welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore. i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines: fighting intensifies in ukraine — officials say more than 2,000 civilians have died since russia's invasion began. russian forces attack by land and air. ukraine's president says moscow is acting "beyond humanity." translation: they have an order - to erase our history, _ to erase our country, to erase us all. more people try to flee the fighting — nearly 900,000 people have taken shelter in neighbouring countries.

and chelsea's russian owner roman abramovich puts the premier league club up for sale, promising to give all net proceeds to the victims of the war in ukraine. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's 7am in the morning in singapore and 1am in the morning in the ukrainian city of kherson, which has become the first city to fall under the control of the invading russian forces. the authorities in ukraine say there have also been heavy attacks on the cities of kharkiv — near the russian border — and mariupol, which lies to the south, around 100 kilometres from crimea. ukraine says more than 2,000 civilians have been killed in the week since the invasion began.

meanwhile, russia has for the first time acknowledged military casualties, confirming nearly 500 deaths and three times that number being injured. we begin our coverage with this report from our international correspondent 0rla guerin on the russian advance towards kyiv. in broad daylight, danger just outside the window. this is the town of borodyanka, about 25 miles from kyiv. as the russians advance on the city, they are leaving a trail of destruction. translation: they know nothing about our capital, i about our history. but they have an order — to erase our history, to erase our country, to erase us all.

and here, west of kyiv, a deadly missile attack in the town of zhytomyr. the target may have been an air base nearby, but family homes were destroyed. 0leg stands calmly in the rubble, but he has lost his wife. "she was the light of my life," he says. "she's the best thing that's happened to me. "but i'm trying to keep myself together because of one reason — "i still have parents and a daughter." they're telling people to stay inside. they're shooting in the air. you hear the sounds. and a glimpse of street—to—street fighting in kherson on the black sea. tonight, russia appears to have captured the port city. the mayor says he just asked for people not to be shot. and in the capital today, sirens wail in deserted streets...

..that echo fear and dread... ..so lilia romanova and her daughters have gotten used to going below ground. victoria and 0lena have learned to dress quickly and run and how to play war games. translation: on the second day, the children woke up and made - pistols with their lego, to kill the enemy. 0ur elder daughter doesn't remember dancing any more. they say they must kill. it shouldn't be like this. it can't be like this. people are dying, cities are on fire. it's not normal. but i will not leave my country, i will not move. neither will my children.

in the face of all this, as war closes in, liliya is doing what parents do — trying to put on a brave face for the sake of her girls. translation: you keep yourself l in hand until the very last moment. when you hear the national anthem, you start to cry. even children are singing it, young children. and that's the moment when you can't control yourself. and you don't want your children to see you crying, because they are worried and they start crying with you. she shows me photos of better days... ..when her daughters wore party dresses and won prizes for dancing.

0lena will be four soon and knows she won't get a birthday present. she told her mum, "that's ok — you can get me one later." victoria remains silent, her childhood changed forever. 0rla guerin, bbc news, kyiv. in eastern ukraine, the city of kharkiv has been hit by sustained rocket fire and air strikes, killing 21 people and injuring more than 100. russian airborne troops landed before dawn, and there are reports of street fighting. many of the city's residents have fled south to dnipro, from where sarah rainsford reports. a warning, there are some distressing images. a university folding in flames, in a war that's against all logic and reason.

the attack on kharkiv is intensifying every day, and these targets are not military at all. the city council was hit today — a whole street left in ruins. and from the wreckage of people's homes, rescuers bring out a survivor. it's why so many in kharkiv have moved underground to hide in basements and bunkers. we spoke to paulina's parents yesterday, the three—year—old whose cancer medicine is running out. today, herfamily made a dash across town to the station, anxious to get their girl, who's already been through so much, to safety. when i called her mum ksenia, she told me there was so many people at the station, she didn't know whether they would make it on to a train. translation: we're really worried. i'm always scared i'm doing the wrong thing, either staying at home, or coming here, where there's a huge crowd. we just go back and forth, and i have no idea what's right. and the danger zone is growing.

this hospital was hit in the south—east. but in melitopol, a town supposedly under russian control, ukrainians are refusing to be cowed. but nerves are being tested across this region. here in dnipro, we found families trying to evacuate their youngest and most vulnerable. this war now getting too close for comfort. this train has just pulled into the station, and all this crowd know is that it is supposed to be heading west, and so they've been shoving forward. 0ne manjust shouting, "let the women and children come through first." but there is chaos here, people desperate to get onboard. now we here, because within a few days, and here, maybe us, kyiv, kharkiv. so i think it's better to leave.

"i love you," this father tells a child. he'll now stay to face the russian troops. no—one can hide their emotion today. i asked this man where he's sending his family. "to a better life," he says, then swears at those who have caused all this suffering. 0utside, we found a family who've just emerged from their bomb shelter, now trying to flee abroad. dasha breaks down, saying they don't want to abandon the city but she doesn't want her children to see people getting killed. her own mother says they've left everything. after 65 years in this town, she has no idea whether she'll be back.

dnipro isn't under attack, but to its people, the risk of that feels very real. ukraine is still resisting, pushing back, but it's trying to protect everyone it can. sarah rainsford, bbc news, dnipro. the ukrainian invasion has elicited worldwide response. including in the united states. in his first state of the union address, less than 2a hours ago, president biden said the russian leader vladimir putin had "badly miscalculated" the reaction of the world to the invasion of ukraine, including that of the ukrainians themselves. he also said that "the next few days, weeks and months will be hard" for ukraine. let's get the opinion of chris miller. he's assistant professor of international history at the fletcher school of law and diplomacy at tufts university. he joins us from boston. great to have you on the programme. thank you so much forjoining us.

just to start by asking you about that huge global response that we are seeing, has putin miscalculated? i think the russian leadership is surprised, both by the ukrainian response but also by the response in terms of the countries that have levied sanctions on russia. russia was certainly excepting some economic penalties for its invasion of ukraine, but the scale any speed i think is shocking to most of russia's leaders.— russia's leaders. you know, professor. _ russia's leaders. you know, professor, the _ russia's leaders. you know, professor, the ukrainians i russia's leaders. you know, i professor, the ukrainians have russia's leaders. you know, - professor, the ukrainians have said that they cannot do this on their own, they have called for a no—fly zone, for instance, but we have already heard from the uk saying thatis already heard from the uk saying that is a no go area. but could that change if things indeed do get worse? i change if things indeed do get worse? ~ , change if things indeed do get worse? ~' , , , worse? i think the first step, if the situation _ worse? i think the first step, if the situation does _ worse? i think the first step, if the situation does continue - worse? i think the first step, if the situation does continue to | worse? i think the first step, if. the situation does continue to get worse, and i think there's every reason to expect that it will, is that we will have additional rounds

of financial sanctions from western countries. the us and europe have begun to sanction russia's banking system, but they have barely begun to touch russia's largest sources of export earnings, above all oil, natural gas and coal and you're beginning to here in europe and the us discussions of ways of russia's ability to sell these abroad might be cut off, which would further intensify economic pressure on the kremlin. ., ,,., intensify economic pressure on the kremlin. ., �* ., ~ kremlin. professor, you've talked about the next _ kremlin. professor, you've talked about the next steps _ kremlin. professor, you've talked about the next steps in _ kremlin. professor, you've talked about the next steps in terms of. about the next steps in terms of diplomacy and economics, but when those routes run out, what happens next? �* . , ., ., ., next? the biden administration and many eumpean _ next? the biden administration and many european countries _ next? the biden administration and many european countries have - next? the biden administration and| many european countries have made pretty clear that they are willing to support ukraine militarily in terms of providing supplies and weaponry, but they're not willing to get militarily involved themselves, so ultimately this is a fight that will be waged between the russians and ukrainians, and the outcome will be determined on the battlefield in ukraine. , ., ,

be determined on the battlefield in ukraine. , . , ., ~ ukraine. given that it is taken president _ ukraine. given that it is taken president putin _ ukraine. given that it is taken president putin and _ ukraine. given that it is taken president putin and the - ukraine. given that it is taken l president putin and the russian forces longer than perhaps they expected to gain the advantage they were hoping to gain, what is the military strategy likely to be in the coming days and weeks? the kremlin faces _ the coming days and weeks? the kremlin faces a _ the coming days and weeks? tue: kremlin faces a complicated the coming days and weeks? tte: kremlin faces a complicated decision as it moves forward. he was hoping the ukrainians with sickly collapse, the ukrainians with sickly collapse, the military would not put up a serious resistance and the russian army could waltz into kyiv almost unopposed, but of course the opposite has been true. the ukrainians have been tenacious, the russians have been underprepared, and now russia faces a choice of either relenting with some of its war aims, either relenting with some of its waraims, admitting either relenting with some of its war aims, admitting that he cannot achieve all of its goals and try to cut a deal with president zelensky, or trying to increase the modifier power is using against ukraine, and we have seen over the past couple of daysis we have seen over the past couple of days is that russia is heading towards this latter strategy, more shelling, more rocket fires into ukrainian cities and russian forces almost surrounding the ukrainian capital of kyiv, and i'm afraid the

next step in the russian plan is to begin a full—scale assault on kyiv and in attempts to topple the ukrainian government. ichris and in attempts to topple the ukrainian government. chris miller from tufts university, _ ukrainian government. chris miller from tufts university, thank - ukrainian government. chris miller from tufts university, thank you i ukrainian government. chris miller| from tufts university, thank you for joining us on the programme with your thoughts. as you heard there, the fighting continues, and so too does the wave of people trying to flee to safety. the united nations says nearly 900,000 people have left ukraine since russia launched its invasion. almost all of them are women and children — men aged between 18 and 60 are effectively not allowed to leave. most have gone to countries bordering ukraine — like poland, romania, slovakia, hungary and moldova. 0ur correspondent lucy williamson is in the moldovan capital chisinau and sent this report. out of the bunkers and basements of ukraine has risen a village. moldova's main exhibition hall now a waiting room for ukrainian refugees.

the trade here is in hope and information. the hall has room for 600 refugees, but it often sees a thousand people a day. each one of these tiny cubicles belongs to a ukrainian family. this one belongs to valentina — she came here on saturday with her two daughters. the women here are part of a family of 12 from 0desa. this one is marina, she's here with her 12—year—old son 0scar. and irina is in this cubicle. she came from 0desa, bringing her cat, candy. marina arrived here on saturday night. she worked in a coal mine in the donbas region of ukraine but fled to 0desa when fighting broke out in 2014. when russian bombs fell on 0desa last week, she fled again. translation: i'm tired | of running from the war. eight years, we've been running. we're mentally exhausted.

if only god would help us and give us peace, everyone could live a normal life. but now everyone in the world is trembling. moldova's army was also thinking about russian soldiers today. 30 years ago, it was then facing russia's troops in the breakaway region of transnistria. at the national war memorial, moldova's president marked the anniversary of that conflict while, she said, cannons sounded again nearby across the border. the veterans who carried guns back then laid flowers for their fallen comrades. their hearts turned towards their past, their minds on the present. mikhail told me he'd like to go and fight the russians again, but he's 67 now and too old.

instead, he's hosting nine refugees from ukraine. in the refugee centre, a pop—up children's theatre replaces normal school. the lesson taught here, that worries and uncertainty are nothing to fear — a salve for the lessons of real life. lucy williamson, bbc news, moldova. more anti—war protests have been taking place in russia. these pictures show arrests being made at a demonstration in st petersburg. russia has clamped down on any protests against its military action in ukraine, with thousands detained since the start of the invasion. still to come a bit later in the programme, we'll look at why the russian oligarch roman abramovich has announced his plans to sell the english premier league club chelsea. but first, china's government has so far avoided taking sides in the wake of russia's invasion of ukraine. it abstained in a un vote during a special emergency session of the un general assembly to deplore russia's

aggression in ukraine. the resolution is not legally binding, but holds moral weight and demands the immediate withdrawal of its forces. on tuesday, the chinese foreign minister expressed beijing's willingness play the role of a mediator, during a call with his ukrainian counterpart. a chinese readout from the call says china has "always advocated respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries" and "china calls on ukraine and russia to find a solution to the problem through negotiations." i'm joined now byjude blanchette. he's the freeman chair in china studies at the center for strategic and international studies. it is great to have you on the programme. i want to start by asking you, this role, the idea of china being a mediator, is that realistic given the fact that is taught in the middle of all of this? the

given the fact that is taught in the middle of all of this?— middle of all of this? the short answer is. _ middle of all of this? the short answer is, no, _ middle of all of this? the short answer is, no, and _ middle of all of this? the short answer is, no, and if— middle of all of this? the short answer is, no, and if i - middle of all of this? the short answer is, no, and ifi could i middle of all of this? the short l answer is, no, and ifi couldjust answer is, no, and if i could just slightly quibble with the framing as you introduce the piece, i would say it is not that china has not chosen a site of this, it is very clearly chosen russia's site in terms of its description, including in the readout that you mentioned with ukraine last week, and in all the readouts of foreign minister calls with areas counterparts, that beijing sees this as primarily a nato expansion issue, it continues to refuse to even call this an invasion, instead using the moscow language to describe this as a special military operation. and continues to abstain at the un. just the first point i would make is, it is very clear where beijing is trying to both support russia, all the while try to mitigate some of the while try to mitigate some of the damage now that the invasion that putin has launched has gone catastrophically wrong. how

that putin has launched has gone catastrophically wrong.— catastrophically wrong. how can president putin _ catastrophically wrong. how can president putin depend - catastrophically wrong. how can president putin depend on i catastrophically wrong. how can i president putin depend on china? we have seen some sort of economic examples in all of this, but what is it that russia needs from beijing at this point in time? it that russia needs from bei'ing at this point in time?i this point in time? after the 24th of february. _ this point in time? after the 24th of february. it — this point in time? after the 24th of february, it needs _ this point in time? after the 24th of february, it needs a _ this point in time? after the 24th of february, it needs a whole i this point in time? after the 24th of february, it needs a whole lot| of february, it needs a whole lot more. the relationship between beijing and moscow has been steadily improving for three decades. i think that's the first important point. this is not a new phenomenon. as china's power, militarily, economically, has grown, the distance between russia and china has grown too, so we saw after the annexation of crimea in 2014 that beijing really stepped in after international sanctions began to bite to extend a lifeline to moscow, in an important way, through purchases of russian energy, so the question now is, how much of a hand is beijing going to extend to putin? and as we've seen with the extraordinary array of international sanctions that have come to bear

over the past week, putin is really going to be leaning on xijinping over the next days, weeks and months. i think the question for us, though, is, how far is beijing going to go in terms of offering that support? this is not 2014, so there is much more scrutiny on beijing's actions. beijing has a deteriorating relationship with europe and the united states, and if beijing goes far in supporting moscow or mitigating the effect of the sanctions, beijing is going to get blowback for that, which is like to this day we see beijing adopting a bit of a hedged position here. fascinating stuff there, jude blanchette. thank you so much for joining us on the programme. let's ta ke let's take a look now at some of the other stories in the headlines. nearly 200 countries have agreed to start negotiations on an international agreement

to take action against pollution caused by plastic. the decision to draw up a global plastics treaty was made at a meeting of the un environment assembly in nairobi. it will look to set rules for the production, use and disposal of plastics. the bottom line is, we will eliminate plastic pollution from our environment, and that is critical. western australia has become the country's final state to re—open its borders, after closing them to prevent the spread of covid—19. vaccinated people can now travel there, for the first time since april 2020. one of hong kong's most prominent lawyers has left the territory after reports that he'd been interviewed by the national security police. paul harris, a british barrister, led the hong kong bar association, a professional body that seeks to maintain the territory's judicial independence. beijing officials had accused mr harris of being "anti—china" after he criticised aspects of the national security law.

the owner of chelsea football club, the russian businessman roman abramovich, says he's planning to sell the club, which he has owned for the past 19 years. last week, the uk parliament was told of a leaked government document referring to mr abramovich as having "links to the russian state" — links which he denies. he announced today that "all net proceeds from the sale" would be donated to the victims of the war in ukraine. 0ur correspondent laura scott reports. there wasn't even time to tell players before the news broke that, after nearly 20 years on in chelsea, russian billionaire roman abramovich has decided to sell. in a statement, he said he felt it was in the best interests of the club in the current situation. he said he'd instructed his team to set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated and this would benefit all victims of the war in ukraine.

abramovich said he wouldn't be calling in the £1.5 billion the club owes him. but for some, there was a gaping hole in what he said. there's still, still no condemnation from roman or the club about what's happening in ukraine. abramovich's departure is a seismic moment but not entirely unexpected, coming after mounting calls for the government to sanction him. he's a person of interest to the home office because of his links to the russian state and his public association with corrupt activity and practices. abramovich has always denied doing anything to warrant sanctions, but some will see this as an attempt to secure the club's future before any possible sanctions come his way. chelsea have been transformed into a footballing force under abramovich, winning 19 major trophies — little wonder, then, that some supporters are sad to see him go. absolutely gutted, mate. but he's done it for

the right reasons. we know he has. british government put a target on his back, and everybody's on him now. obviously it's very sad, it's very sad what's i happening in the ukraine, but at the end of the day, i think football— comes second, doesn't it? abramovich has already been approached by potential buyers, but will he get the £3 billion he reportedly wants for the club? i think that is unlikely to be achieved, but if you are looking for a trophy asset, something to show off to your compatriots, to your friends, then chelsea has an awful lot of attraction. chelsea celebrated another success tonight, but as bidders swirl around stamford bridge, questions do too over how this club will fare as it enters a new era. laura scott, bbc news. before we go, i want to show you the

seen live in the capital of ukraine, kyiv. it is about half past 1am there. the streets stay quiet. more on bbc news. stay with us. hello there. on wednesday, we saw the thicker cloud moving further north across the uk, bringing with it some rain and some drizzle. there was still some sunshine across northern parts of scotland, over eight hours of sunshine, actually, in shetland. but thursday starting cloudy pretty much everywhere, quite misty and murky. as a result of the cloud, though, it's frost—free this time. but we do have a band of rain that's been pushing its way in from the west. that should be clearing away from northern ireland. it'll clear up here with some sunshine and a scattering of showers, but you can see how slowly that rain moves into scotland, into northwest of england, across wales, eventually into the west midlands and into the west country, allowing some late sunshine in the far southwest of england and wales. and ahead of that ragged band of rain, eastern parts of england should have a drier, brighter day on thursday,

maybe some sunshine in the southeast of england, lifting temperatures to a milder 12 degrees. the weather front is bringing this rain in from the west. it's moving so slowly eastwards that, eventually, it'll grind to a halt and then start to move back toward the west. by the time we get to friday, most of that rain and drizzle will be affecting the eastern side of scotland, northeast england, through parts of yorkshire, into the midlands and perhaps into the southeast of england, meaning some sunshine is still possible in east anglia. 0ut towards the west, this is where we should see some brighter skies, some spells of sunshine. still a scattering of light showers for wales, northern ireland and the southwest. underneath that cloud, low cloud and rain and drizzle, it'll feel quite cold. into the weekend, we should see more sunshine developing more widely as the weekend progresses, but it will still be quite chilly. a frosty start for scotland and northern ireland. sunshine here on saturday. that weather front is still bringing this cloud and patchy light rain and drizzle for england and wales. starts to move back to the west, so we should get some sunshine through lincolnshire, east anglia and the southeast of england during the afternoon. temperatures around 10 degrees at best, but only 6 or so in the northeast of england.

we got higher pressure bringing the sunshine for scotland and northern ireland, and that's going to build across that weather front. it'll continue to weaken it. it'll continue to dry it out as well. and we should see some brighter skies. again, a frosty start, though, for scotland and northern ireland, some sunshine here. always a bit more cloud, i think, for england and wales, but it will be lifting a bit. skies should be brighter. we should see some sunshine and it's likely to be dry across england and wales on sunday, but still not particularly warm, temperatures typically around 8 or 9 celsius.

this is bbc news. the headlines — the mayor of the strategically important ukrainian port of kherson says russian forces are now in control, making it the first major city to be taken by the russians. in eastern ukraine, the city of kharkiv has been hit by sustained rocket fire and air strikes. the mayor says it's inflicting heavy casualties on the civilian population. the centre of the city has been reduced to rubble. nearly 900,000 people, almost all of them women and children, have now fled the fighting. authorities say more than 2000 civilians have died since russia's invasion exactly one week ago. an overwhelming majority of member countries at the un general assembly have voted to deplore the russian invasion of ukraine, calling for an immediate withdrawal. 0nly five countries voted against the resolution.