as president putin begins drafting new troops in the fight in ukraine. some flights out of russia have sold out. also in the programme. the bank of england raises interest rates to their highest level for m years it warns the uk may already been in recession. and a fracking ban in england is lifted in a bid to increase energy production but critics say the move could harm the environment and trigger earthquakes. the us secretary of state has said russia s president, vladimir putin, can t get away with shredding international order over his invasion of ukraine. he was speaking at a special meeting of the united nations security council. here s what else he had to say. even the number of nations that maintain close ties with moscow have said publicly that they have serious questions and concerns about president putin s ongoing invasion. rather than change course, however, president putin has doubled down, choosing not to end the war but to expand it. that expansion he was
rather than change course, however, president putin has doubled down, choosing not to end the war but to expand it. that expansion he was referring to relates to president putin s announcement on wednesday that he was calling up 300,000 reservists to fight in ukraine the first time extra forces have been mobilised. this has now begun. ukraine and its allies say the move is a sign of president vladimir putin s desperation in the face of a recent counter offensive by the ukrainians. the kremlin says those with military experience will be prioritised and students will be exempt but has offered no other details so far. and that has people spooked. flights for the coming days from russia to nearby countries including armenia, turkey, azerbaijan and serbia have sold out entirely. early on thursday morning, people arrived from moscow at belgrade airport in serbia. it s one of the few cities that still has direct flights from russia
day of mobilisation. this is what one man had to say on the streets of yekaterinburg one of russia s biggest cities. translation: i am a patriot and i love my country. - if the country needs me, i ll go and fight. others, however, appear not so willing. these pictures from serbia, which the bbc has been unable to independently verify, appear to show distraught families saying goodbye to each other as russians prepare to leave. meanwhile, the announcement made earlier this week that parts of ukraine currently controlled by russian backed governments will hold votes on whether to become part of russia is also a key topic of discussion at the meeting of the un security council. the referenda are due to be held from friday in luhansk, donetsk, kherson and zaporizhzhia and are expected to be a foregone conclusion in russia s favour. former russian president dmitry medvedev and now the deputy chairman of russia s security council, has said that moscow could use nuclear weapons to def