Joel Gunter
in Kyiv, Ukraine

No phones are allowed in when you meet Volodymyr Zelensky, or anything else that could give away your location - such is the worry about him being targeted by Russia.

We met him this morning, on day 50 of the Russian invasion. After extensive security checks and a long walk through the darkened corridors of a fortified government building in the capital, escorted by armed guards, we were led into the president's situation room.

When he arrived, Zelensky was almost immediately interrupted by a call from the French president, Emmanuel Macron. "I'll have to call you back, I'm with the BBC," he said. According to Zelensky, the two are on friendly terms.

Interactions with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden were more formal, Zelensky said, but he was grateful for their supplies of weapons. "They are trying to help and are helping," he said. "But we need it sooner, sooner and faster."

The most pressing issue Zelensky wanted to discuss was European countries continuing to pay for Russian oil, from which Russia makes billions every week. The buyers were "earning their money off other people's blood", he said.

When the interview was over, Zelensky thanked everyone in the room, and explained he needed to get on. He had a lot to do.

Image source, Reuters

More than 100 people have been abducted in Melitopol - a small city in south-eastern Ukraine, and one of the first to fall to the Russians - since Russia invaded in early March, city mayor Ivan Fedorov says.

Fedorov was allegedly abducted by Russian forces in March and freed five days later in exchange for nine captured Russian conscripts, according to the head of Ukraine's presidential office.

"Some were held for several hours, others for several days," the UNIAN news agency reported Fedorov saying.

He said the head of Melitopol district council, Serhiy Pryyma, has been in Russian captivity for over a month.

He said Russia had abducted Ukrainian activists with "propaganda purposes" and was forcing them to record forced testimonies.

He said Russians were also trying to make abducted Ukrainian children "go to school and learn some verses and songs for 9 May [Victory Day widely celebrated in Russia]".

Paul Adams
BBC Diplomatic correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Western officials say Ukrainian claims to have hit the Russian cruiser, the Moskva, with their own domestically developed Neptune missile are “credible.”

One official said the loss of the Moskva, if confirmed, was a “massive blow” to Russian military credibility, regardless of how it happened.

He said he was not aware of another case, involving a capital ship, in which a fire had led to the explosion of the ammunition magazine - something Russia has claimed. This, the official said, would represent “remarkably inept” control by crew - and it was hard to believe that this was how the incident occurred.

The official added that the loss of the Moskva would have “a significant impact" on Russian maritime operations.

As flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, the Moskva was providing vital command and control functions for the rest of the fleet. This would now be harder – but not impossible – for Russia to achieve.

But if this is proven to have been a successful Ukrainian strike, he said it suggested the fleet’s air defences were vulnerable.

Image source, Reuters

On recent Russian attacks on Ukrainian fuel and ammunition depots, the official said these were evidence of an effort to limit the resupply and manoeuverability of Ukrainian forces.

But he did not believe the strikes had reached a level where they would have an immediate effect.

On Russian casualties, he said the Western count was "somewhat lower" than Ukraine’s figure (currently 19,700 Russian dead), but that “incredible numbers" had been killed.

The official said Russia’s air force was still not able to operate beyond the forward line of Russian troops, because it was "terrified" of flying over Ukrainian-held positions. This was due to a combination of Ukrainian air defence systems and systems provided by the West.

Officials said torrential rain in eastern Ukraine was also having an effect, making it harder for Russian forces to operate off road, and slowing down their ability to mass troops.

If you're just joining us or need a quick catch up, here are the latest developments:

• Russia's flagship Black Sea missile cruiser has been "seriously damaged" and its crew forced to evacuate. Ukraine says it carried out a strike on the vessel, while Russia claims ammunition on board blew up
• Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would shift the direction of its exports of oil and gas to Asia. He warned that European countries were destabilising the market by moving away from Russian gas and oil
• Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused European countries that continue to buy Russian oil of “earning their money in other people’s blood". In an interview with the BBC, he singled out Germany and Hungary.
• Russian officials continue to claim Ukraine is attacking border areas in Russia
• Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called for more weapons to be delivered to his country. He said they are needed to break the siege of Mariupol.
• The war in Ukraine is "severely" impacting the eurozone economy and has caused surging energy costs, supply chain disruptions and weaker consumer confidence, European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde has said

More now from the BBC interview with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

He also talked about his recent visit to Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv where hundreds of people have been found dead since it was taken back from Russia by Ukrainian forces.

He said what he had seen there had further narrowed the possibility of peace talks with the Russians.

"It's not about me - it's about Russia. They will not have many more chances to speak with us."

He said he had "experienced the entire spectrum of emotions" during last week's visit, but ended the day with "nothing but hatred towards the Russian military".

He accused President Putin and the rest of the Russian army "from top to bottom" of being war criminals.

Adam Easton
Warsaw Correspondent

Some 2.73 million people have fled Ukraine to Poland since the war began, the Polish Border Guard said Thursday.

The number of people crossing the border into Poland has fallen significantly in recent weeks and numbers going into Ukraine have risen.

On Wednesday, 24,700 crossed into Poland, up 3% from Tuesday, the agency wrote on Twitter, but well below the record of 142,300 set on Mar 6.

The average daily number of people crossing the border from Ukraine into Poland before the war started was 16,800.

On Tuesday, 20,000 people crossed into Ukraine from Poland.

Some of the refugees have already left Poland. Warsaw University migration research Prof Maciej Duszczyk estimates around 1.2-1.4 million remain.

James FitzGerald
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

Ukrainians in coastal cities have been celebrating the news that Russia's top warship in the Black Sea has been seriously damaged by fire - and its crew forced to evacuate.

Twitter users have shared jubilant memes. Many have used an image of a special stamp issued by Ukraine’s postal service that depicted an infamous moment early in the war troops defending Snake Island radioed a message to the Moskva which loosely translated as "go to hell".

News of the incident initially sounded “too good to be true”, says Olga Grynko, 39, from Odesa. “Sometimes they [the authorities] exaggerate things just to cheer us up,” she says.

Odesa is one of just one of the coastal cities which the Moskva [Moscow] has menaced throughout the Russian invasion.

Olga considers the fire a symbolic victory, adding: “The ship is called Moscow, and the idea that Moscow is burning is just so nice.”

But she says it’s unusual for Ukrainians to wish harm on others. “We’re not like that usually. But if these people come to kill us, we just wish them the worst, as you can imagine.”

Image source, Olga Grynko

Anna Lisnyak, 42, also from Odesa, had a similar reaction. “I felt happy, if I can say so,” she says.

“I think you can imagine what it’s been like, hearing about Russian warships sailing close by.”

Although Odesa has not witnessed the same ferocity of fighting as the likes of Mykolaiv, further east, Anna says been living in a state of fear. An oil processing facility near her home was shelled last week.

Image source, Getty Images

Two more men linked to the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who owns Chelsea Football Club, have been sanctioned by the UK government in response to the war.

The club's director, Eugene Tenenbaum, will have his assets frozen and will be subject to transport sanctions, meaning that any ship or aircraft he owns, charters, controls or operates will be detained if it enters the UK.

David Davidovich, an associate of Ambramovich, is subject to similar sanctions.

The asset freezes are estimated to amount to £10bn.

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the government is "tightening the ratchet on Putin’s war machine and targeting the circle of people closest to the Kremlin".

"Nothing and no one is off the table", she added.

The measures bring the total number sanctioned by the UK since Russia's invasion to 106.

We've been bringing you comments from Ukraine's president, who has spoken to the BBC in Kyiv.

You can watch part of his interview with Clive Myrie above.

President Zelensky also reiterated calls for more weapons to be supplied to Ukraine, saying they were not getting supplies fast enough to fend off Russia's assault.

"The United States, the United Kingdom, some European countries - they are trying to help and are helping," he said.

"But still we need it sooner, sooner and faster. The key word is now."

You can read more from the wide-ranging BBC interview here.

In his BBC interview, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky also discussed the southern port city of Mariupol - a strategic goal for President Putin - which has already been devastated by weeks of Russian bombardment.

He told Clive Myrie he thought tens of thousands may have been killed in the city.

"We also have information that as well as those tens of thousands of dead, many have disappeared," he said.

"We know their documents have been replaced. They were given Russian passports and taken deep into Russia - some to camps, some to other cities. No one knows what is happening to those people. No one knows how many have been killed."

You can read more from the wide-ranging interview here.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused European countries that continue to buy Russian oil of “earning their money in other people’s blood”.

In an interview with the BBC in his situation room in Kyiv on Thursday, Zelensky singled out Germany and Hungary, accusing them of blocking efforts to embargo energy sales, from which Russia stands to make up to £250 billion this year - an increase of more than a third on last year.

There has been growing frustration among Ukraine’s leadership with Germany, which has backed some sanctions against Russia but so far resisted calls to back tougher action on oil sales.

“Some of our friends and partners understand that it is a different time now, that it is no longer an issue of business and money,” Zelensky said. “It is an issue of survival.”

Emma Vardy
BBC News

Image source, FACEBOOK

Photographs and videos have emerged on a Russian news outlet of a British man who was fighting with Ukrainian forces in Mariupol.

Aiden Aslin from Nottinghamshire is shown restrained in handcuffs, after telling his family on Tuesday that his unit were preparing to surrender to Russian forces.

His mother Ang Wood told me: “I believe it is him in the photographs. We just want him to be treated according to the Geneva conventions.

“We are just hoping that maybe there can be some sort of prisoner exchange. We don’t know what else to do right now except keep pressing the foreign office.”

His grandmother Pamela Hall said: “I never expected this, I thought if the worst came to the worst that Aiden would die fighting.

"Obviously I didn’t want that, I wanted the war to end and for him to go home to his fiancé.

"I think all the guys should be treated as prisoners as war according to the Geneva conventions, I appreciate it’s opposing forces, but they’re all human beings.

"We are all just hoping and praying for his safety.”

Aslin passed out as a marine with the Ukrainian military in 2018 and had been defending Mariupol with his unit during heavy fighting in recent weeks.

“Aiden was not a mercenary as some of these Russian posts are saying,” his grandmother explained.

“He has never been a mercenary and his involvement with the Ukrainian forces came about because he made Ukraine his adopted home, and he was due to marry his fiancée."

"It’s an unjust war it should never have happened.”

Image source, Getty Images

Ukraine's World Cup play-off match against Scotland was postponed following the invasion. But it has just been announced that the teams will meet on 1 June at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

The match was originally scheduled for 24 March.

The winner will go on to play Wales in the final for a spot in the World Cup in Qatar in November and December. They will be part of the same group as England, Iran and USA.

Scotland's FA chief executive Ian Maxwell said: "While, understandably, there will be two sets of competitive players who are committed to taking another step closer to World Cup qualification, we also understand and appreciate the wider context in which the match will take place."

Image source, AFP

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is "severely" impacting the eurozone economy, European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde says.

In a press conference, Lagarde said it had caused surging energy costs, supply chain disruptions and weaker consumer confidence.

"[It] has significantly increased uncertainty," she said.

"The impact of the war on the economy will depend on how the conflict evolves, on the effect of current sanctions and on possible further measures," Lagarde added.

The US has been giving its reaction to Ukrainian claims that it carried out a missile strike on the Russian flagship the Moskva last night, causing significant damage.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby has told CNN that “there was an explosion”, external on the warship but that the US could not yet say whether the ship was hit by a missile.

Russia says its warship remains afloat after ammunition on board caught fire, while Ukraine says the vessel was hit by its anti-ship missiles.

“We’re not exactly sure what happened here. We do assess that there was an explosion - at least one explosion on this cruiser - a fairly major one at that, that has caused extensive damage to the ship,” Kirby told CNN.

Kirby said the damaged Russian warship was afloat and "making her own way across the Black Sea" - "probably" for repairs at Sevastopol in Crimea.

Josh Cheetham
Open Source Analyst, BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

As news of the Moskva's fate unfolds, Russia insists that its Black Sea flagship wasn't damaged by a Ukrainian missile - but instead by ammunition that exploded in an onboard fire.

The Moskva - which entered service in 1983, during the Soviet era - was scheduled for a refit and upgrade in 2016 but this was postponed due lack of funding.

The ship had some repairs and maintenance last July, but concerns have been raised in Russia about fire safety onboard the ageing, Slava-class cruiser.

Back in 2018, three industry sources told the Mil.Press FLOT website , externalthat fire alarm and extinguishing systems were outdated on Slava-class cruisers, and the Moskva had yet to equipped with the right systems.

The extent of damage to the Moskva is yet to be publicly confirmed - or whether it will ever set sail again.

Image source, AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Ukraine needs more weapons to break the siege of Mariupol, the country's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says.

As we have been reporting, there are growing signs Russia could be on the brink of fully capturing Mariupol.

The southern port city has suffered devastating attacks since the start of the war.

"Mariupol is in a desperate situation. We are doing everything we can to support the civilians and defenders," Kuleba said.

"But to break the siege of Mariupol and save them we need more weapons, and we are working with our partners to get it," he added.

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday promised an extra $800m (£609m) in military assistance to Ukraine.

Talking about the need for more weapons, Kuleba added: "If Ukraine does not get the necessary weapons within a few days, rather than a few weeks, it will mean that more civilians will be killed, more atrocities committed and more Ukrainian villages and cities ruined as a result of the Russian offensive."

Image source, Reuters

Russian forces have likely committed war crimes by attacking Ukrainian civilians, Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said during a visit to Ukraine today.

He said Ireland was pushing for a “maximalist” package of sanctions against Russia, adding that he wanted to bring the “madness” of the war to an end.

He visited areas directly affected by Russia's invasion, and met Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

"Even though Ireland is militarily neutral, let me be clear we are not neutral on this war and conflict and the future of your country," he said.

During his visit, Coveney announced €3m (£2.5m) in funding to the International Criminal Court, with €1m to be dispersed immediately to the office of the prosecutor.

Ireland has already contributed €20m in humanitarian aid to Ukraine and committed €33m in military assistance.

More now on claims Ukraine has been attacking border areas in Russia.

According to the governor of Russia's Belgorod region, the village of Spodaryushino was shelled by Ukraine, prompting its evacuation along with a neighbouring village.

Writing on Telegram, Vyacheslav Gladkov said no one was injured and no residential buildings were damaged.

The claim comes after Russian officials accused Ukraine of carrying out air strikes on another residential area in the town of Klimovo in the Bryansk region.

Two weeks ago, an oil depot was also set on fire in Belgorod - Russia claimed Ukraine was responsible for this too.

The BBC is unable to verify who is responsible for these incidents, but Ukraine denied hitting the Belgorod oil depot earlier this month.