welcome to bbc news. i'm james reynolds. our top stories. as more people flee the bombings and missile strikes a former ukrainian president tells the bbc his country is desperate. you see all these people are suffering from that and this is completely unacceptable and when we are asking the no—fly zone, this is exactly for these people. israel's prime minister meets with president putin in moscow to discuss the ongoing conflict. the economic fallout from the war continues — visa and mastercard announce they're disconnecting their services in russia. solidarity in the streets — and in the football stands — thousands continue to show support for the people of ukraine.

across ukraine, the russian military is keeping up its intense bombardments of towns it's trying to capture. there have been heavy strikes against irpin, northwest of kyiv where the russians are trying to break through. a stream of people are fleeing on foot, taking a minimum of belongings. our correspondent orla guerin is in the town — just 25 kilometres outside the capital — and sent this report. this is the reality of russia's invasion. yevgen is watching his family home ablaze. his children had leftjust ten minutes earlier. no military targets here.

just his beloved german shepherd. all this is happening 16 miles from kyiv in the town of irpin. it is home to about 60,000 people. today, many were desperate to get out. they crossed the river on foot. ukraine blew up the bridge in self—defence to prevent russian advance. a hurried rescue mission in an escalating war. we witnessed the exodus. of frightened civilians converging on buses bound for the railway station in the capital and the next train out. among them, this mother with babe in arms. trying to comfort her daughter.

leading the evacuation, the former ukrainian president, marshall is the crowds. he is pleading with nato to reconsider and impose a no—fly zone for the sake of all those subjected to danger and indignity at the hands of vladimir putin. the russians is completely bombing, with air bombs, with missiles, the civilian people, and you see all these people are suffering from that. and this is completely unacceptable. and when we are asking the no—fly zone, this is exactly for these people. and with this situation, we need to protect them. katya tells us, "yesterday they shelled day and night, hitting the hospital, the university and the tax office." "they are shelling every day," she says. well, in the distance here, you can see the smoke is still rising.

you get a sense of what people are fleeing from. there is a steady stream of people coming here now, they're carrying their bags, their suitcases, some of them have their pets. they're taking just what they can carry, and they're rushing for the buses to try and get out of here and get to safety. do you feel let down by nato? i am not sure. i think, look, we count on them, we still think that the chance is not missing yet. jets roar. 0verhead, the russian threat. so far nato is not taking the chance or the risk of closing the skies. ukraine claims to have shot down a russian helicopter north of the capital. this video seems to confirm that. president putin's invasion

is not going to plan but he still has plenty of firepower. 0rla guerin, bbc news, irpin. president putin says any attempt to impose a no—fly zone in ukrainian skies would lead to what he called catastrophic consequences for the world. he said a no—fly zone could only be imposed with help from outside ukraine and that russia would consider any country that did so to have joined the conflict. translation: it is possible to do only| from the neighbouring states but any movement in this direction will be considered taking part in an armed conflict on the part of the country from which the territorial threats are being made and at that exact moment we will consider them as parties in military conflict. plans for humanitarian corridors — to allow civilians to leave mariupol in the south of ukraine — have failed to come off. 200,000 people are desperate to escape the city to safety.

0ur eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford has been to the town of zaporizhzhia — whose nuclear power plant was targeted by russian troops earlier this week — and which is ready to receive evacuees. zaporizhzhia was ready for crowds of people today, bus—loads of families, fleeing the fighting further south. this is the nearest safe city, just outside the conflict zone. wladyslaw remembers trips to the state circus as a schoolchild. he never imagined turning the ring into this, a refuge, in a war. but the thousands he was expecting to help didn't show up. there was no ceasefire, the safe corridor to allow people to reach here was never set up. translation: we were waiting for them but i hear _ the russians didn't keep to the agreement so no—one dared risk it and the corridor slammed shut. but we still hope they can agree something and we are

ready to take people in. for ten days, the port city of mariupol has been under bombardment, besieged and battered by russian troops. volnovakha has also been targeted relentlessly. the plan was to stop all this and let civilians take buses to safety. but hours into an agreed ceasefire, the mayor of mariupol published this... a warning to residents that russian forces were firing along their escape route. "don't panic," he told them, "but it's not safe now." this woman did make it out today, from another danger spot. she was given clothes for her daughter at the circus cloakroom. she'd had to leave everything at home to run from the fighting. it was all so unexpected, she says, and so stressful.

all of these donations, the clothes, the bedding and food, it was all gathered here in the space ofjust a couple of hours today, when people of this town were told families were going to be fleeing here from the fighting further south, and they haven't arrived yet, but this does show very clearly how communities and how this country, in fact, is uniting, in the face of this enormous threat. all this beetroot soup won't get eaten today but there will be more supplies, more help, as soon as it is needed. edward wanted me to know that everything would be ok and he insisted russian troops wouldn't dare enter this city. then he crumpled... and the people all this is meant for had to spend yet another night in danger. sarah rainsford, bbc news, zaporizhzhia.

russia's vision of ukraine has entered its 11th day as the fighting continues. we are realising that we overestimated the strength of the russian military and underestimated the strength of the ukrainian armed forces. putin thought he would be able to roll into ukraine very quickly and on day 11 kyiv still stands. he hasn't done very well. there are reports of fuel shortages, food shortages and low morale among troops so this has been much harder than vladimir putin expected. the broader point is that moscow doesn't understand ukraine. they have made a number of political misjudgments and planning for the war and they did really badly. which misjudgements? they assume the ukrainians would not fight

and would not resist. if vladimir putin had read a newspaper he had known that the ukrainians would fight and resist. 45% of ukrainians would fight and resist with a weapon, and this was before the war started, so i am not surprised at all by the strength of resistance in ukraine, but ukraine has changed a lot since 2014, and russia doesn't really understand how much it has changed. the kremlin thought it could roll in and would be greeted with flowers and people would be ok with russian rule and that is clearly not the case whatsoever. what is the ukrainian military tactic at the moment? the ukrainian military is trying to defend its territory and hold the cities as much as possible. it depends which city you are talking about. the situation is dire in mariupol, in kyiv, they have managed

to hold the city and it is specific for each different city. we would have to zoom in on a city if we wanted to talk about it with any specificity, but so far the ukrainians are doing quite well. is there a scenario which russia is finding it easier in the south, that they might bridge forces in the south and east and consolidate in one area, and struggle in the north and then you have two fronts? that is one of the concerns, the concern that they are trying to build that land bridge in the south, they want to isolate ukrainian troops in the east, and there is concern that they want to try to eliminate the border that we have between poland and ukraine. that border is really important to be able to resupply the army and for refugees to be able to flee to the european union, so the ukrainian military has to do a lot of things at the same time. let's talk about diplomacy —

there are efforts including one by the israeli prime minister, there are low—level talks between ukraine and belarus — do you expect any headway from those efforts? not at this point, i don't see any desire from vladimir putin to negotiate, he sent his former culture minister, he says is not serious about negotiations. it failed almost immediately. let's try, let's talk to them and see if we can get some humanitarian corridors put in place that are serious and hold, but my expectations are low, the things that vladimir putin has demanded are nonstarters for the west and for ukraine. the payments giants mastercard and visa have announced that they are suspending their operations in russia. mastercard said it will no longer support cards issued by russian banks and those issued outside the country will not work in russia.

visa says it will cease all transactions in russia in the coming days. it is a significant move and continues the ongoing efforts to cage some of the finance is going efforts to cage some of the finances going in and out of russia. i think it's a significant development. will it have any practical effect on the ground in terms of restraining people, oligarchs, whose behaviour the west has felt needs to be restrained because of their alliance with vladimir putin? the asset freezes and moves that have been made are collectively, we believe, going to have an impact, so any specific and individual move, it's hard to say whether or not that is the thing that will move the ball to a final endgame, but what we've seen, which we haven't seen that well in the past, is a coordinated effort

to freeze assets and go after all of the various ways in which oligarchs move money around the world. and in addition to this move we also saw the financial action task force, an international body that sets money—laundering stadards, put the uae on a grey list because of russian money that flows through the banks out of dubai. so, looking at all these things, you know, adding up over time, should have a significant impact. how easy is it in wider terms to go after oligarchs when the wealth is often so well hidden? so that is, actually, the biggest unknown, and i think a very significant concern. we here in the united states, as some listeners may know — the united states is actually a safe haven for a lot of dirty money. we have some good laws. 0ur banks are pretty good about monitoring

what kind of money's going in and out of them. but when you look at the investment markets, the private investment markets in particular in the united states are $11 trillion market. the housing market, the real estate market. if you add commercial and residential real estate, you're looking at a $50 trillion market. and none of those markets have the kind of anti—money laundering responsibilities that banks do. and so there is a huge concern that some of the money that we know about that's been moved around publicly because some of these oligarchs were not sanctioned and so they were able to make the investments. but we also think there's a lot of money that's hidden secretly throughout the united states and throughout the world, and it's going to be very hard to find that money because we don't have the systems in place for some of the largest assets that could be held overseas. the israeli prime minister, naftali bennett, has held three hours of talks with vladimir putin at the kremlin.

mr bennett is the first western leader to meet the russian president since the invasion began. details of what was discussed have not been disclosed. here's the bbc�*s tom bateman injerusalem. israeli officials say these talks went on for three hours in the kremlin between mr bennett and vladimir putin. i think the fact that the israeli prime minister flew to moscow in the midst of russia's increasing diplomatic isolation gives you a sense of just how extraordinary these particular talks are. they have not come completely out of the blue. we have known for some days now that there have been at least two phone calls between the israeli prime minister and the russian president and also at the same time, mr bennett has been talking to president zelensky of ukraine. the israeli leader believes he can try to position himself as a mediator between the two countries. he believes israel is uniquely placed to have dialogue with both moscow in the form of mr putin and with mr zelensky.

and the reason for that is that israel has significant relations with both countries. long historical, cultural ties with ukraine, and significant relations in russia because of russia's position controlling the skies and its presence on the ground in syria, where israel carries out repeated air strikes against iranian interests. they have had to develop a pretty delicate but quite deep relationship with russians because of that. now, what happens next? well, mr bennett's officials said he had a phone call with president zelensky after the meeting with mr putin, and that he is now flying to berlin where the israelis say that the talks with the kremlin happened in coordination with key western partners, and they say that in their words, with "the blessing of the white house", so it gives you some indication

as to the seriousness, how the israelis are taking this as they think they can position themselves as mediators, and just how extraordinary these talks are, given russia's growing diplomatic isolation, but the question that emerges, even if you have a mediator, what substance is there to be mediated over? russia's invasion of ukraine has sent shock waves across countries neighbouring russia, amongst them finland. for the first time in the country's history, public opinion has shifted in favour ofjoining nato, although president putin has threatened "military and political consequences". a finnish border patrol sets out along the line of the frontier. times are changing here. russia's attack on ukraine has been a profound shock

to people in finland, and a majority of finns now want to give up their old neutrality and join the western alliance. a solitary red post marks the point where russian territory begins. and so, as a direct consequence of the invasion of ukraine, and of russia's heavy—handed warning to finland not even to think aboutjoining nato, this could one day be the border between nato and russia. it's the precise opposite of what russia wanted. at the border crossing point, a steady line of russians are coming into finland. there are rumours that president putin will soon introduce martial law, and plenty of people who don't agree with the invasion of ukraine are getting out in case of trouble from the authorities. this student's one of them. we tried to do something

with our government, but... she sighs. ..it�*s nothing. so, while vladimir putin is in power, there is nothing much that can be done? mm. historically, finland has always preferred to be neutral, but ukraine, plus the clumsy russian warning, has changed all that. support for membership has shot up. in helsinki, two computer geeks, in this flat, at this laptop, started a small revolution. they, plus three friends, launched a campaign tojoin nato. they've now got over 70,000 signatures, more than enough to get it debated in parliament. a bit scary, yeah, and really remarkable. just five guys on the internet who actually changed the world. we really wanted that our

politicians should have this discussion aboutjoining nato. the support forjoining nato would probably be even higher now. finland's government seems cautiously supportive. i would say no rapid changes, no changes this week or next week, but yes, people are debating, and for us it is very important that the nato door is open for us. if this does change from being a neutral border, and becomes yet another nato facing off point with russia, it will enrage the russian government. the calculation here is that, in this new atmosphere, finland would be safer under nato's protection. john simpson, bbc news, on the finnish border with russia. ukraine's president said he spoke to spacex ceo elon musk and announced the country will receive more of its starlink satellite internet terminals.

their conversation comes after musk annoucend last week their conversation comes after musk announced last week said spacex's starlink satellite internet service had been activated in the country. starlink provides high—speed internet from space with satellites flying in low earth orbit. elon musk warned it could be targeted. tens of thousands of people have been demonstrating across european cities in support of ukraine, demanding an end to russia's invasion, as well as using high—profile sports matches to get their point across — as stephanie prentice reports.

with flags in the stands and applause on the pitch, the world's most popular football league, the english premier league, using saturday's matches to show support for ukraine in full view of the watching world. mixed messages in the chelsea stands with booing as some fans cheered for owner roman abramovich, an alleged close contact of vladimir putin, something their manager stood against. we need ourfans to commit to this minute of applause, we do it for ukraine and there is no second opinion about the situation there, and they have our thoughts and our support, and we should stand together as a club. it is not the moment for other messages.

off the pitch, the blue and yellow seen all over the world this weekend. ukraine's colours being held aloft in paris injust one of 120 protests in france, as anti—war protesters gathered to sing the ukrainian national anthem. solemn faces with a solemn message — stop putin, now. translation: the ukrainian | president is some kind of hero, he is a hero, i think that the ukrainian people show us an extraordinary example. the scene was mirrored across europe. in croatia, in italy, in latvia, the netherlands, britain, switzerland, germany, where the russian consulate was covered in red paint...

..and austria. translation: it is important to send a sign of solidarity - and to say that it is wrong what is going on here. as well as in the united states. a reminder that the feelings about the war being discussed in official chambers and meeting rooms, further amplified on the ground in normal cities and streets. in ukraine, in kherson, russian occupation, with residents holding fierce protests of their own and aware that, as their freedom is taken away in the space of a week, the world stands beside them to demand it back. stephanie prentice, bbc news. the 11th day of worship's invasion of ukraine has begun and we will bring you all of the angles on this story as we can, as we continues to try to take ground north of the country and also the east and

in the south. more on the website, do stay with bbc news. hello. it is cold and frosty across the northern half of the uk where we have clearer skies and light winds. sunday morning starts off on that chilly note, but some sunshine on offer for much of the day. the lowest temperatures will be across rural scotland, perhaps as low as —8 during the early hours of sunday morning. further south we have more cloud across england and wales producing some spots of drizzle through the morning. cloud should tend to break up with more sunshine for many areas compared to what we saw on saturday. perhaps a bit more cloud for south—western england and into wales as well. further north, light winds and lots of sunshine on offer but towards southern england and wales, a breeze coming in from the north—east and that will take the edge off the temperatures. not feeling particularly warm with highs of between 7—9 celsius

but with the light winds and the sunshine it should be a fairly pleasant day across the north. on sunday night and on into monday morning, cloud still towards the south and south—west, tending to fade so under those clearer skies with light winds, the frost will be even more extensive as we head on into monday morning. that is not quite as low, those temperatures, but many of us seeing a touch of frost to start monday morning. monday, largely dry with spells of sunshine, always a bit more cloud across england and wales, just drifting northwards into northern ireland and southern scotland at times but it will be well broken, so some sunny spells but still chilly at around 7—9 celsius. looking further ahead, high pressure will ease towards the east overnight into tuesday, allowing fronts to work in from the west and as it does, the breeze will be picking up on tuesday from a south—easterly direction and we are likely to see some showers arriving across south—west england and wales and northern ireland later in the day.

ahead of that, a bit warmer by this stage, around 7—11, the top temperature on tuesday. midweek and it looks as though low pressure will try to move in from the atlantic as high pressure slips away the east. that will mean a bit more cloud and rain at times but milder air working in, so after a bit of a chilly start to the new working week it looks like things will turn a bit more unsettled, but also milder from midweek onwards. goodbye for now.

this is bbc news. russian forces have continued their offensive in ukraine with heavy bombardment west of kyiv. a correspondence at a steady stream of people have been fleeing the area on foot, taking only what they can carry with them to try to find safety. the israeli prime minister met president putin in russia to discuss the war in ukraine. they spoke for three hours and also discussed the situation in syria. he is now heading to berlin to meet the german chancellor. visa and mastercard are suspending their respective services in russia. mastercard said it will no longer support cards issued by russian banks and mastercard is issued outside the country will not work at russian merchants. visa says it will stop all transactions in russia in coming days.