sarah smith, _ in any way. sarah, thank you for that. sarah smith, live - in any way. for that. sarah smith, live at - in any way. sarah, thank you for that. sarah smith, live at the i in any way. sarah, thank you for . that. sarah smith, live at the white house. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucet joins us now from kyiv. this attack by the russians on this army barracks in mykolaiv in the south, clearly that area of the country, very critical to russia's war ambitions?— country, very critical to russia's war ambitions? , �*, ., ~ ., war ambitions? yes, let's talk about m kolaiv, war ambitions? yes, let's talk about mykolaiv. in — war ambitions? yes, let's talk about mykolaiv. in the _ war ambitions? yes, let's talk about mykolaiv, in the south, _ war ambitions? yes, let's talk about mykolaiv, in the south, close - war ambitions? yes, let's talk about mykolaiv, in the south, close to - war ambitions? yes, let's talk about mykolaiv, in the south, close to the| mykolaiv, in the south, close to the black sea coast and it has been on the front line for many w

we can go to sarah smith. there was a conversation between joe smith. conversation betweenjoe biden and volodymyr zelensky today, what was said, do we know? at zelensky today, what was said, do we know? �* , . ., zelensky today, what was said, do we know? �* , u, ., , know? a little bit. the call was 'ust over know? a little bit. the call was just over half _ know? a little bit. the call was just over half an _ know? a little bit. the call was just over half an hour - know? a little bit. the call was just over half an hour this - just over half an hour this afternoon, on a secure satellite phone _ afternoon, on a secure satellite phone that the us is applied in order_ phone that the us is applied in order to — phone that the us is applied in orderto maintain phone that the us is applied in order to maintain contact and they discussed — order to maintain contact and they discussed the military equipment the us is sending to ukraine and also the sanctions against russia with joe biden— the sanctions against russia with joe biden promising volodymyr zelens

sarah smith, bbc news, warsaw.f its military offensive in ukraine has been mostly accomplished. i asked our correspondent mark lobel what this might signify. focusing on those pro—russian eastern breakaway states. the west reading it is the fact that the military strategy, the original one, has failed. that is their view. this is how it was announced in a strategy presentation from a top russian general. let's have a listen. translation: the main tasks of the first stage i of the operation have been completed _ the combat potential- of ukraine's armed forces has been significantly reduced, which allows us to - focus our main efforts - on achieving the main goals, the liberation of donbas. so what could this all mean? there is the view of a russian military analyst, western diplomats and ukrainian politicians giving you the broad sweep, starting with the russian military analyst, there have been murmurings for a couple of weeks, that we have not heard from russian generals in public so that was just to answer that c

our north america editor, sarah smith, reports from poland.rce one touches down, it's designed to send a message. president biden�*s trip to poland is notjust to reassure a nervous ally, it's to make clear the us will back military action if russia attacks poland or any other nato member. the men in the military barbers are his. the us has sent thousands of extra troops to poland. he's always said they're not headed to ukraine, as america fears sending forces over the border could start a world war, yet biden seemed to tell them they would witness the bravery of ukrainians "when you are there". the average citizen, look at how they're stepping up, look at how they're stepping up. and you're going to see when you're there, and some of you have been there, you're going to see women, young people standing in the middle in front of a damn tank, just saying, "i'm not leaving." the white house quickly clarified that america has not changed its stance on sending troops into ukraine. what these forces might be asked to do if russia uses chemical weapo

sarah, many thanks for the l analysis in washington, sarah smith.asked the uk to recognise russia as a terrorist state and appealed for more help to make the skies above ukraine safe. his declaration that ukrainians would never give up in the fight against russia led to a standing ovation in the packed house of commons. our political correspondent jonathan blake was watching. showing solidarity with ukraine, as the country fights russian invaders, westminster extended an honour never shown to a foreign leader. president. applause mps and peers rose to their feet for president volodymyr zelensky to address them in the commons chamber. applause translation: on day one, at 4 o'clock in the morning, j we were attacked by cruise missiles. everybody woke up — people, children, the entire ukraine — and since that, we have not been sleeping. he recounted ukraine's struggle day by day, and thanked the uk for its support, even if it didn't go as far as the military help he'd wanted. translation: we did feel that, | unfortunately, the alliances don't work prop

katya adler and sarah smith, thank ou have. house of commons a short time ago as ukraine's president addressed mps live via a video link. it's the first time a leader has ever remotely addressed the commons. speaking through a translator, he thanked the uk for the support but called for tougher sanctions against russia. our political correspondent jonathan blake was watching. shows of solidarity with ukraine, as the country fights against russia's invasion. and in westminster, a first for a foreign leader. president.— president. applause president _ president. applause president vladimir i president. applause - president vladimir zelensky addressing mps and peers via video link from the ukrainian capital, kyiv. translation: fin link from the ukrainian capital, kyiv. translation:— link from the ukrainian capital, kyiv. translation: on day one, at loam, we kyiv. translation: on day one, at 4am. we were _ kyiv. translation: on day one, at 4am, we were attacked _ kyiv. translation: on day one, at 4am, we were attacked by - kyiv. tra

sarah smith, bbc news, washington.pondent, peter bowes, in los angeles. peter, thanks for joining peter, thanks forjoining us on the programme. if you can talk us through how president biden has changed his tone and described president putin as a war criminal. i think this shows that president biden has been wrestling to some extent with his use of language and how to describe mr putin under the current circumstances. it did appear to be additionally saying no to a question, and then shortly afterwards, saying he thought mr putin was a war criminal, which of course is a legal term and could potentially have repercussions for many years in the future. his comments were to some extent clarified by the press secretary of the white house, saying mr biden was speaking from the heart based on what he had seen on tv. the barbaric actions, as she put it, of a brutal dictator invading another country. she also clarified that the state department of the united nations is now looking at that legal process to see whether at some p

sarah smith, bbc news, brussels.er called what is happening here in ukraine "a war", but rather a "special operation" to demilitarise his neighbour. but russia has seen anti—war protestors take to the streets, and life for many russians has been changed drastically by economic sanctions. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, reports from st petersberg. at the age of 76, she's a prolific artist but, for yelena, the priority now isn't paintings, it's placards. they�* re anti—war and anti—putin. "putin is war," this one says. "we don't want to die for putin." after russia attacked ukraine, yelena took to the streets of st petersburg. like many anti—war protests in russia, it ended like this. she describes one of her favourite placards the police haven't given back. translation: i'd been given some red tulips, | beautiful young flowers. but very quickly they died and wilted. they reminded me of young men falling into their graves, so i made a poster and wrote, "the people were being sent to their deaths." in vladimir putin

sarah smith, bbc news, warsaw. more now on that russian attack in lviv.eral explosions rocked the city, with air sirens ringing out and people told to head to the shelters. russian missiles hit a fuel storage depot, injuring five people. lucy williamson has been to the scene. ukraine's city of refuge has been waiting for one arrival. today, it came. missiles puncturing lviv�*s sense of safety. explosions emptying its streets. among the infrastructure targeted, this fuel storage depot where five people were injured. marianna heard the explosions from the bomb shelter where she was hiding. "how do we defend ourselves," she demanded. "we had a life before the war started, and now it's not a life, we are just existing." there have been strikes on military targets in this region before, but something changed here today. the sites this time were within the city of lviv itself. the fuel depot less than two miles from the city centre, surrounded by cafes and residential homes. this conflict has been creeping closer to lviv for weeks now. the targets are still mil

sarah smith, bbc news, washington.sion of ukraine is going to plan and described the attack as �*completely justified'. he also went on to detail extra support for russians, faced with sanctions and inflation. translation: we had no other option but self defence, - for the security of russia, apart from carrying out the special military operation. all the goals set will certainly be achieved. we will reliably ensure the security of russia and our people. we will not allow ukraine to serve as a springboard for aggressive actions against russia. in terms of the military tactics developed by russian ministry of defence and the general staff, they have been completelyjustified. and our lads, soldiers and officers, have shown bravery and heroism. they are doing everything they can to avoid loss of civilian life ukrainian cities. there's a human toll being paid in russia too, with thousands of soldiers being sent to ukraine to fight in president putin's war. our russia editor steve rosenberg has been to one military funeral

sarah smith, bbc news, brussels.voy of russian troops moved towards the capital kyiv, but its advance was stalled. since then, fierce fighting has taken place in the towns and cities outside the capital, and ukrainian forces now claim they've succeded in pushing russian troops back with a series of counter attacks, as jeremy bowen reports. in smallgroups, ukrainian soldiers are crossing the river irpin, joining the month—long battle to keep the russians out of kyiv. "it's bad," said pavlo, one of the last civilians leaving. "children are dying, everyone is dying." only a few other civilians are coming out of the ruins. slava emerged, desperate to save her dogs. thousands of civilians came this way when the war started, but now this whole area has been swept up by the fighting. ukrainian troops have broken all the russian ground attacks here so far, so now moscow's men increasingly are using the weapon they trust most, heavy artillery. we were here about three weeks ago, and there is a massive difference. look at the

sarah smith, bbc news, washington.oing to plan and described the attack as �*completelyjustified'. he also went on to detail extra support for russians, faced with sanctions and inflation. translation: we have no other option but self-defense for - the security of russia apart from carrying out the special military operation. all the goals set will certainly be achieved. we will reliably ensure the security of russia and our people, and we will not allow ukraine to serve as a springboard for aggressive actions against russia. in terms of the military tactics developed by russian ministry of defence and the general staff, they have been completely justified. and our lads, soldiers and officers have shown bravery and heroism, and they are doing everything that they can to avoid loss of civilian life in ukrainian cities. there's a human toll being paid in russia, too, with thousands of soldiers being sent to ukraine to fight in president putin's war. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, has been to one military funeral in

sarah smith, bbc news, warsaw. this is bbc news.signals a shift in its military strategy in the war, narrowing its focus to the east of the country. ukrainian troops successfully counterattack around the capital, kyiv. in the south of the country, there are fears of starvation in the beseiged city of mariupol as hundreds queue for food and water amid the devastation. let's stay with ukraine now and as we have been hearing the russian military says the first phase of the military campaign in ukraine has been completed and it will now focus on the donbas region in the east. our moscow correspondent caroline davies gave us this update. nancy, i think we have to be careful about exactly how far this change of strategy might go. of course, we heard from the ministry of defence earlier talking about the fact that the plan is all going according to exactly as they intended it to and that the first stage of the operation now is complete, which, as you say, means that they're able to focus their attention on liberating, in their words, donba

our first report is from our north america editor, sarah smith, who is travelling with the president.st ceremony as the presidents of the us and poland marched in step together, but a declaration of intent that america would do everything it takes to defend poland from what they see as a great threat from russia. visiting some of the more than 2 million refugees that are fled from ukraine into poland he praised the bravery and announced that vladimir putin was a butcher. we are dealing every day vladimir putin. look at what he has done to these people. what does that make you think? he is a butcher. tonight thousands gathered to hear an impassioned speech in which biden warned putin... do not think about moving on one inch of nato territory. we have a sacred obligation under article five to defend each and every inch of nato territory. with the full force of our collective power. he said talks with russia before the invasion failed because putin was spent on innovation from the start. rather than breaking ukraine to resolve these tactics have strengthened their resolve and the west is

sarah smith, bbc news, washington.. solution might be found, but this comes amid the bombing of a theatre in mariupol which may have resulted in many civilian casualties? —— a theatre in mariupol used to shelter civilians? galbraith war is intensifying on many fronts, including in kyiv and around the besieged city of including in kyiv and around the besieged city 0— besieged city of mariupol, but diplomacy _ besieged city of mariupol, but diplomacy is _ besieged city of mariupol, but diplomacy is intensifying - besieged city of mariupol, but diplomacy is intensifying in i besieged city of mariupol, but. diplomacy is intensifying in many capitals. even the veteran russian former minister sergei lavrov, often known for his caustic remarks, spoke of something concrete which would soon be agreed. at both sides have very thick red lights, the financial times has written about a 15 point plan centring on ukraine renouncing forever any ambition to rejoin nato in exchange for security guarantees, but what kind of guarantees wo

sarah smith, bbc news, brussels. after russia invaded this country, ukrainians are wondering how many more months of war lie ahead, how many more people here will die, or be forced to flee from their homes. that's all from us here in lviv. back now to huw in the studio. many thanks to you and the team in ukraine. p&o ferries did break the law when it sacked 800 workers last week without consulting the trades unions. the company's chief executive made the open admission in response to questions from a parliamentary committee at westminster. peter hebblethwaite said he had chosen not to consult because he didn't believe there was any other way to do it. the staff are being replaced with agency workers, earning an average of £5.50 an hour. mr hebblethwaite told mps that reducing p&0's wage bill was the only way to make the company viable, as our transport correspondent katy austin reports. arriving to face mps this morning... are you ashamed of sacking the staff? the boss of the ferry company which suddenly decided to f

sarah smith, bbc news, brussels.efence analyst at the australian strategic policy institute. hejoins me from canberra. a big show of unity today and some promises about military aid, but ukraine clearly saying that he doesn't go far enough. what do you make of what has come out of today's summit? i think it went as far as it could at this point in time. i think the big concern for nato �*s will russia escalate to the use of chemical or even nuclear weapons, and as president biden indicated that a severe price. but quite correctly, he is not going to get into it, and in detail explanation of what the price would be. it explanation of what the price would be-_ explanation of what the price would be. . , ., would be. it was quite vague, wasn't it. _ would be. it was quite vague, wasn't it, what _ would be. it was quite vague, wasn't it, what he _ would be. it was quite vague, wasn't it, what he said. - would be. it was quite vague, wasn't it, what he said. we i wasn't it, what he said. we would be forced to respond in t

our north america editor sarah smith reports.ident biden�*s here with the nato chief and over 30 other world leaders, to display the unity they believe is their strength. the nato summit is naturally focused on defence, how to help defend ukraine. more weapons and equipment are being promised, with britain pledging to double the number of missiles being sent. but ukrainian president zelensky wants far more. translation: you can give us 1% of all your aircraft. _ i% of all your tanks. 196. we can'tjust buy it. such a supply directly depends only on nato's decisions, on political decisions, by the way. nato will not send troops to ukraine, but will station many more forces in member countries bordering russia as the alliance turns to face east. nato is being rapidly reshaped by this war in ukraine in ways that, frankly, the us has been pressing forfor years. on the plane on the way over here, president biden�*s national security adviser told me it is time for member countries to put their money where their mouths are. in other word

ourfirst report tonight is from our north america editor, sarah smith, in poland.s is not just this is notjust ceremony as the presidents of the us and poland marched in step together but a declaration of intent that america would do everything it takes to defend poland from what they see as a great threat from russia. visiting some of the more than 2 million refugees that are fled from ukraine into poland he praised the bravery and announced that vladimir putin was a butcher.— and announced that vladimir putin was a butcher. look at what he has done to these _ was a butcher. look at what he has done to these people. _ was a butcher. look at what he has done to these people. what - was a butcher. look at what he has done to these people. what does l was a butcher. look at what he has i done to these people. what does that make ou done to these people. what does that make you think? _ done to these people. what does that make you think? he _ done to these people. what does that make you think? he is _ done to these people. what does that make you think? he is a _ do

sarah smith, bbc news, warsaw.pond if russia resorts to using chemical weapons in the war here in ukraine, but what exactly did he mean? our security correspondent frank gardner has been looking at what the response could be. there is currently a fear in some western capitals that russia could be preparing to launch some kind of chemical weapons attack in ukraine. now, chemical weapons are abhorrent. they comprise poison gases, liquids, droplets, and they are banned by an international treaty, the chemical weapons convention of 1997, to which 193 countries have signed up, including the us and russia. and yet, despite this, four years ago in salisbury the nerve agent novichok was used to try to poison a former kgb officer. this chemical attack was blamed on russia. and in syrian cities like aleppo and ghouta, poisoned gas has been dropped on residential areas, by the syrian air force supported by russian warplanes. so what exactly would be nato's response if russia used chemical weapons? well, the us national securi

sarah smith, bbc news, brussels.n, a senior security adviser at the center for strategic and international studies about thursday's summit, and the latest on the ground in ukraine. there is one group that believes that eventually russia's larger military, their larger country, will be able to wear the ukrainians down in a war of attrition. 0n the other hand, there are many people who believe that the ukrainians have time on their side, they are getting supplies from the west, their militias are getting better trained, whereas the russians are drawing down their supplies, and, frankly, taking a lot of casualties. the russians have lost somewhere between 7,000 and 15,000 killed, probably twice as many wounded, so they have maybe lost 40,000 troops out of the ground force of 150,000. that is over 25%, that's a huge loss. and to give you a sense of perspective — in ten years of fighting in afghanistan, the russians lost 15,000 troops, and if they've lost 15,000 in four weeks in ukraine, that is a tremendous loss and it i

sarah smith, bbc news, warsaw. exchanges reportedly show the wife of a us supreme courtjudge urged donald trump's chief of staff to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election. virginia thomas, who is married to clarence thomas, is said to have sent 29 messages to mark meadows urging the trump campaign not to concede tojoe biden. i'm joined now by our north america correspondent david bowes. correspondent peter bowes. peter, ginni thomas is featured in a big new yorker take outjust a few weeks ago and there is now this is story circulating. it's been well known that she has been active on the clinical right but what is it about these latest claims that are potentially so damaging? i about these latest claims that are potentially so damaging?- about these latest claims that are potentially so damaging? i think if the circumstances _ potentially so damaging? i think if the circumstances and _ potentially so damaging? i think if the circumstances and the - potentially so damaging? i think if the circumstance

sarah smith, bbc news, washington.tish soil for the first time since she was detained in iran six years ago. this is the moment she arrived at raf brize norton in oxfordshire, just after 1am local time on thursday morning. you can see her walking down the steps there was the other person there is fellow british iranian, anoosheh ashoori. after he was detained as well. they were both detained effectively on spying charges, charges of trying to overthrow the government, both widely rejected, significant moment for both of them as they walked towards their families, for those emotional reunions. we will have more coverage of that in the hours to come. get in touch with me online, on twitter. i'm @lvaughanjones. hello there. there's going to be a different look to the weather on thursday and a change of fortune for much of the country as well. with the rain having cleared away, we had the sunnier skies across more western parts of scotland. there was almost an inch of rain in wiltshire and, for a while, we actually had som

our north america editor, sarah smith, reports from poland. message. president biden's trip to poland is notjust to reassure a nervous ally but is to make clear the us were back military action if russia attacked poland or any other nato member. the men in the military barbers are his, the us having sent thousands of extra troops to poland. he has almost said they are not headed to ukraine as america fears sending forces over the border could start a world war, yet biden seems to tell them they would witness the bravery of ukrainians "when you are there. " the bravery of ukrainians "when you are there. " ., ., . ., ., “ there. " the average citizen, look how they are _ there. " the average citizen, look how they are stepping _ there. " the average citizen, look how they are stepping up, - there. " the average citizen, look how they are stepping up, and i there. " the average citizen, look. how they are stepping up, and you will see when you are there, you will see when you are there, you will see when you are there, you will see women, young p

sarah smith, bbc news, brussels.urity adviser at the center for strategic and international studies. thanks very much forjoining us. what did you make of what has come out of this nato meeting today, as we were hearing on that pearce, president selenski of ukraine saying it is nowhere near enough. saying it is nowhere near enough-— saying it is nowhere near enou . h. , , enough. the meetings were very successful- _ enough. the meetings were very successful. they _ enough. the meetings were very successful. they showed - enough. the meetings were very successful. they showed the - successful. they showed the unity of europe and the united states, that was very important, they agreed to more sanctions, they agreed to take action on refugees, increase the nato troops in eastern europe and making those long—term plans. they are going to increase defence budgets, which is very significant. nato defence budgets have been lays —— rising slowly but they have really been lagging behind what they needed to do. selenski of cour

sarah smith, bbc news.andemic — a story which may have fallen from the news agenda lately but is very much still with us in society. last week, we looked covid in the us, and tonight we're looking at europe, where cases are once again on the rise. take a look at this graph. daily cases in the uk, france and italy, which peaked injanuary, are once again rising, even as most of their covid restrictions are being lifted. then these are hospitalisations. you can see they're rising in austria and the uk. scotland, for example, has the highest number of patients in hospital with covid since the start of the pandemc. well, last week, the who said countries — including the uk — lifted their restrictions "brutally". dr catherine smallwood is the covid—i9 incident managerfor who europe and joins me from denmark. thanks forjoining us. if we hear they're the restrictions were lifted brutally, how would you like to have seen it be done, and is there any country that got it right? goad country that got it right? good aft

sarah smith, bbc news, warsaw.four weeks ago, according to the united nations. most of those refugees have travelled to poland. almost 2.25 million people have arrived there since the start of the war. many of them travelled by train to escape from ukraine. our special correspondent fergal keane and camera journalist nik millard have been following some of those journeys, and their report begins here, in the city of lviv. train horn blares. from the war�*s beginning, it's been a sanctuary... air raid siren sounds. ..where, for the last month, we've watched tens of thousands drawn by this. train whistle blows. the rescue express — the sight... train wheels screech. ..and sound of hope. even if the first days were chaotic... people talk excitedly. ..the desperation was transformed into order. and the trains have saved millions. train horn blares. rolling through the night... ..and the day... ..from lviv to the war zones and back again. keeping these trains running, running on time, as they do, takes the work of so ma

sarah smith, bbc news, washington.ately, 141 countries voting for, only five against. and today the pentagon announced it will delay the test of some intercontinental ballistic missiles, saying to do the exercise now would send the wrong message when putin has put his nuclear forces special alert. sarah, when putin has put his nuclear forces specialalert. sarah, many thanks again for the latest, sarah smith, our north america editor. the organisers of the winter paralympics, which open on friday, have decided not to ban athletes from russia and belarus. but they will have to compete as neutral participants, not under their national flags. the uk culture secretary, nadine dorries, called on the international olympic committee to urgently reconsider the decision. our sports editor, dan roan, reports. the torch—lighting ceremony in beijing earier, as the countdown to the paralympics continued amid controversy. today, confirmation that despite calls for a ban, athletes from russia and belarus would be allowed to take part,

sarah smith, bbc news, washington.ast for talks with the united arab emirates and saudi arabia to try to increase oil and gas supplies and reduce reliance on russian energy. he's told the bbc that the west must never again be vulnerable to vladimir putin's "blackmail". some mps, however, have criticised the trip because of saudi arabia's record on human rights, but the prime minister says the uk won'tjust turn a blind eye on abuses. 0ur political editor, laura kuenssberg, is travelling with the prime minister. politicians can choose their friends — but they can't pick who they need. he wants to starve russia of roubles and stop the west buying their oil and gas. he runs saudi arabia and controls many of the resources that could replace what russia sells. but the crown prince's country also executed more than 80 people a few days ago. it's deeply awkward for a british prime minister to ask for his help. you've talked very passionately about how the conflict between ukraine and russia is about values. if this conflict is

sarah smith, bbc news, warsaw.a von der leyen, who suggested that the blocks�*s current focuses on enforcing sanctions rather than introducing new ones. european commission president said that the four waves of sanctions approved by the use of our work biting hard and drying out the resources to finance this for —— the eu. and now all efforts should be on enforcing those sanctions and preventing circumvention and privation. that is the president of the eu saying the emphasis will be on enforcing current sanctions, not introducing new ones. also, one senior ukrainian official has said that 7300 31 people were evacuated from cities through unitarian corridors today, that is over 7000 people evacuated the acumen and terrien corridors —— 7,331. stay with us on bbc news. hello there. the weather story's certainly been dominated by the beautiful spring sunshine and warmth just lately, hasn't it? but all that is set to change over the next few days. i've taken york as an example, but we are going to start to see the tempe

. >> here's the bbc's north america editor sarah smith. >> the president talking directly from the whitese said the u.s. could no longer be part of financing russia's war on ukraine. this ban on oil imports is something that president zelensky himself directly called for when he was speaking to senators and members of congress. it does have very rare bipartisan support in the u.s. even though the president did war the american people it would comet a cost at a time when petrol prices are already at a record high. and you can see the impact this is having around the globe. recently, the u.s. sent delegations to both it as well and saudi arabia to discuss energy security. economic sanctions against venezuela, could that be about to change? relations with saudi arabia have been very tense. now the administration was to persuade them produce more oil. if a nuclear deal could be agreed, sanctions could be lifted on the sale of iranian oil, but that doesn'took close because russia is part of the talks and trying to scatter the process at the moment. it shows you how complex the politics ooil c

we have sarah smith of the bbc please. >> thank you very much. after the direct strike on the children's hospital in mariupol. present zelenskyy is asking about the natives stopped the killings, close disguise he says. if you don't you are an accomplice to terror, how do you explain ten there's no possibility of a no-fly zone in these circumstances? >> as i have said, sarah, the best way to help protect the skies is their anti- air weaponry which the uk is not going to be supplying to ukraine. that is with the defense secretary announced earlier today. and of course the attack on the hospital is absolutely abhorrent, reckless and appalling. the uk is at the forefront of supplying humanitarian aid into ukraine. we've already pledged 220 million of humanitarian aid appeal has reached 138 million. which is the largest amount that is ever achieved so the british people are fully behind the people of ukraine. we are doing all we can to support. quick's i would add is we've already said, we both, our governments both, are peoples both have tremendous a

sarah smith, the bbc�*s north america editor.ng the fact that the us is standing up and taking some action, prepared to pay the price of rising petrol prices as a result of some of those sanctions, and the main problem that president biden will have with this is not only how to handle an absolutely tragic conflict but also, it means his domestic agenda has now been sidelined, so his ability to deliver any meaningful change for american voters between now and the midterm elections in november has been seriously limited by this. but, of course, the administration says its first priority is to try and do what they can for ukraine. but it seems, from a distance, as though we have gone almost overnight from seeing president biden being portrayed as doddering to being a tough leader in a time of war. he has assumed a mantle, he's cast himself within this crisis as the leader of the free world, basically, and his big pitch has been around unifying nato and the west. and he has put hours, weeks, days of work into the diplomacy to try to

our north america editor sarah smith reports. is here with the nato chief and other world leaders to provide the unity they say is their strength. the nato summit is naturally focused on defence, how to help defend ukraine. more weapons and equipment are being promised, with britain pledging to double the number of missiles being sent back ukrainian president zelensky once far more. translation: ., farmore. translation: ., , far more. translation: ., , ' , far more. translation: ., ., translation: you can give us 1% of all of our translation: you can give us 1% of all of your aircraft, _ translation: you can give us 1% of all of your aircraft, 1% _ translation: you can give us 1% of all of your aircraft, 1% of _ translation: you can give us 1% of all of your aircraft, 1% of all - translation: you can give us 1% of all of your aircraft, 1% of all of - all of your aircraft, 1% of all of your— all of your aircraft, 1% of all of your tanks. _ all of your aircraft, 1% of all of your tanks, 1%. _ all of your aircraft, 1% of all of your

, again, i'm not going to provide any additional assessment from here. 0ur north america editor sarah smithives of the call. one point was to maintain communication, which is, of course, important when you have world leaders as powerful as president xi and president biden who are potentially at odds over this conflict. and they do say that talks will continue with their officials. but if president biden was looking for any assurances that china will refuse requests from russia to provide them with either military or financial assistance, it seemed he did not get those. so, as you heard the press secretary saying there, he did detail exactly what the consequences and implications would be if china does offer material support. now, the us isn't prepared to make public what those steps would be, but we do understand that it was laid out very clearly for president xi what actions the us are prepared to take if they see china getting involved. there's also been calls here from us officials saying it's time that china got on the right side of history over the war in ukraine. they would like to he

chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, but first, let's hearfrom our north america editor, sarah smithhis is probably one of the most significant callsjoe biden�*s had to pabg as president in talking —— had to make as president? yes pabg as president in talking -- had to make as president?— to make as president? yes it is a critical conversation _ to make as president? yes it is a critical conversation between - to make as president? yes it is a critical conversation between the two most power. men in the world. we haven't had any information from the white house, but the government said the president said conflict is not in anyone's interest and it was his priority to end the conflict. with his actions, china sends more mixed signals and has refused to condemn the war. this attempt at trying to remain neutral has frustrated the white house and they say china needs to be on the right side of history and they would like president to use his influence with vladimir putin to end the war. there is concern, because officials believe russia has asked china for military equipment to help with

but we have sarah smith that a, b, b, c, please. thank you very much. after the direct strike on a children's hospital in marion poll, president selling sky is asking you both and nato to stop the killings close the skies. he says, and that if you don't, you are an accomplice to terror, how do you explain to him that there is no possibility of a no fly zone in these circumstances? well, as i've said, sarah, the best way to help protect disguise is true anthea weaponry which the u. k. is now going to be supplying to ukraine. that's what the defense secretary announced earlier today. and of course, the attack on the hospital is absolutely aboard and reckless and pulling, and the u. k is at the forefront of supplying humanitarian aid into ukraine. we've already pledged 220000000. if humanitarian aid are all dec appeal has now reached a $130000000.00, which is the largest amount it's ever achieved since $24.00. so the british people are full square behind the people of ukraine. we're doing all we can to support and i was just, as you said, 1st, we both gove

we'll hear from sarah smith in washington dc in a moment, but first to damian grammaticas who's in berliniament today. yes, that's right. and _ the european parliament today. yes, that's right, and what _ the european parliament today. yes that's right, and what we are seeing here now is the reception that germans are giving to those ukrainian refugees. this is the central station in berlin and in the last hour the first train direct from the border has arrived here. 800 people on that stock they have come down and are being processed through here, given free train travel on to anywhere in europe and the ability to stay for the foreseeable future. in the european parliament what we saw was the response to that speech from president zelensky from the president of the european commission who talked about this being a moment of truth for europe and ukrainians dying and fighting for the ideal of freedom. as president zelensky�*s desire tojoin and freedom. as president zelensky�*s desire to join and speed up the join into the eu and she said there was a long path ahead and an address to the po

we need to concentrate on working together as a largest agencies. >> sarah smith did not respond to a request for comment. >>> the latest outlook for wildfire potential is looking ominous. by the time the jewels around the significant fire potential will be above normal for the entire bay area. here's the report. >>> back in late january, embers from a brush pile burning operation sparked a fire near big sur . more than 700 acres for black and even after large storms dump significant rain and october and december. and then the rain stopped. in fact, january knighted a two month stretch that became the driest period ever recorded in northern california. robert foxworthy says have potential for wildfire is considered normal, but it is growing by the day. >> right now we are not in that more than normal potential. there's still this potential and the public can see the by the fact that we have a 700+ acre fire on the coast of monterey county last month. >> the latest maps just released show a significant increase in the threat from wildfire in northern california in the bay area. by june