it's been illegalfor men who can fight to leave, but thousands are trying... ..some helped by corrupt officials. we've been given exclusive access to the border forces in ukraine and moldova. we meet some of the men risking it all to leave... ..and those trying to stop them. we investigate how many are escaping and why they don't want to fight.

it's the start of the daily patrol along ukraine's border with romania. vladyslav is a 22—year—old lieutenant in ukraine's border service. the border runs mostly along a river and a mountain range, making it difficult to protect.

the border guards film their operations. these young men were arrested just metres from romania's border. it's illegal for men under 60 to leave without a valid exemption from military service. those caught trying to do so face up to eight years injail.

dog barks since the start of the war over 4,000 men have been stopped trying to cross into romania. elsewhere, the numbers are higher.

dinu is a senior officer with the moldovan border police. on average, 22 ukrainian men a day are making it out over this 1,200km border. this man hasjust been found... ..and taken to the local border police station. yevgeny is 37 and a construction worker from kyiv.

it's been six months since he saw his family. he says he left because he was struggling to survive. yevgeny says he's avoided the draft. men like him with no fighting experience haven't been called up yet.

most men like yevgeny attempt the journey at night. a thermal camera is used to spot them. in this recent footage, the men seem to know how to dodge the border patrols.

ukraine's border with moldova has become the most popular illegal way out. since the war, over 11,000 men have used this route. sneaking across the border is not the only way to escape the war. with the right paperwork, you can get an exemption from military service.

we heard that some men are paying substantial bribes to get their hands on these documents. to find out how this works, we asked a localjournalist to pretend to be a man who wants to leave. got my cover story. my name is andrei, i'm 29 years old and i'm looking to leave ukraine as soon as possible. i want to see and visit my family in germany. a quick search reveals at least six groups offering help on the messaging app telegram. they have a lot of reviews from other people who leave the country with their services. so i'm going to write to them. they immediately send you all their options, how to leave the country.

one of the most popular is a medical exemption, known as a white ticket. it means that they can write there that they have some disease, or some medical problems. and i cannot serve in the army until the end of my life. and also, with this document, you can leave the country and come back any time. officials at these centres work closely with military doctors to decide who can get a medical exemption. they sent me an example of this white ticket, it's for me to document. it looks real. probably, they know somebody at that office, so this is corruption.

it seems increasing demand for white tickets is pushing up prices. corrupt officials are also demanding higher bribes. they're more worried this is a dangerous job for them. in those groups, there is quite a lot of men who want to leave, so i think this business is quite busy. recently, the government tried to crack down on this booming business by sacking those in charge of military recruitment.

since the start of the war, nearly 7,000 men have been arrested for using fraudulent paperwork, including white tickets. men who are sick or disabled say getting an exemption through the official channels isn't easy. in a refugee centre in moldova, we meet erik, who has arrived on foot from ukraine.

but erik says his troubles began some time before when he became critically ill. erik says he wouldn't survive in the army. when the war broke out, he desperately tried to apply for a white ticket, but wasn't successful.

erik is a musician. fearful of the call—up, he says music helped him to cope. he's hoping to go to the us, where his family is.

400km away in southern ukraine, vladyslav is back on shift, on the banks of the tisza river.

crossing it is one of the most popular ways out of ukraine, but smugglers don't always warn people about how dangerous it is. these men were caught trying to swim across.

since february last year, 19 bodies have been recovered here. it isn't known how many people have died trying to leave ukraine. in moldova, yevgeny is being escorted to the nearest immigration centre. ukrainian men running from the war have the right to claim asylum in neighbouring countries. low chatter

next, he will need to go to the capital, to proceed with his asylum claim. dasvidaniya. yevgeny is one of around 20,000 ukrainian men who crossed illegally and claimed asylum in neighbouring states.

yevgeny hopes it won't be long before he's reunited with his family in the uk. we lost touch with him. he plays soft tune but we did hearfrom erik. it's seven months since he left ukraine.

ukraine does not release

official figures on the size of its army, but the country's defence minister claims it has 800,000 troops. our investigation shows that more than 40,000 ukrainian men have tried to get out or succeeded in leaving the country illegally. we put these findings to a senior politician from the ruling party, fedir venislavskyi. man speaks ukrainian he acknowledged there is corruption in the issuing of exemption papers. he says the number of men leaving is having no impact

on the war effort.

but the end of the conflict with russia is nowhere in sight. as this turns into a war of attrition, ukraine will need all the soldiers it can get. hey, this is zof with the catch—up. tonight: oscar pistorius

set to be released. reading and leeds festivals reveal all. and a rare rhino birth. first, our top story, the red cross says 2a people who were held hostage by hamas in gaza have been released and fighting has been paused. they've arrived in israel for hospital check—ups before being reunited with their families in exchange for the release of the israeli hostages. 39 palestinian detainees are freed. huge crowds have turned out in the west bank to welcome the women and children. some other stories now. former paralympic champion oscar pistorius is going to be freed from jail on parole — that's nearly 11 years after he murdered his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp. he shot her multiple times through a bathroom door in 2013, later saying that he mistook herfor a burglar. he's set to be released in january. and you may have noticed the streets were

extra chaotic today because of black friday deals. this tradition started in the us but now, the uk participate in the yearly event, too. time for christmas shopping, then! and it's a big week for reading and leeds festival fans as they've announced fred again, lana del rey and catfish and the bottlemen as headliners for next year's festival. it will be the only time lana and fred again will play uk festivals in 202a. and now for ten seconds of rhino cuteness at chester zoo as they celebrate the birth of the eastern black rhino. this is one of the world's rarest mammals. this is so adorable! i cannot cope! please, where can i get a pet baby rhino? you're all caught up now. see you later. hello again. many of you will have had a dry day of weather on friday with plenty of sunshine around. blue skies like these pretty

commonplace across the country. however, it certainly was quite chilly, wasn't it? temperatures on thursday reached 15 degrees — well above average. but compared with that for some, temperatures were seven degrees lower on friday and actually quite a bit below average for the time of year. now, what followed from that sunny day is these clear skies which took us into the first part of the night. temperatures have been dropping like a stone and already are well below freezing in many areas underneath these clear skies. the exception to that really cold theme is across northern and eastern scotland and the eastern side of england, where there's a bit of a breeze around and that mightjust keep the frost at bay. however, i think in the very coldest areas in the countryside, we could see temperatures as low as minus six. that's potentially even the case across our very coldest areas of southern england. so, a freezing cold start to the day on saturday but your weekend getting off to a sunny start as well and for most, that's the way the weather's going to stay all day — just blue skies and sunshine overhead with barely a cloud in the sky.

the exceptions — again northern and eastern scotland, down the eastern side of england. there'lljust be a few showers which occasionally could graze some of our coastal areas but otherwise, it's dry and it's cold with temperatures typically between about five and seven degrees celsius. we are going to see some change in the weather picture as we head, though, into the second part of the weekend as this area of low pressure moves in off the atlantic. a cold and frosty start to the day. and as this cloud comes over the top of that really cold air near the surface, it's going to be one of those days where temperatures are very slow to rise and actually, most of the day it will stay really, really cold. for scotland and a good part of eastern england, should stay dry with sunshine for most of the day but out west, you'll see some thicker cloud working in. a bit of damp weather for northern ireland, wales and western england and eventually, you might see temperatures climb to about 9—11 degrees — but really late in the day. the area of low pressure, then, pushes eastwards sunday night,

bringing some rain. that clears off into the continent. as it does so, it will shove back our way some cold air that originates from europe and scandinavia. so, next week, it stays very cold. into that cold air, occasionally, there'll be some weather systems, probably mostly bringing outbreaks of rain, but i can't completely rule out a few flakes of snow as well.

live from washington. this is bbc news. 2a hostages released by hamas are now back in israel, as preparations are underway for the next group to be released within the coming hours. in the west bank, crowds gathered to welcome back 39 palestinian prisoners, released under the hostage agreement. and as the trade of hostages and prisoners continue, much—needed aid flows into gaza with more expected. hello.

i'm caitriona perry. you're very welcome. it's been 7 weeks since the israel—gaza conflict began, and the temporary pause in fighting is entering its second day. this is the scene in gaza. 2a hostages who were being held there by hamas were released on friday. they're now back in israel, undergoing medical checks. among them, 10 thai citizens, one filipino and 13 israeli women and children. israeli authorities say all of the hostages are in good health, and some have already been reunited with family members. over the next few days, a total of 50 israeli hostages are expected to be released as part of the deal, allowing the pause in the fighting to continue. over in ramallah in the west bank, families welcomed home the 39 women and teenage boys held by israel who were released in exchange. in the coming days 150 palestinians are set to be freed.

one israeli man, whose wife and two daughters were among the israeli hostages released, says