Image source, Reuters

Some news now on the besieged city of Mariupol, where thousands of people remain trapped in basements with little water, food, medicine or power.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says Ukraine hopes to open a safe corridor to evacuate civilians in private vehicles today.

The city is suffering constant Russian aerial assaults and artillery strikes, making departure - or even going above ground - a death-risk for residents.

Some civilians have managed to flee through humanitarian corridors negotiated by Ukrainian and Russian officials, however.

More than 3,300 were said to have escaped on Thursday.

The European Union is expected to announce a deal which will see the US supply it with more liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to replace Russian imports.

The US is set to provide at least 15 billion cubic metres of LNG by year's end, the Reuters news agency reported.

European nations are scrambling to reduce their reliance on Russian fossil fuels in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The EU has pledged to cut its Russian gas use by two-thirds this year through imports from other countries and expanding renewable energy.

Speaking on Thursday night, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo welcomed the move saying it would help bring down gas prices in Europe.

Ukraine crisis tests unity as Biden visits Europepublished at 07:49 Greenwich Mean Time 25 March 2022

07:49 GMT 25 March 2022

Katya Adler
Europe Editor

Image source, Getty Images

After the disinterested, often EU-antagonistic Trump-years, the US is back with bells on when it comes to involvement in European security.

That's more or less been the message of President Joe Biden during his late week dash to G7, EU and Nato summits in Brussels on Thursday, with a fly-by to Poland on Friday.

The president's visit was borne out of the shadows of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. And its aim was two-fold:

• Symbolic: a determined show of Western unity in the face the Kremlin's attack on Ukraine, and on so-called liberal values, like democracy and human rights
• Practical: in terms of security - both energy security and defence

Biden says he's offering the EU access to US natural gas and hydrogen supplies, as the bloc tries to wean itself off a heavy reliance on Russian energy. This will take time to organise.

The US president also made headlines during his European trip, announcing any chemical attack launched by Russia in Ukraine would be met "in kind" by Nato. Though he declined to go into detail.

Washington had so far shown huge reluctance to get too involved in Ukraine for fear of provoking a wider war with nuclear power Russia.

Read more from Katya here.

Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office says 135 children have been killed and 184 wounded since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.

Giving an update on recent casualties, officials say two children were killed during fierce fighting in the city of Rubizhne, Luhansk region.

And on Thursday, two children aged six and 13 were injured in Novomykhailivka, Donetsk region, following Russian shelling.

Prosecutors added that three teenagers - aged 13, 14 and 15 - were blown up by a mine in Obilne in the Zaporizhia region.

They were taken to Melitopol Hospital where one is in a critical condition in intensive care.

The BBC has not been able to independently verify these reports.

Ukraine authorities say in the past 24 hours they've contained multiple fires and explosions from Russian shelling.

On Thursday, the state emergency service extinguished 13 fires in Kyiv and six in Kharkiv caused by Russian strikes, the Internal Affairs ministry said.

Emergency workers in Kharkiv have also been clearing rubble from destroyed buildings and battling 25 grassfires and other blazes in open areas.

Local workers also managed to contain a blaze at an oil depot in Kalynivka, a small town just south of Kyiv.

In Luhansk, one of the breakaway eastern regions, Ukraine officials said Russian shelling had struck more than 30 buildings, including several tower blocks, houses and utilities.

Image source, Ukraine Ministry of Internal Affairs

Image source, Ukraine Ministry of Internal Affairs

Image source, Ukraine Ministry of Internal Affairs

The UK's Ministry of Defence has released its latest intelligence assessment of the war, saying that Ukraine has been able to re-take towns and defensive positions east of the capital, Kyiv.

The MoD says Ukraine has also had some success pushing Russian forces back from land they had taken north-west of Kyiv.

The UK's analysis adds that Russia's supply lines are over-extended.

It's a little past 7am in the UK, and if you're just joining us, welcome. Here's a recap:

• US President Joe Biden is due to meet Ukrainian refugees on the Polish-Ukrainian border on Friday. More than two million Ukrainians have fled to Poland to escape the fighting
• A month since Russia's invasion, Ukraine President Volodymr Zelensky has told European nations they had been "a little too late" to Moscow's threat, suggesting earlier sanctions may have prevented the war
• He urged them to "not be late" in approving Ukraine's request to join the EU
• Zelensky's speech followed an intense day of emergency summits in Brussels among Western nations united against Russia's invasion

• Biden said Nato "would respond" if Russia used chemical weapons in Ukraine, but did not elaborate on how. The West has warned of such a scenario as the fight in Ukraine drags into its fifth week
• Nato confirmed it would also be sending 40,000 troops in total to Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania - the neighbours bordering Ukraine

• UK PM Boris Johnson told the BBC that Ukraine can "certainly win" the war, but Putin doesn't appear interested in pursuing peace
• On the battlefields, a Russian landing ship was claimed to be destroyed in the occupied port city of Berdyansk on Thursday, Ukrainian officials said

And with that, this is Tessa Wong and Frances Mao in Singapore, and Meryl Sebastian in Delhi, signing off. Our colleagues Alex Therrien, Rob Corp and Rebecca Seales in London will continue to update you with the latest developments.

Image source, Getty Images

Dmitry Medvedev, former Russia president and now deputy head of the country's security council, has said it would be "foolish" to believe that Western sanctions against Russian businesses could have any effect on the Moscow government.

The West has imposed an array of sanctions on Russia, with some sanctions specifically targeting billionaire businessmen believed to be close to President Vladimir Putin.

"Let us ask ourselves: can any of these major businessmen have even the tiniest quantum of influence of the position of the country's leadership?" Medvedev said in an interview with Russian state news agency RIA.

"I openly tell you: no, no way."

But analysts believe that putting the squeeze on oligarchs could work, as they could in turn pressure Putin to change his strategy.

Sociology professor Brooke Harrington, who has researched the offshore wealth of the super-rich, said "the wealthiest Russians are far better placed than the average citizen to communicate to Putin how his invasion is devastating his own country".

"The lavish lifestyles that oligarchs and their families lead mean they’re highly vulnerable to external pressure," she added in a recent column for The Atlantic., external

Stanislav Markus, who has studied Russia’s oligarchs, told US media outlet Vox, external that "more and more, they’re being pushed against the wall."

Read more about the ultra-rich businessmen said to be close to Putin.

Image source, Reuters

US President Joe Biden is expected to meet with Ukrainian refugees on Friday at a town near the Polish-Ukrainian border, on the final leg of his four-day Europe trip.

Air Force One will land in the Polish town of Rzeszow, a few kilometres from the Ukraine border.

During his visit, Mr Biden is expected to meet members of the US 82nd Airborne Division, part of NATO's increasingly muscular deployment to its eastern flank.

He will also receive a briefing on the dire humanitarian situation in Ukraine. More than two million refugees have fled to Poland - the capital Warsaw hosts around 300,000 of them.

Mr Biden will meet Polish President Andrzej Duda to thank the country for their humanitarian efforts.

The US President's trip comes as the West faces urgent questions about what more it will do to help Ukrainians still in the country withstanding Russian onslaught.

Annabelle Liang
BBC News, Business reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Russia could accept Bitcoin from some countries as payment for oil and gas, according to a high-ranking official.

Pavel Zavalny said, external "friendly" countries may also be allowed to pay in their local currencies.

Zavalny, who heads Russia's State Duma committee on energy, named China and Turkey as among the countries which were "not involved in sanctions pressure".

Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he wanted "unfriendly" countries to buy its gas with roubles.

The move is understood to be aimed at boosting the Russian currency, which has lost over 20% in value this year. Russia is the world's biggest exporter of natural gas and the second largest supplier of oil.

Read more here.

Russian missiles are suffering a failure rate as high as 60%, multiple unnamed US officials have claimed in a Reuters report.

The failures could be caused by anything, from inability to launch to failing to explode on impact.

The reported rate, which has not been verified elsewhere, could explain Russia's struggle to maintain momentum in the month-long invasion.

According to the US, Russia has launched at least 1,100 missiles since the war began. They have not said how many hit their targets and whether they successfully detonated.

Russia did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Image source, Getty Images

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) says Russian forces have made steady progress in the beseigned southern city of Mariupol, entering the city's central area on 24 March.

The port city, seen as crucial to Russia's campaign, has been encircled by Russian troops since the start of March.

As the situation deteriorates in Mariupol, local Ukrainian authorities have left the city to better coordinate regional operations, says the ISW, which is an independent US-based think tank.

It said Russian forces have also continued shelling Kharkiv and struck a humanitarian aid delivery point, killing six and wounding 15, and secured several minor advances in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

But it also noted Ukraine's successful attack on Russian ships at the occupied port of Berdyansk, adding that Ukraine forced Russian troops onto the defensive northwest of the capital Kyiv, and prevented Russia from encircling the Chernihiv region.

One month into the Ukraine war, the BBC's Jeremy Bowen has returned to Irpin - a city just outside the Kyiv which has become key in the battle for the capital.

Ukrainian forces say they're pushing back Russian troops there. But as they withdraw, their shelling increases.

Image source, Getty Images

On Thursday Ukrainian military officials said that they managed to destroy a large Russian landing ship called Saratov in the occupied port city of Berdyansk.

Another ship, the Orsk, was also destroyed and several other ships were damaged, military officials said.

An earlier briefing from Ukraine's military claimed that Russia remains focused on conquering southern Ukraine, in an effort to create a "land bridge" to the occupied territory of Crimea.

They are still trying to capture the cities fo Popasna, Rubizhne and Mariupol in the south, but have so far had "no success".

In Sumy and Kharkiv, the Russians are attacking civilian infrastructure, the report said, adding that some Russian forces are withdrawing after suffering losses as high as 50%.

The BBC cannot verify these claims for now.

More from Zelensky's address to European leaders.

During his speech, Zelensky also went through a detailed rollcall of European Council members, noting their level of support - or lack of it - for Ukraine so far.

He praised many countries for standing with Ukraine, including Poland, Estonia, the Czech Republic, and Italy.

"Emmanuel," he said, addressing France's leader Macron by his first name. "I really believe that you will stand for us."

Addressing Sweden, he made reference to their similar flag colours. "Yellow and blue should always stand together."

But he also singled out some nations for being late or reluctant to take measures - Germany, Portugal and Ireland - and then lambasted Hungary for its neutral stance.

"I want to stop here and be honest. Once and for all.You have to decide for yourself who you are with," he said. Hungarian leader Viktor Orban has long been a close ally of Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky then called on Hungary to stop hesitating on sanctions and letting weapons through, referring to the famous Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial in Budapest - a monument to the victims of massacres by fascist, pro-Nazi forces in World War Two.

"Look at those shoes. And you will see how mass killings can happen again in today's world. And that's what Russia is doing today," Zelensky said.

Image source, UKRAINE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE

Image source, UKRAINE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE

A few hours ago, Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a late-night address to the European Council summit in Brussels.

He outlined Russia's destruction and damage to his country, and thanked Europe for uniting in their support for Ukraine.

Then, in his characteristic forthright style, he told European leaders that they had acted too late in stopping Russia.

"You have applied sanctions. We are grateful. These are powerful steps.

"But it was a little late... there was a chance," he said, adding that if there had been preventative sanctions perhaps Russia wouldn't have gone to war.

He also pointed to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, where he suggested if it had been blocked earlier, "Russia would not have created a gas crisis".

Zelensky then beseeched neighbouring nations to approve Ukraine's request to join the EU. "Here I ask you - do not be late."

In recent weeks Zelensky has made many speeches to parliaments around the world - and he has not been afraid to chide the West for what he sees as its failure to deliver enough support.Read more here.

If you're just joining us, welcome. There has been a flurry of diplomatic activity on Thursday as Nato, G7 and EU leaders met in Brussels:

• Biden said Nato has never been more united. He urged continuing unity so sanctions would stay in place long enough to affect Moscow's decision-making
• Biden, the UK's Johnson and France's Macron all refused to say exactly how they would respond if Russia used chemical weapons in Ukraine
• Nato has confirmed that four new battlegroups comprised of 40,000 troops in total will be sent to Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania
• Germany's Scholz and EU chief von der Leyen say payments for Russian energy won't be made in roubles as Moscow has demanded, saying: "The time of Russian energy blackmail is over."
• Johnson tells the BBC that Ukraine "can certainly win" the conflict, but warned that Putin does not seem interested in pursuing peace
• Russia will end the war weaker than when it invaded, says a top US defence strategist
• The US unseals charges against four Russian government employees who are accused of a worldwide attempt to hack the global energy sector

In Ukraine itself fighting has continued:

• A Russian landing ship has been destroyed and two other vessels damaged in the occupied Ukrainian port city of Berdyansk, say Ukrainian officials
• Ukraine says it has conducted the first proper prisoner exchange with Russia since the war began, with 10 Ukrainians exchanged for 10 Russians. In a separate exchange 11 Russian civilian sailors rescued from a ship that sank off Odesa were swapped for 19 Ukrainian seafarers from a ship captured by the Russians
• The World Health Organization says it is still unable to get desperately needed medical supplies into the besieged south-eastern town of Mariupol, and also Mykolaiv, which is further west
• Ukrainian civilians have been abducted and held hostage in Russian-occupied regions, UN officials tell the BBC

And with that, this is Jude Sheerin and Max Matza signing off from the US. Our colleagues Tessa Wong and Frances Mao in Singapore will continue to bring you the latest developments.

Image source, Telegram

Ukrainians are being arbitrarily detained and subjected to enforced disappearances in Russian-controlled areas, the United Nations has told the BBC.

At least 36 cases of civilian detentions were verified by the UN, with families often denied any information about the fate of those being held.

Ukrainians say they fear an escalating campaign of kidnappings and intimidation, as Russia struggles to assert control over towns it captures.

Viktoriia Roshchyna, a journalist, was working in occupied areas in the east of the country when she was taken by unidentified men on 15 March.

Her employer, Hromadske, said she "was probably detained by the FSB", Russia's internal intelligence service, based on witness accounts of her being taken in the city of Berdyansk.

She was released six days later when a hostage-style video - apparently recorded under duress - began to circulate on pro-Russian Telegram outlets.

In it Roshchyna said Russia had not taken her captive and thanked Moscow's forces for "saving her life".

Read more:

Civilians abducted as Russia tries to assert control

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told BBC Newsnight that he's not optimistic that Russian President Putin wants peace.

"I think he's decided to double down and try to Groznify the great cities of Ukraine," he told Newsnight's political editor Nick Watt.

"Groznify" is a reference to the Chechen city of Grozny, which Russia bombed and besieged in 1999-2000.