welcome to the programme. exactly six months ago, vladimir putin ordered his army to invade ukraine. it was a decision that not only unleashed the biggest war in europe since world war ii, but it also turned the world on its head. thousands of ukrainians and russian soldiers have been killed in the fighting. today, in ukraine, it is independence day. normally, there would be parades and celebrations marking 31 years of freedom from soviet rule. but not today, it s not safe. and in the past 6 months, russia has clawed away at ukraine s freedom. this was the map of ukraine on february 24th. russian backed separatists already held significant territory in the eastern regions of donetsk and luhansk and moscow controlled the annexed crimean peninsula. this is how things stand now. russian forces control large parts of the south of the country, all of the luhansk region and continue to make advances in donetsk. but there is still the threat of danger, everywhere in the country and
hello, i m nuala mcgovern. you re watching the context on bbc news. president biden announces a $3 billion military aid package for ukraine, six months after the start of the war. the european union and the uk also promise to stand by ukraine but leaders warn of economic hardship ahead because of the conflict. in the us, a night for the establishment candidates in the primaries, as democratic voters pick charlie crist to take on ron desantis in the race to be florida s next governor. and last night on the context, glasgow weighed in on the scottish bin strike this hour edinburgh responds. tonight with the context, from edinburgh, alex massie, scotland editor of the spectator, and republican strategist rina shah, who s in washington.