Lyse Doucet
Chief International Correspondent, Kyiv

Image source, Reuters

The Donbas region in eastern Ukraine is the main focus now says Moscow.

That includes Donetsk and Luhansk, held by Russian backed separatists since 2014 and officially recognised as independent by Russia just before this invasion began.

Over the past month, Russian forces made significant advances in this region and along a southern corridor linking it with Crimea - the peninsula annexed by Moscow, also in 2014.

Major General Sergei Rudskoi said Russia did not exclude attacks on other cities, including the capital Kyiv, but this wasn’t its main objective.

These comments are the first indication Moscow may be limiting its war aims after a month where it’s failed to seize any major Ukrainian city and its operations have been plagued by logistical difficulties and tactical mistakes as well as fierce Ukrainian resistance.

But for now, its forces are still on the ground and in action across large parts of Ukraine. And many Ukrainians are suffering bitterly, as the human cost becomes ever clearer.

Details are only now emerging of the number of dead in last week’s direct attack on a theatre in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol. Urgent rescue efforts have been blocked by incessant Russian shelling.

But there had been hope that some 1,000 people, mainly women and children, sheltering in its underground bunker had been protected. Officials now say at least 300 people were killed.

And the pitched battle for Mariupol, which now lies in ruin, goes on.

Image source, Reuters

US President Joe Biden has been meeting US soldiers in Rzeszow, Poland.

He met members of the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division stationed in the area of Rzeszow airport as part of Nato's protection of the alliance's eastern flank.

He tweeted, external to say they're doing incredible work.

The president shared pizza and chatted with several military personnel.

"Well, if you're starting to eat, I'm going to sit down and have something to eat," Biden said.

Then he grabbed a piece of pepperoni and jalapeño pizza. The jalapeños made his eyes water, so he dabbed at them with a napkin and someone got him a glass of water.

Image source, Reuters

Upon arriving in Poland, Biden met with a Polish delegation including Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak.

His schedule was delayed after the plane carrying Polish President Andrzej Duda was turned back en route to Rzeszow and made an emergency landing in Warsaw. Duda later boarded a different aircraft and headed back to eastern Poland. An official in his office said Duda had not been in any danger.

Biden and Duda are expected to meet later today.

Biden will also receive a briefing on Poland's response to the more than two million refugees who've flooded across the border from Ukraine in the past month.

Image source, Reuters

If you're just joining us or need a catch up, here are some of the latest developments:

• Russia has said the first phase of the war is over and it will now focus on the "complete liberation" of the eastern Ukrainian Donbas region

• Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are continuing - but there has been little progress on the main political issues, according to a member of the Russian negotiating team
• Hungarian PM Viktor Orban has dismissed an appeal by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for weapons and tougher sanctions against Russia
• The Russian defence ministry has given an update on its military casualties, external, for only the second time, claiming 1,351 of its soldiers have been killed and 3,825 wounded
• Poland's President Andrzej Duda has arrived to meet Joe Biden in Rzeszow, eastern Poland, after his plane turned back en route and had to make an emergency landing in Warsaw

• The UN rights office says it has confirmed that at least 1,081 civilians have died and 1,707 have been injured since Russia invaded Ukraine, adding that the true death toll was likely to be considerably higher
• British author JK Rowling has hit back at Vladimir Putin, after the Russian president cited her in a wide-ranging speech that saw him criticise "cancel culture"
• UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has spoken to China's President Xi Jinping, saying pressure should be put on President Vladimir Putin to withdraw troops from Ukraine

Earlier we heard from a Russian negotiator that no progress had been made in Russia-Ukraine talks - now Ukraine's foreign minister has echoed this, underlining in a statement that there was as yet no consensus with Moscow on key issues.

Dmytro Kuleba also said that Ukrainian would remain the country's only state language.

Russia has demanded protection for the Russian language in Ukraine. A significant minority of Ukrainians use Russian as their first language.

Kuleba said Ukraine did not intend to relinquish its demands.

"We insist, first of all, on a ceasefire, security guarantees, and territorial integrity of Ukraine," he said, external.

Earlier Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ukrainian and Russian negotiators had agreed on four out of the six main issues being discussed during peace talks, but that territorial disputes on the eastern region of Donbas and the Crimea peninsula remained.

Image source, Getty Images

Spotify is pulling out of Russia due to the country's new laws on what media companies can broadcast or post online.

Published material deemed to be "fake news" about Russia's invasion of Ukraine could lead to lengthy prison sentences under the new rules.

In a statement sent to media outlets, Spotify said the rules "further restricting access to information, eliminating free expression, and criminalising certain types of news puts the safety of Spotify’s employees and possibly even our listeners at risk".

"After carefully considering our options and the current circumstances, we have come to the difficult decision to fully suspend our service in Russia."

Spotify is best-known as a music streaming platform, but has aggressively moved into podcasting as part of its business model, with its library including a great many news and current affairs shows.

The company closed its Russia office earlier in March, and has not been able to sell its premium subscriptions in the country because of restrictions put in place by payment providers amid international sanctions.

This makes Spotify the latest in a long list of major international company to pull out of Russia - including McDonald's, Starbucks, Apple, Samsung, and many more.

Learn more about which companies are pulling out of Russia here.

Video has emerged of the aftermath of last week's attack on a theatre in the besieged port city of Mariupol, where hundreds of civilians were sheltering.

A city official has told the BBC an estimated 300 people died in the bombing.

Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are continuing - but there has been little progress on the main political issues, according to a member of the Russian negotiating team.

Vladimir Medinsky said the two sides were "treading water".

However, he said they were coming closer to an understanding on secondary issues.

"Negotiations have been going on all week, from Monday to Friday, in video conference format, and will continue tomorrow," he said.

Orla Guerin
BBC News

Ukrainian forces are outnumbered and outgunned, but on the outskirts of Kyiv we saw evidence of fierce and skilled resistance, and of the damage they have inflicted on their more powerful enemy.

In one frontline area we counted four burnt out Russian armoured personnel carriers and two destroyed T2 tanks. We cannot identify the location.

A commander from the 72nd mechanised brigade of the Ukrainian army proudly showed us the wreckage, pointing out Russian ration packs scattered in the grass alongside a sleeping bag. We were told the Russians made four attempts to advance here this month but were defeated each time.

There was black smoke on the horizon and the sound of outgoing shelling towards Russian positions every few minutes.

After a month of war Ukrainian forces are not just resisting but in some areas they are reclaiming territory. For now, at the outskirts of Kyiv the priority is holding the line and making sure the Russians cannot break through. Retaining the capital is critical for Ukraine. Taking it is critical for Moscow.

An elderly local man - who has remained living on the frontline - wept at what President Putin has done to Ukraine's children. As he spoke he kicked - in anger and in anguish - at charred human flesh on the ground. It was the partial remains of a Russian soldier.

Earlier, we reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin cited British author JK Rowling during a speech condemning "cancel culture" in the West.

Putin accused the West of "trying to cancel" Russia, as he cited the backlash against British author JK Rowling, who he said had been "cancelled" because "she didn't satisfy the demands of gender rights".

Rowling has faced criticism for her views on transgender issues.

Now, Rowling has responded by sharing an article about incarcerated Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on social media, saying: "Critiques of Western cancel culture are possibly not best made by those currently slaughtering civilians for the crime of resistance, or who jail and poison their critics."

Her tweet was accompanied by the hashtag #IStandWithUkraine.

Rowling said she was personally matching all donations to a charity she co-founded to help children in Ukraine, up to £1 million.

Moscow knows its pre-war strategy has failedpublished at 16:08 Greenwich Mean Time 25 March 2022

16:08 GMT 25 March 2022

Paul Adams
BBC Diplomatic correspondent

Russia says the "first stage" of what it calls its "special military operation" has been mostly accomplished and that it will now concentrate on "the liberation of the Donbas".

This is likely to mean a more concerted effort to push beyond the "line of contact" that separates Ukrainian government-held territory in the east of the country from the Russian backed separatist "people’s republics" of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Western officials believe the announcement implies that Moscow knows that its pre-war strategy has failed.

"Russia is recognising that it can't pursue its operations on multiple axes simultaneously," one official said.

As many as 10 new battalion tactical groups are being generated and put into Russia’s operations, especially in the Donbas.

Western officials have been concerned for some time that Russia will attempt to encircle and envelop Ukraine’s best fighting units, which are stationed along the line of contact.

If more Russian firepower, particularly air power, is concentrated in the east, those concerns will rise.

"I hope that's where the Western supply of arms will make a significant contribution to Ukrainian forces," one official said.

What did Biden mean by a 'response' to chemical weapons?published at 15:48 Greenwich Mean Time 25 March 2022

15:48 GMT 25 March 2022

Sarah Smith
North America Editor

Image source, Getty Images

The possibility of Russia using chemical or biological weapons is deeply troubling the US and its allies.

After the Nato summit in Brussels – where the topic was discussed behind closed doors – President Biden said the use of chemical weapons by Russia would trigger a response "in kind".

He said "the nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use".

So what might it look like?

Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke to reporters on Air Force One as the president flew to Poland.

He said: "We will select the form and nature of our response based on the nature of the action Russia takes and will do so in coordination with our allies."

But he also made clear: "The United States has no intention of using chemical weapons under any circumstances."

The US and Nato are being deliberately ambiguous about how they would respond if Vladimir Putin escalates his attack on Ukraine by using chemical weapons.

They'll only say that Russia will pay a severe price if it uses any kind of weapons of mass destruction - and that they have communicated that directly to Kremlin.

The White House has already assembled a national security task force – called the Tiger Team - to look at how it should react. And Nato is issuing protective equipment to its forces stationed in Eastern Europe.

Image source, EPA

Hungarian PM Viktor Orban has dismissed an appeal by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for weapons and tougher sanctions against Russia, saying it would be "against Hungary's interests".

Orban rejected Zelensky's demands at the European Council "because they are contrary to the interests of Hungary", Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs said in a statement.

"Hungary wants to stay out of this war, so it will not allow the transfer of arms and weapons to Ukraine," Kovacs said.

Orban says that the ethnic-Hungarian minority in the west of Ukraine would be threatened if Hungary sent weapons to Kyiv.

Hungary, an EU and Nato member, has refused to send military aid to Kyiv, or let it cross its territory. However, it has allowed more than half a million Ukrainian refugees to enter its territory.

Orban, a nationalist, has cultivated close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent years.

Zelensky used an address to EU leaders on Thursday to call on Orban to approve expanding sanctions, let weapons through to Ukraine, and cut off business ties with Russia.

"Listen, Viktor, do you know what's going on in Mariupol?" Zelensky said, referring to Ukraine's besieged south-eastern port city.

"Once and for all, you should decide who you are with," he said.

Mark Lowen
BBC News, Warsaw

Image source, EPA

Driving around Rzeszow airport over the past few days, it’s clear how this city on Poland’s eastern border has become Nato’s military supply hub into Ukraine.

We saw an Antonov military transport aircraft land, its nose opened to release the hardware inside. Armoured vehicles and anti-ballistic missile batteries were parked on the runway, ready to travel across the border.

Some of the 9,000 American troops now stationed in Poland are there too. And it’s received many of the 2.2 million Ukrainian refugees who have arrived in Poland.

So it’s a natural choice of destination for Joe Biden on his two-day trip to the country, visiting the humanitarian frontline and reassuring the eastern edge of a European Union whose illusion of post-war peace has been shattered.

It's also a city on edge. The local authorities are preparing to clear up the Cold War-era shelters in basements around Rzeszow, to ensure they would be ready for a Russian attack.

It's something they're desperate to avoid, of course – but they fear too that they could be in the line of fire of an unpredictable Vladimir Putin.

Image source, Getty Images

The Russian defence ministry has given an update on its military casualties, external – for only the second time – claiming 1,351 of its soldiers have been killed and 3,825 wounded, news agency Ria Novosti reports.

Ukrainian military sources have previously estimated that as many as 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed, though this figure may include injured as well as dead. US intelligence suggests half that number may have died.

The first update from the Russian defence ministry on casualties was on 2 March, and stated that 498 servicemen had died during the invasion.

Intriguingly, on 21 March staunchly pro-Kremlin newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda (KP) published an article quoting the defence ministry as saying 9,861 Russian servicemen had been killed in the conflict.

Later, part of that article disappeared and KP's editor told the BBC the information had been the result of a hack.

Image source, EPA

As we reported earlier, the plane carrying Poland's President Andrzej Duda to meet Joe Biden in Rzeszow, eastern Poland, was turned back en route and had to make an emergency landing in Warsaw.

Duda has now arrived at Rzeszow airport in his reserve plane, after an earlier technical problem.

Biden’s motorcade had already left the airport so he can meet members of US military based nearby, the BBC's Dan Johnson reports.

But the leaders' schedules have been adjusted so they can still meet later.

Mariupol theatre: They thought it would offer protectionpublished at 14:31 Greenwich Mean Time 25 March 2022

14:31 GMT 25 March 2022

Hugo Bachega
BBC News, Lviv

Image source, Maxar/Reuters

The tragedy at the theatre in Mariupol will be remembered as an unacceptable, unjustified, and probably deliberate, attack on civilians. Another horror in a city that has seen so much of it in this war.

The site, a huge Soviet-era building in the middle of a square in the city centre, had been clearly marked as a civilian shelter, with the word “children” written in Russian on the ground outside. It is impossible it was attacked by mistake.

Hundreds of civilians, mainly women with children and elderly people, had gone there fleeing homes that were no longer safe, or no longer standing. They thought it was a place where they would find relative protection.

But there is no such place in Mariupol. Street after street, building after building, most of the city now lies in ruins. Nothing seems to remain untouched. Tens of thousands remain trapped inside the city, subjected to a medieval-like siege, with little food and water, no electricity or gas.

Russia has been accused of trying to starve the city into submission. For now Mariupol, despite all the suffering, says it will not surrender.

Find out how one woman survived the attack on the Mariupol theatre here.

Image source, Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of "trying to cancel" Russia, as he cited the backlash against British author JK Rowling.

"Today they are trying to cancel a thousand-year-old country. I am talking about the progressive discrimination against everything connected with Russia," Putin said in televised remarks, mentioning Russian music and literature.

Putin likened "cancel culture" to Nazis trying to burn books in the 1930s.

The Russian president also mentioned how British author JK Rowling had been "cancelled" because "she didn't satisfy the demands of gender rights".

Rowling has faced criticism for her views on transgender issues.

She has previously said she is concerned about a "new trans activism", saying it was "pushing to erode the legal definition of sex and replace it with gender".

The author has promised to match donations up to £1m to a charity she co-founded to help children in Ukraine.

The chief of the Russian army says Russia will now focus its main war effort on the "complete liberation" of the eastern Ukrainian Donbas region.

The defence ministry said Russia had been considering two options for its "special military operation" - one covering the whole of Ukraine and one focusing on the Donbas.

The comments - carried by Russian state news agencies - hinted at a possible downgrading of Russia's war aims. Russian forces have met strong resistance in the north of Ukraine and around Kyiv.

Sergey Rudskoy, head of the main operational department of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, said 93% of Luhansk oblast and 54% of Donetsk oblast was under Russian control.

Russia had destroyed the vast majority of Ukraine's air force and navy, and this marked the successful end of the first phase of the conflict, he added.

However, the defence ministry did not rule out storming Ukrainian cities that had been blockaded and said Russia would react immediately to any move to close airspace over Ukraine - something President Zelensky has repeatedly urged.

The ministry also said Russia would continue its invasion until targets set by Putin had been achieved, Ria news agency reported, without specifying what the targets were.

The plane carrying Poland's President Andrzej Duda to meet his US counterpart Joe Biden has had to turn back, and has made an emergency landing in Warsaw, Poland's state-run news agency PAP reports.

Duda did not face any danger, Reuters quoted his chief of staff as saying.

Polish reports say the president's plane had to return to Warsaw airport shortly after take-off because of a technical issue.

Duda was supposed to be at Rzeszow Airport in the south-east of Poland to meet Biden and brief him about the situation on the border with Ukraine.

Air Force One has landed, but it's unclear whether Duda will be able to fly to meet Biden now before he departs.

The UN rights office says it has confirmed that at least 1,081 civilians have died and 1,707 have been injured in Ukraine since Russia invaded the country, adding that the true death toll was likely to be considerably higher.

Monitors are working to verify reports of further deaths in places of intense fighting in various regions, including Donestsk, where the city of Mariupol is located, the UN says.

The UN has previously said casualty figures are likely higher than official numbers because of the difficulty in getting information from war-hit areas.