welcome to bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories: on the frontline — ukrainian soldiers dig in north—west of the capital, kyiv, with russian forces circling the city. there is a tangible fear in this place. that that russian offensive that has been stalled may be ready to regain momentum. america bans imports of russian oil and gas, as britain and the eu also target moscow's energy exports. we are enforcing the most significant package of sanctions in history and it is causing significant damage to russia's economy. after days of shelling, a temporary ceasefire means thousands of ukrainians and international students

are able to escape the besieged city of sumy. it was so terrible and my parents... ..i left my parents in sumy. i hope i will see them another time. poland says it's ready to hand over all of its russian—made mig—29 fighterjets to the us to help ukraine fight russia's invasion. in russia, more protests against the war, despite the threat of prison and more global companies including mcdonald's halt trade in russia. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. we are going to take you through some of the major

developments in ukraine, from the safe passage at last for thousands of women and children in some of the besieged cities in the country, to the stepping up of western sanctions on russia. that moved on apace on tuesday. washington banned all imports of russian oil and gas, britain announced it will phase out oil imports from moscow, and the eu said it would reduce its considerable dependence on russian gas by two—thirds. on the military front, poland says it's ready to hand over all its russian—made mig—29 fighterjets to the united states for their use by ukraine and in the business world, mcdonald's and coca—cola have become the latest big western companies to suspend operations in russia. more on all these things in a moment, but we begin our coverage on the ground, with this report from jeremy bowen in kyiv. not many days might be left for civilians escaping the fighting

north—west of kyiv. on the way out of irpin towards the capital and along this section of the front, there were signs that a bigger battle is coming. since the war started, they've been treating the wounded at a hospital about two miles from the russian positions. these are the men whose resistance blunted their initial offensive. "i've still got two legs," he said. "they'll fix me up, and i'll fight on." the hospital director said this was the third world war. the russian people understand only the language of the power. nothing more. it is impossible to negotiate with the men who came to kill you. by this morning, they were getting ready to abandon the hospital. the director said, "my ship is sinking, and i'll "be the last to leave." you have the strong feeling here that they're preparing for the worst. packing up the medical equipment, the patients have

been evacuated, the russians are not very far away. there's a tangible fear in this place that that russian offensive, which has been stalled, may be ready to regain momentum and start moving closer to the capital. but around here, the ukrainians are still holding the russians. a few traces of old lives are left, where families cook their food and the dogs waiting for owners who may never return. it was a lonely and tense drive back to kyiv. ukrainian troops are dug into the woods waiting. we gave a lift to a couple who'd left their front line village after 13 days and nights in a shelter. "it used to be such a lovely place," she said. "now there's no house,

no street and no village." ukrainian soldiers were strengthening a blocking position at a strategic crossroads. dragan, their commander, issuing a stream of orders, radiated urgency. they weren't wasting any time. you could see the pressure. "we're here to destroy the enemy brigades," he said. "the occupiers who have come to our country and are heading our way." back in kyiv, the checkpoints are looking more like barricades. they're using the days to prepare for whatever�*s next. civilians are turning out for weapons training. lesson over, the guns are returned. these are not would be front line soldiers, at least not yet. i believe that during these times, we just learn to be ready.

that is what i think. we just learn because, like, we can be scary after that, when it is ending. but right now, we just need to do ourjob and what we can right now. everyone i've met here says they're ready to resist. the russians so far have moved slowly. the capital's respite might not last much longer. jeremy bowen, bbc news, kyiv. it has been an extraordinary time on the world energy markets, the price of brent crude spiked to a 13—year high on tuesday, rising beyond $130 a barrel. this time last year, it was around $60. the latestjump was triggered by the us announcement of a ban on the import of all russian energy. the uk government quickly followed suit, setting out a plan to phase out russian oil by the end of the year. the eu gets 40% of its gas from russia but said it would cut that figure by two

thirds over the same period. joe biden describes it as striking at the main artery of russia's economy but added that sanctions carry a price, and not just for russia. the united states is targeting the main artery of russia's economy. we are banning all imports of russian oil and gas and energy. that means russian oil will no longer be acceptable at us ports, and the american people will deal another powerful blow to putin's war machine. this is a move that has strong bipartisan support in congress and i believe in the country. america have rallied to support the ukrainian people and made it clear we will not be part of subsidising putin's war. let's talk to mark finley, fellow in energy and global oil at rice university's baker institute. i guess the key to all

functions is impact, really. joe biden talks about oil and gas being the main artery for russia's economy but it is a tiny artery in a sense, from a us perspective as to what they can sanction?— can sanction? that is exactly riaht can sanction? that is exactly right and _ can sanction? that is exactly right and thank— can sanction? that is exactly right and thank you - can sanction? that is exactly right and thank you for - can sanction? that is exactlyl right and thank you for having me. oiland right and thank you for having me. oil and gas account for half of russia's total exports and 40% of government revenues, trade between russia and the united states is, you know, barely 10% of the total trade for either country. frankly, us companies had been reducing purchases of russian oil even before the president's order, so that impact for the domestic and global economy is relatively small, but the signalling impact is significant, to show how serious the united states is. but not a short—term effect in a way, is that? and if you look

at the uk, south korea as well, they are prepared to do their bit, it does not mean that russia cannot sell it elsewhere either, does it? obviously, one immediately things how much china will be prepared to buy out? . ., ., out? excellent point and a critical one. _ out? excellent point and a critical one. it _ out? excellent point and a critical one. it is _ out? excellent point and a critical one. it is a - out? excellent point and a critical one. it is a quick. critical one. it is a quick global marketplace and so whether it stays in the united states buys oil from whether it stays in the united states buys oilfrom russia or not, doesn't really matter because what matters is the price that is that in a global marketplace and as long as russia confined buyers, that impact is muted —— can find. you are sitting in the land of cheap gasoline! everyone expects it to stay cheap there butjoe biden made up point that this will have an impact and it will go two ways, how ready and for how long do you think the american public will be prepared to bear this? we will find be prepared to bear this? - will find out, i guess! today in the united states, prices

hit a record level, all—time record, without adjusting for inflation. the president's opponents have, for the last year, have been scoring a lot of points with the rising prices at the pump, which matters significantly in the united states both for consumer confidence and for the president'sjob confidence and for the president's job approval rating. president's 'ob approval ratinu . ., president's 'ob approval ratin: . ., , ., president's 'ob approval ratinu. ., , rating. one other point, boris johnson. _ rating. one other point, boris johnson, british _ rating. one other point, boris johnson, british prime - johnson, british prime minister, did make a point of leaning towards nuclear and renewables, holy strategy opening up which in some respects is a very positive thing. —— a whole new strategy. doesn't happen overnight and is this relevant to this current issue? it this relevant to this current issue? , . ., , this relevant to this current issue? , , , ., issue? it becomes very relevant over longer— issue? it becomes very relevant over longer time _ issue? it becomes very relevant over longer time periods - issue? it becomes very relevant over longer time periods but. over longer time periods but not during the shorter term. the reality is that these systems change pretty slowly. there are opportunities where there are nuclear power plants

and utilised and with rapid growth of renewable energy beginning to back out but it's still the case that fossil energy accounts for 85% of the worlds energy mix and the fuel that runs economies gets the kids to school, cooks these food, heat homes, largely comes from fossil energy sources and no getting around that in the short term. no getting around that in the short term-— short term. thank you for “oininu short term. thank you for joining us- _ after days of being shelled, thousands of ukrainians and international students from the city of sumy, in the north east of the country, have been able to escape after a russian ceasefire was put in place. our eastern europe correspondent, sarah rainsford, is in poltava, where people have been arriving from sumy. it must have felt like the longest ride of their lives. 12 hours to escape a besieged city, driven the long route

round to avoid the fighting. many were medical students from india, just relieved to flee sumy after days under russian fire. but anna is ukrainian. you have been in sumy for the past two weeks? yes, yes. how was it? it was so terrible and my parents, i left my parents in sumy... i hope i will see them another time. they couldn't come with you? they can't. my mother works as a pharmacist and my father will maybe go to the army. parts of anna's city have been wiped out. the night before she fled, an air strike killed more than 20 people. russia's bombing looks random, ruthless. so, this convoy of buses was a lifeline. it took days to agree a ceasefire to get civilians out. it very nearly collapsed.

gunfire this was just as the second convoy gathered. when the shooting stopped, they sped to safety. they arrived, distressed and exhausted. a train stood ready to meet them, and nobody wanted to hang around. it's really chaotic here as people rush for the train. they're not certain that they're going to able to get on board, so they are shoving and pushing. obviously, it's been an extremely anxious couple of weeks and people here just want to get as far west as they possibly can. these students spent the last two weeks in bomb shelters. we've been travelling around 16 hours and you can see now how we are standing, we don't know how we can stand this night without a seat or anything. you're exhausted? yeah. what was life like in sumy for the last two weeks? sumy was also a struggle, shelling and bombing.

yes, we are starving without food and water or electricity. more trains will follow through the night carrying ukrainian women and children to safety. sarah rainsford, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we'll be telling you how the severe sanctions imposed on russia, they keep on more household names halting trade. 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 at our huts.

god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged ai, 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: on the frontline, ukrainian soldiers dig in, north—west of the capital kyiv — with russian forces circling the city. america bans imports of russian oil and gas,

as britain and the eu also target moscow's energy exports. poland says it's ready to put all of its russian—made mig—29 fighterjets at the disposal of the united states in an attempt to help ukraine fight russia's invasion. the polish foreign ministry said it would move the planes to a us air base in germany. the us state department said it's surprised by poland's decision and a pentagon spokesman said the proposal was not tenable. miltary affairs analyst colonel brendan kearney joins me now from san francisco. thanks very much indeed for your time. thanks very much indeed for yourtime. i mean, the idea would presumably be that poland does not feel it can just hand over these fighter jets straight to ukraine. the us does not seem to know about it. as this one of those things thatis as this one of those things that is going to fall flat on the water?— that is going to fall flat on the water? ., , , , ~ the water? certainly seems like

it. quite honestly _ the water? certainly seems like it. quite honestly i _ the water? certainly seems like it. quite honestly i am - it. quite honestly i am perplexed with the approach the polls are taking about this. —— poles. sending them to rammstein when ukrainian pilots could literally walk across the border in poland and fly them back into ukraine, it seems like a much easier, much smarter move, but again, i am scratching my head out here in the wine country of california. you are not on your own, i think. ., , ., think. the polish government a - ears think. the polish government appears very _ think. the polish government appears very concerned - think. the polish government appears very concerned that l think. the polish government| appears very concerned that it isn't brought into this conflict, and that the messaging from moscow might suggest it would be, were to hand these planes over, but this has gone round and round four days, it is beginning to feel like it is a bit of a lost cause from the ukrainian perspective. well, you know, there seems to be a degree of planting good ideas and letting

them germinate, we saw that with the president's decision today to cut off the russian petroleum products into the united states. i think there is a lot more discussion that needs to take place between those who are interested in making this thing happen, i think it is good, the long—term ultimate goal of getting additional mig—29s into ukrainian hands is a noble one, a good one. but we have to have people sitting down who know what they are talking about and coming up with a plan that is executable. mil coming up with a plan that is executable.— executable. all these things dee - l executable. all these things deeply frustrating, - executable. all these things deeply frustrating, as - executable. all these things deeply frustrating, as you i deeply frustrating, as you would expect for ukraine. president zelensky, volodymyr zelensky, was talking to the british parliament today, and once again he made the point that he felt a bit let down, not least over the issue of a no—fly zone to be created over ukraine, can you see at any point that happening? well, i

am a historian _ point that happening? well, i am a historian by _ point that happening? well, i am a historian by passion - point that happening? well, ij am a historian by passion and point that happening? well, i. am a historian by passion and a military professional betrayed. and i have learned over the years that any time you say no, it is probably a big mistake. i think there are multiple possibilities that could happen here in the near term that we are not even envisioning right now. so, yes, it can happen, absolutely. we willjust have to wait and see. hat absolutely. we will 'ust have to wait and see._ to wait and see. not on the table, but _ to wait and see. not on the table, but maybe _ to wait and see. not on the table, but maybe not - to wait and see. not on the table, but maybe not off i to wait and see. not on the table, but maybe not off it| table, but maybe not off it either. thank you very much indeed. . ~ either. thank you very much indeed. ., ~ , ., the severe sanctions imposed on russia keep coming. more and more household names are halting trade in the country. mcdonald's and coca—cola are the latest. despite the risks, anti—war sentiment is being expressed in protests across the country and there is a sense that the war is not going as russia had planned. the bbc has now resumed reporting in russia, after it was temporarily suspended at the end of last week, over concerns surrounding a new law passed by the russian parliament. our moscow correspondent,

steve rosenberg has the latest. women's day — it's one of russians�* favourite holidays, but this year's felt subdued and tense. moscow police out in force to prevent protests at what russia's doing in ukraine. and from the kremlin, a request for russian women to support the offensive. translation: i want to say this to mothers, wives, sisters and girlfriends of our soldiers and officers in battle, who are defending russia in this special military operation. i understand how worried you must be about your loved ones. you should be proud of them, like the whole country is. what the whole country isn't

is fully behind the kremlin�*s decision to send in the troops. this was st petersburg on women's day. the sign says, "stop sending our soldiers to their deaths". many russians, though, do believe the kremlin line that this is not a war, but an operation to protect russia. i ask anna and olga — how much do they support putin? "100%. no, 200%," she says. "he's doing the right thing, and that's what we've told our children." that is exactly what vladimir putin wants the public to think. the kremlin is doing everything it can at home to control the narrative about what's happening in ukraine. virtually all independent russian news outlets have been either blocked or shut down,

and the new law has made it a criminal offence to spread what the authorities deem to be "fake news" about the russian armed forces, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. controlling the narrative becomes harder when multinationals like coca—cola are suspending operations. mcdonald's, too. the fast—food giant employs 62,000 staff here. bowing to international pressure, is temporarily closing all its restaurants in russia. he already destroyed russian reputation, he already destroyed russian nation... maria baronova fears for russia's future. she's left state broadcaster rt, in protest at what russia's doing in ukraine. yeah, yeah, no, the russian economy is dead, everything is dead. it's the end, it's the end. it's like the death of your very close relative now. it was a big love of my life, russia, and now it is dead as well. on this special day, no celebration. instead, concern over what most of the world calls "a war", and what the kremlin

calls "an operation". steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. let's get some of the day's other news. polls have opened in south korea's presidential election after a tightly—contested race that's been dominated by smear campaigns between the two main candidates. it's a neck—and—neck race between the governing democratic party's candidate, lee jae—myung, and his conservative opposition rival, yoon suk—yeol, of the people power party. prosecutors in the united states have charged the former chairman of the far right group, the proud boys, with conspiracy for allegedly helping to plan last year's storming of congress. enrique tarrio is one of the highest profile figures to be indicted in connection with the january the sixth attack by donald trump's supporters. in total, more than 750 people

have been charged so far. australia's prime minister has declared a national emergency in response to severe flooding on the country's east coast, which has killed 20 people. heavy rain and flash flooding in the states of queensland and new south wales have caused widespread damage and thousands of residents have been told to leave. courtney bembridge reports. in australia's largest city, sydney, it has rained for 16 consecutive days, and more heavy downpours are on the way. flash flooding has turned roads into rivers, and left home is teetering on the edge. the driveway of this house was away by force of the water. tens of thousands of residents have left their homes, and with roads under water, some found other ways to get around. the prime minister, scott morrison, has declared a national emergency, giving the government extra powers to deploy the defence force. it is estimated the recovery will cost billions of dollars. this

is sydney's wettest summer in three decades.— is sydney's wettest summer in three decades. look, we know it is auoin three decades. look, we know it is going to _ three decades. look, we know it is going to rain. _ three decades. look, we know it is going to rain, but _ three decades. look, we know it is going to rain, but the - is going to rain, but the almighty knows how much we are going to get. god knows, mate. when the heavens open up, it comes down. how much rain, we won't expecting that. i comes down. how much rain, we won't expecting that.— won't expecting that. i never saw the water _ won't expecting that. i never saw the water coming - won't expecting that. i never saw the water coming so - won't expecting that. i neverl saw the water coming so fast. when — saw the water coming so fast. when it— saw the water coming so fast. when it comes, when it gets out from _ when it comes, when it gets out from the — when it comes, when it gets out from the car, about 30 centimetres, 40 centimetres, up to here, — centimetres, 40 centimetres, up to here, you know, ten seconds, they— to here, you know, ten seconds, they come — to here, you know, ten seconds, they come in— to here, you know, ten seconds, they come in more than half a metre — they come in more than half a metre. , , metre. experts say the flooding emergency _ metre. experts say the flooding emergency has _ metre. experts say the flooding emergency has been _ metre. experts say the flooding emergency has been made - metre. experts say the flooding i emergency has been made worse tjy emergency has been made worse by climate change, and a la nina weather phenomenon that increases the likelihood of rains and cyclones. while the east coast deals with severe flooding, the west coast of the country has been sweltering through its hottest summer on record, and has been fighting a string of intense bushfires. as the country prepares to head to the country prepares to head to the polls in a couple of months, these images will be front of mind for voters,

asking whether their leaders have done enough to address climate change. courtney bembridge, abc news. that's bbc news. thanks for watching. hello. east—west differences in our weather across the uk for another day on wednesday. on tuesday, it's western areas that saw some rain. another weather front moving in on wednesday with wind and rain, butanother one that will weaken considerably as it attempts to move further east across the uk. low pressure on the scene now, and the flow of air around that coming in from the south. so it is milder — but it feels mildest where you're staying dry and seeing some occasional sunshine, more especially in the east for wednesday. it's western areas where the cloud and rain gradually moving in. this is where we'll have the strongest winds, as well. many will start the day dry, no frost out there, there'll be some sunny spells around, but quite quickly in the morning, it'll be turning wetter through northern ireland. some of this rain will be heavy and into the western side of scotland, as well. and the rain very slowly moves in the afternoon towards the far south west of england, western counties of wales. by the evening,

pushing into parts of northwest england. ahead of that, plenty of sunny spells breaking through, especially in the afternoon across the eastern side of england. it's blustery everywhere. gales, though, in the west and, for a time in the morning in the western isles. some severe gales gusts 60—70mph could be disruptive before those winds ease later. and a contrast in temperatures, too — just nine in the rain in belfast, but up to 13—14 celsius in the sunny spells in eastern england. now notice how this weather system weakens, moving east overnight and into thursday. on its back edge, it will have some snow towards the highlands and southern uplands for a time. and in the clear spells in northwest scotland and through northern ireland as thursday begins, there'll be a frost here — and particularly in northern ireland, there is a risk of seeing some fog, whereas for wales in england, it's a fairly mild start to the day. we're left with a weak weather front sitting somewhere through scotland, wales and england on thursday. still some uncertainty about where any patchy rain from it may linger during the day. there'll also be a few sunny spells around. into northern ireland, well, belfast, a very different day at nine celsius.

any sunny spells in eastern england could turn out to be very mild here, 15—16 celsius — but again, still some uncertainty about where the cloud will be sitting and any patchy rain. here comes another weather front on friday — so thursday's looking like a somewhat quieter day, won't be as windy. the winds pick up again on friday, it stays blustery through the weekend. there'll be some rain or showers around, but not wet all the time.

this is bbc news, the headlines: russian troops to heading towards the k have have been hampered by serious logistical problems. civilians trapped in besieged towns are scrambling for safety after a temporary ceasefire. poland says it's ready to put all of its russian—made mig—29 fighter jets at the disposal of the united states in an attempt to help ukraine fight russia's invasion. the us state department said it's surprised by poland's decision and a pentagon spokesman said the proposal was not tenable. america has banned imports of russian oil and gas. the uk government quickly followed suit, setting out a plan to phase out russian oil by year end. the eu said it would cut gas from russia by two thirds over the same period.