welcome to bbc news. i'm monica plaha. our top stories — as president zelensky returns to ukraine, we get the latest update from the front line. but for all the sophisticated weaponry, and all the ammunition, this is what it comes down to in the end. man, mount and an enemy, which is within rifle range. israel votes in the most right—wing government in the country's history, and hints at controversial plans for the future. the us is in for the coldest christmas in four decades, as a major winter storm sweeps the country. and the mystery of the missing christmas beetle — australian scientists launch a campaign to find it. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america, and around the globe.

russia has responded to president zelensky�*s visit to washington, accusing the us of fighting an "indirect war" against it. in a speech, president putin said a new patriot missile defence system "would simply prolong the war", and that russia would find an antidote. the ukrainian leader is now back in ukraine. well, ten months on since the start of the conflict, ukrainian forces have regained some areas taken by russia. the bbc has been following one soldier, lieutenant eugene gromadskyi, as he fights to defend his country, at great personal cost. our correspondent quentin sommerville, and camera journalist darren conway, joined him near kupyansk, in the country's east,

where fighting continues, amid appalling winter conditions. when the enemy is on your doorstep, sacrifices must be made. this is home for a platoon from ukraine's 92nd brigade. they have a few small rooms in an abandoned house. they're crammed in tight. meals are eaten standing up. not that senior lieutenant eugene grabowski gets to spend much time here. he's had only two hours�* sleep, but again needs to head out to the front. there's a russian counter—attack under way. this war has shaken the world, and ukraine, but the 22—year—old lieutenant hasn't wavered. he's been fighting since the war�*s very beginning.

when his army veteran father was killed, on the first day of the invasion, he didn't falter. this was nine months ago, when i first met eugene at the start of a conflict that would transform him and his country. he'd just recently graduated. he and ukraine were ill prepared. today, eugene and his country bear the scars of lessons learned. there've been a lot of casualties in this war. you've lost a lot of people. do you fear death? translation: the person who is not afraid is already dead. i if you meet death with open arms, it will avoid you, because death loves the brave. that's why i don't think about death. i only think about life — the lives of my comrades and the lives of those in my unit.

these are the men who have eugene's back, who stand at the ready, in this winter wasteland, exposed to russian firepower and the elements. shouting. they're trying to hold a russian breakthrough. they're trying to halt a russian breakthrough. there's hardly any cover here, so they move as fast as the cold allows... ..knowing that russian guns will soon find them. explosion. translation: the enemy's positions are being hit - by fire. they're trying to advance, but our artillery is helping our infantry with a counteroffensive, and we will keep fighting until the end. it's our land. it's our blood. time is up. the russians are targeting them. let's go.

their aim for now is off, but it's closing in. artillery strikes a nearby tree line. eugene's comrades hit the trenches. there's fierce fighting up ahead. the ukrainians have taken a lot of ground here. but for all the sophisticated weaponry, and all the ammunition, this is what it comes down to in the end — men, mud, and an enemy, which is within rifle range. ukraine is still advancing here, but winter is coming, and the next few months are going to be a slow, hard grind. but in these conditions, it's tough maintaining momentum. when ukrainian soil turns into soup, regaining every step of territory is a slog. translation: we need to work on that village over there. -

gunfire. it's one of only a couple of dozen villages still in russian control in kharkiv region. every day is a battle for the upper hand. the road they must travel is dangerous, pitted with russian hits and misses. in the freezing cold, everything is an effort. they've lost men on this route, and the bitterest months still lie ahead here. movement is spotted. gunfire. translation: a little bit| to the right, on the corner overthere, right

behind the hangar. these are the daily battles the men face. today, some ground is won, but tomorrow, it may be lost. and so it repeats, as the casualties mount on both sides. translation: to be honest, there were many comrades . who died, who i knew personally. they were ideological people, who kept moving forward, who never stopped. but it's a war, so there is no time to be sad. air-raid siren. some 13,000 soldiers have already died defending ukraine, and away from the front, millions more will spend a freezing winter in darkness, because of russian missile attacks. and this christmas, it will be candles for the fallen that light the homes of ukrainians.

natalia had two heroes in her life. her first, her husband. he was killed on the first day of the war as he defended the city. can you describe your husband to us? what kind of a man was he? translation: he was a patriot. a real patriot of our country. he was a ukrainian. and natalia's trials are far from over. her other hero is her only child. she's eugene's mother, the young lieutenant fighting at the front, seen here with 0leg, his father, who died in battle. she has given

everything for ukraine. 18 months into this war, do you have a message for other ukrainian mothers? translation: i want to wish them to always believe that l everything will be ok with our children, and to always wait for them. mothers' love is a big power. we need to believe that everything will be fine. surely. quentin somerville, bbc news, kharkiv. forecasters in the us say a major storm may bring the coldest christmas in four decades to parts of the country. there has already been major snowfall in many areas. more than 90 million people in 37 states are braced for sub—zero temperatures, including places as far south as texas.

tom brada reports. a fierce winter storm is sweeping across the united states. more than 100 million people are under winter weather alerts, with warnings of ice, snow and freezing winds. at a white house briefing, president biden called for caution. this is really a very serious weather alert here, and it goes from oklahoma all the way to wyoming and maine. it's not like a snow day when you're a kid, this is serious stuff. meteorologists say the winter storm could become a bomb cyclone — an unofficial term for a certain type of powerful storm, which rapidly builds in strength. heavy snowfall and strong winds are expected to cause damage and power outages in the midwest and canada, and travel chaos is expected, as people head home for christmas, with thousands of flights already cancelled. it's been a little crazy.

i got here early, to make sure i got my flight. i was doing frontier, and the app never notified me that the flight got cancelled, so i was sitting there an extra hour, and then security told me it got cancelled. so, then i came here, then my otherflight from frontier got cancelled. the national weather service has warned temperatures could dip below —45 celsius by the end of the week in some parts of the country. with christmas fast approaching, millions of americans will hope the ferocious cold won't ruin their festive plans. tom brada, bbc news. michael loria is a reporter with the chicago sun times and hejoins us now from chicago. michael, from chicago. thank you so much for joining michael, thank you so much for joining us, and it looks like you're in the bitter cold as well. you had a really busy day today, avenue, covering the story from chicago 0'hare airport and also a rail

station. so just tell us about your day. we can see what the weather is like when you are at. ., , ., , weather is like when you are at. ., , , ., ., at. for sure. it has been a lot of moving _ at. for sure. it has been a lot of moving around. _ at. for sure. it has been a lot of moving around. i - at. for sure. it has been a lot i of moving around. i was working mainly out of chicago 0'hare airport today, which is a major hub for the rest of the midwest, and we are about 500 flights have been cancelled so far. i met a lot of families from all over. i met a set of grandparents, who were trying to make it back to iowa with their youngest granddaughter in tow. they had a flight cancelled last night, and then another today. they told me it's been crazy. the last i checked with them, they still had not getting a flight out yet so it remains to be seen what happens to tammy and dennis alan berg and their four—year—old granddaughter angie bell. after that, i went down to union station here in chicago, which isjust across the river from the chicago, which isjust across the riverfrom the river stour,

formerly known as the sears tower. and i met a lot of people who are actually leaving the airport to try to catch a train out, but then they wound up train out, but then they wound up having trains cancelled. i met 0livia carroll, who was trying to get to minnesota, where the rest of her family is waiting for her. but first she had a train cancelled and then a flight cancelled, so now her bet is to try a combination of the two and head to milwaukee tonight, where she'll take a flight from there to minneapolis. she told me that she feels like she's living in a christmas movie, and she doesn't like it. but not everyone was also trying to get out of chicago. back at chicago 0'hare as well, i met a couple that have definite dash—mac desperately try to make it back to chicago in time before the blizzard. i met katie and peter fassbender, who had been in switzerland, visiting peter's family, but they knew about the blizzard coming and they wanted to get back in time, so katie

told me that she spent about four hours on the phone yesterday with swiss airlines, trying to find an earlier flight. eventually they found one. they were able to get home. she told me that her husband's sweats and works in risk management, so they really tried to plan for it, and to her it was really important, because she has missed a lot of christmases in the past, she said, because she was in the peace corps. £31 said, because she was in the peace com-— said, because she was in the peace carpe— peace corps. of course, you mention — peace corps. of course, you mention that _ peace corps. of course, you mention that something - peace corps. of course, youj mention that something like peace corps. of course, you - mention that something like out of a christmas movie, and there are lots of worries over that travel chaos. but what about the city is most vulnerable and also the homeless. what help is being provided for them? absolutely. here in chicago, we had a lot of shelters, and the city has also some measures in place. but, you know, let's see, some folks had been taken to downtown hotels by other

people inside the city who are just trying to help out. these people are putting out, putting up people are putting out, putting up these folks on their own dollar. these are folks that we have covered her before in chicago. aside from that, though, it is a major concern, because of these temperatures right now, i'm sitting outside and it's not so bad, but... michael, thank you so much for your time, thank you for joining us. please do get inside, stay safe, keep warm. thank you for your time. thanks for having _ thank you for your time. thanks for having me. _ stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the disppearance of australia's christmas beetle — scientists launch a campaign to find the festive fixture. the world of music has been paying tribute to george michael, who's died from suspected heart failure at the age of 53. he sold well over 100 million albums in a career spanning more than three decades.

the united states' troops have been trying to overthrow the dictatorship of general manuel noriega. the pentagon says it's failed in its principle objective — to capture noriega and take him to the united states to face drugs charges. the hammer and sickle| was hastily taken away. in its place, the russian flag - was hoisted over what is now no longer the soviet union, but the commonwealth i of independent states. day broke slowly over lockerbie, over the cockpit of pan am's maid of the seas, nose down in the soft earth. you could see what happens when a plane eight storeys high, a football pitch wide, falls from 30,000 feet. christmas has returned to albania after a communist ban lasting more than 20 years. thousands went to midnight mass in the town of shkoder, where there were anti—communist riots ten days ago. this is bbc news. the latest headlines — israel's longest—serving prime

minister benjamin netanyahu has formed a new coalition government — the most right—wing in the country's history — with controversial plans to expand jewish settlements. israel occupied the west bank after the 1967 war with its arab neighbours. 600,000 israelijews have settled there among the palestinians. most of the international community consider these settlements as illegal. israel disputes that. since the election, violence around settlements in the west bank city of hebron has increased, from where our middle east correspondent tom bateman reports. the markhiya family say they feel under siege from israeli settlers. here, we meet children far too familiar with fear and violence — as we found out. the settlers are attacking in front of the house. in front? can we go out?

is it safe? young israelis storm into the garden, followed by the soldiers. "get out of here! "leave," they tell the palestinian family. nmd mr markhiya is kicked. —— and mr markhiya is kicked. an activist tries to help the family. and the soldiers, they do nothing to protect the palestinians! if a palestinian do that, you will take them to the jail, or shoot him! in this city like no other, it's the ones who stormed in that seem protected and are soon gone, with a handshake. allahu akbar! in late november, the street faced an even worse attack. it was barely a month after an election which has empowered the settler movement and the ultra nationalist far—right. gunshots. days later, an israeli peace activist was beaten while another soldier was filmed as he hailed the extreme right. he was laterjailed for several days. asked about the incidents of settler violence, the army said it acts to stop

it and police carry out investigations, but human rights groups routinely dismiss those as a whitewash. after the election, the coalition deal puts mr netanyahu back in power — but only by bringing in the ultranationalists. he says he'll be in control. however, many fear the extremism in a year already racked with violence. the national security minister will be itamar ben—gvir, a far—right agitator whose party espouses racist anti—arab policies. and, for the far right, hebron is a heartland. settlers here voted overwhelmingly for mr ben—gvir�*s alliance. he was the person who put a framed picture of a mass murderer on his wall at home, described him as a hero. doesn't that worry you? he's apologised for that and he said he's matured through that. but bottom line is people want anti—jihadism, pro—family and pro—god.

your silence will bring you checkpoints all over. your silence will bring you division. a well—known palestinian activist speaks to a gathering of the israeli left. they're a dwindling force these days. and while they tour, undercover police watch them from the shadows. hebron is a city of checkpoints and a flashpoint of the conflict and occupation. that is my house. back with issa amro, the palestinian activist, i'm shown what life is like for him here. and you're not allowed to go there? i'm not allowed to walk from here. usually, this is closed. he's been arrested multiple times and then, he's pulled away from us, detained again. the police accuse him of obstructing justice. the activists call it harassment. issa, what's happening to you now? i'm arrested. why? they fear a slide into more of this, and much worse, as israeli politics sees

the far—right take centre stage. tom bateman, bbc news, hebron. let's get some of the day's other news. a shanghai hospital has told staff to prepare for a "tragic battle" with covid—19. it expects that half of the city's 25 million people will get infected by the end of next week. china reported no daily deaths from the virus on thursday but experts don't think this is accurate as long queues form outside funeral parlours and crematoriums. the founder of the failed crypto exchange, ftx, has been released in new york on bail set at $250 million. sam bankman—fried must stay at his parents' home and surrender his passport. he is awaiting trial on fraud and money laundering charges. a belgian court has told the greek politician at the centre of a corruption scandal in the european parliament that she must remain in custody for another month.

eva kaili was stripped of her role as vice president of the parliament over the case earlier this month. she denies accepting bribes from qatar. now to australia, where the disappearance of a missing festive bug has scientists scratching their heads. the brightly coloured insect once appeared on a regular basis at this time of year, and in such numbers that it earned the nickname the christmas beetle. but sightings have been in sharp decline in recent years. in a bid to track the population and find out why, scientists are asking for the public�*s help. leading the project at the university of sydney is dr tanya latty. thank you ever so much for joining us on bbc news. firstly, could you explain a little bit about the project and while you are doing this?

yes, so christmas beetles as you said used to be super throughout australia and a really unique part of the christmas experience here, where every christmas, millions of these beautiful iridescent beetles would descend upon all of the major cities here. like little winged christmas baubles everywhere. but that has not happened in quite a long time and unfortunately, although lots of people remember seeing lots of people remember seeing lots of people remember seeing lots of christmas beetles during their childhood, we now have the data to back it up and since there are 35 different types of christmas beetle, we cannot say if they are all in the client or some going into decline and others haven't if there are particular regions where they are in decline which is a huge problem for us from a conservation perspective because without data, our hands are tied and there's nothing we can do to stop the recovery, the goal of the project is to get the information. crosstalk. how will you _

get the information. crosstalk. how will you go _ get the information. crosstalk. how will you go about _ get the information. crosstalk. how will you go about getting - how will you go about getting the information? we how will you go about getting the information?— how will you go about getting the information? we are asking the information? we are asking the ublic the information? we are asking the public for _ the information? we are asking the public for help. _ the information? we are asking the public for help. 35 - the public for help. 35 different species that are distributed across australia which is an enormous country. we don't have the resources to do it ourselves but what we can do it ourselves but what we can do is ask the public if they see a christmas beetle to take a photo of it and upload it to a photo of it and upload it to a database called inaturalist. it's super easy to do, you can have the app on your phone. when you do that, the siting gets included in our database. the app also is cool because it runs a machine learning algorithm that will automatically try to identify your sighting, so we does not want for christmas beetles but any living thing, so if you are not sure whether you are looking at a christmas beetle, it's ok, picture, uploaded, the algorithm will do a lot of heavy lifting and we have teams of experts standing by to go through to confirm they are in fact beetles.— fact beetles. what kind of engagement _ fact beetles. what kind of engagement have - fact beetles. what kind of engagement have you - fact beetles. what kind of| engagement have you had fact beetles. what kind of - engagement have you had from the public so far and are you learning anything from early

submissions yet, it's been heartwarming to see the public coming behind our christmas beetles. ~ �* ., ., ;;:: :: :: beetles. we've had over 3000 siauhtins beetles. we've had over 3000 sightings total, _ beetles. we've had over 3000 sightings total, about - beetles. we've had over 3000 sightings total, about 2000 i sightings total, about 2000 people actively following the project and there's been huge amounts of interest in the project. so far even though i've only been collecting data from a year, have recently found two species of christmas beetles that have not been cited since the 70s and 90s that these were insects we were not sure if they still existed in the wild and now we have sightings which is tremendously exciting. sightings which is tremendously excitin: . �* , sightings which is tremendously excitina. �* , ., ~' exciting. and why do you think these are _ exciting. and why do you think these are sightings _ exciting. and why do you think these are sightings of- exciting. and why do you think these are sightings of the i these are sightings of the christmas beetle have been reduced and are you concerned about this? how concerned? i’m about this? how concerned? i'm terrified! about this? how concerned? i“n terrified! honestly. notjust because of the christmas beetles. losing the means we would lose something uniquely australian. it doesn't happen anywhere else in the world, the beatles only live here, but on another level i worry that the beetles are the canary in the coalmine, they are a big part of christmas and we know when

they disappeared.— of christmas and we know when they disappeared. doctor tanya, i am so sorry. — they disappeared. doctor tanya, i am so sorry. i— they disappeared. doctor tanya, i am so sorry, i have _ they disappeared. doctor tanya, i am so sorry, i have to - they disappeared. doctor tanya, i am so sorry, i have to cut i they disappeared. doctor tanya, i am so sorry, i have to cut it i i am so sorry, i have to cut it short by thank you so much for joining us on bbc news. thanks forjoining me. hello there. for most of us, temperatures for the run—up to christmas and, indeed, into the christmas period will be above the seasonal norm, so it's staying mild, ithink, for most of us with quite a lot of rain at times that'll be followed by sunny spells, scattered showers for christmas eve and christmas day. however, there will be some snow around friday and certainly into the start of the christmas period across the north of the uk as cold air tries to push southwards and, eventually, it will win out for a time as we move through boxing day, but it will be short—lived with milder air returning into the run—up to new year. now, today, it's a very wet start across southern and western areas. this band of heavy and persistent rain slowly pushes its way northwards, some thundery bursts of rain perhaps on it as we head

into the afternoon, but it brightens up in the south — quite windy, though, strong south—westerly winds. to the north of this rain band, it's sunny spells, scattered showers. these will be over wintry elements, over the hills, and it will be chillier in the north, ranging from around 4 to maybe 13 degrees in the south. that milder air will push northwards behind the rain band but as this rain band pushes into the cold down the north, likely to see some transient snow in the north pennines. the southern uplands will see some significant snowfall, i think, across parts of the highlands and the grampians. it will be quite a wet start to christmas eve here. but further south, generally dry and relatively mild. so, for christmas eve itself, it's going to be pretty wet and quite windy across scotland. further snow in the hills. but as the mild air in the south pushes northwards, it'll revert back to rain and we'll see sunny spells, scattered showers — most of the showers southern and western areas. the winds will be strongest around some irish sea coasts. up to 12 or 13 degrees in the south, seven or eight degrees in the north. as we move out of christmas eve into christmas day, similar story — we're in a run

of south—westerly winds, sunshine and showers. could see some rain, but that weather front scrapes the south—east through the day. and then, this weather front spreading south—eastwards into boxing day will introduce a line of showers but also, more crucially, a spell of colder air which will move south across the country, and that'll bring a mixture of sunny spells and wintry showers, particularly in the north—west corner of the country. but you'll see that the cold spell is short—lived as we move out of boxing day and beyond. it's likely those temperatures will be rising above the seasonal norm. don't forget — you can see detailed weather forecast for where you are and where you're going by checking out the bbc weather app.

this is bbc news. the headlines — the us senate has approved a huge government spending programme, which includes another m5 billion of support for ukraine. the house of representatives has yet to vote on the bill. at least 1,500 flights have been cancelled in the us and canada, thanks to a fierce winter storm. forecasters say america could face the coldest christmas in decades, with lows of minus 45 degrees celsius in some places. president biden is urging people to pay attention to local warnings. israel has formed the most right—wing coalition government

in the country's history and has hinted at controversial