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Thousands flee Ukraine as the Russian invasion continues as aid agencies say the southern city of Mariupol, which has seen heavy shelling preventing more from leaving, is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe. The BBC's Sarah Rainsford reports from the central city of Poltava where evacuees from the north eastern city of Sumy are arriving. In the UK, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the British Parliament by videolink urging Britain to do more to support his country's fight against Russia. In the US President Joe Biden announces a complete ban on the import of Russian oil and gas, but imports make up only a small amount of America's oil and gas supply, so will it make a difference? We ask Stuart Glickman, an energy analyst at CFRA Research in New York. At the same time, the EU has published a plan to dramatically reduce its reliance on Russian energy - is it ambitious enough? We speak to Dieter Janacek, a Green MP in the German governing coalition. While companies desert Russia as a result of its war with Ukraine some are staying - Lauren Silva Laughlin from Reuters BreakingViews tells us more. And as part of International Women's Day we hear the story of how one Ukrainian woman's professional and personal life has been turned upside down by the conflict. Throughout the programme we're joined by Colin Peacock, presenter of Media Watch on Radio New Zealand and by Luisa Kroll, executive editor at the business website Forbes in New York.

Picture: Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the Westminster Parliament Credit: Reuters

First on the programme, Dr Carole Nakhle, The Chief Executive of Crystol Energy, discussed with us how the price of the main oil benchmark - Brent crude - surged on Monday, hitting $139 a barrel at one point. It has since pulled back to about $123. It’s not just oil - European natural gas prices rose 60% today to a fresh record. Russia is a major exporter of energy – oil and gas revenues make up about half of the Kremlin's budget. European countries currently need to import it. The European Union imports about 40% of its natural gas from Russia and 25% of its oil.

Next, Velta's deputy chief executive is Olena Lesnyak and she tells us about the situation in Dnipro. In Ukraine, the eastern city of Dnipro has been shelled by Russian forces, but not on the same devastating scale as other towns and cities that have been heavily bombed. Despite the encroaching war, companies in Dnipro are trying to continue as best they can. Velta runs a titanium mine and processing complex in Ukraine and employs 650 people. Titanium is metal important for the aerospace, marine and car industries. Russia and Ukraine both produce the metal.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the resulting sanctions on Moscow, is causing turmoil on financial markets. In the US, the technology-heavy Nasdaq index has now fallen 20 per cent from its peak, entering what's called a bear market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 10 per cent from its high point. Peter Jankowskis from Oakbrook Investments in Chicago in the US tells us why.

We then looked at what impact the invasion of Ukraine and western sanctions could have on the price of food. Russia is a producer of many of the raw materials needed for fertilizer - potash and phosphate, for example. According to the boss of one of the world's biggest fertilizer companies - Yara International - half the world's population gets food because of fertilizers. We here from Yara's boss - Svein Tore Holsether and The BBC's Tamasin Ford in an extended report.

Finally, we spoke to Halyna who's a mum with three children - her husband is in the military - and she's now based over in the west of Ukraine. Her Etsy website page is full of pictures of crafted beaded jewellery, and hand sewn shawls - but since the invasion when she's not been able to work, she's produced a digital download of art, so that her customers can still support her.

Peter Morici in Washington and Rachel Cartland in Hong Kong join us for this edition.

(picture: an oil rig, picture credit: Getty Images)

Producers: Gabriele Shaw and Benjie Guy

Presenter: Rob Young

With Russia's Ukraine invasion in its second week, fighting continues across the country. The Ukranian MP Kira Rudik tells us about the extraordinary parliamentary gathering which took place in Kyiv.

In Russia, martial law and a possible mandatory call-up for men of eligible age has been circulating wildly on social media in and around Russia itself. And people are leaving the country because of it. We hear from a small business owner Dmitry, who has travelled to Israel, leaving his family behind, rather than face financial ruin and possible conscription back home.

Also, Yuriy Vitrenko, chief executive of Ukraine's biggest energy company, Naftogaz, makes the case for the rest of the world to stop buying Russian oil and gas.

Plus, we have heard about the relentless Russian pressure on Ukraine's southern Black Sea coast. They have mounted strong attacks from occupied Crimea - west through Kherson towards Odessa and east towards Melitopol and Mariupol. To understand the military and economic advantages of this territory to both defenders and attackers, we spoke with Dr Stephen Blank, a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council.

And, during the past two years of the coronavirus pandemic, we have all experienced some aspects of the fragility exposed in a previously smooth global supply chain. Will the conflict in Ukraine add to that fragility? Craig Fuller the CEO of FreightWaves explains.

Presenter Fergus Nicoll is joined by guests Yoko Ishikura in Japan and Diane Brady in the US.

(Photo: A half empty check-in area at the Sheremetyevo International Airport. The European Union has shut down its airspace for Russian-owned, Russian-registered or Russian-controlled aircraft in response to the Russian military operation in Ukraine. Credit: Getty Images)

The mayor of the strategically important Ukrainian Black Sea port of Kherson said that Russian forces were now in control - making it the first major city to be taken by the Russians. In a message posted on Facebook, Igor Kolykhaev wrote that Russian troops had forced their way into the city council building. However, we hear from Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Ukraine's former defence minister, who believes that the Ukrainian and Russian forces are still battling for control.

Also in the programme, with Vladimir Putin's government imposing ever stricter measures on media outlets, we find out how the war in Ukraine is reported in Russia.

And, we talk to Jason Hungerford, partner at London-based law firm Mayer Brown International, about the potential liability of crypto exchanges in the context of sanctions.

Plus, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich has announced he will sell Chelsea FC, which he has owned for almost two decades. We discuss the implications of this with Trevor Watkins, the Head of Global Sports at the law firm Pinsent Masons and a former Chairman of the English club AFC Bournemouth.

Presenter Fergus Nicoll is joined by guests Alison Van Diggelen and Peter Ryan

PHOTO: Reuters

Five people have died after Russia attacked a TV tower in Kyiv, hitting nearby broadcast facilities. It comes after Russia warned residents that it was preparing to hit targets in the Ukrainian capital. It said it was planning attacks on Kyiv technology centres, urging people to stay away. We hear from the journalist Igor Kossov there. Russia has also continued its onslaught against the north-eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv. Olga Shapoval is executive director of the city's IT cluster, and tells us what life is like for people there now.

Apple has stopped all product sales in Russia. The tech company also limited Apple Pay and other services in the country, and removed state-backed news outlets RT and Sputnik from its App Store outside Russia.

Plus, Ukraine is one of the world's top wheat exporters. We explore what impact Russia's invasion of the country could have on global food security with David Laborde, a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington DC.

And, the role of China in the Ukraine crisis appears to be shifting. Before the Beijing Olympics Presidents Putin and Xi Jin Ping declared that that the friendship between Russia and China had “no limits”. However, China on Tuesday said it was extremely concerned about the harm to civilians inflicted by the invasion. We hear from Yun Sun from the Stimson Center in the US.

Presenter Jamie Robertson is joined by guests Kimberly Adams and Shuli Ren.

Russia's central bank has been targeted with sanctions by the United States in an attempt to cripple the Russian economy following the invasion of Ukraine. The measures block Americans from engaging in any transactions involving Russia's central bank, finance ministry or national wealth fund. It comes on top of action by the US and EU to bar some of Russia's banks from the SWIFT international payments system. The ruble has plunged as a result to less than one ruble to one US cent. The stock market in Moscow failed to open on Monday. We asked Oleg Vyugin former First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Russia if these sanctions would affect the financing of the war in Ukraine.

Also in the programme, we hear from people in the midst of the chaos in Ukraine. First, we speak to Olga Shapoval, who is an executive director of the city of Kharkiv's IT cluster, in north-eastern Ukraine. We then hear from Oleg Chernyak of the software development company CHI Software. He is normally based in Kharkiv and has been trying to run his business as the war intensifies. Now he is is in Carpathian Mountains in the West of the Country.

The ostentation wealth of the Russian oligarchs has come in for intense scrutiny from regulators and financial watchdogs. From the massive yachts in the Bahamas to the stately homes and London mansions these people are obvious targets. We spoke to Oliver Bullough the author of Moneyland: Why Thieves and Crooks Now Rule the World and How to Take It Back about whether the latest sanctions would hit these targets.

Next, we asked Andreas Clenow if Switzerland have broken their pledge of neutrality in regards to it's announcements of joining the EU in it's sanctions. Andreas is a Swiss author, entrepreneur and asset manager, based in Zurich, where he is the Chief Investment Officer of a family office.

Lastly, in a strange twist the war in Ukraine may well give an extraordinary push to the adoption of carbon free renewable energy in Europe, as countries, in particular Germany accelerate their move away from Russian gas. Holger Schmieding, Chief Economist at Berenberg Bank, told us whether the change in Germany would filter through to other economies on the continent.

In today's programme we are joined by Jyoti Malhotra in Delhi & Mitchell Hartman in Oregon.

(PICTURE CREDIT: GETTY)

As Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues we look into Mr Putin's strategy with Sergei Markov, former MP with Putin's United Russia Party and now Director of the Institute of Political Studies in Moscow. And the SWIFT banking system is in the spotlight with calls to withdraw Russia's access to it; Germany however appears reluctant because of the country's reliance on Russian gas. We get analysis from Jakob Schlanz, editor in chief of the energy section of the Tagespiele newspaper in Berlin. The BBC's Adam Easton brings us the latest from Poland, where thousands of Ukrainians are fleeing to. And we're joined throughout the programme by Norman Hermant, ABC’s Social affairs reporter who's based in Melbourne; Jyoti Malhotra, National & Strategic Affairs Editor at The Print in Delhi and Erin Delmore, a political reporter in New York. (Picture description: Ukrainian refugees are seen crossing the Polish border in Medyka. Picture by Attila Husejnow via Getty Images)

First - the world woke up on Thursday to a new war in eastern Europe. And even as fierce fighting continues in several parts of Ukraine - with the Russians advancing on multiple fronts - international condemnation has grown steadily louder. We hear from our International Correspondent, Orla Guerin, on how the Russian invasion has hit every part of Ukraine. We also hear from Orla's colleague Sarah Rainsford who spent the day travelling through Eastern Ukraine.

We discuss the effects of sanctions on Russia with The BBC's Sergei Goryashko, Representative Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Dr Olga Kolokolova - a senior lecturer in finance at Manchester University.

Next - there has been a lot of footage doing the rounds on social media claiming to be from the current conflict. But not all of the clips are exactly what they seem. Olga Robinson, a disinformation expert from BBC Monitoring, took at a look at some of the claims going viral online.

Lastly, we look at how thirty years ago, Ukraine was one of the 15 constituent parts of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. When the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, internal boundaries became international borders. That's the point at which The BBC's Matt Davies took up the story with Peter Conradi - Europe Editor of The Sunday Times and author of the book Who Lost Russia? How the World Entered a New Cold War.

(IMAGE CREDIT: GETTY)

A state of emergency is now in force across the whole of Ukraine. We hear from Jock Mendoza-Wilson, Deputy Chairman of the UK-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce, who's lived in Kyiv for the past 16 years. Also on the programme, the latest cyber attacks on Ukraine are another reminder of the malign potential of digital technology in the wrong hands though saying that invites a lot of questions about what is "right" or "wrong" in the context of the technology that now pervades every aspect of our lives. Author Stephanie Hare questions whether we can take its fundamental neutrality for granted. She's also explored this in her new book Technology is Not Neutral: A Short Guide to Technology Ethics.

Qantas has posted its fourth consecutive half-yearly loss. ABC Senior Business Correspondent Peter Ryan, in Sydney has been speaking with the CEO about their plans on bouncing back from the pandemic.

Fergus Nicoll is joined on the programme by Elizabeth Gwynn, reporter for ABC News in Tasmania, and Andy Uhler journalist at Marketplace on American Public Media from Austin, Texas.

(IMAGE CREDIT: GETTY)

Western countries have placed further sanctions on Russia after President Putin ordered troops into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine. We hear directly from some of the main diplomatic voices on both sides of the crisis, and get an update from the Wall Street Journal’s Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov, who is in Kyiv. Professor Avinash Paliwal of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London tells us why India is walking a tightrope when it comes to responding to the situation in Ukraine, given the country’s close military and commercial ties with Russia. Bloomberg correspondent Simone Foxman has been at the summit of the world’s leading natural gas producers in Qatar’s capital Doha, and tells us other suppliers will be unable to meet the shortfall caused by the disruption of Russian gas exports to Europe. Shaistah Akhtar, an expert on sanctions law at London-based law firm Mischon de Reya, tells us how the impact of the measures taken against Moscow by countries such as the UK will be felt in Russia. The BBC’s Michelle Fleury has a special report on rapidly increasing used car prices, and how potential buyers in the US have been affected. Throughout the programme we’re joined live by Jeanette Rodrigues, Managing Editor for South Asia at Bloomberg, and political reporter Erin Delmore in New York.

(Photo: Protesters outside the Russian embassy in Kyiv; Credit: Getty Images)