this is bbc news broadcasting in the uk and around the globe i'm our top stories: as russian strikes continue near western cities — ukraine says russian missiles have struck a military base near the polish border. translation: the yavoriv facility came under— translation: the yavoriv facility came under attack _ translation: the yavoriv facility came under attack 79 _ translation: the yavoriv facility came under attack 79 people - translation: the yavoriv facility came under attack 79 people have been injured out on hospital and nine heroic people died. poland's president tells the bbc that if russia use weapons of mass destruction in ukraine —it would likely change nato�*s stance on the conflict translation: if he uses weapons of mass destruction, _ translation: if he uses weapons of mass destruction, it _ translation: if he uses weapons of mass destruction, it will _ translation: if he uses weapons of mass destruction, it will be _ translation: if he uses weapons of mass destruction, it will be a - translation: if he uses weapons of mass destruction, it will be a game l mass destruction, it will be a game changer in the whole thing. because it will be dangerous not only for

ukraine, the central europe, but for the whole world. satellite imagery shows some of the damage in the city of mariupol — with claims russian troops are stopping people from leaving. here the government announces a scheme to allow those fleeing the war to come to the uk, offering £350 a month for taking in ukrainian refugees. and hitting the right note — memories of the ukrainian city of kharkiv — years before the war. hello and welcome to bbc news. ukraine says 30 russian rockets have struck a military base in the far west of the country,

close to the border with poland. nine people are reported to have been killed, and dozens injured. the facility at yavoriv has previously been used forjoint exercises with nato, and ukraine says foreign instructors have worked there — but it's not clear if any were present when the attack happened. it comes a day after russia warned that it considered weapons convoys to ukraine from the west to be legitimate military targets. the mayor of ivano—frankivsk , another city in western ukraine , says its airport has come under renewed russian attack. air raid sirens have also sounded in lviv, a hub for people fleeing the conflict. the latest information about russian positions is shown here in red. russia's invasion force has advanced towards several ukrainian cities, with more intense fighting reported in the northern outskirts of the capital, kyiv. the ukrainian military says the eastern outskirts of the beseiged city of mariupol have been captured by russian troops. the city has endured days of shelling. jon donnison reports.

in lviv, the sirens went off at 3.30 in the morning, eight missiles fired at a training facility about 25 west of the city. it is not far from the polish border. 0n the outskirts of kyiv, the roads are still open, but the fear is the russians are coming. they're doing what they can do try and slow them down. at this checkpoint, all the ukrainian soldiers are volunteers, given just three days' training. some of them teenagers, like 18—year—old dmitro, until a few weeks ago an economics student. i feel a bit scared because no—one wants to die. even if it's for your country. just north—west of kyiv, a ukrainian shows off a russian tank. destroyed, he says, with a british weapon. this one shot was from this beautiful thing. and i want to say a big thank you to our british comrades helping us.

the ukrainians are putting fierce resistance, but it's believed the bulk of russian forces have now regrouped just 15 miles from the capital. but in his latest video address, ukraine's president was again defiant. translation: the russian | occupiers cannot conquer us. they do not have such strength. there is no such spirit. they are based only on violence, only on terror, only on weapons, of which they have many. but the occupiers have no natural basis for normal life so that people can feel happy and dream. they are organically incapable of making life normal. wherever russia has come to a foreign land dreams are impossible. irpin, a town described as the gateway to the capital, has seen some of the heaviest fighting.

as the russians edged closer, efforts to get civilians out have stepped up. a senior ukrainian minister said around 13,000 people were evacuated from cities on saturday, almost twice the number as the day before. but she said the southern port city of mariupol remains under russian siege, with nobody able to get out despite deteriorating conditions, with no power and little food and water. in the south—eastern city of melitopol, there were protests from ukrainians who say russian forces have kidnapped the mayor. and all the while the number of refugees fleeing ukraine continues to rise — to more than 2.6 million, according to the united nations. jon donnison, bbc news. more now on that missile attack on the ukrainian military training base in yavoriv. foreign instructors have previously worked there

training ukrainian forces — but it's not clear if any were present when the missiles struck. details of the attack on yavoriv were given by local officials in lviv. take a listen. translation: according to preliminary _ translation: according to preliminary data, _ translation: according to preliminary data, more - translation: according to j preliminary data, more than translation: according to . preliminary data, more than 30 missiles were fired. the air defence system worked and the number was shot down. the yavoriv facility came under attack. at the moment, 57 people are known to have been injured and are in hospitals. nine heroic people died and this is officially confirmed data. let's get the latest now from my colleague yalda hakim, who's in the city of lviv in western ukraine. what is going on there behind you? i will give you an update on the military air base first, just to give you a sense. it is about 50 kilometres from where we are, 25

kilometres from where we are, 25 kilometres from where we are, 25 kilometres from the polish border. it does feel like increasingly this war is getting dangerously close to where we are here in lviv. it is considered in the region of the surrounding area around the centre of lviv. where i am today at this church, it was sunday service for the fallen troops. president zelensky, in the last 2a hours has said in the last 2a hours, 1300 ukrainian forces have died, so many family members and local community are coming here this morning to remember the dead and think about what is happening across the country in the places like the north, east and the south of the country where the fighting is most fierce. in the last 2a hours we have had more and more air raid sirens. just now we were forced underground because the air raid sirens went off twice in the space of half an hour. in the early hours of this morning when the

military base in yavoriv was targeted just 50 kilometres from here, we had an air raid sirens and we were underground for about three orfour hours. it we were underground for about three or four hours. it does feel like increasingly this is a place that is very much on edge. we increasingly this is a place that is very much on edge.— increasingly this is a place that is very much on edge. we can see people behind ou very much on edge. we can see people behind you so — very much on edge. we can see people behind you so obviously _ very much on edge. we can see people behind you so obviously people - very much on edge. we can see people behind you so obviously people are - behind you so obviously people are still moving around the city, but obviously it must be incredibly difficult times?— obviously it must be incredibly difficult times? yes, what you are seeinu difficult times? yes, what you are seeing just _ difficult times? yes, what you are seeing just behind _ difficult times? yes, what you are seeing just behind me _ difficult times? yes, what you are seeing just behind me is - difficult times? yes, what you are seeing just behind me is the - seeing just behind me is the entrance to the underground bunker of the church, it is the crypt of the church but it doubles down as a bunker. so when the sirens went off, people who work within the church encouraged people to get underground. when the sirens go off, it disrupts people. i met a young people under the he works at the

local book shop here. she rushed over and it really has disrupted everyday life, even though the bombs are not happening in the shelling isn't happening necessarily, lviv remains the hub for tens of thousands fleeing the fighting elsewhere but the military weapons coming over the borderfrom poland and bordering countries is a legitimate target. the russians have said this in the last 48 hours. in many ways people were waiting for strikes like this to take place and seven have taken place in western ukraine. . ., ~ ,, , seven have taken place in western ukraine. . ., ~ , . ukraine. . thank you very much indeed. let's _ ukraine. . thank you very much indeed. let's go _ ukraine. . thank you very much indeed. let's go to _ ukraine. . thank you very much indeed. let's go to our - ukraine. . thank you very much l indeed. let's go to our diplomatic correspondent, james landale. we have heard that michael gove has said the attack on the cranie

military centre near the polish border is a serious escalation. we have had the polish president saying if there was a chemical weapons attack by the russians, nato would have to seriously think about their involvement, is nato more and more likely looking like they have to get involved? mat likely looking like they have to get involved? ., ., , , ., likely looking like they have to get involved? ., ., , ., ., involved? not on the basis of what we have seen _ involved? not on the basis of what we have seen today. _ involved? not on the basis of what we have seen today. but _ involved? not on the basis of what we have seen today. but the - involved? not on the basis of what we have seen today. but the risk. involved? not on the basis of what| we have seen today. but the risk of it happening grows. the risk of what we have seen in this attack, the shift west in this conflict. the primary concern would be a mistake, miscalculation. if you are having a tax and targets on ukraine just 15 miles from the board of the mistakes can happen and missiles can go awry. if one of those missiles lands in poland and causes death and devastation, what does nato do then? that is the first concern. the

second concern is, is russia going to escalate this substantially by deliberately targeting perhaps weapons convoys, weapons deliveries coming from the west through poland and into ukraine? if it targets those over the border inside poland than that would be considered attack on nato, the article five provision would be triggered, and that would warrant a nato military response and then he would have a substantial escalation. we haven't got to that point yet. this threat that came from the russian deputy foreign minister saying these convoys of western arms that are coming into ukraine were legitimate targets, what he didn't say is whether they were legitimate targets in ukraine or outside. the point was, he was trying to threaten, suggest that it might do and therefore escalate the threat against nato. as we have seen

through this conflict, the russians warning about nuclear use, chemical weapons, biological, this is the latest stage of that.— weapons, biological, this is the latest stage of that. what do you think about: 's _ latest stage of that. what do you think about: 's : _ latest stage of that. what do you think about:'s : 's _ latest stage of that. what do you think about:'s : 's prime - latest stage of that. what do you think about:'s : 's prime minister think about:'s : �*s prime minister saying if there was the use of chemical weapons, saying if there was the use of chemicalweapons, it saying if there was the use of chemical weapons, it would be a direct attack on poland? what chemicalweapons, it would be a direct attack on poland? what he said is that _ direct attack on poland? what he said is that it _ direct attack on poland? what he said is that it would _ direct attack on poland? what he said is that it would be _ direct attack on poland? what he said is that it would be a - direct attack on poland? what he said is that it would be a game i said is that it would be a game changer. if russia were to use chemical weapons in ukraine, as theirforces did in chemical weapons in ukraine, as their forces did in syria, chemical weapons in ukraine, as theirforces did in syria, how chemical weapons in ukraine, as their forces did in syria, how does their forces did in syria, how does the west respond to that? does it consider that, the west respond to that? does it considerthat, it the west respond to that? does it consider that, it cannot consider that to be an attack on nato because ukraine is not a member of nato. what it would have to be, does the west therefore have a responsibility to intervene at that point to protect civilians and others who are subject to these attacks? that is a very, very difficult question for policymakers in the west to grapple

with. �* ., , policymakers in the west to grapple with. i, ,_, with. boris johnson, interviewed last week seem _ with. boris johnson, interviewed last week seem to _ with. boris johnson, interviewed last week seem to indicate - with. boris johnson, interviewed last week seem to indicate that l last week seem to indicate that would not necessarily change the nato position, i think. just on the diplomacy such as it is, james, we have seen ongoing talks with 0laf scholz, emmanuel macron with vladimir putin with not very encouraging signs coming out of that, but those conversation channels will continue? that has to be a better — channels will continue? that has to be a better than _ channels will continue? that has to be a better than nothing _ channels will continue? that has to be a better than nothing scenario, | be a better than nothing scenario, at least mr putin is engaging in conversations with the west. however unprofitable and lacking in progress they are, that clearly has to be a good sign. 0ne they are, that clearly has to be a good sign. one or two interesting noises from ukrainian negotiators, those talks that happen every so often between ukrainian and russian officials on the ballot racine border, occasionally one gets a

positive noise instead of denunciations and people talking across each other, they are talking about this concrete issue. we are very much at the early stages on all of that because of the scale of the fighting at the moment and its intensity. i think we are a long way off any negotiated settlement at the moment. g . , ., ., ., ~ off any negotiated settlement at the moment. g . , ., ., ., ,, , ., moment. ok, james landale, thank you ve much. moment. ok, james landale, thank you very much- just — moment. ok, james landale, thank you very much- just let _ moment. ok, james landale, thank you very much. just let me _ moment. ok, james landale, thank you very much. just let me bring _ moment. ok, james landale, thank you very much. just let me bring you - very much. just let me bring you up—to—date with a couple of lines of information we have had. we are hearing that the capital city, kyiv administration has said it is set aside to weak reserve of essential food items in case the city is blockaded by russian forces. they are saying the 2 million kyiv residents who have not left will not be without support if the situation worsens. it was also reported that the ukrainian foreign minister had said war criminals, as he put it, abducted another democratically

elected mayor. he has tweeted saying getting zero local support and calling on all states and the international community to stop the russian advance. it looks like a second mayor who has been taken by the russian forces. let's get the latest on the ukrainian refugees who've headed for poland. 0ur correspondent, danjohnson, is in krakow he gave us this update from the city's main train station. we are at krakow�*ss main railway station, which is one of the major staging posts on this route for ukrainians coming out of ukraine into poland and arriving here. but these people are getting on special trains that have been laid on to move them on. because the pressure on accommodation and resources here in krakow as been so great, the authorities are trying to encourage people to move on further either into poland or this train will take people

to berlin this morning, to try to spread the pressure out a bit, to try to lower the pressure on resources here. although there has been so much generosity in the last two weeks or so, so many people have opened up their homes, given overflats, apartments, lent their couch in some instances, hotels and guesthouses have been given up for ukrainian families, the real fear is that cannot carry on and there isn't enough space to house everybody. buses have been laid on, the fire service here is organising a network of buses across poland to try to spread people around a bit and more and more of these trains are being organised to take people to other polish cities or to the rest of europe. ukrainian phone numbers here in poland using the cell network have been sent messages this morning, saying that this sort of transport is available, there are free spaces available to try to relieve the pressure. let's have a chat with anna, one of the volunteers here this morning, tell us about the sort of work you've been doing, anna?

hello, i am volunteering at the train station in krakow. from the early morning i am observing a lot of movement. people from ukraine are taking trains to berlin, mostly and to other places such as czechoslovakia — the czech republic and they also try to find some different places in cities such as starnov, in poland and we want to find places to stay, accommodation and help them find accommodation in krakow and places to sleep, as well as inform them where they can get something to drink, when they can take a nap and things like that. how do you think it is going, how are you coping?

sorry? how are you coping with the pressure of the number of people? i am trying to do it but i have no more information to help them. sometimes i have to get information first and then help them. what more help do you need? how can this be better organised, better coordinated? as volunteers, we should get more information, we should have a briefing in the morning to help them more effectively. what is this like for you, anna, working with these families trying to help them, when they have suffered so much and they are in a difficult situation, it must be really sad? yes, very sad, sometimes it is depressing because there are a lot of children, there are small and there is no

place for them to sleep, so they are sleeping just in the train station. he must be expecting even more people will come? i think that they should try to find a place somewhere outside krakow, because the city here is overcrowded and it is very difficult, yes? it is full, hotels are full and places are taken, accommodation for free are already full. that is why we have the trains with free spaces to take people to other cities? yes, i think that is a good idea. thank you, we appreciate your time this morning, we know it is a busy time for all volunteers, the fire service, the military, loads of charities and organisations involved, supporting so many ukrainians who have come across the border. this is the first major city they would end up in. that is what the pressure has been so great and resources here in krakow. really different decisions people face, they arrive here not

knowing where they are, particularly and very little idea of where they are trying to get. they have left everything behind and they don't know where their final destination will be. the hope is they want to return to ukraine one day. they don't give up that hope so they don't want to go too farfrom the border. the encouragement is if they head to the cities, accommodation will be available, perhaps jobs will be available and the polish government have said they will give refugees the right to live and work for at least 18 months. they may find it cheaper to live in those cities to start a new life, but what a difficult thing to confront when you have escaped a war zone. polish families are off at 8 euros a day of government support if they can take in ukrainian families. this is only going to continue, especially as the fighting is coming further and further west, more people will cross the border this way putting more pressure on polish cities and the polish population.

joining me now live from the city of vinnytsia is ivan. he's been helping internally displaced people that fled to vinnytsia from other places in ukraine, and has also been using his cyber security degree to block russian cyber attacks on ukrainian servers. thank you forjoining us, can you tell us what the situation is like where you are at the moment? hello, durin: the where you are at the moment? hello, during the days _ where you are at the moment? hello, during the days i _ where you are at the moment? hello, during the days i work _ where you are at the moment? hello, during the days i work as _ where you are at the moment? hello, during the days i work as a _ during the days i work as a volunteer. sometimes in a humanitarian help, a city is the most comfortable in ukraine and it remains so today. we have received thousands of refugees through the city and the country and we provide

all refugees with necessities. i am constantly in touch, trying to establish effective contact between locals and visitors. a lot of buildings are prepared for hosting people and we remain reliable. he was safe at the moment. i believe your father is away in the military. you are unable tojoin your father is away in the military. you are unable to join that but you are helping in other ways. we you are unable to join that but you are helping in other ways.- you are unable to join that but you are helping in other ways. we are in touch with my _ are helping in other ways. we are in touch with my father _ are helping in other ways. we are in touch with my father every - are helping in other ways. we are in touch with my father every day. - are helping in other ways. we are in touch with my father every day. he | touch with my father every day. he said they have been defending our country for more than two months, for the last two months. this is his

fifth long journey in eight years of russian aggression. also, my uncles are here. i russian aggression. also, my uncles are here. ., ., ., ., are here. i want to ask you about the ber are here. i want to ask you about the cyber attacks _ are here. i want to ask you about the cyber attacks that _ are here. i want to ask you about the cyber attacks that you - are here. i want to ask you about the cyber attacks that you are - the cyber attacks that you are trying to block. can you tell us about what you are doing on that front? i about what you are doing on that front? ., ., ., , ., front? i have got a few friends that are owners — front? i have got a few friends that are owners of _ front? i have got a few friends that are owners of some _ front? i have got a few friends that are owners of some it— front? i have got a few friends that are owners of some it systems - front? i have got a few friends that | are owners of some it systems and front? i have got a few friends that - are owners of some it systems and we suffer from are owners of some it systems and we sufferfrom russian are owners of some it systems and we suffer from russian cyber attacks. are owners of some it systems and we sufferfrom russian cyber attacks. i try to ensure the efficiency of our services and give decent rebuff. i unfortunately cannot say all of the details because it is private things, but that is what we suffer from, russian cyber attacks. you are workin: from, russian cyber attacks. you are working with — from, russian cyber attacks. you are working with a _ from, russian cyber attacks. you are

working with a network _ from, russian cyber attacks. you are working with a network of _ from, russian cyber attacks. you are working with a network of people - working with a network of people trying to work and use your cyber skills? , ., . , trying to work and use your cyber skills? , .,. , in trying to work and use your cyber skills?_ in terms - trying to work and use your cyber skills?_ in terms of| skills? yes, exactly. in terms of helinu skills? yes, exactly. in terms of helping people _ skills? yes, exactly. in terms of helping people on _ skills? yes, exactly. in terms of helping people on the _ skills? yes, exactly. in terms of helping people on the ground, l skills? yes, exactly. in terms of. helping people on the ground, you talked about helping the refugees coming to your town, your city, how much are you able to give them? are you worried about running out of supplies yourself?— you worried about running out of supplies yourself? could you repeat the question. _ supplies yourself? could you repeat the question, the _ supplies yourself? could you repeat the question, the last _ supplies yourself? could you repeat the question, the last sentence? i supplies yourself? could you repeat| the question, the last sentence? do ou the question, the last sentence? do you have enough supplies where you are, food, clothing, water to help the refugees that are coming to you now? ., ., ., ~' ., the refugees that are coming to you now? ., ., ., ,, ., ., ., now? you are talking about material thins to now? you are talking about material things to provide _ now? you are talking about material things to provide to _ now? you are talking about material things to provide to refugees? - now? you are talking about material things to provide to refugees? yes. | things to provide to refugees? yes. i ruess things to provide to refugees? yes. i guess food — things to provide to refugees? yes. i guess food and _ things to provide to refugees? yes. i guess food and other stuff? the problem with accommodation is one of the biggest today, so people are searching for available rooms, for available accommodation, but it is

hard to provide rooms for refugees. many buildings, schools or universities, they are changing their space for hosting people from other cities. you their space for hosting people from other cities-— other cities. you are planning to stay where _ other cities. you are planning to stay where you _ other cities. you are planning to stay where you are _ other cities. you are planning to stay where you are for _ other cities. you are planning to stay where you are for now? - other cities. you are planning to l stay where you are for now? yes, this is my — stay where you are for now? yes, this is my home _ stay where you are for now? yes, this is my home town, _ stay where you are for now? yes, this is my home town, i - stay where you are for now? yes, this is my home town, i was - stay where you are for now? use: this is my home town, i was born here, raised and studied. i want to create the future. i am planning to stay here as much as possible. {lilia stay here as much as possible. ok, thank ou stay here as much as possible. ok, thank you very _ stay here as much as possible. 0k, thank you very much forjoining us. i know you have got family and friends there and thank you for explaining to us what it is like for you all there at the moment. you stay with us, more coming up on bbc news with further coverage of what

is going on in ukraine. hello, a windy day out there. more than yesterday. cloudy, damp start in many places but there will be further showers as the day goes on. probably those gusty winds we are going to notice the most, especially across the western side of the uk where there will be gales in places. this is how the rain developed overnight and this band of rain continuing to push its way eastwards and clearing most areas. it is the showers that follow on behind. from an area of low pressure to the north west of ireland, closer to that irish sea coast, northern ireland, western scotland, this is where it will be windiest today. rain clearing away from eastern areas but lingering across east anglia and the

south—east of england, especially eastern counties. elsewhere, it is sun and showers. some of them heavy and possibly thundery and for northern ireland, longer spells of rain at times. it is windy across the board, an indication of the gust out there today but around irish sea coast, eastern counties of northern ireland in particular, north of scotland, 50 to 60 mph, could be disrupted. temperatures nine to 12 degrees, up to 13 in parts of northern england. the rain finally clears parts of eastern england where it has held on through the day and into tonight. a few showers towards the south—west and the rain pushing back into northern ireland by the end of the night. clear skies to the south and lighter winds may allow for a touch of frost. rain clears northern ireland, showers follow, breaks through scotland and northern england and wales. 0therwise northern england and wales. otherwise they will be sunny spells. at least for wales and england in their sunny spells tomorrow, it will not be as windy and it will feel

warmer. a touch of frost into tuesday morning, a few fog patches to the south. more wind and rain coming into north of scotland as the day goes on. cloud increasing in northern ireland. for wales and england it stays dry with sunny spells. feels warmer, especially in south—east england after the fog. high pressure building in after that unsettling the weather down from thursday. 0n unsettling the weather down from thursday. on wednesday, a greater chance of more places seeing rain, but after that with high pressure arriving, chilly nights but fine days with sunny spells.

this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm geeta guru—murthy. our top stories — at least nine dead in a missile attack on a ukrainian military base near the polish border. translation: the yavoriv facility came under attack 79 people havej been injured out on hospital and nine heroic people died. ukraine says foreign instructors have previously worked there — it's not clear if any were at the base when it was hit. satellite imagery shows some of the damage in the city of mariupol — with claims russian troops are stopping people from leaving. here, the government announces a scheme to allow those fleeing

the war to come to the uk, offering £350 a month for taking in ukrainian refugees. and hitting the right note — memories of the ukrainian city of kharkiv — years before the war. it has been reported that the military base where we previously thought nine people died we know zero 35 people have been killed and there are a number of injuries. full stop that base was a peace and security centre which had had foreign trainers in the past. it is

not clear if any without it present. 35 people apparently killed in that attack according to the governor of the lviv region. as russia's advance onto ukraine's capital intensifies, the next few days could be critical, particularly in terms of what moscow's intentions are for the capital city, kyiv. is a full scale operation there imminent? let's start with the map and where we are this morning. the areas in red are those we think are now in russian control. the areas in red and white stripes are where russian forces are continuing to advance. we can look at some pictures now from just on the northern outskirts of kyiv where the fear is the russians are coming. you can see ukrainian soliders are doing what they can there to try

and slow a possible advance down. all the people on this checkpoint though are just volunteers. many of them very young and with just three days training. days' training. let's pull up now a more close—up map of kyiv. you can see the russians are really advancing on three sides of the city. some of the most intense russian shelling has been up here around the towns of irpin and bucha. british intelligence now saying they think the bulk of russian forces around kyiv have regrouped around 15 miles from the city centre. this is the southern city of melitopol where you can see people have been protesting after the alledged abduction of the city's mayor. local reports say the russian military has installed a new mayor. let's cross over to mariupol, a little further east. awful conditions there, no power, little food and water with many people killed. russian forces have made further gains, capturing the eastern outskirts of the port city. and we've got some before and after satellite photographs. you can see what parts of the city looked like before the invasion...and then how it is now following professor chris bellamy is a military analyst, an expert on russian military and maritime affairs. he served as a soldier

in germany in the 1970s and then was a journalist in bosnia and checnya. he gave me his thoughts on the latest military developments. i think the attack on the peacekeeping centre is very interesting because until recently, the organization for security and cooperation in europe, osce, which the russians used to have quite a lot of respect for, were in the east, monitoring the the war between the ukrainian army and breakaway separatists they pulled out a few days ago and relocated in lviv. so i suspect that's where they might be. as you said, eight missile strikes or eight strikes on that peacekeeping centre, which doesn't bode well for the future at all.

in terms of the mod briefing, as you said, they're probably moving north from mariupol, which has been completely surrounded and is being flattened and south from kharkiv. and what they're trying to do is cut off the remains of ukrainian armed forces who were in the east to fight the separatists. in addition to all these operational level encirclement of the various cities, this looks like a strategic encirclement to cut ukraine off from the sea. now, that could have a profound effect on any post—conflict settlement. whatever it is, even if the remnants of ukraine retain independence, then they'll be cut off from the sea. one of their main exports is wheat, of course, and that's a dry bulk cargo.

and if the port of 0desa is in russian hands, then they won't be able to export anything — they can't at the moment anyway, because the russian navy has got about 30 warships in the black sea and has effectively got ukraine blockaded. and when we look a little bit further at what's happened in the west at this training centre, so you think that the foreigners that were there from the osce because we know they're not allowed to be on the ground there and not just these will have been ukrainians working with the approval of the ukrainian government, but they are part of an osce monitoring force.

all the foreigners there too, are the other international people there, as far as we know. i don't think there are any. and if there are, they're now in life. they're not in the east. households in the uk will be offered £350 a month to open their homes to people fleeing the war in ukraine. joining me now to talk more about that is our political correspondent jonathan blake. in terms of the numbers exactly how many people want to come to the uk because a lot of people want to stay close to the border at the moment but there has been criticism of the government not being fast and generous enough. certainly compared to other european countries, the numbers arriving in the uk and being given approval to come to the uk are relatively small. we had an update this morning thatjust over 3000 visas had been issued to two ukrainians attempted come to the uk who are fleeing the fighting in their country. the uk has kept in place a requirement for those people

to be given of these are in order to come and in order to have that the need to have family ties to the uk. but in the face of the criticism the government has received we have more details today about a new route for people to come here who don't necessarily have links to the this will be a sponsorship scheme whereby people can open a room in their home are another property they own that isn't occupied to allow people to come and stay. those people to come and stay. those people don't necessarily need to have a relationship with those refugees coming here but that does need to be a connection because people can offered to sponsor and named ukrainian individual orfamily named ukrainian individual or family to named ukrainian individual orfamily to come and stay in their home. the images for that to be for an initial period of six months, up to potentially three years or more if those people are granted leave to remain. as you say, there will be a payment of £350 made per month to each person who allows ukrainian refugee refugees into their home. we

had small details from the levelling up had small details from the levelling up secretary michael gove who said it will be an effective route to allow people to come and stay safe in the uk. it allow people to come and stay safe in the uk. , .,, , allow people to come and stay safe inthe uk. , , in the uk. it is the fastest way in which we can _ in the uk. it is the fastest way in which we can get _ in the uk. it is the fastest way in which we can get people - in the uk. it is the fastest way in which we can get people out - in the uk. it is the fastest way in which we can get people out of l which we can get people out of danger and into the united kingdom and it is the case already that whether it is through social media platforms through charities and civil society those connections are being made. we know that we have in this country according to the most recent test of public opinion, hundreds of thousands of people potentially who are willing to take ukrainians into the home. there is no limit on — ukrainians into the home. there is no limit on the _ ukrainians into the home. there is no limit on the numbers _ ukrainians into the home. there is no limit on the numbers who - ukrainians into the home. there is no limit on the numbers who are l no limit on the numbers who are eligible to come here under the scheme so it could potentially see many thousands more accommodated in the uk but there is still a certain amount of criticism coming the way of the government. labour, the main opposition party at westminster, say they welcome this move but there are questions that need to be answered about how exactly it would work.

michael gill said local authorities will get £10,000 of funding per individual ukrainian to help with public services and support but still the labour leader, sir keir starmer, when questioned about this this morning said more details were needed. those plans just need to be in place now, so i'm not against the scheme that he is proposing. i have to say the more you questioned him, the more i queried exactly how it's going to work. but actually, i'd have more comfort if there was a solid plan on the table. local authority leaders are saying that they haven't been consulted yet. housing providers need to be involved in this. sir keir starmer has not said that visa requirements need to be lifted but said that needs to be speedier

route for people to come. the scottish and welsh governments have said that visa requirements should be lifted and are offering to take people on more readily and act as a super sponsor whereby ukrainians could come and move into temporary accommodation first and then be matched to more appropriate accommodation in the longer term but there is no say in the uk government at this stage is going to relax any of the requirements it is put in place. the liberal democrats saying they think that visas should go. there is the security aspect that the government keep talking about, they have to know who is coming in to the country. also the overall numbers and the cost of this, any answers or solutions how this will be funded? we haven't had any specific figures on the funding allocation the government is putting forward to pay for this are indeed on the numbers of people it may have to pay for help. —— mike michael gove. there is no cash cap on the

numbers but it will be expensive. clearly the government is willing to put up the money and supporting local councils and they have said the need to see the details of all the need to see the details of all the stand ready to help other what will be another strain on finances particularly at local government level where finances are already tight. and questions why refugees from other parts of the world have not been given this treatment and whether this will change the asylum system. let's hear now from the president of poland, andray duda, whose country is front and centre of the ukrainian refugee crisis — with more than a million and a half people having crossed the borders since the start of the russian invasion. there's also the potential threat of russia using chemical weapons in ukraine — and we've already seen russian missile strikes on ukrainian targets just a few miles from the polish border. my colleague sophie raworth has been talking to president duda, and she began by asking him if he was concerned about the potential use

of chemical weapons. translation: this is something i the world has not seen on this scale since the second world war, and if you're asking me whether putin can use chemical weapons, i think that putin can use anything right now, especially if he's in a very difficult situation. this is what most experts have been saying. actually, politically, he has already lost this war, and militarily he's not winning it. although one could say there is a gigantic advantage of a russian army of ukrainian army. if you take a piece of paper and if you do the maths, then they've got a crushing, overwhelming majority, but they are not able to win the war. if president putin did use chemical weapons, is that a red line for nato? is that a point at which nato then has to get involved? well, of course, everybody hopes that he will not dare do that, that he will not use weapons

of mass destruction, never chemical weapons, no biological weapons, nor any form of nuclear weapons. everybody is hoping that this is not going to happen. but as we say in poland, using a little bit of an english expression, if he uses any weapons of mass destruction, then this will be a game changer in the whole thing. and for sure, the north atlantic alliance and its leaders, led by the united states, will have to sit at the table and they will really have to think seriously what to do. because then it starts to be dangerous, not only for europe, not only for our part of europe or our region, for central europe, but for the whole world. you have got 28jets, mig jets, soviet—era jets that you want to give to ukraine. their pilots could fly them. what difference would it make to people in ukraine do you think if they had those planes? the issue ofjets, which you have mentioned of mig 29s, which are at the disposal of a polish armed forces. this is, of course, a very serious

one, a very sensitive issue. there were various voices as to whether we should transfer or not transfer the jets. speaking frankly, polish public opinion was very much afraid of this step because the russian side made a very clear announcement that it would consider it a war declaration, and myself, looking from a perspective which i mentioned a moment ago as part of our responsibility within nato, always remember that these are powerful airplanes. president zelensky says this is about human lives. he says that he has asked once, he's asked again, he says we have to solve it faster and don't shift the responsibility. send the planes to ukraine. why don't you just give them those planes now? when you say "you" — i hope you mean the north atlantic community. in other words, nato as a whole, because, as i said, due to allied

responsibility, poland as such is not going to transfer those planes on the basis of our own decision because we believe that allies could bear a grudge against us, at least if we make this decision, because potentially it could place the entire nato in a difficult position in its relationship with russia. please bear in mind that president zelensky and the ukrainian authorities are in an extremely difficult situation. of course, to me, it is obvious that they can have different demands and that they can have different expectations. perhaps they can even air their grievances and all that is justified. i want to say this right away. it is justified because they are fighting. they are fighting for freedom. they are fighting for survival. however, transferring planes or president zelensky demanding to establish a cupola or a shield defending the skies over ukraine, so blocking the skies over ukraine against the possibility of entering

ukraine airspace by russian aircraft, combat aircraft bombers orfighterjets? well, this is a decision which is a strictly military one and a very serious one because it means that nato jets would have to be sent to ukrainian airspace and probably there would be a confrontation between nato aircraft and russian aircraft, and that would mean an opening possibly of a third world war. so these are very serious decisions indeed. and are you very confident? are you fully confident that if russia did attack poland, that nato would back you, that nato would defend you? madam, that's why we are members of the north atlantic alliance and we are trying to be as credible a member as possible. tens of thousands of russians have left the country since the invasion of ukraine. they're mostly young and liberal, and shocked by the war.

they're concerned by president putin's latest crackdown on dissent, and the economic sanctions. an estimated 25,000 of them have moved to georgia. from tbilisi, the bbc�*s rayhan demytrie reports. clothes, food and toiletries. volunteers are helping to load these donated essentials bound for ukraine. doing his part is yevgeny from moscow, he decided to leave russia after being detained at an anti—war protest. i don't want to fight in this war against ukrainians and for not my homeland, but for putin. not all the russians support this war. not all the russians support putin. since the invasion, tens of thousands of russians have made the same decision heading to turkey, the south caucasus and central asia.

an estimated 25,000 have arrived in georgia. i have created a guide. lev has created a telegram channel to help russians settle in tbilisi. thousands have subscribed in just a few days. i would call it a nowadays exodus of the mines from russia. this is the most amount of people transferring in a short period of time. many are planning to stay here, even bringing their pets with them. this young couple didn't want to be identified. they say they're afraid of what russia has become. translation: people are leaving because the state has crushed the prospects of professional development. there's no way to stand up for your rights. there's no freedom of speech. no free media. many russians are trying to make sense of their new circumstances and what to do next. since the war started,

georgia has seen a surge in visitors from russia. hotels and airbnbs are fully booked. and while tourists are welcome here, the prospect of a more permanent resettlement of russians is causing some concern. georgians have been protesting almost daily against the invasion of ukraine. they remember their own war with russia in 2008 and its continued occupation of georgian territories. now ukraine's war is their war, too. for new russian arrivals like yevgeny, there is no escaping public displays of sympathy with ukraine and hostility towards the country they've left behind. let's get more now on the situation in lviv. the city is preparing for an attack, while trying to preserve its most important cultural sites. 0ur correspondent from the bbc�*s ukrainian service viktoria zhuhan sent us this report from outside lviv cathedral.

just two weeks ago, this was ukraine's favourite tourist city and was not involved with saving refugees fleeing from the war. this was my favourite place to stop and think about this 14th century church. today, it is hard to appreciate the culture. religious officials have been putting in many efforts to try and preserve its rich cultural heritage from the dangers of the war. for example, their statues on the fountains of greek gods and goddesses have been wrapped in protective cloths. the stained glass on multiple churches has been sealed off to protect it from breaking. and, for example, a statue ofjesus christ on the cross, a wooden sculpture from the 15th century has been removed from this

backyard just days ago and put in a secret and safe place. i was woken up today at three o'clock in the morning by the sound of sirens. as i stayed in the shelter, ifound out that bombs fell just 30 or 40 kilometres away from lviv city centre to a place where a military training base is located and where ukrainian officials have been opened that the training is ongoing. what lviv is trying to preserve are multiple unesco heritage sites that were not taken care of by centuries by multiple nationalities, germans, hungarians, polish, armenians. lviv was part of different empires in history. but what is evidentt, lviv doesn't want to be part of the russian empire that vladimir putin seems willing to restore. ukraine's second—largest city, kharkiv, has suffered intense bombing since the war started.

in 2013, bbc reporter alex humphreys travelled to the city with a brass band. she's been catching up with some of those who were with her on that trip, finding out their views about the war. freedom square, kharkiv in 2013 and symphonic brass wails, along with many other countries, were marching for peace. i was there with them. we were celebrating 70 years of the city's liberation from the nazis, that liberty now gone. this was us on a square in front of one of the city's main government buildings. and this is what happened to that same building just last week. this city is now in ruins. i've been speaking to three others who were with our band on that trip. anna, from kharkiv, was our translator. she has now had to flee with her five—month—old son. nine years ago? yeah, 2013. if somebody told me then nine years ago that all the stuff would happen, i wouldn't believe for sure.

all those the buildings where we were working are ruined and they have no windows. from russia, vitaly mironov organised our trip. bringing the east and west together through music was his passion. he's worked tirelessly to forge friendships between us and although saddened by the conflict, he asks us to consider russia's perspective. nato brought the military directly to the russian borders. it's not we that came to the border of america, to the border of great britain or to the border of germany or france. but i think everybody of us should keep the should keep objective view of what's happening now objectively. if not, if not, we will be in even more worse war.

iam, of course, very sad, and it's really a pity what's happening now because i understand that we crushed our ties now for years, years and years. i was privileged to have a beer in the sun with one of the deputy mayors, and he said to me at the time the east of the country was split virtually 50—50, half wanting the old ussr safety net behind them and the younger generation looking for more western democratic values and opportunities. so the tensions were there when we were there. as part of the celebrations in 2013, russian and ukrainian soldiers marched side—by—side. now they're enemies, and the jubilation and unity of this sunny day in kharkiv seems like a lifetime ago. i hope one day i get a message or news that i can come back to kharkiv, and i will show my son all those beautiful, lovely places, all my thoughts are still in kharkiv. alex humphreys, bbc news.

just to update you on the attack on the base in the west of ukraine, the mayor of lviv has said 35 people have been killed and 134 wounded, a mix of military and civilian casualties. that is a training base where foreign people have been involved. hello, it's another windy day out there, more widely so than yesterday. cloudy, damp start in many places but brightening up although there will be further showers following on as the day goes

on. it is probably those gusty winds we will notice the most, especially across the western side of the uk where there will be gales in places. rain continuing to push it eastwards and clearing most areas. it is the showers that follow on behind. from an area of low pressure to the north west of ireland, closer to irish sea coast, northern ireland and western scotland, this is where it will be the windiest. continuing to see rain clearing away from eastern areas though lingering in east anglia and in eastern counties. some of the showers will be heavy and possibly thundery and for northern ireland longer spells of rain at times. it is windy across the board, an indication of the gusts out there today

but around irish sea coast, eastern counties of northern ireland and south to scotland, 50 to 60 mph, could be disruptive. temperatures nine to 12 degrees, up to 13 in parts of northern england. the rain clears parts of eastern england where it has held on through the day and into tonight. a few showers towards the south—west and rain pushing back into northern ireland and by the end of the night western scotland. clearer skies to the south and lighter winds may allow for a touch of frost as monday begins. rain clears northern ireland and a few showers follow, outbreaks of rain for scotland, northern england and north wales tomorrow. south of that, a few showers, southern and eastern england. at least for wales and england in those sunny spells tomorrow, it will not be as windy, it will feel warmer. a touch of frost into tuesday morning, a few fog patches to the south and more wind and rain coming into north of scotland as the day goes on. cloud increasing in northern ireland. for wales and england it stays dry with sunny spells. feels warmer, especially in south—east england couple of weather systems combine, wednesday, with rain, claiming southwards by thursday and high pressure building in after that, settling the weather

down. on wednesday, a greater chance of more places seeing rain, but after that with high pressure arriving, chilly nights but fine days with sunny spells.

this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm geeta guru murthy. our top stories: at least 35 dead in a missile attack on a ukrainian military base near the polish border. according to preliminary data more than 30 missiles were fired. the air defence system worked under number were shot down. ukraine says foreign instructors have previously worked there — it's not clear if any were at the base when it was hit. i'm yalda hakim in lviv — where the latest russian missile strikes are growing cause for concern — in a city which has become the hub for tens of thousands of people fleeing the fighting. poland's president tells the bbc that if russia used weapons of mass