the pressures on russia, both economic and political, are growing. for the first time ever, the european union is to finance and deliver weapons and equipment to a country under attack. the eu has also decided to close its airspace to all russian aircaft, including the private jets of oligarchs. our business editor, simonjack has more. i have never seen i have never seen so i have never seen so many significant decisions being taken so significant decisions being ta ken so swiftly significant decisions being taken so swiftly with such unity in the eu. just this weekend for example apart from all the extra financial sanctions, we have been hearing about from jack, the eu is going to buy and deliver weapons for a country that is at war and germany turning its defence policy on its head, and for the first time, despite its wariness of course with its second world war reputation it is going to be sending weapons directly to ukraine and now todayit directly to ukraine and now today it is go
including the sending of arms to ukraine. we ll have more on all of that in newsday, but we start with this report from our correspondent nick beake in kyiv. explosions. there wasn t much talk of peace on the streets of ukraine s second city today. instead, kharkiv gave us a grim warning of more to come if this conflict doesn t stop. explosions. earlier, locals in kharkiv had opened their windows to see russian trucks rolling in. other vehicles in the sights of the ukraine military did not get far. and in the south of the country, this was said to be a drone strike on a russian convoy at an airport. but some appealed to the hearts of the russian soldiers to end this misery. what are you doing? this woman asked. you are our brothers. please stop.
in an underground world, mirroring the gruesome reality of what is unfolding above them. nick beake, bbc news, kyiv. ijust want i just want to draw your attention to another newsline we are getting. volodymyr zelensky spoke on the phone and said the next 2a hours will be crucial in trying to repel russian forces. for more on that head over to the live page on bbc news online or download the bbc news app. despite offering talks, president putin has ordered russia s strategic nuclear forces to be placed on high alert. he says western leaders have made aggressive statements towards russia, and international sanctions are illegitimate. the us has denounced the move as completely unacceptable. 0ur corresopondent steve rosenberg is in moscow
on civilians. translation: russia s criminal actions against ukraine show- signs of genocide. i talked about this with the un secretary general. russia is on the path of evil. here in the heart of kyiv, we are hearing the explosions get louder, as the russians draw ever nearer. seizing this european capital while the world looks on is for now president putin s prime objective, and everyone living here simply has no idea just how much force he is prepared to use to do that, and just how many people could die. this is now an age of wartime leaders, a moment when former ukrainian prime ministers post online tutorials instructing their people on how to make petrol bombs to defend themselves. and this is how children in the capital play today,
but across the city of lviv this morning, the voices and prayers of those for whom this place is home, a home they will not abandon. the church of saints peter and paul was damaged in world war ii, shut down by the soviets, and is now a garrison church for ukraine s army. these are the faces of the dead of the eight years of war with russia. and of some of their children. we don t have fear because it s our home, lviv is our home. russia are coming to our home. if russia goes to your house, what do you do? at lviv station, now a focal point for the thousands fleeing, there is fear. inna is a professor of architecture, a mother with a teenage son