this is bbc news. i'm sally bundock with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the us rejects an offer by poland to send all of its russian—made mig—29 fighterjets to ukraine, saying it would raise serious concerns for nato. 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. and we bring you the story of the ukrainian orphans, desperately trying to find a way out of the country. hello and welcome to the programme. the united states has dismissed a polish plan to send

militaryjets to ukraine via an american airbase as untenable. the polish government suggested sending more than 20 of its russian—madejets to ukraine via an airbase in germany but the americans say they weren't consulted and that the plan would raise serious concerns for nato. ukrainian pilots are trained to use the aircraft but russia has threatened to retaliate if nato supplies kyiv with jets. let's get more from our washington correspondent, duncan kennedy. an interesting plan by the polish but how is it supposed to work? it polish but how is it supposed to work? . , , , ., to work? it has been strange from the _ to work? it has been strange from the outset, _ to work? it has been strange from the outset, to - to work? it has been strange from the outset, to be - to work? it has been strange l from the outset, to be honest. without all the details being fully made clear. it seems ukraine was in search for more or craft to combat the russians on the air place but not clear where the offer came from, did ukraine ask poland all

vice—versa but either way the mig-29 vice—versa but either way the mig—29 fighterjets appeared to be part of a deal that pollard was offering to send to ukraine. no details are worked out how those planes would get to ukraine but the whole deal had initially the backing of the americans and the secretary of state antony blinken said that if pollard can get the jets to the ukraine then they would backfill but then over the last day or so the polish got some cold feet about this perhaps by intimidation by what russia may do with retaliation and yesterday they came up with and yesterday they came up with a try alternative plan which is to sell the planes to ukraine but through an american airbase in germany, the ramstein american air base and not sending the planes to ukraine directly seems to have caused problems. directly seems to have caused problem-— problems. white is a us not keen on the _ problems. white is a us not keen on the plan? - problems. white is a us not keen on the plan? that - problems. white is a us not keen on the plan? that is i keen on the plan? that is -auttin keen on the plan? that is putting it _ keen on the plan? that is putting it mildly, - keen on the plan? that is putting it mildly, they - keen on the plan? that is i putting it mildly, they were

blindsided by the new polish deal and say that given they had given their original deal to poland sending the planes directly to ukraine but the state department said it was surprised by this fresh polish deal, pretty diplomatic language. it said it had not been consulted and the pentagon in their statement seemed to be even more blunt, to be honest. they said the whole deal was not tenable. the spokesperson said that if you got the idea of these jets being flown from a us nato base in germany, two contested airspace over ukraine, where russianjets ukraine, where russian jets flying ukraine, where russianjets flying around, then that, in his words, would lead to serious concerns about the future of the nato alliance. in other words what they are saying is this would amount to nato involvement in the ukraine wall, which nato has been saying all along would escalate enormously —— poland and possibly lead to a third world

war and when the vice president pamela harris touches down in poland on thursday, i suspect she will make her feelings about this very clear that the deal is not a starter because of how they feel about it. —— vice—president harris. ukraine's military says russia's offensive has slowed down, though residents in and around the capital are bracing for an all—out assault. it also claims that the russian army is continuing to suffer significant losses. jeremy bowen reports from kyiv, a city virtually under siege. 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's 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. president biden said sanctions carry a price notjust 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.

and brent crude is trading just at $130 a barrel and will talk more about what is at stake in regards to the markets in just under 30 minutes. let's round—up some of the other developments. the head of the un's nuclear watchdog, the iaea, has voiced concern for the safety of the workers at the chernobyl nuclear power plant in ukraine who haven't been allowed to leave since the russian invasion. in a statement, rafael grossi said it was crucial people operating nuclearfacilities should be able to rest and work in regular shifts. is now in full control of the zaporizhzhya nuclear plant. europe's largest nuclear plant was seized by russian forces last week. officials added that the plant's employees are working normally and members of ukraine's

national guard who were defending it, handed over their weapons and were set free. the claims have not been independently verified. president vladimir putin had planned to seize ukraine's capital, kyiv, within two days, according to william burns. speaking at a congressional hearing, the cia chief warned that the russian president was angry and frustrated. right now, mr burns also described the invasion of ukraine as a matter of deep personal conviction for president putin. the british foreign secretary, liz truss, will hold talks in washington later with the us secretary of state, antony blinken, and white house national security adviserjake sullivan. discussions will centre around what more the uk and the us can do to support ukraine on security, intelligence, and humanitarian issues. 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 meet the ukrainian children who are leaving their orphanages and foster homes to find a way out of the country. 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 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: the us rejects an offer by poland to send all of its russian—made mig 29 fighterjets to ukraine, saying it would raise serious concerns for nato. on the frontline — ukrainian soldiers dig in — north—west of the capital kyiv — with russian forces circling the city. let's stay with events in ukraine. maria avdeeva is research director of the ukrainian think tank — the european expert association — shejoins me now from kharkiv. it is lovely to speak to you again. talk us through how things are going in khaki. what is the latest?— is the latest? over the last two days — is the latest? over the last two days it _ is the latest? over the last two days it is _ is the latest? over the last two days it is not _ is the latest? over the last two days it is not as - is the latest? over the last two days it is not as hard, l is the latest? over the last i two days it is not as hard, the bombardment, i mean. the nights were more or less calm and we

saw reports that the fights are, for now, happening on the out skirts of kharkiv so russia is trying to attack from the north and the eastern part and yesterday it was reported that they have three helicopters with 100 and 50 troops trying to land in that area and they were eliminated on the spot by ukrainian military. so the main fighting goes on there and in the city it is very much destroyed now and i have seen that many residential areas i just completely devastated and there are many people who have already left kharkiv according to the latest reports it is now

600,000 people from kharkiv alone. so the city is half empty and there are still shortages of food supplies and medical supplies but the authorities are doing whatever is possible now to begin to supply people with what is needed. �* ., needed. and you have electricity _ needed. and you have electricity now, - needed. and you have l electricity now, clearly, because we can have this conversation that in itself is not a guarantee, is it? you lose power at times. talk us through some of the practical challenges at the moment. exactly. i was without electricity for several days and had to move throughout the period but then the power was restored. but russia is clearly targeting critical infrastructure and yesterday the same reports came that they were targeting the electricity station on the television station on the television station was also under attack and that means that russia will

probably, in some moment, try to encircle the city and they need to destroy communications and infrastructure before that. so everything is frozen on these streets, there is no sign of normal life, you would see long lines of people standing in front of the supermarkets trying to get something of what was left or what was supplied but these days on the railway station now there are not big crowds of people meaning that those who wanted to leave probably already have left and i have got numerous requests from my friends around ukraine who are worried about their parents all elderly people who are staying in kharkiv because they are in the hard position of not being able to get what is necessary for them and not being able to get out because they are hiding for almost two weeks now and that is, of course, a horrible situation

that civilians here are now facing in khaki.— that civilians here are now facing in khaki. last time we soke facing in khaki. last time we spoke you — facing in khaki. last time we spoke you said _ facing in khaki. last time we spoke you said you - facing in khaki. last time we spoke you said you would . facing in khaki. last time we | spoke you said you would stay in kharkiv but you felt, at that time, that this conflict may not last very long. what are your thoughts now? apparently it is not going according to putin's plan and what i think now as they may use this time to regroup forces because they do not have enough forces and enough ability to attack kharkiv because they see here fierce resistance that australia —— russia was not accounting for. and they may be having a longer term war because they may start to attack again at any moment when they are ready and, still, i want to stay here but we are calling for every country in europe and the united states to

give us support from the air because what i think may happen is that russia will continue bombarding the city and terrorising the city using ukrainian airspace and that means we need the air defence system, we need the fighter jets, ukraine also needs, if there is no fly zone, but some safe areas in ukraine where people may go and feel that they will not be hit i russian missiles anymore.— they will not be hit i russian missiles anymore. are well. we will speak to you again soon, we hope. tens of thousands of children in ukrainian orphanages and foster care are desperately in need of a way out of the country. as russia's invasion approaches its second week, many of the children are forced to take shelter — without adequate food and water. the bbc followed one group

of children as they tried to flee the country with their guardians. apprehensive to go yet fearful to stay. already in state care, these children are now in a war not of their own making. 300 of them are at kyiv station where they are trying to flee through a sea of people. and when trains do arrive it is a battle to get in in order to get out. so they wait for hours in the freezing cold after dark. no matter that some of them have severe disabilities. they split up severe disabilities. they split up in various directions to anywhere safe. one of the co—ordinators that says it was terrifying at the station. really people were scared and

you could hear alarms ringing and you can feel and hear bombs were exploding. it is a horrible situation. but more horrible situation. but more horrible that children hear this and they cry and they do not understand what is happening around them. he is t in: to happening around them. he is trying to get — happening around them. he is trying to get children - happening around them. he is trying to get children out - happening around them. he is trying to get children out of i trying to get children out of danger zones and to safe points. and then out of ukraine. points. and then out of ukraine-— points. and then out of ukraine. ., ., ., ., , , , ukraine. we have a lot of buses and a lot of— ukraine. we have a lot of buses and a lot of food _ ukraine. we have a lot of buses and a lot of food -- _ ukraine. we have a lot of buses and a lot of food -- lack- ukraine. we have a lot of buses and a lot of food -- lack of- and a lot of food —— lack of food, we have a lack of hygiene, everything. everything in the country is under strain. as russia's invasion continues it is hard enough for single families to get their kids out of the country. but the task of helping tens of thousands of vulnerable children find safety is almost an impossible one.

and thousands of them are taking shelter.— taking shelter. although guardians _ taking shelter. although guardians can _ taking shelter. although guardians can do - taking shelter. although guardians can do is - taking shelter. although l guardians can do is appeal taking shelter. although - guardians can do is appeal for guardians can do is appealfor help. we really need your help to get to poland. fine help. we really need your help to get to poland.— to get to poland. one of the trains arrives _ to get to poland. one of the trains arrives in _ to get to poland. one of the trains arrives in warsaw. - to get to poland. one of the i trains arrives in warsaw. with only about two dozen of the original 300. and they are received, and relief is written on their faces. translation: received, and relief is written on theirfaces. translation: it on their faces. translation: it was a hard trip and everyone was a hard trip and everyone was worried. there was a lot of stress. we did not even know who would be there to help is at the end. fist who would be there to help is at the end-— who would be there to help is at the end. at the end of about 24 hoursjourney _ at the end. at the end of about 24 hours journey they - at the end. at the end of about 24 hoursjourney they are - 24 hours journey they are exhausted. but on the way to the temporary homes. the next

day they can afford to smile and play, feeling protected. other countries will also take them in but no—one knows how they will get there. for now, these lives are safe but their futures are uncertain. zhanna bezpiatchuk, bbc news. we have so much more for you in this programme. if you want to keep up—to—date with events in ukraine just go to our website and there you will find the live pages continually updated with the latest date news and developments. the bbc app is available as well. let's go live now to kyiv this morning and as you can see the sun has risen. we will be speaking in around 30 minutes time to james waterhouse, our correspondent base their with our team who are covering the very latest from ukraine's capital. also the price of oil is edging

higher right now on international markets. $130 a barrel for brent when i last looked. we will talk about that next here on news. stay with us. 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 with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the west hits russia with oil bans and gas curbs. president biden says this is vital to the russian economy. russian oil will no longer be acceptable at american ports and the american people would tell another powerful blow to vladimir putin's war machine. commodities such as metals are soaring in price due to the conflict, we get an expert view on the impact on our daily life. and, the grand exodus — more and more western companies are pulling out of russia under pressure from governments, shareholders and customers.