Image source, Reuters

Pope Francis has urged leaders to hear the people's plea for peace in Ukraine and criticised Russia for dragging the country into a "cruel and senseless" conflict.

Speaking during his Easter Sunday Mass to some 50,000 people in St Peter's Square, he said: "Our eyes, too, are incredulous on this Easter of war. We have seen all too much blood, all too much violence.

Our hearts, too, have been filled with fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing."

Ukraine was "sorely tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged", he added at his first Easter Mass since 2019 that the public was allowed to attend following two years of Covid restrictions.

Image source, EPA

During the course of the war, Ukraine has regularly published estimates of Russian deaths, with the Russians doing this less frequently.

But with the conflict now nearing its eighth week, both have and the figures - which the BBC cannot confirm - are frighteningly high.

Ukraine's defence ministry said in a Facebook post that some 20,300 Russian soldiers had been killed since 24 February - the start of the Russian invasion.

Russia reciprocated by saying "irretrievable losses" suffered by Ukraine's army amounted to 23,367 troops, even though it did not say whether this included only those who had died or who had also been injured, according to Reuters news agency.

Both sides also differ on how open they are in admitting their own losses.

Again, Ukraine has done this more regularly. In an interview with CNN on Friday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said that up to 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since the start of the war, while Russia is more reluctant to update its figures publicly. On 25 March, its ministry of defence said 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed in combat so far.

As we've been reporting, there is no indication from Ukraine that it will be surrendering to Russia in the besieged city of Mariupol.

An adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andriushchenko, said on Telegram that despite Russia's "'surrender corridor' for the remaining troops" in the city, "our defenders continue to hold the defence".

Andriushchenko added that the hostilities from Russia are not limited to the Azovstal steel plant, where Ukrainian soldiers are reported to be staying.

"During the fighting, the occupiers shelled private residential houses with heavy artillery again", he said.

Image source, Reuters

Ukrainian MP for Odesa Oleksiy Goncharenko tells the BBC that Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol won't surrender to Russia.

"I spoke with them yesterday, and I know that they're going to fight until the end," he says.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said that eliminating Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol would put an end to peace talks to end the war.

Russia said it would guarantee the lives of Ukrainian soldiers who would surrender, with the Kremlin adding that the only Ukrainian soldiers left in the city were at a giant steelworks.

Goncharenko said the situation in Mariupol was "a real genocide" and estimated that about 100,000 civilians were in the city.

He added that it was considered "more than 20,000 people" have been killed in the besieged port city.

The deputy commander of the 8th army of Russia's armed forces, Vladimir Petrovich Frolov, has died in the war in Ukraine, the Russian news agency TASS has reported.

The news was confirmed by St Petersburg governor Alexander Beglov. Beglov said: "Vladimir Petrovich Frolov died a heroic death in battle with Ukrainian nationalists."

The governor said Frolov "sacrificed his life so that children, women and the elderly in the Donbas would no longer hear bomb explosions. To stop waiting for death and leaving home, to say goodbye as if it were the last time".

But most of the shelling taking place in Ukraine is being carried out by Russia.

Throughout the war several Russian generals and high-ranking military personnel have been reported dead. It is unusual for such high-ranking officers to put themselves in danger by getting so close to the battlefield, and Western sources believe that they have done so in order to get some control over operations which have, in some areas, badly stalled.

Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has just returned from southwestern Ukraine where he met some of the millions displaced within the country.

Lord Williams told the BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House programme that orthodox church leaders in Russia "risked all moral credibility" if they don't urge for a ceasefire before Orthodox Easter, taking place on 24 April.

He said: "It's really a terrible thing to have these great festivals of liberation, at a time where so many lives are at risk and so much unspeakable damage is being done."

Lord Williams added that the atrocities of war would shake the faith of many, but the families he spoke to in Ukraine seemed to hold on to their faith despite the Russian invasion.

Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Russian armed forces destroyed an ammunition factory near Kyiv, according to Reuters.

Earlier on, there were reports of explosions in Ukraine's capital Kyiv. But there is limited information on where they took place.

Konashenkov said: "Overnight, high-precision air-launched missiles destroyed an ammunition factory near the town of Brovary in Kyiv region".

Image source, Getty Images

Prince Charles has highlighted the suffering of "innocent victims of conflict" in his Easter message.

"Today, millions of people find themselves displaced, wearied by their journey from troubled places, wounded by the past, fearful of the future - and in need of a welcome, of rest, and of kindness," he said.

He added that he was "heartbroken" at the plight of people forced to flee their homes due to conflict and persecution.

Though the prince didn’t refer to Ukraine by name, the BBC’s royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell wrote that there was no doubt that “the unfolding horrors there have inspired him to highlight the plight of refugees”.

Read the full story and analysis here

Image source, Getty Images

After a devastating assault over six weeks, there are growing signs that Russia is close to fully capturing the port city of Mariupol.

Thousands of people have been killed in the siege, which began when Russian troops started encircling the city in early March.

But why is Mariupol so important to Russia’s plans? The BBC’s security correspondent Frank Gardner has broken down the reasons:

• Securing a land corridor between Crimea and Donbas

Geographically, Mariupol occupies only a tiny area on the map but it stands in the way of Russian forces from the Crimean peninsula. Securing the city will allow Russia to build a land bridge from Russia to Crimea, a major strategic and military success.

• Strangling Ukraine's economy

Mariupol is the biggest port in the Azov Sea region and home to a major iron and steel works. It was also a key export hub for Ukraine's steel, coal and corn. Losing it would be a major blow to what is left of Ukraine's economy.

• Propaganda opportunity

Mariupol is home to a Ukrainian militia unit called the Azov Brigade, which contains far-right extremists, historically including neo-Nazis. Although they form only a fraction of Ukraine's fighting forces, this has been a useful propaganda tool for Moscow. If Russia manages to capture alive enough Azov Brigade fighters they may be paraded on Russian state-controlled media to discredit the Ukraine government.

• Major morale boost

President Vladimir Putin sees Ukraine's Black Sea coastline as belonging to something called Novorossiya (New Russia) - Russian lands that date back to the 18th Century empire.

Putin wants to revive that concept, "rescuing Russians from the tyranny of a pro-western government in Kyiv" as he sees it. Mariupol currently stands in the way of him achieving that aim.

Read the full analysis here

More information has come in on the explosions heard in Kyiv this morning.

According to the local mayor, infrastructure in the Brovary area, on the outskirts of Kyiv, was damaged during the strikes.

Mayor Igor Sapozhko gave no details of whether there were any casualties or any significant damage caused.

Russia's aims of asserting its regional dominance and getting Ukraine to abandon its "Euro-Atlantic orientation" remain the same, despite its move towards concentrating its attacks on eastern Ukraine, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.

In its latest intelligence update, it said that Russian forces continued to redeploy combat and support equipment from Belarus towards eastern Ukraine - including locations close to Kharkiv and Severdonetsk.

It adds that locations throughout the east of the country continue to be struck.

Some shipments of military assistance from the US have started arriving in Ukraine, according to a White House official quoted by CNN.

Earlier this week, President Joe Biden approved an additional $800m (£600m) worth of military aid to Ukraine.

He said the support would include new weapons tailored to combat Russia's expected "wider assault" in the east.

The extra $800m shipment means the US has pledged to provided more than $3bn (£2.3bn) in military assistance to Ukraine under the Biden administration.

Good morning to our UK readers. If you're just joining us, or want a recap, here's what we know on this Easter Sunday:

• In the southern city of Mariupol, Russia says it will spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers there if they lay down their arms today. The city has been under siege for weeks
• Ukraine's armed forces say its naval units are preparing for a Russian landing operation in the Mariupol area, after it said Russia conducted assault operations near the seaport
• Earlier, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said eliminating Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol would put an end to peace talks to end the war

• Russia claims its air defence units have brought down a Ukrainian military plane it says was carrying a shipment of arms sent by Western countries. The BBC hasn't independently verified the information
• In the capital Kyiv, there are reports of explosions in the city once again, but there is no information yet on where they took place
• Images of what is said to be the crew of the Moskva warship - which sunk in the Black Sea earlier this week - have been published by Russia's defence ministry. If accurate, it would be the first time any sailors from the ship have been seen since it sank. Russia says a fire onboard caused ammunitions to explode, and Ukraine - supported by the US - says it destroyed the missile cruiser.

Image source, Getty Images

The European Union plans to sanction Russia’s largest lender Sberbank and other Russian financial firms in its next round of restrictions, European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen told a German newspaper.

"We are looking further at the banking sector, especially Sberbank, which accounts for 37% of the Russian banking sector," von der Leyen told Bild am Sonntag when asked about the forthcoming sixth round of sanctions.

The US had imposed “severe sanctions” on Sberbank and another Russian lender, Alfa Bank, earlier in April. The UK has also sanctioned Sberbank and committed to ending all imports of Russian coal and oil by the end of 2022.

But the EU had, so far, spared Sberbank and another large Russian lender, Gazprombank, because they were the main routes for its payments for Russian oil and gas.

Von der Leyen said the EU was working on “clever mechanisms” to include oil in the next sanctions, Reuters reported.

In its fifth round of penalties, external, the EU had announced a number of restrictions, including a “full transaction ban” on four banks that represented 23% of Russia’s banking sector.

Explosions have been heard in the capital Kyiv, Reuters news agency reports, though the cause is not clear.

Yesterday, one person was killed and several others were wounded in air strikes on the city.

Meanwhile, local media outlet the Kyiv Independent says that air raid alerts were issued in almost every Ukrainian region in the early hours.

The great-granddaughter of the former Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, has warned that Russia may be prepared to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

Nina Khrushcheva, a professor of international affairs in the US, told the BBC that she believes Russian President Vladimir Putin will eventually do whatever it takes to claim victory in the war.

“I think this war is really the one that Putin plans to win, and plans to win at any cost. If he needs to declare victory and he may need to use tactical nuclear weapons - I’m not predicting that - that could be one of the options the Russians may be prepared to use,” she said.

Tactical nuclear weapons are less powerful than the longer-range missiles that loomed over the Cold War era when Nikita Khruschev led the Soviet Union.

But Ms Khrushcheva - a Russia scholar at the New School in New York and long-time critic of Mr Putin - fears Moscow could use them to devastating effect on Ukrainian soil.

In March, days after Russia invaded Ukraine, Ms Khrushcheva had said she was embarrassed by the development, external and that her great-grandfather would have found the attack "despicable".

Image source, Maxar via Reuters

Russia has said it will guarantee the lives of Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol who surrender in the coming hours.

From 06:00 Moscow time (03:00 GMT or 04:00 BST) and for several hours after, Russian forces have said they will allow soldiers to leave the stronghold of the Azovstal steelworks - provided they leave their weapons and ammunition behind.

Those who do will be treated in line with the Geneva convention on prisoners of war, a statement from Russia's defence ministry said.

The statement, issued hours ago, said Russian forces have been broadcasting details of the deal to their Ukrainian counterparts every 30 minutes overnight.

If they accept, Russia says, Russian forces will raise red flags at 06:00 and Ukrainians should raise white flags around the perimeter of the steelworks.

Ukrainian officials have given no sign that they plan to accept the offer.

Image source, Getty Images

Russia says its air defence units have brought down a Ukrainian military plane it says was carrying a shipment of arms sent by Western countries.

The attack took place outside the city of Odessa in south-west Ukraine, Russian state news agency TASS reported, external, quoting Defence Ministry spokesman Maj Gen Igor Konashenkov.

The BBC hasn’t independently verified the information, and it wasn’t immediately clear if there are any casualties.

Gen Konashenkov also claimed that in the last 24 hours, Russian air units had hit dozens of locations with a concentration of Ukrainian military troops or hardware.

Image source, Reuters

We've been talking about the possible imminent fall of the southern city of Mariupol for a few days now. Here's what's happened there so far.

The besieged port city - which the Ukrainian leadership has described as "the heart of this war today"- has been the subject of a devastating, six-week assault by Russian forces.

Russian troops started encircling it in early March.

The siege has killed thousands of civilians and unleashed a struggle for survival for trapped residents who remained there, amid relentless Russian shelling, hunger and freezing temperatures.

Russian bombardment has reduced the city to ruins, forcing civilians to hide in cellars, while access to electricity, heating, fresh water, food and medical supplies was cut.

Thousands of people have escaped further north, risking a deadly journey through the front line.

In recent days, Russian forces are thought to have pushed in further by dividing the remaining holdout of Mariupol's defenders, according to think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Russian television previously broadcast footage which it said showed marines giving themselves up at the Illyich iron and steelworks plant there.

But earlier this week, an adviser to Ukraine's president insisted that the marines had in fact broken through to connect with Ukrainian fighters of the Azov battalion at the Azovstal metalworks.

Now, it is difficult to know with certainty how many remain, though Ukrainian President Zelensky has acknowledged that Ukrainian forces hold only a small part of the city.

• Why Mariupol is so important to Russia's plan

Image source, .

Image source, Getty Images

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games in the Netherlands, Prince Harry says that the "world is united" with Ukraine.

"You know we stand with you. The world is united with you and still you deserve more," he told the assembled crowd on Saturday.

The Ukrainian team were given special permission by President Volodymyr Zelensky to compete at the competition for injured military veterans.

Also at the Games, the Duchess of Sussex spoke of the Ukrainian team's presence at the event, saying it had taken a lot "both physically and emotionally" for every competitor to get to the Netherlands, "not least of which for the Ukraine team, who we are all standing with".

Read more about Harry's trip to the Invictus Games