this is bbc news. 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 a voluntary basis in the direction they choose. hundreds line up, hoping to escape to the west. moscow suggests they can go straight to russia or belarus. ukraine called the move "completely immoral." where they can, they escape the fighting into neighbouring countries. it's now the fastest—growing refugee crisis in europe since world war ii.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. 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. 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 dimensions where the main routes to evacuate civilians. that was the ukrainian perspective in a security council meeting. 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. is this an example of how the fog of war distorts reality, or is something much more sinister going on? i asked dr vladislav inozemstev, director of a non—profit think—tank in moscow, who we should believe, or if it's best not to take anything at face value. no, look, i think that this time we should better believe the ukrainian side, or the united nations missions in the region,

because actually what we have from russia's side is a strange mixture of both distorted reality and huge, huge lies, because on president putin's level, i would say 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, which is minor brother, the younger brother of 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. right, the perspective you are giving here is certainly one that would be shared i think across a lot of the west, of 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. look, i would 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—fourths of the country, of the population, actually supports putin's vision, because it's very convenient, yeah, to look on your country as a liberator.

the belief that the 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 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 out these nazis," everyone knows that there is something within that message, even if it is not the whole truth? yes, maybe. it's one of the factors which actually makes the russians prone to 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. and recognising russian occupied crimea. but i would also say that people like lavrov and the speaker for russia at the security council, they may not believe in these distorted views, but they have a feeling of a team who are with putin, and they will re—translate any kind of lie which the kremlin says looks like truth. right. i mean, words are one thing, messages are one thing, but sheer hardware, military hardware is another. is there any way that russia does not prevail here, do you think? no, i think that after today, we see that russia is losing, actually, because one can remember the invasion into czechoslovakia in 1986 —

sorry, 1968 — when around 7,000 troops from different countries were engaged, and as a result, in 2a hours, all the czechoslovakian cities were controlled by either the soviet or east german forces. now, you have, ithink, the 13th day of war, and there is nothing like what happened in czechoslovakia at that time. and if putin is unable to succeed in one week from now, i would say... he is running out of time. yes, the door is locked. thank you very much, dr inozemstev. stay with us on bbc news. still to come, living in peace one week, living in a warzone the next: our special correspondent fergal keane speaks

to ukrainians he met just before russia's invasion. 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 hisjunior. 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 iii, 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 world 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. let's take a closer look now at that proposal by russia for humanitarian corridors from cities where civilians are trapped by the fighting, without enough food or water. there are desperate scenes at the train station in dnipro where families are trying to flee from the fighting. 0ur 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. the mayor of lviv said they are at the limit of their capacity for helping people who have fled the violence. and since the invasion began just under two weeks ago, more than 1.7 million people — most of them women and children — have fled the country according to the united nations.

they are crossing the borders to neighbouring countries to the west, such as poland, romania, slovakia, hungary and moldova. it is the fastest—growing refugee crisis in europe since world war ii. 0ur correspondent lucy williamson is in moldova on the border with ukraine. these are women who have stayed in ukraine through more than ten days of war. they have now decided to leave. it is a long walk from ukraine's last bus stop to this border. better to use any vehicle you can. by the time they are here, this conflict has often darkened their cities and their faces. some had powerful reasons for staying as long as they could. 0lga's mother nadia suffered a series of strokes last year. 0lga went back to ukraine

in october to look after her. when the war began, she faced a dilemma. "being there was terrifying", she said. "we live on the eighth floor. "there were sirens day and night. "what else could i feel but fear? "i couldn't leave her there. i'm all she has." for some, this is not a one—wayjourney. aid workers say women are dropping off their children here before turning around and going straight back to ukraine. i will never forget the woman who told me she is working in the orphanage and she has like 50 children and she cannot leave them there, or the woman who is working at an electric station and also the electric station is responsible for the whole city, and she has also said, people are running so there will be nobody to maintain the basic needs of the human beings who are staying there. moldova is slowly getting organised to handle this influx. poland has received a far greater number of refugees,

but moldova is a much smaller country, without poland's resources or infrastructure. the number of refugees who have arrived here so far is equivalent to 10% of moldova's population, though fewer than half end up staying. refugees arrived here last week in porsches and suvs. now the conflict is forcing the poor, the disabled, the most vulnerable to leave, those for whom the risks and uncertainty of conflict have only now eclipsed the risks and uncertainty of becoming a refugee. lucy williamson, bbc news, moldova. it has been the best part of two weeks now since the invasion began. for months, vladimir putin denied repeatedly that russia would invade its neighbour. it means that today's awful reality is one that many ukrainians didn't think they would be facing. our special correspondent fergal keane has caught up with three people he met in the days just prior

to russia's invasion. we didn't imagine this. explosion. that these streets of chernihiv, where we'd walked last month, would now be a place of fire. but even as we took a group photograph on the nearby northern border, the russians were close, getting ready. a thought that haunts our ukrainian producer, sofia. i couldn't believe that it's happened in the same place. when i was with you, i didn't believe at all. within a fortnight, sofia was a refugee, fleeing tojoin herfamily on the polish border. her daughter, anna, aged four, exiled but safe. now, from the polish city of krakow, sofia told me of life outside her country.

every day and night, i think of what will be next, so it's very stressful. but still, if i speak with ukrainian people who are still in ukraine, i can't say that i'm stressed because they are more stressed than me. not far from the border, down along the roads now dominated by the russian army... 1989. ..we met valery and galina. he's ukrainian, she's russian. married a0 years, and worried even then about broken relationships with russian friends and family. it's terrible, because we... we lose a lot of friends. we have no food in the supermarket.

now i can only reach them online. they are trapped inside a town, surrounded by the russians. you even cannot imagine, all people got together, and they are waiting for the russians to kill them. how is galina? hi, galina. hi. translation: | feel only. disappointment and anger. and i cannot understand how this can be happening. this isn't possible. in kyiv, at the end of ourjourney then, we witnessed the beginning of another. hello! hello. vasily and 0lga zelenskyy with their newborn baby, jaromir. his name means peace. translation: we need to think about the better life, _ especially now, when we have such a miracle in our arms. we can't think about bad things any more. but not long after, this came —

the invasion that forced them to flee to the countryside ahead of the russian advance. 0lga, what is it like for you, all of this now, with the baby and the war? translation: we met your team a week before the war started. - who would have thought that when our son was two weeks old, we were going to speak here, right now, after seeing these rockets flying over our house? to say that i was shocked is saying nothing. that's why our whole lives turned all over, from head to toe. butjaromir gives them hope. he is a superstar! laughter maybe he knows that. all of these people once lived in peace. caused no harm to anyone. that's the kind of world they stand for, and which they hope can return for their children. fergal keane, bbc news, lviv.

of course we will keep across all the main lines of this story here on bbc news so do stay with us. hello. a frosty but sunny start to tuesday across many parts of the country. but tuesday signifies the start of things changing for the rest of the week, replacing the sunshine with a bit more cloud. 0ften going to be quite windy at times with all that wind, slightly milder air pushing its way 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 gang in 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'll accept nothing short of ukraine's surrender. meanwhile, us secretary of state antony blinken visiting eastern european nations in search of a way to end the crisis. refugees are continuing to escape the fighting into neighbouring countries where they can. since the invasion began, more than 1.7 million people — most of them women and children — have fled the country. it's now the fastest—growing refugee crisis in europe since world war two.

now on bbc news, it's hardtalk, with stephen sackur.