Yogita Limaye
BBC News, reporting from Chernihiv

The city of Chernihiv in the north-east of Ukraine was under siege by the Russian military until a few days ago.

A local official told us that they barely had any food or water supply, and lived without electricity for weeks.

Some areas have been completely destroyed. We saw a football stadium that Ukrainian officials say Russian aircraft dropped bombs on in the second week of March. One completely destroyed part of the stands, which is now a mangled mess of broken plastic seats and metal railings.

In the middle of the field is a big crater created by another bomb. By the side of the stadium, a children's library housed in a building has also been destroyed. We also saw residential neighbourhoods that have literally been flattened.

Residents have told us about their friends being killed. One woman showed us her destroyed home, and told us her daughter was seriously injured.

"Russia is lying. This is a civilian neighbourhood. Not military. I want President Putin to rebuild my house."

Image source, EPA

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky has welcomed the latest wave of sanctions imposed on Russia, while also describing them as insufficient.

In his latest video address, Zelensky calls on the west to go further and boycott the use of Russian oil.

He says the failure to agree on an embargo is costing lives of Ukranian people.

Russia is the third biggest producer of oil in the world, with more than half of its exports going to Europe.

Russian imports account for 8% of total UK oil demand and 3% in the US.

Zelensky says the Kremlin is earning so much from oil exports that it doesn't feel the need to take peace negotiations seriously.

He adds he will continue to insist that Russian banks should be entirely cutt off from the international financial system.

Read more about the new sanctions here.

Image source, Getty Images

The UN will hold a vote on Thursday to determine whether Russia should be kicked off the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) over the reports of atrocities committed in areas of Ukraine that it had occupied.

The resolution was introduced by the US after evidence of civilian killings emerged in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha.

Russia has warned countries that attempts to throw it off the 47-member panel will be viewed as an "unfriendly gesture," according to a letter to diplomats seen by Reuters.

Russia's mission to the UN in New York called on countries to "speak out against the anti-Russian resolution". A two-thirds majority is required to expel Russia from the group.

In a statement to Tass news agency, the head of Russia's UN mission said: "If the resolution is adopted, the Westerners will be able to freely impose on the rest of the countries the concepts and their vision of human rights that please them and their Western accomplices."

"The suspension of Russia's rights as a member of the Human Rights Council will discredit the principle of the Council's universality, harm its effectiveness, and completely undermine trust not only in the Human Rights Council, but in the entire UN human rights system," said Gennady Gatilov.

Canada will summon Russia's ambassador over the reported killings of civilians in the Kyiv suburbs of Bucha and Irpin, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has said.

There is mounting international anger over the killings.

“There’s a level of inhumanity in what we’ve seen in Bucha,” Ms Joly told reporters at the Nato headquarters in Brussels, where ministers from member countries are meeting to discuss sanctions against Russia.

Ms Joly said that she had instructed her deputy minister to make sure Russia’s ambassador to Canada, Oleg V Stepanov, is presented with images of what happened in Bucha and Irpin.

Earlier this week, Canada imposed sanctions on nine Russian and nine Belarusian individuals "for having facilitated and enabled violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence, external".

Russia troops "are regrouping and conducting reconnaissance" for an offensive in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk, the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in an update on 42nd day of fighting. The update also said:

• The main efforts of Russian troops is to "break through the defences" of Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk region.
• They are also trying to take full control of the city of Mariupol.
• Russian forces continue to shell Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine.
• Russian troops are using railway lines to quickly move military cargo. Weapons and other equipment arrived at the Kupyansk railway station in northeastern Ukraine from Valuyki station in Belgorod, Russia.
• Ukrainian forces have taken back Osokorivka near Kherson in the south of Ukraine from Russian troops.

The BBC hasn't independently verified these claims.

Image source, Getty Images

President Joe Biden's top economic adviser has said that the US warned India against partnering too closely with Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

“Our message to the Indian government is that the costs and consequences for them of moving into a more explicit strategic alignment with Russia will be significant and long-term,” White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese told reporters on Wednesday.

“There are certainly areas where we have been disappointed by both China and India’s decisions, in the context of the invasion,” he added.

India has declined to level sanctions against Russia, as other countries have done.

The country, which the US sees as a counter to China's power in Asia, is the largest importer of Russian weapons, according to Bloomberg.

It comes after US Deputy National Security Adviser Daleep Singh made an official visit to India last week.

“What Daleep did make clear to his counterparts during this visit was that we don’t believe it’s in India’s interest to accelerate or increase imports of Russian energy and other commodities,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said after Mr Singh returned this week.

Image source, Getty Images

If you're just joining us, here is a round-up of the latest developments in the war in Ukraine.

In Donbas, eastern Ukraine:

• Thousands of people are trying to escape Donbas ahead of Russia's expected offensive in eastern Ukraine

• Ukrainian officials are appealing to people in the area to "take this opportunity" to flee "while it is safe"
• Russian troops are trying to surround Ukrainian forces to take control of the entire Donbas - which is made up of the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk
• The US says that Russia's withdrawal from the regions outside Kyiv and Chernihiv is now complete, as the war shifts focus to the east
• The Red Cross has helped to lead to safety a convoy of about 1,000 refugees from the besieged port city of Mariupol

Elsewhere in Ukraine:

• More than 400 people are missing from the town of Hostomel, a local official says. The town bore the brunt of Russian advances on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, along with Bucha and Irpin
• Survivor accounts are still trickling out from Bucha, where hundreds of people are reported to have been killed by Russian soldiers
• President Zelensky on Thursday morning criticised international sanctions on Russia as being too weak, saying they give the invaders "permission" to continue their attack

Global developments:

• The US has aimed new sanctions at Russia and Putin's inner circle - including the president's two adult daughters
• The UK and US both issued an asset freeze against Sberbank, Russia's largest bank
• European Union leaders are discussing what further measures they could impose on Russia to damage its war effort. Proposals include a ban on importing Russian coal - but some senior leaders say oil and gas also need to be banned
• The Russian president says sanctions are the price his country must pay for freedom
• Pope Francis has condemned the "massacre" of civilians in the Ukrainian city of Bucha, which Russia continues to deny

• The US treasury secretary warned that a blanket ban on Russian oil imports would trigger "skyrocketing" energy prices in Europe
• The entire UN will vote on Thursday on whether to expel Russia from the UN Human Rights Council

Thank you for joining our live coverage of the war in Ukraine on Wednesday.

This is Jessica Murphy in Toronto and Max Matza in Seattle handing off to our colleagues Vikas Pandey and Andrew Clarance in Delhi.

Image source, Getty Images

Canada has approved an environmentally controversial oil drilling project as it seeks to increase export capacity to offset the impact of Russian bans in Europe's energy market.

The Bay du Nord offshore oil project will be built in partnership with Norwegian oil company Equinor and will be located off the coast of Newfoundland, with production expected to begin around 2028.

It comes as Canada continues to assess its ability to increase production and shipments of oil to Europe - which currently is heavily reliant on Russian oil.

Image source, Alamy

The United States has trained a small number of Ukrainians who are already in the US on how to use advanced anti-tank Switchblade drones, a senior US defence official says.

The weapon, which can fit into a backpack, has the ability to "loiter" over a target miles away from the operator. They are often called "kamikaze" drones, because of the way they smash into their target, bearing a warhead at their tip.

The Ukrainians being trained were participating in professional military education programmes, the official said, and they may receive more training on other systems before returning to Ukraine "relatively soon".

Switchblade drones are new to the Ukrainian military. The White House said on 16 March it would supply 100 Switchblade drones to Ukraine.

It is currently taking an average of 4-6 days for the shipments to start arriving in Ukraine, said an official, describing it as incredibly fast.

The US official also said that overall, Russia had launched 1,450 missiles into Ukraine since the invasion began.

Jonathan Beale
BBC News, Luhansk Oblast

Image source, Reuters

Russia's military offensive in eastern Ukraine is already intensifying. You can see it in the long queues of traffic driving west towards relative safety; you can feel it in the deserted streets as you drive through the towns and cities of the Donbas; and you can hear it with the increasing sound of Russian artillery.

Russia and its proxies now control around 90% of Luhansk and more than half of Donetsk - the old industrial heartlands of Ukraine. There is smoke rising across a landscape already scarred by mining and factories.

Ukrainian forces have been fighting a war here for the past eight years. Their units include some of the country's most battle hardened troops. Western officials say Ukrainian forces stationed in the Donbas are the best trained and equipped units.

As the Russian offensive pushes from the north, east and south there is a real danger they may soon be encircled and cut off.

Ukraine has already lost ground to Russia. But they are digging in for the fight. As we travelled east towards the frontline we saw new defensive positions and trenches being dug.

The sound of Russian artillery grew louder as we drove to a Ukrainian frontline position in Luhansk. The rumble of shelling interspersed with the occasional burst of small arms fire. We were within 500 metres of the Russian positions.

This may be a conflict in the 21st century but, at times, it feels more like something from the First World War.

Read more:

Veterans prepare for battle in occupied Luhansk

Image source, Getty Images

US defence department officials have said that Russia's withdrawal from the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions is now complete.

"Russian forces near Kyiv and Chernihiv have completed their withdrawal from the area to re-consolidate and refit in Belarus and Russia," a Pentagon official told reporters on Wednesday.

"We are not showing Russian forces in or around Kyiv or in or around Chernihiv," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby later added, saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin "has achieved zero of his strategic goals".

"He’s really only taking control of a small population centers....They haven’t taken Kharkiv."

It comes days after Russia announced that it would focus its efforts on Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.

A senior Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the Russian troops may be heading back to Kyiv in the future, and that it remains unclear if the retreating troops will return.

According to the Institute for the Study of War think-tank, the Russian units retreating from around Kyiv are unlikely to "regain combat effectiveness for some time".

Of the 130 Russian battalions that have been sent to Ukraine, more than 80 still remain in the country, the official said.

The Associated Press, citing a US defence official, reported that the number of withdrawing Russian troops amounts to at least 24,000 men.

Hugo Bachega
BBC News, Lviv

Yuriy and his father hoped to pick up some medicine and food. Yuriy said a Russian soldier stopped him and his father on Tarasivska Street. They immediately raised their hands.

Speaking to the BBC by phone alongside his mother, Alla, the 14-year-old gave his account of what happened next. "We told them that we weren't carrying any weapons and that we didn't pose any danger," he said.

"Then my father turned his head my way, and that's when he got shot... He was shot twice in the chest, right where the heart is. Then he fell."

At that point, the teenager said, the soldier shot him in his left hand and he fell too. While he was on the ground, he said, he was shot again, this time in the arm.

The BBC has not independently verified the details of Yuriy's account, but it comes as evidence grows of atrocities committed by Russian forces while they were in control of Bucha and other towns north of Kyiv.

Read more.

Image source, Family picture

Image source, Getty Images

Thousands of Ukrainian refugees have gathered at the US-Mexico border in Tijuana, Mexico - near San Diego, California - as they seek to be admitted into the United States.

President Biden announced last month that the US would accept 100,000 Ukrainian refugees as a result of the war in their home country.

CBS News reports that around 150 Ukrainians have been admitted into the US each day. The network, the BBC's media partner in the US, reports that the Ukrainians arrive in Mexico on tourist visas before making their way to the border to seek asylum.

A gymnasium in Tijuana has been converted into lodging for the Ukrainians.

As of Wednesday, around 1,700 refugees remained in the border city, according to NBC News.

Over 4.2 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the war began in late February, many into neighbouring countries like Poland and Romania.

Some migrants who come from predominantly Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America have decried the treatment given to Ukrainians, saying that they have been unfairly given priority over other migrants.

Image source, Getty Images

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby has spoken to the BBC about the latest fighting on the ground in Ukraine, and why the US has refused to send fighter jets to the country.

Image source, Ukraine government

In President Volodymyr Zelensky's latest Facebook address, he calls on world governments to increase their sanctions against Russia, warning that a failure to do so would equate to "permission" for it to continue its attacks on Ukraine.

"Today, Western countries announced a new package of sanctions against the Russian Federation," he said.

"This package has a spectacular look. But this is not enough," he continued.

"Still it can hardly be called commensurate with the evil that the world saw in Bucha. With the evil that continues in Mariupol, in the shelling of Kharkiv, in Russia's attempt to launch a new global bloody offensive in Donbas."

He says that Ukraine continues to insist on a "complete blockade" of Russia's banking system, and for the democratic world to refuse to buy Russian oil.

He also called out western leaders, who he said had not found the backbone yet to stand up to Russia.

"Some politicians are still unable to decide how to limit the flow of dollars and euros to Russia from the oil trade, so as not to jeopardise their own economies," he adds.

"The embargo on Russian oil supplies will be applied anyway. The format will be found. The only question is how many more Ukrainian men and women the Russian military will have time to kill, so that you, some politicians - and we know you, can borrow a little determination somewhere."

Paul Kirby
BBC News Online Europe editor

Image source, Reuters

Finland has responded to Russia's war in Ukraine by announcing a €2.2bn (£1.8bn) increase in funding over the next four years. The extra money will pay for hundreds of extra professional soldiers, better border security and weapons including missiles and ammunition.

Finland has a 1,340km (830-mile) border with Russia and Russia's invasion of Ukraine has prompted increasing support for joining the West's defensive military alliance Nato.

Prime Minister Sanna Marin said at the weekend that the war meant that Finns had to "seriously mull over our own stance and approach to military alignment" and decide carefully but quickly during the course of this spring.

Finnish Chief of Defence Timo Kivinen says Russia's invasion has underscored Finland's need to have rapid operational readiness, regardless of the Nato membership debate, and investment in the military will start immediately.

Finland already takes part in Nato exercises but a YLE opinion poll last month suggested 62% of Finns backed full membership, external. That's a dramatic shift as until the invasion, opinion polls indicated Finns were opposed to joining.

Image source, Getty Images

The former UK MP George Galloway has condemned Twitter's decision to label his account as "Russia state-affiliated media”.

Galloway, who sat in Westminster as recently as 2015, has been a contributor to the Russian-backed RT news network since 2013 and the Sputnik radio station since 2019. He has repeatedly argued that the West is to blame for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

But in a thread posted to Twitter on Wednesday evening, Galloway rejected any association with Russian media.

"I am not 'Russian State Affiliated media'. I work for NO #Russian, external media," he wrote.

"I’m the leader of a British political party and spent nearly 30 years in the British parliament. If you do not remove this designation I will take legal action," he went on.

When one Twitter user pointed out that Galloway has deleted references to shows he hosted for the Russian-backed networks, the 67-year old said he removed the posts because his show "no longer exists", arguing it had been "closed by government edict”.

Image source, Getty Images

A move by Vladimir Putin to concentrate fighting in the east of Ukraine could "extend the conflict longer than anyone wants it to go", a Pentagon official has said.

"The fact [Putin] is going to concentrate on a smaller region certainly presents the possibility that the violence will continue, it could even intensify in that part of Ukraine," said the official.

"Because we fully expect the Ukrainians to keep fighting in this area which belongs to them and they’ve been fighting for eight years."

Moscow has moved forces out of Kyiv and Chernihiv and is now expected to focus on the Donbas region in the east of Ukraine.

During the briefing, the official said the administration did not know how long the Russian invasion will last.

Czech TV has shown pictures of military equipment on trains at a station in the town of Jihlava - reportedly heading to Ukraine.

On Tuesday the Czech Defence Minister Jana Cernochova said that the Czech Republic was sending "essential military equipment" to Ukraine.

Speaking as Nato foreign ministers gathered in Brussels for talks on the conflict, the security alliance's secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said he would not go into details of what kind of weapons allies were providing to Ukraine.

"But I can say that the totality of what allies are doing is significant and that includes also some heavier systems combined with lighter systems."

The Czech Republic - which as part of Czechoslovakia was in the Warsaw Pact and allied with the Soviet Union - joined Nato in 1999.

The tanks are reportedly Soviet or Russian-made.