More now from the UN's human rights chief's update on the situation in Ukraine.

Michelle Bachelet said her office had verified 1,189 civilian deaths in Ukraine, including 98 children, since the invasion began on 24 February.

However, the true toll is likely to be far higher, she warned, explaining that it was difficult to confirm casualties in the areas most affected by the war, such as Mariupol.

Bachelet said: "Civilians are enduring immeasurable suffering, and the humanitarian crisis is critical."

There has been a "significant increase" in the mortality rate among civilians in besieged cities, she said.

This could be attributed to disrupted medical care coupled with conflict-related deprivation and stress, she added.

Image source, EPA

Russia's attacks in populated areas of Ukraine are of "immense concern" and could amount to war crimes, the UN human rights chief has said.

Presenting her latest report on the situation in Ukraine, Michelle Bachelet expressed concern over the "persistent use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas".

She said missiles, heavy artillery shells and rockets and airstrikes were causing "massive destruction and damage to civilian objects".

Bachelet said her office had received "credible allegations that Russian armed forces have used cluster munitions in populated areas at least 24 times".

Her office is also investigating allegations that Ukrainian forces have used these weapons as well, she said.

The UN rights office, she said, had verified 77 incidents in which medical facilities were damaged, including 50 hospitals.

Ten of the facilities were completely destroyed, she said, adding that the actual numbers are "likely to be considerably higher."

"Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited under international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes," Bachelet warned.

The UN typically does not categorically state that war crimes are being committed, since this can only be determined in a court of law.

But Bachelet said "the massive destruction of civilian objects and the high number of civilian casualties strongly indicate that the fundamental principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution have not been sufficiently adhered to".

Paul Adams
BBC Diplomatic correspondent

Image source, EPA

There’s clearly plenty of scepticism in the West, and among Ukrainian officials, as to whether Russia’s war plans have dramatically changed.

Even as Russian forces appear to regroup and establish more defensive positions around Kyiv, the threat posed to the capital hasn’t gone away.

Russian forces have been seen moving back into Belarus (from whose territory the attack on Kyiv was launched), but this has been happening for a couple of weeks and may just mean that units are being reconstituted and repaired before being sent back to the front.

Russia still has the power to strike the capital, and the latest reports of increased bombardment of Chernihiv suggest that it’s not about to relax its grip on the north.

But it’s clear that Moscow’s emphasis has shifted to the east, as the Russians try and consolidate their gains and, as they put it, "liberate the Donbas".

In the words of one Western official, this is "likely a tacit admission that [Russia] is struggling to sustain more than one significant axis of advance".

As always, the answer to all these questions lies in the calculations going on inside Vladimir Putin’s head. He must know that the war is not going well for him, but it’s too early to know if that means he’s decided to settle for less.

A US-Ukrainian woman who's working to help displaced people in western Ukraine has described the dangerous journey many of those she's been speaking to have endured.

Christina Katrakis, who spoke to the BBC from Vorokhta in western Ukraine, relays the account of one family, who say Russian soldiers shot at their vehicles while they were leaving their village near Chernobyl in northern Ukraine. She says the cars had white flags and signs saying they were carrying children.

The BBC can't independently verify the allegations.

Russian forces are preparing to resume offensive operations, Ukrainian Defence Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk has said, according to Reuters.

They are still trying to take the besieged southern port city of Mariupol and the towns of Popasna and Rubizhne in Luhansk, with their main efforts focused on encircling Ukrainian troops in the east of Ukraine, he was quoted as saying.

Some movements of Russian forces away from the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions have been observed, but the Ukrainian military command does not consider this to be a mass withdrawal, Motuzyanyk added.

Russia said on Tuesday that it would pull back forces from the capital and from the northern city of Chernihiv, but says its position on Crimea and the eastern Donbas region has not changed.

Image source, Reuters

Up to 300 people are estimated to have been killed in the Ukrainian town of Irpin near Kyiv before it was taken back from Russian forces this week, the Reuters news agency reports quoting the town's mayor.

Oleksandr Markushyn said on Monday that Ukrainian forces had seized back full control of the town which has been one of the main hotspots of fighting with Russian troops near the capital.

Markushyn told a briefing on Wednesday that about 50 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed in Irpin, with some bodies still trapped under rubble.

He also says there had been Russian shelling in the area all night, despite Russia saying it would "drastically reduce" military combat operations around the capital Kyiv and in the northern city of Chernihiv.

As we reported earlier, our correspondents heard explosions from the outskirts of the city this morning.

Image source, .

On Thursday, 31 March our experts will be answering your questions on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

This is your chance to ask us anything and no question is a silly question.

It will be five weeks since the Russian invasion - what would you like to find out or understand about the war and its implication for the rest of the world?

Send in any questions you have and we'll answer as many as we can.

You can get in touch in the following ways:

• Email YourQuestions@bbc.co.uk, external
• Whatsapp: +44 7756 165803
• Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay, external
• Please read our terms & conditions and privacy policy

In some cases a selection of your comments and questions will be published, displaying your name and location as you provide it unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published.

Image source, Reuters

Earlier we brought you news that Syrian soldiers were being offered up to £5,000 a month to fight on the front line for Russia in Ukraine - now we have some more on that story from BBC News Arabic's Emir Nader.

Russia says it has signed up around 16,000 recruits from the Middle East, with social media in Syria flooded with requests for people to join Russian troops.

One recruiter told the BBC: "The recruitment to Ukraine is exactly like how we recruited to Libya; there are representatives in the regions.

"You have the right to change your decision after you apply. No one will force you to go."

Syria's economy, already ravaged by civil war, now faces a spike in the price of essentials like wheat, much of which comes from Ukraine and Russia - making the Russian offer look all the more tempting.

Russia has supported the Syrian regime during the country's civil war and Russian state news claims Syrian soldiers want to return the favour.

You can watch our video below on the Syrians signing up to fight with Russia.

Why peace negotiations still have a long way to gopublished at 14:55 British Summer Time 30 March 2022

14:55 BST 30 March 2022

Jenny Hill
BBC News, Moscow

"Peace is closer" proclaimed one pro-Kremlin newspaper this morning.

But even the most loyal publications acknowledge that negotiations still have a long way to go. And there is little evidence to suggest that Moscow is committed to any form of compromise.

It may have announced that it would drastically reduce military activity around Kyiv and Chernihiv. But it was also quick to emphasise that this was no ceasefire.

And Moscow’s demands (including that Kyiv cede control of territory to Russia) haven’t changed.

The official language too remains belligerent; shortly after the talks ended yesterday, a foreign ministry spokeswoman gave a televised address in which she returned to a familiar Kremlin narrative, insisting that Ukraine must be ‘de-Nazified.’

And we still don’t know for sure what Vladimir Putin really wants and how far he’s prepared to go to achieve it.

He has consistently cast Ukraine, Nato and the West as enemies of Russia. His country may be sanctioned, his invasion may not have gone to plan but he remains defiant, determined to tell Russians that his "special military operation" has delivered victory.

Image source, Reuters

Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky is speaking following yesterday's talks in Istanbul, at which Russia said it would pull back from Kyiv and Chernihiv.

He says talks with Ukraine are continuing but adds that Russia's position on Crimea and the Donbas region has not changed.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, while parts of the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk - collectively known as the Donbas - are held by Russian-backed separatists.

But Medinsky says Ukraine has stated a willingness to meet Russia's core demands. He says if it sticks to its promises then "the threat of a Nato stronghold" in Ukraine will be removed.

Imogen Foulkes
BBC News, Geneva

Image source, EPA

The latest figures from the UN refugee agency show that 4,019,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries and more than six million are displaced inside Ukraine, meaning at least a quarter of the population have had to abandon their homes because of the war.

This means four million people, primarily women, children, and the elderly, are now dependent on neighbouring countries for their survival.

It’s the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War Two – Poland alone has received 2.3 million Ukrainian refugees.

While Russia has hinted it may scale down its assault, the shelling of Ukrainian cities continues, and more desperate families will try to flee.

Even if the fighting stops, towns are in ruins, homes destroyed. There can be no quick fix to such a major humanitarian crisis – Europe’s unity and generosity will be needed not for weeks, but possibly years.

If you’re just joining us, here’s what’s been happening so far today.

On peace talks:

• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has played down any hopes of a breakthrough in continuing peace talks between Russia and Ukraine
• He’s been telling reporters that Russia had not noticed "anything really promising," but says the chief Russian negotiator will provide an update later

On the ground:

• The Ukrainian governor in Donetsk says there's been Russian shelling along all the cities and towns on the front line that separates the two sides
• Shelling is also reported in the Luhansk region. Authorities there say there have been 35 artillery attacks on local towns in 24 hours
• Despite Russia's pledge to "drastically reduce" military combat operations, Chernihiv's regional governor claims Russian forces carried out strikes on the city "all night long"
• The sound of artillery could be heard on the edge of Kyiv city centre this morning

On those fleeing the country:

• More than four million people have fled Ukraine, according to the UN's refugee agency
• There have been 2,700 visas issued for refugees coming to the UK as part of Homes for Ukraine - less than 10% of the 28,300 applications made so far

Stephen McDonell
BBC News, China correspondent

Image source, Reuters

The foreign ministers of China and Russia have met in China, prior to a meeting of government representatives from countries which border Afghanistan.

According to China’s state media, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that relations between the two countries have withstood new tests presented by a changing international situation.

Wang said China was ready to take their relationship “into a new era” and “to a higher level”.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov briefed his Chinese counterpart on the “special military operation” in Ukraine, as Moscow has repeatedly described its invasion of the country.

Lavrov said the two countries “oppose hegemonism and power politics” and “uphold the principles of the UN”.

He said "Russia is committed to cooling tensions” in Ukraine and “will continue peace talks” as well as “maintaining communication with the international community”.

Wang said China had “always stood on the right side of history”, adding that the Ukraine “issue” had “a complex history” and claimed it was “the result of a long-standing European security conflict”.

Wang also said China supported the efforts being made by Russia, and all parties, to "prevent a large-scale humanitarian crisis”.

China has repeatedly refused to criticise Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Oleksiy Sorokin, political editor of the Kyiv Independent, says people in the Ukrainian capital are trying to get back to normal as much as possible, despite the sounds of fighting just 20-30km north-west of the city.

“Every night we go to sleep and hear Ukrainian air defences and Russian artillery… the city looks like a fortress. Meanwhile some people eat pizza and grab a coffee,” he told the BBC from Kyiv.

“Yesterday I visited my friends who live in the west of Kyiv. You can basically hear every shot fired” he said.

Sorokin said Ukrainians don't trust Russia, but there are signs that they are pulling out of the region. Morale remains very high among Ukrainians, he said.

Asked about Ukraine's peace proposal, he said that many Ukrainians understand that the country wasn’t going to be able to join Nato in the near future.

But he said there is concern about suggestions that the government might be ready to freeze talks about control of the Donbas and Crimea regions. “That’s what many people, especially here in Kyiv, are afraid of,” he said.

Image source, Reuters

Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News

Image source, Roscosmos

Despite soaring tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine, a US astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts have landed safely in Kazakhstan in a capsule travelling from the International Space Station.

The American Mark Vande Hei’s return to Earth in a Russian Soyuz capsule alongside the two Russians shows that when it comes the International Space Station, it is business as usual.

While Russia and the West have disengaged in many areas of space co-operation - in flagship science missions and in industrial supply chains – they have no choice but to continue working together on the ISS.

The orbital platform comprises modules and components from many different countries, and they all depend on each other.

The Russian end of the station provides propulsion; the platform can’t stay aloft without regular firings of Russian thrusters.

But the majority of the power comes from the American segment, and nothing works without electricity. So everyone on the ISS is joined at the hip.

As we’ve been reporting, the Kremlin says there’s no sign of a breakthrough in the continuing peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has been telling reporters that Russia had not noticed "anything really promising," adding there was a long period of work ahead.

But he’s welcomed Kyiv setting out its demands for an end to the conflict, external in Ukraine in written form and says the chief Russian negotiator will provide an update later today.

During the ceasefire talks on Tuesday, Ukraine proposed to become a neutral state in exchange for security guarantees.

Russia said it would "drastically reduce" military combat operations around the capital Kyiv and northern city of Chernihiv.

But this statement was met with scepticism by the Ukrainians as well as the US and UK, who said it should be treated with caution.

Meanwhile, the governor of Ukraine's Chernihiv region says there is no let-up in attacks by Russia, despite its pledge to reduce military activity there.

The BBC has not been able to confirm this independently, but residents of Chernihiv also said the fighting was ongoing.

The Ukrainian governor in Donetsk also says there has been Russian shelling along all the cities and towns on the front line that separates the two sides. Shelling is also reported in the Luhansk region.

Paul Kirby
BBC News Online Europe editor

For the past few days, Russia has stressed it is switching its focus to eastern Ukraine, and UK defence intelligence says that is "likely a tacit admission" that it is struggling to sustain operations in the north.

Seizing land on the south coast is a big aim for President Putin, but so is his bid to "liberate" the east. Russian-backed puppets had already seized control of more than a third of the two eastern areas in 2014.

Russian forces are tightening their grip on the north-eastern region of Luhansk, but they have far less control of Donetsk region and Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation in the east has reputedly some of the best-trained brigades in the army.

Image source, .

But Russian attacks have intensified on towns to the west of the "line of contact" - the front line from the earlier war.

Luhansk authorities say there have been 35 artillery attacks on local towns in 24 hours. Only this morning, blocks of flats and a kindergarten were hit in Lysychansk, says the regional military leader.

Image source, Serhiy Haidai/Luhansk OVA

At least one person was killed in a residential block, he says. Details cannot be independently verified.

Meanwhile, separatist leaders allege at least one person has died in Ukrainian shelling of Russian-held areas of Donetsk.

Image source, .

Image source, Getty Images

A little earlier we shared satellite pictures of the devastation of the key southern port city of Mariupol, which has been under heavy shelling for weeks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has told his French counterpart the shelling of the besieged city will only end when Ukrainian troops surrender, the Kremlin said in a statement.

But French officials said the Russian leader had agreed to consider plans to evacuate civilians from the city.

Officials from France's Elyseé palace called the situation in the city "catastrophic" and added that "civilian populations must be protected and must leave the city if they wish to. They must have access to food aid, water and the medicines they need".

France, along with Turkey, Greece and several humanitarian groups, have presented Putin with a plan to evacuate the city.

Officials said Putin told Emmanuel Macron that he will "think about" the proposal.

Hugo Bachega
BBC News, Lviv

The governor of Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region has told the BBC that Russia has continued to attack the regional capital on Wednesday morning, despite Moscow's promise of a drastic reduction in military activity in the area, as well as around Kyiv.

"Right now, as we speak, I can hear which I think are mortar shells," Viancheslav Chaus said from Chernihiv. He said Chernihiv and the town of Nizhyn were attacked during the night and that civilian buildings were destroyed.

"We don't believe [the Russians] because we've already seen that there isn't a single time when their military forces keep their word," he said.

The BBC has not been able to verify the claims independently, although residents described hearing attacks during the night and also on Wednesday.

One said: "This night was rough. We heard there was fighting all night in the suburbs, away from the city centre. We heard artillery. But there was no aviation tonight."

Another said: "It was impossible to sleep in the house, only in bunkers... There was no aviation yesterday [Tuesday], only artillery attacks. I can hear shelling at the moment [Wednesday morning]. It's still loud but not as intense as during the night."

We have more from the Kremlin on the state of negotiations with Ukraine.

Moscow spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Russia is careful to comment on the talks as "we believe that negotiations should take place in silence" but says the chief Russian negotiator will speak later.

He adds that Crimea, the region annexed by Russia in 2014, is "part of Russia" and the Russian constitution precluded discussing the fate of any Russian region with anyone else.

Image source, .