Ukraine's defence ministry has claimed around 300 people were kept hostage for four weeks in the basement of a school near Chernihiv, in northern Ukraine.

Writing in a tweet, it said that Russian troops had taken villagers hostage in Yahidne, 140 km (80 miles) north of Chernihiv, and that 18 people had allegedly died during the Russian occupation.

The tweet included a picture of a wall, which it said was used by the hostages to keep track of the days they were there and to write down the names of those who allegedly died.

The BBC cannot verify these claims. But last week, our correspondent Yogita Limaye travelled to Yahidne where villagers spoke of their ordeal.

At the time, villagers estimated that around 130 people had been cramped into the room roughly 65 sq m (700 sq ft) in size.

The towns of Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka are likely to be targets for similar levels of violence seen in other urban centres as Russia focuses its war on eastern Ukraine, says the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD).

In a tweet this morning, it says President Putin’s speech on Tuesday highlighted his continued interest in the area known as Donbas "where Russia is striking Ukrainian forces in preparation for a renewed offensive".

The MoD says: "The combination of widespread missile and artillery strikes and efforts to concentrate forces for an offensive represents a reversion to traditional Russian military doctrine."

But the MoD adds: "However, this will require significant force levels.

"Ukraine’s continued defence of Mariupol is currently tying down significant numbers of Russian troops and equipment."

Image source, .

Andrey Kortunov, director general of the Russian International Affairs Council and a former adviser to the committee on international relations in Russia's parliament, has spoken to Radio 4's Today programme about how President Vladimir Putin may proceed with the war.

Putin needs something he can present at home as a victory, he says. "The question is how much is enough?"

If you follow his most recent statements, says Kortunov, just two days ago, he made the argument that the sole mission of the operation in Ukraine was to protect the people of Donbas. This implies it's not about regime change in Ukraine - but rather about securing the gains that Russia has achieved in the east of the country, he says.

Kortunov also believes any escalation might require some kind of mobilisation and the "political risk for the Russian leadership will increase".

"People in Russia do not really want to go fighting against Ukrainians.

"Public support for the leadership might go down if this whole thing escalates or if this whole thing lasts for too long."

He adds: "I see signs of fatigue... Maybe it's too early to say that the Russian public is changing its views on the conflict, but definitely it cannot last for too long."

Image source, European Pressphoto Agency

To recap quickly on our top story: Russia says its Black Sea missile cruiser Moskva has been badly damaged by a fire that caused its ammunition to explode. Ukrainian officials say the ship has been hit by two of its missiles - but this has not yet been confirmed.

Mykola Bielieskov is a research fellow at Ukraine's National Institute for Strategic Studies in Kyiv - which advises the Ukrainian government on military matters. He says the incident is "a very powerful psychological tool to support morale".

However, he notes that Moskva "is an old ship" - and it has been newer Russian vessels that have been hitting Ukraine with "Kalibr cruise missiles".

"But still, it's a flagship for Russia's Black Sea fleet and definitely it's major damage - not only in material capability but also to morale.

"And on the other hand it's a very powerful boost for the Ukrainian morale."

Nine evacuation corridors have been agreed for Thursday in an effort to help people trapped in besieged cities across Ukraine to escape, according to the country's deputy prime minister.

Writing on Telegram, external, Iryna Vereshchuk said humanitarian corridors have been organised from cities including Berdyansk, Tokmak, Enerhodar and Mariupol, which has been under siege by Russian troops for weeks.

She added that evacuation routes would operate in the Luhansk region if occupying Russian forces stopped their shelling.

Paul Kirby
BBC News

As we've reported in recent days, Russia has pulled troops away from Kyiv and shifted most of the focus of its war to eastern Ukraine, after a series of defeats near the capital.

This push into the area known as Donbas could mean a protracted conflict. So what is behind this move?

When President Putin talks of Donbas, he is referring to Ukraine's old coal and steel-producing area. What he really means is the entirety of two big eastern regions, Luhansk and Donetsk, which run from outside Mariupol in the south all the way to the northern border.

Nato also expects Russian forces to try to create a land bridge, running along the south coast west of Donetsk to Crimea.

"The key is that it has been identified by the Kremlin as a Russian-speaking part of Ukraine that is more Russia than Ukraine," says Sam Cranny-Evans of the Royal United Services Institute.

Russian forces have already triggered a humanitarian catastrophe in the east, reducing Mariupol to ruins, but they have failed to inflict defeat on Ukraine's military.

Preparing for a reinvigorated Russian onslaught, President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed: "We will fight for every metre of our land."

Read more about Russia's push for the east here.

Prof Michael Petersen, director of the Russia Maritime Studies Institute at the US Naval War College, has been speaking to Radio 4's Today programme about the news that Russian vessel the Moskva has been seriously damaged.

He says it's still too early to know exactly what happened but "it really does increasingly look like the Ukrainians have managed to pull off a not-insignificant victory at sea".

"I think it's one that has symbolic and military value as well," he explains.

"This is the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, and it's getting a bit long in the tooth but it is the symbol of Russian naval power in the Black Sea."

He says that the Ukrainians lost most of their navy to the Russians in the initial invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014, so "this is important symbolically because after all of that, they are still able to strike at Russian military power in ways that will really hurt back in Moscow".

He adds it may have "important military value as well" as the "Russian navy may feel obligated to operate further off-shore now than they were previously".

"That may affect its ability to provide direct fire support to troops ashore and it might hinder their ability to provide air defence in coastal regions... I do think it will make the Russian navy think twice."

Image source, Getty Images

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

Damaged Russian ship

• Russia's defence ministry said that an explosion aboard Moskva, the flagship of the country's Black Sea Fleet, "seriously damaged" the vessel, and that the entire crew have been evacuated
• Russia did not say the cause of the fire, but earlier Ukraine said it was struck by their own Neptune missiles
• Earlier in the war, Ukrainians stationed on Snake Island in the Black Sea defied an order to surrender from the ship, telling the Moskva to "go to hell"

Diplomacy

• The US has pledged another weapons shipment to Ukraine which President Biden said would give Ukrainian forces "new capabilities" in the fight against Russian invaders
• The shipment includes helicopters, backpack-worn Switchblade drones - also known as "kamikaze drones" - and howitzer cannons, armoured vehicles and other supplies
• The White House is deliberating whether to send a high-ranking US official to meet the Ukrainian president in Kyiv, Politico reports.
• US President Joe Biden and VP Kamala Harris are among candidates being considered.

Mariupol

• Earlier, Russia said more than a thousand Ukrainian marines had surrendered in the besieged port of Mariupol. But a Ukrainian presidential adviser insisted the city had not fallen
• Fighting in Mariupol, which has been left in ruins after a six-week assault, appears to be continuing around the Azovstal industrial district. If Russia takes the area it would reportedly have full control of the city

This is Vikas Pandey and Andrew Clarance in Delhi signing off. Our colleagues Chris Giles, Holly Wallis and Alys Davies in London will be bringing you all the latest developments.

Joel Gunter
in Bucha, Ukraine

After the discovery of the atrocities in Bucha came the collection of the dead.

From an abandoned school in the suburb of Kyiv, Vitaliy Lobas, a local police chief, is coordinating a massive operation to find, document, and give proper burials to the hundreds of bodies the Russians left in their wake.

They occupied Bucha for a month as they attempted to assault Kyiv. According to the relatives of loved ones who spoke to the BBC, the Russian soldiers blasted their way into apartment buildings, shot people's dogs, and interrogated and beat residents.

Then they killed some of them in cold blood.

Vitaliy Brezhnev, a 30-year-old cook, was shot in his bedroom and buried in a shallow grave behind his building, where he was found by his father and brother.

Like other relatives, amid the sheer number of dead, they were forced to dig up and transport their loved one themselves.

Read the full story here: Collecting the dead in Bucha

Image source, Ukrainian military

In an update marking the 50th day of Russia's invasion, the Ukrainian military said that Russian forces continue to launch systematic missile and bomb strikes on military and civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

• Russian forces continue to strengthen artillery units, optimise existing command systems, intelligence and medical support near Ukraine's eastern border.
• Troops from Russian ally Belarus continue to carry out tasks to cover the Ukrainian-Belarusian border regions of Brest and Gomel.
• In Slobozhansky in northeastern Ukraine, Russian forces are conducting reconnaissance of probable places to attack.
• They also continue to partially block the city of Kharkiv as shelling continues in the region.
• In Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, Russian forces fought in the Slavyansk, Popasna, and Kurakhovo districts, and stormed the port city of Mariupol unsuccessfully.
• Ukrainian forces destroyed a tank, four armoured units and six vehicles, as well as a Russian artillery system.

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

Image source, Getty Images

Russia's defence ministry said that an explosion aboard Moskva, the flagship of the country's Black Sea Fleet, has "seriously damaged" the vessel.

The ministry's statement said: "The cruiser Moskva's ammunition has detonated as a result of a fire on the warship.

"The vessel is seriously damaged. The entire crew have been evacuated. The cause of the blaze is being investigated."

It did not specify the cause of the fire, saying it was under investigation.

Ukraine said the 186m-long vessel was struck by their Neptune missiles.

Ukrainian presidential aide Oleksiy Arestovych said Russian rescuers were unable to reach the vessel, which could have had as many as 510 crew members on board.

"It has been confirmed that the missile cruiser Moskva today went exactly where it was sent by our border guards on Snake Island!" Odesa regional governor Maksym Marchenko wrote in his Telegram post.

Earlier in the war, Ukrainians stationed on Snake Island in the Black Sea defied an order from the ship to surrender, telling the Moskva to "go to hell".

What is known about the flagship?

The Moskva missile cruiser was constructed in the early 1980s in what was then the USSR.

It was the lead ship of the Soviet navy's Project 1164 Atlant class. It was initially called Slava, but later renamed Moskva (Moscow).

The warship's main armaments are P-1000 Vulkan anti-ship missiles.

The cruiser - which became the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet in 2000 - played a key role during Russia's military campaign in Syria, which began in 2015.

Image source, Getty Images

Police in Fiji are questioning the captain of a luxury vessel owned by a Russian oligarch after it arrived to the island nation without customs clearance, Reuters news agency reports., external

Local media in Fiji reported that police had seized the superyacht Amadea, owned by sanctioned Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, and detained its crew.

Suleiman Kerimov has been sanctioned by the US, the UK and the European Union over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

An official in Fiji said that the captain of the luxury vessel was being questioned about how it came to Fiji without customs clearance.

Read more on the hunt for superyachts of sanctioned Russian oligarchs.

Image source, Handout

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky has said that Russia should leave the international community if it doesn't want to pursue a peace agreement.

"Either the Russian leadership will really seek peace or as a result of this war, Russia will leave the international arena forever," he said in a video address.

Speaking about Russia's increasing strikes in the east and the south, he said: "All this feverish activity of the occupiers testifies first of all to their insecurity.

"To the fact that even with significant stocks of Soviet military equipment and a significant number of soldiers... the Russian troops doubt their ability to break us, to break Ukraine.

"Well, we do everything to justify their doubts."

He also reiterated his call for a total embargo of Russian oil, saying: "The European Union must stop sponsoring Russia's military machine."

Zelensky expressed gratitude to President Biden after he pledged another massive weapons shipment to Ukraine.

New photos emerged on Wednesday of the destruction in Mariupol.

Russia claims to have control of the city, but Ukraine says its troops still control pockets of the strategic port city.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Russia says that more than 1,000 Ukraine marines have surrendered in the besieged port city of Mariupol, but Ukraine denies this.

The city's deputy mayor, Serhiy Orlov, told the BBC that Ukrainian troops there were still fighting.

Fighting appears to be continuing around the giant Azovstal steel works in the port, which is one of two areas not under Russian control.

Russian television has broadcast footage which it says shows marines giving themselves up at the steel works.

But an adviser to Ukraine's president insisted that the marines had in fact broken through to connect with Azov battalion forces in another pocket.

Mariupol is a key target for Russia as it seeks to establish a land route to the Crimea peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.

Image source, Getty Images

If you're just joining our live coverage or need a refresher, here are the latest developments:

Damaged Russian ship

• Russia's defence ministry said that an explosion aboard Moskva, the flagship of the country's Black Sea Fleet, "seriously damaged" the vessel
• Russia did not say the cause of the fire, but earlier Ukraine said it was struck by their own Neptune missiles
• Earlier in the war, Ukrainians stationed on Snake Island in the Black Sea defied an order to surrender from the ship, telling the Moskva to "go to hell"

US military aid

• The US has pledged another weapons shipment to Ukraine which President Biden said would give Ukrainian forces "new capabilities" in the fight against Russian invaders
• The shipment includes helicopters, backpack-worn Switchblade drones - also known as "kamikaze drones" - and howitzer cannons, armoured vehicles and other supplies

'Crime scene' call

• In Bucha, war crimes prosecutors visiting the site of civilian killings have called Ukraine a crime scene. "We have reasonable grounds to believe that crimes within the jurisdiction of the court are being committed," the International Criminal Court's Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan said

• A major European security organisation says there are clear patterns of Russian troops violating international humanitarian law. A panel of OSCE experts said it had found credible evidence of torture and other punishments

Mariupol latest

• Earlier, Russia said more than a thousand Ukrainian marines had surrendered in the besieged port of Mariupol. But a Ukrainian presidential adviser insisted the city had not fallen
• Fighting in Mariupol, which has been left in ruins after a six-week assault, appears to be continuing around the Azovstal industrial district. If Russia takes the area it would reportedly have full control of the city

This is Jude Sheerin in Washington DC and Max Matza in Seattle signing off. Our colleagues Vikas Pandey and Andrew Clarance in Delhi will be bringing you all the latest developments.

Mark Lowen
BBC News, Bucha and Borodyanka, near Kyiv

Ukraine's fightback against Russian aggression is not just on the battlefield, but in the legal field too.

Across this shattered country, testimony is being gathered and evidence collated for a goal that may only come long after the guns fall silent - international justice.

The pursuit of it is being led by Ukraine's Prosecutor General, Iryna Venediktova, appointed two years ago as the first woman to hold the office.

She watched the exhumation of another mass grave this week, beneath a gold-domed church in Bucha, where the darkest of sins were discovered - 10 victims this time, some completely charred. Their remains were placed into body bags and taken off for an attempt at identification.

As she stood at the edge of the deep pit, she told me more than 6,000 cases of war crimes had already been opened.

"A lot of people speak about the genocide of the Ukrainian people - and we actually have grounds to talk about genocide," she said. "Vladimir Putin is the president of the aggressor country killing civilians here in Ukraine. He's responsible."

The Kremlin continues to deny such allegations.

Read more:

Kyiv's battle for justice over alleged Russian war crimes

Alexandra Vladimirova
BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

Growing up in Belarus in the 1990s, much of Aleksander Lesun's formative years were spent looking back for inspiration, back to the days of Soviet sporting achievement.

"I was proud to compete under the Russian flag," the 33-year-old modern pentathlon competitor told BBC News.

After 2009, Lesun won 14 World Championship medals for Russia in modern pentathlon, four of which were gold. In 2016 in Rio, he became Olympic champion.

But in late February 2022, he decided never to compete for Russia again.

"I quit all my sports positions on 22 February and in two days, all the events [in Ukraine] began," he says.

"What did I feel? Can I use swear words in this interview? To say that I was shocked is to say nothing. I understood that the world would never be the same again."

He is one of very few Russian athletes to speak out against the war in Ukraine. Even fewer have taken the kind of action he has - removing himself from representing his country as a way of expressing opposition.

Read more:

The Russian Olympic champion who turned his back on Putin

Image source, Getty Images

The White House is currently deliberating whether to send a high-ranking US official to meeting the Ukrainian president in Kyiv, according to a report in Politico.

Among the candidates being considered are Joe Biden himself or his deputy, Vice-President Kamala Harris. Both have visited Poland, Ukraine's western neighbour, in recent weeks.

But officials told Politico that it was far more likely that the secretary of state or secretary of defence would travel to meet President Volodymr Zelensky.

Zelensky has hosted a parade of Western officials since the war began. On Wednesday, he hosted the leaders of Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Estonia.

Image source, EPA

The Moskva missile cruiser was constructed in the early 1980s in what was then the USSR.

It was actually built in Ukraine's southern city of Mykolaiv, which has been regularly shelled in recent days by Russian troops.

The 186m-long vessel was the lead ship of theSoviet navy's Project 1164 Atlant class. It was initially called Slava, but later renamed Moskva (Moscow).

The warship's main armaments are P-1000 Vulkan anti-ship missiles.

The cruiser - which became the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet in 2000 - played a key role during Russia's military campaign in Syria, which began in 2015.