Image source, Getty Images

For weeks the southern port city of Mariupol has resisted a Russian onslaught, defended by a nationalist battalion of some 800 volunteers.

The Azov battalion was formed to resist Russian-backed separatists who seized areas of eastern Ukraine in 2014. It takes its name from the internal Sea of Azov on which Mariupol lies.

To Ukrainians these defenders are heroes, holding out against Russia's far more numerous invaders and losing their lives in a bombardment that has killed over 2,000 of Mariupol's civilians and damaged up to 90% of its buildings.

To Russia they are neo-Nazis and their origins lie in a neo-Nazi group called Patriot of Ukraine. They wear the pagan Wolfsangel insignia, which was used by notorious Nazi SS units and is favoured by neo-Nazis. But the battalion says it represents merely the first letters of the slogan National Idea.

The Azov volunteers' original extremist leaders are now gone and the battalion is part of Ukraine's National Guard, under the government's formal oversight and command, say local officials.

Ukraine has cracked down on neo-Nazis in recent years and there are no nationalist parties in parliament.

The battalion currently attracts a broad mix of nationalists, ultranationalists and other young men united by a loathing for Russia. Half of them come from the east and many are Russian-speaking.

Quentin Somerville
BBC News, Kharkiv, Ukraine

We enter the house where the back door used to be. Now there is just a blanket flapping in the freezing wind. The owners, long gone, would have had a view across the rich farmland north of Kharkiv, but much of that is unrecognisable, too.

In the garage, beside an abandoned skateboard, are a dozen or so empty packing cases for some of the world's best anti-tank weapons. A dead Russian soldier lies face down in the front garden.

The house has become a frontline base, and the spent cases are an indication that the soldiers here have had the fight of their lives - a fight for Ukraine's independence.

We have gained rare access to the Ukrainian army, who after three weeks of hard fighting, are still holding firm on the outskirts of Kharkiv, preventing Russian forces from capturing Ukraine's second-largest city.

"Do you want to go further ahead?" asks Yuri, a commander with the Ukrainian army's 22 Motorized Infantry Battalion, pointing at the ruins of two Russian armoured personnel carriers, and the shattered pieces of two of their tanks. The battalion was reconstituted in 2014 after Russia invaded Crimea and backed Donbas separatists.

"They've used drones, aircraft, attack helicopters, everything," says Yuri, as Russian shells thunder overhead, striking nearby roads and apartment blocks.

Read Quentin Somerville's story in full

Image source, Reuters

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

• The situation on the ground is not changing dramatically, and Western officials have told journalists it's possible Ukraine could fight Russia to a standstill
• Further, the US defence department says the Russian advance has essentially stalled, with its troops "frozen around the country on multiple lines of axes"
• Meanwhile, the White House has said it has a "high concern" that China might supply President Putin with military equipment, and that Joe Biden will raise the issue directly in a phone call with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping
• Germany has warned it is facing a "big, big challenge" due to the number of Ukrainians seeking refuge in the country
• Authorities in the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which has been under constant shelling by Russian forces, say around 30,000 people have left so far
• And civilians have reportedly been emerging alive from the ruins of a theatre in Mariupol that, according to Ukrainian authorities, was bombed by Russia

Image source, Reuters/Handout

The former mayor of Melitopol - now under Russian control - has been speaking out about his alleged kidnapping and detention by Russian forces.

Ivan Federov led the south-eastern city until it fell to invading Russian forces early on and he was kidnapped six days ago.

He was freed on Wednesday after Ukraine said it had agreed to exchange nine captured Russian soldiers to get him back.

Speaking to the BBC's Audrey Brown, Federov said Russian troops took him from his office without a word and he had no connection with the outside world while in their custody.

He said he was kept in a small room with armed soldiers but was never physically harmed.

Occupying forces in Melitopol have replaced Federov with their own mayor.

But the ex-mayor insists his successor is not the rightful head of the local government, as he was voted in by more than 60% of people.

Italy is ready to rebuild a theatre in Mariupol which was destroyed by a bomb attack, Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said.

According to Ukrainian authorities, the theatre was bombed by Russia as many were sheltering in the building.

"The cabinet ... has approved my proposal to offer Ukraine the resources and means to rebuild it as soon as possible. Theatres of all countries belong to the whole (of) humanity," Franceschini wrote on Twitter.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted his thanks.

"You set a good example to follow. Together we will rebuild the country to the last brick," he said.

Read more on the theatre attack here.

Image source, Getty Images

The US Defence Department says that the Russian advance into Ukraine has essentially stalled.

"They clearly were not prepared for them to be in the position they are three weeks in – basically frozen around the country on multiple lines of axes, struggling to fuel themselves and to feed their troops and to supply them with arms and ammunition and meeting a very determined Ukrainian resistance," a senior official said on Thursday.

Russian forces have had one recent success: capturing the beleaguered eastern town of Izyum.

But the Pentagon believes that morale is low in some Russian units, hampered by poor leadership and a lack of information.

According to the official, invading forces have discussed resupply and resourcing issues - a sign they are concerned about longevity - but have not brought in any new troops or resources yet.

Image source, Reuters

Visiting an injured 16-year-old girl at a hospital in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv today, President Volodymyr Zelensky learned that he had become a TikTok star.

"Everybody supports you on TikTok," Katya Vlasenko, whose family's vehicle was shot at as they fled Russian forces, told him.

The 44-year-old president had just handed her a large bunch of flowers and said: "It is not easy, but we do the right thing."

After hearing about his popularity on the video-sharing platform, he asked: "So we have occupied TikTok?"

Image source, Getty Images

The head of the World Health Organization is pleading with the United Nations Security Council to work toward an urgent ceasefire in Ukraine.

"As if Covid is not enough, to have a devastating war like this is dangerous for the world," Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the 15-member body on Thursday.

The WHO has now verified 43 attacks on health care inside the war-torn country, with at least 12 people - including health workers - killed and 34 injured.

"In any conflict, attacks on health-care are a violation of international humanitarian law," Dr Tedros said.

"They deprive people of urgently-needed care and break already-strained health systems."

He said the attacks had already led to a severe disruption to health services and access to basic commodities in Ukraine, warning its consequences "will reverberate for years or decades to come".

Image source, Getty Images

Around 270,000 refugees from Ukraine have arrived in the Czech Republic since the Russian invasion last month.

The Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Petr Fiala, said: "We must admit to ourselves that we are at the very limit of what we are capable of absorbing without any major problems.

"We must continue in the steps that will allow us to cope with more high numbers because no-one knows how long the situation in Ukraine will continue being as bad as it is now, and how long people will have to flee in order to save their lives and the lives of their children."

The Czech government plans to issue long-term residence permits to refugees already in the country.

This post was amended at 21:39. The BBC has listened back to Petr Fiala's comments (in Czech) at today’s press conference, and updated the quotes and headline to more accurately reflect his comments.

Image source, Getty Images

The US has "high concern" that China might supply Russia with military equipment that could be used by President Vladimir Putin against Ukraine, the White House says.

Press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at the latest briefing in Washington that China's failure to denounce Russia's actions "speaks volumes".

She said President Joe Biden would raise the subject with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in a phone call scheduled for Friday.

On Monday, the US warned allies that China had suggested it was open to a move to provide military and economic support to Russia, media reports said.

The Chinese foreign ministry accused the US of spreading disinformation and Russia denied asking Beijing for military help.

• Read more: What military support could China offer Russia?

BBC correspondent Quentin Sommerville and cameraman Darren Conway are on the frontline with the Ukrainian military in the eastern city of Kharkiv, where our correspondent says Russia is creating a wasteland.

A Scottish man has spoken of his shock after he returned from holiday to find his son had travelled to Kyiv to fight with the Ukrainian army.

Adam Ennis, 35, is now embedded with a platoon of 50 men from all over the world, defending the streets of the Ukrainian capital.

His parents had been on a three-month trip to visit their daughter, who lives in Thailand.

Adam's father, Brian, told BBC Scotland it was a shock to find out what his son had done.

"Adam was due to pick us up at the airport. But his friend picked us up instead. His friend wasn't going to say anything until Adam spoke to us.

"So we weren't aware until he phoned us that evening. He was already in Ukraine at a camp."

Read more

Are the outlines of a peace agreement emerging?published at 19:01 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2022

19:01 GMT 17 March 2022

John Simpson
World Affairs Editor

Image source, Reuters

President Vladimir Putin's demands are concise, and following a phone call between the Russian leader and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, four of them are fairly easy to reach agreement on, Erdogan's chief adviser Ibrahim Kalin told me.

They include an acceptance by Ukraine that it should be neutral in future, and shouldn’t become a member of the western military alliance, Nato. Ukraine's President Zelensky said as much the other day.

Other demands Putin is making include a "denazification clause", which - though offensive to Zelensky - seems easy enough to accept, according to the Turkish side, and undertakings to protect the Russian language.

That's where the easy part ends.

Putin is also demanding parts of eastern Ukraine, and acceptance from Zelensky that Crimea, seized by Russia in 2014, is now a permanent part of Russia.

This, Putin said, can only be sorted out face-to-face with his Ukrainian opponent, who has already said he's willing to talk.

But the Turkish side thinks it could be weeks before there's any agreement.

I asked Ibrahim Kalin, who listened in to the call, how Putin had sounded; was he excitable, or maybe threatening? No, said the Turkish president's adviser - he had been normal and precise.

Image source, Reu

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he agrees with President Joe Biden that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine.

He adds that US experts are in the process of documenting and evaluating potential war crimes in the country.

He says he finds it "difficult to conclude that the Russians are doing otherwise" after the destruction over the past few weeks.

Blinken adds that he has not seen any meaningful efforts by Russia to bring the war to a conclusion through diplomacy.

• What is a war crime and could Putin be prosecuted over Ukraine?

Image source, Reuters

A charity worker who managed to escape Mariupol yesterday has been describing the "hell" and "horror" of the besieged port city.

The Halo Trust de-miner was working to disarm explosives before he was forced to flee.

He says elderly residents are dying in their homes, with nobody able to reach them because of constant shelling.

"From the news and other videos we can only understand part of what is happening on the ground. We went through hell.

"I can't remember a day or even a couple of hours when they weren’t shelling or conducting air strikes.

"I saw many people I knew die."

He says the city is unrecognisable, with high-rise buildings destroyed, others on fire, and huge craters in the roads from aerial bombardments.

There is no electricity, heating or water, and even the well was hit, he says.

"I can't find the words to describe the horror, the atmosphere, the darkness that reigned over the city of Mariupol - or, to be more precise, the ruins that are left of the city."

Image source, .

Image source, EPA

Germany is facing a "big, big challenge" due to the number of Ukrainians seeking refuge in the country, Chancellor Olaf Scholz says.

In talks with the leaders of Germany's 16 federal states, he said, however, that in many ways it helps that Ukrainians don't require visas to enter Germany, and that they have access to healthcare and education - including language and integration courses.

Earlier, Germany's interior ministry said 187,428 refugees from Ukraine had arrived in the country as of Thursday, according to police.

"Most of them are women, children and elderly people," the ministry added in a tweet.

Trains arriving from the east at Berlin's central railway station carry thousands of Ukrainians every day - men, women and children fleeing Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion.

Despite the numbers of people fleeing war, many are finding families waiting to offer them shelter.

Image source, AERIAL RECOVERY GROUP

Children in Ukraine are being denied their childhoods, says a representative from the UN children's agency Unicef.

Joe English, who is in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, tells the BBC that Unicef has verified the deaths of 50 children since Russia invaded.

"It's likely that the true toll is far higher," he says.

Earlier, Ukrainian authorities said at least 107 children had been killed.

With children playing in a park nearby him in Lviv, English says it feels as though "this could be any scene in Europe or elsewhere in the world".

"But just further over to the right there's a bomb shelter, and when we have sirens here these kids know what to do. They know that it's time to drop everything and get into these shelters," he says.

"This isn't a childhood. We need to be providing these kids with peace and an opportunity to start rebuilding their lives."

Paul Adams
BBC diplomatic correspondent

The situation on the ground in Ukraine is not changing dramatically, Western officials have told journalists - and it is possible that Ukraine could fight Russia to a standstill.

“We’re continuing to see that Russian forces are making little bits of progress here and there but they’re not achieving a strategic breakthrough at any point,” an official said during a briefing.

“Not only is it not going the way it was planned, but even as they have adjusted to a rather more grinding form of warfare, that is stalling as well.”

The officials said one estimate that 7,000 Russian troops had been killed was "not in any sense an implausible" one.

The question now, they said, was whether Mr Putin decides to “double down with greater brutality.”

They also said:

• Russian aircraft were having to move with "considerable caution" to avoid Ukrainian air defences.
• Russia's attempt to bring in more forces was “clearly not part of the original plan and… demonstrates the extent to which Russia has got bogged down.”
• Morale among Russian troops was extremely low.

Asked whether Russia might have to change its war aims in the face of current losses, officials said it was very hard to tell.

However, one said: “I don’t have the impression at the moment that Russia is close to a point at which it could not prosecute its war aims.”

The officials pointed out that Ukraine is suffering losses too, and that it is not clear "how long they can hold out".

On peace talks, officials said both sides were taking them seriously, but the gaps between them were still large and they couldn’t say if they would bear fruit.

We're hearing reports that a bus carrying 53 women and children fleeing the conflict has overturned near the town of Pasvalys in Lithuania.

The coach was driving from the Polish-Ukraine border to Finland when the driver lost control around 06:00 local time (08:00 GMT), according to Lithuanian national TV channel LRT.

It said at least 10 people, including children, were injured. They were taken to nearby hospitals.

The remaining passengers were taken to the Salociai cultural centre.

One of the passengers told the TV channel: "We haven't slept for three days, perhaps all the 18 days during which we are being bombarded.

"Just as I fell asleep and the bus overturned, my daughter started screaming, and we started looking for my granddaughter. She fell out of her seat and ended up near the driver. Thank God she wasn‘t injured."

Image source, .

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace says an "imposter" claiming to be Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal tried to contact him.

"He posed several misleading questions and after becoming suspicious I terminated the call," Wallace wrote on Twitter, without providing further details.

In a follow-up tweet, he described the incident as "desperate".