Summary

  • Russian and Ukrainian forces engage along a 300-mile (480km) front line in the eastern Donbas region

  • A long-awaited Russian offensive in the east began late on Monday, with Moscow claiming it struck more than 1,000 targets

  • The Biden administration is reportedly planning to announce another $800m (£615m) military aid package for Ukraine

  • Russian-backed fighters are reportedly trying to storm an industrial complex in Mariupol where Ukrainian troops and civilians are said to be holed up

  • Zelensky has said "the situation in Mariupol remains as severe as possible"

  • Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces are making some successful counter-attacks south of Kharkiv, according to military analysts

Live Reporting

Edited by Jude Sheerin

  1. For the first time, more people entered Ukraine from Poland than left

    Dan Johnson
    reporting from Lviv

    A woman holding flowers gets off a train arriving from Poland in KyivGetty Images

    A woman holding flowers gets off a train arriving from Poland in Kyiv

    For the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine, more people have come into the country from Poland than have left.

    Increasing numbers have been returning - either to visit relatives or go back to their homes.

    Figures from the Polish border service show 22,000 people crossed into Ukraine on Saturday, as 19,200 left.

    Some are coming back to see family, maybe just for a few days, and staying close to the border before returning.

    Others are heading home and say they’ll stay, despite the warnings of officials like Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko who said it’s not yet safe to move back to the city.

    According to the United Nations, millions of people have fled Ukraine since the start of the war - but more than 650,000 have now crossed the other way from Poland.

  2. What's been happening in Ukraine?

    Welcome to our continuing live coverage of events in Ukraine as Europe enters the early hours of Monday morning.

    Here's a round-up of the latest developments:

    • Russian forces shelled buildings in central Kharkiv, killing five people and injuring 13, local health officials said. The north-eastern city, near the Russian border, has been heavily damaged by previous Russian attacks
    • The BBC's Joe Inwood in Dnipro says air raid sirens are now "near constant" across eastern Ukraine, from Kharkiv to places like Zolote, a village on the frontlines of the Donbas region
    • The southern city of Mykolaiv and nearby areas came under heavy Russian rocket fire, its governor Vitaliy Kim told the BBC. Ukrainian forces there have blocked Russian attempts to advance on the port city of Odesa
    • Another Russian general has been killed in combat - deputy commander of the 8th Army Maj Gen Vladimir Frolov. In late March Western officials said Russia had lost seven generals in the war so far. Russia has not confirmed that figure
    • Some 40 Russian sailors are said to have died, and dozens of others have been wounded and missing, after the Moskva warship was sunk by Ukrainian missiles. Russia's defence ministry has so far given no word of casualties