sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv.date with all the details and letters information regarding ukraine on our website. bbc .com/ news. the south african president has been heckled during an address to his own anc party conference. cyril ramaphosa — who's hoping to be re—elected as party leader — struggled to make himself heard, over chants of "step aside". i want to appeal to everyone who wants to raise their dissatisfaction, to do so in an orderly manner in the way that we do things here in the african nation of congress. yelling we have been in existence for 110 years... cheering ..and this is not the time to come and display this type of disorderly behaviour. the chanting began when the president's predecessor, jacob zuma, entered the venue — to loud cheers. mr ramaphosa avoided impeachment proceedings earlier this week, over a scandal involving millions of dollars that were found hidden in a sofa at his farm. our reporter injohannesburg, nomsa maseko, has more details. well, there was a lot of heckling and chanting

our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford has the latest. a rumble of a russian attack as kyiv was woken by more missile strikes. the metro is the safest place to huddle here, when the city is under fire. but as russian missiles hit the power grid, the trains all stop. >> i've been sitting here for about three hours. sarah: put in southern ukraine, it was homes that were hit, killing three and trapping others under the ruins. in the nthern area, the day turned dark, as the power went down across town. this country now copes with what was once unimaginable. handing out of food, keeping people warm. and even in kyiv, defying russia's efforts to wear them down. but these attacks affect ev the most vulnerable. we found this old people's's home without heat, light, or water. it is running on sheer resilience. her children just brought her here from the south, thinking she would be safer. "we are all waiting for peace, really waiting." "putin says "let's be friends," but who is the unfriendly one here? he attacks us. the whole situation here is re

sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv.'m joined now by maria avdeeva, ukrainian disinformation and security expert. she joins us from kyiv. thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you very much for coming on the programme-— thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you for having me. the programme. thank you for having me- another — the programme. thank you for having me- another day _ the programme. thank you for having me. another day of _ the programme. thank you for having me. another day of strikes, _ the programme. thank you for having me. another day of strikes, big - me. another day of strikes, big critical infrastructure _ me. another day of strikes, big critical infrastructure hit - me. another day of strikes, big critical infrastructure hit there. | critical infrastructure hit there. what's it been like?— what's it been like? well, the difference _ what's it been like? well, the difference this _ what's it been like? well, the difference this day _ what's it been like? well, the diffe

sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv. laura: in other news now, the far right u.s.how host alex jones is filing bankruptcy after being fined almost 5.5 million dollars for inflammatory comments about the sandy hook school shooting. jones, the founder of the infamous info wars group, said no one died. 20 children and six adults were killed in the 2012 school shooting a campaign is that hate speech on twitter has soared since elon musk's takeover, against black people, gay men, and antisemitic posts have increased dramatic. militant groups and qanon have also come rolling back. in november, elon musk said hateful post world being viewed less under his -- re being viewed less under his stewardship of twitter. charges against a man in a parliament have been dropped. she has expressed disappointment that the prosecution is not going ahead. her allegation was in australia. here in the united states, the latest employment figures say the labor market is still strong, despite the best efforts of the u.s. central banko cool the economy and curb inflation by raising interest

sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv.allerstein, a senior foreign policy fellow at the chicago council on global affairs, gave us his analysis of the situation. well, i think this is part of a concerted strategy to terrorise and intimidate the ukrainian people, since the russian forces have not succeeded in their main aim, which of course originally was to take kyiv, and now are falling back towards the donbas. the strategy seems now to be to keep firing missiles into the cities and to put pressure on the government to capitulate. there are competent countries that have air defence capabilities that could be useful to ukraine. including israel which has the iron dome and the arrow anti—missile system. a lot of this is coming in the form of drones. drones are very hard to shoot down because they flow very low, but they there are various systems that can take our drones. the ukrainian military is reporting a high percentage of success in shooting down these incoming missiles and drones. whether the reports are accurate rema

sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv. spoke to maria, ukrainian disinformation and security expert based in kyiv, and she said the current winter weather conditions make the latest attacks even worse. today, russia was deliberately hitting power generation capacities of ukraine. and in the upcoming winter months, this is especially critical. now, only one third people in kyiv have water and heating and the temperatures are around zero, which makes vulnerable people like children, elderly, people with different health conditions, especially in a difficult situation. people try to help each other and cooperate and go to the locations where there is still some power, like around the city. but of course, we understand this is very difficult to go through these attacks. but ukrainians are resistant. i've been today to ukrainian metro station, where people are gathering since the beginning of the air raid, where people were gathering since the beginning of the air raid, which lasted for four hours. people were waiting in the me

sarah rainsford, bbc news in eastern ukraine.at russia could put pressure on its neighbour tojoin its war against ukraine. the russian leader met alexander lukashenko for talks this afternoon. 0ur russia editor, steve rosenberg, is in moscow — a rare visit for president putin to belarus. what should we read into it? a very rare visit. putin and lukashenko meet a lot in russia, but this is the first time in three and half years vladimir putin has got on a plane and flown to belarus, which has fuelled speculation that there is something that vladimir putin really wants, sibley for alexander lukashenko to get actively involved in the war in ukraine and committed troops. earlier today, the kremlin dismissed that suggestion is stupid and groundless speculation that this is the same kremlin that one year ago dismissed western reports of an imminent russian invasion of ukraine as this information to keep in mind that belarus is already being used as a launching pad for the russian invasion in february. there are reports of thousands of

sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv.o live to colorado now and speak to mitchel wallerstein, senior fellow on us foreign policy at the chicago council on global affairs and former defense department policy maker in the clinton administration. welcome to you, thank you for being on the programme, what you make of this attack on kharkiv? mas on the programme, what you make of this attack on kharkiv?_ this attack on kharkiv? was it to be exected? this attack on kharkiv? was it to be expected? i — this attack on kharkiv? was it to be expected? i think _ this attack on kharkiv? was it to be expected? i think this _ this attack on kharkiv? was it to be expected? i think this is _ this attack on kharkiv? was it to be expected? i think this is part - this attack on kharkiv? was it to be expected? i think this is part of - this attack on kharkiv? was it to be expected? i think this is part of a l expected? i think this is part of a concerted strategy to terrorise and intimidate ukrainian people. since the russian forces have not

sarah rainsford, bbc news, kid. —— kyiv. the strikes that have been paralysing britain's rail network is "achievable" — that's the view of mick lynch, the head of the rmt union, whose members are at this moment taking part in a 48—hour walk—out. the current action has hit services across england, scotland and wales, with only about one in five trains running today and the same expected for tomorrow. this report from our transport correspondent katy austin. the frosty conditions didn't stop a picket line forming early this morning in southampton. here there were some trains, but far fewer than normal. it's been frustrating. we've got a lot of work, it's added stress. we spent such a long time planning for this trip, but i understand at the same time. people should get equal pay. some retailers and small businesses worry this strike will take the shine off last shopping weekend before christmas. this was going to be a golden time for businesses to make the money. it affects customers being able to get to towns and cities, it a

sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv.f ukraine's embassies and consulates across europe have been sent parcels containing animals' eyes, including its diplomatic mission in the spanish capital. letter bombs have also arrived at targets connected to support of ukraine, including the american embasy in madrid which is now cordonned off. blood soaked packages were also addressed to ukrainian diplomatic missions in hungary, the netherlands, poland, croatia, italy, austria and the czech republic. kyiv says these incidents are a well—planned campaign of terror and intimidation. guy hedgecoe gave us the latest from madrid. well, all we know is what we've been told by the ukrainian government, which has said that they contained animal eyes, they were blood soaked, the contents of the package with blood soaked. of the package were blood soaked. it had a characteristic liquid and a corresponding smell was how the ukrainian authorities put it. and they said that these packages had been sent to eight of its embassies around europe. h

sarah rainsford there, thank you, live in kyiv.en a day of more misery for travellers on the railways, after members of the uk's biggest rail union began another 48—hour strike. the rmt union is pushing hard for an improved pay offer from rail bosses, along with assurances about future working conditions and job security. now this is britain's train network on a normal day. and this is what the strike has done. most of the lines still operating have been disrupted by later starts and earlierfinishes. while areas here in wales and scotland have no services at all. just one in five trains are thought to have been running. our transport correspondent katy austin has the very latest. the frosty conditions didn't stop a picket line forming early this morning in southampton. here there were some trains, but far fewer than normal. it's been frustrating. i've got a lot of work here to do, it's added stress. it's been such a long time coming for this trip, but i understand at the same time. people should get equal pay. some retailers and sm

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sarah rainsford has been following herjourney. nobody here understands what i experienced.d. when russia invaded her country, nika played piano to drown out the sound of the explosions. i was hearing bangs, bombs. it was quite loud. yeah, unfortunately, kharkiv is one of the most attacked cities in ukraine. we first met as her family were fleeing kharkiv. nika was leaving her city and friends behind to become a refugee. she is now at a school in england and we went to see how she is doing. i needed time to understand that now i am in a safe place, i don't hear alarms every hour and i don't need to think about what if in the next second a bomb is going to be near me. the bombing of kharkiv was intense for months. hundreds of missiles fired by russian forces who only retreated in september. we found nika's old school there, eerily empty. her teacher still comes in. but she is the only one because all lessons are online. most of nika's classmates fled too when war broke out here. maria is trying to stay positive it will end soon, but that is hard. kharkiv life is still a long

sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv.asked mitchel wallerstein — a senior foreign policy fellow at the chicago council on global affairs — for his analysis of the situation. well, i think this is part of a concerted strategy to terrorise and intimidate ukrainian people. since the russian forces have not succeeded in their main aim, which of course originally was to take kyiv, and now are falling back in some parts of the donbas, the strategy now appears to be just keep firing missiles into the cities and hope that the people eventually put pressure on the government to capitulate. and what more can be done by the government, by its allies, to help protect the people of ukraine? there are countries that do have capabilities, air defence capabilities that could be very useful to ukraine, including israel that has the iron dome and the arrow anti—missile system. of course, a lot of this is coming in the form of drones, drones are very hard to shoot down because they fly very low but there are various systems that can take ou

our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford reports.s. the danger drove people underground, the metro is the safest place to huddle here when the city is underfire. but place to huddle here when the city is under fire. but as place to huddle here when the city is underfire. but as russian missiles hit the power grid, the trains all stopped. i’ge missiles hit the power grid, the trains all stopped.— trains all stopped. i've been sittin: trains all stopped. i've been sitting here _ trains all stopped. i've been sitting here for _ trains all stopped. i've been sitting here for about - trains all stopped. i've been sitting here for about three | trains all stopped. i've been i sitting here for about three hours. i want to go home.— sitting here for about three hours. i want to go home. but in southern ukraine, i want to go home. but in southern ukraine. it — i want to go home. but in southern ukraine, it were _ i want to go home. but in southern ukraine, it were homes _ i want to go home. but in southern ukraine, it were homes that - i want

sarah rainsford, bbc news. here's simon with a look at this morning's weather.ved their way in so technically yes it was an official white christmas. but for most of us, it was not anything near a white christmas. today we have got some sunny spells, but it will turn colderfor many of some sunny spells, but it will turn colder for many of us. some showers around as well. the colder air yesterday, moving in, all of us will be under the arctic feel today so you will notice the temperature. colder for scotland and northern ireland this morning, the risk of some ice, be aware if you are travelling early. further south, still relatively mild at the moment. plenty of sunshine across england and wales, some showers towards western areas. those will continue into the afternoon. still some snow across scotland, much of it in the higher ground. the lower level not too much. the chilly air across scotland and northern ireland, three to 5 degrees here, seven towards the south—east. we will continue with showers around western parts this evening but relatively quiet in the f