready to be able to treat some of the wounded. and while poland has said that it is worried about the numbers that could potentially cross in the days and weeks ahead, it is showing full solidarity to the ukrainians facing the russian aggression. and as you can see here, poland is now absolutely on the humanitarian front line of this crisis. that was marc levin. let's talk to the ceo at care international uk, a humanitarian aid organisation. thank you for being on the programme. how alarming is the situation in your view? it alarming is the situation in your view? , alarming is the situation in your view? i , i, i, alarming is the situation in your view? i , ii i, ., alarming is the situation in your view? i , ii i, i, , view? it is very alarming and it is chanauin view? it is very alarming and it is changing really — view? it is very alarming and it is changing really quickly, - view? it is very alarming and it is changing really quickly, as i view? it is very alarming and it is changing really quickly, as we i view? it is very alarming and it is| changing really quickly, as we can see. this level of violence has been going for four days and only two days ago, we were talking about maybe 10,000, 20,000 people had crossed the borders, now we are talking about hundreds of thousands.

that will mean that there are many, many more than that, people who have already left their homes and who are still in ukraine and all of those people need help. it is good to hear that there might be people need help. it is good to hear that there might he talks to bring the violence to an end. that is obviously what is needed but we are already seeing now, it is probably millions of people who are on the move, leaving their homes, and they need support, whether they are in neighbouring countries or in ukraine. and the vast majority of those people on the move are women and children who are extremely vulnerable. they need food, warm clothes and shelter and water. but they also need protection. they are very, very vulnerable. we know from other refugee crises that women and children on the move like this are very prone to the risks of sexual exploitation and violence and that is a real, real concern. you exploitation and violence and that is a real, real concern.— exploitation and violence and that is a real, real concern. you make a number of— is a real, real concern. you make a number of points _

is a real, real concern. you make a number of points but _ is a real, real concern. you make a number of points but let's - is a real, real concern. you make a number of points but let's take i is a real, real concern. you make a number of points but let's take it l number of points but let's take it in stages because the obvious one first of all is that despite all of this, just in the last week, this is only the start of it, isn't it? well, yes. i mean, if this carries on, for weeks and weeks, then the worst case scenarios are that millions of people are going to be displaced from their homes and that people's means of livelihood are going to be disrupted. it is possible that some civilian infrastructure, despite it being against the rules of war, are already being destroyed and if that carries on, that will affect people's ability to get food and water, electricity, which will affect whether people can stay in touch with each other. so yes, if the violence carries on, it is going to get much, much worse. it is interesting _ to get much, much worse. it is interesting you _ to get much, much worse. it is interesting you say _ to get much, much worse. it is interesting you say that because literally as you were saying it, a us official is quoted as saying the united states assesses that russia

is starting to adopt siege tactics inside ukraine, which increases the likelihood of collateral damage to civilian infrastructure and to life. so exactly the worries and concerns you are outlining also being expressed from us officials talking about russia now using siege tactics inside ukraine. in terms of your organisation, what do you have in situ and what do you need to get there? we situ and what do you need to get there? ~ ii situ and what do you need to get there? ~ i, i, ~ i, there? we are working with a partner organisation — there? we are working with a partner organisation inside _ there? we are working with a partner organisation inside ukraine _ there? we are working with a partner organisation inside ukraine who i there? we are working with a partner organisation inside ukraine who has i organisation inside ukraine who has been there working since 2014, since the crisis in the east and in crimea. they will be spreading their work around the whole country to respond to the current increase in violence. you were also just talking about the people who are coming into some of the neighbouring countries like romania, care works in several of those countries as well and we will be looking to help people who have got out of ukraine. but it is

really important we remember how many people inside ukraine are going to need help because it is there where those, you know, attacks on civilian and civilian infrastructure will have the worst impact. if you can get to a safe country, you are definitely going to need help and support but if you are inside ukraine, and things like food supplies have been disrupted, then it is going to be really important that we can get humanitarian aid in and it is the responsibility of all parties to a conflict to protect civilians. they must do that. so the obvious situation _ civilians. they must do that. so the obvious situation within _ civilians. they must do that. so the obvious situation within ukraine, i obvious situation within ukraine, exactly as you outlined, there's the obvious situation at the borders of so many countries that we have been looking at but eventually, those people are going to have to move from the borders to european countries. does there need to be an urgent plan worked out very quickly about where the majority of those

people actually go? about where the ma'ority of those people actually go?— about where the ma'ority of those people actually go? yes, i mean, all euroean people actually go? yes, i mean, all european countries _ people actually go? yes, i mean, all european countries should _ people actually go? yes, i mean, all european countries should be - people actually go? yes, i mean, all european countries should be ready| european countries should be ready to help those people and i am sure there will be conversations between european countries. but we have seen in the past with refugees from other countries, whether syria or afghanistan, that we turn it into a problem. it does not need to be a terrible problem. these are people who want to work, who want to contribute to a society and they just want to be safe and peaceful. and europe is large enough and rich enough to absorb these refugees if we do it the right way. it is really important that european governments don't turn it into a problem which it does not need to be. we don't turn it into a problem which it does not need to be.— don't turn it into a problem which it does not need to be. we have to leave it there _ it does not need to be. we have to leave it there but _ it does not need to be. we have to leave it there but thank _ it does not need to be. we have to leave it there but thank you - it does not need to be. we have to leave it there but thank you very . leave it there but thank you very much forjoining us. i mentioned as i was talking to our guest one of the latest lines from us officials,

a number of other lines also dropping and let me take you through what is being said in washington because one us official said the us believes vladimir putin ordering nuclear forces onto believes vladimir putin ordering nuclearforces onto high believes vladimir putin ordering nuclear forces onto high alert is unnecessary and escalator e. we had heard that from the us ambassador to the un so echoing those thoughts. they went on to say that russia has experienced failures in some of its missile launches in ukraine, russia does not have a lot of experience moving on another nation state at this level of complexity and size, so says that us official, explaining the slower than expected advance of the slower than expected advance of the russian invasion. also talking about the siege tactics. that line is worth repeating, their assessment, the us, is that russia is now adopting siege tactics inside of ukraine which increases the likelihood of collateral damage to civilian infrastructure and to life. just a final line, the us is trying

to assess what vladimir putin's announcement on nuclear forces to assess what vladimir putin's announcement on nuclearforces means in "tangible terms". just some of those lines coming to us in the last little while. european leaders have agreed a significant escalation of sanctions against moscow, including excluding some moscow banks from what is coppa swift system international transactions. the european commission says it wants to cripple his position ability to finance his war machine. there is real anger at president putin and his new result to try to hurt his ability to finance the war with a to further economic sanctions announced late last night. all of these measures will significantly harm put in's ability

all of these measures will significantly harm putin's ability to finance his war. putin embarked on a path, aiming to destroy ukraine. what he is also doing in fact is destroying the future of his own country. stop putin now! with the us and the uk, there is a plan to cut some russian banks out of the international payment system known as swift. also to limit russia's ability to access its overseas reserves. there was another major shift in german foreign and defence policy today, with a commitment to significantly increase defence spending to above the nato target of 2% of gdp. the chancellor, olaf scholz, described the russian invasion as a turning point in the history of europe. translation: with this assault - on ukraine, russia's president putin has launched a cold—blooded war with a single reason, to deprive ukrainians of their freedom

and the country of its independence. this is a human rights violation and inhumane. no—one can justify it. there was applause in the german parliament for those people in russia protesting against president putin's actions. but the discussion about what can and must be done by western powers to help ukraine is sure to carry on. what has already been done is enormous help, this swift, the central bank of russia, these major banks that have been hit, this is something the russians will feel. on top of it we will need notjust sanctions on russia, we want also ukraine to be supported, and that is also in the package, to support ukraine to survive this. a growing number of european countries are also closing their airspace to russian airlines. belgium, italy and the netherlands the latest to make such an announcement today. events are moving fast.

let's turn to some of the anti—war protest because there have been mass protest because there have been mass pro ukraine protests in much of the many european capitals. jeremy so perhaps the biggest. i will damian mcguinness was watching those crowds —— michaeljimmy perhaps the biggest. he spoke to me earlier. this is a shift in german foreign policy in the last couple of days since the invasion and this has come from government leaders from mainstream centre—left, centre—right opposition parties, as well, from the government, but also from voters and the demonstrations you are seeing here in berlin by the combination of a whole week of demonstrations across the country. today's a protest in berlin are likely to be the largest, 20,000 people originally registered. looking at the streets right now and who is coming in from where, we will see much, much biggerfigures than

this and this is what olaf schultz announced today is, to a certain extent, he is responding and his government is responding to pressure from german commentators, german leading figures and german voters who have for a long time been pushing on germany to act more decisively and with more solidarity in support of ukraine.— in support of ukraine. damian mcguinness. _ in support of ukraine. damian mcguinness. let's _ in support of ukraine. damian mcguinness. let's talk - in support of ukraine. damian mcguinness. let's talk to i in support of ukraine. damian mcguinness. let's talk to the | in support of ukraine. damian i mcguinness. let's talk to the vice president and executive director of the german marshall fund, a us —based nonpartisan think tank. thank you for being on the programme. in terms of some of the latest lines, that line coming out of moscow about those special alerts, the high status for the nuclear forces. what do you make of that development? aha, do you make of that development? very striking development. very explanatory. in my view very irresponsible but also suggest the degree of nato solidarity, the steps announced, the arms transfer

ukraine, the sanctions, all of this is having an effect on the russian calculus but of course we need to know more about it has been put on alert and how. clearly it is aimed to some extent perhaps at ukraine but much more probably at the us and europe. but much more probably at the us and euroe. �* i ii ~ but much more probably at the us and euroe. �*i , i, , europe. let's take it in stages. in terms of the _ europe. let's take it in stages. in terms of the aim _ europe. let's take it in stages. in terms of the aim at _ europe. let's take it in stages. in terms of the aim at ukraine, i europe. let's take it in stages. in terms of the aim at ukraine, the | terms of the aim at ukraine, the foreign minister was saying only a short while ago that he thought it a direct link to those talks that are currently going on or are about to start, tojust ask currently going on or are about to start, to just ask the pressure, just turn the screw on them. that could be. and _ just turn the screw on them. that could be. and of— just turn the screw on them. that could be. and of course _ just turn the screw on them. trust could be. and of course in the context of what is actually going on in ukraine, as important as it may be too moscow, it is simply not credible to threaten nuclear retaliation in any sense or even to somehow suggest nuclear weapons are part of the calculus. it suggests it is aimed much more at the nato atmosphere and to forestall

additional steps nato allies may take but we need to know much more about what has been put on alert. in the meanwhile, already the americans with the latest line suggesting that they will send my military equipment. we have had the german decision. all of those western capitals looking to actually enhance the military hardware, the lethal force they are currently sending to ukraine. in terms of what we have seen from moscow, do you think part of it is a response to all of that trying to stop that? i of it is a response to all of that trying to stop that?— of it is a response to all of that trying to stop that? i think it is a resonse trying to stop that? i think it is a response to _ trying to stop that? i think it is a response to all _ trying to stop that? i think it is a response to all of _ trying to stop that? i think it is a response to all of the _ trying to stop that? i think it is a response to all of the things i trying to stop that? i think it is a response to all of the things you j response to all of the things you mentioned but also i think that has very little prospect of succeeding. i don't see any real prospect of nato allies being deterred, politically or in terms of what they are sending to ukraine, by this kind ofan are sending to ukraine, by this kind of an announcement. it is irresponsible, dangerous. whenever nuclear weapons are somehow invoked as part of strategy, it simply takes

us into a different kind of realm. do you worry, as well... we were hearing from us officials talking about the reasoning time some of the slow pace of the russian advance. as we see on our screen, some of the recent military equipment moving into the second city. do you worry that potentially russia will escalate the military action on the ground, given some of the problems they have been having? i ground, given some of the problems they have been having?— they have been having? i think that is very likely- _ they have been having? i think that is very likely. the _ they have been having? i think that is very likely. the slow _ they have been having? i think that is very likely. the slow pace - they have been having? i think that is very likely. the slow pace of i is very likely. the slow pace of this offensive must be worrisome the russians. the nuclear threat is not really credible, even though it is very irresponsible, but underneath that there could well be a great escalation of the conventional use of force which would have enormous implications for civilian casualties and the duration of the conflict. what do you anticipate in the coming days, what is it that you are looking for is pointers as to what

direction we go in?— direction we go in? well, these negotiations. — direction we go in? well, these negotiations, if— direction we go in? well, these negotiations, if you _ direction we go in? well, these negotiations, if you want i direction we go in? well, these negotiations, if you want to i direction we go in? well, these j negotiations, if you want to call direction we go in? well, these i negotiations, if you want to call it that, talks, however they go, very unlikely prospect of succeeding in my view but that provides an potential off ramp if for some reason, at the last hour, putin decides this is not worth it. i think that is very unlikely and so i think that is very unlikely and so i think there is every prospect of further question escalation. i think there is every prospect of further western support for ukraine and something that is likely to turn into a very protracted stalemate, a very protracted conflict with enormous cost to it. it is also possible that at some point the russian military clay simply turn to putin and say this is not working and they make looks to do something different, even have a different political outcome in moscow and i don't predict that but it is not impossible. don't predict that but it is not impossible-— don't predict that but it is not im ossible. i, i, i, impossible. the final thought on that. how secure _ impossible. the final thought on that. how secure would - impossible. the final thought on that. how secure would you i impossible. the final thought on that. how secure would you say| that. how secure would you say vladimir putin is in terms of his stranglehold on power? i

vladimir putin is in terms of his stranglehold on power?- vladimir putin is in terms of his stranglehold on power? i think the loner this stranglehold on power? i think the longer this drags _ stranglehold on power? i think the longer this drags on _ stranglehold on power? i think the longer this drags on without i stranglehold on power? i think the longer this drags on without any i longer this drags on without any obvious success as a scene from the russian side, his hold on power becomes weaker and weaker and weaker. idr becomes weaker and weaker and weaker. , ii becomes weaker and weaker and weaker. i ii , , i, ~ becomes weaker and weaker and weaker. , ii i , i, ~ , i, becomes weaker and weaker and weaker. , ii ii i, ~ weaker. dr ian lesser, thank you so much forjoining _ weaker. dr ian lesser, thank you so much forjoining us _ weaker. dr ian lesser, thank you so much forjoining us here _ weaker. dr ian lesser, thank you so much forjoining us here on - weaker. dr ian lesser, thank you so much forjoining us here on bbc i much forjoining us here on bbc news. much for 'oining us here on bbc news. i, , , i, if much for 'oining us here on bbc l news.— if you news. good to be with you. if you have 'ust news. good to be with you. if you have just joined _ news. good to be with you. if you have just joined us _ news. good to be with you. if you have just joined us and _ news. good to be with you. if you have just joined us and you i news. good to be with you. if you have just joined us and you are i have justjoined us and you are watching bbc news. let's recap some of the key developments in the story to date with ukraine agreeing to talks with russia on the belarus border. that development in the last hour or so. border. that development in the last hour orso. vladimir border. that development in the last hour or so. vladimir putin meanwhile says he has put the country's nuclear deterrent on special alert. he says it is in response to nato aggression including statements and sanctions. the move does not mean russia intends to use those weapons but the move has been condemned, nato calling it dangerous and irresponsible. ukraine has second city kharkiv remains under ukraine control despite heavy street

fighting and russian infantry vehicles being seen driving through some of the residential areas. blasts were heard this morning in kyiv and last night an oil depot was blown up close to the capital. there have been warnings of potential toxic fumes as a result. the united nations refugee agency estimates that more than 400,000 people had left ukraine to escape the conflict. those are some of the key lines on this story on this, day four of the russian invasion. let's speak to andrei from ukraine. his family is still there. thank you so much for being here on the programme with me. just tell me the latest in terms of what you know of the well—being of your relatives who were there in ukraine. i i, i , your relatives who were there in ukraine. , i, , , i, , , ukraine. obviously i am very very concerned — ukraine. obviously i am very very concerned and _ ukraine. obviously i am very very concerned and this _ ukraine. obviously i am very very

concerned and this has _ ukraine. obviously i am very very concerned and this has been i ukraine. obviously i am very very concerned and this has been the. ukraine. obviously i am very very i concerned and this has been the most difficult days of my life. i am trying to get in touch with them every hour or so and unfortunately they are separated at the moment. my mum and my 86—year—old grandmother, they are hiding in a bomb shelter on they are hiding in a bomb shelter on the outskirts of kyiv and have been doing that for the last few days. my sister, well, on day two of the war, we got lucky, my family got lucky, to have some kind of random people that she barely knows and they agreed to take her to the western part of ukraine, there was a spare seatin part of ukraine, there was a spare seat in their car. usually that journey would take eight hours, seven hours. it took them two days because of the cues of other refugees. yesterday she reached the

city of ivano—frankivsk and through their friends they found a lady who had her nine—month—old child in the car, to the romania border, so as far as i know my sister is now with her and my sister is just 19 so it must be a really terrible experience for her to have this situation on her shoulders when she is all by herself. as far as i know, they are coming to the romanian border and hopefully there will not be any delays to get across it and then i will be able to help and assist more. in will be able to help and assist more. i i, y will be able to help and assist more. , i, , i, i, ~ more. in terms of trying to make those... more. in terms of trying to make those- -- just _ more. in terms of trying to make those... just your _ more. in terms of trying to make those... just your description i those... just your description there, it sounds nightmarish to actually go through all of this, to make contact.— actually go through all of this, to make contact. absolutely and the worst art make contact. absolutely and the worst part of _ make contact. absolutely and the worst part of it — make contact. absolutely and the worst part of it is _ make contact. absolutely and the worst part of it is that _ make contact. absolutely and the worst part of it is that people - make contact. absolutely and the worst part of it is that people in l worst part of it is that people in ukraine are very heroic people and they have nothing else to protect except their homes, so they go and volunteer, like my father did. my

father, 55 years old, history teacher, history of ukraine teacher. he will endear to help the army. he came to the military service point and offered his services to get weapons to protect the streets where i grew up. the city, my beloved city of kyiv. there were so many of them. he waited the whole day to get registered and he came the next day and received training and yet there were no weapons are left because of so many people came and were ready to protect their city. i think there were thousands of ukrainians who are absolute heroes in my eyes, like my father, like many other people in ukraine who fight for their homes, for their loved ones, and that is why we need some help, more help from the west. we are not asking for any troops, we know that there is no point asking other nations' sons to

fight for us, but we have military, but we need more weapons. i will come to that _ but we need more weapons. i will come to that in _ but we need more weapons. i will come to that in a _ but we need more weapons. i will come to that in a moment - but we need more weapons. i will come to that in a moment or - but we need more weapons. i will come to that in a moment or two but incredible, your description of what your father is doing at his age. and also i was going to ask you, in your extended family, cousins... the male members of your extended family, i they all doing similar things in terms of volunteering, staying, preparing themselves to fight? most of them are doing _ preparing themselves to fight? blast of them are doing this. i know that most of them registered with military service points, many of them volunteer by helping prepare some food supply, by helping some other ways. some of them just hiding and i can understand that, if you are being bombed for quite a while you need to protect your family, your beloved ones and that is relevant for those with kids, young children. my aunt has been in a bomb

shelterfor children. my aunt has been in a bomb shelter for the children. my aunt has been in a bomb shelterfor the last children. my aunt has been in a bomb shelter for the last three days with her twin daughters of five years old. she is a single mother and it has been very difficult for her but she is coping there, we are coping there, we arejust hoping... we have so much trust in our army and i think all people in ukraine are heroic people. we need more supplies, though, and that is true. tell me more about that, then. we have seen even through the course of today more equipment being sent, the germans making them very, very important historic decision to actually send lethal weapons and equipment to a foreign country. we have seen the americans indicate they want to send more equipment. when you look at the response that is happening, do you think it amounts to enough? hat is happening, do you think it amounts to enough? is happening, do you think it amounts to enouuh? ., ., , amounts to enough? not enough, but that is much — amounts to enough? not enough, but that is much more _ amounts to enough? not enough, but that is much more than _ amounts to enough? not enough, but that is much more than we _ amounts to enough? not enough, but that is much more than we had - amounts to enough? not enough, but that is much more than we had in - amounts to enough? not enough, but that is much more than we had in the| that is much more than we had in the very first hours for the first days

of russian invasion. there was a delay in response from the west and now we fear this because a number of roads have been bunged, a number of bridges have been bummed, so it is difficult to supply all those weapons now to the front line —— a number of bridges and roads have been bombed. another thing we lack, anti—aircraft defences and missiles, thatis anti—aircraft defences and missiles, that is something which needs to be addressed because we stand on the ground but we are losing there. we are fighting their but remember fighting the second largest army in the world and now is the worrying news from belarus that they might be another army in the north. it is great, we appreciate that. we know who those nations are who are friendly to us, we know them but we need more of them because we cannot hold for ever. we are facing the

biggest army and there is another one approaching and with the latest statement from putin about making nuclear weapons being ready... i mean... i thought he would never dare to attack ukraine, i thought russians would never dare to attack ukraine because there are so many ties among ukrainian and russian people, family members in both countries, he made them to attack ukraine and i would not be surprised if he is that mad to go even further. ~ ., , if he is that mad to go even further. ~ . , , , , further. we have seen the responses alread to further. we have seen the responses already to what _ further. we have seen the responses already to what has _ further. we have seen the responses already to what has been _ further. we have seen the responses already to what has been said - further. we have seen the responses already to what has been said in - already to what has been said in moscow from washington and from elsewhere, just a quick final thoughts about what you said about your mother and grandmother. they are hiding in the bomb shelters. are you able at all to speak to them at any stage in any hours in the day, or have you not been able to do that? do you want them effectively to stay where they are and simply not venture out?— to stay where they are and simply not venture out? yeah, i want them to stay where _

not venture out? yeah, i want them to stay where they _ not venture out? yeah, i want them to stay where they are _ not venture out? yeah, i want them to stay where they are because - not venture out? yeah, i want them to stay where they are because it i not venture out? yeah, i want them to stay where they are because it is| to stay where they are because it is the safest now, with all the fighting on the streets. it might be difficult. i can contact them because they are based in the southern part of the city on the outskirts, so it has been more or less quiet. my aunt, in another part of kyiv, the northern part of kyiv, she sometimes cannot speak, she can just send a message and say, "i cannot speak now because there is fighting as we were told to sit quietly here." though it differs, and i think it depends on the part of the city. i think they are safe there, whilst the ukrainian army protects the city of kyiv. you there, whilst the ukrainian army protects the city of kyiv.- protects the city of kyiv. you so much for _ protects the city of kyiv. you so much for taking _ protects the city of kyiv. you so much for taking time _ protects the city of kyiv. you so much for taking time to - protects the city of kyiv. you so much for taking time to speak. protects the city of kyiv. you so i much for taking time to speak two and good luck in the coming hours and good luck in the coming hours and days in terms of staying in contact with your family and their safety. thank you so much for being with us on the programme.- safety. thank you so much for being with us on the programme. thank you. let's return — with us on the programme. thank you.

let's return to — with us on the programme. thank you. let's return to the _ with us on the programme. thank you. let's return to the wider _ with us on the programme. thank you. let's return to the wider situation - let's return to the wider situation on the ground and the wider military picture becausejust a on the ground and the wider military picture because just a short while ago i was speaking to our security correspondent to find out exactly who is gaining ground and exactly where. ~ ., , ., , who is gaining ground and exactly where. ~ ., , .,, where. the white house has said it in's order on _ where. the white house has said it in's order on putting _ where. the white house has said it in's order on putting the _ where. the white house has said it in's order on putting the deterrent| in's order on putting the deterrent forces in russia on high alert is a pattern of manufacturing threats that do not exist to justify aggression. what this audit looks like from president putin is he is saying that he is doing this because of aggressive statements from nato. remember last week he gave a coded warning, saying that if anyone tried to hinder his campaign in ukraine, they would seek consequences the like of which they had never seen in their history and that was read as a kind of coded warning about the use of nuclear weapons and what we are seeing now is a much more explicit move with him going on tv with his defence minister and chief of general staff and saying, push them up general staff and saying, push them up to a higher level of readiness. that is a very public move and i think what we can interpret is a kind of warning from putin to say to

people, i want you to be nervous about russia using nuclear weapons, and what extent you give support ukraine might trigger doing that but it doesn't necessarily mean he is planning to do it now, it is a messaging warning move by moscow. does it perhaps indicate some of the action being taken in western capitals is beginning to have an impact? we saw what the germans have announced today, just in the last few seconds, the white house adding to what you read out. we know that more help is being given to ukraine and perhaps that is what vladimir putin is responding to. i think always the danger in these kind of crises is miscalculation. i think the risk for vladimir putin is that he miscalculated militarily about how quickly the campaign and the invasion of ukraine might go and how much resistance he would face but also he may have miscalculated about how much pressure the outside world

and the west would be able to put on in terms of sanctions and it may be that now those two things are hitting him and he is realising this is going to be a lot more challenging than he expected, and this is one of his ways, if you like, of escalating in response. let's try and look at what is actually happening on the ground, between us we have a map in terms of some of the key areas that we have seen the attacks, those orange areas are the ones now under russian control, just take us through what we are seeing and where the movement is and where the most serious fighting is. we have seen the russian incursion from three sides, into the donbas region where there has been fighting from the south from crimea and on two fronts effectively in the north and north—east. what is noticeable is last night there was a lot of concern there would be a big battle over kyiv but that did not happen. what we have seen is russian troops encircle and move towards it and more combat in kharkiv

and there was an attempt by the russians to go into the city there not with heaviest forces but with some forces and there was fighting but ukrainians say they are back in control of the town. we have another map, i hope, which is one which comes from the uk government and what that map shows is some of the directions of travel which russia is moving. it is moving on different axes. i think the crucial thing to see here is the push towards kyiv and it looks like the russian strategy all along has been to tie up forces elsewhere but crucially get some of those heavy troops around kyiv. i think their strategy, it looks from that, is to encircle the city, i don't think they want to go in there and fight street by street, they would rather encircle it and get a surrender but obviously we are seeing a lot more resistance than they expected. as we have been reporting a little earlier, hundreds of thousands of people are attempting to flee ukraine. we have seen huge crowds at

train stations and various other avenues out but they have been some reports on social media of people of african and indian descent having particular problems so let's get more on this aspect with our south asia editor in the studio. i know you have been looking at this through the course of the day, looking at social media, but what have you been seeing and hearing? tens of thousands of african and indian students are stranded at the polish border so they tried to board trains and social media footage shows they are being stopped by ukrainian officials from avoiding the trains and this one particular footage just went viral and indian media and i think the one you are watching is one with african students where they are being told you cannot board this train and they were being told to sit down and you could hear a voice saying don't do this to us, are you doing this

because we are black? either see a baby or even women with babies are not allowed to board the trains. there are too many testimonies to discount now and we have also seen footage going viral and indian media with one particular student. a medical student. with one particular student. a medicalstudent. saying with one particular student. a medical student. saying that she was being beaten up by the officials and her fellow students also alleged the same complaint and said that we are being mistreated and pushed aside and the ukrainians are being allowed to board first and we are being left behind. i to board first and we are being left behind. ~' ., to board first and we are being left behind. ~ ., i. ., , to board first and we are being left behind. ~ ., ., , . behind. i know you have been chasing a resonse behind. i know you have been chasing a response from _ behind. i know you have been chasing a response from the _ behind. i know you have been chasing a response from the ukrainian - a response from the ukrainian authorities, given everything we are seeing and the confusion and difficulties of that. have you had any sort of response from the authorities in terms of their explanation in terms of what is happening?— explanation in terms of what is ha enin: ? ., ., , ., happening? no, i have left several messaues happening? no, i have left several messages and _ happening? no, i have left several messages and i'm _ happening? no, i have left several messages and i'm still— messages and i'm still waiting to hear a response.

messages and i'm still waiting to heara response. in messages and i'm still waiting to hear a response. in some of the indiesjuice, they are hear a response. in some of the indies juice, they are less ukrainian officials have turned them back because of the indian government's response at the security council because india have abstain from condemning the invasion of ukraine by russian forces. indian students say that this is in retaliation for that decision that india has taken. we retaliation for that decision that india has taken.— retaliation for that decision that india has taken. we will leave it there, india has taken. we will leave it there. thank— india has taken. we will leave it there, thank you _ india has taken. we will leave it there, thank you very _ india has taken. we will leave it there, thank you very much. - india has taken. we will leave it | there, thank you very much. we india has taken. we will leave it - there, thank you very much. we are about to take another break. some of the latest line. a us defence official saying in the last little while that airspace is still being contested over ukraine. ukrainian air and contested over ukraine. ukrainian airand missile contested over ukraine. ukrainian air and missile defences remain viable and active. a little earlier we were hearing that the adviser to ukraine's interior ministry saying the talks between ukraine and russia have started, but was contested by the russians making the point that the russians making the point that the teams are therefore the talks but they have not yet started yet. we had from ukraine's interior minister, confirming that russia has not taken control of any key cities

in ukraine. we will have more on all of those key lines here on bbc news in just a of those key lines here on bbc news injust a moment of those key lines here on bbc news in just a moment or two. of those key lines here on bbc news injust a moment or two. do not of those key lines here on bbc news in just a moment or two. do not go away. hello. tuesday marks the start of meteorological spring, and there's a sense of spring in the air for many this afternoon — lots of sunshine around, tempered at times by quite a brisk breeze. and not everyone has the sunshine because, out to the west, we've got our next atlantic system approaching — that has been bringing a lot of cloud across northern and western scotland and northern ireland this morning, with some patchy rain — although it'll tend to ease through the rest of the day. we could see more cloud just pushing into the far west and south of wales and southwest england, but for most it's a fine, dry afternoon, plenty of sunshine, temperatures generally between eight and i2 celsius. but behind me, you can see that cloud and rain — that will be moving its way eastwards through this evening and overnight, initially into northern ireland and scotland, then eventually into northern england, wales and southwest england. further east we'll keep the clearer skies for longer, it will stay dry for much

of the night, and where we've got the clear skies initially temperatures getting close to freezing for some eastern counties of england. the temperatures will rise as the night wears on. it's an unsettled start to the new week — the rain will soon be clearing from scotland and northern ireland, but behind it, some showers interspersed with sunshine. heavy rain through the morning through parts of northern england, wales, southwest england, gradually working its way eastwards — may not get across to east anglia and south east england until later in the afternoon. coupled with that rain will be some strong winds — likely to see gales across the western isles. but it's still a mild day for many — ten to 12 celsius, the top temperature. and then through tomorrow evening, that band of rain will continue slowly on its journey eastwards, eventually arriving into east anglia and southeast england. then, behind it, we see some clearer skies, perhaps with the risk of ice across parts of northern scotland. then we see this area of high pressure building as we head through tuesday — complicated, though, by this frontal system, which wants to linger through tuesday. so for many on tuesday, underneath that area of high pressure, fine, dry, plenty of sunshine, with the winds gradually easing down

across northern scotland. however, more cloud across southern counties of england, perhaps with some rain lingering here through the day, and temperatures down slightly — so we're looking at nine to ii celsius as a top temperature on tuesday. and then that system is still lingering through wednesday, pushing more cloud northwards, some patchy outbreaks of rain. and then our next atlantic system is arriving from the west. so through wednesday and thursday, a fairly unsettled picture across the uk, with many of us seeing further spells of rain. goodbye.

i'm ros atkins on bbc news as we continue our coverage of the russian invasion of ukraine. as the battle rages, i hope for peace, ukraine's president agrees to talk with russia but accuses the kremlin of war crimes. translation: russia's criminal actions _ crimes. translation: russia's criminal actions against - crimes. translation: russia's criminal actions against ukraine j criminal actions against ukraine show signs of genocide. i talked about this with the un secretary general. russia is on the path of evil. ., general. russia is on the path of evil. . _ , , evil. vladimir putin says he is movin: evil. vladimir putin says he is moving russia's _ evil. vladimir putin says he is moving russia's nuclear- evil. vladimir putin says he is - moving russia's nuclear deterrent to special alert in response to what he called aggression from nato. there has been heavy clashes in ukraine's

second largest city kharkiv,