this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. in ukraine's second biggest city, residential buildings have been reduced to rubble and families are hiding underground. we have a special report from inside kharkiv. this is so far from normal, it's kind of hard to even describe. and these people have no idea what they're going to do next. europe's largest nuclear plant is shelled by russian forces overnight, but the fires are now under control. ukraine says moscow is resorting to "nuclear terror". ukraine's president criticises the west for ruling out a no—fly zone over his country while russian attacks continue. translation: they are destroying eve hinu translation: they are destroying

everything that _ translation: they are destroying everything that ensures _ translation: they are destroying everything that ensures a - translation: they are destroying everything that ensures a normal. everything that ensures a normal life, human life, and they want to continue — life, human life, and they want to continue it— life, human life, and they want to continue it knowing that new strikes and casualties are inevitable. nato deliberately decided not to close the sky— deliberately decided not to close the sky over ukraine. and at ukraine's borders, the refugee queues grow longer — more and more people are trying to flee. and tributes are paid to the australian cricket legend shane warne, who's died at the age of 52. the united nations security council has held an emergency meeting to discuss the way in which russian forces captured ukraine's biggest nuclear power plant. the un's political affairs chief has said attacks on nuclear power facilities are contrary to international humanitarian law. the zaporizhzhia facility was shelled this morning, triggering a fire.

the authorities say the site is secure and radiation levels are normal. the ukrainian foreign ministry say several people have been killed and injured. the plant is in the south—east of the country and the biggest in europe. president zelensky has accused moscow of resorting to "nuclear terror" and urged russians to protest. russia has escalated its air campaign against ukrainian cities throughout the last 2a hours. an official in the besieged port of mariupol has accused russia of trying to force it to surrender by creating a humanitarian crisis. he said the city was being shelled continuously. it's facing a third day without water, electricity or proper sanitation. kharkiv in the north—east has been reduced to rubble. and ukraine says at least 50 people were killed by russian air strikes in the northern city of chernihiv. the polish border guard agency has confirmed more than 672,500 people have fled ukraine to poland since the war began last week. more than 99,000 people crossed the border yesterday.

meanwhile, the nato alliance has rejected calls from kyiv for it to impose a no—fly zone over ukraine, saying this could lead to a wider war with russia. 0ur eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford has this special report from inside kharkhiv, which has been bombarded by russian forces this week. as we drove into kharkiv, it looked like half the city was heading out. a flow of families who have endured days of bombs and explosions. many wrote the word "children" on their cars, hoping they wouldn't be targeted. a few miles on, others stood with bundles of belongings, waiting for a bus to take them out, any bus to anywhere. svetlana told me shells had been landing close to her home. i asked how she's coping. she said she isn't. it's been a week with barely any sleep.

this is what's keeping kharkiv awake. two days ago, there were homes and businesses here. we saw no sign of any military facility. just more destruction across the road at the local shops. and men searching for medicine among the ruins to use for soldiers. "it is scary but this is our city," maxim tells me. "we don't want to run anywhere." so, ukraine's second city has moved underground, to shelter from a war they didn't see coming and don't understand. whole lives are now playing out on these platforms. families bedding down in trains that stopped when the war began. at least the children don't hear the explosions down here. above ground, shops are running out of food. down here, people live off hand—outs. i really... i'm scared about myself

and my family... so, we took our documents and just came here. there are now thousands of people living underground like this here in kharkiv for more than a week now. and the parents are trying to make it as normal as possible for their children. they've brought toys, they're getting food down here, but this is so far from normal, it's kind of hard to even describe. and these people have no idea what they're going to do next. this family's been down here for three whole days now. translation: we hope for the best, . but we're prepared for the worst. i at least we have food and air, and the children are ok. there'is a whole volunteer network here, finding scarce supplies and delivering them to the most needy. translation: nobody's losing their spirit. - we're all going and doing our best

to fight, and we will beat them. . the power is down in this region, so we found people tapping into the mains from the metro in the underpass. charging their phones, a vital connection to the outside world. these couples had surfaced for air because they said the concentration of grief underground was too much to bear. translation: it's scary because we don't know. what's coming tomorrow. nothing is changing here. nothing is happening. even food shopping means taking a risk, queueing in the open for three hours whilst the shelves get emptier every day. despite the pressure, ukraine still controls this crucial city. but kharkiv fears this war has barely started. a city of russian speakers who can't fathom why russia is now destroying their lives and their houses. sarah rainsford, bbc news, kharkiv.

earlier, our correspondent yalda hakim, who is in the ukranian city of lviv, described how the ukrainian people are dealing with the war. the devastation that we've seen in the last nine days of conflict here has been unthinkable, unfathomable. so many people here say to me that they didn't think this would happen. and here in lviv, it's relatively peaceful, it's relatively safe, although every now and then, we hear these air raid sirens which force us all underground, like those underground bunkers that you saw there in sarah rainsford's piece. and just at the moment, we're experiencing a curfew. and as you'll see, it's quite dark behind me cos from 10pm at night through till 7am in the morning, people have to stay indoors. and every now and then, you'll hear those air raid sirens again in the dead of night, people go underground again. and, of course, while all of this is affecting morale of the people, and so many people here in our hotel have come from other parts of the country, fleeing the fighting,

they do remain determined that they will one day return home. of course, then, we've also seen those heartbreaking images of people piling up onto trains to try and get out of the country or on the borders, saying goodbye to the men in their lives, fathers left behind, brothers and husbands who have to say goodbye to their children. and all of this is having an impact on the morale of this country, but they remain united, more united than ever and more patriotic than ever before. ukraine's president has criticised the west for ruling out a no—fly zone over his country while russian attacks continue. translation: all nato intelligence | is well aware of the enemy's plans. | they've also confirmed that russia wants to continue the offensive. how is that possible? for nine days, we have been seeing a fierce war. they are destroying our cities, shelling our people, our children, residential

neighbourhoods, churches, schools. they are destroying everything that ensures a normal life, human life. and they want to continue it. knowing that new strikes and casualties are inevitable, nato deliberately decided not to close the sky over ukraine. russian forces are steadily making gains in this war as urban areas are cut off by troops. in the city of mariupol in the south, which is under siege, the mayor says food is running out and there's no water, heating or electricity. the russian advance is also gaining momentum to the east and north, with continued shelling and artillery fire. jeremy bowen has more. 50,000 people a day are passing through kyiv station. it is the gateway to relative safety in the far west, near the polish border. furtherfrom the russians, and further from the people they love. no—one knows how long

they'll be apart. the platform for lviv is where they start becoming refugees, almost all of them women and children. "i'm really worried about my three kids," she said, "and i want to come back. but now i'm very scared." people shout. ahead, up to 12 hours rammed into an overcrowded carriage on the most uncertain journey of their lives. the people who couldn't fight their way on board waited for the next one. they grabbed what mattered most to them, and there's the pain of parting. all the heartbreak of the war was on alexander's face. he'd just put his wife and two small

children on the train. he wouldn't let go of a toy ambulance his eight—year—old son has given him as he said goodbye. men have to stay to fight. this man used an app to translate for us his attempt to reassure his wife. translation: she also asked me to leave. - i said that we will fight to the end. it will be easier for us to fight when you are safe. no—one knows theirjourney's end, the evacuees or the husbands and fathers they left behind. 0n the edge of kyiv, some volunteers are in position, still trying to get organised. the professionals, better armed and trained, are closer to the front. kyiv is the biggest symbol of ukrainian independence, and that

makes it the biggest target for the russian army. they're still a reasonable distance in that direction. the city's there. it's big and it's sprawling, and in a lot of people's minds here at the moment is the question of whether president putin will order the kind of assault on the capital that he's ordered on cities elsewhere in the country. first lesson for the new soldiers — loading bullets into a magazine. most at this territorial defence centre were boys of 18 and i9. i study economy. and i am studying biology. they have the same patriotism, courage and sense of invincibility of other generations of young men who volunteered to fight in europe's wars. their parents will pray they don't learn the same brutal lessons. the yellow tape is to show they're not russians.

they have three days training and then the front—line. maxim, aged 19, joked, "my mum said don't go anywhere, she'd capture enough saboteurs for the two of us." the only woman there was coming as a medic. everyone i've met in this city is defiant. here, the older men were more apprehensive. they shout together. 0n the bus, they all cheered for victory and death to their enemies. jeremy bowen, bbc news, kyiv. as we've been hearing, the attack on the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has led to global condemnation. there's no indication of increased levels of radiation in the area, but the international nuclear watchdog says it's deeply concerned. 0ur science correspondent victoria gill now takes a look at what those concerns might be. warfare at a nuclear power plant.

0vernight, a shell hit a building at zaporizhzhia, europe's largest nuclear power facility. translation: russian troops attacked the largest nuclear . power plant in europe. it's maybe six times the size of chornobyl. the russian tanks knew what they were firing at. they directly hit the plant. this is terror on an unprecedented level. a blaze, which was quickly extinguished, was limited to a training facility building. critically, it didn't affect any of the nuclear reactors. the complex of reactor buildings is about a kilometre long, and now only one of the six reactors here is reported to be operating, with the rest safely shut down. we, of course, are fortunate that there was no release of radiation and that the integrity of the reactors in themselves was not compromised. leaders around the world condemned the russian military for recklessness,

but russia's envoy at the un security council insisted it was untrue that his country's forces had shelled the plant, insisting that ukrainian saboteurs were to blame. it was ukrainian emergency crews that dealt with the fire, and the immediate danger now appears to have passed. but nuclear experts say the situation is still precarious. we're not looking at another- chornobyl accident, but the primary concern here is that the electricity sunpiy gets cut off, _ it stops the pumps from working that cool the reactor. _ and if that were to happen, - the nuclear fuel inside would melt down, so it's really important that the russian forces - and the ukrainian forces stop firing in the direction - of the nuclear power stations. interruption to the power supply was behind the nuclear disaster at fukushima injapan in 2011. but while that was caused by a natural disaster, this conflict is now drawing close to nuclear power plants that are not designed for war zones. victoria gill, bbc news.

i'm joined now by professor matthew bunn from the harvard kennedy school, where he teaches the practice of energy, national security and foreign policy. he isa he is a former adviser at the office of science and technology in the clinton administration. thank you very much for being with us on bbc news. what concerns does what happened friday morning have for you? 50 happened friday morning have for ou? ., ,, happened friday morning have for ou? ., _ �*, ., happened friday morning have for ou? ., _ , you? so obviously it's a very dangerous — you? so obviously it's a very dangerous situation - you? so obviously it's a very dangerous situation to - you? so obviously it's a very dangerous situation to have | you? so obviously it's a veryl dangerous situation to have a firefight at a nuclear power plant. it does not appear that the russian forces were trying to cause a radioactive release. they seem to be trying to have ceased a strategic point, and in fact the russians are now allowing, while they are in control of the overall site, they are 11 ukrainian operators to run the place. but the reality is we have got several other nuclear power plants in ukraine that are in a war

zone, and so it's very important to reach some kind of deal between the russians and the ukrainians as the director general has proposed to ensure nuclear safety for all these plants. it ensure nuclear safety for all these lants. ., , ., , ., plants. it would delete plants of this kind have _ plants. it would delete plants of this kind have a _ plants. it would delete plants of this kind have a certain - plants. it would delete plants of this kind have a certain amount| plants. it would delete plants of. this kind have a certain amount of protection built into a shirt in the case of some accidental thing like a plane dropping from the sky or whatever that they are not in any immediate danger. it takes quite a lot to turn them into something that would become a danger.— would become a danger. that's absolutely _ would become a danger. that's absolutely right, _ would become a danger. that's absolutely right, but _ would become a danger. that's absolutely right, but as - would become a danger. that's absolutely right, but as the - absolutely right, but as the previous report noted, these plants, because they generate a lot of heat inside the core even after it's shut down, they need continuous cooling. and for that, they need off—site electrical power to keep the pumps running and things like that. if the off—site power is shut off, they all have diesel generators to provide back—up power, but if the fighting

went on long enough that the diesel generators ran out of fuel, then more of the dish and generators were damaged by the fighting or other cooling systems were damaged, then you could have a meltdown. and i'm especially concerned about some older reactors in ukraine that don't have as robust a containment building and don't have the same quality of emergency core cooling system. quality of emergency core cooling s stem. . . r' quality of emergency core cooling s stem. ., ., i. quality of emergency core cooling s stem. ., ., ., system. can i ask you one last thought? _ system. can i ask you one last thought? last— system. can i ask you one last thought? last weekend, - system. can i ask you one last| thought? last weekend, rather unfriendly come up president putin put his nuclearforces unfriendly come up president putin put his nuclear forces on unfriendly come up president putin put his nuclearforces on high unfriendly come up president putin put his nuclear forces on high alert and there is a perspective that the russian military has changed on the possibility of the possible using nuclear weapons and certain controlled circumstances that they would consider controlled at least for technical reasons other than merely as a deterrent. i wonder how concerned you are about that. well. concerned you are about that. well, i am concerned _ concerned you are about that. well, i am concerned but _ concerned you are about that. well, i am concerned but i _ concerned you are about that. well, i am concerned but i think— concerned you are about that. well, i am concerned but i think it's - i am concerned but i think it's quite unlucky that the russians

ultimately will use nuclear weapons in the situation. they have been a conventional options for escalating to accomplish their objectives in ukraine. i think the alert was much more about, which by the way, the russian experts describe is not exactly an alert but a change of combat status that resulted in increased personnel being assigned to command and control stations and so on, but i think that was much more about communicating to the west don't try to stop me, i have nuclear weapons, don't intervene. professor... i'm promoting you. professor... i'm promoting you. professor matthew bunn at harvard, thank you so much for giving us your expertise here on bbc news.- expertise here on bbc news. thanks for havin: expertise here on bbc news. thanks for having me- _ some breaking news as a ukrainian embassy in washington says it has arranged eight zoom caught with all

us senators with president zelensky at 9:30am eastern time in 1150 gmt and it has been reported from senate aides and is reported by reuters. in moscow, the parliament has passed a law making it a criminal offence to spread what it calls "fake" information. the conflict in ukraine cannot be referred to as a "war". vladimir putin calls it a special military operation. anyone convicted could receive a 15—year prison sentence. access to the bbc and other independent news websites and services is also now restricted following action by russia's media regulator. caroline hawley has that story. facing growing international isolation, growing pressure, president putin can't and won't travel far himself these days, but he did find time today to attend remotely a ceremony

inaugurating a new passenger ferry. and claimed that russia had no ill intentions to its neighbours. he warned them not to escalate tensions and he said russia would continue to develop, in spite of sanctions. anyone not toeing the kremlin's line is now being silenced. "no war," the last words of a final gathering of staff at tv rain, once a symbol of young, independent, liberaljournalism. they resigned live on—air and left viewers with a pointed message. tchaikovsky's swan lake aired when the soviet union collapsed and in other times of turmoil. in the lower house of parliament, they met to make another big move in the information war, though in russia now, you're not allowed to use the word "war". on a growing list of casualties, facebook, used by millions of russians, now blocked.

translation: all these companies, from instagram to others, _ are located in the united states. it's clear they're used as a weapon, they carry enmity, lies. we must resist this, protect the armed forces. they rubberstamped a law to impose long jail sentences on anyone spreading what the kremlin decrees fake news about the military. i think when you are frightened of a free and open press, you are frightened of yourself and your own people. the bbc now says it's temporarily suspending the work of all of its journalists in russia while it assesses the implications of the new law. protests against the invasion have already led to thousands of arrests over the past eight days, but the demonstrations are still relatively small—scale. state propaganda exerts a powerful influence, and russians will now be left even more in the dark about what's really happening in ukraine. the russians have made much slower

progress on the ground _ than they had hoped for. they'd hoped, in fact, for lots more popular support from ukrainians - in the eastern half of the country, which simply hasn't happened. i but putin is now, to quote - shakespeare, so deep stepped in blood that he's not going to turn back. . his survival, i would suspect, l in the russian political system depends upon him carrying this war to a victory — so, for president putin, it's increasingly vital to control the narrative as his war claims ever more ukrainian and russian lives. caroline hawley, bbc news. the humanitarian situation just gets worse day by day, hour by hour. the united nations is now warning that on top of the i million refugees who've already fled, millions more could be forced from this country, if the fighting is prolonged. 0ur correspondent lucy williamson reports. when 0desa flinches, palanca catches the blow. the fear in ukraine's southern city reflected in the queues, the emotions spilling out at this

once little—known border post. a bus to an emergency shelter, oversubscribed. an official loses control. "there's a five—year—old waiting," he shouts, "move back." svetlana had been waiting for a visa tojoin her husband in the uk. with the conflict spreading and her passport stuck at the british embassy in lviv, she's crossed into moldova without it. "it's impossible to understand what's happened," she said. "we're living in the 21st century. people are just hoping for the best and holding on to the end." katya also arrived today from 0desa with her sister and three children after they saw a ship destroyed in a huge explosion. translation: the kids - were asking, "what's going on?" and we said it was fireworks. what are you going to say to a kid? you can't tell them it's a war out there. video from 0desa this week showed the men left

behind filling sandbags, ready for a russian invasion. russian landing craft were spotted off the coast yesterday. and today, at 0desa's train station, panic. the numbers here are being driven by russian operations in the south of ukraine. this border is squeezed between two separate wings of ukrainian territory. and refugee agencies here say that if 0desa comes under attack, these numbers will surge again. the eu's head of foreign affairs says this migrant crisis could dwarf the last one europe faced in 2015. in 2015—16, europe was shocked byi million people coming from syria. now, in four days, we already have almosti million people. and ukraine has 40 million people. if the russians continue bombing the cities the way they are doing,

if you were ukrainian, what do you do? that's it. good evening. it has been a day of mixed fortunes for many. we've seen quite a lot of cloud around and, yes, at times, it has been wet. this was lincolnshire this afternoon. it never really progressed above that low cloud, misty, murky story, and there's been rain just fringing away from eastern scotland, but certainly sitting to the east of the pennines, down into the south—east corner. now, behind that front, there was quite a clearance and there were some lovely spells of sunshine to be found. this was cumbria just a few hours ago. and it looks likely that that drier and brighter story is going to win out as we go through the weekend. so, certainly drier. a little bit more sunshine around, but overnight frost and fog could be an issue as we go through the weekend. now, over the next few hours, that weather front is going to grind to a halt across the far south—east

corner, but high pressure builds in behind, and that's going to keep those skies clear and temperatures are going to fall away like a stone across scotland, northern ireland, northern england and parts of wales. here, we'll see temperatures just below freezing. down into the south—east corner, underneath that cloud and those outbreaks of rain, temperatures holding up at around 5—6 degrees. but once again, it's going to start off rather grey, drab and dreary, i'm afraid, and some of that rain may welljust drift a little bit further west as we go through the afternoon. best of the sunshine, then, to start off our weekend, certainly the further north and west you are. bit more of a breeze at times and temperatures likely to hold up at about a maximum of ten degrees, so that is just a little bit under par for this time of year. now, as we move into sunday, that high pressure hopefully starts to establish itself a little bit more across the country, and finally that nuisance weather front that we've seen for the last couple of days really decays and eases away. bit more of a breeze, though, across the south, and that could just drive

in a little more cloud, particularly first thing in the morning, but hopefully that cloud will thinn and break into the afternoon. and temperatures should peak in the drier, brighter moments at around 8—9 degrees. now, as we move out of sunday into monday morning, it's certainly worth bearing in mind that, with those clear skies, the temperatures are going to fall away. it is going to be a cold and frosty start for many first thing on monday morning, but monday into tuesday, dry, settled and sunny for most, but those temperatures on the chilly side for the time of year.

this is bbc news. the headlines... russia has stepped up its bombardment of large parts of ukraine, as nato warns the conflict, is about to get worse. ukraine's president has critcised the bloc for ruling out a no—fly zone. the iaea chief says he is ready to go to ukraine to secure its nuclear sites. he made the pledge to the un security council after europe's largest nuclear power station was shelled by russian forces. the un says half a million children are among more than 1.2 million people who have fled ukraine. the un's refugee agency estimates that more than four million people could eventually move into neighbouring countries. tributes have been pouring in for the australian cricketer shane warne, who has died at the age of 52. his management company said he suffered a suspected heart attack at his villa in thailand.