this is bbc news — more attacks in ukraine — with large numbers of russian forces nowjust around 20 kilometers from the centre of the capital barricades on the outskirts of kyiv, where they're preparing for any assault, possibly within days. we hear from the young ukrainian recruits at the checkpoints they'll be defending i feel a ifeel a bit i feel a bit scared ifeel a bit scared because no one wants to die, even if it is for your country. a 3—way phone call between president macron, the russian leader and the german chancellor is described as �*difficult�* — with the french saying putin did not show any willingness to end the war. poland's parliament has passed emergency legislation that allows ukrainians fleeing the war the right

to live and work in poland for eighteen months. furtherfighting has been taking place outside the ukrainian capital, kyiv, where russian forces are around 15 miles from the centre of the city. british military intelligence believes those russian troops have been regrouping, possibly for a fresh offensive in the coming days. a military airfield was destroyed this morning near kyiv. the latest information about russian positions is shown here in red. outside the capital, the cities of chernihiv, sumy, and kharkiv continue to be shelled. while the ukrainian military say

the eastern outskirts of the beseiged city of mariupol have been captured by russian troops. the city has endured days of shelling. president zelensky has said russian and ukrainian negotiating teams have started discussing what he called �*concrete topics rather than exchanging ultimatums�*. meanwhile, the french president emmanuel macron and germany's olaf scholz have held talks with president putin. ourfirst report tonight is from jeremy bowen, on the outskirts of kyiv. pictures of russian forces, time and place indeterminate, emerge from their side. among their potential targets here in kyiv, no—one knows their precise orders, but they're assuming an attack is coming. on the ukrainian side, they're trying to make checkpoints into real obstacles. the professionals are a few miles closer to the russians.

the soldiers here are all volunteers. they are still expected to fight, even with only a few days training. just over a week ago i met two university friends, maksym, aged 19, and demytro, 18, as they signed up in kyiv. what are you studying? i am studying economy. and i am studying biology. most of the recruits that day were about the same age, making jokes to hide their nerves. when they lined up outside, they looked as if they were off to a festival — except for the guns. now, demytro and maksym have been given uniforms, three days training and they are facing the russians. get used to my gun, i learned how

to shoot and act in the battle. also many other things that will be very crucial during the fight with some russians. i feel much more confident than i was before. because we get enough knowledge in tactics. do you think the battle is coming to kiev? yes, it is definitely possible. but we just have to stop them here in brovary, because if they get to kyiv then this war might be over. what do your parents think about what you're doing? "mum, i'm on the war, i am fighting with a gun in my hands." and she said, "oh, maksym..." she thinks it's a joke. "don'tjoke with your mother, it's war. just sit in the shelter and do your work, volunteer or do something else."

do you feel scared? not much. but it is human nature to feel scared. and of course, deeply in my soul, ifeel a bit scared. because no—one wants to die, even if it's for your country. so, death is not an option for us. for now, they are on the checkpoint. if the russians come, they will be firing out of a trench in the war�*s key battle. war always has a political, as well as a military dimension. while president zelensky and his government are here in kyiv, no one can say that they have been defeated, even if they are losing territory elsewhere. at the same time, president putin cannot claim victory in this war if his men can't take this city. everyone here is waiting. soldiers, civilians in and out of uniform, and maksym and demytro.

jeremy bowen, bbc news, kyiv. president zelensky says abouti,300 ukrainian troops have been killed since the start of russia's invasion. he told journalists in kyiv that far larger numbers of russian soldiers had died — perhaps ten times as many, but those figures can't be verifed. as russian forces continued to shell kyiv, mr zelensky said they'd have to destroy the capital and its population to occupy it. our security correspondent, frank gardner, has this assessment of russian�*s military strategy. it looks like, and it feels like, the beginning of the endgame — although who knows how long that's going to last? if we look at the map here on day 17, the red areas are where russian forces have taken control. in the south, they continue to make advances. they are pushing to the north—west. in the north is where the real battle is going to be fought. that's for the capital,

kyiv, around here. now, you remember that great big russian armoured column that was stuck for days north of the capital? most of that has redeployed into the forests, to the north—west, moving their artillery and rocket systems within range of the capital, looking to encircle it. if president putin can't take kyiv, then his war has failed. and that appears to be what he is determined to do, is to capture the capital. but it's not going to be an easy battle. and who knows when that assault is actually going to begin? a direct hit on a russian armoured column as it advances on the capital, kyiv. western supplied anti—tank weapons have slowed the russian advance, but they haven't stopped it. in the air, russian warplanes remain wary of ukraine's air defences. but they have the advantage of numbers on their side. the latest pentagon assessment is that the russian air force is flying an average of 200 missions a day, compared tojust ten for the ukrainians.

now, some of those russian sorties don't even need to cross into ukrainian airspace. they can fire their cruise missiles from inside russian territory. this is what they're up against, western supplied missile systems, plus some old soviet—era stock. the ukrainians have shot down a number of russian helicopters and planes. russia has threatened to start targeting the supply of western weaponry. meanwhile, the pentagon has dismissed fears that some of these weapons could end up with criminals and terrorists. president putin has made it clear what he intends to do with any anti—aircraft missiles his forces captured from the ukrainians. the kremlin's position towards ukraine has barely moved

since the day this invasion began, two and a half weeks ago. "this war can stop when you want it to, you just need to lay down your arms, surrender, give in to all our demands and forget about being a part of western europe." frank gardner, bbc news. joining me now is the military analystjustin crump who is chief executive of the risk assessment company sibylline — and formerly a british army tank commander. i army tank commander. wonder if we could start, v some i wonder if we could start, we saw some analysis in that report but could you take us through the key events as far as it goes today full stop where are we?— events as far as it goes today full stop where are we? russia making advances to _ stop where are we? russia making advances to the _ stop where are we? russia making advances to the north _ stop where are we? russia making advances to the north and - stop where are we? russia making advances to the north and the - stop where are we? russia making | advances to the north and the east, they have been held up for a long time and they have a focus on donbas and the south—east for the art

including four want an engaging the ukrainian position around donbas since 2014 and strongly from the south to see the objectives they are trying to achieve, most successful and the south and east and slower growing in the north.— growing in the north. everybody is watchin: growing in the north. everybody is watching what _ growing in the north. everybody is watching what is _ growing in the north. everybody is watching what is taking _ growing in the north. everybody is watching what is taking place - growing in the north. everybody is watching what is taking place to i growing in the north. everybody is| watching what is taking place to the north and the capital kyiv. we have some pictures and people are used to seeing the images of the convoy, tell us what is going on here because they have been reports of it dispersing. it because they have been reports of it disersinu. .,, , because they have been reports of it disersinu. , , because they have been reports of it dis-uersin, , , , dispersing. it has been broken up toda for dispersing. it has been broken up today for steps — dispersing. it has been broken up today for stops some _ dispersing. it has been broken up today for stops some reports - dispersing. it has been broken up today for stops some reports of l today for stops some reports of it being stuck and surrounded by fields and people dying in vehicles where over exaggerated. there was a lot of russian force stuck north—west of kyiv, you can see the terrain is woody and constrained. the ukrainians did flood some of the fields and it has taken a while to

push for want to open their forces but this is part of building a ring around kyiv and pushing towards it on the south—west which they are gradually doing and cutting off routes west out of the city so only exist as to the south. you mention the terrain. _ exist as to the south. you mention the terrain. is _ exist as to the south. you mention the terrain, is it _ exist as to the south. you mention the terrain, is it to _ exist as to the south. you mention the terrain, is it to the _ exist as to the south. you mention the terrain, is it to the advantage l the terrain, is it to the advantage of the ukrainians sofia look at the defences and this is a satellite image. of the ukrainians able to use that to their advantage rather than the russians because it is unknown to them. , ., ., ., to them. they have a lot of advantage. _ to them. they have a lot of advantage, they _ to them. they have a lot of advantage, they are - to them. they have a lot of. advantage, they are defending to them. they have a lot of- advantage, they are defending the own homes and you can see the terrain that has been destroyed by russian artillery which respect on satellite and they defended the levants into satellite and they defended the leva nts into the satellite and they defended the levants into the city and as a tank commander you don't want to be here with infantry, it is hard to clear through these obstacles. you can

bring engineers forward to do it on artillery but all the time you are working with obstacles in a tank you are held up and vulnerable because thatis are held up and vulnerable because that is when infantry can close in on you and tanks are very weak from the side and the back, the almont at the front and the turret and when you are in close to lynn you are vulnerable to people alongside you it looked very rudimentary, how effective were the barricades. it always works. very easy—to—use as weapon system, very cheap to use and you can see how it flies above the top of the tank and firestone through the weaker armour so when you are at negotiating obstacles you are stuck and you have to clear them and that is when people can close

end and engage from the side and the top and rear so it is a very dangerous environment. a very effective and modern system, about $30,000 which seems expensive but to take out a $2.5 million tank is a good return and anyone can use one. you also have the javelin which is the longer range anti—tank weapon going about four orfive the longer range anti—tank weapon going about four or five kilometres, much more expensive, requires more training and that is great for open countryside, the ukrainians fired 300 of these and they have destroyed russian vehicles. i5 300 of these and they have destroyed russian vehicles.— russian vehicles. is that ukraine armoury and _ russian vehicles. is that ukraine armoury and weaponry _ russian vehicles. is that ukraine armoury and weaponry question | russian vehicles. is that ukraine i armoury and weaponry question but russian vehicles. is that ukraine - armoury and weaponry question but it is not supplied by the us? it is. is not supplied by the us? it is, shut down _ is not supplied by the us? it is, shut down by — is not supplied by the us? it is, shut down by western - is not supplied by the us? it 3 shutdown by western supplied shut down by western supplied system. we shut down by western supplied s stem. ~ . . shut down by western supplied s stem. ~ ., ., ., .,

shut down by western supplied sstem. ., ., ., . , system. we have a lot about cities bein: system. we have a lot about cities being encircle _ system. we have a lot about cities being encircle by _ system. we have a lot about cities being encircle by russian - system. we have a lot about cities| being encircle by russian troops so let's go to sumy, what is going on here? . , . let's go to sumy, what is going on here? ., , ., , here? that is a multiple launch rocket system _ here? that is a multiple launch rocket system and _ here? that is a multiple launch rocket system and the - here? that is a multiple launch rocket system and the field - here? that is a multiple launch i rocket system and the field guns here? that is a multiple launch . rocket system and the field guns a long barrelled almont field gun and the firing from within the city at targets in the city. sumy is a problem for the russians, holding up their supplies and they are finding it difficult to get through and some of the forces from kyiv have turned back to the rear to increase the pressure on the stone and another town to the north—east and both those need to be cleared by russia. those rockets, it looked very discomfort, they quite focused and targeted? discomfort, they quite focused and tarueted? ., ,, ., .,, discomfort, they quite focused and tarueted? ., ,, ., ., ., targeted? no, russia has a shortage of recision targeted? no, russia has a shortage of precision guided _ targeted? no, russia has a shortage of precision guided editions - targeted? no, russia has a shortage of precision guided editions because| of precision guided editions because of precision guided editions because of expense and unavailable chips, not necessarilyjust of expense and unavailable chips, not necessarily just targeting civilian areas not be asking more of that. they are slightly more precise

but they are less worried about collateral casualties. they have been hitting food supplies and when you look at the overall plan you can see they are doing ok against objectives and the big thing is the south—east north of donbas the yellow is the regular ukrainian forces but so much still to clear and the centre of the country where they have been held up and they have bitten off a lot of cities and at some point they have to start cleaning them to allow the forces to move on to the next one and mariupol is the ferocity we are looking at to fall. . , , is the ferocity we are looking at to fall. ., , , , ., . ., fall. crimea is highly strategic for russia, fall. crimea is highly strategic for russia. why? _ fall. crimea is highly strategic for russia, why? it _ fall. crimea is highly strategic for russia, why? it is _ fall. crimea is highly strategic for russia, why? it is very _ fall. crimea is highly strategic for russia, why? it is very importantj russia, why? it is very important historically _ russia, why? it is very important historically to _ russia, why? it is very important historically to russia _ russia, why? it is very important historically to russia as - russia, why? it is very important historically to russia as a - russia, why? it is very important historically to russia as a port. it was always russian but it has a strategic location in the blacks and

the most important naval base in sebastopol and it has been an armoury for russia and the forces of their and in the east so it is no surprise they are doing better, they have what the ukrainians for eight years and have been operational, forces from belarus thought they were going on exercises and found out they weren't and they are very much less experienced in working together and they have taken longer together and they have taken longer to get going. we together and they have taken longer to get going-— to get going. we have had reports of seniorfigures— to get going. we have had reports of senior figures and _ to get going. we have had reports of senior figures and the _ to get going. we have had reports of senior figures and the russian - senior figures and the russian military being killed. haifa senior figures and the russian military being killed. how much does that damage — military being killed. how much does that damage the _ military being killed. how much does that damage the russian _ military being killed. how much does that damage the russian side? - military being killed. how much does that damage the russian side? it - military being killed. how much does that damage the russian side? it is l that damage the russian side? it is not great to lose commanders and thatis not great to lose commanders and that is a combination of reasons because they are going for want and others because they are staying too far back and the russian communication system as not working as advertised. they have encrypted mobile phones that do not work and

thatis mobile phones that do not work and that is allowing russian commands to be antiseptic and using a command post breaks your whole ability to coordinate. armies are greater than the sum of their parts, as soon as you start disintegrating them into small groups of people with no coordination they will struggle and thatis coordination they will struggle and that is one of the things that has been affecting the russians though it is too early to write them off, they are still grinding forward and continue to do so. thank you. more than two and a half million people have now fled ukraine and the humanitarian situation is stretching resources to the limit in several countries. at least a million and a half of the refugees have made their way to poland. poland's parliament has passed emergency legislation that allows ukrainians fleeing the war the right to live and work in poland for eighteen months. the refugees will receive

the right to access free health care and education, as well as social benefits. we can talk now to our correspondent adam easton who's in warsaw. take us through more detail about this emergency legislation, has it been welcomed? it this emergency legislation, has it been welcomed?— been welcomed? it has received su ort been welcomed? it has received sunport from — been welcomed? it has received support from all— been welcomed? it has received support from all political- been welcomed? it has received| support from all political parties, there is overwhelmingly sympathy hidden poland for the ukrainians, the refugees and against russia and the refugees and against russia and the war in ukraine. there is a real bond the polish feel with the neighbours ukraine and they have performed extraordinary feats as a polish society in terms of welcoming

ukraine because the number of refugees is actually 1.6 million into poland. we think probably about 1 million refugees are still an poland because have left and gone on to other countries. this legislation was crucial because this is the biggest refugee crisis poland has faced since the second world war, the numbers are overwhelming and what this legislation does as legalised is the stay and right to work of these people who come in across the border, some without documents so they are not registered and this allows them to have access to social benefits, gives them a payment and allows them to register and get a national identification number to access free health care

and also send their children to schools because most of the people, 90% of people fleeing the war and women and children. it thought that may be as much as 500,000 children of school age crossed into poland and 24,000 ukrainian schoolchildren are attending polish schools in the short time since the war started. that gives them the comfort they can do that, it also allows ukrainians whose spouses are not ukrainian citizens the same rights and as i was mentioning the phenomenal response from polish society, thousands of polish people opened up their houses to put up ukrainians who have nowhere to stay and this bill gives them some some financial support to cover those extra costs.

thank you. as millions of women and children flee across ukraine's borders in the face of russian aggression, concerns are growing over how to protect the most vulnerable from being targeted by human traffickers. shawn kohl is a director at the international justice mission. at the international thank at the international you forjoining us. human trafficking, thank you forjoining us. human trafficking, as this going on in the time of warand trafficking, as this going on in the time of war and aggression taking place in ukraine at the moment mr mark? , ., , ., ., mark? there is a risk when you have millions of individuals _ mark? there is a risk when you have millions of individuals that _ mark? there is a risk when you have millions of individuals that are - millions of individuals that are extremely vulnerable coming through and large waves then that is the potential for human trafficking and we already know it exists, and strong numbers between romania and

the uk and from poland and the uk and other areas are so it is really important that we have good tools available and resources for individuals as they are crossing, communications for example and some cards and proper reporting mechanisms. i would say yes it already existed, and this exacerbates the possibility that there would be human trafficking. women and children already as a default vulnerable spot but in terms of who the traffickers would likely be targeting, can you tell us more about that. it be targeting, can you tell us more about that-— about that. it is six trafficking and labour— about that. it is six trafficking and labour trafficking - about that. it is six trafficking - and labour trafficking well-known and labour trafficking well—known and labour trafficking well—known and established on the flows from eastern european countries to western europe and i would say for labour it would be men typically and

women into labour or sex trafficking and it is important to note people with means at coming through diving a car and now daily bottles and more blue—collar workers coming through that mightjust have a few weeks and so the critical moment is going to be any coming weeks so when you have large populations in a refugee centre or church or ngo that are doing fantastic work, if you are staying there for a long time it is hard to find work and then your risk tolerance increases dramatically the longer you add in one place and that is when we note that other vulnerable people that could be taken or recruited. it is not what you see in the movies, not people and chains but it is reallyjust the

promise of a better future, the and chains but it is reallyjust the promise of a betterfuture, the hope that the traffickers often play upon, individuals that want and need some support and want a job so that is usually how we see it. for some support and want a 'ob so that is usually how we see it._ is usually how we see it. for those workin: is usually how we see it. for those working with _ is usually how we see it. for those working with refugees _ is usually how we see it. for those working with refugees whether - is usually how we see it. for those working with refugees whether at l is usually how we see it. for those i working with refugees whether at the border or refugee centres or churches, what are the signs that potentially there is somebody recruiting people for human trafficking? it recruiting people for human trafficking?— recruiting people for human trafficking? recruiting people for human traffickina? , ., ., ~ ., trafficking? it is important to know who has access _ trafficking? it is important to know who has access to _ trafficking? it is important to know who has access to refugees, i trafficking? it is important to know who has access to refugees, either online or physically in—person. no one should ever take their passport, thatis one should ever take their passport, that is really important to know and it is a means of coercion of the traffickers use against individuals. it didn't need to get into cars unless they have been vetted to be extent possible by a friend or another organisation because if you

do not know that person you do not know whether the outcome or end is going to be solet is important to have information, important for ngos and refugee centres to have signs of trafficking which would be recruiting, strangers, sing you a job in western countries we would see and always keep your passport on you, take a photo of your passport so you have a back—up as well. you, take a photo of your passport so you have a back-up as well. thank ou ve so you have a back-up as well. thank you very much _ so you have a back-up as well. thank you very much for _ so you have a back-up as well. thank you very much for that _ so you have a back-up as well. thank you very much for that important i you very much for that important discussion, director of the central and eastern europe international justice mission. you are watching bbc news. more coming up concerning events in ukraine and neighbouring countries. the top story is that

talks have been taking place with france, not particularly optimistic regarding the response from putin. hello. this beautiful image you see behind me is a classic sunshine and showers sky, we saw many images similar to this being sent in by our weather watchers on saturday. puffs of white cloud skittering across bright blue skies occasionally. then those clouds tower high enough to drop some showers. sunday is going to be a very similar looking day unsettled, breezy with showers sweeping across the uk thanks to this area of low pressure. at the moment, though, the low is pushing through a more organised weather front, so there will be some more persistent rain moving from west to east overnight into the small hours of sunday and then the centre of the low across the republic of ireland, pushing its way northwards through the small hours. very windy for many of our irish sea coasts, thanks to the wind, the cloud and the rain, though we have got

a mild nightahead. and then through sunday daytime, perhaps the biggest question is how quickly this weather front will sweep away eastwards. how heavy any rain tied in with it may be. and then behind this front, which i think will make for some quite grey skies, perhaps first thing across some eastern counties on sunday bring some patchy rain. it looks a lot brighter, but this low centre will drag in some areas of showers. at the moment, looks like perhaps wales and the southwest could see some heavier ones. we could see some, though just about anywhere. it will be blustery where we have showers generally quite gusty winds across the uk throughout the day. the showers could bring some hail and thunder. they're going to be quite frequent, i think, close to the low center across northern ireland and western scotland. highs of 11 or12 degrees for sunday. and then we look on into the week ahead. and in contrast, actually for many of us, it's a relatively drier story throughout the week ahead. high pressure is always going to be trying to build in monday. we've got the remnants of sunday's lowjust sitting across scotland. it will still make for quite a windy story here.

also for northern and eastern reaches of northern ireland. chance of some showers for northern ireland early on, but it's scotland that tends to get targeted through monday, perhaps a few for northern england. some brighter intervals, though in between times and some drier weather as well. getting a lot milder, though warm feeling if you like 13 or 14 degrees across england and wales with sunshine on monday and then much of the uk, the week ahead is going to bring plenty of dry weather. but wednesday looks like our wettest day, with some pretty heavy rain across a central swathe of the uk.

this is bbc world news. massed russian troops and armour are pressing closer to kyiv, on the seventeenth day of the invasion of ukraine. british military intelligence says the bulk of russian forces are now within 25 kilometres of the centre of the capital. russian forces have made some further gains in the south of the country. the ukrainian authorities say moscow has captured the eastern outskirts of the besieged port of mariupol. officials in paris say vladimir putin showed no willingness to end the war during a phone conversation with the french president and german chancellor this morning. emmanuel macron and olaf scholz again urged the russian leader to introduce an immediate ceasefire. poland's parliament has passed

emergency legislation that allows ukrainians fleeing the war the right to live and work in poland for 18 months. the refugees will receive the right to access free health care and education, as well as social benefit furtherfighting has been taking place outside the ukrainian capital, kyiv, where russian forces are around 25 kilometers from the centre of the city. british military intelligence believes those russian troops have been regrouping, possibly for a fresh offensive in the coming days. a military airfield was destroyed this morning near kyiv. the latest information about russian positions is shown here in red. outside the capital, the cities of chernihiv, sumy, and kharkiv continue to be shelled. while the ukrainian military say the eastern outskirts of the beseiged city of mariupol have been captured by russian troops. the city has endured

days of shelling. president zelensky has said russian and ukrainian negotiating teams have started discussing what he called �*concrete topics rather than exchanging ultimatums'. meanwhile, the french president emmanuel macron and germany's olaf scholz have held talks with president putin. my colleague yalda hakim is in lviv — and has more on what's been happening across the country. the last 24 is, things have intensified here in us if you look at a map of the country, you can see russian presence and bombardment in the north and east and in the south,

and we can talk more about city of mariupol soon but if you look at the worst of the country, in the city called lutsk, we've heard about ukrainian soldiers killed, no word about civilians but that does make people in all the verve very nervous because up until now, that part of the country has been untouched. —— people in lviv are nervous. people are desperately trying to protect monuments year, ancient monuments, the greek gods that exist, this is a world unesco heritage site so people are very concerned and it remained untouched in the second world war so they are worried, very worried about russian bombardment and the kinds of scenes we are seeing in other parts of the country and in and around kyiv, for example, that it will happen to lviv, so this is a city on

edge but they are people who have been arriving here from voices like mariupol, the besieged city, where we are hearing devastating stories and i'vejust we are hearing devastating stories and i've just heard a we are hearing devastating stories and i'vejust heard a report we are hearing devastating stories and i've just heard a report that is coming up from the international community of the red cross and one of their workers says there is no electricity, water or gas supply meaning no means for heating. last night was —15 celsius and they were saying children are incredibly scared and are staying in the underground bunker that managed to bring people from the city into their underground bunker, this is their underground bunker, this is the icrc and keep the children they are and they are saying many parents are and they are saying many parents are reporting are running out of food for their children so the situation there is desperate, bodies lying in the street, thousands of bodies we are hearing lying in the street and know where to bury them, mass graves, we are hearing about as well so a desperate duration and report in the last hour or so that

the eastern outskirts of the city have been taken over by russian forces and frankly many people say that one mariupol falls, it really is a doomed situation because it could cut off this country from the sea. this is in many ways a country that a lot of trade takes place from the southern port in odesa and mariupol, so if it is cut off, it makes the country land lots. —— makes the country land lots. —— makes the country land lots. —— makes the country land law it. —— makes the country land locked. in russia, the kremlin continues to try to control its narrative for the russian public about what it calls a special military operation. in the last three weeks, thousands of people have been detained for protesting against the war. but there is strong support among some for the reassertion of russia's influence in the region. our moscow correspondent, caroline davies, reports. upbeat music scroll through russian—run social media, and these are the sorts

of videos you might see. upbeat russian patriotism, as the country becomes more isolated. in russia, even cheese can be political. the owner of this factory posted a video on social media praising president putin. his business wouldn't exist if the russian leader hadn't put sanctions on european cheese. some are already bound economically to the kremlin's success. translation: in 2011, - i was going out with a poster saying, "putin, go away." i didn't support the president then. i was thinking our country was going the wrong way. but in 2014 he returned us crimea, started protecting russian products, started supporting agriculture. i changed my mind and started supporting him. but signs of support don't only exist on screens. since we've been driving around the outskirts of moscow, we have now seen several vehicles with z markings on.

some have just been drawn in the dirt on the back of them. others have been marked in tape. all of them, a sign of support for the russian army in ukraine. the letter z, which first appeared on the side of russian military vehicles, is now evident across russia — from filmed candlelit gatherings, to some buses and trams, like here in suburban moscow. "i support this," says vyacheslav. "it's our country, it's our army." "i'm positive about this," says inna, "we must support our own, regardless of who's right and who's wrong." what's been really interesting, speaking to people here, is how often the same expressions come up. the sort of expressions you quite often see on social media as hashtags, or being said on the state media too. it's also worth saying that there were people here who said that they didn't agree with the z signs, but those people didn't want to go on camera. and the propaganda... many who used to protest now only feel able to speak publicly once

they've left the country. a few days ago, mark and his family escaped to nepal. he is trying to speak to loved ones in russia about the conflict. many of my relatives were having doubts after we spoke to them. but later, they watch tv again and told me, "well, no, i don't think you're right. well, i believe putin, he is very powerful. there are enemies everywhere." i just can't understand how they can believe it, but they do. and if you tell someone the same thing, over and over again, it becomes like truth. as russia shuts off independent media, there is less to challenge the kremlin's narrative, and the patriotic drumbeat telling russians to support president putin is only getting louder. carolyn davis, bbc news, moscow. let's talk to uliana pavlova, a ukrainian—russian freelance journalist in moscow.

—— let's talk to uliana pavlova, a ukrainian—russian freelance journalist. can you remind us what president putin has told the russian people, a special military operation is? the official position of president vladimir putin is this is a special military operation in ukraine. this was meant to be a response to ukraine's security guarantees to russia and shortly after the special military operation started, you could see billboards in all the parts of russia with images of vladimir and saying they left us no choice. the official messaging is that russia tried to negotiate diplomatically and was refused to work this out and its conditions,

and therefore russia had to do the special military operation and just a few days after the invasion, actually, there was a law that was passed that gave you 15 years in prison to media organisations and anyone speaking out against war and calling war and invasion next —— instead of special military operation. people who have disagreed with this have moved away and a lot ofjournalists have moved away as well. of journalists have moved away as well. ., ., , , ., , of journalists have moved away as well. ., ., ,, ., , ., well. how have russians reacted now that sanctions — well. how have russians reacted now that sanctions are _ well. how have russians reacted now that sanctions are beginning - well. how have russians reacted now that sanctions are beginning to i well. how have russians reacted now that sanctions are beginning to hit i that sanctions are beginning to hit them? are they questioning things more as mac what is them the most? we are on our 17th day now and russians have definite the feeling the negative consequences of sanctions. i think that people are genuinely worried, they are worried about their survival inside the

country and as i said before, some russians were able to leave country but not everyone has an opportunity to do so and now that russia is also cracking down with censorship laws, i think people even those who are questioning the official position, are now more scared to express it so i think people in russia now feel very skilled and confused, and i think also still short by what is happening. think also still short by what is happening-— think also still short by what is hauuenin, , happening. just picking up on your oint on happening. just picking up on your point on official— happening. just picking up on your point on official positions, - happening. just picking up on your point on official positions, how i point on official positions, how much support... i don't know if this is discussed openly but how much support does mr putin have around him from his general, so to speak was maci him from his general, so to speak was ma- ., , him from his general, so to speak was ma- ~ , , him from his general, so to speak was ma ~ , , , ., was mac i think this is the question that is actually _ was mac i think this is the question that is actually hard _ was mac i think this is the question that is actually hard to _ was mac i think this is the question that is actually hard to answer i that is actually hard to answer because if you look at the official

position and the polls, it seems like nobody is there to really challenge president putin however now we have in some russian oligarchs speaking out against the special military operation publicly however i don't know if we can genuinely say that there is a very strong edition in his inside circle and if there is, it has not been made public. if and if there is, it has not been made public-— and if there is, it has not been made ublic. , ., , , made public. if you can 'ust finish for us, made public. if you can 'ust finish for me i made public. if you can 'ust finish for us, we've had i made public. if you can 'ust finish for us, we've had lots i made public. if you can just finish for us, we've had lots of- made public. if you can just finish| for us, we've had lots of sanctions that have been taken out against russians, oligarchs, abroad. do they have much sway over vladimir putin? i guess that is the question everyone is trying to answer right now. eversince everyone is trying to answer right now. ever since this operation started, president vladimir putin's circle was getting smaller and smaller, and i think the oligarchs

have definitely been feeling the negative consequences of the western sanctions, and there could be possibly some discussions among them however it is hard to say if then they can actually do anything to stop this and how or whether they were willing to oppose president putin. . ., were willing to oppose president putin. . ~' ,, , were willing to oppose president putin. . ., ,, , . were willing to oppose president putin. ., ~ , . ., ., putin. thank you very much for that. thank you- — on the subject of oligarchs... the premier league here in england has disqualified chelsea owner roman abramovich from being a director of the club after he was sanctioned. lizzie greenwood—hughes is in our sports centre in salford. tells more about today's decision by the premier league. it is tells more about today's decision by the premier league.— the premier league. it is part of many developments _ the premier league. it is part of many developments today i the premier league. it is part of| many developments today which the premier league. it is part of i many developments today which i will talk to you about it it's

interesting listening to your guest now because part of the point of the sanctions is notjust to make the lives uncomfortable but to hope they then might tell vladimir putin that he wants to reconsider his thought because he is making their lives more difficult. anyway, as you say, roman abramovich has been disqualified as director of chelsea club. it should make a huge amount of difference because roman abramovich has distanced himself from the club, giving it to the charitable arm of chelsea, they can play and they can play out their fixtures but normally dislocation of an owner would trigger sale of the club. roman abramovich is already trying to sell chelsea but he is not allowed to at the moment. the government had made a statement today saying they are open to a sale of the club and we consider an application for a licence to allow that to happen. it says, we are absent clear that any such licence would not allow roman armour broker —— roman abramovich to benefit from

the sale. the two parties are negotiating and part of those negotiations have helped restrictions on chelsea's licensing, operating licence which has been tweaked because they can now receive prize money from existing compositions which include premier league payments which presumably includes the podcast payments and champions league because teams and clubs get paid ask per round that they get through and all the time in they get through and all the time in the premier league, they will receive income from that and they are allowed to spend more on match day costs so chelsea so far since the sanctions have only played one match which was away, they play tomorrow newcastle at home and instead of £500,000 to put on the match day, they can now spend 900,000 pounds and there's also been another development today and that is that one of chelsea's kit sponsors, hyundai, have suspended theirsponsorship sponsors, hyundai, have suspended their sponsorship and said their logo will be removed from the kit as soon as physically possible which also follows the telecom giant three

who have pulled out their shirt sponsorship deal so we will have to wait to see what the kit looks like as soon as they take to the pitch at stamford bridge. pare as soon as they take to the pitch at stamford bridge.— as soon as they take to the pitch at stamford bridge. are we seeing more su ort in stamford bridge. are we seeing more support in terms _ stamford bridge. are we seeing more support in terms of— stamford bridge. are we seeing more support in terms of fixtures _ stamford bridge. are we seeing more support in terms of fixtures for i support in terms of fixtures for ukraine? , ., ., . , ukraine? yes, one of the nicer shows a supporting — ukraine? yes, one of the nicer shows a supporting seem — ukraine? yes, one of the nicer shows a supporting seem today _ ukraine? yes, one of the nicer shows a supporting seem today is _ ukraine? yes, one of the nicer shows a supporting seem today is actually i a supporting seem today is actually brighton, brighton play in blue and white, they were playing liverpool at home today and they, as you can see there, wearing blue and yellow. it is their kit but it is the third away strip and they were playing at home so they should not have playing in blue and yellow and they said it was deliberately in solidarity for ukraine and also everton have started their own campaign to raise funds, they are going to contribute half £1 million to the disasters emergency committee ukraine appeal and also in the world of rugby, of course, rugby union, six nations of the penultimate weekend and before the penultimate weekend and before the england and ireland game, twickenham had a ukraine flag flying from its roof and they also had some

applause and a message again of solidarity to you crane before the match started. moldova has warned of a humanitarian catastrophe, if the country's already saturated resources are overwhelmed by refugees from ukraine. the number of people fleeing the war in ukraine is so high that the moldovan government says one in eight children is now a refugee. our europe correspondent lucy williamson reports. sometimes, the long, cold journey from ukraine ends here — in the emergency department of moldova's ignatenko children's hospital. within the last week, alexei has fled a war, left family and is living in a new country as a refugee. a high temperature almost counts as normal. around a dozen refugee children arrive here every day, often suffering from dehydration or breathing problems. tanya came straight here from the border. her daughter sofia caught pneumonia

on theirjourney from dnipro, in central ukraine. she spent two days in intensive care. "i am completely broken," she told me. "they were bombing everywhere. "now, i'm reading in the news that they bombed a shoe factory "and people's homes. "it's horrible. "it's why everyone's leaving." every eighth child in moldova is now a refugee. and as the fighting creeps closer to moldova's border, the numbers keep rising. fewer than half the refugees arriving here actually stay on, but that's still enough to have increased moldova's population by 4% in a fortnight — the equivalent of 2.5 million people arriving in the uk. the government says they are running out of buildings to house them. our only hope is that the war will stop, the frontline will stay where it is — this is what we hope. even without any dramatic changes of the frontline, we are approaching a breaking point, but if there's a dramatic implosion and fighting around odesa, that will be a complete catastrophe for the humanitarian situation here and for that,

you cannot plan, you cannot prepare. it would just be completely overwhelming. charities say it's already proving difficult to keep track of some children fleeing ukraine. our main concern is that we've got 100,000 children trapped in the orphanage system in ukraine itself and no tracking system to monitor where those children are at any one time. we've had verified by local authorities who have asked us to help receive 150 children through one of the border crossings. between them leaving that orphanage and the time that we anticipated they would be at the crossing, all 150 children have gone missing. we have no idea where they are. border checks across the region are minimalfor those fleeing the war but protection rests on making sure the vulnerable are visible, because it is hard to protect them if they are not. lucy williamson, bbc news, moldova.

an economic advisor to ukraine's president says he is "shocked and disappointed" that the uk is still accepting russian oil and diesel. the business secretary, kwasi kwarteng, announced earlier this week that the uk would phase out imports of russian oil by the end of the year. our business correspondent, simon browning has been giving my colleague ben brown more details. the ukrainian government said they were shocked and had a sense of disbelief this morning when they found out that a tanker containing russian diesel was sailing river tames to a distribution centre close to london. —— the river thames. they are still buying russian oil and gas for the economy in the uk. we have

seen the us banning them outright straightaway in the uk will stop importing russian oil and gas from the end of the year, from the end of december but the uk's energy mix is complex and it is forgot to all of a suddenjust remove complex and it is forgot to all of a sudden just remove russian complex and it is forgot to all of a suddenjust remove russian oil and gas immediately so this anchor arrive into the uk this morning, i spoke to an economic adviser to president zielinski who discussed his disappointment that it arrived. —— to president zelensky. i'm disappointed. that is why i'm asking the british people to put as much pressure — the british people to put as much pressure as possible to those who still continue to buy russian energy resources — still continue to buy russian energy resources. it is damning uk right now _ resources. it is damning uk right now. .,

now. now, he highlighted their the oil has arrived _ now. now, he highlighted their the oil has arrived in _ now. now, he highlighted their the oil has arrived in the _ now. now, he highlighted their the oil has arrived in the uk _ now. now, he highlighted their the oil has arrived in the uk this i oil has arrived in the uk this morning. that set out from saint berg last week. they still bile the oil and gas. the government re—evaluate the... with petrol and diesel in the cars. you mentioned the european union and united dates. he sanctions on russian energy supplies in particular. there have been a lot of discussions on importing oil and gas to hurt vladimir putin and his economy and the most awful way.

the uk brings about 2%. 8% oil and 4% natural gas. by the end of 2022, we will stop bringing this product is the uk government and department for business looked sent supplies from other countries. in the eu, much more difficult. they are much more reliant on eu gas and energy. 30% of oil is huge numbers. to find new supplies that can fill those. the finnish prime minister discussed this, said it is a change that needs to be... what is this doing to

global energy prices? goal, op. we've never seen petrol and diesel prices where they are at the moment, on average, more than £160 per litre, some places £170. and joe biden said this was so difficult for us drivers, huge problems and for at 75 cents per litre in the us are big changes everywhere. that was simon browning talking to ben brown earlier. we will show you some pictures from a border crossing between ukraine and poland and some of the work volunteers are doing, just handing out sweet. as you can see there, a little girl choosing a sweet for herself, very happy, nice to see a smile at the border, we've seen lots of trauma, haven't we, from those border crossings but that is the

border crossing, and a second suite, made her day i think. that a second or even a third was mick that is the border crossing between poland and ukraine. just to remind you of one of our lines today, concerning the story that is taking place in ukraine and listening to president zelensky earlier at a news conference, he updated some of the numbers of deaths, the troops again. the troops had died. and that was a figure from friday. we weren't able to verify the claims but those were his not going backwards earlier in that press conference. in the meantime, stay with us if you like to get in touch, i'm on twitter. my

twitter handle... plenty more coming up twitter handle... plenty more coming up shortly, don't go away. hello. this beautiful image you see behind me is a classic sunshine and showers sky, we saw many images similar to this being sent in by our weather watchers on saturday. puffs of white cloud skittering across bright blue skies occasionally. then those clouds tower high enough to drop some showers. sunday is going to be a very similar looking day unsettled, breezy with showers sweeping across the uk thanks to this area of low pressure. at the moment, though, the low is pushing through a more organised weather front, so there will be some more persistent rain moving from west to east overnight into the small hours of sunday and then the centre of the low across the republic of ireland, pushing its way northwards through the small hours. very windy for many of our irish sea coasts, thanks to the wind,

the cloud and the rain, though we have got a mild nightahead. and then through sunday daytime, perhaps the biggest question is how quickly this weather front will sweep away eastwards. how heavy any rain tied in with it may be. and then behind this front, which i think will make for some quite grey skies, perhaps first thing across some eastern counties on sunday bring some patchy rain. it looks a lot brighter, but this low centre will drag in some areas of showers. at the moment, looks like perhaps wales and the southwest could see some heavier ones. we could see some, though just about anywhere. it will be blustery where we have showers generally quite gusty winds across the uk throughout the day. the showers could bring some hail and thunder. they're going to be quite frequent, i think, close to the low center across northern ireland and western scotland. highs of 11 or12 degrees for sunday. and then we look on into the week ahead. and in contrast, actually for many of us, it's a relatively drier story throughout the week ahead. high pressure is always going to be trying to build in monday. we've got the remnants of sunday's lowjust sitting across scotland. it will still make for quite a windy story here. also for northern and eastern reaches of northern ireland. chance of some showers for northern ireland early on, but it's scotland that tends to get targeted through monday,

perhaps a few for northern england. some brighter intervals, though in between times and some drier weather as well. getting a lot milder, though warm feeling if you like 13 or 14 degrees across england and wales with sunshine on monday and then much of the uk, the week ahead is going to bring plenty of dry weather. but wednesday looks like our wettest day, with some pretty heavy rain across a central swathe of the uk.

this is bbc news — more attacks in ukraine — with large numbers of russian forces nowjust around 20 kilometers from the centre of the capital. barricades on the outskirts of kyiv, where they're preparing for any assault, possibly within days. we hearfrom the young ukrainian recruits at the checkpoints they'll be defending. i feel a bit scared because no one wants to die, even if it is for your country. a 3—way phone call between president macron, the russian leader and the german chancellor is described as �*difficult�* — with the french saying putin did not show any willingness to end the war. poland's parliament has passed emergency legislation that allows ukrainians fleeing the war the right to live and work in poland for eighteen months.