Ride

For some time now we've been reporting on military developments in The Key eastern City of Severodonetsk , The majority of which is now under Russian control.

Taking Severodonetsk - as well as a nearby twin City - would mark a Major Step for Russia in its efforts to control all of The Eastern Donbas region. Seizing Ukraine's old industrial heartland is one of Moscow's declared goals.

But as well as The military developments, we're now getting a fuller picture of The human cost of Russia's weeks-long bombardment there.

On Wednesday, The United Nations warned that large numbers of civilians in The City were trapped and running out of food and water. It said they were facing problems of sanitation and had almost no access to basic healthcare.

" It's a huge concern for us because people cannot survive for long without water, " a spokesman for The UN Humanitarian Affairs office, Saviano Abreu, told The Bbc .

An urgent situation, He Said , was developing in The bunkers beneath The Azot chemical Plant - where hundreds of civilians are taking shelter. " We have to make sure, as soon as possible, The People who are Still There have access to water, " he added.

One City that has parallels with Severodonetsk is Mariupol in The south-east. It too experienced weeks of near constant Russian attacks - and it is now under Moscow's full control.

As our Europe correspondent Nick Beake reports, The true extent of The horror in The City is difficult to uncover.

He spoke to Yuliya Zolotariova, 51, about escaping Mariupol just Two Weeks ago. " Dead Bodies [were] everywhere. People were lying near every house. No One took them away, " She Said .

" We drained and drank water from The boiler. From heating systems. Later, our men went to a destroyed Swimming Pool and took chlorinated water from there. It's all we had. "

" Almost every family has lost someone close to them, " she added.

An elderly Ukrainian woman who brandished a red Soviet flag has become The unlikely face of Russian propaganda after a video of her encounter with Ukrainian soldiers went viral.

We tracked down The Woman - who became known as " Babushka Z" - to try and establish The Truth behind The Incident .

The video shows her Walking Towards two Ukrainian soldiers holding a Soviet Red Flag .

The Soldiers say they have arrived to help and offer her a bag of food. Then they take The Flag off her, throw it on The ground and stamp on it. So The Woman , feeling insulted, gives The food back to them. " My parents died for that flag in World War Two, " she says, indignantly.

" I don't think they should glorify me. I Am just a peasant woman. I don't understand why I've become a celebrity, " She Said .

Viktoria's husband and twelve-year-old daughter were killed by Russian shelling while fleeing The City of Chernihiv.

She and her baby were kidnapped by Russian troops The Following day and held in a basement for More Than three weeks, before they were freed and escaped to safety in Poland.

The pair have now been waiting nearly 50 days to get a UK visa.

You can hear Viktoria's story below.

The Bbc has been allowed rare access to The military Nerve Centre where Western powers are co-ordinating efforts to supply weapons and ammunition to Ukraine.

In The Attic of an austere US military barracks in The German City of Stuttgart, dozens of Military Personnel from 26 nations are working round The Clock to deliver weapons to Ukraine.

From this room, Western allies have already helped deliver nearly $8bn (£6. 6bn) worth of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine's armed forces. That's 66,000 tonnes - The equivalent of 5,000 London double-decker buses, As One British officer worked out.

- how much damage will The Raft of sanctions do?

After All , Russia is now The Most sanctioned country in The World . According to data service Statista, More Than 10,500 restrictions have been imposed on Russian individuals and companies. More Than 7,500 of those were implemented in The Last four months.

No wonder some experts had been predicting that, by now, The Wheels would have come off The economy completely.

Russian consumers are yet to feel The full effects. Supermarket shelves in Moscow are still pretty full, though some imported items are no longer available.

But a deep recession lies ahead. In 2022 The Russian economy is expected to shrink by up to 10%.

17. 1%Annual inflation in May

8-9%Retail trade set to fall this year

83. 5%Car sales Fall In May 2022

7. 8%Official forecast of Fall In Russian GDP in 2022

30%Unofficial forecast of GDP collapse by IIF

Source of news: bbc.com