good evening. a senior conservative mp says the uk must do more to support ukraine as russian troops mass along its border. tobias ellwood, who chairs the commons defence committee, says he thinks an invasion could now be "imminent" — and that president putin is "taking full advantage of a weakened west". russia has denied it's planning an invasion. but the us has delivered 90 tonnes of what it calls �*lethal aid' to ukraine, the first shipment since a fresh promise of assistance from president biden. james waterhouse reports now from the ukrainian capital, kyiv. the friendship of nations arch, built by the soviets to celebrate the closeness between russians and ukrainians. that crack was painted on by activists in a few on by activists a few years ago as relations between the two countries deteriorated. and as talks intensify about a possible invasion, the hope is things don't break down completely. tensions are still rising on the border. today russian jets made their way to joint military drills with neighbouring belarus. ukrainian ministers have welcomed the delivery of us military equipment, and now a call for the uk to step up its own support. the british government has delivered 2000 anti—tank missiles this week and says it is open to sending more weapons. what we have seen over the last few months with diplomatic talks failing, putin's ultimatum demanding nato push back, of course that was dismissed, but that has given him the pretext to actually say that there is an aggressor and that he must act. he has actually boxed himself into a corner because so much effort has been put into this. but he also recognised that he will never again be as strong as this to take advantage of the west's weakness. i suspect an invasion is now imminent. so, does kyiv feel like a city preparing for an invasion? evelyn and lillian are too small to appreciate the power struggles surrounding their country, but their parents sergei and valeria obviously are not. it is definitely concerning. it definitely seems more tense than in past times that we were concerned about this. i would say it is definitely increasing, like, anxiety and stuff, for sure. of course i am afraid. i don't want ukraine to be just like donbas right now, just like donetsk. it will be very... it is a nightmare for me. if i see others do it, says ivan, i am ready to defend my country. i am not going to run away, but then again there might not be anywhere to run away to. moscow denies that it is planning an invasion, but it is easy to forget ukraine's already endured eight years of russian aggression. it has brought fighting, cyber attacks, misinformation and constant uncertainty. next week, the us will continue to discuss russia's demands that nato will both scale back its military presence and rule out ever letting ukraine join. for the country at the heart of it, that uncertainty goes on. james waterhouse, bbc news, in kyiv. kristine berzina is head of geopolitics and senior fellow at the american based think—tank, the german marshall fund. shejoins me from washington dc. thank you forjoining us. first off, let's go back to the motivations and how we actually got here. why is russia doing this? 50. how we actually got here. why is russia doing this?— how we actually got here. why is russia doing this? so, russia has over 2021 and _ russia doing this? so, russia has over 2021 and especially - russia doing this? so, russia has l over 2021 and especially throughout the fall really increased its military presence on the border of ukraine. this military presence has been paired now with a set of demands that russia wrote especially to the united states, which in effect russia is asking to turn back history. they are very upset about the notion ukraine could join nato at some point. nato has an open door policy, interested in having that closed. they are concerned about the fact there was an expansion of nato after the cold war and in their demands they would like to see things go back to the way they were in the early 90s in terms of the western military presence. that of course is an unreasonable set of demands. when you look at the principles that underlie the us, including nato as an institution. 0bviously president putin wants to go back to the past, in terms of russia and its relationship with the us, and also its satellite territories or how he sees them. just how realistic are those demands and what is going to be the likely response from the us, for example? these are demands that president putin has had. he has spoken about the fall of the soviet union is the greatest tragedy of the 20th century. these are very meaningful to him but resonate with the russian population also. a sense of embarrassment about how the 20th century. these are very meaningful to him but resonate with the russian population also. a sense of embarrassment about how the 20th—century turned out. he has some manoeuvrability amongst this population to do this, but the kinds of demands he has set out, the fact they are demands putting through quiet, secret diplomatic channels. the factories have been published openly, they repeatedly refer to them in press conferences internationally and domestically. in a way we just heard putin has pitted himself into a corner —— painted himself. here set out demands the west will not meet. it is fundamental to nato to have an open doorfor fundamental to nato to have an open door for countries not only like ukraine but potentially sweden, finland... this has been a core idea behind the alliance. being able to protect its members right now means you cannot go back to military arrangements are cut out the middle of the 1990s. which means the west will not and the us cannot meet the demands putin has set out. if he does not have more reasonable demands there is limited place to go in this which is why people are so afraid there could be an military conflict. , _, . ., , conflict. lets concentrate very cuickl conflict. lets concentrate very quickly on _ conflict. lets concentrate very quickly on nato. _ conflict. lets concentrate very quickly on nato. how- conflict. lets concentrate very quickly on nato. how united l conflict. lets concentrate very i quickly on nato. how united are conflict. lets concentrate very - quickly on nato. how united are the and all of its allies as an organisation and how to deal with russia? i am organisation and how to deal with russia? iam particularly organisation and how to deal with russia? i am particularly interested in germany. russia? i am particularly interested in germany-— russia? i am particularly interested in germany. germany is a hard one. when ou in germany. germany is a hard one. when you look— in germany. germany is a hard one. when you look at _ in germany. germany is a hard one. when you look at the _ in germany. germany is a hard one. when you look at the top _ in germany. germany is a hard one. when you look at the top line - when you look at the top line principles, yes, germany is concerned, said there would be significant consequence to russia if it further invade ukraine, but there are problems lower down. we saw in the last 2a hours a chairman admiral in india talk about the fact he does not see the threat to be the same way as the big us analysis or uk analysis is right now. you have the german defence ministry pronounced that, and say that does not reflect the official position, but there is concern that germany is not fully on board, and germany did not allow estonia to send german arms from estonia to send german arms from estonia to send german arms from estonia to ukraine. also recently. which has many wondering if germany is really on board and if it is seeing the conflict in the same way as the rest of the alliance.- as the rest of the alliance. going back to putin, _ as the rest of the alliance. going back to putin, is _ as the rest of the alliance. going back to putin, is he _ as the rest of the alliance. going back to putin, is he as _ as the rest of the alliance. going back to putin, is he as strong - as the rest of the alliance. going back to putin, is he as strong a l back to putin, is he as strong a man, characterand back to putin, is he as strong a man, character and individual as he likes to be per trade price because there are many people saying the narrative at home is towards distracting what is going on —— as he likes to be portrayed? moving outside his orders to distract people from issues at home, economic problems. people from issues at home, economic roblems. . , ., , , ., problems. that is absolutely part of this. problems. that is absolutely part of this- russia — problems. that is absolutely part of this. russia in _ problems. that is absolutely part of this. russia in many— problems. that is absolutely part of this. russia in many ways _ problems. that is absolutely part of this. russia in many ways has - problems. that is absolutely part of this. russia in many ways has not i this. russia in many ways has not developed as well as neighbouring countries have over the past decades. this is not a point of pride, and instead pride needs to be found elsewhere, which is where an external action can comment. i was saying earlier there is a sense of grievance broadly about the 1990s and what has happened since, and that gives putting some manoeuvrability. he is not able to... he is not running north korea, he does not have a limitless mandate, so the potentialfor a drawn out and bloody war is something people in russia do not want. so the balance of wanting to increase its perception of power globally would have to be balanced with what the real cost of that would be domestically, and how it really affects the population, including soldiers and families. that, i think, including soldiers and families. that, ithink, is including soldiers and families. that, i think, is the biggest limiting factorfor him. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers — our guestsjoining me tonight are geri scott, political correspondent from press association and calum macdonald from times radio. william wragg, the conservative mp who accused government whips of trying to blackmail some mps trying to oust borisjohnson, says he's due to meet the police next week to discuss his claims. he's been backed by the labour mp chris bryant, who says any such behaviour would be illegal. downing street says it's �*not seen any evidence �*to support the allegations, but would look closely �*if proof were presented.�* here's our political correspondent damian grammaticas. already under pressure, the coming days could prove decisive for boris johnson. now there is a new concern — the fact that one of the main rebel mps, who have already written letters of no confidence in him, is due to talk to the police possibly on monday. the mp william wragg this week alleged he'd been told others had faced threats they might lose funding for their constituencies if they did not back the prime minister. the intimidation of a member of parliament is a serious matter. moreover, the reports of which i am aware would seem to constitute blackmail. jeering. on wednesday, mrjohnson was there when another cheering. on wednesday, mrjohnson was there when another of the rebels, christian wakeford, defected to labour. he claims he was told some time ago funding for a school might not happen if he did not support the government over free school meals. today a senior labour mp said he had heard more claims. i must have spoken to about a dozen tory mps in the last few days who have made similar allegations about whips either offering to withdraw, you know, financial support for their constituencies, either from the political parties, so for campaigning, or for their constituents. downing street says if evidence emerges, it will be looked at seriously, but it is not investigating as it is not aware of anything to back up the claims. and tory mps are waiting to see if there is more substance to them. i have voted against the government on occasions when i thought it right, and i have to say i have always had a very close relationship with the chief whip and indeed a very productive relationship with whips, so i am waiting to hear more about this because it is not something i have seen or been told about. the other person looking for evidence is sue gray, the civil servant investigating the downing street parties. her report should come this week. the question for borisjohnson, who is at the official country retreat of chequers, can he survive it unscathed? he is thought to be busy plotting his strategy and calling his mps trying to secure their support. damian grammaticas, bbc news. a man has appeared in court charged with the murder of an 86—year—old woman and the attempted murder of her 88—year—old husband. freda walker was found dead at her home in langwithjunction, derbyshire, a week ago. ken walker was found severely injured and remains in hospital in a critical condition. 0ur reporter heidi booth has more. dressed in greyjoggers and a grey jumper, vasile culea appeared for a matter of minutes before magistrates today. he spoke in romanian only to confirm his name and address, and the charges were read to him via a romanian court translator. he is charged with the murder of 86—year—old freda walker and the attempted murder of 88—year—old kenneth walker. freda was found dead at her home address a week ago today by a concerned neighbour. her husband ken was found with serious injuries and is still in hospital in critical condition. mr culea was arrested at his home address on grove road in church warsop on thursday. he has been remanded in custody and will next appear in court at derby crown court on tuesday next week, the 25th of january. derbyshire police have said they are still investigating this incident and would like to hear from anybody who has any information. they ask that you come forward as soon as possible. heidi booth, bbc news, nottingham. two women have been taken to hospital after a knife attack in north west london. it happened in station road, harrow. police say the injured women were slashed and a third woman was punched by the suspect. a woman has been detained and taken to hospital for a mental health assessment. the port of dover has acknowleged that since the beginning of the year, new customs controls for goods heading to the eu have been contributing to big queues on the road outside the town. special travel restrictions have been used ten times this year to ease heavy congestion on the a20 in kent, prompting anger among many drivers. here's our business correspondent, ramzan karmali. queues of lorries on the a20 trying to get into dover. a sight that many have got used to at the start of 2022. 0n social media, many drivers have claimed brexit. from january one, experts to the eu were subject to full customs controls. the boss of the port believes there are a number of factors causing the delays. since the beginning of the year, there has been increased transaction times at the border due to the carriers having to check customs paperwork at the check—in process. but equally normally for this time of year we have vessels that are out on refit, normal maintenance activities. we also are doing a bit of maintenance in the port, which means that our buffer zone space has got slightly reduced capacity. the increase in freight traffic has meant the operation travel access protocol, a temporary traffic management system, has been called on ten times already this year. the port of dover insists this is not brexit related, but the port of dover is more concerned about new tricks which will come into force in september. what we're trying to do is make certain the government fully appreciates what the implications are if we do not get an agreement between the uk government and the french government for a set of protocols that will work. unless we get that agreement, it will be very difficult to see how it will not impact the travel through the port of dover. from september, airport style biometric checks are due to be implemented, which would mean drivers being stopped at the port for around ten minutes each. with around 10,000 trucks passing through the port each day, the warning is clear that a solution needs to be found. the government says it is working with its european counterparts to ensure that border arrangements run as smoothly as possible. the royal college of gps is calling on the government to delay its policy of compulsory covid vaccines, for front line health care workers in england, over concerns it could worsen problems with staff shortages. hundreds of nhs workers took to the streets of london this afternoon, in protest against the new rules. currently, staff have until the third of february, to receive their first dose, to allow enough time to be fully—vaccinated by the deadline of first april. the department of health and social care said there were no plans to delay the policy. let's take a look at the latest government figures — there were over 76,800 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period, but that figure does not include scotland. on average just over 91,700 new cases were reported per day in the last week. the latest figures show there were just under 18,000 people in hospital being treated for coronavirus on thursday. 297 deaths were reported in the latest 2a hour period, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive test, though there will be some amongst this number who won't have died from covid. on average in the past week, 270 deaths were announced every day. 0n vaccinations, over 36.8 million people have had a boosterjab, which means, 64% of people aged 12 and over, have now had three vaccine doses. the headlines on bbc news... the first shipment of american military aid to ukraine arrives in the country — amid warnings a russian invasion could be imminent. police will meet a conservative mp who's accused government whips of trying to "blackmail" politicians who've tried to oust borisjohnson. a man appears in court charged with the murder of an elderly woman, and the attempted murder of her husband. the un has condemned an air strike by the saudi—led coalition on a detention centre in yemen. the country's houthi rebels, who have been fighting the saudi—led coalition, say at least 82 people were killed and more than 260 others injured. it follows nights of bombing raids, after a rocket fired by houthi rebels killed three people in the united arab emirates earlier this week. jacob burns is the communcations adviser for medicins sans frontieres. i have been speaking to colleagues inside the city this morning. they describe that in the early hours of friday morning, they were at home, they heard the sound ofjets flying over the city and then three explosions. we know that the air strike hit the city prison where there are reported to have been upwards of 1500 people detained at the time. the air strike has caused hundreds of deaths and injuries, the latest numbers that we have been given by the ministry of health in yemen is that there have been 82 people killed in this strike and 266 people wounded. one of my colleagues inside the city was in a hospital this morning and he said the hospital was facing a very difficult situation with so many wounded that some of the casualties were lying on the floor in the hospital because there were no more beds for them. the hollywood star, arnold schwarzenegger, has been involved in a multi—vehicle crash in los angeles. a woman has been taken to hospital. a spokesperson for the former california governor said he was unharmed. nickjohnson reports. from the sky above the la suburbs, arnold schwarzenegger's black suv flanked by tow trucks some hours after it was involved in a multi—vehicle crash. photos taken on the us showbiz news site tmz showed the body—builder, actor and politician standing at the scene talking to a police officer. the black suv teetering on top of both a toyota ps and a porsche. police say the four vehicle collision happened on friday afternoon in the brentwood area of la. one woman was taken to hospital, but it is not thought her injuries are life—threatening. a spokesperson for the actor confirmed the 74—year—old was behind the wheel of his car at the time but was unharmed. the los angeles police department says no arrests have been made and neither drugs or alcohol were involved. the investigation is continuing. nickjohnson, bbc news. former olympic champion cyclist, chris boardman, will head up a new organisation to encourage cycling and walking in england. active travel england wants to improve infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians. 0ur north of england correspondent fiona trott reports from york. angry shouting. it's meant to be healthy but cycling can be hazardous. that's because not all towns and cities have dedicated routes. 0ne aim of active travel england is to make sure cyclists and walkers are considered in future planning applications. you want places where your kids can walk or ride to school and you can travel to work on a bike, and to do that, you won't do it unless you feel safe and you can look out a car window and go, "oh, that looks quite nice." that's what this agency will do. active travel england will be based in york, and campaigners here welcome it. i think it's brilliant, really, because we have got lots of good little bits but they are always let down by a busyjunction or some scary bit where traffic goes. secure cycle parking is another part of the strategy, to link up with rail services, and there will be subsidies for businesses to use bikes to carry cargo as well. but above all else it's just about making our towns and cities feel safer and less polluted so we want to walk or cycle, but will it work? york is so small as it is, so it's more connecting outside city centre to other places, like the university, getting those connections going, where people are actually cycling. you've got to start somewhere. you've got to invest in things. the more people you get cycling, and walking, the more people are likely to look at those people cycling and walking and start cycling themselves. the strategy is part of a £2 billion package already announced for walking and cycling schemes over a five year period. that means it will be the end of may before she is able to do hers. and she will have to do it almost two hours away in aberystwyth. my mum has had to book three days off work to take me there so i can get familiar with the area and do my test when i feel comfortable. if there were tests available here, we would have avoided that hassle completely. from pwllheli, aberystwyth is almost a two hour drive. cardigan is over 100 miles and almost three hours away. carmarthen is even further. we have heard examples across wales of learner drivers booking their tests over the border in england. that is just those who have been able to book their tests. availability is really limited, with no free slots in some places untiljune. the dvsa says it is trying to tackle the backlog by recruiting an additional 300 examiners. it is also asking those who have retired recently to consider coming back temporarily. it is also offering tests on weekends and public holidays. in cardiff, damien has had a long day. he quit hisjob as an examiner in november after 18 years. he says he will make more money as an instructor. i left basically because we were being asked to do more and more work for the same pay. it was a big decision, but ultimately it will lead to better finances for me. the pcs union says the plans to tackle the backlog of tests will take time. it says what is really needed is betterjob security and pay for examiners. back in pwllheli, this woman's clocking up a few more miles before she hopes she is able to ditch the l plates for good. it may sound like something out of a science fiction movie — but in a british 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. here's victoria hollins. 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 will be able to go out more, because i have not been going out all that much — ijust go out to 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. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. good evening. saturday may have been a dry day for most of us but there was a lot of cloud to contend with. we will keep large amounts of cloud in the sky as we go through tonight. where there are some breaks in that cloud, they could fill in with some mist and fog patches down towards the south where the winds are light. this is also where we'll see the lowest temperatures. in the cities, plymouth, cardiff, birmingham down to freezing, some places in the countryside, if you have lengthy clear spells, could be down to —3 or “11. milder further north, particularly in northern scotland where we have the brisk south—westerly wind. that continues into tomorrow. 0dd spot of drizzle for high ground in north—west scotland. a lot of cloud generally, lots of dry weather, some sunny spells, best of that for eastern scotland, maybe wales in the south—west. light winds in the south, brisk winds in the north. temperatures in a range between 5—9, maybe up to ten in sheltered spots in northern scotland. as we look further ahead, we will see some rain through the coming week, but most of it across the north of the uk. many southern areas are likely to stay mostly dry. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... the first shipment of american military aid to ukraine arrives there amid warnings a russian invasion could be imminent. police will meet a conservative mp who's accused government whips of trying to blackmail politicians who've tried to oust borisjohnson. a man appears in court charged with the murder of an elderly woman and the attempted murder of her husband. the port of dover admits new customs checks have contributed to big queues on the roads. now on bbc news, it's time for some political thinking with nick robinson. hello and welcome to political thinking. this week coming from self isolation. be back in the studio soon. if borisjohnson does fall, if he is forced out of office by his own mps, people will say, history will no doubt recall that he had to go because he broke the rules which he had set. the truth will be a little more complicated, as my guest on political thinking will spell out, i think. it will be because many conservatives think that borisjohnson has stopped being a conservative.