Paul Kirby
BBC Europe Editor

Image source, Getty Images

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.

Vladimir Putin's 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.

If Russia were to conquer all of Donbas, it would give Putin some sort of achievement from Russia's war. The next step would then be to annexe Donbas, just like he did with Crimea after a discredited referendum in 2014.

And if it came before 9 May, he would even be able to celebrate on Victory Day, when Russia's military still marks the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.

Read more about Putin's plan to capture the east

We have previously reported Ukrainian claims accusing Russia of relocating thousands of civilians from Mariupol, the port city devastated by shelling.

Speaking on Monday, the mayor of Mariupol said about 40,000 civilians from the city had been "forcibly deported" to Russia or Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine.

Speaking on Ukrainian television, Vadym Boichenko said the numbers had been "verified through the municipal register".

It was not possible to independently confirm the figures and Russia has denied targeting civilians.

The BBC's Anna Foster in Kyiv says the forced deportations have been mentioned before and were very difficult to verify.

More than 400,000 people lived in Mariupol before the invasion, and at least 140,000 thousands managed to escape from the city.

Jonathan Beale
BBC defence correspondent

In a picturesque resort town on the northern edge of Ukraine's Donbas region, people can hear the shelling coming closer. The Russians are just five miles to the north.

Sviatohirsk was once a staple of the tourist trail, but now it is just another place in the Donbas where people flee the fighting.

Most of its permanent residents have themselves fled, fearing the war will not stop its ruthless advance here.

Just to the north is the city of Izyum where there is already fierce fighting.

The residents who had fled Izyum told us they had been bombed day and night, and been without running water and electricity for weeks.

But some have remained. These are people who are tired, hungry and scared, too scared sometimes to apportion any blame on Russia.

"I will not talk about it," one woman tells me, "because we still have to go home."

Read more about the Donbas towns preparing for Russian invasion

Image source, Getty Images

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby has said that Mariupol has not fallen, despite "pounding" from Russia.

"We have continued to see the concentration of their [Russian] airstrikes and artillery in the Donbas and in the south, particularly around and in Mariupol," Kirby said.

The Ukrainians are resisting, he said, despite increasingly aggressive action by Russia.

"Russians are doing what we call 'shaping'," Kirby said, meaning they are setting conditions for larger and more overt attacks in Ukraine's east.

Kirby also discussed how American soldiers would soon be training members of the Ukrainian military on how to use howitizers - artillery weapons provided by the US.

The weapons are part of an $800m (£614m) military package from the US to Ukraine. It includes artillery systems, artillery rounds and unmanned coastal defence boats.

Image source, Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says a "battle for the Donbas" is underway, after Russia launched its expected major assault on that eastern region.

He said Ukrainians would fight to defend themselves, no matter how many Russian troops were brought there.

Zelensky's chief of staff said it marked the start of the war's "second phase".

Russia has been shifting the focus of its war to eastern Ukraine, after setbacks near the capital, Kyiv.

Read more about the expected battle for the Donbas from our Europe editor, Paul Kirby.

Image source, Mike Right/Twitter

Among Monday's other developments:

• Russia responded to footage posted online that appeared to show damage to its Moskva warship before the vessel sank. The Kremlin said it couldn't comment on the images' authenticity
• Ukraine returned a questionnaire to the European Union as it bids to gain candidate status to join the bloc
• A senior US official was quoted saying the American military expects to start training Ukrainians to use howitzer artillery in the coming days
• Eight more civilian deaths were reported in the Donbas - on top of nine counted elsewhere in the north and west of the country

There are no plans for US President Joe Biden to visit the Ukrainian capital, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a briefing on Monday.

"There's no plans for the president to go. Let me just reiterate that," Psaki told reporters.

The White House has said it wants to send a high-ranking official instead, perhaps Secretary of State Antony Blinken or Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

In an interview with CNN which aired on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he thought Biden would travel to Kyiv.

"It's his decision, of course, and about the safety situation, it depends," Zelensky said. "But I think he's the leader of the United States and that's why he should come here to see."

Psaki also said that the US hoped to re-open the US embassy in Kyiv, though she did not provide a timeline.

"That certainly is our objective," she said. "Obviously having a diplomatic presence on the ground is important."

More on Monday's Russian rocket attack on Ukraine's western city of Lviv, in which seven people have been killed and 11 injured, according to local officials.

Among those hurt is a three-year-old boy who together with his mother had recently fled Russian shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, says Lviv regional head Maksym Kozytsky.

He says the boy was with his mother in a Lviv hotel when the rockets hit the city.

"Window shards cut off part of the boy's finger. The child is now in hospital," Kozytsky wrote in a Facebook post.

He added that another three people were in intensive care.

Video has been released showing a burning building in Lviv. Firefighters can be seen battling flames and thick black smoke from what officials described as a tyre fitting garage.

The western Ukrainian city had been largely unscathed by the war but Lviv recorded its first civilian deaths from Russian strikes on Monday.

The southern city of Mykolaiv saw fresh strikes overnight, with sustained assault and bombardment seriously degrading the city’s critical infrastructure, creating concerns over access to water.

Ukraine’s operational command South said convoys of container trucks are being despatched from Odesa to carry crucial water supplies to the city’s residents.

Ukrainian National Guard officer Daniel Salem, a former actor and TV presenter, has just returned from Mykolaiv and told BBC News “we’re trying to do our best” to help.

He said on the borders of Mykolaiv, and near Kherson, there are a lot of strikes adding “it’s getting really harsh”.

But addressing morale amongst Ukrainian forces, Daniel said “we’re struggling" but added “we have a very good spirit” and a “strong will”.

Image source, .

Image source, Volodymyr Zelensky

President Zelensky says Russia has launched its expected assault to take the Donbas in eastern Ukraine.

Here's a quick recap of what he and others have been saying this evening.

• Zelensky has confirmed that the "battle for the Donbas" is now underway - after fighting in the region intensified
• He added that a large part of the Russian army was dedicated to the offensive
• "No matter how many Russian soldiers are brought here, we will fight. We will defend ourselves," he says
• His comments in a video address followed multiple accounts of Russia stepping up its attacks. The governor of the Luhansk region - which is part of the Donbas - said the situation was "hell", with "constant" fighting in some cities
• Zelensky's chief of staff said the assault on the Donbas marked the start of the "second phase" of the war
• The country's top security official has also given an update. He said Russian forces had tried to break through almost the entire front line in the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv region

Image source, .

Image source, Reuters

Officials in eastern Ukraine have reported another eight civilian deaths on Monday.

Four people were killed by Russian shelling in the Donetsk area, the region's governor wrote on Telegram.

And at least four others were killed as the city of Kreminna fell into enemy hands overnight, according the head of the Luhansk region.

The two regions form Ukraine's Donbas - where President Zelensky says a major battle for control is now underway.

Earlier today, we reported that, seven people were also killed by fresh missile strikes in the western city of Lviv, and two more in Kharkiv in the north.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says the "battle for the Donbas" is now underway.

His comments follow warnings from other senior officials that Russia has begun its much anticipated assault on the eastern region on Monday.

There's been another report of Russia increasing its attacks in eastern Ukraine.

"It's hell," said Sergei Gaidai, the governor of the Luhansk region.

"The offensive has begun, the one we've been talking about for weeks," he wrote on Facebook.

He said fighting was "constant" in the cities of Rubizhne and Popasna.

"The second phase of the war has started," the chief of staff to Ukraine's President Zelensky has said.

The remarks from Andriy Yermak echoed the warning given by Ukraine's top security official that Russia had launched its new offensive in the east on Monday morning.

Addressing fellow Ukrainians, Yermak wrote on the Telegram messaging app: "Believe in our army, it is very strong."

We're hearing more about the signs that Russia is beginning its new offensive in the east of the country.

Earlier we told you about a social media post from Ukraine's Armed Forces Command.

Now Ukraine's National Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov has said Russia attempted to break through Ukranian defences "along almost the entire front line of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions".

"They began their attempt to start the active phase," he added, in comments that were televised.

He said Russian troops had captured the town of Kreminna, about 50km (31 miles) northeast of Kramatorsk, but Ukrainian troops were "holding the line" in the other areas.

Read more about the potential key battles in the east of Ukraine here.

Image source, .

Around 1,000 people are reported to be hiding in underground shelters beneath the Azovstal steel plant in the besieged southeastern port city of Mariupol, according to the city council.

It said on Telegram that most of the civilians are "women with children and old people," but added, Russia is dropping heavy bombs onto the Ukrianian-held factory.

Street battles have been taking place in Mariupol over the past week as Russian forces seek to take full control of the city.

Image source, .

Image source, Reuters

The American military expects to start training Ukrainians on how to use howitzer artillery in the coming days, a senior US defence official has said.

The teaching is due to happen outside Ukraine, they added. Ukrainians equipped with knowhow would then able to re-enter their country to show others how to use the systems.

The official also said Russian forces were setting the conditions for a renewed push in eastern Ukraine.

They said Russia had moved 11 battlegroups into Ukraine in recent days, taking its tally to 76. All of these were in Ukraine’s south and east, the US official clarified.

They added:

• The US still regards the port city of Mariupol as contested, but if it does fall, Russian troops could then go to assist other forces in the eastern Donbas region
• Russian missile strikes in Kyiv and Lviv over the weekend appear to have been aimed at military targets
• Most airstrikes, however, are still focused on Mariupol and the Donbas region
• The US Department of Defence could not verify images on social media appearing to show damage to Russia’s Moskva warship, which sunk last week. But it could not dispute them either
• Four flights of equipment have been sent to Ukraine after President Biden announced another $800m (£615m) of security assistance last week. Another is expected in the next 24 hours

Image source, Reuters

Ukraine says citizens taken to Russia against their will should try and make their way to neighbouring Estonia.

Arrangements have been made for them to receive consular help in the Estonian border city of Narva, said Ukraine's human rights ombudsman.

Ukraine claims thousands of people from occupied regions in the east, including the city of Mariupol, have been forcibly taken to Russia. It is not something the BBC has been able to verify.

Moscow denies the accusations.

The mayor of Mariupol said on Monday that about 40,000 civilians had been moved to Russia or Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine.

The European Union's ambassador in Ukraine says he's received a completed questionnaire from President Zelensky, as the country bids to join the 27-member bloc.

Matti Maasikas said the form had been returned just 10 days after the document was provided to Kyiv.

"Extraordinary times take extraordinary steps and extraordinary speed," he tweeted.

Zelensky said he was hopeful Ukraine would gain candidate status within weeks.

Georgia and Moldova, which also neighbour Russia, have been given their own questionnaires as well.

Damien McGuinness
BBC News, Berlin

Image source, Getty Images

Repenting historical wrongs is a national pastime in Germany.

But even by German standards, the soul-searching over Berlin's Russia policy is remarkable.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, many German politicians have publicly admitted they got Vladimir Putin wrong.

In a now-famous speech in the German parliament a few days after the invasion, Chancellor Olaf Scholz remarked on "Zeitenwende" - literally meaning a turning point - as he ushered in a new era of European security.

That has meant scrapping rules about weapons exports, a huge boost in defence spending and an end to Russian energy imports. A Russian gas pipeline to Germany called Nord Stream 2 has also been suspended.

And the war is even prompting a change in Germans' view of their own history.

Read Damien McGuinness' full report here.