some may a military intelligence chief in kyiv says moscow may be attempting to split ukraine in two after failing to take the whole country. it comes as refugees fleeing from the southern city of mariupol say they're being forced

to go to russia. as russia's offensive stalls, and civilian deaths continue to rise, the two sides agree to face—to—face talks in turkey on monday. and walking it back: america's top diplomat says the country has no plans for regime change in russia after president biden said putin shouldn't be allowed to remain in power. and we have a special report looking at how sex traffickers are seeking to exploit ukraine's refugees fleeing the war. fake ngo workers approached me and my children after we fled ukraine. they looked at us sleazily. they told us to get in a van with other women and said they'd take us to switzerland. and the wait is nearly over for this year's oscar nominees. the academy awards ceremony will be getting underway in hollywood in just a few hours time. just over a month since russia launched its attack on ukraine, more detail has been emerging of possible peace negotiations. in an interview with russian

journalists president zelensky says ukraine could be ready to compromise with russia about adopting a neutral status but a pact would have to be guaranteed by thirdparties and put to a referendum. in other developments today... ukraine's military intelligence chief has claimed that russia may be trying to split ukraine in two, in the same way that north and south korea have been divided for more than half a century, after vladimir putin's forces failed to take over the whole country. refugees fleeing from the beseiged city of mariupol have told the bbc they are being forced to evacuate to russia. it's been announced that officials from ukraine and russia will resume peace talks on monday. three days of discussions have been scheduled. they're to take place in turkey, previous talks had taken place in belarus. america's most senior diplomat, along with other top officials, have been forced to clarify comments by president biden, that vladimir putin could not stay in power in russia.

we begin our coverage in the city of lviv in western ukraine, with our correspondent anna foster. this is a regular sound in cities across ukraine, the sound we hear it means that people can now come out and resume their evenings, resume their everyday lives. the and resume their evenings, resume their everyday lives.— their everyday lives. the ukrainian government _ their everyday lives. the ukrainian government has _ their everyday lives. the ukrainian government has asked _ their everyday lives. the ukrainian government has asked the - government has asked the international committee of the red cross_ international committee of the red cross not _ international committee of the red cross not to open a planned office on the _ cross not to open a planned office on the russian side of the border because — on the russian side of the border because they say it would legitimise moscowe _ because they say it would legitimise moscow's. deportation of civilians from _ moscow's. deportation of civilians from the — moscow's. deportation of civilians from the city of mariupol. although the red _ from the city of mariupol. although the red cross says it was not aware of the _ the red cross says it was not aware of the evacuations, the bbc has spoken— of the evacuations, the bbc has spoken to — of the evacuations, the bbc has spoken to a meribel resident now in russia _ spoken to a meribel resident now in russia and — spoken to a meribel resident now in russia and said she was given no option— russia and said she was given no option but— russia and said she was given no option but to leave. —— a marie upol

resident _ thousands of refugees have been able to leave mariupol, travelling in packed, bomb—damaged vehicles to the relative safety of ukrainian—held towns. but ukraine has now accused the russian military of forcibly removing thousands of residents to russia. irina, now staying with relatives near moscow, told the bbc about herjourney out. translation: one day, the russian military came by and said that we needed to vacate our shelter immediately because the building got on fire. after leaving the shelter, we walked for about six kilometres and the shelling and made it to the city limits. those people who had families in russia could go there at their own expense. those who did not have anyone there, they were allocated to a place in russia. they were put on evacuation trains to those destinations. this is important, would you say

that you and others were forcibly made to leave mariupol and go to russia? translation: i will put it this way, from there, everyone was taken to the dpr, that is russian occupied ukraine. once there, you have to decide whether you were going to stay in the dpr or go to russia. the choice was between the dpr and russia. the city irina left behind is in ruins, barely a building left unscathed by the russian bombardment. tens of thousands of people are trapped in mariupol, without the basics to survive, and nowhere near enough aid being allowed in. there is absolutely a humanitarian crisis there. there has been a humanitarian crisis for well over two weeks. you have people who haven't had access to water or food for weeks now, people who are... ..dead bodies on the street and people burying the bodies of their neighbours. just the trauma and psychological

burden this is going to have on the population. under such conditions, staying in mariupol or having to go to russia was irina's almost impossible choice. do you worry that if this war doesn't end in agreement or that parts of ukraine remain occupied that you won't be allowed to go back to ukraine itself? translation: we hope that there will be such an opportunity. we are already imagining ways that we can get back to our homeland. wyre davies, bbc news, dnipro, ukraine. america's most senior diplomat has been forced to clarify comments by president biden that vladimir putin cannot remain in power in russia. today, the us secretary of state denied it means the white house has a policy of seeking regime change in moscow. the kremlin had already dismissed mr biden�*s remarks, saying it's for russians to choose their leader.

our diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley reports. i think he is a war criminal. he's a butcher. it's not the first time joe biden�*s off—the—cuff remarks about president putin have left his officials scrambling to clarify and explain. just before he left poland, he went off message again. we will have a different future, a brighterfuture, rooted for god's sake, this man cannot remain in power. today, from his secretary of state visiting the middle east, some damage control. as you know, and as you've heard us say repeatedly, we do not have a strategy of regime change in russia or anywhere else for that matter. the same message came from the government here. it is only the russian people that can make that decision. - i suspect most of them are pretty lfed up with putin and his croniesl

and the illegal war. as the war in ukraine causes ever more destruction, there are fears that president biden is burning bridges with the kremlin, bridges that could be needed to stop the war. so how now to put out the diplomatic flames? the veteran diplomat, richard haass, said his comments had made a dangerous situation more dangerous, and he suggested the president's aides make it clear to their russian counterparts that the us is prepared to deal with this russian government. there was a rebuke, too, from president macron of france, who's due to speak to mr putin again this week. translation: i wouldn't use that kind of language, - because i'm still talking to president putin. because what do we want to do collectively? we want to stop the war that russia has started in ukraine without going to war and without escalating. that is our objective, but if we want to do that, we must not

escalate, either in words or in actions. so president biden arrived home from his tour of europe to questions about whether his blunt language could play into the hands of the kremlin. caroline hawley, bbc news. nearly two million ukrainian children have now fled russian bombardment to neighbouring countries, according to the united nations. unicef and other humanitarian organizations have warned these children along with their mothers and otherfemale ukrainian refugees are at a heightened risk of trafficking and exploitation. our europe editor katya adler sent this report from the polish ukrainian border. they grabbed what mattered most and fled for their lives. ukrainian children and women now farfrom home are forced to put their trust in strangers. the chaos of war now behind them, the truth is they're not always safe here either. the refugees come in. they have no idea what's going on. they can believe everybody.

volunteer margarita from kyiv hopes to stop fellow refugees falling into the wrong hands. we caught three persons who search for beautiful women to sell them for sex work. it's horrible. so horrible, many poles feel driven to take action. we have 605 amazing women who drive as much as they can to the border. this woman has started the women behind the wheel initiative. we decided to create this bubble of safety for these women to rest. this family is one of the lucky ones. ella has their best interest at heart, but five weeks into europe's biggest refugee crisis since world war ii, there is still no efficient process to screen all those claiming to help ukrainians.

over the next days and weeks, people need somewhere to sleep, to eat. many tell us they are looking for a job, and these needs make refugees vulnerable. here in poland, people have opened their homes to ukrainians, but sadly not everyone with the best of intentions. we hear many stories of abuse, but most victims are too scared to speak on camera. but this woman, now safely in denmark, told us she wants to sound the alarm. translation: fake ngo workers approached me. | they looked at us sleazily. they told us to get in a van _ with other women and said they would take us to switzerland. they got angry when i asked for their ids, so i grabbed . my children and ran. human rights groups warn sex and organ traffickers are already active here.

this is a region where there are well—established trafficking networks in place. at a time of growing numbers of women and children arriving, the risks are on the rise. organised crime isn't the only menace. some refugees are forced to work for free. others to have sex in exchange for lodgings. the displaced and the vulnerable need our protection. katya adler, bbc news, on the polish—ukrainian border. let's get some other news now. amid the war in ukraine

the government is expected to set out a new energy strategy this week including making the uk less reliant on imports of gas. at the same time millions of gas and electricity bills will increase as a new energy price cap — covering households in england, wales and scotland — comes into effect on friday. areas where fuel poverty is already high are set to struggle further — as michael buchanan's been hearing on the isle of lewis. the highlands and islands produce three times as much energy as they use, but britain, the outer hebrides has the highest levels of fuel poverty in britain. this is karen mcloud's house. she was too embarrassed to let us in. it is damp and mouldy. i mean, the little one's school uniform is cold. it feels damp when i put it on her. her energy company has just raised her electricity bill by almost 20% to £250. we don't have any hot water because it uses a lot of electricity. the divorced mother of two says the family have cut back as much as they can. i never saw myself struggling like this. thinking you've got an extra £20 or £30 and then all of a sudden

something comes up or a direct debit comes off that i have forgotten about. and then that's all the money gone. over half of households here are set to fall into fuel poverty next month, according to one charity, spending more than 10% of their income on energy. bad weather, poorly insulated homes, and a need to use oil for heating, whose price isn't capped but has soared, all contribute to the problem. delivery costs to the island are increasing. all that adds up to the product here being dearer here. shop owner gordon mclennan says the rising price of getting food and fuel lewis adds to the islanders' costs. we add vat to the product. you've effectively got the area with the highest fuel poverty in the country paying the highest rate of vat on their products. it's not fair. the government in westminster say they are spending billions

on helping households cope with the rising cost of living but in the hebrides, it doesn't feel like that. the use of food banks is rising rapidly. these are economically fragile communities but they are also resilient communities, they will get through this, but it might a return to lives they thought they had left behind. 200 ewes lambing... some crofters, like donald mcsween, have contemplated returning to burning peat for heat, as well as growing their own food. it is almost going back to my grandfather's way of life, where you would have some livestock and some oats, barley, potatoes, carrots, turnips, this kind of really basic things, but it kept them alive. these current challenges are another reminder to hebrideans that living at europe's edge is often no protection from europe's problems.

police in israel say that two suspected arab gunmen have opened fire and wounded two police officers in the city of hadera. police say the two suspects were then shot dead. last week, four israelis were killed and two wounded in an attack in the city of bare—sheva by an arab israeli man, who had once beenjailed for links to the islamic state group. china has announced its biggest city—wide lockdown since the covid outbreak began more than two years ago. the entire population of shanghai will be restricted to their homes over the next nine days. our china correspondent, robin brant, says the order has triggered panic—buying by residents. the city has been on its knees for two weeks but tonight, all of a sudden, areas that were reduced to being like a ghost town are full of panicked shoppers. i have been out and seen queues

stretching out of shops as people are trying to stock up on supplies before the lockdown kicks in in the early hours of monday morning. now, 25 million people are going to be affected. public transport is going to be shut. everyone will be subject to a mass citywide covid testing. they are breaking it down into two halves, the next four days will be the eastern side of the city that is in lockdown, that is where i am at the moment. then, after that, the western side will follow. shanghai is china's commercial capital but at the moment it is one of the worst—hit areas as china is seeing a resurgence in covid cases. the numbers are relatively small, compared to international numbers, numbering in just a few thousand in terms of confirmed cases but by china's standards, that is significant. what we are seeing here is yet again the use of this most harshest of measures to try to contain the virus and try to maintain covid and china's zero covid strategy.

the next big question is, how long will this lockdown last? other cities have had similar measures but it has been longer than the nine days planned here. in afghanistan, the bbc�*s persian, pashto and uzbek language service tv programmes have been taken off air, after the taliban ordered local channels not to broadcast content produced by international partners. more than six million afghans used to watch the bbc�*s tv news programmes in local languages according to the organisation. the bbc described the development as worrying and called on the taliban to reverse their decision. more now on ukraine. president zelensky�*s top aide says the ukrainian army has been engaged in small tactical counter—offensives around kharkiv and sumy in the east.

oleksi arestovitch said they were also pressing on with counter—offensives outside kyiv, and around kherson in the south. he predicted ukrainian losses in the east and south, because of a change in moscow's strategy, but gains in other parts. meanwhile, our correspondent jonah fisher is in lviv. he's been to meet three british people who've joined the international foreign legion and travelled to ukraine to fight against the russian forces. cj is a dog handlerfrom norwich. elliott works on building sites in colchester. kieran is a brighton plumber. i can't sit at home and watch what's going on and just carry on as usual. between them, the men have 19 years of experience with the british army and have all served in afghanistan. we catch up with them just after they've crossed the border from poland into ukraine. we met at the airport, and it's all been like we've known each other for a lot longer than 2a hours. having taken a £20 flight to poland, they'd slept overnight outside a railway station.

cj and elliott had told their families where they were going. kieran, a father of four, had not. i didn't tell the mums, no. i didn't even tell my mum. what brought them together was a desire to do something, anything, to help ukraine. if you're not fighting on someone else's street, does it end up in yours? does it end up, you know, do my kids become a target? do my mates' kids? i will do anything. i'm a trained infantry soldier. i'll help out wherever i can in the field, anywhere from back to front. from the border, it's 50 miles and a bus ride to lviv, the biggest city in the west. these guys are now going to meet up with the ukrainian authorities to see if they want to sign up with the foreign legion here. if they don't, there may be a more direct route to the front line. they've been speaking with other british ex—soldiers who are already there. they may be able to link up directly with them to get where the fighting is.

joining this war if you are a serving british soldier is illegal, but for others it's more of a grey area. cj, kieran and elliott say they were pulled aside by the police for a chat as they left the uk but then allowed to travel on. my name isjulia, andl what are your names? julia is returning from the border, having helped her daughter to cross. we've come to join the legion to help fight, if need be, to fight the russians. you are soldiers? you are fighters? j yeah, we are ex—army. 0k. thank you very much that . you have come here to help our ukrainian soldiers. also, they are very brave, very brave. | lviv and the railway station is the volunteers' next stop. there are now serious decisions to be made about where and what comes next.

what would you say to people in the uk who say you guys are just looking for the excitement of war? there is no excitement to war. it's not nice, it's not pleasant. you know, we've seen it. there's nothing nice about dead kids at the side of the road. and are you prepared to die here? absolutely. and with that, cj, kieran and elliott marched off — british boys in putin's war. bbc news has learned that ministers plan to invest up to two billion pounds in the new sizewell c nuclear power station in suffolk in the east of england. the french firm, edf, will match that twenty per cent stake, it's hoped private investors will provide the remaining £14 billion. the red carpet is already out and ready because in a few hours this year's oscars will be upon us — the academy awards are back —

in person once again. our culture editor katie razzall reports from los angeles. it's the top prize the movie business has to offer, and for days they've been preparing, rolling out a show—stopping experience for the biggest night of the year. when it comes to the actual top prize, best picture, it's almost certain for the first time to be a film made by one of the streaming services. apple's coda, the story of a deaf family with one hearing child, appears to have the momentum behind it. whistling. netflix has pinned its hopes on its 1920s western the power of the dog. it may miss out for best picture, butjane campion looks likely to be only the third woman in history to win best director. there may be a buzz in this town about these awards, but last year's tv show attracted the lowest audience ever. can they turn it around? it's fun to watch celebrities gather. we're in, you know, we still have this pandemic, there's a war happening in europe

and i think that having, i don't know, some distraction is not a terrible thing. and finding something that all of us can come together and have some emotions about is a really powerful and important thing. the ceremony will mark what's happening in ukraine. one of the hosts said she hoped president zelensky might even address the guests. as for the ceremony, the acting categories are the ones that punch out. west side story�*s arianna debose is tipped to win best supporting actress, the first openly queer woman of colour to take that prize. as momentous, will smith could clinch best actor, only the fifth black man to do so, for his portrayal of the father of tennis stars venus and serena williams in king richard. and troy kotsur should win best supporting actor and become the first deaf man with an acting oscar. sci—fi epic dune could win a sweep

of craft categories, though for the first time, controversially, those awards aren't being handed out live. as for uk and irish hopes, they're pinned on sir kenneth branagh's belfast — up for seven oscars, including best picture. katie razzall, bbc news, los angeles. let's just bring you these pictures from lviv in western ukraine, which give you a taste of life in the city. it's a video which has gone viral of a young musician playing a piano outside the main railway station — as the air raids sound. lviv has generally been considered a safe haven, as it's so far from the russian border, but on saturday there were several rocket attacks. an oil storage facility took a hit, sending clouds

you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones. hello there. after the warm and often sunny days we've become used to lately, the forecast for this week may well come as a shock to the system. it is going to turn quite a lot colder. there's snow in the forecast for some and the nights will become increasingly cold and frosty. as we go through tonight, temperatures will drop where we keep clear skies, but we're going to see quite a lot of low cloud, mist and fog developing once again, especially across eastern areas. but also, one or two showers developing across parts of northern england, maybe northern ireland later in the night. 7 or 8 degrees if you see cloudy skies overhead, but temperatures in the clearer spots will get down to freezing or a touch below. but into tomorrow, this area of high pressure that's been with us for so many days now — well, it begins to loosen its grip and, slowly but surely,

things will start to turn a bit more unsettled. so, some of those showers through the day across parts of northern england, maybe northern ireland, some areas of low cloud down this east coast could keep it quite chilly for some north sea coastal areas. and cloud rolling up from the south as well, introducing some rain for the channel islands and possibly the odd shower for southwest england and wales during the afternoon. amidst all of that, there will still be some sunshine and some warmth, temperatures at best up to 17 or 18 degrees. as we get into tuesday, quite a lot of cloud around. some showers down towards the south — some could be heavy and thundery. we start to see a weather front setting up across scotland. that will start to bring some showers, these beginning to turn wintry, as colder air tucks in from the north, and that is a sign of things to come. as we move out of tuesday into wednesday, this weather front with a wriggle along it starts to push southwards. because of this wriggle, this wave, there's uncertainty aboutjust how much progress southwards this front will make, how quickly it will be moving.

but what we do know is behind it, we'll see much colder air tucking in, so there is likely to be some snow, especially over higher ground. but if this weather front sits around for long enough, the snow could come down to quite low levels across northern england. lots of wintry showers packing into scotland with afternoon highs ofjust 4 or 5 degrees, and even further south, much, much chillier than it has been lately. as we look towards the end of the week, it will be chilly by day, cold and frosty by night. there will be some sunshine, but some showers of rain, sleet and snow.

hello, this is bbc news. we will be taking a look at tomorrow's papers in a moment. a military intelligence chief in kyiv says moscow may be attempting to split ukraine in two afterfailing to conquer the whole country. it comes as refugees fleeing from the southern city of mariupol say they are being forced to go to russia. as russia's offensive stalls, and civilian deaths continue to rise, the two sides agree to face—to—face talks in turkey on monday.

and walking it back: america's top diplomat says the country has no