hello, i'm nuala mcgovern, this is outside source. russian attacks on cities are continuing, despite the author from russia to create safer routes out. people queue for hours to escape. but the proposed humanitarian colours will take people to russia and its ally belarus people are trying to flee the intense bombardment. this is a difficult journey, _ intense bombardment. this is a difficult journey, every - intense bombardment. this is a difficult journey, every step - intense bombardment. this is a difficult journey, every step of. intense bombardment. this is a i difficult journey, every step of the way, especially for older people trying to pick their way out across rubble and concrete.

having to balance on bits of wood. oil prices hit their highest in almost 1a years after the us flag is almost 1a years after the us flag is a potential ban on russian supplies with other countries. european countries are reluctant to turn off the taps just yet. what does the same building? why is it appealing on russian tanks and at pro—russian protests? we'll find out —— appearing on russian tanks. welcome to the programme. a ceasefire was due to come into force today in parts of ukraine to allow civilians to leave areas beseiged by russian military forces. but the two sides cannot agree on what a safe route is. moscow said it would open humanitarian corridors to allow the evacuation of civilians from several ukrainian cities, but only to russia or belarus. that prospect has been branded "immoral" by ukraine. this is one of the country's deputy prime ministers.

translation: we demand that the russian federation _ translation: we demand that the russian federation stop _ translation: we demand that the | russian federation stop manipulating and abusing the trust of world leaders — and abusing the trust of world leaders and open the roots we have indicated~ _ leaders and open the roots we have indicated. we demand that they accept _ indicated. we demand that they accept our roots and establish a ceasefire — accept our roots and establish a ceasefire dash met ropes. i appealed to buy— ceasefire dash met ropes. i appealed to buy ministerjohnson and president biden to help open real effective — president biden to help open real effective humanitarian cutters that will save _ effective humanitarian cutters that will save the lives of hundreds of thousands— will save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people —— prime minisler— thousands of people —— prime ministerjohnson. let's take a closer look at what exactly is being proposed here. the corridor from kyiv would lead to belarus, which is an ally of russia. civilians from kharkiv would only have a corridor leading to russia. corridors from the cities of mariupol and sumy would lead both to other ukrainian cities and to russia. it's been met with condemnation by french president emmanuel macron. he says, "all this is not serious, it is a moral and political cynicism which i find intolerable". this is what the russian defence ministry said earlier today. translation: today the 7th of march,

| starting at 10am moscow time, russia | has declared a ceasefire to open six humanitarian corridors. the first is from kyiv to gostomel. there are two more from mariupol to zaporizhzhia and rostov—on—don. one is from kharkiv to belgorod and there are two from sumy to belgorod and poltava. detailed information about the humanitarian corridors was given to the ukrainian side in advance, as well as dedicated entities of the united nations, the osce and the international committees of the red cross. a very different take to president macron. let's take a closer look at the areas under russian control. you can see them labelled here in red. the port of mariupol, where tens of thousands of civilians are trapped, is especially important as it ensures ukraine's access to the black sea. but the main concentration of russian forces is still around kyiv, and there are fresh warnings from ukraine authorities of an all—out assault on the capital.

here's our chief international correspondent lyse doucet in kyiv. there is a fear that this is a conflict which will never end because so many believed in the run up to this invasion that it simply wouldn't happen, and it did. many people believed that russia would not try to attack some historic cities full of meaning, sacred meaning for both russians and ukrainians. they would not come under attack. but tonight we're hearing that the beautiful city of odesa on the black sea coast — described as a place of operas

and beaches and pushkin, and a long and storied history, is now coming under attack. people are asking, would president putin order his forces to establish a city like kyiv so full of risk because the ukrainians will put up a defense, both soldiers and civilians so full of history, precious history to both russians and ukrainians with every day which goes by, this war becomes more and more terrifying. this is one expert's assessment on russia's military strategy. what we see is 12 days of initial war where russia does not seem to have accomplished their initial gains or the assumption that they have that they could push for the very easily into ukrainian territory, capture or seize lands very quickly and then create a form of fait accompli after the first few days. this has not happened. recent days have seen intense shelling in areas to the north—west of kyiv. tx this is from one of the affected cities — irpin. 2,000 civilians have reportedly been evacuated from there. some residents there were forced to cross a river using planks after a bridge was destroyed. we also know that

at least four people, at least four people from the same family were killed as they tried to reach safety. this was the ukrainian president's reaction to that. translation: we will not forgive |the shooting of unarmed people, | destruction of our infrastructure. we will not forgive hundreds and hundreds of victims, thousands and thousands suffering. and god will not forgive. not today, not tomorrow, never. and instead of forgiveness, there will be a day ofjudgement. russia has been targeting the city of kharkiv with air strikes that president zelensky has called war crimes. these pictures show the aftermath of a missile bombing there today. let's hearfrom nataliya zubar, who is in kharkiv, with more on the impact of the constant shelling, which is preventing civilians from leaving. it's horrible. i experienced it myself. the bomb hit, a big air bomb hit

a historical building, very beautiful, near the city council one kilometre away from me, and i can tell you it's a terror. everything is shattered all around. the historic area, all the glass is...almost all the windows are broken. the doors are broken. and the people who are experiencing such an intense shelling for so many days, they are all victims of a war crime. we know that there have been many civilian casualties. this is the un's estimate. since the russian invasion began, 406 civilians have been killed. that includes 27 children. an additional 801 people have been injured. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, had this to say. in the last several days, more strikes have killed and wounded civilians as they try to leave the cities that are being surrounded by

russian forces. women and children, the elderly, wounded civilians, people with disabilities are trying to escape cities where there is no heat, no electricity, relentless bombardment, and where they are running out of food and medicine. and there continue to be reports of attacks by russian forces on agreed—upon humanitarian corridors. and as fighting continues, we've heard warnings from the un that this is the fastest growing refugee crisis since world war two. the estimate is that more than 1.5 million people have now left ukraine since the russian invasion began. this map shows which countries have received refugees from ukraine. more than a million are now in poland. hungary and slovakia have each received over 100,000. and moldova, romania and also russia have seen more than 50,000 people cross their respective borders. the western ukrainian city of lviv has reached the limit of its capacity to help those who have been displaced. here's one volunteer speaking to the bbc from there.

in the first days, we were all so shocked and devastated, we really just had no clue what we were going to do at all, but some of my colleagues here at the centre for urban history, which is a historical research institution, we thought we had a conference room, a cafe, those can be turned into temporary shelter. and in the next few days, we had such a flood of refugees, that probably lviv has not seen in the whole of its history. we that probably lviv has not seen in the whole of its history.— that probably lviv has not seen in the whole of its history. we want to no outside the whole of its history. we want to go outside of _ the whole of its history. we want to go outside of the _ the whole of its history. we want to go outside of the border _ the whole of its history. we want to go outside of the border now. - our correspondent nick thorpe is in budapest, where he's been watching refugees arriving at one of the main train stations there. the sheer number of children. just a tiny, on the station platform ten were all those trains coming in every hour or so —— just behind me. as the train is coming, one sees all the faces in the window, young women carrying babies, helping them down onto the platform built up under the children looking completely bemused,

brought out here, handed a bowl of soup, and sometimes it is their parents, ortheir soup, and sometimes it is their parents, or their mothers and older sisters are brothers trying to sort out accommodation or travel on, then any children are left alone for the well and hopefully one of the volunteers, the many volunteers here, hopefully many of them speaking the language, are coming over, checking the small children can open their bowls of hot soup and so on. but as you say, the women and children, this is a sea of women and children, this is a sea of women and children, really, at this station up and down this 2100 kilometre long border of ukraine to the west. part ofthe border of ukraine to the west. part of the picture _ border of ukraine to the west. part of the picture in _ border of ukraine to the west. part of the picture in hungary there. the uk ministry of defence says a ito—mile long convoy of russian military vehicles remains close to the capital, kyiv, but has made little progress in recent days. but as we've been reporting, fighting continues in places like irpin — 16 miles from the city boundary. orla guerin has this

report from the town, which is under heavy bombardment and crucial to the russian advance. the only way out. and he stumbles, hands shaking. but he summons his courage and carries on. the desperate exodus from irpin today across the wreckage of a bridge blown up by ukraine to slow the russian advance. how scared do you have to be to take your child and flee like this? and here a woman lies conscious... ..but immobile. she fell, and there is no stretcher to move her. well, this is a difficultjourney every step of the way. especially for older people trying to pick their way out across rubble and concrete, having to balance on bits of wood. ukrainian troops are trying to help

them make their way forward. some are coming with their children, most are coming with a few small things that they can carry. they have been under bombardment in irpin for days, and they are not safe now, even as they try to leave. the shelling has been continuing. explosion for many civilians in the town, the shelling hit home. like anastasia, whose baby son oleg is just five months old. "the day before yesterday, a shell hit our house," she tells me. "we spent two days at my grandmother's. "now we are leaving because it's too dangerous to be in any corner "of irpin with a child."

suddenly, this. some ukrainian forces running for cover. others getting civilians out of the line of fire. kyiv is just half an hour away. if ukraine loses this town, and it has already lost some of it, the russians will be on the road to the capital. andriy, like many here, is begging for a no—fly zone. tell everybody to close the sky urgently. all people need it in ukraine, really. many people stay in irpin for now. they can't go outside. some old people, some young people, they try to do their best there but we see the russian soldiers, they don't fight with the army, they fight with anyone so tell please to close the sky.

for now, all many can do is cram into minibuses bound for the train station in kyiv. generations of ukrainians at the mercy of an increasingly brutal russian advance. orla guerin, bbc news, irpin. thank you very much to orla. i want to turn to the un security council holding an emergency meeting in new york. i want to listen, this is the undersecretary for human humanitarian affairs and relief. == humanitarian affairs and relief. -- humanitarian affairs and relief. -- humanitarian verse. the who has shipped trauma care, emergency surgery equipment and other supplies that will help in days to come thousands of people. the more

supplies are on their way. hcr is providing assistance, albeit as a small scale at the moment, through a network of shops and supermarkets in mariupol in collaboration with ngos. there is training for trauma surgeons and support for the people in that city. it is bringing in thousands —— the unhcr is bringing thousands —— the unhcr is bringing thousands of blankets and non—food items are from poland. thank you to poland, and shipping them to transit centres. we are going to hear, and i look forward to hearing a lot more about the expense of children from cathy from the vital work of unicef and its partners. the ukrainian red cross has distributed humanitarian assistance to thousands of via its emergency stockpiles. including hygiene and food kits, warm clothing and medicine. iwould hygiene and food kits, warm clothing and medicine. i would like to take the chance here to salute any more than 4000 ukraine red cross volunteers across the country used

to conflict, of course, the community workers also have local ngos, the truck drivers carrying basic necessities into these areas. these are people all in harms way who had no hesitation in carrying out their mission. madam president, the immediate priority is to lessen the immediate priority is to lessen the pain and suffering we are all watching unfold in real time. first, the parties need to take constant care to spare civilians and civilian homes and infrastructure in the military operations. this includes allowing safe passage for civilians to leave areas of active hostilities on a voluntary basis in the direction they choose. all civilians, whether they stay or leave must be respected and protected. second, we need a safe passage for humanitarian supplies into areas of active hostilities. surveying in places like mariupol, kharkiv, and elsewhere desperately

needed aid, especially life—saving medical supplies of the kind brought in last days by who. many modalities are possible, but it must take place in line with the parties�* obligation under the laws of war. and thirdly, we urgently need a system of constant communication with the parties to the conflict and assurances to enable its delivery of humanitarian aid. we have seen the systems in place in other countries, of course, as you know well. a humanitarian notification system, as we term it, can support delivery of aid at the scale needed. i have already conveyed these three points to the authorities of ukraine and the russian federation. on the third point, thanks to the cooperation with the russian federation, my office has sent a team to moscow to work on a better humanitarian civil military coordination that can allow

us to scale up, precisely to begin to establish a humanitarian notification system. this polymer last friday's phone call between the secretary and the ministry of the russian federation —— this follows last friday's phone call. we are listening — friday's phone call. we are listening to _ friday's phone call. we are listening to martin - friday's phone call. we are | listening to martin griffiths, friday's phone call. we are - listening to martin griffiths, the undersecretary for humanitarian affairs and also energy release coordinator. he actually was a special envoy previously to yemen so everybody expects that the war between ukraine and russia will have far—reaching implications, including even food supplies to yemen, for example. interesting to listen to him there. in the main line to take away as he says the parties must allow safe passage for civilians to leave areas of active hostilities on a voluntary basis in the direction they choose. that, of course, was

they choose. that, of course, was the point of contention today, some of the passage was back to russia. or, indeed, to belarus. when it comes to diplomacy there was a third round of talks between ukrainian and russian delegations in belarus. here you can both sides meeting at the table. a ukrainian negotiator said the talks did not lead to any result that significantly improves the situation. elsewhere, the turkish foreign minister said russia and ukraine's foreign ministers sergei lavrov and dmytro kuleba will meet in the turkish city of antalya on thursday. here's more of what he had to say. translation: both ministers asked me to articularl translation: both ministers asked me to particularly take _ translation: both ministers asked me to particularly take part _ translation: both ministers asked me to particularly take part in _ translation: both ministers asked me to particularly take part in this _ to particularly take part in this meeting as a theory meeting. therefore, on thursday we will hold this meeting in antalya —— take part in this meeting as a third party meeting. so those talks between russia

and ukraine have come to nothing, with russia insisting it will only stop the invasion if ukraine meets all its demands. today, russia set out its most detailed statement yet about what it wants to end the fighting. the demands were outlined by kremlin spokesman dimitri peskov and include the following — a ceasing of military action against the russia invasion. a change to ukraine's constitution to enshrine what russia calls "neutrality", acknowledging crimea as russian territory and recognising the separatist republics of donetsk and luhansk. meanwhile, the us secretary of state, antony blinken, is on a visit to the baltic region, holding talks in lithuania, latvia and estonia. the three baltic nation are the only former soviet republics to havejoined both nato and the european union. mr blinken said nato was continuously looking at extending troop deployments in the region and increasing the number of permanent deployments. here's mr blinken speaking earlier. it's not ok for one country to try to dictate to another its choices, its future, its policies, with whom it can associate —

principles like it's not ok for one country to try saint hasa saint has a speed of influence over another, _ saint has a speed of influence over another, to— saint has a speed of influence over another, to subjugate that country to its _ another, to subjugate that country to its will— another, to subjugate that country to its will -- — another, to subjugate that country to its will —— say it has a sphere of influence _ to its will —— say it has a sphere of influence over another. all of that is at stake here by russia's aggression. china has meanwhile offered to mediate between the european union and russia. speaking in beijing china's foreign minister, wang yi said that, if needed, china would be part of a mediation process, together with others in the international community. the eu's foreign policy chiefjosep borrell said he had spoken with chinese ministers today and asked them to influence russia and try to persuade them to accept a diplomatic resolve to the conflict. but the us has a different view on chinese diplomacy. here's one voice in the us, former national security advisor, and former ambassador to the united nations, john bolton. bringing china into try to mediate this or— bringing china into try to mediate this or to— bringing china into try to mediate this or to try _ bringing china into try to mediate this or to try to _ bringing china into try to mediate this or to try to resolve _ bringing china into try to mediate this or to try to resolve it - bringing china into try to mediate this or to try to resolve it is - bringing china into try to mediate

this or to try to resolve it is like l this or to try to resolve it is like figuring — this or to try to resolve it is like figuring out— this or to try to resolve it is like figuring out how— this or to try to resolve it is like figuring out how to _ this or to try to resolve it is like figuring out how to enhance - this or to try to resolve it is like - figuring out how to enhance china's power— figuring out how to enhance china's power in _ figuring out how to enhance china's power in europe _ i don't see the logic to that at all. - here in london, britain's prime minister borisjohnson has met his canadian counterpart justin trudeau and the dutch premier mark rutte. at a downing street press conference, mrjohnson said the three countries "stand shoulder to shoulder against russia's barbaric invasion of ukraine". let's hear more of what they had to say. in the 12 days since russia launched this illegal and brutal assault, the world has come together in solidarity with the indomitable people of ukraine. the solidarity with the indomitable people of ukraine.— solidarity with the indomitable people of ukraine. the focus is on the peeple — people of ukraine. the focus is on the peeple of— people of ukraine. the focus is on the people of ukraine _ people of ukraine. the focus is on the people of ukraine and - people of ukraine. the focus is on the people of ukraine and our - the people of ukraine and our solidarity _ the people of ukraine and our solidarity with ukraine, our pushing back against the illegal russian invasion— back against the illegal russian invasion of ukraine. and standing up for democracies around the world. we are all prepared to consider all possible — are all prepared to consider all possible sanctions— are all prepared to consider all possible sanctions that - are all prepared to consider all possible sanctions that can - are all prepared to consider all. possible sanctions that can help are all prepared to consider all- possible sanctions that can help put pressure _ possible sanctions that can help put pressure on — possible sanctions that can help put pressure on russia. _ possible sanctions that can help put pressure on russia. and _ possible sanctions that can help put pressure on russia. and obviously, | pressure on russia. and obviously, there _ pressure on russia. and obviously, there is— pressure on russia. and obviously, there is a _ pressure on russia. and obviously, there is a lot — pressure on russia. and obviously, there is a lot of— pressure on russia. and obviously, there is a lot of debate _ pressure on russia. and obviously, there is a lot of debate going - pressure on russia. and obviously, there is a lot of debate going on. there is a lot of debate going on about— there is a lot of debate going on about energy _ there is a lot of debate going on about energy sanctions. - there is a lot of debate going on about energy sanctions. and - there is a lot of debate going on. about energy sanctions. and here, there is a lot of debate going on- about energy sanctions. and here, we should _ about energy sanctions. and here, we should not— about energy sanctions. and here, we should not make _ about energy sanctions. and here, we should not make a _ about energy sanctions. and here, we should not make a mistake. _ about energy sanctions. and here, we should not make a mistake. we -

should not make a mistake. we have to ensure _ should not make a mistake. we have to ensure that — should not make a mistake. we have to ensure that they _ should not make a mistake. we have to ensure that they do _ should not make a mistake. we have to ensure that they do not _ should not make a mistake. we have to ensure that they do not generate. to ensure that they do not generate unmanageable _ to ensure that they do not generate unmanageable risks _ to ensure that they do not generate unmanageable risks to _ to ensure that they do not generate unmanageable risks to energy - unmanageable risks to energy supplies— unmanageable risks to energy supplies in— unmanageable risks to energy supplies in european- unmanageable risks to energyj supplies in european countries unmanageable risks to energy - supplies in european countries and beyond _ supplies in european countries and beyond. including _ supplies in european countries and beyond. including ukraine. - supplies in european countries and beyond. including ukraine. just- supplies in european countries and beyond. including ukraine.- beyond. including ukraine. just to brin: ou beyond. including ukraine. just to bring you some — beyond. including ukraine. just to bring you some news _ beyond. including ukraine. just to bring you some news that - beyond. including ukraine. just to bring you some news that has - beyond. including ukraine. just to i bring you some news that has come beyond. including ukraine. just to - bring you some news that has come to us in the past hour or so. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky is to make what's being called a "historic address" to british mps in the house of commons on tuesday. that has just been announced by the house speaker. meanwhile, the latest british military assessment of the fighting says russian forces are deliberately targeting ukraine's communications systems to prevent people getting access to reliable information. american military sources have said the russians are still meeting strong resistance, and that they haven't secured full control of ukrainian airspace. our diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley has this update on the advance of russian forces. so let's have a look now at the latest map of how things are on the ground. the red areas in the east, south and north of ukraine are controlled by russia. the striped areas are where russian forces are still advancing and still meeting strong resistance.

here you can see some of the key cities, the capital kyiv, where, as you've heard, there has been intense fighting north of the city. here in the south, russia now controls significant areas, as it has pushed east and north out of crimea, which it occupied in 2014. president zelensky has now warned that russian forces are close to the historic black sea port of odesa and that they're preparing to bomb it. for the ukrainian government and aid agencies, the urgent priority is now to get civilians to safety as the humanitarian situation worsens by the hour. the port of mariupol has been under siege for several days now under what has been described as "relentless bombardment". hundreds of thousands of people are trapped in the city with no water, no electricity, very little food. it's too dangerous for people even to bury their dead or get their wounded out for treatment. over the weekend, two ceasefires failed. this is one of the proposed evacuation routes for civilians to leave mariupol.

but most of the humanitarian corridors the kremlin is offering lead to either russia or its ally, belarus, ie into enemy hands, and the ukrainian government has described that as "immoral". wa nt to want to turn back to the un security council in new york, holding an emergency meeting on the humanitarian crisis triggered by what we have talked about between ukraine and russia. katherine russell, the executive director of the children's fun. i want to bring you some of the lines we were hearing from martin griffiths, he said we need safe passage from humanitarian supplies into areas of active hostilities and continue to say the people who want to leave need to be given safe passage to cross and grow into the direction they want to, a point of contention earlier today —— go any direction they want. we need a system of communication to the parties of the conflict to ensure and enable the

delivery of humanitarian aid. some of the lines coming from the un in new york. grieving, high pressure can lead to a cold and frosty night. a first thing this morning in glasgow. there was some sunshine, but also a hard frost. furthersouth, was some sunshine, but also a hard frost. further south, early was some sunshine, but also a hard frost. furthersouth, early morning cloud in south—east england. that drift its way steadily northwards into the midlands and northern england and will continue to push its way north over the next few hours. this was a study through the course of the day. in actual fact, that cloud along with a freshening breeze across at the south—west up through the irish sea and west facing coasts will prevent those temperatures are from falling too far through the night tonight. we have the cleanest of these skies through central and eastern areas.

that is where the lowest temperatures are likely to be. a touch of frost forcing anyone, but sunshine around as well. as we go through the day, the winds will continue to strengthen and cloud will thicken. as we go through the morning and into the afternoon, we will see when pushing into northern ireland. gradually into western fringes of scotland and parts of wales. the winds are strengthening two gusts in excess of 45—50 mph, so the best in the sunshine for the race where we may see temperatures peaking at 11 degrees, but underneath the cloud, wind and rain, feeling cool and disappointing, 78 celsius at the best. that weather front will ease as we close out jersey into wednesday, but it will allow more front suppression of the atlantic, i spent all —— spell of wet and windy weather continuing through the middle part of the week. the good news is a south—westerly flow will a chilly bring some milder air with it as those france start to push through. i suspect, as we go through wednesday, yes, there is a speu through wednesday, yes, there is a spell of wet and increasingly windy

weather with geale for gusts of wind at times, but the best of the brighter weather on wednesday will be to the east of the pennines here. —— with gales and gusts of wind. highs of 13 celsius. once we leave wednesday and go into thursday, that front will bind into the high pressure in the near continent and we can offer a touch there were a little bit of light patchily before a ridge of high pressure builds in behind. overall on thursday, not a bad day. dry, settled, sunny before more wet and windy weather returns by friday.

hello, i'm nuala mcgovern, this is outside source. russian attacks on cities are continuing, despite the offer from russia to create safe routes out. people queue for hours to escape, but the proposed humanitarian corridors will take people to russia and its ally belarus. in the last several days, more strikes have killed and wounded civilians as they try to leave the cities that are being surrounded. residents in the town of irpin, just north of kyiv, are trying to survive — orflee — the intense bombardment. well, this is a difficultjourney every step of the way, especially for older people trying to pick their way out across rubble and concrete, having to balance on bits of wood. oil prices hit their highest in almost 14 years after the us flags a potential ban on russian supplies with other countries, but european leaders are reluctant to turn off the taps just yet. and what does this symbol mean, and why is it appearing on russian tanks and at protests?

we'll find out. the un security council in new york is holding an emergency russia has proposed a number of humanitarian corridors from key cities in ukraine. four of the six suggested routes to safety go to russia in the east, or to belarus, its key ally, to the north. the other two routes take those fleeing further into ukraine. president zelensky has condemned the proposals as "completely immoral". our correspondent sarah rainsford sent this report from dnipro. i want to turn in the —— turn to the un. let's listen into what has been said stuck about on the ground throughout the region. stuck about on the ground throughout the reuion. ~ �* , ., , ., the region. we've seen the images of them coordinating _

the region. we've seen the images of them coordinating deliveries - the region. we've seen the images of them coordinating deliveries from - them coordinating deliveries from bomb shelters and provide assistance to the ukrainian people under difficult and dangerous conditions. they are a of the un humanitarian agencies and the role of helping vulnerable civilians suffering the consequences of war. we are outraged by reports of moscow's attacks, harming citizens and its unjustified war. president putin's war of choice has already turned half 1 war. president putin's war of choice has already turned half1 million children into refugees. already more than 1.7 million civilians have fled ukraine into surrounding countries, and this doesn't include those who have been internally displaced. we've seen the images of elderly fleeing, a woman killed in her

wheelchair, children dying in their mother's arms and a woman being rushed bleeding to a hospital. these are the images that we're seeing daily and what is happening on the ground in ukraine. last week, i had the opportunity to speak to my counterparts from romania, poland, hungary, slovakia and moldova, where their governments, organisations and ngos have been working nonstop to welcome all those who are fleeing. what i heard was staggering. my polish colleague sitting in the room with us today shared that 100 refugees are crossing into poland every minute, 100 a minute. just do the maths. we talked about many of the challenges these enabling countries are facing —— neighbouring, and how the us can keep their borders open. including

those who may experience communication barriers with border agents due to disabilities or other factors. we're committed to providing support and we know that their needs will only increase if russia does not cease its violence. we know this because of what we've seen over the last week, from the reckless attack on europe's largest nuclear power plant, to the siege of cities across ukraine, to the tragic images and alarming reports from those who are unable to leave ukraine to seek safety. the world is haunted by these images of homes, hospitals, schools, orphanages being destroyed, demolished in front of our eyes. child cancer patients unable to receive chemotherapy, babies delivered in basement instead of maternity wards and hundreds of thousands of civilians without access to electricity, for heat or drinking water to stay alive.

ukrainian cities are under siege, under relentless russian shelling. hospitals are running out of supplies, food is dwindling and civilian casualties are mounting while the most vulnerable group, those with disabilities, the elderly, children, continue to bear the brunt of suffering. we have seen the brunt of suffering. we have seen the statement before, from leningrad to aleppo. these are tragedies of immense proportions. the united was the —— states are coordinating with organisations including those within the un system to monitor the situation, and we will work with them to address humanitarian needs in ukraine and in the region. while

we are heartened by the international community's pledges of over $1.5 billion in humanitarian support so far, we know that as long as russia pursues its relentless and brutal campaign, the need for assistance will only increase. we all need to ensure these pledged funds are flexible and mobilised as quickly as possible, given the escalating need on the ground. but perhaps most important of all, we must heed the call we heard today from the secretary—general for humanitarian affairs. that means a sustained pause and hostilities to allow the safe passage of civilians who wish to leave areas of active conflict. the safe passage of humanitarian supplies and the free and safe movement of those delivering humanitarian assistance.

we need russia's firm, clear, public and unequivocal commitment to allow and unequivocal commitment to allow and facilitate immediate unhindered humanitarian access for humanitarian partners in ukraine. very specifically, we call for the russian federation to agree to and honour in the faith —— good faith, it humanitarian safe passage in specific agreed—upon location. we call for the establishment of a ground—level notification system that will facilitate the safe movement of humanitarian convoys and flights. this is imperative for ensuring humanitarian supplies and commodities can be reliably transported into ukraine to reach those most in need. i also want to

note today that the united states is increasingly concerned about the protection of civilians in this conflict, particularly women and girls, who are vulnerable to gender—based violence. lgbtq gender—based violence. lg btq ukrainians gender—based violence. lgbtq ukrainians as well as ukraine's population of older adults and people with disabilities. we also call for the protection and care of all vulnerable children, including separated and unaccompanied children and those in institutional care. children should never, never be involved in conflict, period. children should never be involved in conflict. they must be protected. the humanitarian toll of president putin's war is mounting. children are dying, people are fleeing their homes, and for what? as unicef has reported, we know already that dozens of children have been killed

in putin's war. as we work to confirm cases, we know that actual numbers are actually far greater. young children have also been severely traumatised by the violence and destruction. they have witnessed so many things to the point that they have stopped speaking. the physical wounds and psychological wounds of this war will be long—lasting. it's clear, mr putin has a plan to destroy and terrorise ukraine. if the last two weeks have shown us anything, it's that the ukrainian people are not going to give up. and many russian people themselves, including many russian soldiers, do not want this war. unfortunately, mr putin doesn't seem to be listening, and we are concerned that the world needs to be prepared for a very long and very

difficult road ahead. the ukrainians are defending themselves bravely, and we will continue to stand with them and support them, but president putin has clearly —— is clearly willing to sacrifice the lives of thousands of russian soldiers to achieve his personal ambitions. we have been warning moscow for weeks that in the end, russia will be weaker and not stronger for launching this war. this is already proving true. the question is how much devastation president putinism willing to wreck for this enormous mistake. —— president putin is. we call on russia to change course, withdraw forces, de—escalate through diplomacy, and we support ukraine's call for a cease—fire. in the meantime, we applaud those doing everything in their power to alleviate the suffering putin has

unleashed on the ukrainian people. whatever course russia's and basu may take, we must do everything, and i stress everything we can to help the people of ukraine —— russia's invasion. kyiv still stands and we stand with kyiv. we stand with ukrainians. thank you. studio: that was linda _ ukrainians. thank you. studio: that was linda thomas - ukrainians. thank you. studio: l that was linda thomas greenfield speaking, the us envoy to you in. you've probably seen her speaking over a number of days. she said the cities are under siege, relentless russian shelling and hospitals are running out of supplies. she said we need russia's firm commitment to allow immediate unhindered access to

humanitarian partners in ukraine. i did see as i was watching, the interfax agency says russia plans to introduce corridors from 10am on tuesday. there will be a lot of scepticism about those promises, but i wanted to bring that to you, too. let's stay with humanitarian corridors. these were previously promised by russia from various cities in ukraine. four of the suggested routes that would go to belarus. the other two routes are further into ukraine. sarah rainsford has more. kharkiv is burning again.

a russian—speaking city bombed by russian planes, battered by russian shells — in a war vladimir putin says is to protect russian speakers. but his troops are destroying their homes and their lives. the woman who filmed this footage told us ukraine's being punished for its free will and its democracy. valentina sent her sister and mum to safety today. she told me she wants one thing now — for nato to stop russian planes flying over ukraine. "we see them," she said, "and it's terrible." we found families from kharkiv here in dnipro today trying to flee even further, but it feels like half this city is now leaving, too, lining up for evacuation trains as soon as the curfew lifts. shelling, bombs, really loud in kharkiv. it was really terrible situation because when everything started,

our house was, like... i don't know how to tell it. dr—dr—dr—dr. her mum is staying put, though it's breaking her. ukrainians are still fiercely loyal to their cause, but realistic about the danger now. we've spoken to people in this queue who've been standing here for six hours in the cold, in the snow, hoping to get a train out of here to the west and to relative safety. but it's only the women and children who are being allowed through. the men are being pulled out of the crowd and told they have to stay. so, paulina had to hug her dad goodbye at the border. we first spoke to the little girl in kharkiv, but she's now made it to poland and can get the cancer medicine she needs. today, then, her mum was able to smile again. and, for the first time in two weeks, paulina is playing again.

sarah rainsford, bbc news, dnipro. thanks very much to sarah. we were watching the un security council's meeting. thanks forjoining us on outside source. what are they trying to achieve quiz although the security council is having this briefing about humanitarian situation on the ground to stay across the different obstacles that you agencies are facing and being able to help civilians. also with the ultimate goal of trying to put forward a humanitarian revenue will most likely be detailed by russia, but france and mexico along with other western nations believe it is their

duty to at least try to bring this resolution forward to act. there was a very sobering briefing by the un humanitarian chief, talking about the number of civilians affected, how they are besieged in certain places like mariupol, and how difficult it is. he had three key asks. first that civilian areas not be targeted in military operations. civilians are able to safely flee and that there passage for humanitarian agencies trying to deliver goods. they want this hotline, this crisis hotline to be established with russia's defence ministry. they had the first talks today in moscow about that. the un hopes that could also lead to a quick process of getting goods into the civilians who need it. brute quick process of getting goods into the civilians who need it.— the civilians who need it. we were watchin: the civilians who need it. we were watching some — the civilians who need it. we were

watching some of _ the civilians who need it. we were watching some of linda _ the civilians who need it. we were watching some of linda thomas i watching some of linda thomas greenfield's speech, putting forward what they expected from russia. i'm wondering how much has the russian invasion captured the imagination of the american people. i invasion captured the imagination of the american people.— the american people. i mean, the imaaes the american people. i mean, the images are _ the american people. i mean, the images are just — the american people. i mean, the images are just horrific. _ the american people. i mean, the images are just horrific. we - the american people. i mean, the images are just horrific. we heardj the american people. i mean, the i images are just horrific. we heard a little bit about the images from the us ambassador bringing it up. children, cancer patients not knowing whether to flee or to stay put, kids being delivered underground, kids crossing the border into neighbouring countries on their own. these images have certainly shocked americans, and if you look at bbc, across american networks as well, there is constant coverage of this crisis. i think what's really interesting as the us ambassador to the un talked about how in poland, we see 100 refugees

every minute crossing. just the level of need is quite staggering. the fastest in europe since world war ii. i think americans are watching this and trying to figure out how will this all play out, how will this end. from the un perspective, it's the same thing, how are they able to scale up need. how is this going to affect other places where conflicts are under way? they talk about the rising food prices affecting places like yemen, the rising fuel prices in lebanon. so, i think this is a crisis that is affecting everyone around the globe and capturing everybody�*s hearts. nada tawfik, thank you for talking to us from new york, who he has the largest ukrainian population in the us. i want to turn to another

aspect. he was standing next to the gold medal winner, and the gymnastics federation called it shocking for behaviour. the letter said it's become something symbolic of russia's invasion of ukraine. nobody knows for sure. as it was a mass for the invasion into ukraine. various theories have been proposed

from the purely technical explanation that z stands for russian russian. the east has... including that it actually means the first letter, and even some explanations that it could potentially mean zelensky, as in the target of this whole war. it is very difficult to say, but it is clear that it is something that came out in the presidential administration, and it's kind of war mark ring. it's a tribalist idea —— war marketing. mark ring. it's a tribalist idea -- war marketing.— mark ring. it's a tribalist idea -- war marketin-. ., ., ., war marketing. thanks to him. i want to “um war marketing. thanks to him. i want to jump back— war marketing. thanks to him. i want to jump back to _ war marketing. thanks to him. i want to jump back to new _ war marketing. thanks to him. i want to jump back to new york _ war marketing. thanks to him. i want to jump back to new york because i war marketing. thanks to him. i want| to jump back to new york because the russian ambassador is speaking. brute

russian ambassador is speaking. - welcome the reflection in the humanitarian plan of the mass proliferation, many of which have fallen into the hands of radical... including those who have been deliberately freed from prison. the consequences of this irresponsible step by volodymyr zelensky are clear. the number of victims among civilians from the hands of radicals is increasing day by day, first and foremost in kyiv. we called on all colleagues to strictly keep in today's meetings to the context of ukraine. we have the opportunity to exchange political views on what's happening, is clear that our views diverge from years. you continue to rely on the opinion of ukrainian politicians and it doubtful material from social network —— from yours.

aims of our special operation in ukraine in an unfavorable light. we wish to... we agree with the representative of albania, there is an information war going on, more likely disinformation. in the west, where russian information is turned off and where any information which contradicts your version of events is not allowed to be broadcast. the permanent representative of the united states today accused us of not complying with our commitments to create safe humanitarian corridors. let's get down into this. we once again wish to emphasise the safety for civilians in ukraine is not a problem for russian, because we are not barbara —— bombarding them. neo—nazis who are making lease

of citizens as a human shield, not allowing them to leave cities. there are a panoply of examples of this. the ministry of defence of russia and the deputy prime minister of ukraine agreed parameters for humanitarian corridors. they were supposed to be opened at ten in the morning and the 5th of march. at kyiv�*s request the international of the red cross —— red cross representatives met to guarantee safety for... we informed the un secretary and timely fashion. however, the radicals and variable as was clear from a radio conversation, the radicals there were told to shoot at the legs of

those who were heading for the humanitarian corridors. those who risked life and limb to leave mariupol when they reach the checkpoints to exit the city were shot on site by ukrainian nazis. there's a great deal of video evidence. in mariupol alone, there were some 200,000 civilians who are in the cross hairs of the forces there. and those, the humanitarians aren't able to get there and prevent the catastrophe developing in the town. the critical situation for people in other regions of the country if they are also blockaded will note that ukrainian radicals day by day are trailing there true faces. the locals said they forced out the step of a maternity clinic and put a firing site in that

clinic. they also destroyed one of the nursery schools in the city. studio: we are listening there into the emergency session —— a merging session. that is the russian envoy to the un. everything he said, you will have heard, denied and pushed back against by all the other states that have spoken so far. he does not accept that russia is shelling and bombarding ukraine, which the pictures have shown the opposite. do you stay with us on the bbc, we will continue to follow this right here. good evening. high pressure at this time of year can quite yearcan quite in year can quite in the weather story down, but clear sky leads to frosty night. it was minus seven celsius first thing this morning in glasgow. there was also a hard frost. we had

early—morning cloud in south—east england, drifting its way steadily northwards across the midlands. it will continue to push its way north over the next few hours. this was the story through the course of the day, and in actualfact, that cloud along with the freshening breeze across the southwest, up through the irish sea, will prevent those temperatures from falling too far through the night tonight. we have the clearest of the skies perhaps through central and eastern areas. that's where the lowest temperatures are likely to be, a touch of frost first thing. at least there will be some sunshine around as well. does he go to the day, the winds will continue to strengthen and cloud will thicken —— as we go. we see some rain pushing into northern ireland and parts of wales. the winds off strengthening to gusts to 45-50 winds off strengthening to gusts to 45—50 mph, so the best of the sunshine to the east, the wind in

the rain feeling cool and disappointing. 7 or eight celsius at best. not weather front will ease away as we close out tuesday into wednesday. it's going to allow more fronts to pushing off the atlantic, with a spell of wet and windy weather set to continue through the middle part of the week. so, the good news is a south—westerly flow will actually bring some mild air with it as those fronts start to push through. so, i suspect as we go through wednesday, yes, a spell of water and windy with gale force gusts at times. the best of the brighter weather on wednesday will be to the east of the pennines. we could see some sunshine here clouding over across the midlands without rain. highs of 13 celsius. once we leave wednesday and go into thursday, that front will bump into the high pressure over into their continent, so a little bit of patchy rain before a ridge of high pressure building behind. over on thursday, not a bad day. dry, settled in sunny

before met —— more wet and windy weather returns.

hello, i'm christian fraser. you're watching context on bbc news. there are fears going for the safety of thousands of people trapped in ukrainian cities as another ceasefire fails to hold. residents in the town of irpin, just north of kyiv, were fling of victory under intense bombardment. this is a difficultjourney every step of the way, especially for older people trying to pick their way out across rubble and concrete, having to balance on bits of wood. people queue for hours to escape. the un calls for people to have safe

passage in any direction you choose.