welcome to bbc news. i'm lucy grey. our top stories: international outcry as president putin declares that four areas of ukraine, seized illegally, are now russian. it came after a lavish signing ceremony at the kremlin, where russia formally annexed 15% of ukrainian territory. translation: people in donetsk, luhansk, and zaporizhzhia - are becoming our citizens, forever. hurricane ian strikes south carolina, residents in three states are warned of life—threatening floods. and police investigating the murders of a schoolboy by serial killers in the 1960s begin a new dig.

president biden has warned russia that it will not get away with seizing its neighbour's land by force after vladimir putin announced the annexation of four occupied regions of ukraine. it's the biggest seizure of territory in europe since the second world war. in a signing ceremony at the kremlin, mr putin declared that donetsk, luhansk, zaporizhzhia and kherson are now part of russia. in response, ukraine has formally applied to join nato. our russia editor steve rosenberg reports. vladimir vladimirovich putin. what he was about to do had sparked international condemnation, but vladimir putin didn't care. in the kremlin, he announced the annexation of 15% of ukrainian land. in the audience, kremlin—appointed officials from those territories

occupied by russia. translation: i want the kyiv authorities and their real- masters in the west to hear me, so that they remember this forever. people in luhansk and donetsk, kherson and zaporizhzhia are becoming our citizens forever. defiant, unapologetic, russia's president laid into the west. instead of democracy there, there's suppression and exploitation. instead of freedom, enslavement and violence. america is the only country in the world that has used nuclear weapons twice — when they destroyed the japanese cities of hiroshima and nagasaki. by the way, they set a precedent with that. comments like that are worrying in light of the kremlin�*s recent nuclear sabre—rattling.

through this annexation, vladimir putin is trying to change the facts on the ground, trying to secure for himself some kind of victory. the problem is you can claim all you want that land you have occupied is rightfully yours, but ukraine isn't going to believe that, the international community doesn't believe that, and that leaves vladimir putin looking more isolated than ever. joe biden. president biden condemned the annexation and imposed new sanctions on russia. we're rallying the world to keep support for ukraine strong and consistent. applause. and ukraine's right to exist as a people. this represents the most serious escalation since the start of the war. none of this shows strength. it shows weakness. it is an admission that the war is not going to plan.

moscow says these territories arejoining russia after holding referendums, but they've been widely discredited. the west denounced them as a sham, scripted and directed by the kremlin. and so, the stage was set for the next act — the signing ceremony. plenty of pomp, but think of the circumstance. vladimir putin has just raised the stakes. he's warned he will defend the annexed territories with all means at his disposal, and he says he's not bluffing. tonight, more kremlin choreography, and the president portrayed like a pop star. many in this crowd have been bused in specially to create

a sense of celebration — although polls show there is growing alarm in russia over the war in ukraine and about russians being called up to fight there. but this promise from the president — "victory will be ours". steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. officials in zaporizhzhia, one of the areas annexed on friday, say 30 people have been killed and 88 more injured after a russian missile strike on a convoy of civilian vehicles. james waterhouse has been to the side of the attack on the outskirts of the city and i should warn you, his report contains some distressing detail. there was no doubting the target. this was about killing civilians, people. here, waiting to be escorted to russian—occupied territory, they work methodically,

patiently, under an eerie silence. until... crying and wailing. people arrived to find someone dear to them has gone. victoria had stepped out for a break at the cafe where she worked. she came back to find her boss lying dead on the floor. translation: people were dying here. - i was away for five minutes and when i came back, i saw a boy dying, his mother trying to save him. then i ran around, calling out for my boss. there was somebody�*s mother, her son saving her. somebody�*s husband, his wife weeping. all this complete hysteria. you can't believe how terrifying that was. then, we are told

to take cover. another russian missile is in the air and the fear is what's called a double tap — hitting the same place twice. this close to the front line, the threat is always there. another russian annexation of ukrainian territory has been met with a now typical kyiv response. translation: the entire territory of our country i will be liberated from this enemy. the enemy of not only ukraine but also of life itself, humanity, law and truth. russia already knows this, it feels our power. when you think about what this place was used for, along with that enormous crater, all of those point to a very deliberate targeted strike. the reasons for it are not clear, as ever, but the devastation is plain to see. ukraine says it is once again applying tojoin nato.

the alliance, however, has always been worried about causing an escalation — something russia is less concerned about. james waterhouse, bbc news, zaporizhzhia. we can now speak to angela stent, who's a senior adviser to the center for eurasian, russian and east european studies at the brookings institution. thank you very much for coming on the programme. we have heard some very anti—western rhetoric from president putin today, haven't we? how do you see these annexations and perhaps he has been saying today as affecting the course of the war? , ., affecting the course of the war? ~ ., affecting the course of the war? ~' ., ., war? so, you know, when the war bean, war? so, you know, when the war began. he — war? so, you know, when the war began, he could _ war? so, you know, when the war began, he could characterise - began, he could characterise this as an offensive war to, you know, have complete control over the donbas region. now, of course, having annexed these territories, he can say this is a defensive war to protect these new russian territories

from any kind of ukrainian attack, ukrainian attack which of course is fuelled by us and other nato weapons. so, he has really raised the stakes here and he has also made it impossible, really, for there to be any negotiation because clearly, the ukrainians can't accept this kind of sham referendum and the annexation of what our ukrainian territories.— of what our ukrainian territories. �* ., , ., ~' territories. but do you think there is no _ territories. but do you think there is no room _ territories. but do you think there is no room for- territories. but do you think. there is no room for dialogue, then, now? we heard today president the lenski saying he will not talk to putin, isn't hey? he said it would need to be another president in russia. i think there is no room in dialogue because the russians have made clear they are willing to sit down and putin even so that today, if they surrender and exit the commissions are no ukrainian power like a believer who was to remain in power will do that because it's a major loss of territory. because it's a ma'or loss of territorvh territory. what can the international _ territory. what can the i international community territory. what can the - international community do, then? we've heard a lot of condonation today and present

—— countries increasing their sanctions but what would you like to see them do? i sanctions but what would you like to see them do?- like to see them do? i think they have — like to see them do? i think they have to _ like to see them do? i think they have to continue - they have to continue supporting ukraine. i mean, it's nato that's supporting ukraine at the moment, providing them with weapons, providing them with weapons, providing them with the wherewithal to fight back against the russians and take back territory. sanctions are a part of this. but i think another challenge is to get much of the rest of the world on board with this and we saw even today, a country like india abstaining in the united nations security council when russia was condemned for what it did. so i think also a persuasion part of it that also needs to happen. 50 persuasion part of it that also needs to happen.— needs to happen. so nato is suworting _ needs to happen. so nato is supporting ukraine - needs to happen. so nato is supporting ukraine but- needs to happen. so nato is supporting ukraine but whatj supporting ukraine but what about allowing it into the group? 15 ukraine today asking for fast track access. —— we've seen ukraine. for fast track access. -- we've seen ukraine.— seen ukraine. the last time this happened _ seen ukraine. the last time this happened in _ seen ukraine. the last time this happened in 2008 - seen ukraine. the last time | this happened in 2008 when seen ukraine. the last time - this happened in 2008 when the us wanted to give a membership to ukraine, germany and france objected, they thought it would provoke russia and nothing

happened and in fact nothing has happened since then. i believe this probably would not have a consensus still today within nato but the process might begin but i think the fast track is unlikely, given what's happening at the moment. what about the nuclear threat mr musk president putin today talked about how us set a precedent with hiroshima and nagasaki at the end of world war ii and i do see the us national security advisorjake sullivan has said today there is no sign that any nuclear weapon use was imminent. right, so ou weapon use was imminent. right, so you know. _ weapon use was imminent. right, so you know. if — weapon use was imminent. right, so you know, if the _ weapon use was imminent. right, so you know, if the us _ so you know, if the us government does not see those signs but the threat is there, three's doing this to deter and intimidate, to try and get really the us and the other major parties to force the ukrainians to the bargaining table but you cannot rule out completely that he might consider using a tactical nuclear weapon. consider using a tactical nuclearweapon. i mean, this war makes no sense anyway. as your previous reporter said, russia isn't winning this war.

what's happening is a sign of almost aspiration on putin's part, having started a war that was senseless anyway and therefore, you cannot say with certainty that he would never try and use a weapon of mass destruction. but there doesn't appear to be an imminent use of it. ., , ., ., appear to be an imminent use of it. ., , ., appear to be an imminent use of it. ok, really good to get your thoughts. _ it. ok, really good to get your thoughts, thank _ it. ok, really good to get your thoughts, thank you _ it. ok, really good to get your thoughts, thank you very - it. ok, really good to get your. thoughts, thank you very much, angela stent from the brookings institution. thank you. hurricane ian has made landfall in the us state of south carolina as a category i storm after pummelling florida on wednesday. this is the historic coastal city of charleston, which is being lashed by winds and heavy rain. hundreds of kilometres of the south—eastern seaboard of the us are under severe weather alerts. earlier, the hurricane caused widespread devastation in florida, where search and rescue efforts are still underway. officials believe at least 21 people may have died but it may be days before the full number of casualties is known. rob fowler, chief meteorologist at wcbd—tv in south carolina, updated us on the situation in south carolina.

a lot quieter than 2a hours ago. about 2a hours ago, we were watching what was hurricane ian kinda coming up the coast on the atlantic ocean, heading our way. we had some rain and things really ramped up overnight and through the early morning hours as we saw the rain and the winds really pick up, and i would say probably by ten o'clock our time, am, all the way until about two o'clock our time — am — all the way until about two o'clock in the afternoon, it was, as we say, rocking and rolling. we had very, very strong winds. we had a wind gust of 92 mph on folly beach, which is one of our barrier islands — we're right on the atlantic ocean — and a lot of wind gusts right into the 60s and 70 mile per hour range, so it has been quite a day here and i guess when i — ijust went home for dinner after a long day of broadcasting and in my neighbourhood, there's branches and stuff everywhere, debris everywhere, so it didn't hit us as hard

as florida but certainly, it did hit us pretty hard. i was just going to say how does it compare to what happened in florida? well, fortunately for us, it hit southwest florida with 150 mile per hour winds. it hit us with 85 mile per hour winds, but there were gusts even higher than that, so. and what is interesting is, lucy, the actual centre — the eye of the storm — passed about 40—50 miles to our north in a place called georgetown, south carolina, and we're south of there. but even though the centre went to our north, we got the brunt of the storm as the eyewall, those real strong bands of thunderstorms with high winds and heavy rain, actually went right through the charleston area, so it has been quite a day. and it's thought that the flooding in florida and other areas could continue for days, doesn't it? we still have some roads in our area that are impassable here in the charleston area. so, yes, what happened is, since we are on the ocean, we've got the tides coming

in and all that water coming in ahead of hurricane ianjust got pushed in and pushed in to our creeks and our harbour and it just couldn't evacuate, so even still at this hour, there are some roads in charleston that are not passible. we are only about seven feet above sea level, so it doesn't take much for us to flood. right. and moving on from now, how is it going, thought to be weakening? it is weakening. it is now basically almost in north carolina, the centre of circulation. it has transitioned into a big wind storm and rainstorm but i know i was was talking to one of our meteorologists at one of our tv stations in raleigh, north carolina and he said, "rob, it's a mess up here," so we transferred all of that wind and rain to our neighbours in north carolina, then it will continue to move to the north and weaken but even still at this hour, we have got some gusty winds. not what we had earlier but still winds at 20, 25 mph gusting, creating issues for our power crews

who are trying to get out and restore power and other folks that are trying to get out and clean things up. now, a suicide attack at an education centre in the afghan capital has killed at least 19 people, most of them young female students. many were wounded. louisa bill beam has more. this woman is wringing her sister. there is no answer. my sister. there is no answer. my sister was in there, she says, taking an exam. translation: ~ ., �* ., taking an exam. translation: ., �* ., ., , translation: we don't have any information- _ translation: we don't have any information. we _ translation: we don't have any information. we are _ translation: we don't have any information. we are calling - translation: we don't have any information. we are calling her i information. we are calling her but she is not responding. victims were rushed to hospital. most young women teenagers and in their early 20s. families looked through lists to find out if their loved ones were among the dead. female students had been sitting on these benches at the higher education sector. witnesses say that a security

guard shot witnesses before detonating a device. they were young people signing for university entrance exams. translation: we university entrance exams. translation:— university entrance exams. translation: we were in the midst of the — translation: we were in the midst of the exam _ translation: we were in the midst of the exam and - translation: we were in the | midst of the exam and suddenly an explosion occurred. it happened between where the girls were seated. the girls were seated in the first row and we, the boys, were behind them. ~ . ., them. when i heard the sound of them. when i heard the sound of the exolosion _ them. when i heard the sound of the explosion i _ them. when i heard the sound of the explosion i saw _ them. when i heard the sound of the explosion i saw so _ them. when i heard the sound of the explosion i saw so many - the explosion i saw so many pieces— the explosion i saw so many pieces of— the explosion i saw so many pieces of flesh in the air. people _ pieces of flesh in the air. people were panicking so much. some _ people were panicking so much. some were injured and some were crying _ some were injured and some were crying i_ some were injured and some were crying. i went to help them. i helped — crying. i went to help them. i helped to _ crying. i went to help them. i helped to carry some dead bodies _ helped to carry some dead bodies. the casualty toll was so high _ bodies. the casualty toll was so hiuh. ,., . bodies. the casualty toll was so hi.h_ , ., ., ., bodies. the casualty toll was so hiuh. ,. ., ., , so high. this area to the west of kabul has _ so high. this area to the west of kabul has seen _ so high. this area to the west of kabul has seen frequent i of kabul has seen frequent attacks. most people are from the hazara sheer minority, and ethnic group previously targeted by an affiliate of islamic state. the taliban's return to palatal boland declined. the security has deteriorated with some of

suicide bombings claimed by iis. no group has yet claimed responsibility for this attack. this is bbc news. our main headline this hour. international outcry as president putin declares that four areas of ukraine, seized illegally, are now russian. let's stay with that top story. unsurprisingly, russia has vetoed a resolution at the united nations security council which condemned its annexation of parts of ukraine. the resolution was put forward by the united states. china, brazil and india all abstained. my colleague shaun ley has been speaking to the uk's permanent representative to the united nations, dame barbara woodward. he asked her the purpose of tabling the resolution, given that russia could have been expected to use its veto. the purpose of tabling this resolution was twofold. the first was to expose for what they are the sham and illegal annexations of the four provinces of ukraine, totalling

a land area about the size of portugal, the biggest annexation since hitler in world war ii. and the second was to make russia isolated yet again, and besought russia, the only country to vote against the resolution, and we will see i think the same again next week when we see the general assembly, the full membership of the united nations, considers this question. i expect strong support for the key concepts of sovereignty and territorial integrity and this is what ukraine has been fighting for for the last seven months. it fighting for for the last seven months. , ' ~ , �* months. it is difficult isn't it that other _ months. it is difficult isn't it that other quite - months. it is difficult isn't i it that other quite important countries, china, say, but believes in nonintervention and you would have thought would be uncomfortable, had expressed, or at least president putin suggested that the chinese had expressed at the organisations meeting its summer camp and india criticised that to get it abstain. without the support of

those countries it is hard to make progress, isn't it, in an international institution like the united nations? i international institution like the united nations?- international institution like the united nations? i am not sure i entirely _ the united nations? i am not sure i entirely agree - the united nations? i am not sure i entirely agree with - sure i entirely agree with that. i think we heard from all of the countries who voted today apart from russia, of course, this support, first of all, thought sovereignty and territorial integrity. this critical principle that no country should be vulnerable to an autocratic dictator rolling tanks across its border or randomly waking up and annexing some of its territory, or declaring it to be annexed. and in these countries, statements after the voting, they were absolutely clear in their support for the un charter, and as the secretary general said yesterday, this is a moment where we are seeing russia standing against everything that the un stands for. so, i think over all we still have got strong support for the un charter and russia is isolated. barbara woodman, the uk

permanent representative to the united nations there. investigators investing the death of a schoolboy have become a new degani saddleworth moor. they say that a fragment of human skull has been discovered by a man researching the disappearance of keith bennett. our correspondent reports. in howling wind and driving rain, there is no bleaker part of the north of england for search teams to be examining. but now, on the moors which are synonymous with murder, the sight of scenes of crime officers investigating possible human remains. this is the little boy whose body they are looking for — keith bennett, one of five children tortured and killed by the moors murderers in the 1960s and the only one who has never been found. chris has farmed this area for 50 years and owns the land which is now being examined by the police. these murders up here,

it's not a nice thing. it is such a beautiful valley but it is blackened by that, what happened, yeah. i have always been going out and looking for any signs of a grave when i have been gathering sheep up on the hills. i've done it, well, i promised keith's mum. she came to see me when she was going to pass on with cancer and asked me to keep looking and i said, "i will keep looking". if they have found him, it will be a very big relief for theirfamily. this section of saddleworth moor is unforgiving. 5000 acres of peat bog land which has been searched before without success. but this location where they are now looking at, where i am standing, is very near to where the remains of some of hindley and brady's other child victims were also discovered. ian brady died in 2017 without revealing where keith was buried, despite having been taken to the moors himself in 1987 tojoin a police search. officers are now looking here after having been contacted by a private search team who said they had made a discovery.

i believe this is keith bennett because no other youngster has been murdered and not found on that side of the moor. the skull shows that it is juvenile, um, which will put it in the region of the right age. the police say they are in the very early stages of their work. it will take some time to establish if human remains have been discovered and the moors have given up brady's secret at last. judith moritz, bbc news, saddleworth. it's less than two months now until the football world cup kicks off in qatar. excitement is building for supporters all around the globe. a lucky few will travel to see the matches in person — while many more will be watching on television. but some are showing their enthusiasm in a very particular way — as the bbc�*s tim allman explains. football fever on a

somewhat smaller scale. before every major tournament, people start collecting sticker books. but this year, for some, it's not been that easy. in argentina, there is a major shortage of stickers. shops have sold out, albums are yet to be filled. however, some are luckier than others. translation: my dad said, "i hope we get messi". - he opened it, and we got messi. i went around the house, shouting, "i got messi! "i got messi!" here in buenos aires, they are literally queueing around the block. desperate times call for desperate measures. translation: i arrived at 5:00 in the morning and discovered l they are selling stickers

here in one of the few places you can find them right now, because they are not available anywhere. in mexico, santiago fills up his sticker book, but he has to glue it in. his father couldn't afford the real thing, so he had to improvise, printing off copies from the internet — although santiago doesn't seem to mind. translation: i had this light bulb moment. - i couldn't do anything else. i got home. i gave him the album. i said to him, "take this, son." he hugged me, he kissed me, and he said, "daddy dearest, "i love you. "i love you, i love you." the devotion, the obsession, is clear. just imagine how excited they will be when some actual football gets under way. tim allman, bbc news. you can reach me on twitter —

i'm @lucyegrey. thanks for an atlantic weather front has swept across the uk. most of us had a spell of steady rain and gusty winds and now, in the wake of that weather front, we've sunshine and showers for this weekend and quite brisk winds as well, particularly around western areas. now, that low pressure will still drive our weather through the course of saturday and sunday. but here is that weather front, it is now moving into scandinavia through germany and also through france. let's look at the early hours. quite a few isobars here because the low pressure is still close by. well, just to the north west of us, and that means gusty winds pushing in the showers in scotland and northern ireland and there will be a few elsewhere, but predominantly clear spells early on saturday.

temperatures will range from 7 in aberdeen to around 12 in the south. here's the forecast for saturday itself, and the picture remains more or less the same. brisk winds out towards the west and the occasional shower, some of them quite heavy in scotland and northern ireland, best of the weather the further east and south you are. temperatures will be around 19 in london for a time, but for many of us in the north—west, closer to 13 or ia. now, sunday, another weather front is expected to brush southern parts of the uk, and why�*s that important? well, we've got the london marathon on sunday, and here's the thinking — the rain will probably reach south—western parts of the uk early in the morning, and then it should reach london, it looks as though the rain will clear by the time we get to the afternoon. so, we will call it a wet start to the marathon and through the afternoon things should dry out, but there is uncertainty with regards to how quickly that rain clears. the rest of the country should

have a fine day on sunday. if you're wondering about monday, high pressure is expected to build across england and wales, so fine weather here with light winds and pleasant conditions and turning a bit warmer but in the north—west, we'll be closer to atlantic weather fronts. some rain expected possibly northern ireland and quite likely in the western isles of scotland. here are the temperatures, high teens in wales and in scotland and northern ireland mid teens. and here's the outlook — next week it looks as though at times, the weather will be unsettled by those temperatures could reach 20 degrees in the south of the uk. have a good weekend.

this is bbc news. the headlines: russia's president putin has announced four illegally seized regions of ukraine are now part of russia. marking the declaration at events in moscow, he warned the west he would protect the territory with all means at russia's disposal. hurricane ian's made landfall in the us again, slamming south carolina with winds of iaokm/h. officials there and in north carolina and georgia told residents to prepare for life—threatening flooding. it struck florida on wednesday as one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the us. here in the uk, police investigating the murder of a schoolboy by serial killers ian brady and myra hindley in 1964 have begun digging on saddleworth moor. it's after a fragment of human skull was discovered by a man researching the disappearance of 12—year—old keith bennett.