able to see her grandchildren again. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. it's very good to have your company today. we begin this half hour with the situation in ukraine. the us has delivered its first shipment of military aid to ukraine — made up of what it says are ninety tonnes of �*lethal aid' — two words which seldom go together. it comes after high level talks between the us and russia on friday, over the tensions in ukraine — with tens of thousands of russian troops currently camped near the ukrainian borders. washington has warned of unspecified consequences if moscow invades — something the russians say they have no intention of doing. with the latest — here's mark lobel. the threat of conflict persists. as president putin continues his apparent drive for a new post—cold war settlement. ukraine is proving the biggest foreign policy test for president biden since us troops left afghanistan. he's left the white house for camp david this weekend to meet his national security team and secretary of state antony blinken, who himself is returning from three days of crisis diplomacy. those ended in talks with his russian counterpart in geneva, which frankly didn't get very far. what i think is possible is a negotiation with russia on some new security architecture, for your model eras, the inf agreement of the 80s, under which intermediate and short—range missiles were banned. if the russian issue is the risk in the future of nato missiles on the russian border sitting in ukraine, that would take that away. but of course, it would mean the russians, too, had to withdraw weapons. in the meantime, ukraine has just received from the us 90 tonnes of what america calls lethal aid, including ammunition for ukraine's front line forces. washington says it's helping ukraine bolster its defences in the face of growing russian aggression. russia denies an invasion is on the cards, but has 100,000 russian troops near ukraine's border in potential threatening positions, as this map shows, as putin asks that ukraine be stopped from joining nato, that nato remove its troops or weapons from countries who joined the alliance after 1997, and that nato abandon military exercises in eastern europe. as russia sticks to its guns, how could the west respond? i would apply sanctions now, and offer to lift them if russia does not invade. i would be sending much greater amounts of armaments and trainers to ukraine so they can best defend themselves. i would put us and other allied nato forces further forward into the baltic states and poland as a deterrent, and as a statement of resolve. and also, ships into the black sea. for now, though, things remain relatively quiet on the western front as both sides seek a diplomatic way forward. the russians are now. going to await, i think, written answers from the united states- on their two treaties. that they've proposed with demands which the us and the nato countries - won't accept, but they've agreed to meet again, i so we can just hope - that diplomacy continues. russia sparked this diplomatic conflict. this week, the us showed it's keen to resolve it peacefully. but it remains unclear how far both sides are prepared to go to placate the other. let's take a closer look now at the arms build up in and around ukraine as its allies try to offer not just diplomatic but also military support. as we reported, the us has sent 90 tonnes of what it calls �*lethal aid' to ukraine. we don't know many details about what the shippment includes, apart from ammunition for ukrainian front line forces. remember, the americans made clear they will not send troops if there is an incursion by russia. the uk has provided short—range anti—tank missiles. a small team of british troops is also being sent to ukraine to train the ukrainian army on how to use them. three baltic nato members — estonia, latvia and lithuania — are also sending missiles. the us madejavelin anti—armour missiles and anti—aircraft stingers. and, close by, on the other side of ukraine's borders, russia has deployed more than a hundred thousand troops — with some also in belarus. as part of those forces — what are thought to be tens of thousands of armoured vehicles, tanks and artillery units. let's speak now to richard sakwa — professor of russian and european politics at the university of kent and author of frontline ukraine. thank you for being with us this morning. in truth, this conflict has been ongoing for the best part of a decade now, hasn't it? what has accelerated the mood? what's created this sense of pessimism, do you think? ., ., ., think? not a decade, i would say it noes think? not a decade, i would say it aoes back think? not a decade, i would say it goes back at _ think? not a decade, i would say it goes back at least _ think? not a decade, i would say it goes back at least until _ think? not a decade, i would say it goes back at least until 1990, - think? not a decade, i would say it goes back at least until 1990, and| goes back at least until 1990, and the discussions about nato enlargement at the time of german unification. and basically, moscow considered that it was betrayed. endless promises at that time that nato would not move one edge to the east, seem to have been forgotten, not only that, the fact that these statements were made, which are in black and white at the national security archives, is denied in the west. so moscow feels a grievance. now, whites come to a head, is that putin basically says, enough is enough, that georgia and ukraine joining nato would simply be a security threat of the highest order, and they've got nowhere else to retreat, he actually said that. so that's why it's particularly come to a head. he said, basically, let's sort this out once and for all now. he says it, but the ukrainians, he is saying it was a gun held to their head. if you mobilise 100,000 troops that close to the border, you're sending a message, aren't you? absolutely. you make a decisive message. just one contextualisation of that, the ukrainians have 100,000 troops, as well, along the border with the so—called donbass republic, so a... with the so-called donbass republic, so a... �* . , ., with the so-called donbass republic, soa...�* . , .,, so a... but that used to be part ukraine until— so a... but that used to be part ukraine until not _ so a... but that used to be part ukraine until not that _ so a... but that used to be part ukraine until not that long - so a... but that used to be part ukraine until not that long ago. absolutely, certainly part of ukraine, but if you recall, the minsk agreement of 2015, ukraine and sat in the west six years to sort it out, basically, absolutely, they should return, that was the idea, to ukrainian sovereignty but with a certain amount of devolution. what certain amount of devolution. what eo - le certain amount of devolution. what peeple seem _ certain amount of devolution. what peeple seem to _ certain amount of devolution. what people seem to struggle with is, you're absolutely right about what you're absolutely right about what you say was in the agreements drawn up you say was in the agreements drawn up in the, following the collapse of the soviet union and dissolution of the soviet union and dissolution of the warsaw pact. but countries like the warsaw pact. but countries like the baltic states, whichjoined nato, did so more than a decade ago, and yet russia at that stage, may have registered objections but there was no significant change in the sort of levels, if you like, of hostile signals and so on. i wonder why, therefore, now? is it a reflection of the domestic situation president putin finds himself in? or something specific the west has certainly done that it didn't do ten years ago, 15 years ago? figs certainly done that it didn't do ten years ago, 15 years ago?— years ago, 15 years ago? as far as wh it years ago, 15 years ago? as far as why it has — years ago, 15 years ago? as far as why it has come _ years ago, 15 years ago? as far as why it has come to _ years ago, 15 years ago? as far as why it has come to head - years ago, 15 years ago? as far as why it has come to head now, - years ago, 15 years ago? as far as why it has come to head now, two things. i don't think it's so much domestic as such, the fear of ukrainian democracy and stuff that. which is a liberal argument. i think it's a far more hard—headed realist one. yes, moscow has decided that it's taking a tougher, harder line. and i think that was signalled in putin's state of the nation message in 2018, when he said, you didn't listen to us then, listen to us now, when he announced these hypersonic missiles and weapons, and then he goes back to the us unilateral abrogation in 2002, which he says but it all, so in my view it's been a long, slow motion cuban missile crisis which has finally come to a head. ., �* , ., crisis which has finally come to a head. . �* , . ., ., ., head. that's a rather alarming analo: ! head. that's a rather alarming analogy! that _ head. that's a rather alarming analogy! that ended _ head. that's a rather alarming analogy! that ended well- head. that's a rather alarming analogy! that ended well but. head. that's a rather alarming | analogy! that ended well but it head. that's a rather alarming - analogy! that ended well but it very nearly didn't. so very interesting to talk to you about that, i am sure we will talk again. thank you so much for being with us. here in the uk, a conservative backbencher who accused downing street of trying to "blackmail" mps seeking to drive out borisjohnson is to meet police to discuss his allegations. william wragg — who wants the prime minister to resign — said he will be speaking to a met police detective in the house of commons early next week, after requesting a meeting with the force. number 10 said it had not seen any proof of the behaviour he alleges. let's talk to our political correspondent helen catt. this is quite an acceleration of the allegations isn't it, to make a formal, what will effectively be a witness statement to the police? we're not sure it's quite that formal. what we understand is that william wragg has asked for this meeting with the met police, that someone from scotland yard will meet with him in the commons this week, so i am not sure that we are quite at the stage that you might have suggested there. so that is what we know about... hot suggested there. so that is what we know about- - -_ know about... not under oath or anything. _ know about... not under oath or anything. but — know about... not under oath or anything. but he _ know about... not under oath or anything, but he will _ know about... not under oath or anything, but he will clearly - know about... not under oath or anything, but he will clearly be l anything, but he will clearly be putting allegations, otherwise it wouldn't be... it’s putting allegations, otherwise it wouldn't be. . ._ putting allegations, otherwise it wouldn't be... �*, . .., ., , wouldn't be... it's an extraordinary move for him _ wouldn't be... it's an extraordinary move for him to _ wouldn't be... it's an extraordinary move for him to put _ wouldn't be... it's an extraordinary move for him to put these - move for him to put these allegations out there in public in the first place, actually. earlier this week he made a statement to a parliamentary committee he chairs, saying, claiming that some of his colleagues had been intimidated by the whips, who are mps who are appointed, in this case by the government, to try and get their colleagues to vote the right way, the way they want, rather than the right way! and what he's saying is that they have been using intimidatory tactics on them, particularly in the last week, on those who are suspected of not backing borisjohnson, he said some of the methods would seem to constitute blackmail, the specific he talked about were the encouraging embarrassing stories about mps to appear in the press... embarrassing stories about mps to appear in the press. . ._ appear in the press... earlier this week, a appear in the press... earlier this week. a story _ appear in the press... earlier this week, a story on _ appear in the press... earlier this week, a story on the _ appear in the press... earlier this week, a story on the kepa - appear in the press... earlier this week, a story on the kepa times| appear in the press... earlier this i week, a story on the kepa times on monday which was claimed to be untrue, which he found an odd coincidence, when you are not backing the prime minister. —— a story in the tim. backing the prime minister. -- a story in the tim.— story in the tim. that's one, but erha -s story in the tim. that's one, but perhaps more — story in the tim. that's one, but perhaps more seriously, - story in the tim. that's one, but perhaps more seriously, the - perhaps more seriously, the suggestion william wragg put forward that some mps had been told if they did not vote a certain way, they would have funding withdrawn from their constituencies, and the former conservative mp who defected this week to labour, christian wakeford, also said he had been told when they were voting for free school meals, that he would not get the money for a high school in his constituency. these are pretty serious allegations that have been made. the committee on standards — that have been made. the committee on standards in _ that have been made. the committee on standards in public— that have been made. the committee on standards in public life _ that have been made. the committee on standards in public life didn't - on standards in public life didn't report about four years ago, i think, looking at intimidation and one recommendation was that government political leadership should call it out wherever it existed. what downing street said today is, we have seen no evidence of it. have they given any indication of whether they are actually looking to see evidence? i think the spokesman for downing street declined to say if there are going to go looking on the application is that they are not. however, what they have said is that if they are presented with evidence that backs up these allegations, they will look at that very carefully. they will look at that very carefully-— they will look at that very carefully. they will look at that very carefull . ., , , ., ., ., carefully. you spend a lot of time down there. _ carefully. you spend a lot of time down there, you _ carefully. you spend a lot of time down there, you will _ carefully. you spend a lot of time down there, you will be - carefully. you spend a lot of time down there, you will be aware . carefully. you spend a lot of time | down there, you will be aware that particularly when governments do not have a big majority, they have a kind of, you know, they use a lot of tactics, some of which might make your grandmother blush, but actually, in a sense, there almost an understanding, that in the end they cut kind of tie you up in a bowl and lock you in a room, you're free to vote. —— they cannot kind of tie you in a ball. your grown—ups, politicians, that they have to withstand this kind of pressure and say, that'sjust withstand this kind of pressure and say, that's just politics? withstand this kind of pressure and say, that'sjust politics?— say, that's 'ust politics? there is i was say, that'sjust politics? there is i was going _ say, that'sjust politics? there is i was going to — say, that'sjust politics? there is i was going to be _ say, that'sjust politics? there is i was going to be a _ say, that'sjust politics? there is i was going to be a very - say, that'sjust politics? there is i was going to be a very large - i was going to be a very large attempted to persuade someone to vote with the government if it looks like they're not, and of course there are various tactics employed to do that, some of them less gentle than perhaps others have been, and you're right, it was ever thus. but i suppose the other thing is that it may now be another one of those examples of the way that westminster works and always has worked now rubbing up against the expectations of how a normal 21st century workplace works, or should work, and it's that sort of, we've seen this time and again in recent years, we've seen how it does work and perhaps how others think maybe it should work clashing several times, and perhaps this is the beginning of another instance of that.— another instance of that. that's an intri . uinu another instance of that. that's an intriguing thought, _ another instance of that. that's an intriguing thought, helen. - another instance of that. that's an intriguing thought, helen. thank. another instance of that. that's an i intriguing thought, helen. thank you very much. tonga's clean—up continues with the help of foreign aid — one week after the volcanic eruption and tsunami devastated the pacific island. the united nations says tonga will depend on emergency food supplies for some time to come because of the impact of last weekend's undersea volcanic eruption. aid has been arriving by sea and air from australia, new zealand and britain. 0ur correspondent phil mercer is following the story from sydney. good to see you today. australia in the lead on a lot of this, not least in efforts, fascinating efforts, to try and reconnect the undersea cable thatis try and reconnect the undersea cable that is responsible for much of tonga's international communications. that as well as the international humanitarian aid it is taking in. international humanitarian aid it is takin: in. , , ., taking in. this undersea communications - taking in. this undersea communications cable l taking in. this undersea i communications cable was taking in. this undersea _ communications cable was damaged a week ago during that undersea volcanic eruption and the tsunami waves are triggered, it is among a raft of catastrophic damage to property and infrastructure, and as you say, aid coming in from many, many countries, led by australia and new zealand. what is a significant issue, any water supplies on the tongan archipelago were contaminated by that blanket of ash that rained down on this pacific nation of about 105,000 people, and this will be an international aid effort like no other. authorities in tonga are introducing very strict disease control measures because tonga has just recorded only one known coronavirus case since the pandemic began. so clearly, it doesn't want to recover from one disaster by inviting another in, so what they're doing is foreign aid workers, in order to go into country, will have to adhere to three weeks of isolation. if you look in other parts of the pacific, in recent days, k batty, published about the same of tonga, was covid free but is going to love them. —— kiribati wha's covid free but is going into lockdown. so tongan authorities are being very careful there.— being very careful there. thank you very much- — i'm joined now from fiji by sainiana rokovucago, pacific programme manager for the international federation of red cross and red crescent societies. good to speak to you today, i know you and your colleagues are incredibly busy at the moment, not least because your teams had, i understand, pre—positioned aid for just such an eventuality, that there might be, from whatever cause, a tsunami as a result of what happened in the past, you guys are ready to go as soon as it struck and as soon as the waters had receded. tells about that, if you could, please? we had about that, if you could, please? - had pre—positioned stock for 1200 households, which included kitchen sinks, shelter items, and household kits, hygiene kits, which included washing, tarpaulins, blankets, so we had this on the island, and following the disaster, we were aware of what was on the island from the pacific, from the fiji office, we were coordinating with the australian red cross, and the new zealand red cross, in getting more supplies to replenish what our counterparts are going to be distributing. the counterparts are going to be distributing.— counterparts are going to be distributinu. , ., ., distributing. the next stage of the aid operation _ distributing. the next stage of the aid operation and _ distributing. the next stage of the aid operation and eight _ distributing. the next stage of the aid operation and eight being - aid operation and eight being brought into the islands. 0ne complication is that tonga has remained covid free, and the government is saying, look, people cannot come in unless they've isolated for a period. we are in an emergency, people might be surprised that even aid supplies are having to be capped 72 hours before they are actually distributed?— actually distributed? that's right. you will have _ actually distributed? that's right. you will have heard _ actually distributed? that's right. you will have heard today - actually distributed? that's right. you will have heard today of- actually distributed? that's right. you will have heard today of a - actually distributed? that's right. i you will have heard today of a plane that had to return to australia with someone who had covid, in our mobilising resources, we are aware of the strict regulations around quarantine so at the moment, we are actuallyjust quarantine so at the moment, we are actually just coordinating quarantine so at the moment, we are actuallyjust coordinating the... the shipment of relief items. we haven't really gone into planning, but we are not really mobilising human resources. —— we are planning but we're not really human resources.— but we're not really human resources. �* , ., , resources. i'm sorry to interrupt, thankfully — resources. i'm sorry to interrupt, thankfully they — resources. i'm sorry to interrupt, thankfully they have _ resources. i'm sorry to interrupt, thankfully they have only - resources. i'm sorry to interrupt, thankfully they have only been i resources. i'm sorry to interrupt, . thankfully they have only been three fatalities, wonderful knees, terrible for the families and loved ones of those three, but wonderful when you think of the scale of devastation there has been, that the human cost may not have been too high. it could be high, couldn't it, unless clean water supplies can be established quickly? how important is the arrival of the new zealand desalination plant on its naval vessel to that objective? vessel to that ob'ective? tonga bein: vessel to that ob'ective? tonga being ireland's — vessel to that objective? tonga being ireland's and _ vessel to that objective? tonga being ireland's and reliant - vessel to that objective? tonga being ireland's and reliant on i being ireland's and reliant on mainly rainwater —— tonga being islands, and the main source being inundated with salt water, following the tidal wave, there was a real need, that what it was a priority for the communities. and our counterparts were supporting the government operation in actually distributing water, notjust on the main island but also on the three other islands. so we had a team that was working on, and a team that were supporting the other emergency team in distributing votive, freshwater, and also other relief items. —— in distributing water. and also other relief items. -- in distributing water.— distributing water. thank you so much for speaking _ distributing water. thank you so much for speaking to _ distributing water. thank you so much for speaking to us, - distributing water. thank you so much for speaking to us, and i distributing water. thank you so | much for speaking to us, and for distributing water. thank you so - much for speaking to us, and for all the efforts you and your colleagues are doing there. thank you so much. thank you. five of the uk's leading business groups have called on the government to act now to support both businesses and consumers, who they say face spiralling energy bills. they've written to the chancellor, rishi sunak, demanding urgent action to tackle the ongoing crisis. here's our business correspondent, ramzan karmali. these five prominent business groups have warned the chancellor that energy price rises on the horizon could push millions of people into fuel poverty. in a letter sent to rishi sunak, they say that if the issue is: the reason our energy is getting more expensive is down to the massive rise in wholesale prices, as economies around the world began easing covid restrictions. the energy regulator, 0fgem, is due to announce a new energy price cap from april, and it is expected to rise dramatically, to £2000 for the average household. i think it is really vital that the government thinks, how can we, not protect everybody from global energy prices, that feels really hard to do, but to smooth the cliff edge for most households, for whom an £800 rise in their bills will really be too much, as well as supporting the most disadvantaged in our society to be able to cope with really significant increases. and when it comes to businesses, 2022 is already proving to be a massive hit to cash flow for a whole range of reasons. put a secondary glazing on this side... the energy bill for this hotelier in scarboroughjumped up from £2000 a month to £10,000 in november. she has no choice but to pass on some of these rising costs. 0ur big challenge in that it is coming towards the end of the pandemic now, foreign markets are opening back up for travel, so we are now in a position where our hotel is competing with very cheap foreign hotels, foreign travel. we're in a position now that if the costs keep rising and we have to keep putting those prices onto our customers, we are not going to be able to compete with that market. rising energy costs are putting pressure on notjust families but businesses, too, and the calls on the government to act now are growing ever louder. for their part, the treasury said it's helping families with £12 billion worth of support, targeting the lowest—paid over the next two years. ramzan karmali, bbc news. it may sound like something out of a science fiction movie — but in a uk first, a woman from london has been granted the gift of better sight thanks to a bionic eye. the ground—breaking operation involved inserting a microchip into the patient�*s retina. victoria hollins has been finding out more. here comes the glasses. making the final adjustments for a patient who is virtually blind in her left eye. these glasses contain a camera, linked to a small computer which connects with a microchip recently inserted under her retina. the chip is placed in the centre of the retina, which is the seeing part of the eye, and we can stimulate the chip for her to start to see different types of signals. so that shows that we will hopefully be able to now train her to see things within the centre of her eye, which she never saw before. i'd be able to see my grandchildren and when i look in the mirror, - i'm going to get a shock! chuckles. this is part of a clinical trial five years in the making, which is why we are not using the patient�*s name. she had the chip inserted a month ago. this is her first set of eye tests. keep looking a bit up! once the lights are out, the experts can begin to work out what she can see. so, what is the colour? green. | i want to be able to go out more, | because i have not been going out all that much — ijust go out to just a church on saturday and i don't go out now— during the week, so maybe it will be better now if i can see better, yeah. | age—related macular degeneration causes loss of vision in the centre of the eye. it is the most common cause of significant sight loss in the developed world. when i first heard about this particular technology and seeing the results from stanford, i thought this has potential to really be a game changer, and we're now seeing in a clinical trial so from a personal note, i am just so happy now that i can talk to patients about a new technology that potentially could benefit them, and all of these years, there has been nothing. this grandmother will have to undergo many training sessions to encourage improvements in her vision but moorfields eye hospital hopes to recruit more people into the study and help the millions affected by a life—changing disease. what a remarkable operation cost, very good luck to her. —— what a remarkable operation. the fbi says the boyfriend of the blogger gabby petito, who was murdered in september, admitted responsibility for killing her in his diary. brian laundrie shot himself after gabby was found in a camping ground in wyoming. she had been strangled. the couple had been on a cross—country road trip. brian's body was later found near his parent's home in florida. the fbi says he had earlier tried to fool the authorities into thinking gabby was still alive — and that the case is now closed. an ending of sorts. you're watching bbc news. adults living with obesity in england are now being offered extra weight—loss support from community pharmacists. until now, patients had to be seen by their gps before they could access an nhs12—week weight management plan. the scheme is designed to help the estimated one—in—four adults who are obese. reena barai is from the national pharmacy association, and told bbc breakfast that she hopes people are encouraged to come forward. pharmacies are willing and able to provide these services. we know that people are losing weight can have a profound effect on people's mental and physical well—being and by helping them to lose that weight, we can reduce the risk of cancers, stroke, heart disease, so losing weight is an absolutely essential thing for people to do. and obviously we are injanuary right now, when people are thinking about it, as well, so we really encourage people to come into their pharmacies, just have a chat with us and hopefully we can refer you onto this programme if you're eligible, and you can get that tailored help that you need to help you make those sustainable life changes. did you know that the law that affect you if you are a motorist in terms of how you do will cycle and pedestrians has changed? come into effect next week. i didn't either. campaign groups are calling on the government to urgently publicise changes to the highway code which come into effect next saturday. the move will see pedestrians and cyclists given greater priority. cycling uk says it'll be the biggest update in a generation. but according to the aa, a third of drivers don't know about the changes. the department for transport says it's working with key organisations to ensure that messages about the update are as widespread as possible. duncan dollimore from cycling uk said more needed to be done to publicise the changes. we are expecting them to come in a week today, and there should have been more publicity in advance. but there is two phases to this. one is, communicating what the changes are, because they have legal implications the day they come in. and i think there needs to be a separate push to make sure more people are aware that actually, it is their responsibility to know what the rules say. but after that, there is a cultural change, because people's behaviour doesn't change overnight. there needs to be that long—running awareness campaign, nudging people's behaviour. when we introduced excess alcohol drink—driving tests, we didn'tjust do one announcement overnight and say, "well, that's it." there were long—term campaigns to highlight that. from today, almost all coronavirus restrictions are being lifted in the republic of ireland. social distancing measures and limits on gatherings will be scrapped, while workers will return to offices on a staggered basis. an 8pm curfew for restaurants, bars, cafes and pubs will also be lifted. arnold schwarzenegger has been involved in a car accident in los angeles, his spokesman has confirmed. la police say the four—vehicle crash — which occurred on friday afternoon — left one person with injuries that are thought to be non—life threatening. schwarzenegger's spokesman said that the actor was uninjured. no arrests have been made and police have ruled out the involvement of drugs and alcohol. the crash is currently under investigation. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise. hello, a fairly straightforward weather story at the moment with high—pressure dominating and keeping things very quiet. the difference through this weekend, it's not going to be quite as cloud as it has been because there is workload around. quite a sunny morning in the east but through the afternoon, kibo tends to develop and push further inland, and there will be a spotter or to of drizzle in the far north—west, here, we will see high—temperature is, ten or 11, but elsewhere, after a bright star, temperatures peaking at 7—9. through the evening, still a risk of some breaks in the cloud, and where that happens, temperatures will fall away and patchy mist and from forming. but largely cloudy skies holding temperatures at which means a great start to our sunday morning, but are quite one, continuing. —— a great start. winds in the north—west to the afternoon, perhaps dusting to gale force by the end of the day, but temperatures peaking between six and nine. take care. hello, this is bbc news with shaun ley. the headlines: the first shipment of us military aid to ukraine has arrived in kyiv. it follows talks between russia and the us secretary of state in geneva on friday. moscow has denied it plans to invade.