this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm shaun ley. our top stories... harrowing scenes in ukraine as russian forces step up their bombing of civilian areas. in irpin, north—west of the capital, residents flee for their lives under relentless bombardment. there is artillery fire, and loads of civilians around. a bridge, used by civilians to flee the town, was blown up to slow the russian offensive, leaving many elderly especially vulnerable. the head of the international atomic energy agency says he's extremely concerned about reports that the ukrainian authorities are having trouble contacting staff at the zaporizhzhia and chernobyl nuclear plants — both of which are under russian control.

in poland, thousands more refugees have been arriving — so far more than 1.5 million ukrainians have fled their country. anti—war protests on the streets of russia — russia's interior ministry says 3,500 people have been arrested in protests across the country. hello and welcome to the programme. the ukrainian army has been reinforcing the defences of kyiv as the russian military continues its attacks to the north of the capital. soldiers have been digging trenches and blocking roads to erect anti—tank obstacles.

the towns of bucha, hostomel and irpin have been under heavy bombardment. civilians trying to flee the fighting have been killed by russian mortar fire. my colleague yalda hakim has giving us the very latest from lviv. let's bring you up—to—date on the ongoing conflict in ukraine. ukrainian authorities say towns northwest of kyiv are under relentless bombardment with intense fighting between ukrainian forces and russian forces. let me to show you where the fighting is on the map. the heaviest fighting is said to be focused on suburbs just 25 kilometres north—west of kyiv. meanwhile a new temporary ceasefire to evacuate civilians in the besieged city of mariupol has once again collapsed after two hours. this is the second day in a row it has been attempted. millions of civilians are trying to flee the fighting that continues in the north, the south and east of the country.

we have the very latest report from jeremy bowen. distant explosions russian shelling might break ukraine's will to fight — but not yet. davay, davay. they have to keep moving. until the last minute, these families had hung on. leaving your home, even in a war, is a giant step. they're heading towards the capital, still almost untouched, but only about ten miles away. she was as dignified as a woman striding to the park. in fact, like all of ukraine and russia, they are struggling into a dark future. ukrainian troops were moving back into irpin, and this is why its people left. shell zips past this was inside the town, russia's target as it tries

to revive its offensive. the civilians are getting out over what's left of a bridge that was blown to slow down the russians if they take irpin. russian shells were very close. shouting, explosions stopping was not an option. "i'm 0k," she said. "keep going." a disabled man couldn't make it up the steep river bank on his own. there's a fair amount of incoming fire coming into this now — artillery fire. there are loads of civilians around. families coming out. there's a lady over there with her dog following on. this is the edge of the town that the russians have got to. explosions, shouting civilians were in the firing line, but the russians might have been trying to knock out nearby active

ukrainian artillery. casualties and evacuees were taken to an assembly point in a suburb about a mile away. as well as wounded soldiers, at least one family was killed. vladimir, 85, a 30—year veteran of the soviet army, got his family out. "i served for many years," he said. "right now, i'd tear those fascists into pieces. "they're killing people for no reason. "that's what's really painful." on the way out, families grabbed their most precious things — puppies, pets, some comfort. tell me what it was like crossing the bridge and getting out of the town? oh, it was a miserable feeling. we are nervous. i was terrified. it was... it was, it was the

horrible, horrible way. they moved on into the capital. this was a terrible day, but the russian military is operating on half—power. if it can build up full momentum, there will be many days worse than this. jeremy bowen, bbc news, kyiv. as we have been reporting in the last couple of days, an attempt to create a ceasefire in the southern port city of mariupol has broken down twice. yesterday we heard reports from the russian civilian defence ministry that they would put a partial ceasefire in place and create a humanitarian corridor but authorities in mariupol say that that humanitarian corridor never took place, that there was still shelling of civilians trying to flee and they halted that evacuation. there was a second attempt today,

and that also failed. uk defence intelligence has said that russia's blaming of the ceasefire breakdown is probably an additional attempt to diminish responsibility for civilian casualties. earlier, we heard from the us secretary of state antony blinken who said that the us is documenting the civilian casualties. they are keeping photographs and they are going to keep track of attacks on civilian casualties. they say they have credible intelligence and information that densely populated areas full of civilians had been targeted so those are latest lines coming in for the uk defence intelligence thing that russia's blaming of the ceasefire breakdown is to absolve a responsibility for civilian casualties. we have been hearing, day in, day out, from the ukrainian president, president zelensky. he has been addressing his nation.

he has been frustrated at the lack of an no—fly zone, he has requested that from nato members and that has been rejected by them. in his latest message, he has been speaking about an attack on a civilian airport in an area called vinnytsia in central ukraine. have a listen to what he had to say. translation: i've just been told about the rocket - strike at vinnytsya. eight rockets against our town, against our peaceful, good vinnytsya that never threatened russia by any way. a rocket strike. tough, cynical, completely flattened the airport. they carry on destroying our infrastructure, our lives, built by us, by our fathers, by our grandfathers and grandmothers, by generations of ukrainians. every day we keep saying close the sky over ukraine to all russian rockets,

to russian military aviation, to all those terrorists and make a humanitarian air zone without rockets, without planes. we are people. your humanitarian responsibility is to protect us, to protect people. you can do that. if you don't do that, if you won't at least give us planes for us to be able to protect ourselves, that only one conclusion could be drawn. you all also want us to be very slowly killed, and that is the responsibility of global politicians and western leaders from today and forever. that's ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky expressing anger and frustration at the ongoing bombardment as the war rages on. earlier we spoke to the former prime minister of ukraine, yulia tymoshenko.

she made an appeal to the international community for more help — have a listen. translation: ukraine is i being absolutely plummeted by missile strikes. children are dying. peaceful people, women, are dying. currently, everything is being shot at at close range. i just want to thank everyone for your support. we really value tough sanctions against the aggressor. we value today that the world gives us arms, that the world is with us, but today it's not enough. in orderfor ukraine to hold on for everyone, for europe, for the world, in front of the aggressor, russian federation that crossed all borders, we require serious help. that help is closing the sky over ukraine. today, this is as a prayer repeated by ukrainian children which are hiding in bomb shelters.

our ukrainian mothers are repeating this as a prayer. we need your help. if the sky is closed over ukraine for russian military aviation and for missile strikes, ukraine will prevail and together with the whole civilised world. now, i want to address the mothers of the world. to women, i ask you — please, stand with ukraine. i call to all leaders of the world that could stand with us to close the sky over ukraine. that is not true that the nato decision is required for that. today, a coalition of countries could be created, the countries who are prepared to defend ukraine, as it was in iraq and libya when the closed sky was used without a nato decision. now we need goodwill.

please know, today the lives of our children and the existence of ukraine depends not only on what the aggressor is doing. the aggressor will be doing what it is doing now, and putin will go to the end. however, the lives of ukraine, lives of our children, also depend on your goodwill, on your decision to close the sky, to shield the sky over ukraine. i just want to say that our army is fighting strong today. normal men and women are out on the streets. they were given arms, but even without arms, they are stopping tanks. our cities are occupied but we are strong. our faith is strong and we know we will win together with the whole civilised world. we can now go straight to our correspondent jeremy bowen who joins us from the ukrainian capital, kyiv. over the last few days we have been watching your heartbreaking reports from the capital.

families torn apart, mothers and fathers saying goodbye to their children and their wives as theyjoin the fighting. this is now the story of so many people across this country. yep, heartache, separation, and also a sense of not knowing where this thing is going to go. you know, the thing about wars, when they start, at the very beginning, people still have one foot in their old lives and they remember what it was like and sadly as time goes by they get used to the new reality but they are not there, not nearly there as yet and this thing is not looking as though it is going to be over quickly so, you know, there have been some awful days so far but sadly i think there are going to be some worse ones.

indeed, and yet, strangely, as you say, they're not there yet, but they're adapting very quickly to this life underground in the bunkers and then a life overground, people realising that they need to quickly understand what their role is in this conflict. those who choose to stay and then, of course, there are those who are leaving the country? yeah, you know, human beings are resourceful. they really are, and adaptable, and people do things and they rally around and history shows as well that, if you attack civilians, they tend not to break. in fact, their resolve tends to increase and certainly the resolve of the, you know, the fighting forces certainly would. that's the historical record. so, you know, while things are the way that they are, there is a lot of resolution in this place. now what has been a very effective

tactic for the russians in their activities in syria, which i've seen quite a bit over the years since they intervened there in 2015, is that they, along with their syrian regime allies, of course, and others, militias, they'd besiege a city or a town that they wanted to reduce. they really would seal it off and then they'd hammer it. and then the combination of appalling levels of shellfire, air strikes and starvation worked eventually. sometimes it took a long time, but it worked and people eventually surrendered. now there's a big question in this place, this city, kyiv especially has enormous significance for russians. president putin himself has spoken about its importance in russia's cultural and religious past. and so, you know, the question in my mind and a lot of people's

minds here is, would he do to this city, the things that he's done to the cities, which are mostly inhabited by muslims in the middle east, rather than a place like this with sacred orthodox shrines in it? the head of the international agency for atomic energy says he's extremely concerned about reports on several nuclear sites aren't in contact with the ukrainian energy regulator. rafael grossi said the ukrainian authorities had had trouble contacting staff at the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant — the biggest in the country. bethany bell has this update on what he said.

he says he is extremely concerned particularly at two developments. the first is that the power plant is now, the technical operation of the power plant now needs approval from the russian commander to do anything, in terms of management. and that, he says, is something that goes against security standards and he says that people should be able to work and do their technical work without undue pressure, and now of course, the reports he is getting from ukraine say that workers at that plant are now having to take their orders from the russian commander there. the second thing he said he was very worried about is these difficulties and restrictions in communications. he says that the reports from ukraine say that telephone lines have been cut, that they have some poor mobile phone connections, but the normal

channels of communication, including e—mail, including internet, faxes, are now interrupted and he said that, as well, is another very key pillar of nuclear security, that there should at all times be ease of communication between the operator, the plant, and the nuclear regulators. i'm sorry, forgive me, do finish. he said that he was very worried about this and he has offered to go to ukraine to speak to both sides, to try and negotiate a way that those security pillars can be maintained and secured. it is one of the accidents of history that ukraine has so much of both nuclear power technology, and formerly had lots of nuclear weapons, at one point it was the third nuclear power when it became independent, then it gave its weapons back

as it was assured by the russians that its security would be respected and its borders would be respected. so much for that. but what is left is presumably in some cases is ageing technology with very experienced staff, now operating under the controls of people who really have no idea how a nuclear plant operates. this is the thing he's extremely concerned about, and the other thing he mentioned is that there are also restrictions in communications to the chernobyl site, and that of course was the nuclear power plant that was the site of the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986. mr grossi said that communication channels there had been restricted and he was concerned about workers at chernobyl who have not been able to rotate out since the 23rd of february, and there is concern about

the conditions there, for them, and how they would be able, eventually, to get out. so, yes, a great deal of concern about the situation. he said that, in terms of the nuclear plant that was seized on friday, that the radiation levels there do remain normal, but he has called on all sides to respect nuclear security and safety measures and standards. bethany bell speaking from brussels. earlier i spoke to �*valerie — which is not her real name. she has a relative working inside the chernobyl plant, they've been unable to leave since it was seized by russian troops over a week ago. relative and their colleagues have been unable to leave the plant since it was seized by russian troops 11 days ago. here is what she told me.

so, yes, the conditions are kind of a concern right now. it is like, the food is only porridge and bread. they cannot sleep normally because first of all they have to work basically 24—7, they have to keep maintaining the plant working properly, and almost all their movements are controlled. they are not interrupted if they are working. they can't move freely. theyjust always have to be followed by the russian army. i hadn't appreciated this at all. i have been to a nuclear site, and not one that is operational and had not seen the facilities for staff and hadn't realised there is little or no furniture in a nuclear plant for quite deliberate reasons, only things that are essential

to the operation and therefore presumably if you want to get some sleep because you cannot be rotated off, you have got to just lie on the floor. yes, that is true. where the most part of the staff is is in a fourth block, and building around that block so this area is designed for working nonstop. and there is no soft furniture, so the staff having not the opportunity to get a nap, so basically, they sleep on the floor or the table. the russians are not threatening them, but they are only feeding them once a day now. they will not let them go back to the village that was purposely built after the disaster, where people, when they are not at work

they are off rota there, so the people off work cannot come in and replace them. all of the staff is super exhausted and very desperate. they doubt that anybody cares outside about them, because nobody, right now, they can't see that anybody is doing anything to rescue them. and the russian army, the russians, they don't mind if the ukrainian side will send another shift to make rotation, but they stress out that they do not guarantee the safety of transportation. i see. it is not that they are stopping people coming in, but quite understandably people are reluctant to travel either into or out of the plant, because they worry that they could get bombed. yes, plus there was the normal

railways from the site of the village for the chernobyl employees, it goes to the chernobyl plant, through those territories. so it is even more risky, because it crosses borders twice. just on the point that you were saying about the conditions there, obviously he's very tired, and raffaele grossi, the secretary of the international atomic energy agency says that when people are tired, that affects their ability to do a sensitive, safe job and your relative must be worried about that, but what would his message be to the iaea, what would you like them to do to help? he is not a specialist in politics but he wants them somehow,

the iaea, somehow to manage the process of rotation between the shifts, because first of all there is no staff responsible for some of the processes and functions at the chernobyl plant, so, they haven't access to some control systems, the staff systems, the staff which are currently there. second of all, it is that they are exhausted and they have stayed as you said, and it could affect the normal functioning of the plant, and third, in the worst scenario, they are just asking for some humanitarian aid, some food, blankets, soap, medicine because there is no medicines. so they have medical staff but cannot treat them if they have an injury. that is the main problem. there is a doctor and a nurse, very proficient ones, but there is no equipment.

there is kind of like first aid, but this area is not designed for ambulance, like emergency ambulance, because people were brought back to ukraine, back to their hometown, if they have some bad conditions. and now there is no opportunity to do that, if something happens. hopefully not. netflix has suspended its service in russia in response to the country's invasion of ukraine. the streaming service had announced earlier this week, that it would pause all future projects and acquisitions from russia, but a spokesman for netflix says the company is now taking an additional step, and shutting down its service entirely. tiktok says it's suspending new video uploads and livestreams in russia. the video—sharing app said in a statement, �*it had no other choice', after russia introduced its new �*fake news�* law, aimed at limiting information

about its invasion of ukraine. and indeed not calling it an invasion at all. the us credit card and payments giant american express is also suspending its operations in russia and belarus, because of the invasion on ukraine. amex says cards issued by russian banks in russia would no longer work pope francis has urged russia to guarantee that humanitarian corridors are maintained in order to safely evacuate civilians. addressing crowds from the vatican, he countered russia's assertions that it is a military operation, saying it is a war leading to death, destruction and misery. translation: in ukraine, rivers l of blood and tears are flowing. l this is notjust a military operation, but a war that sows death, destruction and misery. the victims are ever more numerous, as well as people fleeing, especially mothers and children.

the need for emergency humanitarian assistance is growing dramatically hour by hour in that martyred country. i address a heartfelt appeal so humanitarian corridors are ensured, and access to aid in the areas under siege is guaranteed and facilitated to offer life—saving help to our brothers and sisters suffering under the bombs and from fear. i thank all those who are welcoming the refugees. above all, i plead for an end to the armed attacks. and that negotiation prevails and common sense as well and that international law must be restored. i would also like to thank the journalists who put their lives at risk to guarantee information. let's get a look at the sport, jane

dougal is at the bbc sport centre. good evening. there has been continued support for ukraine in the english premier league with a minute's applause during sunday's games with team captains wearing blue and yellow armbands. manchester city and manchester united join forces before the derby game to show solidarity by displaying a large ukrainian flag with the words, no war, written on it. the match ended in a 4—1 win for manchester city, meaning that they remain six points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand. i think we were in control, we didn't give a lot away to them. we found the right spaces and be attacked at the right moments and then obviously the goal helped a lot for calming down the game and i think we kept the ball with us and it was very difficult for them to have any opportunities.

arsenal held on to a narrow lead to edge past watford 3—2 and get their fourth consecutive premier league victory. it was an end to end match with some sublime goals. the win for arsenal puts them back in the champions league places, one point ahead of manchester united, who have played three more games than arsenal. four magnificent goals but we didn't have the _ four magnificent goals but we didn't have the same energy and commitment defensively, and that is why we suffered — defensively, and that is why we suffered today because defensively we did _ suffered today because defensively we did not have the right structure, and we _ we did not have the right structure, and we didn't defend with enough urgency— and we didn't defend with enough urgency and they could exploit certain— urgency and they could exploit certain spaces and that is why we suffer, _ certain spaces and that is why we suffer, and — certain spaces and that is why we suffer, and we conceded too, and we could _ suffer, and we conceded too, and we could have _ suffer, and we conceded too, and we could have conceded another one or two. in italy, it's second against third in serie a with napoli taking on ac milan. they're well into the second

half and it's 1—0 to ac milan. earlierjuventus beat spezia 1—0 to remain in fourth place. and in spain's la liga, atletico madrid will move into the top four if they beat real betis in the late kick—off. and joao felix has put atletico back in front to make it 2—1. he scored the opener afterjust two minuites, before cristian tello equalised before the break. earlier on sunday, goals from ferran torres and memphis depay helped barcelona come from behind to beat elche and move up to third place in the league. there were also wins for cadiz and celta vigo. to cricket where australia made inroads against pakistan on day three of the first test in rawalpindi. usman khawaja felljust three short of a century while marnus labuschagne also scored a half—century, finishing the day unbeaten on 69. australia are 271—2 at stumps, as bad light ended play an hour early for the second consecutive day. and in the women's world cup, hosts new zealand play bangladesh in the next hour.

new zealand will be hoping to return to winning ways after they lost their opening game to the west indies. paralympics gb have won their first gold medal of the winter games. scottish brothers neil and andrew simpson combining to triumph in the men's visually impaired super g. 19—year—old neil, guided by his brother andrew, is paralympic gb�*s third—ever winter games gold medallist. the siblings have been skiing together since they were children. after two days of action it is the hosts, china, who are top of the winter paralympics medal table. china have six goldss, 16 medals in total. ukraine haven't been able to add to the seven medals they won on the opening day and are now in second place. great britain and northern ireland are injoint seventh, along with the united states of america and france — all with three medals each so far. before we go, fifa has condemed

violence during a football match in mexico between queretaro and atlas, which left 22 fans injured and had to be abandoned in the second half when fighting broke out at the la corregidora stadium. we'll have more on that developing story as we get it. that's all the sport for now. it is the latest figures on the number of people arrested in russia today in protest against the war. 4631 people, the organisation said, were arrested across 64 cities where protests against the military action in ukraine were held. 4631 people and 64 cities in russia opposing

president putin's invasion. in some quarters, the russians were quickly overwhelmed and ukrainians have been repeatedly confounded. on sunday morning, the defence staff said that there was growing evidence that the russian armed forces were struggling. our correspondent has been looking at those claims. all the signs that russian forces are still only making slow progress. the russian advances in red are still meeting stiff as instance. the russian advances in red are still meeting stiff resistance. as we have seen in the east, the city of mariupol remains under siege. and ukraine believes russian forces from the south are about to make an attempt to encircle the city of dnipro. strategically important between east and west ukraine. russian forces have still not surrounded kyiv, but the battle is getting closer. with intense fighting in the town of irpin,

just outside the capital. they claimed that the invasion is going according to plan. but there dozens of examples that suggest otherwise. russian armoured columns destroyed. the west fears these setbacks will only unleash more violence. russia is struggling with its objectives on the ground in ukraine. we have seen from russia's previous actions in syria and in chechnya, where it will turn up the violence, it will lead to more indiscriminate killing and more indiscriminate destruction. western nations have been supplying ukraine with weapons, including these anti—tank missiles from the uk. they have been described for defensive purposes. today, the us secretary of state has been visiting european allies to see what more can be done and he says they are discussing supplying ukraine with more planes, which would certainly deep ukraine with more war planes,

which would certainly deep in the west's involvement in this war. we are looking actively now at the planes from poland may we are looking actively now at the question of airplanes from we are looking actively now at the question of airplanes from poland may provide to ukraine and looking at how we might be able to backfill should poland decide to produce, supply those planes. supplying military aircraft to ukraine, which could also be used to attack as well as defend against these russian military advances on this map could also be seen as a significant escalation by moscow. jonathan beale on the military operation at the moment. one and a half million refugees have fled the violence in ukraine. the overwhelming majority of the overwhelming majority of those — around a million — have made their way to poland. hungary and slovakia have each

received over 100,000 refugees. and moldova, romania and russia have seen more than 50,000 people cross their respective borders. these numbers are published daily by the the united nations high commissioner for refugees. but the authorities in poland insist the number entering their country is even higher, at more than 960,000. among them are some desperately ill children, who were being treated for cancer in ukraine's hospitals. our correspondent mark lowen sent this report from the polish city of boheniec. they, too, are the fighters of a debilitating disease made deadlier by the war they've fled. ukraine's young cancer patients evacuated to poland, victims of a battle on two fronts. taken to a hotel to be examined, the most urgent to be sent to hospitals here and across europe. "our hearts are tearing from pain," says this lady. "my son always says he's fine, but we need to continue his treatment."

lilya's little brother olexi has a brain tumour and is weak from the journey. he had three operations and then he had chemotherapy, but he didn't complete therapy because the war started. the next morning, they wait for triage. the days to get here perilous for some. well, this isjust a desperately sad situation. children who are safe from the war but now plunged back into danger with their illness. rushing to resume treatment that's been broken off. this is a conflict that is killing, uprooting and now threatening the most vulnerable. the one doctor is overwhelmed. she checks 12—year—old andrei, whose soft tissue cancer has spread to his lungs.

this is a very serious situation. are there patients who you think could die from having to have everything interrupted like this? yes, just... most of these kids are in a life—threatening situation and any kind of delay of their treatment is very bad for them. this, of all places, is little andrei's first ever trip abroad. "i miss my home and my grandma and grandpa" he says. "at least here we don't have to run into shelters, "because that was scary and hard." as volunteers from germany take the first children to a hospital there, more arrive. the cruelty of one man's war now forcing them to battle. mark lowen, bbc news, central poland.

amongst much uncertainty and so much destruction that is happened in ukraine across the border, one thing is constant, but the flow of people coming through in these people have just crossed over the border from ukraine. thejourney just crossed over the border from ukraine. the journey to get here has been long, and we've seeing the scenes back in what's been happening is the crossing into trains, crossing through the cards and leaving their cars and running out of fuel, crossing by foot and all of these things across the border here and to poland and the first time to have an opportunity to just have something warm to drink in the first time to get something to eat. this

whole community, the school centre has popped up and it's very transient and things change, tensed p°p�*up' transient and things change, tensed pop—up, tense go, what is constant is the mount of people, and to those people who have fled, volunteers in their hundreds bringing up and dropping off things all the children may need. the piles of nappies, the milk formula, the children were exhausted and what is really touching is the middle moments of generosity and how people just, people who have fled the border into their homes and opening their homes and this is the first moment these people have crossed into this country and there is a tense of commerce and a sense ofjust exhaustion given what they've been through. and we have seen people

coming up and explaining, a person who is travelling and we can take four or five people. who is travelling and we can take four orfive people. we have people who are driving on to another town who are driving on to another town who can take a family and that gives the amount. this is continuous. this is absolutely continuous. we have people about bits of paper who will take and they will take you on and provide you transport, things for free and this is happening all the time every day, date and day out. and it is cold here and it is snowing every now and again, bear in mind the people who have just come across, they have spent days getting to the border, but this is the next leg of theirjourney. here, we have this queue of people waiting to get on a bus, a bustle taken to the next part of their stage of theirjourney and reception areas, it's where

antony blinken went to see one of these reception areas and how it was organised and how people dressed and then move on. across the whole of poland, people are opening up their doors, websites offering advice if you want to take a refugee family and. they are all coming together in bringing these people to their homes. another bus coming up every few minutes, a bus will come up and they will know these people on and they will know these people on and they will move further away because ultimately, we know that more and more people continue to cross this border. already, over 900,000 people have come into poland. that is higher than the population of poland's second largest city. coming into this country in such a short space of time. they'll need help. they are need attention. and they all need rest.

borisjohnson is urging world leaders to match words with deeds on ukraine as he prepares to host talks with the canadian and dutch prime ministers in downing street tomorrow. meanwhile the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has called for a parliamentary committee to investigate claims that borisjohnson personally intervened in the process of granting a peerage to the russian newspaper owner, lord lebedev — after british intelligence warned it would pose a risk to national security. the governemtn said the rules had been applied "rigorously". here's our political correspondent, helen catt: this is just one very visible way economic pressure is being applied to vladimir putin's regime. a multi—million pound yacht belonging to a russian oligarch, seized in italy. the uk government has been criticised for lagging behind. it's now changing the law to speed up sanctions on individuals. labour will back it in a vote tomorrow, but wants ministers to reduce how long overseas owners have to register their assets. the government initially said, "well, we'll give people

"18 months to register." the government's retreated because of our arguments and said, "well, six months." but six months is still more than enough time to sell property here in the united kingdom. so, tomorrow, we want to push them further to say reduce that down to 28 days, make it a really effective sanction so that we can put maximum pressure on russia. borisjohnson will host the prime ministers of canada and the netherlands in downing street tomorrow to discuss further international action to support ukraine and isolate russia. but, this morning, there are questions about his role in the admittance of a russian—born newspaper owner to the house of lords. the sunday times claims that, in 2020, british intelligence assessed that giving a peerage to evgeny lebedev posed a national security risk. the paper says that assessment was withdrawn after mrjohnson personally intervened. sir keir starmer has called for a parliamentary committee to investigate, but the deputy prime minister said there was no evidence to do so.

there is a very strict and stringent process when anyone is granted a peerage. i don't know the facts of the case — i wasn't involved in it — but i do know that it was applied very rigorously in this case. downing street said all individuals nominated for a peerage were done so in recognition of their contribution to society, and all peerages were vetted by the house of lords appointments commission. earlier this week, lord lebedev added his voice to the condemnation of the attack on ukraine. in his paper, the evening standard, he issued a personal appeal to vladimir putin to stop the war. helen catt, bbc news. the home office in the uk has said "around 50" visas had been given the green light under the ukraine family scheme as of 10am. some 5,535 online applications have been completed and submitted online and 2,368 people had booked a visa appointment to submit their application and biometric information, the government said. the home secretary priti patel responded to criticism by the french interior minister that british officials were not doing enough to help ukrainians stuck in calais.

it is wrong to say that we are turning people back. we are not. i have staff in calais. we have surged staff in calais, the home office has a team of people in calais. we are making sure that people have been coming from france to the united kingdom to be reunited with their family and that is working and we will continue to have a presence on the ground and our staff in calais to make sure that people that want to come to the united kingdom, can come. mrs patel was speaking after visiting a ukrainian social club in london. also at that meeting was the ukrainian ambassador to the uk who was asked what more the uk could do to help people in ukraine. the refugees, the immigration facilitation, they are doing quite well. the numbers, we still have to pick up the numbers because there are so many people wanting to join their relatives here in the uk to come here, but this is work. all the bureaucracy is being sorted out. i guess in a couple of days we will have much better results, now. but there are some other

things which we talk with the uk government, with these humanitarian agencies. this is political support, financial support, and, very important right now, military support. two british surgeons have held a virtual, 12—hour war surgery training course in london, for over 200 healthcare professionals in ukraine. it's hoped the tuition will help them deal with injuries from the fighting and save lives. jonny dymond reports. dobryy ranok — good morning from london. a zoom tutorial with a difference. in london, two surgeons trying to share what they know with colleagues in need of help. you'd be hard pushed to find anywhere much further from conflict than this office block

in west london, but behind me, in a conference room, thousands of doctors thousands of miles away in ukraine are connecting online with a crash course in conflict surgery. bombing of buildings that contain... david nott has been running courses like this for years. one thing he knows better than nearly anyone — nothing prepares a doctorfor war. war surgery is something completely different, because you need to have a mindset about war. you need to have a mindset to know exactly what to do with patients when they come in when they've had fragmentation wounds, when they have had blast injuries, when they have had severe gunshot wounds, high velocity, low velocity. it's a completely different ball game. for the doctors in ukraine who came on the call, the next few days and weeks seem very bleak. it's... it's a disaster. i cannot describe my

feelings about it. i am very sad about it because all these people will have to suffer and die for nothing. we're all here watching what is happening in ukraine at the moment with shock, horror... all the british surgeons can do is try and share what they know to save life and limb. i hope to god you will not need to apply this knowledge, but it is always best to be prepared for the worst. jonny dymond, bbc news, west london. russian orthodox priests from around the world are speaking out against the invasion of ukraine. hundreds of priests have signed an open letter calling for peace. one priest in moscow told the bbc the war was "a crime" and urged russian president vladimir putin to "stop before it is too late". it comes on forgiveness sunday which marks the start of lent. our religious affairs reporter harry farley has more.

they are countries at war, but, here in durham, ukrainians and russians sit side—by—side. today is forgiveness sunday in the orthodox church calendar. as part of their ritual they bow, asking each other for forgiveness. i think it's the job of the church to speak up against power. my message would be, withdraw the troops, stop killing people. and it's notjust here that orthodox christians oppose the invasion. in russia, it's forbidden to call the conflict a war. but i spoke to one priest in moscow, who we're not identifying, who is clear about the reality. translation: what matters is that people die. _ many people lose their lives, and this is a crime. what would your message be to president putin? to stop the war — to stop. to stop before it is too late, although i'm afraid, unfortunately, i think it is too late.

are you scared about speaking out? no, i'm afraid, because there are some priorities in life. there are situations where it is not possible not to speak the truth, no matter how scary it is. religion matters to vladimir putin. before he invaded, he said ukraine shared a spiritual space with russia. in putin's mind, moscow is not just a great political power, it's a great religious one, too. he enjoys support from the head of the russian orthodox church, patriarch kirill. but here in durham, and in moscow, orthodox priests are speaking out against putin's war. harry farley, bbc news, in durham. russians living in the uk have said they are "horrified" and "appalled" by vladimir putin's invasion of ukraine. many have joined anti—war protests across the country

and are calling on fellow russians around the world to condemn putin's actions. ayshea buksh has more. denis was born in moscow and now works in publishing in london. he has relatives in both russia and ukraine and is desperately worried about his family who are in kyiv. my cousin's wife, she said that we were starting to panic. they are hiding somewhere in the basement. we were starting to panic because the tanks are in the city. there is fighting in the city. they don't have any food, they don't have any money, there's nothing they can do. the war needs to stop. i need people to be more proactive, if they have russian culture within them, they need to be more proactive about stopping the war. sonia came from russia to study and now works in the music industry. she's also incredibly anxious about what is happening. horrible emotions right now. it is shame, it's grief. and it's anger, and powerlessness.

this arts and cultural centre in bloomsbury in central london has long maintained its independence from the russian government, and now, even more so. the centre's director, elena, says they have long supported opposition voices in russia and now they are rethinking their events programme to show solidarity with ukraine. being a russian speaker does not equate to supporting putin's war. and there are very many different russian communities here in london and all of them come from different backgrounds and have very different opinions and different points of view, but i think we all stand united against this war. it is very dark times for us. we condemn russian military aggression and we stand with ukraine. this war should not have happened in the 21st century. the most recent exhibition explored russian queer identity, and the curator says russians living abroad must continue to use their freedoms as a platform for activism.

it is impossible to talk about anything right now except for the war. there are a lot of voices in russia who, i mean, most russians are now opposing the war and it is important, you know, for us to amplify those voices. so as more groups continue to distance themselves from the actions of vladimir putin, russian londoners are ensuring by their actions and words that they stand with ukraine. ayshea buksh, bbc news. before we go, let's bring you a moment ofjoy in kyiv. the city's mayor vitali klitschko put these pictures on social media of two ukrainian solidiers, lesya and valaria being married today. mr klitschko said the ceremony took place near one of the checkpoints set up at the city's outskirts.

turning motor in the week ahead but that change means there will be less of the sunshine but what a glorious view from scotland today. more cloud around coming from the atlantic and in return, our pricks of rain. cloud was today, a lot of the cloud across the southern half of england and wales still producing the odd shower and there've been a few cloud breaks here but overall, it's been brighter than yesterday, especially in eastern england, some holes in the cloud and some patchy frost and southern areas and temperatures likely to be under the clear skies and northern england this time. and -6 and northern england this time. and —6 and —7 the court spots we were to follow patches around. high—pressure

close by and it's still rather chilly weather on the way for tomorrow in the area of cloud across wales and england drifting northwards and brightening up quite nicely especially across the east anglia in the southeast if you patches of cloud reaching towards northern ireland in southern scotland. the south easterly wind will be stronger more widely across the south of the uk but tomorrow, maybe some costs of around 13 or 14 or so. maybe some costs of around 13 or 14 orso. it maybe some costs of around 13 or 14 or so. it will still feel colder than this because of our —— at risk southeasterly wind. at the end of the frost, temperatures are going to be heading upwards and staying many drowned tuesday but the atlantic system will begin to push and in some uncertainty about how far the rim will get during daylight hours and most likely to reaching towards northern ireland may be southwest scotland, wales and parts of england with freshening wind where it states mainly dry. still feeling chillier than this in the breeze,

temperatures are set to rise for the remainder of the week and as for see low low—pressure systems bringing further weather windy weather especially across the western half of the uk, rather than the southeasterly wind we are starting the week with, more south—westerly wind that is a milder direction. quite widely during the second half of the week were expecting temperatures to be a double figures as a result. it starts chilly this week and some frost to contend with, but after that, temperatures are heading up but as we have established, that doesn't mean there'll be some weather windy or conditions, especially in the west.

this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories... harrowing scenes in ukraine as russian forces step up their bombing of civilian areas. in irpin north—west of the capital, residents flee for their lives — under relentless bombardment. this a thisafairamount this a fair amount of in fire coming into this, artillery fire, there are loads of citizens around. a bridge used by civilians to flee the town was blown up to slow the russian offensive leaving many elderly especially vulnerable. the head of the international atomic energy agency says he's extremely concerned about reports that the ukrainian authorities are having trouble contacting staff at the zaporizhzhia and chernobyl nuclear plants both of which are under russian control.