hello, i'm anjana gadjil. president biden says russia's biggest aerial attack on ukraine since the start of the war means vladimir putin remains determined to obliterate the country. at least 30 people have been killed and more than 160 injured in a wave of deadly explosions. cities hit include kyiv, lviv in the west, odesa in the south, and dnipro, kharkiv and zaporizhzhia in eastern ukraine. a maternity hospital and shopping mall were among buildings damaged and destroyed. poland has said an object entered the nato country's airspace overnight. a polish general says the object, which is likely to have been a russian missile, spent less than three minutes over polish territory. from kyiv, our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse reports.

it is and always has been the whole of ukraine which is under attack. kyiv is still moscow's biggest prize. air defences have improved here, but this attack proved too much. translation: i was woken up at 7:30 by a horrible sound. _ it was so frightening, the missile was flying and everything was buzzing, so noisy. you are left in no doubt that this was a direct missile strike, the scale of the damage, the size of the blast zone, the heat caused. you are more used to seeing damage caused by falling debris when a missile is intercepted, but this reflects the scale of this russian attack. and scenes like this are being replicated right across ukraine. a lucky escape in kharkiv in the north—east. this city is familiar with missile strikes, but not 20 in a single morning.

a shopping centre in dnipro in the east, as well as a maternity hospital, were hit. it didn't stop there. this is the port city of odesa in the south, where a residential block was struck. zaporizhzhia wasn't spared either, where at least eight were killed. even lviv in the west, which sometimes feels farfrom this invasion, wasn't immune this time. all military targets were hit, as far as russia's defence ministry was concerned. ukraine's air force says it had never seen so many missiles in one attack. in a war where moscow routinely strikes cities it can't occupy, that is saying something. we mentioned that statement from president biden on ukraine. he said...

and mr biden warned... brendan kearney is a retired colonel with the us marine corps — he gave me his assessment of president biden�*s comments. i think the president is justifiably frustrated with congress. they went on their christmas break without passing that legislation that zelensky had made a trip to washington, dc to try to obtain. so he's frustrated. he wants to send a message of support, and that it's unwavering support for ukraine, and i think he's hopeful that when congress gets back from its recess, that this will be the number—one priority on their agenda. and how likely is it that congress will listen and then take action after these words and these actions by russia?

well, you know, that's hard to predict. there's more support in congress for ukraine than is being discussed right now. what the republicans and some democrats quietly are doing is they're trying to force the president's hand by linking the funding legislation to what's going on in the southern border, which is an absolute disaster for the united states, with this completely unhindered flow of immigrants across the border. so it's politics at its worst, but i think what's going to happen is you're going to see the congress eventually go ahead pass the legislation and give ukraine most, if not all of what it wants. is this a personal mission by president biden or is it purely political? i think with politicians, i'm not sure you can go ahead and separate those things. i think, number one, it's purely political.

he's going into an election year. his polls out here in the united states are awful. his performance is generally, by democrats and republicans, acknowledged as awful. ukraine is one of the very few things he has been consistent on, so we're going to have to wait and see how this all develops. but the republicans sense of blood in the water over the southern border issue, so they're going to continue to punch biden in the nose, so to speak, over these efforts that he is purportedly going ahead and promoting. so, a huge wave of attacks overnight on several cities across ukraine. how, in your view, do you think the war is going for president putin and also for ukrainians? i think this clearly was a response by putin to show that he is still a powerful man, he's still a player. the russians were embarrassed

by that successful ukrainian assault there on that landing ship just a couple days ago, so you can almost always predict when the russians strike back hard, it's because they've been hit hard. and the ukrainians, as usual, did a superbjob. you know, with no fleet themselves, they've managed to sink over 20% of the russian black sea fleet. so, this is not, you know... this a continuation of the russian way of war, which is putin as a bully attacking primarily civilian targets, residential areas. i've heard that city hospitals and schools were also attacked. so, it's a shame, it's a tragedy, but there's nothing, not a single thing that's a surprise, other than maybe the magnitude of the attack. but, no, these missiles are hard to replace, so russia really stepped up its game for this particular set of attacks.

retired colonel brendan kearney. the united nations says an estimated 150,00 palestinians an estimated 150,000 palestinians are being forced to flee areas of central gaza, as israeli forces advance on refugee camps there. an israeli air strike is reported to have killed 20 displaced people in rafah — a town that many people have fled to in recent days. talks to stop the fighting are reported to have restarted in egypt, though there's no indication of progress. 0ur middle east correspondent yolande knell has sent this report, which does contain distressing images. gathering in disbelief at the scene of another israeli strike. this is rafah, crowded with displaced gazans. last night, the scenes here were frantic, with 20 people killed including children. 0thers somehow making it out alive. amid all this suffering, ordinary palestinians ask when the war will stop.

"the situation has gone beyond all limits," says samad. "we're asking the world to protect us and stop the aggression. we're helpless." 0ngoing fighting means little aid has been reaching gaza city. new pictures show the desperate looting when this convoy finally arrived. the vast majority of gazans have now been forced from their homes. people here have been setting up new makeshift camps as they've fled from advancing israeli troops. but new diplomatic efforts are taking shape even as the war rages on. a hamas delegation is now in cairo after egypt, a key mediator with israel, proposed a new ceasefire deal. crowd chants. in israel there is pressure to find a way to bring home the 100—plus hostages still in gaza. in israel, there's pressure to find

a way to bring home the 100—plus hostages still in gaza. those released during a truce last month say they endured harsh conditions while held captive by hamas fighters. mia schem now accuses all gazans of being complicit with the armed group, something many would deny. translation: it's families under hamas control. - you know, in retrospect, i realised i was staying with a family. i was asking myself, why am i at a family's house? why are there children and a woman here? israel says its aim in gaza remains to dismantle hamas's military and governing capabilities. but for now, palestinian civilians are paying a huge price — forced to flee from their homes with no safe place to go. yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. israel says it has struck hezbollah militants in southern lebanon in response to missiles fired over the border. these pictures released by the israeli defense forces show them striking what they describe as hezbollah infrastructure near wadi hamul in lebanon. israel says they hit a number of targets including launch sites and a military compound.

earlier, i spoke to gemma connell in rafah, in the southern gaza strip. she's the team leader for the un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs. she told me about the latest situation there. the humanitarian situation in rafah is a human catastrophe. what we see right now is the continued arrivals of people who have already fled three, four or five times. we estimate nearly 10,000 people a day have been arriving just in these last days, just into united nations shelters, and many more are arriving into places outside of that, setting up makeshift shelters on the beach, any spot of land that is still vacant. even now, literally on the roads, they were previously on roundabouts and median strips and foot paths, but as those have been congested with all of the shelters and everyone who has sought refuge

here, we know how people literally setting up shelters on the roads. so the situation in rafah is nothing other than catastrophic, with well over1 million people here in desperate, desperate need and also, most critically, in fear for their lives. we know that the idf have asked people in central gaza to go south. where is it safe for them to go, is there anywhere for them to go? i do not believe that anyone on this planet could say at this moment in time that there is any safe place in gaza. just earlier, you reported on the air strike here in rafah just last night. there continue to be air strikes in places that are supposed to be safe. just the other day, i myself was at the hospital in khan younis, and the day after i visited it, there was an air strike right out the front that killed many, many people. all of these air strikes, all of these attacks in areas that are not under evacuation orders, that are supposed to be safe, indicate to anyone that there is currently no safe place in gaza.

so there are air strikes and, of course, there are also ground operations and fighting between israeli forces and palestinian armed groups. what is the situation like for humanitarian groups such as your own and aid agencies in terms of helping people there? 0ur endeavour is so hugely complex and complicated, it is difficult to describe to anyone outside of gaza. the ground operations that have now commenced in the middle area make it even more so. just yesterday, our colleagues who were returning from a delivery to the north were shot at by israeli forces on their way back to the south. that indicates the level of intensity of this conflict. but even more important than what we are facing is what people here are facing, and just this afternoon i was in a hospital and while there, we had people being brought in, two boys 1a and 16 years old who had

just been hit out on the street whilst trying to get food for theirfamilies. as i have said every day since i have a rise in gaza on the 11th of december, this is why this war must end, because the civilian toll is unconscionable. 0n the incident on the un convoy being targeted, we haven't had a response from israel itself. have you heard from israel? has this been addressed by the un to israel? it certainly has been addressed by the un to israel because it is critical that we are able to move everywhere in gaza to deliver assistance, as you rightly highlighted, there are still tens of thousands, indeed, hundreds of thousands people north of gazain need of assistance, so we must continue to strive to reach those people and further, we must be able to move safely. so we have indeed addressed, we understand that they are looking into it, but it's an imperative that we are giving the assurances

that we will be able to move through these areas and deliver assistance to people who — at this point — are not only desperate, but are starving and in dire need of assistance in order to survive. jim o'connell speaking to me. large crowds have gathered in yemen's capital at a houthi rally to show support for palestinians. chanting. thousands of people packed into sanaa, chanting and waving placards. iranian—backed houthi militants in yemen have recently stepped up attacks on vessels in the red sea, to show their backing for hamas. here in the uk, tributes have been paid to a man who died after a car hit a group of people in sheffield. police say christian marriott had stopped to help an unconscious woman after an argument between two groups of people. his family have paid tribute. they say the circumstances of his death "show the sort of man he was — going to help rather than to turn away." 0livia richwald reports. chris marriott spent his life helping others — at a food bank, for a debt advice

charity, and volunteering to make life better for those less fortunate than himself. the father of two young boys had a strong christian faith. when he saw an unconscious woman while out on a walk with his family, he rushed to help her and give first aid. but while he was trying to save her life, he lost his own. his boss said the it manager would always help others. chris's sort of whole raison d'etre was to help others. i mean, he would sort of see anybody and be prepared to go and help, and i think hejust had a heart for people. this is where chris marriott was hit and killed. a wedding party had been taking place in a house in this cul—de—sac. it descended into violence and disorder, and that spilt out into the street. chris marriott was just an innocent passer—by. just be a good samaritan, like any decent person, and he lost his life and, you know, it'sjust a big,

big loss to the family and to the community as a whole. in a statement, chris marriott's family said, in a statement, chris marriott's family said... one man, aged 23, remains in police custody. a 55—year—old man has been released on bail. a real good samaritan, chris marriott died trying to save a woman's life. she is in hospital in a life—threatening condition. 0livia richwald, bbc news, sheffield. maine has become the second us state to rule that donald trump cannot run for president next year because of his actions leading up to the us capitol riot in 2021. it follows a similar ruling in colorado earlier this month. both decisions are on hold, though, as legal challenges make their way through the courts. 0ur north america correspondent shingai nyoka has been

following events and gave me her assessment. i think the significance mainly is that this particular decision is the first that's ever been taken by a state official to ban a presidential candidate from appearing on a primary ballot. and the official who made this decision, shenna bellows, the secretary of state, who is a democrat, ruled that ruled that according to a provision in the constitution, anyone who has been found to have engaged or supported a rebellion against the state is not eligible to stand on the primary ballot. and this came as a result of a public hearing after several registered voters applied to her office challenging donald trump's eligibility to stand. and how have donald trump and his team reacted? well, donald trump himself has not said anything, but he has,

over the course of the day, been posting on his social media platform truth social, showing the polls in which she has surged. the polls in which he has surged. he's the front—runner in the republican party, but in several swing states, he's also a head of president biden. but there's a wider argument made by his supporters that this is a ploy by the democratic party to prevent him from standing in these elections in november 202a. but it's a very divisive issue, and we've heard arguments on both on both sides of the aisle where, among them, some democrats have also said that they don't believe that this is a decision that a state official should make. they say that this should be a decision that should be made by congress. and also that donald trump, even though he's accused of engaging in in insurrection,

hasn't been formally charged or convicted. he does face a separate case in which he's accused of trying to overthrow the 2020 elections. he's pleaded not guilty. and so, what will happen now is that this case is likely to be appealed at court at the supreme court, appealed at the supreme court, which will likely decide who really has the power to make these decisions. there are several other states in which former president trump has been allowed to run, but dozens others still have to make that decision. now, here in the uk, many of us make a resolution for new year — often something to do with self—improvement. and we could all do worse than emulating ruth major's commitment to tackling litter. it's a mission that's taken ruth — armed with herfree bus pass — from her home in redruth cornwall, north to berwick—upon—tweed — stopping in many cities en route, including weymouth, southampton, derby, sheffield, scarborough and newcastle, before reaching berwick and returning home via

manchester and 0ldham. i'm very pleased that we can go live now to ruth major, the founder of beautfiy now to ruth major, the founder of beautify britain and the person responsible for picking up a lot of litter across the country. thank you forjoining us. litter across the country. thank you forjoining ve— forjoining us. why, thank you for havin: forjoining us. why, thank you for having me- _ forjoining us. why, thank you for having me- i'm — forjoining us. why, thank you for having me. i'm very _ forjoining us. why, thank you for having me. i'm very excited - forjoining us. why, thank you for| having me. i'm very excited about this. thank you very much. so having me. i'm very excited about this. thank you very much.- this. thank you very much. so are we. wh this. thank you very much. so are we- why did _ this. thank you very much. so are we- why did you _ this. thank you very much. so are we. why did you decide _ this. thank you very much. so are we. why did you decide to - this. thank you very much. so are we. why did you decide to start i we. why did you decide to start travelling and picking up litter? i started because i was doing my family history research. my great grandmother and her sisters sang in the theatre in the 1880s, and i managed to trace where the oldest travelled to. she married into a travelling theatre, so i decided i would go along and follow in her footsteps. i'm going to see all those places where she would perform. around about the same time, i started to pick up one piece of rubbish a day, which was a campaign that somebody in france has started

and i thought i could do that. so, it became a kind of combination of my travelling around to do my family history research and picking up rubbish. everybody at i met said, "let's all do this, let's all pick—up one a day, and we can beautfiy pick—up one a day, and we can beautify this beautiful country." i beautify this beautiful country." i suspect you've picked up more than one piece of rubbish a because you've managed to pick up around 100,000 pieces of litter. i’zfe you've managed to pick up around 100,000 pieces of litter. i've been doin: it 100,000 pieces of litter. i've been doing it for — 100,000 pieces of litter. i've been doing it for rather _ 100,000 pieces of litter. i've been doing it for rather a _ 100,000 pieces of litter. i've been doing it for rather a long _ 100,000 pieces of litter. i've been doing it for rather a long time! - doing it for rather a long time! it's accumulated over the years. i started off in about 2016. there is more time locally, but i haven't counted them, to be honest. the main idea is to become one a day, but sometimes a lot more.— idea is to become one a day, but sometimes a lot more. your story has been reported — sometimes a lot more. your story has been reported in _ sometimes a lot more. your story has been reported in various _ been reported in various newspapers as an inspiration. you think when you're travelling around britain,

did you inspire other people to do the same? i did you inspire other people to do the same? .,, ,., �* _, ., the same? i hope so. i've encouraged --eole to the same? i hope so. i've encouraged people to follow _ the same? i hope so. i've encouraged people to follow me _ the same? i hope so. i've encouraged people to follow me on _ the same? i hope so. i've encouraged people to follow me on social - the same? i hope so. i've encouraged people to follow me on social media | people to follow me on social media because i've got facebook, twitter, instagram, all sorts of things. very often, people have said they're following me. i don't know whether they're actually doing the act of picking up rubbish at the same time. i don't know. ensuring finding that out until somebody tells me... but i hope i can make a difference. if i make a difference with one person, it's better than nothing. find make a difference with one person, it's better than nothing.— make a difference with one person, it's better than nothing. and do you feel depressed _ it's better than nothing. and do you feel depressed about _ it's better than nothing. and do you feel depressed about the _ it's better than nothing. and do you feel depressed about the state - it's better than nothing. and do you feel depressed about the state of l feel depressed about the state of the country or do you feel positive about the action that people like you are taking?— about the action that people like you are taking? that's a bit of an interesting _ you are taking? that's a bit of an interesting question. _ you are taking? that's a bit of an interesting question. in - you are taking? that's a bit of an interesting question. in our- you are taking? that's a bit of an i interesting question. in our times, there's lots of other people who were doing very similar things, may be groups that pick up litter every

weekend or every month or what have you. and i see all these people who are posting on their social media and there's so much they picked up over the years that i still wonder where it comes from. it's got to mean that people are still throwing it. some of it's probably in bushes and trees for the long time. but there still are a lot of people throwing it away, so sometimes i can get a little bit sad. we can all make a difference and we need to show some respect. i've travelled throughout the whole of this country. i've not been to every town and village, but i've been to every area. it's a beautiful country. scotland and court cornwall and lake district, northern ireland, we have a very beautiful country. just briefl , a very beautiful country. just briefly. i _ a very beautiful country. just briefly, i have _ a very beautiful country. just briefly, i have to _ a very beautiful country. just briefly, i have to ask, - a very beautiful country. just briefly, i have to ask, where is the grubby is place? i’m briefly, i have to ask, where is the grubby is place?— grubby is place? i'm not going to answer that _ grubby is place? i'm not going to answer that one. _ grubby is place? i'm not going to answer that one. i _ grubby is place? i'm not going to answer that one. i don't - grubby is place? i'm not going to answer that one. i don't think -

answer that one. i don't think it's fair. there was one town that it was a mess —— the grubbiest place. fair. there was one town that it was a mess -- the grubbiest place. thank ou so a mess -- the grubbiest place. thank you so much. — a mess -- the grubbiest place. thank you so much, ruth, _ a mess -- the grubbiest place. thank you so much, ruth, and _ a mess -- the grubbiest place. thank you so much, ruth, and thank- a mess —— the grubbiest place. thank you so much, ruth, and thank you for inspiring us all as we enter 202a. you're watching bbc news. hello there. love it or hate it, new year's eve is just around the corner, and once again, it looks likely that the weather is going to play a leading role when pulling down the final curtain of this year. the final curtain of this year because, this weekend, we are likely to see further heavy rain. snow is likely even at lower levels in the north for a time, and once again, the winds a feature. it's this area of low pressure that's drifting towards our shores, and it will gradually move its way steadily east. ahead of it, brief ridge of high pressure that's going to allow for those temperatures in scotland to fall well below freezing. a cold, icy, but hopefully sunny start to your new year's eve. that's where the best of the drier weather will be. cloud and rain gathers out to the west, some of it really heavy

across north—west england, wales, south—west england, accompanied by gales, particularly on exposed coasts. but central and south—eastern england will stay dry and bright and still relatively warm, with 11—12 degrees. a colder story in scotland. and where that frontal system then bumps into that cold air, that's when we're likely to see the risk of significant snow for a time, and it may well cause some disruption even at lower levels. now, it will gradually turn back to rain as we start to see some milder air pushing in, but as i say, there could be some issues. keep abreast of the weather forecast and tune into your bbc local radio station. on sunday, the low pressure still centred up into the north—west. slightly milder start for most of us — 2—9 degrees first thing on sunday morning — but that low sitting to the north—west will continue to push in a frequent rash of showers for our new year's eve.

so the showers out to the west, and some of these will gradually feed their way steadily eastwards as we go through the afternoon. sheltered eastern areas staying relatively dry and bright. most of the frequent showers out to the west. windy along channel coasts, temperatures between 8—10 degrees. some of these showers will push east as we go through the evening. frequent rash of showers into northern ireland and western scotland, but north—east scotland faring a little better than of late. dry, we should keep some sunshine, and it should stay largely dry into the evening. now, as we move into new year's day, on the whole, a quieter story. need to keep an eye on this frontal system down to the south, but for many, it will be slightly cooler and slightly quieter. cooler and slightly quieter, but there's still going to be some rain around at times. take care.

the new year honours list has just been released — the author jilly cooper becomes a dame. there's recognition for three lionesses after a great year for women's football — and for the charity work of rob burrow and kevin sinfield. there's also controversy tonight about liz truss's resignation honours list, after her 49 days as prime minister. also on the programme... the family of chris marriott, killed in sheffield while helping a stranger, says he devoted his life to others. a shopping centre and a maternity hospital are among many buildings destroyed in ukraine after what it says is

russia's biggest missile bombardment of the war so far. and we're out with griff the sniffer dog — trained to uncover illegal vapes. good evening. in the last few moments, the new year honours list has been announced — with people recognised from the worlds of sport, entertainment and charity. the authorjilly cooper becomes a dame; and there are knighthoods for michael eavis, who co—created the glastonbury festival more than 50 years ago, and tim martin, the founder of the wetherspoons pub chain. the former rugby players rob burrow and kevin sinfield have been awarded the cbe for their charity campaigning following rob's diagnosis with motor neurone disease.

0bes go to the radio presenter and dj tony blackburn;