this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: attacks on ukraine target more cities and extend further into the country, and russian troops regroup around the capital, kyiv. translation: everything is destroyed. there is no electricity, no gas. an air strike on dnipro damages apartment blocks and hits a factory. we have a special report from the city. the site is one of complete devastation. the smoke is still rising from the ruins of this building hours after the missiles struck.

on the front line in the south of the country, ukrainian fighters hold their ground despite the relentless shelling. russia calls for foreign volunteers to fight alongside its troops in ukraine. the us says thousands in the middle east could be ready tojoin. and travelling to a new life in the uk: the ukrainian orphans waiting to meet their new host families. hello, and welcome to the programme. first, the russian military offensive has widened across ukraine and its forces are now closing in on the capital, kyiv. some cities came under direct shelling for the first time, including lutsk and ivano—frankivsk in the west. and to the east, dnipro, a place of refuge for ukrainians fleeing other parts of the country, was also hit.

almost 2 million people have been displaced internally and 2.5 million have left the country. ourfirst report is from orla guerin who's been to the front line close to the town of bucha near kyiv, where russian troops are battling ukrainian forces just 15 miles, 24km, from the capital. the lonely road towards russian positions on the outskirts of care. we had carefully towards the commuter town of bucha, bombed day and night. there are battlegrounds along the way. well, this is as far as we can go. we havejust come go. we have just come through the last ukrainian checkpoint. up the last ukrainian checkpoint. up ahead is no man's land, and the next checkpoint is in the hands of the russians. we have been hearing the sounds of battle in the last few minutes

with outgoing shelling from here towards the russian positions. translation: , translation: the fighting is hard. translation: the fighting is hard- very — translation: the fighting is hard. very hard. _ translation: the fighting is hard. very hard. says - translation: the fighting is hard. very hard. says victor, | hard. very hard. says victor, breaking _ hard. very hard. says victor, breaking down. _ hard. very hard. says victor, breaking down. "fifteen - hard. very hard. says victor, i breaking down. "fifteen days... he is a pensioner turned defender of ukraine. overall, it is fine, he says. we have our children. ourwives. it is fine, he says. we have our children. our wives. this is our land. anatoly, who is 72, is risking his life to look for petrol. everything is

destroyed, he tells me. there is no electricity, no gas. it is very cold in the house. iam sorry... i am sorry... he says politely. this is life. inside bucha, there is no life. so today, once again, civilians were fleeing. from russia, this choice, go or be bombed. documents are checked before they head for care. ukrainian forces don't want russian saboteurs getting through. cars brimming with desperation and displaying white ribbons, a

plea for safe passage for civilians. many marked with children. did you see the russian forces in your area? "we passed three of their checkpoints. there were tanks there," says alexander. his wife, natalia, also weeps for ukraine. and day by day, the threat is moving closer to kyiv. here, ukrainianforces threat is moving closer to kyiv. here, ukrainian forces at all the russians in a village in kyiv region. a ferocious firefight in the forest. the ukrainians are defending every inch of territory. but russian troops are now believed to be

less than ten miles from the heart of the capital. orla guerin, bbc news, on the outskirts of kyiv. as you heard earlier, dnipro in the east was attacked for the first time with a shoe factory targeted by the shelling. the city is home to around i million people, and our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford has been assessing the impact of the attack on the ground. they struck at dawn, and dnipro wasn't expecting it. this was not a military target. russia's missiles have destroyed a shoe factory and they have shattered the idea many had clung to here — that this city was safe. amongst the rubble of their workplace were factory staff trying to clean up. dazed and disbelieving. many more could have died here

had the factory not stopped work because of the war. "you see that black bag," this woman says. "that is where our "security guard died." "what else can i tell you? you can see it all." many ignored the wail of the air raid siren because central dnipro had never been hit. this site is one of complete devastation. the smoke is still rising from the ruins of this building hours after the missile struck, and the smell here is really acrid. but the thing that strikes me most, just being here, is that there are so many apartment blocks, residential buildings all round here. the shock waves swept across the square, smashing windows and shaking buildings for blocks around. we saw irina cleaning up the mess, and she called us in. for her family, the attack

was terrifyingly close, right on their doorstep. they are scared, but they are also furious here at russia. "we didn't ask them to come and save us," irina tells me. "we were living fine in our own country. "we love our country and we'll defend it," she says. across the hallway, alexander is clearing up for his 90—year—old aunt, distraught that she lived through one world war, and she is now being caught up in all this. and down the road, we met natalia, demanding to know why russia is firing at them. haunted by the terrified screams of her son. they didn't make it to the bomb shelter. the missiles came in too fast. rescuers have been salvaging scraps from the factory wreckage.

but however resilient ukraine is, this kind of attack sows fear and saps morale. because when the sirens go now, no—one can feel safe here. sarah rainsford, bbc news, dnipro. one area where the russian advance on the ground has made progress is in the south of ukraine. they have captured the city of kherson and are pushing west towards the key port of odesa on the black sea. but the city of mykolaiv stands in their way, and while ukraine's forces are holding fast, it too has suffered extensive damage. andrew harding reports. a snowstorm enfolds us as we head for the front lines towards a ukrainian city that is blocking the russian advance. civilians gather on the outskirts of mykolaiv, fleeing the madness. are you worried about the bombs and the artillery? yes, yes. it's also very loud,

especially at night. explosions loud and deadly. the russians are trying to blast a path through this city in order to seize the whole black sea coast. but mykolaiv is proving obstinate. air raid siren wails ok, wejust heard some artillery in the distance and then an air raid siren so we are going to suit up. you too. in a cellar, volunteers follow the example set by millions of ukrainians nationwide, forming a diy army. it's plates for body arms what we need from our factory. it's really heavy, but it's good. that defiance is echoed by the local governor who tells us the russians are actually in retreat here, for now. we pushed the enemy back

from the borders of our city from about 15, 20 kilometres in the southern and western part. for now, they are almost surrounded, we are attacking them. so, from your perspective, you are winning this war? you know, we are winning this fight, but not this war. not winning the war, at the local morgue, it's a struggle to keep up with the bodies, soldiers and civilians alike out in the cold. some survivors here are still too frail to be moved to safer ground. 250 casualties in under a fortnight. what would you say to the world? to the world? what is your message? close our sky, close our sky. we cannot work under the bombs, under the rockets. it's dangerous. you want a no—fly zone enforced by the west? yes, yes, of course. in the meantime, the russians stick to their familiar routine, shock and horror,

almost no weapons too gruesome, no target off limits. the fear in civilian neighbourhoods like this one is that this is just the start, that because russian ground troops are being blocked from sweeping through this city, they will now do what they have done in so many other parts of ukraine, and simply intensify their aerial bombardments. and then what? this woman survived, but her city's fate remains unclear. andrew harding, bbc news, mykolaiv. in towns and cities across ukraine, military funerals are now a daily occurrence. the country's regular armed forces — its soldiers, sailors and airforce — have beenjoined by volunteers, men and women, who three weeks ago had never picked up a weapon, fergal keane reports from lviv. sung prayers, weeping the dead are returning to homes

far from the battlefield. today, they buried dmitro kabakov, 59, andrei stefanushin, 40, taras diduk, aged 25. prayers continue for all the solidarity of crowds, this grief is solitary. prayers continue each loss individual... ..forfamilies... ..for comrades. prayers continue singing it is the custom here when possible to open the coffins

so that there can be a last touch to reach beyond death. trumpets wail singing ukraine's dead in this war are full—timers, reservists and conscripts. gunfire andrei stefanushin was a permanent soldier, married, with a three—year—old daughter. jaroslav is a friend from when they worked on the railways together. translation: we kept in touch, talked. - he was a great guy. god takes away

the best from us. these men had plans. taras diduk had a girlfriend. he was godfather to a friend's daughter and his mother's only son. translation: he was brave. he said, "mama, who is going to protect you, "if not me?" i know how he was. i can't praise my child, but for me, he was the best. a mother grieving a dead son — war�*s eternal story. fergal keane, bbc news, lviv. this is bbc news. the headlines: attacks on ukraine target more cities, and extend further into the country, as russians troops regroup around the capital kyiv. russia has called for foreign volunteers to fight alongside its troops in ukraine, suggesting there were thousands in the middle east ready tojoin.

us officials said these could include fighters from syria. from moscow, our russia editor steve rosenberg reports. for russia's defence minister, sergei shoygu, it was a busy day. medals for his troops wounded in action. and a video call with the kremlin to announce that 16,000 volunteers from the middle east want to fight for russia in ukraine. "good idea," said the president. translation: if you see that some volunteers - would like to come and help people in the donbas, especially without being paid, then we should meet them halfway and help them relocate to the war zone. soon after, this. chanting russian tv showed what it said were pro—russia fighters in syria, ready and willing.

they've helped moscow in the syrian war, but what will happen if they fight in ukraine? they'll be very ruthless, and they'll use syrian tactics liberating ukrainian cities by reducing them to rubble. this war is turning into a war of attrition in which russia cannot win, because the ukrainians are going to have more supplies, more money coming their way, while the russian financial system is going broke because of sanctions, the russian economy is tanking. vladimir putin has much to reflect on after 16 days of what he calls his "special military operation". the kremlin says that by sending thousands of foreign fighters to ukraine, it's acting no differently from the ukrainian government, which has also been signing up volunteers. but remember, it was russia that launched this offensive, sending its troops across the border into a sovereign nation. moscow seems determined to secure a military victory.

but at what cost to the russian people? in moscow today, more queues, more western shops closing, more economic pain from sanctions. for some, the priority now is buying an air ticket out of here. but president putin insists his country will get through this. when he met the leader of belarus, vladimir putin said in the past, sanctions had made russia stronger. from the kremlin leader, no hint of regret. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. margaret kosal is professor of international affairs at georgia institute of technology. she was a senior advisor to the chief of staff of the us army and led many different working groups within the us department of defence looking at chemical, biological to nanotechnology warfare. she's in atlanta. thank you for coming on the programme. let's start with this threat of chemical

warfare. how worried are you about it? 50 warfare. how worried are you about it?— about it? so in the grand scheme _ about it? so in the grand scheme of _ about it? so in the grand scheme of things, - about it? so in the grand scheme of things, i - about it? so in the grandj scheme of things, i think about it? so in the grand l scheme of things, i think it about it? so in the grand - scheme of things, i think it is plausible, both technically and geopolitically, that putin might choose to use chemical weapons such in a way that it may be used in a dense urban environment. in sort of the grand scheme, still less than 50%, that is still a really high level of concern that i have, that others have... i have, that others have... i see. and given that relatively high risk, why is he prepared to take that risk, given the international condemnation if it does happen? what are the advantages of using that from his eyes? advantages of using that from his e es? ., , , , ,

his eyes? from his eyes, it is a potential— his eyes? from his eyes, it is a potential game _ his eyes? from his eyes, it is a potential game changer- his eyes? from his eyes, it is a potential game changer to l a potential game changer to break the will of the ukrainians. putin has been using chemical weapons as assassination tools for the last number of years. so while it may not be the most effective way to target and assassination, it is one that gets a lot of attention, it clearly communicates who it is from, often by the choice, and it also suggests that there is a willingness to do anything. and how prepared are ukrainians, the ukrainian army, to defend against attacks like that? 50 to defend against attacks like that? ., , ., ~ that? so if one is talking about defending - that? so if one is talking about defending a - that? so if one is talking about defending a dense that? so if one is talking - about defending a dense urban area, lots of civilians, it is extremely difficult to defend and to prepare. you know, in terms of the types of agents that are most likely to be used, we are not talking about

chlorine gas or sulphur mustard, mustard gas—we are talking about much more advanced agents that are likely to be used, they are ones that instead of being just inhalation has, they are likely to go through the skin, it is called percutaneous. so it is going to be exposure in a small area or exposure in some place where there are a lot of people is the big risks.— is the big risks. and i suppose more widely. _ is the big risks. and i suppose more widely, given _ is the big risks. and i suppose more widely, given your- is the big risks. and i suppose more widely, given your areal is the big risks. and i suppose i more widely, given your area of expertise and the type of warfare you are looking at, i know there has been a general consensus among many in europe that the days of warfare with tanks rolling in were kind of behind us— and yet this conflict has shown sadly that isn't the case at all. absolutely. we are seeing that it does come back to having to seize and hold territory. one of the predictions beforehand was that they were going to be

lots of cyber operations— we haven't seen that. it is very much ground—based individuals, we are seeing lots of ground—based heavy fires, not even seeing the amount of air power that particularly western a nalysts power that particularly western analysts had predicted. ok. analysts had predicted. ok, margaret. _ analysts had predicted. ok, margaret, thank _ analysts had predicted. ok, margaret, thank you - analysts had predicted. 0k, margaret, thank you for lending us your expertise on the topic, thank you. the united nations says more than 2.5 million people have fled ukraine since russia invaded. fled ukraine since most of them have entered ukraine's nearest european neighbours, and volunteers are helping to support refugees across eastern europe. the eu says ukrainians will be allowed to work in member states without a visa for three years. here in the uk, the prime minister says plans to allow some refugees to live with host families in the uk will be revealed next week. lucy manning reports

on one group of children, heading to britain. millions are on the move — out of ukraine, inside ukraine. all have lost their homes and are looking for a new one. into the third week of this invasion, and finally british families will get the chance to help. the children of the dnipro orphanage have each other, but little else. everyone caring for someone. fleeing from the fighting just in time. probably still a couple of hours away from the polish—ukrainian border. heading to meet them in lviv, a scotsman — part of a group of hibernian football fans who've been supporting this orphanage for years. steve and his charity have arranged homes and care for the children in scotland, but they still can't get them to the uk. the only thing that needs to happen for us to be able to bring the kids back, is for the uk government to say that it's ok to bring them in. we've got the support network in place, we've got the funding in place.

the children know us and trust us. and that's it, that's all we are asking — just let us in. what's your message to the government on setting up the sponsorship scheme? get it done quickly and make it easy. the longer it takes, the more pain and suffering you are putting those kids through. we've got them away from the initial worry of being stuck in dnipro, but they are still in limbo. the government will eventually announce next week plans to allow british families to open up their homes to ukrainians, and the companies and communities to sponsor refugees. but millions in poland, hungary, moldova, have already been doing this while british people have only been able to donate. the bus with the children finally crossed into poland last night. most of these children don't have passports, so they and others will still face visa bureaucracy. it's not clear how long they will have to wait to restart their lives —

to be children again. for those who have watched the dislocation from the comfort of their homes and want to bring refugees into them, vetting will be required, which could also take time. but as many ukrainians can come to the uk as there are people and organisations willing to houses and support them. to show its generosity. let's ta ke let's take you live now to ukraine, this is the scene in kyiv. relative calm there but a us satellite company says more areas of ukraine have come under attack, with russia? military deploying units closer kyiv on friday. british intelligence says russia has been carrying out attacks in western ukrainian cities that hadn't previously been targeted. plenty more online, and if you are online, you can get me on

twitter. i'm @lvaughanjones. this is bbc news, by live. —— goodbye. this weekend, it's going to be a mixed bag. there's certainly some sunshine on the way, but many of us will need our umbrellas as well. right now, a weather front is crossing the british isles, extensive cloud out there. it's rain—bearing cloud. this is how it's going to stay for the next few hours or so. it's very mild out there as well. by early on saturday morning, temperatures will be around 7—8 celsius. it might be a little bit colder across parts of northern ireland in rural spots, maybe down to around two or so if the skies clear and the winds drop out. so, the forecast for the morning shows a lot of cloud and some rain across scotland, parts of northern england, brighter across the rest of england and wales, in fact, some decent sunny spells here through the middle of the afternoon. and i think the best

of the weather will be the further east you are, but notice this sort of curl of rain here, this is a low pressure that's swinging into the south—west of the uk — not only rain, but also some very strong winds. we're talking of gusts of 50—60, maybe even 70 mph, so really quite stormy around some of the coasts for a time, but we are only talking about the tip of cornwall, perhaps devon, maybe southern parts of wales — so not widespread gales, but very, very windy indeed, so take it steady if you are across this part of the world through saturday and saturday night. elsewhere, it won't be quite so windy. now let's have a look at sunday's weather map. low pressure just off the coast of scotland there, but pretty much dominating the weather across the uk. so this is early sunday. you can see a weather front curling into this area of low pressure, outbreaks of rain, sunny spells and a mixture of showers in the afternoon. it's going to be that changeable day, and very gusty winds right across the country, we're talking 30—40, maybe even 50 mph around some exposed coasts. so on saturday,

the winds will be strong here, on sunday, it will be blustery right across the uk. temperatures on sunday typically between 10—12 celsius. not as mild as it's been, but, you know, mild enough. monday, a much better day. the winds will be lighter, there will be more sunshine around, still some showers across northern parts of the country, but in the south, it really is an improving picture. and that's how it's going to be over the next few days into next week. in fact, in the south of the country, temperatures could even peak at around about 17—18 celsius. so a mixed weekend and then better the week ahead. bye— bye.

this is bbc news.

the headlines: russian forces are widening their attacks on areas across ukraine with more intense fighting reported in the countryside. russian troops are also beginning to regroup around the capital, kyiv. moscow says it has now hit military airfields in the western cities of lutsk and ivano—frankivsk. the central eastern city of dnipro has been targeted for the first time. a russian air strike killed at least one person and damaged several civilian areas. fire and smoke could be seen rising from the city centre. authorities say apartment blocks and factories were hit. russia has called for foreign volunteers to fight alongside its troops in ukraine, suggesting there were thousands in the middle east ready tojoin. the us state department said any deployment of syrian fighters in ukraine would mark a further escalation of moscow's unjustified aggression. now on bbc news,

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