Welcome to Hard Talk on the BBC World Service. Vladimir Putin is intensifying the scale and

violence of his military assault on Ukraine. The cost in human lives is rising and is likely to go

much, much higher. A vast convoy of tanks, artillery and support vehicles is lumbering ever closer to Kiev.

Russia's military vice is tightening around other key objectives too. Ukraine's defiance and the

resolve of its military forces appears undimmed, but ultimately Putin would appear to have the

numbers and the arsenal to impose his

will. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have already fled their homes. Many more are desperate to do so

before it becomes too late. Beyond Ukraine's borders, there's outrage in Western capitals. Unprecedented

sanctions have been imposed on Russia.

Military aid is being shipped to Ukraine. But none of the measures taken so far appear to have had an

impact on the Kremlin's calculations. Could, should NATO go further? My guest is David Miliband,

former British Foreign Secretary and current boss of the New York

based humanitarian organisation, the International Rescue Committee. David Miliband in New York,

welcome to Hard Talk. Thanks very much, Stephen. Good to be with you. Good to have you.

Do you think the world yet has a handle on the scale of the humanitarian

disaster that has begun to unfold and will continue to unfold in Ukraine? Well, I think there are

three parts, three fronts to the humanitarian crisis. There is the danger to life and limb

that's posed for those civilians who have caught in the crossfire,

who are caught, frankly, in the missiles and in the bombings.

And I think that gravity of that situation is becoming clearer.

The second front is the internally displaced within Ukraine,

the people on the run inside the

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