to supply them with more. in many parts of ukraine, there are long queues at the pumps, with petrol stations and fuel storage depots being bombed by the russians. we do have a problem with the oil and petrol. we will deal with it. one step at a time. this is my philosophy right now. if i think about how huge the picture is and how huge the problem is and how so many things are out of our control because it depends on the crazy dictator of putin in a bunker somewhere, then you lose control, you lose your mind. eventually, whenever this war is finally over, a generous international aid plan will be needed to repair and rebuild this devastated country. but for now ukraine s priority isjust to keep patching up as much infrastructure as possible so it can continue to wage its war of survival. ben brown reports from kyiv.
we will look at that a little bit further. we will look at that a little bit further. the us central bank has raised interest rates by half a percentage point the most aggressive increase in more than 20 years. the move is intended to tackle rapidly rising prices, fuelled by the war in ukraine. with us inflation at a ao year high, further hikes are expected. meanwhile, interest rates in the uk are also expected to rise again today. the bank of england will release its latest decision at midday. analysts are predicting that the base rate could increase to i% their highest level in 13 years. let s get more on this now with our economics correspondent andy verity. let s start off with what took place
it follows the us central bank announcing its biggest increase in more than two decades yesterday. japan s prime minister has condemned the war in ukraine during a visit to london, where he s also due to agree a new defence partnership with the uk. retiring doctors in england are being urged to continue working, to help the national health service clear backlogs and deal with staff shortages. and coming up this hour, meeting some of nature s newest arrivals. a new study, following great tits near oxford, suggests spring is starting sooner in britain. hello and welcome
in the us. was it expected or was it a shot? i in the us. was it expected or was it a shot? ~ ., , in the us. was it expected or was it a shot? ~ .,, , , a shot? i think it was broadly exnected a shot? i think it was broadly exnected they a shot? i think it was broadly expected they would - a shot? i think it was broadly expected they would do - a shot? i think it was broadly expected they would do a - a shot? i think it was broadlyj expected they would do a big a shot? i think it was broadly - expected they would do a big hike in rates and they are expected to do more. inflation in the united states is 8.5%. in the euro area it is 7.5%. in this country it is relatively mild, 7%. but nevertheless we can expect it to write by the. if you look at the cost of raw materials, they have gone up by 20% in the last year. largely because of the cost of fuel but also raw materials like steel and wood. this all started before the war in ukraine. you had a reopening of the economy post pandemi
because of russia s invasion of ukraine, more than a quarter of the ukrainian population has been displaced, more than 7 million internally, but more than 5 million have fled abroad, and that is almost two thirds of ukrainian children have been displaced by this war, and of the people who fled abroad, more than 3 million have gone to poland, and there are hundreds of thousands of people still gradually staying in private homes with polish people, and this is obviously a short term solution to this crisis, it cannot go on for months and months, and what is urgently needed is vast amounts of humanitarian aid and assistance, not only for, obviously, the people who have fled ukraine, but all the people who remain in ukraine, and this is what it is trying to do. it follows a similar pledging conference which was organised by the european union and