Image source, UKRAINE SES

A Russian missile slammed into the building of an educational facility at about 03:30 overnight, Ukraine's State Emergency Services said.

Authorities said the building in Merefa, a town in the region of Kharkiv in the north-west, was partially destroyed. Fire services are still extinguishing the blaze.

Local media said a school and a community centre were hit.

There are no reported victims yet.

Image source, UKRAINE SES

If you're just joining us, or want a round-up, here are the latest developments in Ukraine.

• In the besieged city of Mariupol, buses carrying around 300 refugees have arrived across the border in Russia's Rostov region, according to Russian media. Yesterday, Russian missile strikes hit a theatre in the city where over 1,000 people were thought to be sheltering, according to the city's deputy mayor
• Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky accused Russia of purposely targeting the theatre. Russia has denied bombing it.
• In the capital Kyiv, one person has died and three others are injured after an apartment building was hit by the remains of a downed missile. Rescue workers are searching for people who may be trapped under the rubble, says Ukraine's State Emergency Services
• In Chernihiv, 13 people waiting in a queue for bread were reportedly killed by Russian shelling
• On the diplomatic front, relations between the US and Russia plummeted further after US President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "war criminal". The Kremlin labelled Biden's comments "unacceptable and unforgivable rhetoric"

• Before the comment was made, Zelensky spoke to the US Congress in a virtual address in which he called for more Western support

• The US pledged an additional $1bn (£764m) in weapons to Ukraine - including tactical drones, rocket and grenade launchers, rifles, machine guns, body armour, and ammunition
• Analysis from military experts including the UK defence ministry says the Russian invasion has "stalled on all fronts"

This is Ayeshea Perera in Singapore signing off and handing over to my colleagues James Clarke, Matt Murphy and Alex Therrien in London.

Image source, Getty Images

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is set to address German lawmakers on Thursday, in his latest bid to sway policymakers in Western democracies over the war in Ukraine.

Zelensky will address Germany's lower house of parliament at 8:00 GMT.

The Russian invasion swiftly prompted German chancellor Olaf Scholz to announce support for Ukraine. He also increased German defence spending and sent arms to Ukraine.

Polls suggest many Germans support Zelensky's call for a ban on Russian energy, but oil ministers have said that phasing out the use of Russian gas will not be immediate. However, a plan is already in place to stop importing Russian coal.

Read more about how Germany is reversing decades of warming ties with Russia here:

Steve Rosenberg
BBC Russia editor

Here's a dispatch from our Russia editor, who's borne witness to the grief of Russian families who've lost their sons on the frontline. The US estimates that 7,000 Russian troops have died so far; Moscow says it's fewer than 500:

In the Church of Alexandra and Antonina lies a coffin. It is draped with a Russian tricolour. Resting on the casket: a service cap and a photograph.

Mikhail Orchikov was deputy commander of a motor-rifle brigade. He was killed in action in Ukraine.

The dead soldier's widow, head covered in a black scarf, is being comforted by relatives.

How many Russian servicemen have been killed in Ukraine? It is a criminal offence in Russia to report anything other than the official figures.

According to Russia's Defence Ministry, 498 soldiers have lost their lives in what the Kremlin calls its "special military operation".

Those are the latest figures, from 2 March. There has been no update for two weeks.

"The situation in our country isn't simple," the priest tells the congregation. "Everyone understands that."

Read more about the Russian experience of the war here.

The mayor of the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv has condemned the Russian attack on a theatre on Mariupol, calling it a source of great grief.

Around 1,000 to 1,200 civilians were reportedly sheltering in the theatre before being struck down by Russian forces, Mariupol officials have said. The number of casualties is still unknown.

Speaking to the BBC, Oleksandr Senkevych said, "I would call this Russian Nazism because they kill people. When they say they try to 'de-nazificate' ... or 'de-militarise' Ukraine, it's totally untrue because they just kill civilians," Senkevych said.

"So, I think they like the taste of the blood."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has justified the war as a “special military operation” with the goal to “denazify” Ukraine - a claim that has been largely dismissed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of intentionally bombing a theatre in the besieged city of Mariupol where hundreds of people were hiding from shelling.

The words "Children" were marked on the ground outside in large letter to warn Russian jets away from the building.

As of yet there has been no official report on the number of casualties.

Russia denies targeting civilians and says it did not launch the attack.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Russia's offensives in Ukraine have "largely stalled on all fronts", says the UK's Defence Ministry in its assessment this morning.

The brief adds that Russian forces have "made minimal progress on land, sea or air in recent days, and they continue to suffer heavy losses."

"Ukrainian resistance remains staunch and well-coordinated. The vast majority of Ukrainian territory, including all major cities, remains in Ukrainian hands.", external

Ukaine's military says Russia's efforts have now switched to aerial attacks- bombing and shelling civilian populations - because they've been "unsuccessful" in their ground operations.

Moscow has only recorded about 500 troop deaths so far, but US intelligence estimates it to be closer to 7,000 personnel.

Shayan Sardarizadeh
Disinformation specialist

Image source, None

A fake video of President Volodymyr Zelensky calling on Ukrainian troops to lay down their arms has been making the rounds on social media.

Although his lips move in sync with the audio, Zelensky's head looks out of place and the voice does not sounds like his either.

A still from the fake video appeared on the website of Ukrainian TV channel Ukrayina 24 earlier in the day and the text of the message was also briefly broadcast on TV.

Ukrayina 24 said in a statement that its website and ticker had been hacked. The website was previously inaccessible but has since been restored.

Zelensky dismissed the address as fake in a video posted on his Instagram, saying he "can only suggest that Russian servicemen lay down their arms and go home".

The video clip was likely made using deepfake technology to modify video footage - usually replacing one person's face with another - with realistic results.

If that is confirmed, the doctored Zelensky clip would be the first deepfake of this war.

Find out how to spot false posts about Ukraine here.

Russian bombs continue to fall on civilian populations in Ukraine, according to the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces.

In a Facebook post, Ukraine's armed forces say Russia's "unsuccessful" military operations on the ground mean that it is focusing on the battle in the air - targeting infrastructure and densely populated areas of Ukrainian cities.

Despite the aerial onslaught, Ukraine claims it is winning battles in the air and on the ground and says it has shot down 10 enemy air targets.

The BBC can't verify these claims.

The statement adds that Russia is acting "insidiously" by targeting Ukraine's online communications; including carrying out cyber attacks, destroying TV and radio broadcast buildings, and spreading misinformation about the invasion.

As pressure ramps up on Putin both at home and overseas, this is what our Russia editor Steve Rosenberg has to say about it:

Putin's comments - which were delivered in a speech on Wednesday to his government ministers - come as the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its third week.

The war has resulted in a wave of crushing sanctions being levelled against Russia, adding to the country's economic and diplomatic isolation from the international community.

Putin's actions in Ukraine also led to US president Joe Biden calling him a "war criminal" on Wednesday evening. The Kremlin hit back, calling the comments "unacceptable and unforgiveable rhetoric".

Paul Kirby
BBC News Online Europe editor

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak believes a ceasefire could start in the coming days because Russian forces are stuck in their current positions.

Both sides have spoken positively of progress in negotiations, and Mr Podolyak says Russia's president has softened his demands.

At the start of the war, the Russian leader wanted Ukraine to recognise Crimea as part of Russia and to recognise the independence of the separatist-run east. Ukraine would have to change its constitution to guarantee it would not join Nato and the EU.

The future status of Crimea and the Russian-backed statelets in Luhansk and Donetsk is still far from being resolved, but they may not be a deal-breaker if the two sides agree to address that issue at a later date.

Russia does appear to have accepted it cannot depose Ukraine's leadership and replace it with a puppet government, as in Belarus.

"It feels like [Putin] will have to accept a much more limited list," says Tatiana Stanovaya, of analysis firm RPolitik and the Carnegie Moscow Center.

That is because Russia is considering a "neutral, demilitarised" Ukraine with its own army and navy, along the lines of Austria or Sweden, which are both EU members. Austria is neutral, but Sweden is not. In fact it is non-aligned and takes part in Nato exercises.

One person died and three others were injured after a Kyiv apartment building was hit by the remains of a downed missile.

Dozens have been evacuated from the apartment complex.

Rescue workers are now searching for those who may be trapped under rubble, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Services.

Here are some images showing the extent of the damage as well as of the rescue efforts.

Image source, Ukraine State Emergency Services

Image source, Ukraine State Emergency Services

Image source, Ukraine State Emergency Services

Image source, Ukraine State Emergency Services

Four large Russian warfare ships have been spotted sailing close to the Japanese islands of Honshu and Hokkaido as they travelled West, possibly towards Europe, Reuters reports.

Pictures published by Japan's defence ministry showed what looked like military trucks situated on the deck of one of the passing vessels.

Asked whether they could be headed for Ukraine, a Japanese defence minister spokesperson told Reuters, "it is possible".

Russia's so-called "military operation" has not gone as well as planned so far, with military equipment likely depleted to a greater extent than it anticipated, according to military analysts.

At least one person was killed and three wounded after the remains of a downed missile hit a residential building in the Ukranian capital, Kyiv, Ukraine'semergency service has said.

The tower was reportedly struck at 5:02 AM local time (3:02 GMT) on Thursday morning in the Darnytskyi district of the capital, before firefighters and rescue personnel were dispatched to the scene.

People have been evacuated from the eleventh floors and higher, and rescue operations are being carried out to dismantle the structures and search for those trapped underneath the rubble, the SES reported.

We reported earlier about the Russian bomb that was dropped on a theatre in the besieged southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

Pictures that have emerged after the attack and verified by the BBC show the scale of destruction.

An estimated 1,000 to 1,200 people were sheltering in the theatre before the bomb hit, Deputy Mayor Sergei Orlov told the BBC. The number of casualties remains unknown.

Image source, Mariupol Now

Local authorities say at least 2,400 people have been killed in Mariupol since the start of the war, although they acknowledge that the real numbers are likely to be much higher.

Image source, Mariupol Now

A further 300,000 residents are trapped inside the city, where running water, electricity and gas have been cut off.

Food and water supplies are running low, as Russian troops have not allowed the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Read more about the strike here.

Image source, Mariupol Now

An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council is set to be held on Thursday to address the escalating humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

The US, Britain, France, Ireland, Norway and Albania called for the meeting, diplomatic sources report, following the increase in shelling on civilian areas in recent days.

The US, UK and France are all permanent members of the council along with Russia and China.

It's being reported that discussions are also underway to set up an occasion for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to speak to the UN General Assembly - which is made up of all the member states.

Image source, NATIONAL POLICE OF UKRAINE

The southern port city Mariupol has been heavily targeted by Russian shelling in the past two weeks and more than 30,000 people are estimated to have fled already.

On Thursday, another 13 buses carrying around 300 refugees arrived across the border in Russia’s Rostov region, Russian media reported.

Mariupol is experiencing the worst humanitarian disaster, with food, water, electricity, and other key supplies cut off.

Russian missile strikes on the city have also targeted a children’s hospital, and yesterday, a theatre where over 1,200 people had been sheltering.

At least 2,400 civilians have been killed so far in the city, Ukraine officials say.

Yesterday, Ukraine also reported that in another city, Chernihiv, Russian forces shot and killed 13 Ukrainians who were queueing to buy bread.

Biden 'war criminal' remark a new phase in US-Russia relationspublished at 04:13 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2022

04:13 GMT 17 March 2022

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America reporter

Image source, Getty Images

One by one, diplomatic bridges between the United States and Russia are being set ablaze.

The latest bit of rhetorical demolition came when Joe Biden labelled Vladimir Putin a war criminal, a move that Russia said was "unforgivable".

Mr Biden’s statement was an odd one, albeit not out of keeping for a politician who has a history of making monumental policy shifts in seemingly off-the-cuff remarks (see, for instance, his comments on gay marriage in 2012).

After initially telling a reporter he did not think Mr Putin was a criminal, he came back and reversed himself. If there had been an internal debate at the White House over how to handle the growing calls in Congress and the press to condemn Mr Putin in this way, the president settled it in an aside, not a set-piece speech.

This, of course, will make it harder for Mr Biden and his administration to work with the Russians going forward. Every concession or negotiated agreement, on whatever topic, will invite the rejoinder: How can you associate with a criminal?

Perhaps Mr Biden, in his comments, was simply acknowledging the new reality - that the world's political order has irrevocably shifted, and there’s no going back to the way things were.

Russian forces continue to struggle to seize ground in Ukraine, according to the latest analysis from the Institute for the Study of War think tank, external.

Invading troops "face mounting difficulties replacing combat losses," the report says, noting the reported death of a fourth Russian general.

Reserve troops from Armenia and South Ossetia - a territory Russia seized from Georgia in 2008 - are being redeployed to the region, according to the report's authors.

The reinforcement troops, "will likely face equal or greater command and logistics difficulties to current frontline Russian units".

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces were able to repel several Russian attacks on northwest Kyiv on Wednesday. No attacks were made on the northeast outskirts of the city.

The pocket of resistance in the port city Mariupol continued to shrink, however.

Shelling of civilians continues there and in Kharkiv, in the northwest. The city is unlikely to surrender unless Russia surrounds it, which so far they seem "unable to achieve".

Russian warships also shelled the Odesa region, although the report says the Russian Naval Infantry is unlikely to attempt an amphibious assault without more military support.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

The US has set up an international task force to hunt down and seize the assets of Russian elites and oligarchs.

The group includes Australia, Britain, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and the European Commission, according to the US Treasury Department.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday held their first virtual meeting with representatives of all the participating countries.

"In the last three weeks alone, information provided by US law enforcement to foreign partners has helped detain several vessels controlled by sanctioned individuals and entities," the US Treasury Department said, adding that the ships seized are worth "hundreds of millions of dollars".

The members of the working group have also been given a list of 50 people to focus their investigations on.