it grew into thousands. welcome to bbc news, our top stories: as missiles continue to bombard ukraine, the mayor of kherson confirms the strategically important port city is the first want to fall under russian control. officials say more than 2000 civilians have now died since russia's invasion began. attacks cumberland and new south wales crane�*s president visma scale —— ukraine's president says moscow is acting beyond humanity. translation: they have in 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 owner, roman abramovich, who denies links to the russian state, puts the premier league football club up for sale. hello and welcome to our viewers in america and around the globe. a week ago president putin appeared on tv to announce the start of a special military operation in ukraine stopping simultaneously the first rockets rained down and russian forces crossed over its borders stopping now those trips have taken the first major city, kherson. a strategically important port in the south of ukraine.

authorities and kyiv say they are continuing attacks on kharkiv and mariupol. our reporter mark lobel is with me now. a lots of developments in the last few hours. let's start with kherson, strategically important. just explain why? and important to note is the first city to fall within this week as you say. a quarter of a million people are normally based there and if we have a look at this footage that was filmed on tuesday, these are russian tanks going through the city which is a regional centre north of crimea but also strategic position at the mouth of the river that reaches the black sea and the news came out because the mayor of kherson said that there weren't negotiations but armed visitors coming into the city council. he just asked them not to shoot people and basically has come out with a new list of rules for all the residents there.

there is going to be a curfew from 8pm to six o'clock in the morning. because will only be allowed and if they are bringing food, medicine or other necessities and when you walk through the city you have to walk one by one and stop if you are asked to. i to walk one by one and stop if you are asked to.— you are asked to. i think it controls — you are asked to. i think it controls the _ you are asked to. i think it controls the water - you are asked to. i think it controls the water supplyl you are asked to. i think it i controls the water supply to crimea which was annexed in 2014. the bombing continues of mariupol and kharkiv as well. what sort of resistance are russian forces meeting there? it is really interesting, the picture across the country. this business of war, before i get onto the resistance is being conducted in such a strange way if you like. i'm going to show you some shots here of the russian military, this is them discussing a takeover with the mayor. they are surrounding the soldiers who have raised arms, one holding a grenade. the mau, having conducted those discussions as addressing the 30's residents, relaying an

ultimatum saying that either we surrender or the russians say that the artillery aimed at the city will be used. one response from the crowd as someone saying let's evacuate the women. the mayor says i'm happy to fight but i want to reach a unanimous decision here, and it leaves them with that kind of decision that many cities might face, whether to surrender, whether to take part in urban combat orjust to see what happens. after that president zelenskiy released another one of his video messages urging the ukrainians to fight. let's have a listen. translation: ~ ., have a listen. translation: ., ., ., ., translation: we are a nation that broke _ translation: we are a nation that broke the _ translation: we are a nation that broke the enemy's - translation: we are a nation that broke the enemy's plans i translation: we are a nation | that broke the enemy's plans in a week — that broke the enemy's plans in a week. plans written for years _ a week. plans written for years. sneaky, full of hatred for our— years. sneaky, full of hatred for our country, our people. about — for our country, our people. about 12_ for our country, our people. about 12 hours ago when we were last speaking we were discussing airborne troops being landed and that's city. what are the situations there at the moment? casualties? are

they close to taking that city because that would be another very important location wouldn't it? it very important location wouldn't it?— very important location wouldn't it? ., , , wouldn't it? it would be but we are expecting _ wouldn't it? it would be but we are expecting that _ wouldn't it? it would be but we are expecting that to _ wouldn't it? it would be but we are expecting that to be - wouldn't it? it would be but we are expecting that to be a - wouldn't it? it would be but we are expecting that to be a very| are expecting that to be a very drawn out situation stopping the questions are how those paratroopers will be supported. a lot of focus is on the capital kyiv and there have been four explosions heard in the last two hours. explosion two explosions _ the last two hours. explosion two explosions in _ the last two hours. explosion two explosions in the - the last two hours. explosion two explosions in the city - two explosions in the city centre, two by the metro station hugely worrying by the residents there, that was around two o'clock in the morning. not everything is going to plan for the russians, who we have seen surrounding the capital with that convoy of course. let mejust the capital with that convoy of course. let me just show you a couple of things. we are going to see somejoy couple of things. we are going to see some joy riders, ukrainian menjoyriding a ukrainian men joyriding a russian ukrainian menjoyriding a russian tank. ukrainian men 'oyriding a russian tank._ ukrainian men 'oyriding a russian tank. , , ., ~ russian tank. this is the tank that has obviously _ russian tank. this is the tank that has obviously been - russian tank. this is the tank| that has obviously been taken by the ukrainian resistance? no, just people who found the tank on the side of the road

and i will show you something else, this is a multi—million dollar russian anti—aircraft system being towed away by farmers. one interesting bit of footage that we saw on russia today and of course we didn't see it here in europe because it is banned but this was screened to people in russia. look how old these reservists are but the fact that russia are but the fact that russia are calling up reservists with 190,000 trips surrounding or now 80% of which are committed in ukraine suggests that maybe president putin and his military planners hadn't quite counted for the resistance that they were going to receive from they were going to receive from the ukrainian forces. {eek they were going to receive from the ukrainian forces.— the ukrainian forces. 0k mark, for now, the ukrainian forces. ok mark, for now, thank— the ukrainian forces. 0k mark, for now, thank you _ the ukrainian forces. 0k mark, for now, thank you very - the ukrainian forces. 0k mark, for now, thank you very much l for now, thank you very much indeed. let's get more detail about the situation in 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, j 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, the aftermath of a deadly missile attack in the town of zhytomyr. the target may have been an air base nearby, but family homes were destroyed. oleg 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." and in the capital today, sirens wail in deserted streets... ..that echo fear and dread... ..so liliya romanova and her daughters have gotten used to going below ground. victoria and olena 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. our 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 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. liliya shows me photos of better days... ..when her daughters wore party dresses and won prizes for dancing. olena 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. orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv. the international criminal court has opened a war crimes investigation into russia's invasion of ukraine. the missile strike on kharkiv is likely to be amongst the issues investigated. rocket fire and air strikes have killed 21 people there in the past 24 hours. many of the city's residents have fled south to the city of dnipro. a warning, there are some distressing images, in sarah rainsford's report. 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. one manjust shouting, "let the women and children come through first." we are here are a few days but

within a few days, maybe us, here, 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. outside, we found a family who've just emerged from their bomb shelter, now trying to flee abroad. dasha breaks down, telling me 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. stay with us here on bbc news, still to come: the russian billionaire roman abramovich who denies links to vladimir putin says he is selling chelsea football club. 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 had 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 as citizens of the united states and they should be protected, even in the right to test them out, so that they don't get their heads broken and are sent to hospital. this religious controversy — i know you don't want to say too much about it — but does it worry you that it's going to boil up when you get the states? well, it bothers me, yes, but i hope everything will be all right - in the end, as they say. you are watching bbc news. our headlines: the mayor of kherson confirms his city is the first to fall under the control of russian soldiers. ukranian ofiicials say more than 2000 civilians have died since russia's invasion began.

as the fighting continues so too does the wave of people fleeing ukraine. the number of refugees has now reached 1 million. almost all of them are women and children. men aged between 18 and 60 is not allowed to leave the country because they could be called out to fight. most women and children have gone to countries bordering ukraine. lucy william is in the moldovan capital 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 odesa. this one is marina, she's here with her 12—year—old son oscar. and irina is in this cubicle. she came from odesa, 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 odesa when fighting broke out in 2014. when russian bombs fell on odesa 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. a few moments ago we said un estimates a million people have left or fleeing ukraine. estimates a million people have left orfleeing ukraine. that is the top story on the bbc website. if you want to find out more information you can go to that. all the latest news including the sanctions and also the requisitioning and seizing of assets as well. more in—depth coverage on every development of this war. now, we're coming to that story in a moment. the us department of justice has announced the creation of a new task force to

further restrain the finances of russia's oligarchs. the group will be dedicated to enforcing sanctions, export restrictions and economic countermeasures designed to freeze russia out of global markets. a senior adviser to congress on a sanctions joins me now from washington. we have the sanctions in place. this agency, it will be the sanctions and forces? then you task force _ sanctions and forces? then you task force is _ sanctions and forces? then you task force is not _ sanctions and forces? then you task force is not an _ sanctions and forces? then you task force is not an agency - sanctions and forces? then you task force is not an agency but| task force is not an agency but rather a broad grouping of other agencies like the fbi, the doj prosecutors, us marshals and so on and so forth and they will work in a cross—border way where the french, british, german authorities are all going to work together with a common purpose and that is to finally, finally going after the

oligarchs who have had their blood money in our system and have been subverting our system from within for two decades now. ., ., y ., from within for two decades now. ., ., ., ., now. how are you going to find out who actually _ now. how are you going to find out who actually owns - now. how are you going to find out who actually owns the - out who actually owns the apartments, studios, estates around the world because so many are hidden behind a complicated network of offshore companies? it complicated network of offshore companies?— companies? it is an excellent question- _ companies? it is an excellent question. some _ companies? it is an excellent question. some of— companies? it is an excellent question. some of the - companies? it is an excellent question. some of the police| question. some of the police will know. some of it is through leaks, like the panama papers, andorra, paradise papers, andorra, paradise papers, a number of leaks that have brought in information. —— pandora. some of them will be through whistleblowers. many of the best cases of crimes are made for people stepping forward and saying i can finally do something about this. i have had a problem with this. i have had a problem with this and here is the information and of course we're

finally cleaning up the regulatory framework so the united states has abolished some companies, there is a public registry of companies and it is getting better and the verification is getting better and getting more robust. 0f better and getting more robust. of course, these registries exist on the continent, in the eu 27, so a lot of moves have been taken to clean this up. in been taken to clean this up. in the uk we have unexplained wealth goddess, announced to great fanfare a year or two ago. —— unexplained wealth orders. how does it work? where does the cash go?— does the cash go? they were a treat does the cash go? they were a great idea _ does the cash go? they were a great idea and _ does the cash go? they were a great idea and one _ does the cash go? they were a great idea and one of - does the cash go? they were a great idea and one of the - does the cash go? they were a great idea and one of the big i great idea and one of the big problems was that the resources just were not there. we were up

against forces with the best lawyers, lobbyists, and enablers in the world but now we really do have the manpower, the resourcing and we're to be able to push these cases and work together. it really took this prioritisation. where does the money go? what is going to happen with a $600 million yacht the germansjust happen with a $600 million yacht the germans just seized? they will auction them off. that is what usually happens with these properties and the money will ideally be given to ukraine to defend itself. that is certainly the vision of many politicians. is certainly the vision of many politicians-— is certainly the vision of many politicians. ok. thank you very much indeed. _ politicians. ok. thank you very much indeed. we _ politicians. ok. thank you very much indeed. we must - politicians. ok. thank you very much indeed. we must leave l politicians. ok. thank you very j much indeed. we must leave it there because i want to bring you a story, in fact, about somebody who has reported to have close links to vladimir putin, roman abramovich. he denies those links but has decided to sell chelsea

football club. it was elected government document as showing roman abramovich having links to vladimir putin. there wasn't even time to tell the players before the news broke that, after nearly 20 years owning 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 chelsea supporters are sad to see him go. that club reported to be up for sale for around three million. the latest development is that the un now believes a million

refugees have fled the country since there invasion began. we will be back with more headlines in a moment. 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 cheer 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 towards 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. out 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.

you are watching bbc news. our headlines. the mayor of the strategic and autumn south ukrainian port says russian forces are now in control stop making it the first major city to be captured in the east. the mayor of the besieged city has said russian missiles have been hitting residential areas. ukrainian officials say more than 2000 civilians have now died since russia was much invasion began. moscow has revealed almost 500 troops have been killed and as the bombardments continue, the united nations says 1 bombardments continue, the united nations says1 million refugees have taken shelter by fleeing to neighbouring countries. the russian billionaire roman abramovich has confirmed he intends to sell chelsea football club, one of the top teams. there have been growing russia for sanctions.

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