Faisal Islam
BBC Economics Editor

Image source, Getty Images

Two G7 nations cannot ban the world’s second largest oil producer without tangible consequences.

Some of this is already factored in to the global price for crude oil, record pump petrol and particularly diesel prices.

President Biden was candid with the American people that there was a “price” for freedom.

PM Johnson hopes that the price can be minimised by phasing in a ban over the course of this year.

Even without formal diplomatic bans, an unofficial embargo is occurring in the markets. Shell was pilloried by Ukraine’s foreign minister for buying a cheap tanker of unwanted Russian crude, and has since apologised. Another tanker was turned away from Tranmere docks by unions refusing to offload the crude, and is now waiting near Orkney for a purchaser.

Though there are no sanctions on Russian energy in the EU plan, if followed, it will have a bigger overall impact on the energy market. And most of the West is trying to do the same thing at the same time.

But this is the economic weapon that will most hit the Kremlin. Oil revenues are much more important than gas revenues. There are also other options for the world’s supply of crude oil, stretching from Venezuela to the Gulf.

This will come with a price, paid by everyone. It was a price President Putin assumed Western populations would not want to pay. It is now happening.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said evacuation from the besieged city of Mariupol was again not possible on Tuesday.

She called the humanitarian situation in Mariupol "catastrophic".

Humanitarian corridors from the city offered by Russia that lead to either Russian or Belarusian territory are unacceptable, she said in a televised briefing.

Vereshchuk added that 5,000 civilians were evacuated from the Sumy region on Tuesday.

Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Abuja

Earlier we told you about Samuel Otunla, a Nigerian veterinary student who was trapped in the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy.

Samuel says he and other students are being evacuated, after 10 days of sheltering in a basement from Russian shelling.

“We are very pleased to be on the bus. It’s finally a relief to leave the city,” he told the BBC.

“So far we have spent nine hours on the road."

“The driver said he doesn’t know for sure where we’re heading - there’s just a whole convoy and he’s following that, but it appears it will be a city in the Poltavska region.”

Samuel said the journey would usually be a three-hour drive "but because of the conditions of the ceasefire agreement, we have to pass through a different route".

Nigeria’s foreign minister has thanked the Ukrainian government for organising the buses and said all Nigerian students had left the city.

Image source, Gett

As we've been reporting, McDonald's is temporarily closing its restaurants in Russia, making it the latest Western company to pause operations in the country.

The fast-food chain has a big presence in Russia, with around 850 restaurants across the country. The firm says it will keep paying salaries to its 62,000 staff.

McDonald's, along with other major brands including Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, had been under pressure to pause their operation in Russia.

It follows the owner of KFC and Pizza Hut saying earlier today it was pausing investment in the country, though it did not confirm if it would also close its outlets.

Oil firm Shell also said it would stop buying oil from Russia and cut links with the country entirely.

Adidas, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger are among the latest fashion brands to announce their suspension of activities there.

Meanwhile, the BBC's Moscow Correspondent Steve Rosenberg calls the move by the fast-food giant "hugely symbolic".

Dr Hans Kluge, regional director for World Health Organization Europe, has described the invasion of Ukraine as "a major humanitarian catastrophe".

He told BBC World that WHO currently has three priorities:

• To get live-saving medical supplies to the affected areas in Ukraine - above all oxygen, but also trauma kits and essential healthcare such as treatments for diabetes and heart disease, where supplies are running low
• To strengthen health care systems in countries neighbouring Ukraine, where refugee numbers continue to rise
• To open a WHO operation centre in Ukraine

Speaking earlier at a press briefing, he said 13 days into the invasion "we see a health system under severe pressure, and beyond its borders the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe for more than 75 years".

He added there had been 16 confirmed attacks on healthcare services in Ukraine, including damage to facilities and hospitals and leading to nine deaths and 16 injuries.

"WHO strongly condemns these attacks on healthcare services."

Image source, EPA

Image source, Getty Images

McDonald's has announced it will temporarily close all restaurants and pause all operations in Russia.

The fast-food chain is hugely popular in Russia, with around 850 stores and 62,000 employees.

McDonald's had been facing growing criticism for not following many other food and drinks brands by pulling out of the country after the invasion of Ukraine.

In a statement, its CEO Chris Kempczinski says the conflict has "caused unspeakable suffering to innocent people" and "we join the world in condemning aggression and violence and praying for peace".

Will Vernon
BBC News, Moscow

Image source, EPA

Here in Moscow, the mood is sombre amongst many Russians.

The invasion of Ukraine – which the Kremlin insists should be called a ‘special military operation’ – has resulted in crippling Western sanctions which are hitting the economy hard.

The impact on ordinary Russians is already being felt.

Russia’s currency, the ruble, has crashed, and prices for a whole range of goods and services are rising fast - including travelling abroad.

Foreign travel itself is now much harder – the US, EU and others have closed their airspace to Russian aircraft. Thousands of young, educated Russians have already left the country.

Several large Russian supermarkets are limiting the number of basic goods people can buy at one time. In one shop I saw a notice stating: 'Only one 5kg bag of sugar per person'. The government says this is to limit black market dealing and inflation.

The list of Western companies pulling out of Russia grows ever longer. In shopping centres in central Moscow, many Western shops are shuttered; others cannot accept card payments.

Before the invasion, Moscow was one of the most technologically advanced and well-connected cities in the world – with a first-class system of streaming services, online payments, tech and digital services. Using cash was rare. But with companies such as Apple, Visa and Netflix curtailing or shutting down in Russia, these services are grinding to a halt.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has addressed the House of Commons and pledged to keep on fighting against Russia.

Two weeks after the invasion of Ukraine began, Zelensky quoted William Shakespeare, thanked Boris Johnson and called for an increase in sanctions.

The leader spoke virtually from Kyiv in Ukraine - the first time a foreign leader has addressed MPs in the chamber.

"We will not give up and we will not lose. We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost."

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

MPs sat in complete silence as President Zelensky became the first foreign leader to speak to MPs in the Commons chamber.

Senior cabinet ministers and opposition figures were among those listening to a translation on headsets. President Zelensky received a long standing ovation - watched by the man who got one last week, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK.

There have been debates in Westminster on whether the government has gone far enough to help people fleeing Ukraine and in imposing sanctions on Russian oligarchs.

But when it comes to opposing Russia and sending support to Ukraine, there has been widespread unity in Parliament.

President Zelensky urged the UK to go further. That is something that ministers are looking at.

A harder request to fulfil will be the one we heard for the UK and other countries to secure the safety of the skies above Ukraine.

That's something ministers have repeatedly ruled out because they fear it would lead to a massive escalation of the conflict.

Westminster SNP leader Ian Blackford reiterates the sentiments of PM Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer.

Blackford says: "President Zelensky, we salute you".

He adds that the UK government stands with the people of Ukraine and condemn Russia's invasion.

He says that the "peace, justice and the sovereignty" of Ukraine "must prevail".

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

UK opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer tells the House "everyone of us has been moved by the bravery, the resolve and the leadership" of President Zelensky.

The Labour leader says "he's reminded us that our freedom and our democracy are invaluable".

"He has shown his strength, and we must show him and the Ukrainian people our support," Starmer says, adding: "Slava Ukraini" (Glory to Ukraine).

Susan Hulme
Parliamentary correspondent

Although the House of Commons is perhaps more packed than I've ever seen it - President Zelensky was heard in silence, until the end when MPs rose to applaud him again.

In response to Zelensky's speech to MPs, UK PM Boris Johnson says ordinary Ukrainians are inspiring millions by their courage.

Johnson says the UK and allies are determined to "press on" to supply military weapons, impose sanctions and add pressure against Russia and its invasion of Ukraine.

He adds that the UK will employ every method possible until Putin has failed in this venture and Ukraine is free "once more".

Image source, PA Media

Zelensky invokes British wartime leader Winston Churchill as he vows Ukraine "will fight to the end".

Echoing Churchill's famous 1940 "we shall fight on the beaches" speech, Zelensky says: "We will not give up and we will not lose.

"We will fight to the end at the sea, in the air, we will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost. We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets."

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

The Commons chamber was packed ahead of President Zelensky’s address.

It was the first time a foreign leader has spoken to MPs in the chamber of the Commons - normally these sorts of speeches happen in Westminster hall.

Much of the cabinet and shadow cabinet are here. The Ukrainian ambassador is sitting in the gallery.

President Zelensky quoted Shakespeare to MPs, saying Ukraine has concluded “to be” (as opposed to “not to be”).

And he calls for more sanctions and to help make sure Ukrainian skies are safe.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says sanctions are welcome but it is not enough and says there needs to be a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

He says that the decision by the ICC to investigate Russia for war crimes gave them hope that there will be consequences. But Zelensky says it is not enough.

He says that more than 50 children have died in the war, and these are "lives of children that could have lived".

Image source, PA Media

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is speaking to British politicians in the House of Commons now via live video link.

He tells MPs he is "addressing you as a citizen, as a president of a big country, with a dream".

He compares Ukraine's fight against Russia to the British war effort against Nazi Germany in World War Two.

"You didn't want to lose your country when Nazis wanted to take your country," he says. "And you had to fight for Britain."

He says his people have shown a "heroic" effort against Russian forces.

"Shelling didn't break us," he says.

Image source, UK Parliamentary Recording Unit

UK MPs gave President Zelensky a standing ovation ahead of his address.

Image source, PA

Image source, Parliament

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky begins his speech, by video-link, to British MPs in the House of Commons.

Image source, EPA

We're about to hear from Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. He will address British politicians via video link, as his country battles the Russian invasion.

Zelensky's speech will be broadcast to MPs in the Commons at about 17:00 GMT.

He will be the first foreign leader to address MPs in the House of Commons chamber.

MPs will be able to follow a live translation over special headphones.

Members of the House of Lords are also expected to watch Zelensky's statement from the public gallery.

After Zelensky's speech, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will respond.