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. in russia, more protests against the war, despite the threat of prison and more global companies, including mcdonald's, halt trade in russia. thanks forjoining us. 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. 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 said 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. mike finley is a fellow in energy and global oil at rice university's baker institute. i asked him about the likely impact of the ban. 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 thinks how much china will be prepared to buy out? an excellent point and a critical one. it is a quick global marketplace and, so, whether 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 can find buyers, that impact is muted. you are sitting in the land of cheap gasoline — where everyone expects it to stay cheap. joe biden made that 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 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's job approval rating. one other point, borisjohnson, british prime minister, did make a point of leaning towards nuclear and renewables, a whole new strategy opening up which in some respects

is a very positive thing. doesn't happen overnight and is this relevant to this current issue? it becomes very relevant over longer time periods but not much help in the shorter term. the reality is that these systems change pretty slowly. there are opportunities where there are nuclear power plants that are under—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 world's energy mix and the fuel that runs economies, gets the kids to school, cooks our food, heats homes, largely comes from fossil energy sources and no getting around that in the short term. after days of being

shelled, thousands of ukrainians and international students from the city of sumy, in the north east of the country, who 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 pretty 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. 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, reports. 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 says it's temporarily closing all its restaurants in russia. 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. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: injust a moment in climate critical, we'll tell you how the ukraine war will have a long—term effect on the environment. 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 41, 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. every week at this time we take a look at the climate crisis — bringing you stories with big implications for our planet. the ukraine war may be pushing the global climate crisis off the front pages but it will undoubtedly have a long term effect on the environment, the mass migration of millions of refugees, and the scramble for energy supplies to replace russian gas. philip alston is a former un special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights and contributor to the united nations study by the intergovernmental panel on climate change that was released last week. thank was released last week. you very much indeed for joining thank you very much indeed for joining us and we sort of pivot a little bit in terms of the way we are looking at climate

given everything that is going on in ukraine. we got 2 million refugees, let's be realistic, that number is going to grow still further stopping what sort of impact does that have? well, it has a dramatic negative impact everywhere. it has a huge impact on ukraine itself, the fact that so many people are leaving, often it is people are leaving, often it is people who were in a position to contribute to the economic well—being of the country, they will be gone. they, in turn will be gone. they, in turn will be gone. they, in turn will be living in pretty grim conditions in different parts of europe, not able to contribute to their full capacity. and the countries that are welcoming the fleeing population will also suffer, they will be under immense pressure in terms of housing, in terms of food and healthcare and so on, so the consequences

are going to be dramatic across large parts of europe. find are going to be dramatic across large parts of europe.— large parts of europe. and it becomes _ large parts of europe. and it becomes a _ large parts of europe. and it becomes a needs _ large parts of europe. and it becomes a needs to - large parts of europe. and it becomes a needs to muster| large parts of europe. and it - becomes a needs to muster world again, doesn't it? where issues, we can talk very, and we often do, very hopefully and grandly about the way in which we can help the climate and adapt and mitigate but that is so far off the, i suppose, the consciousness of people who are working out where on earth they are going to get their next glass of water or meal from. yes, it feels... a little bit awkward in a sense where one needs to be focused obviously on the immediate plight of those who are being killed, being driven out of their country and so on, but at the same time we also need to be conscious of the larger consequences of this crisis and they are really dramatic for climate change. there was a

struggle, the report of the ipcc that came out a little bit over a week ago has in the past been an occasion for really serious reflection, immense coverage and dissection of the report. it was immediately wiped off the front pages by ukraine. what we are seeing now instead is a focus on the threat to energy supplies, a rush to embrace other sources of fossil fuel, to rush to embrace other sources of fossilfuel, to pump rush to embrace other sources of fossil fuel, to pump very large amounts of money into emergency measures which are still focused all around fossil fuels, ratherthan still focused all around fossil fuels, rather than on the renewables and the very different perspective that we were talking about before, and you've also got increased military budget. and as germany

spends 100 million extra, as the united states talks about increasing its military budget by another $25 billion or whatever, that is all money that could and should have been spent on the biggest single threat to the planet which is climate change. i threat to the planet which is climate change.— threat to the planet which is climate change. i know a lot of our climate change. i know a lot of your time _ climate change. i know a lot of your time and _ climate change. i know a lot of your time and effort _ climate change. i know a lot of your time and effort is - climate change. i know a lot of your time and effort is spent . your time and effort is spent on issues of poverty eradication and i suppose that is the other very painful truth at the moment as there are more conflicts emerging, it is going the other way stop talk about poverty, climate apartheid through an economic prison. that is also going the other way stopping the poor are getting poorer, the rich are getting poorer, the rich are getting richer and the poor will not be able to look after themselves.— will not be able to look after themselves. well inequality is certainly increasing _ themselves. well inequality is certainly increasing things - certainly increasing things dramatically but climate change is a 1—way street. the people who are wealthy, the people who are living in less vulnerable

countries, believe it or not, australia where i've come from is classified as a less vulnerable country, a country that will readily be able to cope with a lot of challenges, but 3.3 billion people live in countries that are highly vulnerable, and those countries are going to suffer immensely and it will be those who are already poor who will be just wiped out in real terms. find wiped out in real terms. and can either— wiped out in real terms. and can eitherjust _ wiped out in real terms. and can eitherjust ask— wiped out in real terms. and can eitherjust ask you, - can either just ask you, regardless of the situation we are in at the moment and talking about sanctions on oil and gas, fossilfuels are talking about sanctions on oil and gas, fossil fuels are still the predominant energy source for most of us in most directions, that is a given. they also create vast wealth, don't they? huge tax revenues for governments which are there in part to help alleviate some of the poverty that indeed you focus on and are talking about. how difficult is it to get that

transition successfully away from fossil fuels without losing that sort of revenue? i think the biggest problem by far the lobby groups, those who have a vested interest in the fuel industries, who are desperately trying to make it very difficult to bring about the transformation. i don't think the economic equation that you suggest really applies. if we were able to devote the sort of very large—scale resources to changing our energy sources, we would be able to arrange taxation and fiscal policy in such a way that we replace the taxes that come from oil and remember that governments currently provide trillions of dollars, actually, in fuel subsidies that go to support fossil fuels. subsidies that go to support fossilfuels. so economically, it could be done if there was a well. if

it could be done if there was a well. . , . it could be done if there was a well. ., , ., ., well. if there was a well, a aood well. if there was a well, a good note _ well. if there was a well, a good note on _ well. if there was a well, a good note on which - well. if there was a well, a good note on which to - well. if there was a well, a | good note on which to end. philip alston, thank you very much for your time. thanks for watching bbc news, to stay with us through the hours ahead. goodbye. 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: ukrainian soldiers are digging in, as they prepare for an assault on the capital. russian troops advancing towards kyiv have been slowed down by attacks from ukrainian forces and hampered by serious logistical problems. civilians who've been trapped in besieged towns and cities have been 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. now on bbc news, panorama. 999 (all: police emergency. hello. there's been an explosion at manchester arena. is anybody injured? yes, loads. a bomb'sjust gone off, there's people lying around on the floor, there's blood everywhere. please send ambulances, please. we're coming as fast as we can, 0k. - on 22nd may 2017, a bomb exploded at an ariana grande concert in manchester. 22 people were murdered. 8—year—old saffie—rose roussos was the youngest victim. she just had a heart of love. i am the champion. she just was enthusiastic about everything. -