hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. ukraine says its forces are enduring intense russian shelling in the eastern city of lysycha nsk, but denies claims that they are surrounded. russia has also fired more missiles at cities in the north and south. lysychansk is the last ukrainian held city in luhansk, which is part of the industrial donbas region. these pictures from russia s state owned domestic news agency, ria, show drone images of battles near the city. but kyiv denies the claims that russian backed fighters have encircled the city. elsewhere, russia is continuing its missile strikes. in the south, ukraine s military says mykolaiv has been hit by ten missiles targetting the port and other industrial infrastructure. it s not yet clear if there are any casualities. the ukrainian authorities have accused moscow of hitting civilian targets in an effort to force them into making territorial concessions. meanwhile, two more britons captured by russian
temperatures are expected to reach well into the 30s across southern england today a level three heat health alert has been issued for the region on what could be the hottest day of the year england has appointed its first women s health ambassador with the aim of closing the gender health gap president zelensky says ukraine is closer than ever to the eu with senior officials in brussels expected to recommend it as a formal candidate for membership later today. welcome to bbc news. this morning we re looking at the impact of the rising cost of living with the bank of england warning that the increase in the cost of everything we buy and use could hit 11% later this year. the huge rise is being driven in part by events taking place thousands of miles away in ukraine but the pinch is already being felt right here in the uk. it comes as a bbc commissioned survey suggests we re cutting back on food and travel as those price rises hit our household budgets. four thousand
people are skipping meals to save money. also today. today s warm weather in the south of england has now been officially classed as a heatwave. gatwick airport cancels hundreds of holiday flights this summer. it says staff shortages are still a major problem. the spread of avian flu is worrying experts studying important colonies of birds off the coast of britain. that one sounded so good! and fun in the sun for england s cricketers as they break their own world record for the most runs in a one day international. and coming up on the bbc news channel, can rory mcilroy continue his good start in massachusettes? he tees off shortly. we ll bring you the latest from round two of the us open. welcome to bbc news at six. there s more evidence today of the sharp rise in the cost of living, with the price of petrol and diesel breaking new records, and the rate of inflation heading to levels not seen for decades. ministers have urged people to be sensible in their demands for high