this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. europe's largest nuclear power plant has been under attack. it is now secure but ukraine's president accuses moscow of nuclear terror. translation: we accuses moscow of nuclear terror. translation:— accuses moscow of nuclear terror. translation: we need to stop the russian military _ translation: we need to stop the russian military immediately. - translation: we need to stop the | russian military immediately. scream to your politicians. ukraine has 15 nuclear units will stop if there is an expose on, it is the end of everything. an expose on, it is the end of everything-— an expose on, it is the end of eve hin. , ., everything. mariupol has become a ci under everything. mariupol has become a city under siege — everything. mariupol has become a city under siege as _ everything. mariupol has become a city under siege as power - everything. mariupol has become a city under siege as power and - everything. mariupol has become a | city under siege as power and water supplies are cut off by relentless russian shelling. there's no slowing in the number of people fleeing the fighting. more than a million refugees have now left ukraine in a week. �* ., , .,

refugees have now left ukraine in a week. �* ., ., ., ., ., week. i'm kasia madera on the poland ukraine border. _ week. i'm kasia madera on the poland ukraine border. poland _ week. i'm kasia madera on the poland ukraine border. poland taking - week. i'm kasia madera on the poland ukraine border. poland taking in - week. i'm kasia madera on the poland ukraine border. poland taking in the l ukraine border. poland taking in the highest number of refugees. they continue to come to this country. nato's eye in the sky. we willjoin a special surveillance flight monitoring ukraine from above. we are on monitoring ukraine from above. - are on board a boeing 707. it's not exactly a passenger plane. for one thing, there are hardly any windows. it is in fact a flying office. as you can see, a pretty extraordinary one. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world, and on pbs. ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky has accused russia of "nuclear terror" after it bombarded a large nuclear power station causing a fire.

the authorities say the plant is secure and radiation levels are normal. it's the latest indication ofjust how fierce the battle for ukraine has become. the zaporizhzhya plant is in the south—east of ukraine and is the biggest of its kind in europe. the flames have been put out. local officials say it is now under the control of russian forces. elsewhere, the port city of mariupol to the east is facing another day of heavy bombing, with most basic services like running water cut off. hundreds of civilians have died. kharkiv in the north—east has been reduced to rubble. mark lobel has the latest. this is a moment to wake world leaders up at night. the dramatic shelling of europe's largest nuclear power plant of its type, a few hundred kilometres from where the chernobyl nuclear accident occurred. it may have just been a training building that was hit, but... this has never happened before. a nuclear power plant has never come under attack like this.

this is tank fire. this is not a terrorist trying to get in there, this is armoured vehicles shelling a nuclear power plant. i cannot overstate how serious the situation is. the zaporizhzhia reactors in ukraine's south—east, now centre stage as the war intensifies into its second week. president zelensky accused moscow of nuclear terror. translation: we need to stop | the russian military immediately. scream to your politicians. ukraine has 15 nuclear units. if there is an explosion, it is the end of everything, the end of europe. the us says reactors have been safely shut down, urging the russians to stop fighting. but russian aggression in the northern city of chernihiv is unrelenting. shelling pounding the place, sending mothers into underground bunkers for days. translation: we need - supplies of essential goods. and, i don't know, so they would

at least evacuate children and pregnant women from here. russia is also closing in on the strategic coastal city of mariupol, as its mayor says there is no power or water. the bbc asked a former ukrainian president, now armed for the front line in the capital kyiv, how much of a blow defeat here would mean. please, we don't lose mariupol. we don't lose kharkiv. we don't lose kyiv. putin, forget about that. the whole nation is beating putin. i have my weapons with me, i have also the automatic rifle. president putin says his military operation is going to plan and says ukraine is putting its citizens at risk. translation: they place military artillery in residential _ quarters of the cities. at the same time, they are acting as the ultimate bandits. but russia's invasion

has forced more than a million to leave ukraine. at berlin central railway station, every sign, a welcoming german family offering a space in their home. i'm more or less a child of a refugee so i feel obliged to do something for refugees. it's not hitler this time, but for me, it somehow feels like what putin does is what hitler did before. but with this russian military convoy edging ever closer to kyiv, fears there will be many more refugees to come. mark lobel, bbc news. we arejust we are just getting some reactions through from president zelensky. we can bring you the latest lines from him this morning. he has said, only a no—fly zone will guarantee russia will not bomb nuclear infrastructure

in ukraine. he has said that russia is deliberately targeting ukrainian infrastructure and residential areas, and he has said that 9200 russian servicemen have been killed so far. that's a number of course is hugely different from the number being reported in russia, which initially was not even talking about numbers of its own service men killed. but they have now acknowledged a number have been killed but it's more in the hundreds rather than the thousands. volodymyr zelensky saying that 9200 russian servicemen have been killed. that call for a no—fly zone has been something that has been discussed for a long time. there is great reluctance from nato to get involved with that, simply because it could potentially draw nato into a conflict. and of course the

implications from there would be considerable. but now there is obviously a renewed call from volodymyr zelensky after the attack on the nuclear power plant, which is now secure. we were talking about the number of refugees fleeing ukraine, i million in a week, many of them going to poland. we're going to a position on the polish border now, kasia madera is there for us. this is just this isjust moments this is just moments from the very border itself. what we are seeing here, time and time again, buses coming from the border with people who have just crossed over. these are predominantly women and children and the elderly, who have finally got to poland after their own individual stories of trying to get across ukraine to the polish border itself. this is the first time that they are going to get something hot

to eat and drink, warm up, reassess what it is they will do next. because these people have literally just crossed the border and they are now in poland. tired, bewildered, and just exhausted with their trip so far. poland has created a huge infrastructure help these people. because of course poland has taken in the highest number of coming overfrom ukraine. if you think about it, i million people displaced, leaving ukraine, in the space ofjust over a week. it's a staggering number of people. ukraine nationals and nonnationals as well, because of the diverse community within ukraine, the workers there, the student community. poland saying everybody is welcome, everybody can come here and seek safety. the welcome is that they get, it's just been very, very heart—warming to see

how the police force, how the fire brigade, how all the different firemen, how a whole host of volunteers are helping people. what we are hearing about is people opening up their doors and homes, offering places for people to stay the night, people to rest, people to sleep. what's really staggering is there are no large campus. there are places where people can just rest for a night or so but there are no large camps. homes are being opened up large camps. homes are being opened up so these people, who have had a traumaticjourney up so these people, who have had a traumatic journey to get to safety, can just have some rest. a very large number of ukrainian nationals live in poland. and they are here, many family members are here to meet them. there are also people who don't have anyone to join or anywhere to go. again, we have seen lots and lots of different people who have come and are offering up

their homes, a bedroom, a sofa. we are hearing these stories time and time again. every now and again you hear a tannoy message saying there is a driver who has come from berlin who wants to take families there. people are coming from the netherlands, the czech republic, from all over europe, wanting to bring people onwards, because there is an understanding that within eight days, within such a short space of time, a million people have left ukraine and have come to neighbouring countries, nearly 700,000 havejust come neighbouring countries, nearly 700,000 have just come to poland alone, a staggering number of people. given the volatility of the situation in ukraine and given the uncertainty of the situation on the ground there, those numbers will rise. the european union is talking about implementing a temporary protection directive so that people who are fleeing ukraine and coming overfrom the border who are fleeing ukraine and coming over from the border into the eu,

that they can stay here, they can work here, they can access medical care here, they can access schools here, because there are children coming over that have been displaced. their worlds have been turned upside down. the eu opening up turned upside down. the eu opening up its borders. the next step of theirjourney begins in places like this. this is one the snapshot. this is in east poland, right on the border, and this is one of many places like this, where these families are coming, where these individuals are coming, and they are working out what happens next, given the long journey that all these people have already had. the eu opening its doors, poland opening its doors saying you are safe here, you are welcome in this country. it's incredibly moving to hear how people are welcoming them and taking them into their homes from many different countries. thank you for joining us from the poland ukraine

border. us presidentjoe biden's administration has imposed sanctions on eight russian oligarchs and officials, including alisher usmanov. but it is so far resisting calls to ban russian oil imports because of the impact it could have on fuel prices and on inflation— as samira hussain reports from new york. the biden administration has imposed yet another round of economic sanctions against russia. the previous sanctions have included russia's central bank and russian president vladimir putin himself. this latest round is targeting more russian elites and their family members, who enabled mr putin's invasion. the white house has imposed visa restrictions on more than a dozen russian oligarchs and theirfamilies. and it will also punish russian entities and individuals who enabled the spread of disinformation. these latest moves are not a surprise. us presidentjoe biden has repeatedly said he is prepared to continue to impose sanctions as a way to further squeeze mr putin and those that are closest to him.

but russian oil and gas exports remain exempt from american sanctions, although the white house has said it is open to the idea, but it has been reluctant to take that step as it considers a kind of impact it will have on global oil markets and already soaring us energy prices. and despite that, traders and banks have been reluctant to engage with russian oil, so as not to be seen as funding the invasion in any way. we can talk more about those leaving ukraine. a million have left ukraine in the last week. we can go to the hungarian border with ukraine. let's speak to nick thorpe now. what's happening? we can see a lot of activity behind you. i

what's happening? we can see a lot of activity behind you.— of activity behind you. i have moved from the border _ of activity behind you. i have moved from the border where _ of activity behind you. i have moved from the border where i _ of activity behind you. i have moved from the border where i have - of activity behind you. i have moved from the border where i have been l from the border where i have been the last seven or eight days, to the west railway station here in budapest. what you can see behind me is the reception centre at budapest west railway station, where trains arrive every hour or so from the hungarian eastern border. these are refugees who have crossed the border in the last few hours, probably last night. it's a four hour train journey, obviously laid on forfree by hungarian authorities and the hungarian railway company. they arrive here, there is a massive reception for them. they are being offered free accommodation, free food and free transport onwards if that's what they would like. what that's what they would like. what sort of accommodation _ that's what they would like. what sort of accommodation are - that's what they would like. what sort of accommodation are they being offered? we were hearing from kasia madera on the border with poland, how many people are going to the border to take ukrainians to their

homes? . �* , ., , , homes? that's right, there has been a massive effort _ homes? that's right, there has been a massive effort here _ homes? that's right, there has been a massive effort here in _ homes? that's right, there has been a massive effort here in hungary, i homes? that's right, there has been a massive effort here in hungary, as| a massive effort here in hungary, as in poland and romania and moldova and slovakia, of ordinary hungarian citizens basically volunteering accommodation. here you can see some of the contributions that hungarians have given to the different charities here. it's partly about coordination but i should stress, as kasia has been doing this morning, the sheer generosity of the public and the good organisation of those in green shirts behind me, from the hungarian reformed protestant church. over here, i don't know if you can see through the crowds, those in red jackets, volunteers and staff of the hungarian red cross. and this being a major railway station in budapest, a peculiarity of this particular scene is that

these are notjust refugees arriving here this morning, but all the commuter traffic, here this morning, but all the commutertraffic, ordinary here this morning, but all the commuter traffic, ordinary hungarian is coming to work. and somehow you get people from all over the world, ukrainians and people coming just ordinary hungarian is coming to work here this morning.— here this morning. thank you to nick thore in here this morning. thank you to nick thorpe in budapest. _ here this morning. thank you to nick thorpe in budapest. we _ here this morning. thank you to nick thorpe in budapest. we can - here this morning. thank you to nick thorpe in budapest. we can hear- here this morning. thank you to nick. thorpe in budapest. we can hear from thorpe in budapest. we can hearfrom the nato secretary generaljens stoltenberg, speaking in brussels. nato will protect and defend every inch of nato territory. this ends the public part of the meeting and i thank the media forjoining us at the opening of the meeting. we will continue injust a moment. thank you. fits continue in 'ust a moment. thank ou. ~ , continue in 'ust a moment. thank ou. �* , continue in 'ust a moment. thank ou. m , continue in 'ust a moment. thank you. as you can see, they are set for talks- — you. as you can see, they are set for talks- we — you. as you can see, they are set for talks. we just _ you. as you can see, they are set for talks. we just caught - you. as you can see, they are set for talks. we just caught the - you. as you can see, they are set for talks. we just caught the taill for talks. we just caught the tail end of his opening remarks, those public remarks, ahead of that meeting of nato in brussels. we have been hearing from volodymyr zelensky, the ukrainian president, that only a no—fly zone will

guarantee russia will not bomb ukraine's nuclear infrastructure after that nuclear power plant was targeted overnight. there was a fire but the plant is now secured and it's in the control of russian forces now. we can talk about the measures being taken in the uk. the uk government has imposed sanctions on two more russian oligarchs, one of whom, until this week, was a major investor in everton football club. the men's assets will be frozen and they won't be allowed to travel to the uk. and luxury yachts owned by russian oligarchs have been seized by the french and german authorities. but the head of ukraine's largest energy company has told the bbc that the west must stop buying oil and gas from russia, if it wants to stop the war spreading. here's our economics editor faisal islam. seized, the floating palaces of top russian billionaires accused by the european union of being too close to vladimir putin. the dilbar mega yacht, the largest in the world,

with two helipads, owned by the british football—linked alisher usmanov, and now seized by german officials. and on the south coast of france, french customs seizing amore vero, owned by long—time putin ally igor sechin, boss of the rosneft oil company. here in the uk, the foreign office has also added alisher usmanov to britain's sanctions list, alongside putin associate igor shuvalov, both men hit by a travel ban and asset freeze on their mansions and flats, worth many millions of pounds. we are fast forwarding sanctions against russian oligarchs, but we need to go further. we need to make sure no russian bank has access to swift. the premier league welcomed the sale of chelsea football club by its russian owner roman abramovich, saying the ownership had become unsustainable. the opposition repeatedly raised in the commons why mr abramovich, who denies financial links to the kremlin, was not being targeted with sanctions.

russian—owned yachts are being seized in europe, russian oligarchs are having to rely on cash because their debit and credit cards have been stopped from working. the process here in the uk, a little slower because of the need for legal due process, we are told, but what is the point of any of this if we continue to send billions in dollars, euros and pounds directly to the kremlin by buying its oil and its gas? one of the routes for that money is through ukraine, via an existing pipeline exporting russia's gas to europe. that's how he finances his military machine. the man who runs that is under bombardment in kyiv and told us that western sanctions must now target the energy billions. putin will get his money, to spend this money to kill us. the whole idea of the sanctions is to shock the putin regime.

and to make sure that ordinary russians, they feel the effect. it sounds like a form of economic war. yes, on the economic front you have to believe as if you were at war with russia. pr video: rosneft is the leader of the russian oil industry... . european nations are ramping up plans to reduce dependence on russian energy. those plans may be needed much sooner than expected. faisal islam, bbc news. we can bring you news from the tuc union in the uk, saying the dockers in the uk have refused to unload a tanker of russian gas, forcing it to dock elsewhere, in solidarity with ukraine. it has happened in the thames estuary. it was due to arrive at the thames estuary in the early hours of the morning and the ship was diverted, it was on its way to

the isle of grain with a consignment of liquefied natural gas for centrica, the owner of british gas. after dockers represented by the trade union unison mac warned they would rebel against any instruction to help bring the gas onshore, the ship will no longer dock at the facility in kent. there was also separately a ten point plan published by the international energy agency on the issue of gas supplies from russia. they are suggesting that households should turn down thermostats by one the celsius to reduce reliance on gas imports from russia. the average thermostat in european buildings is apparently set at 22 celsius and they say turning it down by one celsius would reduce eu gas demand by 10 billion cubic metres a year and cut energy bills. they have published a ten point plan that they

say could cut russian gas imports into the european union by more than one third in a year. we can go to our deputy political editor vicki young at westminster. what's the latest reaction there this morning? there are still lots of talk about sanctions and the government coming under pressure over all of that. they have been defending themselves effectively, saying that in this country we don't have a system where governments can just go around seizing people's assets without some kind of proof of wrongdoing and that, they say, is why it is taking in some cases a little bit longer to get the names of russian oligarchs on to that sanctions list. they have added to make more overnight, as you have been reporting. their point is you need a burden of proof, they have to make a case that is legally sound because otherwise you end up in a situation where there are legal challenges. the problem the government has, they have talked very tough on this, they have talked about, liz truss in particular,

saying they want to get rid of what they call dirty russian money from london and they want to take this action, but you can sense the frustration among ministers who think that actually it is the legal system that is preventing them in some cases, so there is talk of may some cases, so there is talk of may some kind of move to try and make sure that legal firms working on behalf of oligarchs can't slow down the system and fight this all the time. i think the problem they also haveis time. i think the problem they also have is that when it comes to the eu and oligarchs we have seen in the last couple of days, germany and france seizing yachts worth millions of pounds, so the contrast is made. the other argument from the government is what they are focused on is trying to look at the impact this is having. reading between the lines, they are suggesting that, yes, headlines are good if you are seizing the yacht of some well—known oligarchs, but actually it is action against russian banks for example, thatis against russian banks for example, that is really turning the screw on

president putin and is affecting the russian economy. you president putin and is affecting the russian economy.— president putin and is affecting the russian econom . ., ., russian economy. you mentioned there the concerns — russian economy. you mentioned there the concerns around _ russian economy. you mentioned there the concerns around legal— russian economy. you mentioned there the concerns around legal issues - the concerns around legal issues around sanctions. we are seeing a veryjoined up response from around the world to what is happening in ukraine. and yet still there are distinctions between what different countries are doing on sanctions. is the uk lagging behind other countries? what are the comparisons? the government totally denies that. it's now the case that the eu have a longer list of individuals on their sanction list but what ministers here say is that it's notjust about those individuals. there are russian banks, subsidiaries, other entities that none of us will ever have heard of, that are being acted against, and it was actually the uk that pushed to make sure russia was taken out of the financial system, the swift banking system and they say

they are the ones leading on that and forcing other leaders to follow them when it comes to sanctions against belarus, for example, and the uk was one of the first to do that. i think they are aware that they are facing criticism, particularly from labour over failing to act against enough of the russian oligarchs and the case made by the opposition and some tory mps, it is worth saying, this has not come as a surprise. western intelligence was warning about this happening in ukraine for some time, weeks if not months, so why couldn't this sanctions list have been drawn up this sanctions list have been drawn up in advance? this sanctions list have been drawn up in advance?— up in advance? thank you, vicki youn: , up in advance? thank you, vicki young. reporting _ up in advance? thank you, vicki young, reporting from - up in advance? thank you, vicki - young, reporting from westminster. let me bring you the remarks we were reporting on a little bit earlier, from the ukrainian president, volodymyr zelensky, from the ukrainian president, volodymyrzelensky, in from the ukrainian president, volodymyr zelensky, in response to that attack on the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant overnight and

the fire there. he has said that russia is deliberately striking info structure and only a no—fly zone will stop that. hello. for some of you, it's been a sunny friday so far. for others, a soggy one. and that balance isn't going to switch much as we go through the rest of today. this satellite image shows a strip of cloud, which is actuallyjust thinning in situ rather than moving one way or another. it may thin a little bit this afternoon across some parts of eastern scotland into the pennines, parts of the midlands, so chances are turning a bit brighter here, but still outbreaks of rain across many eastern areas from it. east anglia, not many here stay dry. winds coming in from the south—east. it's further west, though. sunny spells, one or two isolated showers, a bit of a northwesterly breeze, but temperatures of around nine or ten celsius. coolest of all down some of those north sea coasts. into this evening and overnight, area cloud and patchy rain. it becomes confined mainly to eastern counties of england.

away from that, with some clear skies and only one or two showers around, it is going to be a colder night tonight, more widely. widespread frost, the blue colours here in scotland and northern ireland, down to minus four or minus five for a few, but a chance of frost still possible, wales and western parts of england, and that frost risk could be there throughout this weekend, increasing chance of some lingering fog too. but the general story this weekend, especially for those of you've got the wet weather at the moment, it will turn drier and brighter. now for saturday, first of all, that cloud, outbreaks of rain and a bit of a cold breeze continues across some eastern parts of england and through the day after some early morning sunshine will push towards the south—west and south—eastern parts of wales. away from it, though, you start the day sunny and you should end it sunny — a very pleasant day in store. showers few and far between, most will stay dry. then as we go through into sunday, high pressure builds around our weather front. that will start to squeeze the last dregs of rain or drizzle out of it. there could still be the remnants of it to the south, where there'll be a bit of a breeze. but with high pressure becoming more established, sunday, a widely dry day across the country, there could be some lingering mist

and fog patches around and a bit of low cloud maybe drifting in off the north sea as well. windiest towards the south and across parts of the hebrides. but for most, once you get the sunshine out, that march sunshine is gaining a little bit of warmth. it will feel quite pleasant. our area of high pressure then nudges eastwards as we go through into the early part of next week. low pressure system's trying to work in its way from the west and it's going to be those two there or thereabouts this coming week. so keep an eye on the forecast. there could be some subtle changes, but as for the early part of next week, many will be dry and bright, but turning windier and a bit colder too. bye for now.

back now to the latest in ukraine, where ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, has accused russia of nuclear terror after it bombarded a large nuclear power station, causing a fire. the authorities say the plant is secure and radiation levels are normal. it's the latest indication ofjust how fierce the battle for ukraine has become. we cannot speak to the acting president of national nuclear energy generating company, the operating company for zaporizhzhia. thank you for joining company for zaporizhzhia. thank you forjoining us. what is the situation with zaporizhzhia? yes,

thank ou situation with zaporizhzhia? yes, thank you and — situation with zaporizhzhia? yes, thank you and good _ situation with zaporizhzhia? ye: thank you and good morning. the zaporizhzhia situation got a grave relationship yesterday evening, the russian troops broke the rules, there was a satellite turn to the nuclear power plant, they invaded it and they moved about 100 military vehicles, fighting vehicles etc, towards the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is the biggest nuclear power plant in europe. they went to the administrative centre, to the site of the power plant at 1:42am today. they started shelling all the territory of the nuclear power plant and also the training

centre, which is located nearby and also administrative buildings and entry to the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the checkpoint to the territory of the plant. this shelling was continuing and unit number one got this shot from the attack and there is a suggestion that the territory of the plant was also damaged because of the shelling. it was a big fire in the training centre and they actually destroyed this training centre completely. it was the defence

forces, they were in a fight with the russians. they actually destroyed one colour cell tower. —— they actually destroyed one colour, and unfortunately three people died and unfortunately three people died and two were wounded in defence. they broke the rules. at about 4:30am they stopped shelling. there is a lot of damage to the plant and the infrastructure of the site. at the infrastructure of the site. at the moment they control the situation of the plant and management is working under them,

they are in negotiations with them. also the personnel is allowed to continue working on the units. when the shelling started, we actually started bringing the unit to the safe stage to stop work at the units and bring that to the cold shutdown, which is the most safe stage for this type of reactor. at the moment we have only one unit which is left in operation in zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. the situation is very serious indeed.— power plant. the situation is very serious indeed. thank you very much for “oininu serious indeed. thank you very much forjoining us. _ serious indeed. thank you very much forjoining us, petro _ serious indeed. thank you very much forjoining us, petro kotin, _ forjoining us, petro kotin, updating us with the situation at the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. we can go to vienna.

the international atomic energy agency are giving a briefing about the situation in ukraine. she and her team have been working the whole night, given the circumstances in ukraine. which i would summarise as follows. i am conscious that you may be in possession of some of the information all of the information i will share with you, what i can tell you is that what we are telling you it's confirmed information coming straight from the ukrainian regulator, all straight from the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant where we have contacts at the moment, and permanently through the night. as you have been informed, overnight a projectile hit the plant

site, this building i should repeat is not part of the reactor, it is a training adjacent construction facility to the reactors. these caused a localised fire which was extinguished by the local fibre at the plant. —— by the localfire extinguished by the local fibre at the plant. —— by the local fire at the plant. —— by the local fire at the plant. —— by the local fire at the plant. it is important to say that all the safety systems of the six reactors at the plant were not affected. at all. there has been no release of radioactive material.

importantly in this regard is the radiation monitoring systems, the systems we have to measure the radiation are fully functional as well. however, as you can imagine, the operator and regulator have been telling us that the situation is naturally continuing to be extremely tense and challenging because of the circumstances. of the plant reactor�*s units, one must say that of all the units we have, there is only one that is operating at around 60% of capacity. unit one was in outage for maintenance. units two

and three controlled shutdown, unit four is still operating at 60% —— unit two and three are in safety controlled shutdown. units five and six were already being held in reserve and are operating normally in low power mode. i must indicate that two people have been injured. according to the information we have, these people are not operators or technical people and they are part of the security personnel around the plant. these are the facts, we continue to be in contact with the operators following the situation, of course, very closely.

let me now address how we are addressing what are the next steps that we are planning, what is possible in the circumstances. as we know, because we saw each other a couple of days ago, we had a special session of the board of governors here and at that session i indicated apart from the general exhortations and reminders of the importance of the general principles of never attacking nuclear facilities and other important conceptual elements, i reminded member states of a number of very clear points that must never

be compromised if one is to ensure safety and security at any nuclear facility, be it a reactor or any otherfacility, and facility, be it a reactor or any other facility, and the first one of this was the physical integrity of the facilities, whether it is a reactor, radioactive waste storage, everything. the second point that i mentioned to the board was that all safety and security systems at these places must be maintained in operation. the third point i indicated with the staff —— was that staff needed to be able to fulfil their activities normally. the forces that all times there should be of power, electricity, so the

facility is able to continue running normally. i also referred to the supply chain that must always be available in case there is a need for spare parts all things that are perhaps needed for repairs. i also referred as the 6.2 the radiation monitoring systems also required so that we have an idea of what is going on from the perspective of the possible presence of radioactivity —— | possible presence of radioactivity —— i also referred as the sixth point, to the radiation monitoring systems. and without the communication we would not have been able to confirm the things we are telling you. everybody agrees without exception no country

disagrees that these principles must be maintained. however, the first of this physical integrity of the plant has been compromised with what happened last night. of course we are fortunate that there was no release of radiation and the integrity of the reactors in themselves was not compromised, but, yes, in a wider sense the plant. but it is obvious that when we all agree on these principles, words must mean something, and we have to act in consequence. for us, the iaea, it is time for action. we need to do something about this. as i also

preferred to you, i believe, ukraine sent a request for immediate assistance to us. —— as i also referred to you. bearing in mind what is happening, the risks that we may all incur if this continues without an enhancement and without a recommitment to these principles, i have indicated to both the russian federation and the ukraine, my availability and its position to travel to chernobyl as soon as possible so that these seven crucial pillars are never again compromise. the idea behind this initiative of mine as director general of the iaea is to agree on a framework under

compromise —— and a compromise that would commit to not compromising these principles we all subscribe and agree to. we all know that given the very complicated circumstances on the ground, the logistics to such a presence in this place are not going to be easy, but at the same time i believe they would not be impossible. if we are to extend assistance, we had to be there, and the first to be their most be the head of the iaea. i want to make clear one point. this initiative of mine has nothing to do with the political aspects of this crisis. this is not my mandate. i am not the

security council of the united nations, i am security council of the united nations, iam not security council of the united nations, i am not the secretary—general of the united nations, i am secretary—general of the united nations, iam not secretary—general of the united nations, i am not a self appointed mediator. it has nothing to do with that, i want to be extremely clear. what we are talking about here is a framework under the iaea whereby ukraine and the forces that are present there in the context of this military operation of the russian federation can agree to a commitment not to compromise these principles that i have mentioned. as i said, facts this, the request for assistance has been made to us, we are not ignoring it. i am ready to come. i stop here and i take your

questions. thank you very much. reporter: bloomberg news. can you please clarify who specifically you are in touch with on the russian side, you said you are in touch with energoatom in ukraine and the regulator. and can we have clarification whether you know if the control room at the nuclear power plant is in possession of russian forces alters the utility company continue to have control of the room? —— or does the utility company continue? ibis the room? -- or does the utility company continue?— the room? -- or does the utility company continue? as i mentioned, i and in touch — company continue? as i mentioned, i and in touch with _ company continue? as i mentioned, i and in touch with russia _ company continue? as i mentioned, i and in touch with russia and - and in touch with russia and ukraine, ukraine is my natural counterpart in this, i should always emphasise, because we are talking about ukraine. they are our counterparts. however we know, this

is no secret, there is a military operation and russian forces. we have a number of contacts when it comes to the russian federation at diplomatic level and technical level too. this is the first part. the second part is regarding the operation of the control room and things like that. here i should emphasise that for the time being it is purely ukrainian staff running the operations. what we have in this case as we speak this morning at 10:45am is in chernobyl and zaporizhzhia control, effective control of the site in the hands of russian military forces. i hope the

distinction is clear.— distinction is clear. studio: that is the director-general— distinction is clear. studio: that is the director-general of - distinction is clear. studio: that is the director-general of the - is the director—general of the international atomic energy agency, rafael mariano grossi. we will leave that news conference now. just to recap briefly what he was saying, underlining the fact that the unit is now secure but it is under the control of russian troops. none of the six nuclear reactors were damaged. there was a fire, as we have reported, at the training facility, which was put out. he says there has been no release of radioactive material. prior to hearing from him we were hearing from the acting president of the company that operates the facility at price talking about 100 military vehicles breaking through the checkpoint and the shelling beginning. now the director—general of the iaea is saying that there

needs to be action, he said he has indicated both to russia and ukraine that he will go to chernobyl as soon as possible in order to deliver a framework under the iaea whereby ukraine and the forces present can agree to a commitment not to compromise nuclear safety. that is his intention. let me bring you some comments from the uk defence secretary, who has been speaking about that attack on the nuclear power plant. he has said that attacking a nuclear plant explain with fire that really is beyond anything to do with logic and necessity —— is playing with fire. he said, "we call upon the russian president in the strongest possible terms to absolutely cease attacking

sites such as the nuclear plant, it is incredibly dangerous." and some comments from the director—general of the bbc talking about the blocking of bbc russian website. he has said access to accurate independent information is a fundamental human right which should not be denied to the people of russia, millions of whom rely on bbc news have been weak. we will continue our efforts to make bbc news available in russia and across the rest of the world —— millions of whom rely on bbc news every week. short wave radio services are being reintroduced in russia and ukraine to enable people in those countries to enable people in those countries to continue to access bbc news. let's go to my colleague yelled to her keen in live earth. what is the situation? —— let's go to my

colleague in lviv. it situation? -- let's go to my colleague in lviv.— situation? -- let's go to my colleague in lviv. it is nine days into the conflict _ colleague in lviv. it is nine days into the conflict and _ colleague in lviv. it is nine days into the conflict and there - colleague in lviv. it is nine days into the conflict and there is - into the conflict and there is almost a new normal. in the last hour and a half we found ourselves walking around the old town, the centre of lviv, suddenly sirens went off and the military became very visible and present. we were into this coffee shop here and we realise there are dozens of underground bunkers built during the second world war across this country and this telling of lviv, we went underground with so many others who were confused, concerned, frightened. there is a sense of anxiety and fear here and lviv is just 65 kilometres away from the polish border, it is meant to be relatively safe. this place has not yet been targeted by russian forces. but every now and again in the sirens go off we are reminded that this country, this nation, is at

war. you will see that the monuments have been foiled up, this is in preparation for any kind of offensive that may take place here, the locals have done this themselves. this is an old town, it is a unesco world heritage site, many old churches, it is a reminder that this is a deeply religious country, people had gathered in prayer, southern prior, some people were weeping and the reality of what is going on is sinking in, that this is going on is sinking in, that this is the new normal.— is going on is sinking in, that this is the new normal. thank you very much, is the new normal. thank you very much. our — is the new normal. thank you very much, our reporter _ is the new normal. thank you very much, our reporter in _ is the new normal. thank you very much, our reporter in lviv. - hanna shelest is editor in chief at ukraine analytica, in odesa in ukraine. there is a lot of discussion around what russians'

intentions might be without us, one senior western intelligence official has said it would be a strategic victory for russia and could be very punishing for ukraine. tell us more about the strategic importance of where you are. the about the strategic importance of where you are-— where you are. the strategic importance _ where you are. the strategic importance of _ where you are. the strategic importance of odesa - where you are. the strategic importance of odesa is - importance of odesa is three—dimensional. it is the biggest ukrainian seaport, to export depends 70% from the capabilities and capacities of the seaport of not only odesa but so—called big odesa with several parts about. some of these are blocked and russians are capturing civilian ships we will not be able to attack them, and they had targeted two commercial ships which have sunken the last two days. we have sunken the last two days. we have a moldovan territory not far from odesa, the separatist territory completely controlled by the russian federation. the third one is not

less important, emotional and sentimental issues connected with odesa, because it is the third biggest and most individual acquired. it is russian speaking, pro—russian, that is why we hear in russian propaganda how important it is for them that russia surrenders rather than being captured with nacelles because there are too many emotional connections in the soviet union between odesa and some people in moscow that used to have holidays here. most importantly for ukraine is what is happening, the access to the ports, that is why our forces are trying to guard it and why we are trying to guard it and why we are seeing increased air strikes. what is being done defensively in and around odesa, officially and

amongst the citizens?— and around odesa, officially and amongst the citizens? officially we have many forces _ amongst the citizens? officially we have many forces on _ amongst the citizens? officially we have many forces on high - amongst the citizens? officially we have many forces on high alert, i amongst the citizens? officially we l have many forces on high alert, that is the full control, the air defence, artillery working not only in odesa but around the coast. we have all beaches being mined to prevent landing operations on teachers and we have territorial defence covering the city with all possible barricades —— to prevent landing operations on beaches. my brother—in—law needed to stay in line for three days to endless this morning because so many people wanted to join the territorial defence forces in this city. hanna shelest, thank _ defence forces in this city. hanna shelest, thank you _ defence forces in this city. hanna shelest, thank you very - defence forces in this city. hanna shelest, thank you very much - defence forces in this city. hanna - shelest, thank you very much indeed forjoining us live from odesa. we are keeping up to date with all the latest developments in ukraine on the day that zaporizhzhia nuclear

power plant was targeted overnight by russian forces. the planted secure, there was a fire but it been put out, the power plant was not compromised and is under the control of russian troops now. you were watching bbc news. —— you are watching bbc news. a sunny friday for some of you, soggy for others, that balance will not switch much today. this is a strip of cloud thinning in situ rather than moving one way or another. it may thin a little bit this afternoon across some parts of eastern scotland into the pennines, parts of the midlands, so chances are turning a bit brighter here, but still outbreaks of rain across many eastern areas from it. east anglia, not many here stay dry. winds coming in from the south—east. it's further west, though. sunny spells, one or two isolated showers, a bit of a northwesterly breeze, but temperatures of around nine or ten celsius. coolest of all down some of those north sea coasts.

into this evening and overnight, area cloud and patchy rain. it becomes confined mainly to eastern counties of england. away from that, with some clear skies and only one or two showers around, it is going to be a colder night tonight, more widely. widespread frost, the blue colours here in scotland and northern ireland, down to minus four or minus five for a few, but a chance of frost still possible, wales and western parts of england, and that frost risk could be there throughout this weekend, increasing chance of some lingering fog too. but the general story this weekend, especially for those of you've got the wet weather at the moment, it will turn drier and brighter. now for saturday, first of all, that cloud, outbreaks of rain and a bit of a cold breeze continues across some eastern parts of england and through the day after some early morning sunshine will push towards the south—west and south—eastern parts of wales. away from it, though, you start the day sunny and you should end it sunny — a very pleasant day in store. showers few and far between, most will stay dry. then as we go through into sunday, high pressure builds around our weather front. that will start to squeeze the last dregs of rain or drizzle out of it. there could still be the remnants of it to the south, where there'll be a bit of a breeze.

but with high pressure becoming more established, sunday, a widely dry day across the country, there could be some lingering mist and fog patches around and a bit of low cloud maybe drifting in off the north sea as well. windiest towards the south and across parts of the hebrides. but for most, once you get the sunshine out, that march sunshine is gaining a little bit of warmth. it will feel quite pleasant. our area of high pressure then nudges eastwards as we go through into the early part of next week. low pressure system's trying to work in its way from the west and it's going to be those two there or thereabouts this coming week. so keep an eye on the forecast. there could be some subtle changes, but as for the early part of next week, many will be dry and bright, but turning windier and a bit colder too. bye for now.

this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. europe's largest nuclear power plant has been under attack. it's now secure but ukraine's president accuses moscow of nuclear terror. translation: we need to stop | the russian military immediately. scream to your politicians. ukraine has 15 nuclear units. if there is an explosion, it is the end of everything. the it is the end of everything. international atomic en agency the international atomic energy agency chief says the project outhit a training facility and not a reactor. there has been no release of any radioactive material. bill reactor. there has been no release of any radioactive material.- of any radioactive material. all the safety systems _ of any radioactive material. all the safety systems of _ of any radioactive material. all the safety systems of all _ of any radioactive material. all the safety systems of all the _ of any radioactive material. all the safety systems of all the six - safety systems of all the six reactors at the plant were not affected. at all.

mariupol has become a city under seige as power and water