Ukraine's government has given details of humanitarian corridors it hopes to open on Friday - routes for civilians to leave areas where fighting is taking place. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 12 routes would be open today, including:

• From Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, with humanitarian aid to be delivered to Mariupol along the same route
• Zaporizhzhia is also the destination for evacuees from Polohy and Enerhodar

• From Volnovakha, which has reportedly been seized by Russian-backed forces, to Pokrovsk
• From Izyum in eastern Ukraine to Lozova
• From Bucha, Hostomel, Kozarovychi and Mikulychi - all north-west of Kyiv - to the city of Kyiv
• From Andriivka, Makariv and Borokyanka - all west of Kyiv - to the city of Zhytomyr

Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated in recent days through humanitarian corridors, but there have also been many failed attempts, as ceasefire agreements have broken down.

As we know, the refugee crisis is growing day by day as a result of the conflict, and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has now said that the number of refugees has reached 2.5 million.

Of those, some 116,000 are third-country nationals, he is quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

Another two million people were displaced inside Ukraine, he added.

Ukraine hopes to reopen a humanitarian corridor from the besieged southern port city Mariupol, says Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.

Efforts to provide safe passage for trapped Mariupol residents have failed repeatedly this week as Russian shelling continues to bombard the city.

The Ukrainian government has accused Russian forces of violating a temporary ceasefire to allow evacuations.

President Volodymyr Zelensky says efforts to take food, water and medicine into the city, where conditions are growing increasingly desperate, also failed when Russian tanks attacked a humanitarian convoy.

Aid agencies say the people trapped in Mariupol are facing "apocalyptic" conditions, in freezing temperatures with nothing to eat or drink. (Attempts to evacuate people have been repeatedly frustrated as the bombardment continues.

When and how will the war end?published at 09:25 Greenwich Mean Time 11 March 2022

09:25 GMT 11 March 2022

Lyse Doucet
Chief International Correspondent in Kyiv

Every time there are talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, or between the countries' foreign ministers , or there is some other effort to find a negotiated way out of this war, Ukrainians hope against hope that they can see a glimmer of light in these dark times.

And yet, there is never any progress.

People here in Kyiv dare to hope that the city will be spared - how could President Putin order his forces to come into a city that is so sacred to both Russians and Ukrainians? But across Ukraine those same hopes have been dashed when residential areas in cities and towns were attacked.

So no, we don't know how it will end. We hope it will end sooner rather than later. There are so many scenarios - right now it's a waiting game and a guessing game.

For more analysis, our diplomatic correspondent James Landale has written this piece on how the war might end.

Why is Nato not enforcing a no-fly zone?published at 09:21 Greenwich Mean Time 11 March 2022

09:21 GMT 11 March 2022

Frank Gardner
BBC Security Correspondent

A no-fly zone sounds very benign and defensive but it actually involves offensive military action.

To enforce it, you’ve got to take out the enemy’s air defence systems, you’ve got to fire missiles at the ground radar stations manned by Russians, killing them, and then you’ve got to shoot their pilots out of the sky.

That is the beginning of World War Three.

I know President Zelensky has asked for it again and again, and a lot of people don’t understand why it’s not being done, but it would involve Nato air forces taking to the skies and fighting Russian pilots, and that’s dangerous.

Sarah Rainsford
BBC Eastern Europe Correspondent, Dnipro

Image source, Reuters

The air raid sirens went off at 04:30 (02:30 GMT) this morning and wailed for more than three hours.

We now know the danger was real. Officials here say there were three air strikes: hitting a small shoe factory, an apartment block and a kindergarten. One person was killed.

This city is full of heavy industry - including a rocket factory. There is a metalworks nearby the site that was hit - but no obvious military target.

Dnipro has been bracing for this since the war began. All the bridges - and main roads here - are heavily guarded. Residents have got used to scrambling to underground shelters when the sirens sound.

Even so, the city has been something of a safe haven for people fleeing cities under sustained Russian attack.

In the past few days, residents here had begun leaving: we saw giant queues for evacuation trains - and the roads west out of town have been heavily congested.

Now the city has been directly hit, I suspect more will be thinking of getting out.

How has Russia's economy been hit by sanctions?published at 09:01 Greenwich Mean Time 11 March 2022

09:01 GMT 11 March 2022

More from our question and answer session on BBC Breakfast and BBC Radio 5 Live, this time on Russia's economy.

Sanctions against Russia are having an impact on its economy, says economist Linda Yeuh. Interest rates - the cost of borrowing - have shot up to 20%, which will make mortgages more expensive, for example.

Yeuh says US plans to stop buying oil and gas from Russia will also have an effect.

She says Russia's finances are in quite good shape because of high oil prices in recent years, but these sanctions will still make it harder for him to finance his war.

The economy is expected to contract by 12%, which will have a huge effect on the Russian people.

What we don't know, says Yeuh, is how much all of this will effect Putin's actions in Ukraine.

If a chemical weapon is used by Russia, will this be a red line crossed?published at 08:55 Greenwich Mean Time 11 March 2022

08:55 GMT 11 March 2022

Frank Gardner
BBC Security Correspondent

BBC Breakfast and BBC Radio 5 Live are currently taking questions from viewers and listeners.

It’s certainly a red line and would spark global outrage.

Russia has called a special emergency meeting of the UN Security Council today to discuss what it claims are Ukraine’s plans to development biological and chemical weapons. It has not produced any evidence of these claims and they have been dismissed by both Ukraine and the US.

So yes it would be a red line, but Nato would be extremely reluctant to get involved militarily because once Russians and Americans start shooting at each other – as President Biden said – then you’ve got World War Three.

It's not clear what crossing that red line would mean because we’re running out of sanctions to impose on Russia.

We're now hearing Russian President Vladimir Putin has backed plans to send volunteer fighters to Ukraine.

Putin, speaking at a Russian security council meeting, said those who wanted to volunteer to fight with Russia-backed forces should be allowed to.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said there were 16,000 volunteers in the Middle East who were ready to come to fight with Russia-backed forces, Reuters news agency reports.

Russian forces have killed more Ukrainian civilians than soldiers in the two weeks since the invasion began, says Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

"I want this to be heard not only in Kyiv but all over the world," he says.

His comments come as Russian forces appear to be widening their assault on the country - launching attacks on cities on opposite sides of the country.

Image source, EP

A Ukrainian MP, Inna Sovsun, has tweeted, saying the strikes on new areas this morning shows that there are no "safe" cities in Ukraine.

Earlier she spoke to the BBC, describing the situation on the ground:

"We have hardly slept more than three hours during the day for the past two weeks now.

"Of course we are terrified for the lives of our children, but there is not much we can do. We can't surrender, we can't let them take over.

"We don't really have a choice except for fighting and continue our fight, no matter how terrifying that is."

Sovsun says she does not believe sanctions imposed by the West are enough to stop Putin's invasion.

"I’m begging the world please intervene – please do not let them kill us all and destroy the whole country – we did nothing to deserve that.

The world needs to realise he will not stop."

Overnight air strikes on the northern city of Chernihiv took out the city's water supply, authorities say.

The water company Chernihivvodokanal posted on Facebook this morning that it was repairing the system.

"During the night strikes, the water supply network was disrupted...due to leaks, the city's water supply has been cut off," the post reads.

"We are starting water supply to the city. This is a long process: 3-4 hours," it added.

Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and six were injured in a Russian attack on the city of Lutsk, according to the head of the regional administration, Yuriy Pohulyayko.

Russia says it hit military airfields in the western Ukrainian cities of Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk on Friday.

The Ukrainian capital, and surrounding areas, continues to be under attack by Russian forces. Many residents have fled west in an attempt to get to a safer place. Others stay, seeking safety from air raids in metro stations deep underground.

Here are some images of life from Kyiv this week:

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak has reacted to the escalation of Russian attacks across the country.

In a tweet he said: "Ukrainian big cities are again subjected to devastating blows."

He added the first shelling took place in Lutsk shutting down two boiler houses, while three "powerful explosions" hit Ivano-Frankivsk with Dnipro also under attack.

"Russia's destructive war against civilians and major cities continues," he said.

Image source, Ukraine State Emergency Services

If you’re just joining us, here's a recap of the latest developments from Ukraine which in recent hours has seen Russian strikes target a number of cities that had not been struck before:

• Blasts in cities on opposite sides of the country have been reported this morning. An airfield and jet engine factory were targeted in Lutsk in the north-west. In Dnipro - a major stronghold in central-eastern Ukraine - one person has been reported dead in airstrikes. Explosions have also been reported in Ivano-Frankivsk, in the south-west
• Russia also claims to have taken the strategically important city of Volnovakha, to the north of the besieged port of Mariupol
• President Volodymyr Zelensky has in a video address, external refuted Russian claims that chemical weapons or weapons of mass destruction were developed in Ukraine. He also warned that Russia would get "the most severe sanctions response" if it were to use such weapons against Ukraine
• The US said earlier that Russia's claims of Ukraine hosting US-backed chemical weapons facilities is a "false flag", intended to justify Russia's possible use of such weapons
• The UN will hold an emergency meeting later, at Russia's request, to discuss their unproven claims
• Satellite images show Russian soldiers are slowly advancing, and have re-deployed into forests, as they continue to push towards the capital Kyiv
• Putin's forces are reportedly encircling several Ukrainian cities, with emergency officials warning that siege-like tactics mean that cities like Mariupol are running out of food
• Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, said it would suspend rules banning violent speech in order to allow users in certain countries to call for the deaths of Russian soldiers

The mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk has confirmed Russian shelling of his city in south-western Ukraine.

In a Facebook message, he said: "The enemy struck Frankivsk."

He urged people not to share photos and videos of the explosions and appeared to suggest a missile strike alarm system did not work.

And he warned residents of Krykhivtsi, Chukalivka, Opryshivtsi, Gorodok districts not to leave their homes.

"Keep at home for your safety! When the danger passes - I will let you know," he adds.

As fresh attacks are reported across Ukraine, there are now reports that Russia-backed separatists have captured the strategically important city of Volnovakha, to the north of the besieged port of Mariupol, RIA news agency quotes Russia's defence ministry as saying.

We've seen a new line of attack from Russian troops this morning - missile strikes hitting airfields in the western cities of Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk.

They've also bombarded the central-western stronghold of Dnipro for the first time since the invasion began just over two weeks ago.

Refugees from cities under bombardment have been fleeing to Ukraine's west believing it was safer. Tens of thousands have gone through Lviv - a big civilian hub. Friday's attacks are on cities on either side of it.

Image source, Getty Images

The United States, the European Union and the Group of Seven countries are expected to revoke Russia's "most favoured nation" trading status over its invasion of Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden is set to announce this at 10:15am EST (15:15pm UK time), according to media reports.

"Most favoured nation" countries generally cannot be discriminated against or have their access to markets limited, under World Trade Organization guidelines.

The move will pave the way for tariffs to be imposed on Russian goods on top of growing economic sanctions.

Earlier on Friday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki condemned reports that Moscow may seize the assets of businesses which have stopped operating in Russia.