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00:00Flying the flag of solidarity, a symbol of the Home Office's support for the Ukrainian people.
00:06But is there a different message coming from within the building?
00:09With legal routes for many Ukrainian refugees into the UK currently out of reach.
00:15The UK has to do its bit and provide sanctuaries for refugees alongside other countries.
00:22And we need to make sure that that can happen swiftly without some of the existing visa
00:28hurdles and bureaucratic delays that the government has currently put in place.
00:33The Home Office says that while the situation is constantly under review,
00:37there are currently no plans for the UK to take Ukrainian refugees without any family ties here.
00:42And that is because they say there are countries surrounding Ukraine that are safe for displaced people to enter.
00:49And the government is supporting those countries.
00:52Their priority is to get British nationals and their close family members out
00:57by making it quicker and easier for them to get the proper documentation.
01:00So removing costs and relaxing rules around visas and providing places in the region for people to be processed.
01:07Last week, as fear of an invasion grew, the UK embassy was moved out of the capital, Kiev,
01:13over 300 miles west to Lviv.
01:15Family members of British nationals have also been told they can apply for visas in neighbouring countries,
01:21Poland, Hungary, Romania and Moldova.
01:24Next week, capacity in those centres will be extended further
01:27and a new pop-up centre will be opened in Rezhov in the south-east of Poland.
01:33Kristina lives in the UK but has relatives across Ukraine.
01:36We've got a family trapped in an apartment block in a city called Sumy right on the eastern border.
01:44There's no way of them even leaving that apartment, never mind the city.
01:47So it's all very well talking about paperwork and bureaucracy and cutting red tape.
01:54But people can't leave and they're still stuck anyway.
01:57For people who can get out, it's the surrounding countries who will provide the first sanctuary,
02:02with Poland expecting a million people.
02:05But other countries have already stepped up, with Ireland yesterday saying it will take those
02:09who have no existing ties to the country.
02:11Lord Dubbs, who entered Britain on Kindertransport in 1938,
02:16warns that planned changes to immigration laws are about to make things even tougher for those fleeing war.
02:22Ireland and Portugal have already also said they'll take Ukrainians.
02:26And from the Buddhist government, nothing but silence.
02:29And indeed, if you look at the legislation that's coming forward, the National Union Borders Bill,
02:35unless they change that, it would be impossible for a Ukrainian to get asylum in this country.
02:40The Home Office insists it is standing shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine
02:44by providing a helpline for family members of British nationals trying to get out
02:48and extending visas for those currently in the UK.
02:52But with a refugee crisis building abroad, there is pressure building at home to do more.
02:59Well, with the prospect of millions of people forced to flee their homes,
03:02this could swiftly turn into a humanitarian catastrophe.
03:06Earlier, I spoke to David Miliband, head of the International Rescue Committee,
03:09and I asked him what he feared most about what's ahead.
03:13Our fear, based on the three weeks of work that we've been doing with a team in Poland,
03:18is obviously of mass displacement as well as mass casualties.
03:23We've got well-founded reports of indiscriminate bombing in civilian areas,
03:28of missile strikes on hospitals,
03:29and also the UN saying more than 200,000 people are on the move inside the country,
03:34and at least 50,000, I think, have crossed borders into Moldova and Poland.
03:40So we're looking at a serious emergency inside Ukraine,
03:44which needs international support from civil society and community organisations,
03:48as well as from governments,
03:49and a refugee flow that will test Europe.
03:52Although I have to say that the decision of the Poles and the Hungarians and the Slovaks
03:56to open their borders is encouraging and positive.
04:00What do you make of the UK's decision not to process visa applications from within Ukraine?
04:06Do you want that decision reversed?
04:09Of course.
04:10I mean, the Irish government have announced that they won't demand visas for Ukrainians coming to Ireland,
04:16and that's the kind of emergency measure that you need in an emergency situation.
04:21Britain should think of itself as a European country in this context,
04:25even though it's outside the EU,
04:26and every European country needs to step up in a practical way.
04:31Why do you think the UK isn't making that offer?
04:34I'm incredulous, honestly, as to why they wouldn't want to step up at this stage.
04:39There's obviously a lot of rhetoric across the UK political spectrum,
04:42unified, which is good, but there needs to be action too.
04:45This is a European conflict now,
04:47and Britain needs to behave like a responsible European power.
04:51What do you think of the response internationally to that humanitarian need that is looming?
04:56Has there been enough?
04:57Has it been coordinated enough?
04:59Well, I think that the main problem is not humanitarian at the moment in terms of planning.
05:04The main problem is that President Putin has been planning this for at least eight years
05:08since the invasion of Crimea,
05:11and Europe and the US have been trying to put things together over the last few months.
05:15You've seen the horror show inside Ukraine in terms of the bombings and the missile strikes.
05:22So it's inside the country that there's going to be the greatest humanitarian need.
05:26And it's vital to remind viewers that access to humanitarian aid for those caught in conflict
05:31is a legal right,
05:33and protection for civilians is guaranteed in the Geneva Conventions and the UN Charter.
05:38You talk about civilian areas being hit.
05:41Do you think that war crimes are already being committed?
05:45Well, we need to say very vigilantly that every allegation of a war crime needs to be investigated,
05:53not least because there's a record here.
05:55The names Grozny in Chechnya, the name Aleppo, a great city in Syria,
06:00flattened and civilians flattened in appalling abuse of international law.
06:05When you look at, as you say, what Russia is doing and has been planning for many years,
06:11and you look at the disunity amongst the EU in respect of sanctions,
06:16things being cobbled together just looks chaotic.
06:20Well, I don't think it's right to say that chaos is the defining idea of the Western response
06:26over the last few months or even the last few days.
06:30After all, the sanctions that have been announced are stronger than anything else.
06:33There's been this debate about SWIFT and the SWIFT system,
06:37and it looks like that is now going to be, Russia is going to be banned from that.
06:40Although I would point out that the ban on the two banks,
06:44the Spare Bank and VTB,
06:47means that the equivalent of SWIFT banishment has been done for anything,
06:52anyone banking with those banks, any organization banking with those banks,
06:55and that constitutes, I think, half of the Russian economy.
06:58So there have been some pretty strong sanctions announced,
07:02but sanctions do not stop tanks.
07:04That's the basic fact of the situation on the ground.
07:09And we have to realize that hard power is being used
07:12in a way that is deeply threatening to the assumptions
07:15that you and I have grown up with over the last 30 years.
07:18David Miliband, thanks very much.
07:20Thank you very much.
07:22Some other news now.
07:23And in Florida, the Conservative Political Action Conference,
07:26America's biggest gathering of right-wing activists,
07:28is getting underway in Orlando,
07:30now, of course, being held in the shadow of the Ukraine war.
07:33Tonight's keynote speaker is Donald Trump,
07:36a man who has not been shy of lavishing praise on Vladimir Putin.
07:40Kieran Moody is there.
07:41Kieran.
07:44Well, Cathy, CPAC is this Conservative conference
07:46that first began in 1974,
07:48and Ronald Reagan gave the first address.
07:51And what a difference 50 years makes from a man who stood up to Russia
07:53and asked them to tear down a wall to a man who loves building walls
07:56and who this week said Vladimir Putin was a genius
07:58and this invasion was pretty savvy.
08:00Now, Donald Trump is speaking this evening,
08:02but not all Republicans agree with his words.
08:04I just spoke to the Republican Senator Rick Scott from Florida,
08:07and he said he condemned Vladimir Putin.
08:09But when I did ask him about those words from Donald Trump
08:12about Vladimir Putin, he deflected.
08:14He said Biden was the weak man
08:17and that this invasion would not have happened
08:19if Donald Trump was still president.
08:22I think, essentially, when it comes to the Conservative movement,
08:24to the Republican Party,
08:26they are muddled when it comes to Ukraine and foreign policy.
08:29Because, remember, make America great again.
08:31America first.
08:32That is nationalist.
08:33That is insular.
08:34It doesn't get involved in foreign conflicts.
08:36On the other hand,
08:37the Republican Party historically has stood for freedom
08:39and stood up to communist Russia,
08:41just like their hero, Ronald Reagan.
08:44Regarding the current president, Joe Biden,
08:47he is in Delaware this weekend.
08:49He is speaking regularly to Vladimir Zelenskyy,
08:51and he is committing more financial aid to Ukraine.
08:55But coming back to here, to Florida, to CPAC,
08:58when you go in there and you see the speeches
09:00and you look at the meetings,
09:02Ukraine is not really registering.
09:03They're more focused on mask mandates,
09:05on COVID restrictions, the Democrats.
09:07And so this is a movement very much focused on America,
09:09and culture wars, not a foreign war,
09:12where Ukrainians are calling on America to stand up.
09:15Kieran in Orlando, thanks very much.
09:18After the break, protests across Europe,
09:20and here in the UK, in support of Ukraine,
09:23and their homes became a war zone.
09:25We speak to one Ukrainian woman here,
09:26who's desperately trying to get her sister
09:29and her two children to safety.
09:32We'll see you next time.
10:40Crowds also gathered in central Manchester for a Stand With Ukraine rally.
10:45Our North of England correspondent Clare Fallon has been speaking to people there.
10:48They sing of home and of hope, even though many here say things feel hopeless right now.
11:01I've been born in Mariupol. Now from six o'clock this morning, all grads been non-stop, been
11:12throwing the bomb on my, below at Mariupol. Half of my family there, all my cousins, my
11:20nieces, my friends there, as they're sitting here in Mariupol on the ground.
11:25Stop Putin! Stop the war!
11:29Protesting against the war waged in Ukraine by Putin's Russia, while also calling for
11:34the UK and European leaders to do more. As the crowd grew, there looked to be thousands
11:40in Manchester.
11:44And in London, they gathered again today at Downing Street, while at another protest, eggs
11:50were thrown at the Russian embassy building. Most, though, made their demands with words.
11:55And especially being Russian, knowing that it's my country, that I don't want to represent
12:02anymore because I don't want to be saying to people, I'm Russian, I'm sorry for the government
12:07that is doing this.
12:08Well, I'm from Ukraine and I've got mum in Sumy and there is a massive battle in Sumy
12:14for two days. A mum, she's alone. We lost our dad two months ago and we left her alone.
12:20She's in shelter for two days now. We're just thinking about them and we check
12:26phone whether she's online or not, whether she's able to tell us what's going on and if
12:31she's alive because you can see that they destroy buildings.
12:41In the hours after the invasion started, in Leeds and towns and cities all over, meetings
12:47were held as Ukrainians living in the UK planned this weekend's protests while still struggling
12:53to take it all in.
12:54You know, I think we all hoped and dreamed that this wouldn't happen. You know, the
12:58rumours were there, the stories were there, the intelligence was there to say that it
13:01wasn't just going for a snip. He wasn't just taking a little bite out of Ukraine. He wanted
13:05everything. He wanted cave. So, yeah, we just hoped it wouldn't happen.
13:11Larissa was at that meeting in Leeds. Her elderly mother is in an area of Ukraine that's under
13:16attack. Today, she travelled to Manchester to be part of the protest.
13:20We're extremely worried. We're unable to sleep. People having stress issues and things.
13:26And the same fears are shared by many here. Watching it all over the last couple of days,
13:32how has it been for you?
13:33It's just been heartbreaking. My parents went through this in the 40s, 30s, 40s. And luckily,
13:41they're not here to see it all because it would really crucify them seeing it all again. Sorry.
13:48Well, there are many Ukrainians living here who are desperate to help their relatives back home,
14:00reach some kind of safety. Jane Deeth has been speaking to one woman whose sister and her two
14:04children have taken to the road for safety and are still trying to get out of Ukraine.
14:09Stand with Ukraine! Stand with Ukraine!
14:12Olena Nizalova outside Downing Street this afternoon. Protesting is all she can do from here.
14:19She's powerless to help her sister, Olcha, who's stuck in Ukraine trying to escape into Poland.
14:25Olena got through to her today on the road to the border for a second attempt.
14:31Last time she and her sons were turned away.
14:34So it's the view of our Ukraine. Do you see how many cars?
14:41It's just her and her boys, Dimitro, six- and eight-year-old Borden, making this journey into the unknown.
14:49They fled their home near Crimea for a place belonging to friends of friends a few hours from the Polish border.
14:56Hello, my son. Hello, my good friend.
14:59Olena tells Dimitro, I'll see you soon.
15:02What do you want?
15:03We are going to you.
15:05Olena has to just wait and see if her family makes it out.
15:11I hope that she has strength to cross the border.
15:15I hope that she will be allowed through, but, you know, nothing is certain.
15:21Speaking to her today, how did she look? How did she seem to you? Is she okay?
15:25I think she does feel relieved, but also I think she has to show, you know, to children to be courageous and not, you know, in despair.
15:35Children got scared.
15:36They were asking her, like, last night they were afraid to go to sleep because they were asking,
15:44Mom, are we going to be bombed? And then they were telling if I could pick them up, if they can go to me,
15:53because they don't have anyone else.
15:56Olena was with her sister and the boys in Ukraine last week.
16:00When they realized war was coming, only she could get a flight out.
16:04We got really, really worried.
16:08And so we woke her up at night and we said, like, okay, let's discuss.
16:14Can you go to Poland?
16:16I told her, please, please, please, just take, you know, for one, two days, just get there.
16:24We'll organize something.
16:26It's okay.
16:28Just leave.
16:29It must have been hard for you to leave Ukraine and not be able to bring your sister and her children with you.
16:36I don't know even how to explain this.
16:38She's ten years younger, so I'm actually struggling with this.
16:44Like, my feelings towards her are somewhere in between the mother and the sister.
16:49Because I always wanted to have someone in my life.
16:55And when she was born, I was already ten.
16:58And that was like my baby.
17:02Tonight, Olena's baby sister and her two babies are walking towards a foreign country, pulling their suitcases behind them.
17:14Hello.
17:15Hello.
17:16Hello.
17:17And you five kilometers.
17:20Olena says they've got about five kilometers to go to reach the border.
17:24Our hands are cold, she says, because we've lost our gloves.
17:28It's a long journey.
17:33She puts socks on Dimitra's hands.
17:37Are you tired?
17:40She asks.
17:41We have to walk just a little bit longer.
17:44Jane Deeth there.
17:50Well, let's catch up with the latest situation in Ukraine.
17:52And our chief correspondent, Alex Thompson, is here.
17:55Alex, there have been some developments while we've been on air.
17:57Certainly have, Cathy.
17:58Lots to get through.
17:59Crumb of Comfort AP reporting that the Ukrainian president has welcomed an offer from Turkey and Azerbaijan for peace talks.
18:06That's as far as it goes.
18:08On the arms, well, the Americans are offering $350 million of arms.
18:12You were talking about the German contribution.
18:14Always queasy for them.
18:15But it is changing at least 1,000 RPGs, 500 stinger missiles.
18:19The Netherlands putting in 200.
18:21Let's go to the map, then.
18:22Really, Pentagon sources reporting that the real key fighting has been up in Kharkiv.
18:28That's the most intense area.
18:29A major city out east being surrounded.
18:31Then, of course, Kyiv.
18:33Obviously, immensely important if you're interested in regime change.
18:36Let's go in and have a look.
18:37We've seen for two or three days now they've been pushing down from the north.
18:41They're going on both sides of the Dnieper River, which bisects the city alarmingly via the Chernobyl site.
18:48If you go into town, into the centre of town, this is where there's been reports of fighting clashes.
18:54This is small office.
18:55This is reconnaissance groups.
18:56And, of course, what they're really after is the key things to hoist their fag, the Russians,
19:01on, of course, the presidential palace and also the parliament building.
19:06And, briefly, protests across the globe, including in Russia, which will worry Putin, won't it?
19:10Well, indeed.
19:11And there are some signs.
19:12When we say 2,600 people arrested, you get some size of the picture.
19:16That's just in Russia.
19:17That's just in Russia.
19:18That's just in Russia.
19:20That's just in Russia.
19:22So we're going to settle here.
19:23Well, let's just in Ukraine later.
19:27All right.
19:28All right.
19:29Here we go.
19:30We're doing Sek .
19:32Let's say one day just over the
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