welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... russia warns it will launch strikes on targets in the ukrainian capital, kyiv, telling residents, to leave their homes. it's as russian forces hit the main television tower in kyiv, killing five people and damaging a holocaust memorial nearby. satellite images show a russian military convoy closing in on the capital, but the pentagon says the troops, may have supply problems. russians forces attack ukraine's second city kharkiv with rockets and cruise missiles — targeting civilians. translation: kharkiv and kyiv

are the most important - targets for russia now. the terror is aimed at breaking us, breaking our resistance. the united nations says nearly seven hundred thousand —— the united nations says nearly 700,000 people have fled ukraine. the flow of refugees is increasing by the hour. and president biden will give his first state of the union address tonight — president zelensky urges him to send a strong and useful message. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. this is newsday. it's 8am in singapore, and 2am in the ukranian capital kyiv — where russian forces are closing in on the city. in the coming days — troops could lay siege

to kyiv — cutting off food, water and other essential supplies. satellite images show a vast russian military convoy heading there, and russia's defence ministry, has urged citizens living near government buildings and other official sites, to leave their homes. we begin our coverage with this report from our international correspondent — 0rla guerin. loud explosion. one more russian missile strike brings terror to the streets of kyiv. the target this time, the main tv tower. the emergency services say five people were killed. and more russian firepower is closing in on the city. satellite images show this column of armoured vehicles and tanks. it's a0 miles long and less than 20 miles out. so, time for a do it yourself defence of kyiv.

we found ordinary civilians, men and women, gathered this afternoon to make molotov cocktails. katarina, a nurse, said she couldn't stand idly by. this is our country and this is hurting us a lot. hard to discuss it... did you ever think you would find yourself a situation like this? never. nobody could imagine this. "the russians won't make it," he says. "ukrainians are doing what they need to do." there is an assembly line here now. they're filling the bottles and filling the crates. there is a real sense of purpose and a feeling that these weapons, home—made though they may be,

could soon be needed here. and many ukrainians are occupying new positions. wartime roles they would never have sought. igor, a lawyer, now mans a lookout post. yes, so, a week ago i was representing my cases in the court room. and now it's difficult to address, but if you don't think about it and simply do what you have to do, it actually feels already normal. have you ever held a gun in your hands before? at school we were trained to deal with this sort of thing but i have never dared to do it or ever shot a gun or a pistol. this is the new architecture of kyiv. tank traps on the highway. a city trying to save itself,

building barricades with whatever comes to hand. and today, more volunteers for territorial defence units, from all walks of life. not entirely sure what they are signing up for, apart from being willing to die for ukraine. they know that day might come soon. and here, a reminder... air strike. we are hearing the air raid warning siren that means we have got to get to cover. many here say there is more at stake than their motherland. like dennis, who until last week was an activist fighting corruption. this is a fight for democracy. this is a fight for freedom. for human rights.

we don't want russia here, we don't want a dictatorship. we don't want russian empire here. we will fight for ukraine, for europe and for all over the world. they asked us to take a group photo. joking next week we will be reporting this group beat the russians. but by then, the picture here may be very different. 0rla guerin, bbc news, kyiv. in harkiv, ukraine's second—biggest city, to the east, there was a huge explosion tuesday, after a russian missile hit the regional government's headquarters. at least ten people were killed and 35 others were injured. russia is now in full control of significant parts of ukrainian territory, with fighting in several key cities and regions ongoing. 0ur eastern europe correspondent, sarah rainsford, reports from neepro, where many residents

reports from dnipro, where many residents of harkiv have fled. a warning, her report does contain some distressing images. this was a strike right at the heart of kharkiv. ukraine's second city under devastating fire. russia says it's not targeting civilians here. it says it's using precision missiles. it claims it's liberating ukraine from nazis. but russia has invaded its neighbour and it is killing civilians. "who wanted a russian world here," a man demands to know, "is this what you wanted?" in the rubble are the remains of a collection point. clothes and food meant for those trapped at home by the fighting, and for those defending them. three—year—old palina is now

sleeping in her bath. her mum asks why she has to go to the bunker. "it's because of the bombs," she says. palina has cancer, and her medicine is running out. the family need to leave town urgently but they're scared to step outside. translation: it's such a lottery. - you sit here thinking, "will they hit your house or not?" i don't know how to get out. they tell you all the time not to go out, it is dangerous, so ijust don't know what to do. i just hope they will make a safe corridor and get civilians out. so, dnipro, the next city south, is building up its defences, determined to stop the russian advance. some people who do flee kharkiv are now heading here. just as we were filming, the volunteers making this checkpoint, one of so many fortifications now going up

around dnipro, the air raid siren started to wail again and the volunteers ducked under the bridge for cover. just a reminder of how, when we talk about dnipro being safe, it's all pretty relative. vera made it here this morning, grabbing just enough for a couple of days. in kharkiv, she tells me, food and even water are growing scarce now and a friends in hospital after this morning's missile strike. she tells me, "he was right by the building. "thank god he's alive." but she says all her friends started writing and calling today when their flats were hit, or something fell really close. and this evening in kharkiv, there was this... their president calls it the price ukraine is paying for its freedom. it is an enormous price. sarah rainsford, bbc news, dnipro.

and if you want to know more about the russian convoy heading for kyiv. i'm joined now by our reporter mark lobel in london. what's the latest situation we're hearing on the ground? it's a mixed picture. russian troops _ ground? it's a mixed picture. russian troops are _ ground? it's a mixed picture. i russian troops are surrounding areas, the port town close to the russian border and north of crimea, but have a look at this. this is video evidence of hundreds —— hundreds of russian troops giving themselves up somewhere in ukraine. between mariupol something else is happening. this is resistance from civilians who stood in a way of an armed russian convoy, something we have seen repeated recently and kharkiv. but despite all of that, the russian defence minister remains undeterred. this is what he had to say on tuesday.

the russian armed forces group will continue its special military operation until it's achieved its goals.- military operation until it's achieved its goals. look and listen to this, _ achieved its goals. look and listen to this, we've - achieved its goals. look and listen to this, we've just - listen to this, we've just heard about kharkiv in sarah's report there, and it is still in government hands, but this is the sound and what it looks like tonight. russia of course is still warning him as an end and ends high precision set of air strikes and ends high precision set of airstrikes in certain and ends high precision set of air strikes in certain targets in kyiv as we heard. and there have been explosions heard on the outskirts of kyiv and in the outskirts of kyiv and in the last two hours, and we have focused for many days on this long winding russian military column on the outskirts of the town around 50 km or less from the capital. let's have a look now at what mckenzie intelligence services make about the kind way, what they say. they say there is a series

of logistical packets from belarus to the northern outskirts of kyiv. they say that the conway appears to be hampered in several places and within the column, there are some armoured tanks, told artillery and infiltrate fighting vehicles, but mainly it's logistical vehicles, suggesting aids in for the long haul. that's the point there, thatis haul. that's the point there, that is in for the long haul with that armour, artillery and infantry fighting vehicles. for a little more on this kind way, and assessments of his reading of the situation, this is the farmer nato supreme allied commanderfor europe. let's farmer nato supreme allied commander for europe. let's see what he had to say. the commander for europe. let's see what he had to say.— what he had to say. the area left and right _ what he had to say. the area left and right of— what he had to say. the area left and right of that - what he had to say. the area left and right of that route i left and right of that route is fairly— left and right of that route is fairly muddy, so they cannot -et fairly muddy, so they cannot get off— fairly muddy, so they cannot get off the road. they are limited _ get off the road. they are limited to the road. we also hear that_ limited to the road. we also hear that they are still having logistical problems, you know, not having the gas and things in some — not having the gas and things in some places. but why they

are not— in some places. but why they are not being struck, we have to ask— are not being struck, we have to ask ourselves what would strike — to ask ourselves what would strike them. right now, probably the only thing that's available are ground forces with — available are ground forces with these anti—tank missiles. i'm with these anti—tank missiles. i'm pretty— with these anti—tank missiles. i'm pretty sure that even though— i'm pretty sure that even though the convoy may not look like it's— though the convoy may not look like it's well organised, it is probably— like it's well organised, it is probably covered by russian surface _ probably covered by russian surface missiles. so probably covered by russian surface missiles.— probably covered by russian surface missiles. so a threat in k iv surface missiles. so a threat in kyiv there, _ surface missiles. so a threat in kyiv there, but _ surface missiles. so a threat in kyiv there, but what - surface missiles. so a threatj in kyiv there, but what could happen next? have a look at this. it's very interesting, this. it's very interesting, this is president lukashenko of belarus, unveiling a battle plan. an ally of russia, and in their sites, plan. an ally of russia, and in theirsites, if plan. an ally of russia, and in their sites, if you look closely but not taken yet, on the port of 0desa, a valuable port city in the ukraine —— in ukraine. also still under ukrainian control. mark, so many fast-moving - ukrainian control. mark, so - many fast-moving developments many fast—moving developments there, but it's also turning into a bit of a media work, isn't it? definitely for those who have seen steve irrelevant —— steve rosenberg reporting from russia, the story being told there is a difference.

ukraine's defence minister warned that russia is planning to disrupt communications and spread fake news that the ukrainian government would be capitulating we've seen that tower being struck in kyiv from that report, struck from the sky, five people died in that attack and damage to nearby memorial to the victims of the nazi holocaust. russia has had a domestic crackdown of the independent media there, a liberal radio station in moscow has been taken down and so has an online news channel, set two strands of key independent media and russia, the reason being that the russian prosecutor general said that it was spreading false information about the russian military activities in ukraine and they didn't want terms such as war and invasion used on air, but they were breaching many other guidelines that had been set out in response, apple has announced that its suspending all product sales in russia. russia today and sputnik, you are not able to find them on

google at the moment and the world bank and imf heads are saying they are chasing billions of pounds now in spending for ukraine and are warning of the spill—over effects for the global economy. fascinating stuff. thank you forjoining us on the programme. if you want to know more, you can go to our website where our chief international correspondent has written about the feeling of dread in the capital that is on the bbc news website or download the bbc news app. if you want to get in touch with me on the main story that you have been watching on newsday about ukraine, i am on twitter. @bbckarishma i'm looking for tearing freight —— from you. still to come... ukraine is set to feature in president biden�*s first state of the union address — we'll be live in washington for the latest. first, the plates slid gently off the restaurant tables. then suddenly the tables,

the chairs and people crashed sideways and downwards. it was just a matter of seconds as the ferry lurched onto her side. the hydrogen bomb. on a remote pacific atoll, the americans have successfully tested a weapon whose explosive force dwarfed that of the bomb dropped on hiroshima. i had heard the news earlier, and so my heart went bang, bang, bang! the constitutional rights of - these marchers are their rights of citizens of united states, - and they should protected even in the right to test them out so that they don't i get their heads broken l and are sent to hospital. this religious controversy, i know you don't say too much it, but does it worry you that it's ging to boil up when you get to the states? well, it worries me, yes, but, i hope everything will be all right at the end

of the day. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani, in singapore. 0ur headlines... pain -- the main television tower is hit as russia warns it will strike more targets in the capital —and a convoy of russian armoured vehicles continues to advance russian forces attacked ukraine's second city, kharkiv, with rockets and cruise missiles targeting civilians. in the next few hours, president biden will deliver his first state of the union address in the us capitol. the speech has been hastily rewritten in the last few days to focus on the war in ukraine and the us response. but he can't ignore the country's domestic issues — with inflation at a a0 year high. that's one reason why his poll ratings are at an almost record low. for more on this i am joined now by our washington correspondent nomia iqbal in washington. great

iqbal in washington. to have you on the programme. great to have you on the programme. you know, with so many challenges that he is facing both on the domestic and on the international front, what is likely to be the big focus in this speech today? well, the state of the union address as an opportunity for president biden to basically remind americans of what he has achieved, what he plans to achieved, what he plans to achieve as well, but as he mentioned there, ukraine well dominate the speech, they had to be it, and if you had, we had spoken may be a few days earlier about what we would expect from a state of the union address, we would say it's a pretty standard traditional formulaic speech it's a pretty standard traditionalformulaic speech in which the president sets out his domestic agenda, but that's been overshadowed by what is happening in europe. he will be delivering the speech as a wartime president, and we do expect him to talk at length about what america is doing to help ukraine. the military

assistance and the economic assistance and the economic assistance that they are giving ukraine. he also talked about a newly emerged nato, talking about the importance of the western countries getting together, democracies matter, this is one thing that biden really cares about and we'll talk about how that matters in the face of aggression from autocratic countries like russia and he will call vladimir putin outage directly in his speech, he will make it very clear that he blames the russian president for what's happening right now in ukraine. we understand that the ukrainian president in that discussion withjoe biden in that phone call asked him to say something useful, i think the words were, about the conflict in ukraine, but it strikes me, how much do americans really care about the war in ukraine, given the focus on domestic issues at home? while, it depends what to pull you look at. generally speaking from a lot of polls in the past

week or so have shown that americans do care about the crisis in ukraine, they are paying attention to it, it's dominating the news coverage here in america, and they want to know what the us is doing about it, but they do draw a redline at something, and that is putting boots on the ground. president zelensky has also urged america and other countries to end plans no—fly zone which simply is something biden is not prepared to do because in order to have a no—fly zone, you have to put the us military in the air, which can escalate the conflict. it will be interesting, you know, to see what else he talks about. he will refer to a lot of domestic issues, as you mention, inflation is a big issue here in america. although, it's not, you know, it's out of biden because my control, but we do expect him to reveal plans on what he will do to tackle it, and it's a four—point plan which will involve lowering prices, he will talk about strengthening supply chains as

well, but like i said, this is an opportunity for president biden to remind americans why they voted for him. great to get you on the programme. thank you for joining us on newsday. we will be bringing you a special programme covering the state of the union speech live from washington with laura trevelyan, here on bbc news, from oh—one—thirty gmt on wednesday. dojoin us for that. as the fighting in ukraine intensifies — people continue to flee. thousands of people from across ukraine have arrived in the western city of lviv since since the war started. lviv is a hub for those trying to reach poland, slovakia and hungary our special correspondent, fergal keane has just sent this report from the city. the road that goes on and on, the refugee road — of days waiting to move meagre distances. on day six of this invasion, the refugees keep coming. now, when you look at

these images every day, you might think it's the same story every day. but, of course, it's not — war never is. it's not about an anonymous mass of people fleeing. it's about individual lives that are turned upside down. over half a million have fled already, many thousands more are on the move — like liza, leaving with her elderly mother and daughter. translation: it's scary, i for sure, it's psychologically difficult, because we lived well, we started to build a new house last year. and now we had to run, everything we have is in the car. there's shock but no social collapse. these teenagers from a local village clean the rubbish left by those fleeing. it's civic—minded, but also the solidarity of friends in the face of war.

translation: it was very scary, we cried a lot, - but we are together, and we support each other. we want it to stop, we don't want any war. we want ukraine to be ukraine. back in lviv, the fighting might still be far away, but they're strengthening security along the roads — civilians and military together. this is a brewery that's been converted into a factory for making petrol bombs. piano plays. nine—year—old maksym calms himself by practising the piano, playing in a theatre that's been converted into a refuge. the actors welcoming

new arrivals like maksym and his mum, daria. translation: we didn't want to leave our home. | it is difficult, this. but i understood that the situation was escalating very rapidly, and we decided to flee with everything we could. "i'm fine, this is normal." "i don't want war," he told me. "it'll be better if it doesn't happen and everybody lives in their own house and doesn't have to go anywhere else." tomorrow, maksym will be here at lviv station, to become another story of departure. people here ask, "how long will the war go on?" it's a question, sadly, easy to answer. as long as president putin wants it to. until that happens,

across ukraine, the partings will go on. fergal keane, bbc news, lviv. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. russia warns of will launch strikes on targets in the ukrainian capital committee has not to leave their homes. let's take a moment to look at that huge russian military convoy we have been telling you about, which is approaching kyiv from the north. this satellite image, taken on monday, shows vehicles lined up along the road, near the ukrainian settlement of ivankiv — that's near the border with belarus. you can see them stretched from the top right to the bottom left. but — experts say that claims the convoy is forty miles long are inaccurate. rather, it's broken up into a string of what they say are logistical packets, strung out along the road./ there are some fighting vehicles — but mostly there are support vehicles. and the analysis suggests that the convoy is making slow progress, due to several broken down vehicles.

that is sent from my on newsday. thank you forjoining us. do stay with bbc news. hello there. after that sensation of warmth from a strengthening sunshine overhead, areas that saw the blue skies today, like here in parts of scotland, you're going to feel the chill tonight with temperatures widely below freezing. different story further south with conditions a bit more like this, and it's this sort of look more of us will have as we go into wednesday. there's the cloud which kept things a bit gray, misty and damp across some southern areas. heavy bursts of rain from that creeping its way northwards, but with clearer skies across scotland, northern ireland, northern england for much of the night, this is where we will see temperatures drop below freezing, may be as low as —7 through some sheltered glens of aberdeenshire. but the rain or drizzle towards the south does become more extensive, edging into north wales, parts of northern england first thing tomorrow morning. and temperatures don't really drop here through the night, 7—8 celsius, as i said,

compared to the subzero temperatures, especially so across scotland as we start the new day. so here's the chart as we go into wednesday. 0ur weather system continues to work its way northwards. we'll have a bit more breeze as well across these western areas and even across scotland where the sunshine's out. there will be more of a breeze around, that will make it feel a bit more chilly after that cold start. the cloud, rain, drizzle across wales, midlands, southern england, then pushes into northern england, northern ireland through the morning and into the afternoon, through some southern parts of scotland. it's going to be quite murky over the hills. we could see a little bit of brightness breakthrough parts of wales and the southwest. if we do, 11—12 degrees. most places in single figures. whilst we've got the sunshine still in northern scotland, more of a breeze will make it feel chillier than today. so that breeze then takes the cloud and patchy rain across scotland as we go through into wednesday evening and wednesday night. with all that cloud around, one decaying weather front across the uk, another one pushing in from the west. it will be a much milder start on thursday for all, but it will be a bit of a damp start as well. the weather front quickly pushing its way eastwards away

from some western areas as we go through thursday morning. so a better chance of brightening up here, but its meeting resistance from developing southeasterly flow across the north sea. and that means the weather front may grind to a halt. eastern scotland down the spine of england with outbreaks of rain continuing into the afternoon and a rather gray, misty look to go with it. temperatures 9—12 celsius. similar sort of temperatures, actually, through the rest of the week and into the weekend. high pressure, though, builds around our weather front, the problem is the weather front gets trapped. plenty of cloud around, some patchy drizzle, but gradually turning drier through the weekend. see you soon.

this is bbc news.

we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. hour by hour, vladimir putin intensifies the scale and the violence of the russian military assault on ukraine. civilian buildings hit by rocket fire, towns and cities encircled. and the capital kyiv now facing a vast build—up of russian firepower. hundreds of thousands of ukrainians have already fled. more are trying to do so before it's too late. my guest is david miliband, boss of the international rescue committee and former british foreign secretary. is the west doing enough in response to putin's invasion?