Image source, Handout

President Zelensky's latest address to the nation marks the 50th day of war and pays respects to Ukraine's defenders.

"Unbreakable people of the bravest country," his speech begins.

"We have withstood 50 days already. Fifty days of Russian invasion, although the occupiers gave us a maximum of five."

"This period, these 50 days have shown me many world leaders in a different way," he says, recalling his conversations and meetings with many Western leaders.

"I have seen politicians behaving as if they had no power. And I have seen non-politicians who did more in these 50 days than some statesmen who claimed leadership," he continues.

He did not make any overt mention of the sinking of Russia's Moskva flagship, but praised the Ukrainian troops "who have shown that Russian ships can go... to the bottom only".

"Fifty days of our defence is an achievement," Zelensky adds.

"Achievement of millions of Ukrainians. Everyone who made the main decision in life on 24 February - to fight. To be human. Not to give up. And not to betray."

Samantha Granville
BBC News, Odesa

Every now and again, Boris lights a cigarette and nervously smokes away as he watches workers on his farm remove and repair parts of a ploughing machine.

"The decision to continue sowing and to continue work was caused by the fact that you need to work in order to pay salary to workers, to pay people from whom I rent this land," he tells me. Boris has asked us not to use his surname for this story.

Even though much of the Odesa region on Ukraine's Black Sea coast has been spared from the heaviest fighting, nothing is guaranteed.

Russian troops seized the city of Kherson 200km (125 miles) to the east and its navy is believed to have up to 30 war ships stationed in the waters, from where they fire missiles on land and threaten to stage an amphibious landing.

Thirty-eight-year old Boris sent his wife and two sons abroad for fear of a possible occupation.

Read more here.

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Pictures have emerged of frontline Ukrainian forces fighting in the strategically important village of Popasna in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine.

A soldier in his 50s with the call sign "Semenovych" told AFP on Wednesday that he doesn't know "the latest news, there's no internet here, no telephone network".

"The Russians are trying to advance two or three times a day. It's good that it's raining today, the shelling is less intense. Sometimes it's 24/7, sometimes it's a bit quieter at night," he told the French news agency.

"They are targeting the infrastructure, the buildings and the civilians. It's not a war, it's a genocide. I don't know what else to call it."

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

If the village falls, it will allow Russia to push 50km (30 miles) north-west towards the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

Yelena Sharpai, a 59-year-old resident, has been sheltering with four other people in the cellar of the same building occupied by the Ukrainian soldiers since the war began.

"I need silence to go out, but it's never silent, because there is always bombing somewhere," she says, adding that the soldiers have occasionally brought back food for the civilians. They collect rain for water.

She adds that she would like to flee the village, but has not been able to join the rare humanitarian convoys.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced on Thursday that evacuations would continue, including from Poposna, one day after they were closed because of the roads being "too dangerous".

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

News of the sinking of Russia's warship Moskva - which Ukraine says was hit by its missiles - has inspired Kyiv residents to snap up a commemorative postage stamp.

Queues formed at the main post office to buy stamps depicting Ukrainian border guard Roman Gribov standing defiantly in front of the Russian vessel.

Gribov was one of a group of guards who defied the Russian warship when it called on them to surrender near Snake Island in the Black Sea, at the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky recently posed with the stamp on Instagram., external

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

It's "all clear" in Kyiv now after several loud overnight explosions were reported in the Ukrainian capital.

"Please keep an eye on reports and return to shelter if the siren sounds again," the Kyiv authorities said in a Telegram post.

Blasts were also earlier reported in Kherson - Ukraine's authorities have so far made no public comments on the situation in the Russian-occupied southern city.

Ukrainian officials usually do not rush to either confirm or deny media reports of blasts: the key reason is that they do not want to give Russian forces any information about whether they have hit or missed their intended targets.

Social media users have also been warned not to publish any photos or videos from blast sites or share geolocation details.

Image source, Getty Images

The lives of 2.7 million people with disabilities are at risk in Ukraine, a UN committee has said.

It has cited reports that many are trapped or abandoned in their homes, care centres and orphanages without basic supplies or medicines.

"People with disabilities have limited or no access to emergency information, shelters and safe havens, and many have been separated from their support networks, leaving them unable to respond to the situation and navigate their surroundings," the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities concluded.

It did not say how it had obtained the reports.

But it noted that few people with disabilities were among those internally displaced or who had reached Ukraine's borders as refugees, "indicating that many of them have not been able to flee to safety".

Several loud explosions have been heard in Kyiv in the past few minutes.

Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko wrote on Twitter that she heard three explosions "one after the other".

"The air raid warning has been on for an hour. Most likely #putin gone livid because of the #Moskva sinking," she added, referring to the reported sinking of a Russian warship.

One eyewitness told a BBC correspondent that the explosions took place in the south-west of the Ukrainian capital.

Explosions have also been reported in the southern city of Kherson, according to Ukrainian media.

It comes after Russia threatened on Wednesday to strike Ukraine's command centres after claiming that Ukraine had attacked Russian territory.

Image source, Getty Images

US President Joe Biden has told reporters he is considering dispatching a high-ranking official from Washington to Kyiv to meet President Zelensky - and it might be himself.

"We're making that decision now," Biden replied when asked about reports of a US visit.

When asked if he were ready to go, Biden said: "Yeah."

But following Biden's comments, a White House official told Fox News “there are no plans to send Potus to Kyiv at this time”, using an acronym for President of the United States.

Both Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris have visited neighbouring Poland since the war began.

US media reports suggest Secretary of State Antony Blinken or Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin are probably more likely options to visit Zelensky.

A number of European leaders have already held talks with Zelensky in Kyiv, including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who visited last weekend.

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America reporter

Image source, Getty Images

In his first major public address since becoming CIA director last month, William Burns warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “risk appetite has grown” in recent years.

In Thursday's wide-ranging speech, he also warned that a “pugnacious and revisionist Russia” could become increasingly desperate as its invasion of Ukraine drags on.

Burns said that the potential Russian use of low-yield nuclear weapons to offset setbacks in Ukraine cannot be “taken lightly”, although there is little practical evidence to reinforce such a concern.

The CIA director went on to praise the accuracy of US intelligence in Ukraine, which he said was critical in solidifying the Western alliance and rallying global support.

He added that democracies can use information-gathering “openly and creatively” to discredit the false narratives of adversaries.

Former CIA Director David Petraeus has described Russia's admission that its flagship has sunk as a "rare moment of truth".

"I'm surprised that they admitted it," he told the BBC, adding that the facts would have "come out" eventually.

Steve Rosenberg
BBC Russia editor

Image source, Reuters

As the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, the Moskva was a symbol - a symbol of Russia's military might.

But crippled by fire and explosions onboard, the warship has now sunk.

The Russian defence ministry said it went down during a storm while it was being towed back to harbour.

Russia has not confirmed Ukrainian claims the damage to the vessel was caused by a missile strike on the ship.

The loss of the Moskva is a blow to the prestige of the Russian armed forces.

And it jars with President Putin's claim, only two days ago, that what he calls his special military operation in Ukraine, is going according to plan.

Anna Foster
Reporting from Kyiv

Image source, Getty Images

The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan QC, has told the BBC he wants the organisation's investigation into war crimes in Ukraine to be carried out quickly and fairly.

Speaking to the BBC in Kyiv, he said there was a need for "international justice to be faster, to be more effective and have an impact on people's lives".

Mr Khan said: “International law is not perfect. I'm going to make mistakes. The office will. Justice does everywhere. But we're going to try to effectively build cases so that we get to the truth”.

Khan said his team will start with investigating obvious crimes, which he called "low hanging fruit", in an effort to speed up the prosecution.

He also called on world leaders to support the ICC's work in Ukraine, saying they need to display "a willingness politically not to lose attention and move on to the next crisis.

"If we have the focus, justice can be not a mirage. It will be something that can be delivered, as difficult as it may be."

Image source, Reuters

Thirty prisoners of war are being returned to Ukraine as part of an exchange of captives with Russia.

The move, which is the fourth such exchange of the conflict, follows an order from President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"Five officers and 17 servicemen were exchanged. Also eight civilians, including one woman, were released," Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a statement.

Image source, Reuters

There have been conflicting reports throughout the day about the cause of the explosion onboard the Russian warship Moskva, which has reportedly now sunk.

The flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet was being towed to port when "stormy seas" caused it to sink, according to a Russian defence ministry statement.

The 510-crew vessel was an important symbolic and military target, and has led Russia's naval assault on Ukraine.

Ukraine claims it struck the warship with its missiles, but Russia has made no mention of an attack.

Earlier, Russia had said there was a fire on board after ammunition exploded.

Western officials have said that Ukraine's claims to have struck the ship with a missile are the most credible.

Image source, Reuters

Russia's flagship Black Sea missile cruiser, the Moskva, has sunk in rough seas while being towed after suffering a fire onboard, according to Russian media.

The defence ministry said ammunition on the Moskva exploded in an unexplained fire on Wednesday.

Ukraine claims it struck the 186-metre (610 foot) vessel with its Neptune missiles.

The 510-crew warship has led Russia's naval assault on Ukraine, making it an important symbolic and military target.

Earlier in the conflict the Moskva gained notoriety after calling on Ukrainian border troops defending Snake Island in the Black Sea to surrender - to which they memorably radioed a message of refusal which loosely translates as "go to hell".

Image source, .

Originally built in Ukraine in the Soviet-era, the vessel entered service in the early 1980s according to Russian media.

The missile cruiser was previously deployed by Moscow in the Syria conflict where it supplied Russian forces in the country with naval protection.

The cruise missile system that Ukraine says was deployed was designed by Ukrainian military engineers in response to the growing naval threat posed by Russia in the Black Sea, following its annexation of Crimea in 2014.

As our Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg, writes: Whatever the cause of the Moskva's destruction, the damage is bad news for Moscow.

It is the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, and, as such, a symbol of Russia's military power.

Read more about the Moskva's history and Ukraine's Neptune missile system: Russian warship Moskva: What do we know?

The World Tonight

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We reported earlier that a British man who was fighting with Ukrainian forces in Mariupol has appeared handcuffed on Russian media.

Aiden Aslin's mother told the BBC's Emma Vardy that she believed it was him in the images.

The BBC has now spoken to Aslin's brother, who expressed the family's fears for his safety.

Nathan Wood told Radio 4’s World Tonight programme after the fighting started his brother put up a social media post saying his position had been hit by the Russians.

Wood said: "We can tell that he's been beaten pretty badly - he's got a massive bump on his head – it looks like he's been hit on the head, in one picture he has a swollen eye."

He said his brother now has joint British and Ukrainian citizenship, adding the "British government may have given him an opportunity to leave, but Ukraine is his home and his life is there; his wife lives there".

But he said: "He's still a British citizen – so the UK government can't just turn a blind eye to this".

You can listen to the full interview here from 22:00 BST

Russia's defence ministry says its Moskva warship has sunk, state media is reporting.

Ukraine says it carried out a strike on the vessel, while Russia claims ammunition on board blew up.

The Moskva was reportedly being towed to Crimea for repairs.

In a statement, Russian military department said: "During the towing of the Moskva cruiser to the port of destination, due to damage to the hull received during the fire from the detonation of ammunition, the ship lost stability,"

"In the conditions of stormy seas, the ship sank."

France will move its embassy in Ukraine back to the capital Kyiv, it has announced.

The embassy was relocated to the western city of Lviv in early March following the Russian invasion.

Bu Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said it will return to Kyiv "very soon".

He said the redeployment would allow France "to deepen its backing for Ukraine even further in all spheres".

On Wednesday, the Czech foreign ministry said its diplomats had returned to the embassy in Kyiv for the first time since Russia invaded on 24 February.

Several countries previously ordered their diplomats to leave Kyiv as the invasion loomed.

We reported earlier that Russia's former PM Dmitry Medvedev had warned that if Sweden and Finland join Nato, Moscow would be forced to bolster its forces in the region.

Now Russia's deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko has said Russia will have to take security measures if both countries are admitted.

Grushko is quoted by the Russian state news agency Tass as saying their membership would lead to "the most undesirable consequences".

However, Lithuania says Moscow deployed nuclear weapons to the Russian province of Kaliningrad - which is along the Baltic coast - long before its invasion of Ukraine.

And UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has tweeted Britain's support for Sweden and Finland, saying they are "free to choose their future without interference".

It comes after both countries signalled they were considering the move.

A happier story now, and Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has adopted a puppy that was abandoned in the war-torn Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

He posted on social media that the puppy named Marik was rescued along with other dogs.

"I couldn't help but give him a chance at a happy dog life," he said.

"War is the suffering not only of people but also of animals."

He urged people to take care of animals that have been left alone.