Image source, EPA

In Russia

President Putin has made a rare public appearance alongside the leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, and described Russia's military goals in Ukraine as noble.

He said peace talks had reached a dead end, saying Ukraine had made "fake claims" about war crimes and extended demands for security guarantees.

Meanwhile Lukashenko said allegations of atrocities in northern Ukraine were "a psychological operation carried out by the English"

In Ukraine

Russia and Ukraine are building up forces in the eastern region of Donbas as Moscow switches the focus of its offensive. Satellite images show a build-up of Russian troops and equipment in at least three places on Ukraine's border.

Ukraine says it's checking unverified information that Russia has used chemical weapons in its siege of Mariupol. The US and UK are also looking into the reports.

Elsewhere

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said in a speech to the Lithuanian parliament that the European Union was still too hesitant in imposing sanctions on Moscow.

Germany's energy regulator says the country's gas reserves could last until late summer or later if supplies from Russia were cut off now. Klaus Mueller told Die Zeit newspaper the reserves were in better shape than a month ago.

The World Food Programme says the war could worsen humanitarian crises in countries like Yemen and Afghanistan, as grain supplies from Ukraine, a major exporter, dry up.

Image source, .

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko toured the vast Vostochny Cosmodrome, in Russia. It was a sign of the close relationship between the two countries and their leaders.

Later they held a press conference where Putin announced they will increase cooperation in areas like the economy, space infrastructure and technology and the Russian president called for "deeper integration" with Belarus.

Putin said it is important given the West's sanctions on Russia. He sees it as an attempt to isolate Russia from the global economy, adding that Western sanctions would "only make us stronger".

Belarusian President Lukashenko said: "Know that no matter what the situation is, you can count on us, and the Russians can count on us. We will always be there."

Image source, EPA

More now on Vladimir Putin's latest comments about the war.

The Russian president said talks with Ukraine had derailed because the Ukrainian side had made "fake claims" about war crimes and extra demands for security guarantees.

"We have again returned to a dead-end situation for us," he said.

He added that Russia would continue its operation to defend the Russian speakers of eastern Ukraine.

However, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters that though negotiations were hard, they were continuing.

Putin's remarks are his first in public since Russian troops withdrew from northern areas of Ukraine around the capital Kyiv.

Jack Burgess
BBC News

Image source, .

With an expected renewed Russian offensive in the eastern region of Donbas, we've been speaking to Russian security policy expert Dr Aglaya Snetkov about how the conflict could unfold there.

What will Russia's strategy be?

"We are looking at a slow war of attrition," says Snetkov.

"The Russians will be focused on grinding down Ukrainian positions and infrastructure."

She says Putin will attack from the north and from Mariupol, in the south - piling on pressure to extract concessions.

What will the fighting look like?

Snetkov believes Russia may target more railway infrastructure but fears there will be more civilian casualties too.

"Whether they're planning to take over areas in the east by bombing them out of existence, at this stage we don't know."

She says it will take a while longer for heavy military equipment to arrive in Donbas, especially if it's travelling from Belarus or Russia.

How else could things change?

Meanwhile, she says Russia's appointment of General Alexander Dvornikov to oversee the invasion could make the Russian operational strategy more coordinated - with fewer generals sent to the front line.

"What's been surprising until now is that the Russians have had no chief of command, or at least we haven't known who it was."

Image source, Maxar Technologies

Imogen Foulkes
BBC News, Geneva

Image source, WFP

"Don't make us take food from children that are hungry to give to children that are starving," pleads the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

Soaring food and fuel costs, together with budget cuts in some traditional donor countries, have forced the WFP to halve the amount of food it is giving to millions of people in Yemen, Chad and Niger.

In December 2021, the UN made a record appeal for $41bn (£31bn) to help 273 million people this year. They say those people, who are mostly children, will likely die without the aid.

Many African countries, while not dependent on UN aid, import grain from Ukraine.

Somalia gets more than 60% of its grain from Ukraine and Russia, while Eritrea gets nearly 97% of its wheat from Ukraine.

They now have to bid against Europeans and North Americans on the international market in search of food.

Read more

Ukraine war could worsen crises in Yemen and Afghanistan

Image source, Reuters

French presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen has said she broadly supports sanctions against Russia, but not when it comes to oil and gas supplies.

In an interview with France Inter Radio, she said she did not want the French people "to suffer the consequences of sanctions" on oil and gas.

France, like many other European countries, imports much of its natural gas through pipelines from Russia, using it for residential and commercial energy.

Le Pen, who will battle Emmanuel Macron for the presidency in a run-off on 24 April, has been criticised by rivals over her past support for Russia and President Vladimir Putin.

She appeared to back Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 but describes the current invasion as a different situation.

Read more here.

Toby Luckhurst and Mariana Maglych
Reporting from Lviv

Arena Lviv was built for Euro 2012, external, one of five stadia purpose built for the football tournament. But after the war broke out, it became a host centre for refugees fleeing from the violence. Yulia Shatukhina works at FC Shakhtar Donetsk, a Ukrainian club founded in Donetsk but forced to play west of the city since the Russian invasion in 2014. She shows us upstairs to the VIP area. Where once the stadium hosted conferences and special guests at major matches, the club has now set up beds, heaters and hot water for hundreds."Mothers with kids are our main audience," she tells us. "We make sure they have all they need."

She walks us into a VIP box with a perfect view onto the 35,000-seater stadium. Now, it has two beds and two cots with a private toilet. "Like a VIP hotel room!" she says.The facility is mostly empty with few people in its dozens of beds. But Yulia says it will fill up as the day goes on. They try to move people on to more permanent accommodation in the mornings, but are considering hosting people for more time.

"Maybe in a week or a month we can host people for longer," she says.

Image source, .

Russian troops shot dead five civilians, including two children, in a car in Bucha district during their occupation of the area, the Kyiv regional prosecutor's office has said.

The children were aged one and 14.

In a statement on its telegram channel, the office said local people buried the dead at the scene beside their car near the village of Havronshchyna.

The report came as the mayor of Bucha said 403 bodies of people killed by Russian troops in the town had been found so far.

Russia has denied committing atrocities against civilians in Bucha and other areas north of Kyiv but satellite images show that killings did take place during their occupation.

Image source, EPA

David Brown
BBC News

Reports and satellite images suggest Russia is building up troops and equipment in at least three places on Ukraine’s border: Belgorod and Voronezh regions, and around the town of Matveev Kurgan to the south.

Inside Ukraine, Russia is reinforcing its operations around Izyum and preparing to thrust south to take Slovyansk, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

From there, Russian troops may be able to advance east or south east to encircle a contingent of Ukrainian ground forces.

Should Mariupol fall, Russian forces may start to push north to complete the encirclement of a larger group of Ukrainian troops.

Some of Ukraine’s most experienced and best-equipped units are thought to be in the east.

They are heavily dug in to key positions, and analysts say Russian troops may struggle to force them out.

Image source, .

Paul Myers and Josh Cheetham
Open Source Analysts, BBC News

Earlier we reported on claims by the Azov Battalion - a Ukrainian military unit with links to the far right - that Russia has used chemical weapons in the besieged city of Mariupol. (Read more here).

The group has since put out a video with three people allegedly affected by the attack.

One man, identified by Azov as a soldier, is pictured lying down with his eyes closed, recalling a “fog” that emerged after an explosion which made him dizzy, out of breath and unable to stand.

Another man, said to be a resident in the city, said he remembered seeing white smoke and felt suddenly very tired, with ringing in his ears.

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

A former commander of chemical and biological defence forces for Nato and the UK, Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, has been explaining how the facts can be established.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons would usually be called in to assess any evidence, he said, but that will be challenging in Mariupol, for obvious reasons.

Investigators would also need to analyse soil samples from the site - again, challenging in the circumstances.

Western governments are able to examine satellite imagery and other intelligence for any signs that chemical weapons units or vehicles were nearby, he said.

But that won't give any hard and fast answers any time soon, Mr de Bretton-Gordon said.

Image source, EPA

More from President Putin's visit to a space centre in Russia's far east. He insisted that no atrocities were committed in the Ukrainian city of Bucha by occupying Russian soldiers.

Russian news agencies have quoted Putin dismissing apparent photographic evidence of civilian killings as "fake".

The Russian president was also reported to have said his invasion of the neighbouring country was going according to plan, but that peace talks had derailed after the Ukrainians broke previous agreements.

He was quoted saying that what was happening in Ukraine was a "tragedy", but insisted he had no choice other than to invade.

Image source, Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin

Belarus has again given its backing to Russia, following the Kremlin's denials that its troops killed Ukrainian civilians in the city of Bucha.

Belarus's leader Alexander Lukashenko claimed that allegations of atrocities were "a psychological operation carried out by the English".

Moscow has claimed that images of dead civilians in the streets of Bucha were fake.

Lukashenko has today been on a visit to the Vostochny space centre with his close ally, Vladimir Putin.

He also defended Putin's invasion of Ukraine - which was launched in part from Belarus nearly seven weeks ago.

He said a "crushing blow" would have been delivered against Russian territory if the assault had not been ordered.

Image source, Getty Images

Images taken in the last couple of days show the scale of destruction across Ukraine, with many buildings reduced to rubble in now-liberated towns around Kyiv, as well as in the northern city of Chernihiv and in Donetsk in the east.

In Borodyanka, a town near Kyiv now under Ukrainian control, many residential areas are in ruins.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, EPA

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA

President Putin has described the events in Ukraine as a "tragedy", according to remarks transcribed by the Tass news agency.

But the Russian leader reportedly said his country had "no choice" other than to launch what he calls a special military operation.

Earlier, during a rare public appearance, Putin praised Russia's military objectives in Ukraine as being noble.

Image source, Getty Images

India has so far refused to condemn Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, with US President Joe Biden last month calling the country's stand "somewhat shaky" when it comes to Russia.

When Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met virtually on Monday, India stood firm in its position, with Delhi continuing to promote dialogue to end the war but avoiding critising Russia.

However, the countries showed willingness to understand their differing stands on Ukraine, and Pratyush Rao, director for South Asia at Control Risks consultancy, says both gave a clear message that their disagreement would not "derail wider co-operation in the Indo-Pacific".

Read more here.

Adam Easton
Warsaw Correspondent

Image source, EPA

Poland has arrested a Russian citizen on suspicion of spying, according to Polish special services.

The man, who is a long-term resident in Poland, was arrested last week and has been remanded in custody.

The Russian businessman had allegedly been collecting information about the military readiness of both Polish and Nato troops stationed in the country.

Last month Poland expelled 45 Russian diplomats suspected of working for the Russian intelligence services - leading to the tit-for-tat expulsion of the same number of Polish embassy staff by Moscow.

Poland has been a leading voice in the European Union urging tougher sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

In a separate case, two Belarusian citizens suspected of spying for their country were arrested in Poland last week. They had allegedly been involved in efforts to identify strategic defence facilities in the country.

Russian security services are planning "acts of terror" on Russia's own territory to turn public opinion against Ukraine, Ukrainian Defence Ministry chief Kyrylo Budanov has claimed.

"Mining and blowing up residential buildings, hospitals and schools in Russian population centres," are parts of their plans, Budanov said, according to Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

He also says they are planning "missile strikes on, and bombings of, Belgorod [near Ukraine's eastern border with Russia] or a Crimean city [in the south of Ukraine]".

Budanov went on to say it's possible Russia will portray these acts as "justification for brutality against Ukrainian civilians" in Bucha, near the capital Kyiv, and the eastern city Kramatorsk.

Image source, EPA

There has been mounting evidence of atrocities committed against Ukrainian civilians in areas previously held by Russian forces, including Bucha.

Ukraine has also repeatedly accused Russian troops of deliberately targeting civilians targets in Ukraine, such as Friday's attack on Kramatorsk railway station.

On the ground:

Ukraine and Russia are building up forces in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas as Moscow switches the focus of its offensive. A senior Ukrainian official in the area told the BBC Russia was sending in new battalions, while our correspondent in the area says Ukraine is also deploying reinforcements.

Ukraine says it's checking unverified information that Russia has used chemical weapons in its siege of Mariupol. The Azov battalion - a Ukrainian military unit with links to the far right - said its fighters had suffered minor injuries, including shortness of breath. The BBC cannot verify this allegation independently.

In Russia:

President Putin has made a rare public appearance alongside the leader of Belarus and described Russia's military goals in Ukraine as noble. Putin said the main aim was to help the people of Donbas and that he'd had no choice but to send in Russian troops in February.

In diplomacy:

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has said in a speech to the Lithuanian parliament that the European Union was still too hesitant in sanctioning Moscow. He complained too many European companies wanted to continue "business as usual".

Image source, Reuters

Germany's energy regulator says the country's gas reserves could last until late summer, if its supply from Russia were cut off right now.

In an interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit, Klaus Mueller says reserves look better than they did about a month ago. Mueller says Germany's gas might even last until the autumn if the supply was halted.

Earlier we reported that Ukraine's President Zelensky has once again criticised the European Union, including Germany, for not reducing its reliance on Russian energy. He has asked the EU to include oil and gas imports from Russia in its next set of sanctions, which has still to be agreed by member countries.

Image source, Reuters

Ukraine continues to call on Western powers for more weaponry. Earlier, the governor of the Donetsk region told the BBC foreign offers of military equipment were “very important”.

As Ukrainian forces in the east of the country brace themselves for a renewed Russian onslaught, here’s a brief look at some of what’s already been sent.

• The Czech Republic last week reportedly became the first nation to supply Ukraine with Soviet-designed tanks
• Friday saw the first known incidence of a country sending Ukraine a major air defence system, thanks to a donation from neighbouring Slovakia
• Last week, Nato answered a call from the Ukrainian foreign minister for “weapons, weapons, weapons” by promising to send further arms. But Nato troops will not be ordered to fight in the conflict
• Following his trip to Kyiv on Saturday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to send another £100m ($130m) worth of weapons, including anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles
• The US recently said it had sent $1.7bn (£1.3bn) worth of security assistance to Ukraine since the invasion, including thousands of missiles, 50 million rounds of ammunition, and 45,000 sets of body armour and helmets

Russia has warned other countries that their efforts to arm Ukraine are harming chances of ending the war.