welcome to bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories: russian attacks on ukrainian cities show no sign of letting up. civilians are trapped. the un's humanitarian chief urges all sides to ensure they can get to safety. this includes allowing safe passage for civilians to leave areas of active hostilities on areas of active hostilities on a voluntary basis on the direction they choose. hundreds lining up, hoping to escape to the west. moscow suggests they can go straight to russia or belarus. ukraine called the move "completely immoral." and the us amd europe search for new sources of energy, as oil sanctions on russia look ever more likely.

hello. thanks for being with us. for another day, the evacuation of civilians from key ukrainian cities has foundered. ukraine's foreign ministry blames russia for continuing to bombard mariupol, kharkiv and other major towns, making escape all but impossible. earlier in the day, moscow had offered the ukrainian government six new humanitarian corridors. they were rejected. four of the routes lead straight into russia to the east and belarus to the north, along the same routes on which the russian columns have advanced since they invaded 12 days ago. those options were "completely immoral" according to ukraine's president zelensky. at the same time, russia accused ukraine of blocking the corridors. that came during

a special meeting of the un security council in new york. more on that in a moment. but first, orla guerin reports from irpin where a thousand people were taken to safety. 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 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. 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 they can carry. they've been under bombardment in irpin for days and they're not safe now. even as they try to leave, the shelling has been continuing. explosion for many civilians in the town, that shelling hit home, like anastasia, whose 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... gunfire 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's already lost some of it, the russians will be on the road to the capital. andrei, 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 them please to close the sky. for now, all many can do is cram into minivans bound for the railway station in the capital. generations of ukrainians at the mercy of an increasingly brutal russian advance. air raid siren wails and in the city, outside the registry office, the new soundtrack of kyiv. not what kate and artur had hoped for on their special day. the war has tightened their bond, but upended their lives. firstly, it was very scary when it started, but me and... my family and me, we are all christians, we pray to god and we believe that he cares about us and protects us. and you're getting

married today, which is a very hopeful thing to do. yeah. what kind of future do you see for you both? ah, i see that ukraine will win and we will help to restore the country and make everything possible to make it... air raid siren wails there were no guests at the ceremony. it was too dangerous for loved ones to join them. the newlyweds say they will have a party when ukraine is victorious. orla guerin, bbc news, kyiv. meanwhile, world leaders continue to meet to try and find a way through the crisis, with us secretary of state antony blinken visiting eastern european nations today. opposition to the war continues to be silenced in russia. thousands have been detained for protesting against the

invasion. our diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley has the latest. they flew in from their battle—ravaged nation, the ukrainian delegation arriving on the border with belarus for a third round of talks with the enemy, with more meetings planned. but there's almost no faith in the sincerity of russia's side. the russian defence ministry today released these images, said to be of tanks around ukraine's capital, kyiv. it is the military hardware, the guns and the bombs that are doing the talking, and the kremlin has repeatedly made clear it will be satisfied by nothing short of ukraine's surrender. chanting "no to war," this russian man shouts before he's carted away. independent monitors say 5,000 people were taken into custody over the weekend at protests in dozens of russian cities at a war that you're not even allowed to name. russia is now stepping up its repression, silencing all opposition, virtually all independent media in the country has ceased to function.

and a new symbol has emerged to signify support for president putin's war. the letter z first appeared on tanks and military vehicles, but it's now also on bus stops and businesses and elsewhere. announcer: and the winner of the bronze medal... - look carefully, and you'll see it even on this gymnast�*s chest as he took bronze at a world cup event in qatar. it was ukraine who took gold. the quick victory moscow had hoped for in ukraine has failed to materialise. russian forces have actually taken very little territory over the past week, and instead have resorted to bombing and shelling, causing ever more civilian suffering. translation: what'sl the difference between the peaceful residents of kharkiv or mykolaiv, and hamburg or vienna? we are waiting for a decision. either you clear the skies by the force you have, or you give us military aircraft or anti—aircraft defences, which would give us the necessary force. this is the help which

the world should provide not simply to ukraine, but to themselves in order to prove that humanity will prevail. western allies continue to meet day in, day out on what more they can do to support ukraine, what more pressure they can put on president putin, but there's very little hope at the moment of getting russia around a table for meaningful talks that would actually stop the war. caroline hawley, bbc news. russia has warned the price of oil could $300 a barrel if the west by then with an oil embargo against moscow. they are looking for ways to reduce imports from russia and that affects send a delegation to venezuela over the weekend who will recall the sanctions in attempt to keep the president from power in 2019. would venezuela now but the answer to this particular energy problem? for more on this, i'm joined now by richard goldberg,

sanctions expert with the foundation for the defense of democracies. richard, thank you forjoining us. goodness me, talk of doing deals with venezuela and iran, you could hardly have imagined that two weeks ago. it is you could hardly have imagined that two weeks ago.— that two weeks ago. it is a bit hoke , that two weeks ago. it is a bit hokey. even _ that two weeks ago. it is a bit hokey, even to _ that two weeks ago. it is a bit hokey, even to an _ that two weeks ago. it is a bit hokey, even to an american l hokey, even to an american audience. we are not that desperate right now in the united states. we understand why we are paying more for higher gas, we don't want to have dish shift from one dictator to funding another brutality in venezuela or iran. from an oil market perspective, it makes a lot of sense. the venezuelan oil industry will take a lot of time to come back online with resin export and production, iranian oil industry is going to have a lot of risk associated with it because the us will say they will reimpose oil sanctions. the republican president. i don't think we are going to

have the calm of the market the one administration wants. from a values perspective, why are we going from putin's oil to iran's oil to venezuelan oil. it doesn't make a lot of sense. there is a sensor is annoyed urgency required you to bring in sanctions, the one that really bites. there is another problem here, maybe countries like the uk, for example, boris johnson has said we would like to pursue this or at least that discussion is being had. but other countries of course within europe have a much bigger concern about what it would cost them. do you see a reality in terms of unity over oil sanctions regarding russia? i think one idea where we could get have the idea around oil sanctions as a page of the playbook we use against around a decade ago, and what we said when we imposed our first oil sanctions on iran was that we were still going to allow the export of oil, but money that

was being paid to iran had to stay in importing country. so if china wanted import oil, the money couldn't go to tehran. it had to sit in beijing. the same in seoul and tokyo and new delhi and so on. if we were to say to european, asian, us government, you don't have to enter imports but put your money in, don't let britain get that, you will put pressure on the kremlin without putting pressure on ourselves. the russian — pressure on ourselves. the russian perspective - pressure on ourselves. the russian perspective is if you do this, it will create global economic chaos. you will all pay a price for this, and while we are in the immediate effect of an invasion and people are seeing it for themselves and it is an appalling scenario, i might think, we will bear some of that cost, that becomes harder for people to consider, doesn't it? i was looking at some of the figures natural gas, up at 3115 euros per

megawatt hour at one point in the course of the day. it was 16 euros a year ago. these are massive potential increases in people's living costs. i massive potential increases in people's living costs.- people's living costs. i think that is absolutely _ people's living costs. i think that is absolutely right. - people's living costs. i think that is absolutely right. i. that is absolutely right. i think we have to get the sanctions right. i would talk to allies like saudi arabia about production. it is hard to do that when you are also negotiating sanctions on iran's oil right next door, there are mortal enemy, and has taken the terrorist groups offer terrorist groups offer terrorist list even though they keep attacking them with missiles. out diplomacy with saudi arabia is very much at the moment in the us. but i think in the long run, we can't just rely on sanctions. we are going to have to have other tools in our arsenal to deter vladimir putin. and frankly, the fastest way to bring stability to the oil market is to bring the conflict in

ukraine to an end. thank you very much — ukraine to an end. thank you very much for— ukraine to an end. thank you very much for that. _ stay with us on bbc news. our most russians being fed factual information or distorted reality? we explore the info was later in the programme. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this, the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 24 hours then, the soviet union lost an elderly, sick leader, and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years his junior. we heard these gunshots in the gym. _ then he came out| through a fire exit and started firing shots. god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged a1, sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90, travelled from memphis jail

to nashville state prison in an eight—car convoy. reporter: paul, what's it feel like to be married at last? - it feels fine, thank you. what are you going to do now? is it going to change your life much, do you think? i don't know, really — _ i've never been married before. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: russia's proposal for civilians to escape to its own territory is condemned as immoral by ukraine. the un's humanitarian chief insists on safe passage for those fleeing the fighting. the united nations' head of humanitarian affairs has called for civilians in ukraine

to be allowed safe passage out of areas under russian attack, on a voluntary basis, and in any direction they choose. martin griffiths told an emergency meeting of the security council in new york that corridors were also needed to deliver aid. meanwhile, speaking at the meeting, the ukrainian representative to the un said russia is cynically disregarding international humitarian law by blocking human corridors. he also accused russia of deliberately attacking civilians. it is even more appalling that the russian troops open firing on evacuees and evacuation vehicles, shell the roads allocated for humanitarian corridors. for instance, they shelled depots with evacuation buses near mariupol, blew up railway near irpin in the kyiv region to prevent evacuation by train, destroyed the bridge on the way to another city.

all the mentioned were the main routes to evacuate civilians. in return, russia accused ukraine of using civilians as human shields. translation: we are accused of breaking off the operation i to evacuate people through the humanitarian corridors, but everything is actually quite the contrary. it's the ukrainians who won't agree to our proposals to honour ceasefire, and won't allow people to exit through these corridors, even though we've already said that these national battalions are holding people hostage in these towns. they're like human shields, they're putting military technology in accommodation blocks. flight—macro so with that, what are you to believe? is this an example of how the fog of war distorts reality, or is something much more sinister going on? joining us now from washington is dr vladislav inozemstev who is director of a non—profit think—tank in moscow, the center for post—industrial studies.

thank you very much forjoining us. we are getting clear messages coming, that was a good example actually, from the un security council. that is that question of who is to be believed, or should we take a safer route and not take anything at face value? no, look, ithink— anything at face value? no, look, i think that _ anything at face value? no, look, i think that this - anything at face value? iifr, look, i think that this time we should better believe the ukrainian side, or the united nations in the region, because actually what we have heard from russia's side is a strange mixture of both distorted reality and huge, huge rise, because on president putin's level, i would say the element is distorted, because every military expert before the war insisted that ukraine cannot be defeated with a 120,000 strong army, and therefore mr putin

will refrain from attacking. but nevertheless, he launched this assault, and now we see that his plans went sour, because this was absolutely another reality he constructed for himself as a vision of ukraine as a brother nation, the younger brother of the russia, and presumed that the ukrainians will actually dismiss their government, they will greet the russian soldiers as liberators and whatsoever, so i would say this is a distorted reality. rate, these perspective _ distorted reality. rate, these perspective you _ distorted reality. rate, these perspective you are - distorted reality. rate, these perspective you are giving . distorted reality. rate, these i perspective you are giving here is certainly one that would be shared i think across a lot of the west about restore to —— distorted reality at best. nonetheless, within russia, how far do these messages go, because obviously there is a certain degree of control of information. a lot of russians do seem to recognise and

understand what mr putin is telling them, or indeed his government.— telling them, or indeed his government. telling them, or indeed his covernment. ., government. look, iwould say that there _ government. look, iwould say that there are _ government. look, iwould say that there are two _ government. look, iwould say that there are two issues - government. look, iwould say that there are two issues here. one is the issue about ordinary russians, as one may say, and here, from my point of view, more than two thirds or even three quarters of the country, of the population, actually supports putin's vision, because it is very convenient to look on your country as a liberator. the belief that ukraine is conquered by the nationalists or by other extremists and everything is bad in this country, because if you believe your country is the best, so you definitely think about all the other countries as inferior. i about all the other countries as inferior.— as inferior. i am sorry to interrupt _ as inferior. i am sorry to interrupt you _ as inferior. i am sorry to interrupt you because i as inferior. i am sorry to | interrupt you because we haven't got too much time, but isn't there a problem for example where i think there are many ukrainians who would acknowledge that some of the paramilitary groups in eastern

ukraine have been organised on a neo—nazi basis, certainly an extreme right—wing basis? so when president putin is saying we are going to kick these nazis, everyone knows that there is something within that message, even if it is not the whole truth.— message, even if it is not the whole truth. yes, maybe. it is one of the _ whole truth. yes, maybe. it is one of the factors _ whole truth. yes, maybe. it is one of the factors which - one of the factors which actually makes the russians fall for the putin propaganda but it is definitely not a cause for the war, because mr putin wanted to completely conquer ukraine, to put another government in charge, and to make ukraine a neutral country without trying to join any alliances, but i would also say that people like lavrov and the speaker for the russia at the security council, they may not believe in this distorted views, but they have the feeling of a team who are with

putin, and they will re—translate any kind of lie that the kremlin says looks like truth.— like truth. words are one thin , like truth. words are one thing, messages - like truth. words are one thing, messages are - like truth. words are one thing, messages are one j like truth. words are one - thing, messages are one thing, but share hardware, military hardware is another. is there any way that russia does not prevail here, do you think? h0. prevail here, do you think? no, i think after— prevail here, do you think? no, i think after today _ prevail here, do you think? iirr, i think after today we see that russia is losing actually, because one can remember the invasion into czechoslovakia in 1986, sorry 1968, when around 7000 troops from different countries were engaged, and as a result, in 21i hours, all the czechoslovakian cities were controlled by either the soviet or east german forces. now you have i think the 13th day of war, and there is nothing like

it happened in czechoslovakia at that time. so i would say that everyday leads ukraine to and if putin is unable to succeed in one week from now, i would say... he succeed in one week from now, i would say- - -_ would say... he is running out of time- _ would say... he is running out of time. yes, _ would say... he is running out of time. yes, the _ would say... he is running out of time. yes, the door - would say... he is running out of time. yes, the door is - of time. yes, the door is locked- _ of time. yes, the door is locked. thank _ of time. yes, the door is locked. thank you - of time. yes, the door is locked. thank you very l of time. yes, the door is - locked. thank you very much dr inozemstev. _ locked. thank you very much dr inozemstev. 0k. _ let's take a closer look now at that proposal by russia for humanitarian corridors from cities where civilians are trapped by the fighting. our correspondent sarah rainsford sent this report. 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. valentyna 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, bombing and really loud in kharkiv and it was a really terrible situation because when everything started, our house was, like... i don't know how to tell it, like... every time. 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 is 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. families who have no idea when or whether they'll be united again. paulina had to hug her dad goodbye at the border. we first spoke to her in kharkiv, but the little girl has now made it to poland, and can get the cancer medicine she needs. paulina... so today, her mum was able to smile. "the only thing is, "she sometimes asks where her daddy is," she tells me. "and i don't know what to say to her." but for the first time in two weeks,

paulina is playing again. sarah rainsford, bbc news, dnipro. one positive image there to leave you with. you are watching bbc news. don't forget the website for more. goodbye for now. a frosty but sunny start to tuesday across many parts of the country, but tuesday signifies the start of things changing the rest of the week. we can replace the sunshine with a bit more cloud, often a bit windy at times. with that wind, slightly milder air pushing its way in. in, but also some wet conditions now, mainly in the west. and that shows up on our forecast rainfall chart for the week — the blue colours here a sign that atlantic is trying to push its way in. but notice how some eastern areas

could stay predominantly dry. and it's all down to high pressure holding on here — atlantic low pressure system starting to push its way in, but being kept at bay. just be wary, though, that dividing line could fluctuate a little bit through the week. but that's the scene for today, with winds picking up as those areas of high and low pressure get closer together. it'll feel particularly chilly out there — not only a widespread frost, but that added wind chill to go with it. the compensation is lots of sunshine around first thing in the morning, and most places will be dry. but the sunshine turns hazy in the west, the cloud thickens up, skies turn greyer through the morning into the early afternoon, outbreaks of rain in northern ireland, eventually to parts of wales and the southwest, maybe just 1—2 showers ahead of it, that rain arriving in western scotland by the end of the day. and it's in the west where we see the strongest of the winds, could gust around 40—50 mph and, even though it's a south—to—southeasterly wind, bringing in slightly milder conditions than we've seen through the past few days. factor in the wind, probably won't feel that much different. but a dry end to the day for eastern areas but, through the evening, we see the cloud, outbreaks of rain pushing its way northwards and eastwards. not a huge amount of rain on it, though, it fizzles out — it means a milder night,

then, to take us into wednesday, but more weather fronts starting to push their way in. but they will start to drag in even milderair, up from the mid—atlantic as they work closer and closer, and so temperatures should rise a little bit further. as i said, though, frost—free on wednesday, varying amounts of clouds, some sunshine around for many at times to begin, with the exception being northern ireland, western scotland. a rather wet day to come here, some of that rain will be heavy at times, strong to gale—force winds once again. much of eastern wales good parts of england stays dry with some sunny spells, highs around 12—13 celsius. those temperatures could rise a little bit further as we go through into thursday. as you can see still, the areas of low pressure ganging the way up, but fizzling out as they run into that high—pressure system. so it does look like thursday, the driest, brightest day of the week by and large. friday, a bit more rain coming ourway.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the un's head of humanitarian affairs has made an emotional plea for civilians in ukraine to be spared, describing how millions of ordinary lives have been shattered. ukraine blames russia for continuing to bombard major towns. moscow's offer of humanitarian corridors into its territory had earlier been rejected. a ukrainian delegation has met russian counterparts on the border with belarus for a third round of talks. moscow says it will accept nothing short of ukraine's surrender. us secretary of state antony blinken is visiting eastern european nations. refugees are continuing to escape the fighting into neighbouring countries. since the invasion began, more than 1.7 million people — most of them

women and children — have fled the country.