Image source, Ukrainian military

In a video address on the 56th day of the war, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said the European Union was planning a sixth package of sanctions on Russia.

"We are working to make it truly painful for the Russian military machine and the Russian state as a whole," Zelensky said, adding that he had "very thorough talks" with European Council President Charles Michel on defensive and financial matters, as well as the sanctions.

"In particular, the sanctions will provide restrictions on Russia's energy sector, banking sector, exports, imports and transport."

He also reiterated his call for a complete embargo on Russian oil supplies.

Zelensky said he spoke to Michel about the "threat to food and energy crisis in Europe", and the possibility of resuming Ukrainian agricultural exports and blocking Russia's "ability to blackmail Europe".

Before their meeting, the European Council chief visited Borodyanka in Kyiv with his team, Zelensky said, and "saw with his own eyes the destruction they [Russia] had caused".

"There can be no justice without peace," Zelensky said adding that Russian military and commanders would be held guilty of war crimes.

"Every surname, every home address, every bank account - we will find everything."

Image source, Getty Images

A top US defence think tank says that Russia secured minor gains on Wednesday in its invasion of Ukraine.

The Institute for the Study of War reported marginal gains from the continued Russian assault by air and ground on Mariupol.

Ukrainian fighters in the embattled port city have been cornered into the massive Azovstal Steel Plant complex.

The think tank's daily intelligence assessment also found that invading forces had partially captured two key frontline towns in the east: Rubizhne and Popasna.

No major territorial breakthroughs have yet been made, it added, but Russian troops continue to attack in the populated Kharkiv and Kherson regions.

Image source, Reuters

If you're just joining us or need a quick catch up, here's the latest from Ukraine:

• Some civilians, trapped for weeks in the shattered port city of Mairupol, have been able to leave. But officials say they had hoped for more.

• Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said an exit corridor did not work as planned because Russia had a "lack of control" over its troops.
• Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak says he is happy to hold "special talks" with Russia in Mariupol without any conditions.
• The World Bank's David Malpass told the BBC that the world's is facing a "human catastrophe" from a food crisis arising from Russia's invasion.

• Meanwhile, Russia has released a video showing a test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. The US said it had been notified of the launch in advance, according to international protocol
• A decision to ban Russian and Belarusian competitors from this year's Wimbledon tennis championships met criticism from the ATP and WTA, the bodies that govern men's and women's tournaments

This is Patrick Jackson in London and Jessica Murphy in Toronto handing over to our colleagues, Vikas Pandey and Andrew Clarance in Delhi, who will continue to bring you the latest.

Faisal Islam
BBC Economics Editor

Image source, Getty Images

The acknowledgement by the World Bank president that we have to be worried about a developing country debt crisis, is very significant.

The combination of massive pandemic debts with rising interest rates and rising prices is truly toxic.

The talk on the sidelines here at the IMF and World Bank meetings is that the rich countries told emerging economies not to worry about borrowing in order to spend to help suppress the pandemic.

Now those countries are wondering if these record debts will be written off.

Campaigning groups are preparing mobilisations over a pandemic debt jubilee. But there is silence from the rich country lenders, so far.

And there is a very new dynamic these days. The bankers to whom these sums are owed are no longer just in the West.

China is now, very broadly, owed as much as the entire collection of Western creditors known as the Paris Club.

How will it respond to calls for leniency on the repayment of loans?

World Bank President David Malpass says of China: "They have different rules, for example, contracts that have non-disclosure clauses, meaning you can't share the terms with other people that makes it very hard to restructure those debts."

China has also secured its lending against ports and natural resources. Sri Lanka is a case in point right now.

The unwinding of all of this might not be orderly, and could have significant geopolitical consequences.

As we reported earlier, World Bank President David Malpass has warned of a "human catastrophe" as food prices rise sharply in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Like the Covid-19 pandemic, he said, the food crisis would hit the poorest people in the world the hardest because they will “eat less and have less money for anything else, such as schooling".

In an interview with BBC economics editor Faisal Islam, Malpass said that global food stockpiles are large by historical standards and there is enough food in the world to feed everybody - but there will have to be a process put in place to get the food to those most in need.

The World Bank chief also raised concerns of a knock on “crisis within a crisis” arising from the inability of developing countries to service their large pandemic debts amid rising food and energy prices.

“As many as 60% of the poorest countries right now are either in debt distress or at high risk of being in debt distress," he said.

He advised countries, particularly those with unsustainable debt, to act early on strategies to reduce their debt burden.

Image source, Getty Images

US President Joe Biden said he has been "amazed" by the staunch resistance of Ukraine's military.

"They're tougher and more proud than I thought," he remarked on Wednesday at a meeting with his top defence advisors.

President Biden added that a "united, focused and energised" Nato has left Russian leader Vladimir Putin shocked.

"Weapons and ammunition are flowing in daily and we are seeing just how vital our alliances and partnerships are around the world."

The US is expected to provide another package of military aid in coming days, after it pledged $800m to Ukraine last week.

At the daily White House press briefing, spokeswoman Jen Psaki did not offer a preview of what further assistance might look like.

But she vowed the administration would do "everything we can to equip the Ukrainian government [and] Ukrainian leaders to effectively fight back in this military battle".

Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov says the decision to ban Russian and Belarussian players from Wimbledon is the right one.

Speaking earlier to BBC World News, the long-time Putin critic said sport and politics are intertwined, and that the Russian leader loves sports "like every dictator before him".

"I hope we can recover from the loss of our prestige and honour, but it should happen after Putin."

As we reported earlier, the ban has been criticised by the ATP and the WTA, the bodies that govern men's and women's tournaments.

Image source, Getty Images

The world is facing a “human catastrophe” from a food crisis arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, World Bank President David Malpass told the BBC.

Malpass warned that record rises in food prices were pushing hundreds of millions of people into poverty.

“It's a human catastrophe, meaning nutrition goes down. But then it also becomes a political challenge for governments who can't do anything about it - they didn't cause it and they see the prices going up,“ he said in an interview with BBC economics editor Faisal Islam.

The World Bank calculates there could be a “huge” 37% increase in food prices, which is “magnified for poor”.

“It's affecting food of all different kinds - oils, grains - and then it gets into other crops, corn crops, because they go up when wheat goes up,” he says.

The focus needed to be on increasing supplies across the world of fertilisers and of food, alongside targeted assistance for the very poorest.

Image source, Getty Images

Four days before France votes on its next president, incumbent Emmanuel Macron went head-to-head on Wednesday in a one-off debate with far-right challenger Marine Le Pen - and Russia's war in Ukraine was among the night's hot topics.

Macron said Russia was "going down a fatal path" and the role of France and Europe was to provide Ukraine with military equipment and to take in refugees.

Le Pen, who has been criticised for her being too close to the Kremlin and her party for taking a loan from a Russian bank in 2014, warned that giving Ukraine weapons could make France a "co-belligerent".

But she supported her opponent's policy of backing Ukraine and taking in refugees.

Macron chose the moment to go on the offensive, pointing out that his opponent was one of the first political leaders to recognise Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

"You're speaking to your banker, not another world leader, when you speak to Russia," he alleged.

Le Pen said she had taken Russian money as no French bank would lend to her party.

Macron has widened his lead over Le Pen in recent opinion polls recently, but the race remains close in the lead-up to Sunday.

Image source, Reuters

Welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

Here's a short roundup of what's been happening on Wednesday.

• Efforts to evacuate 6,000 more people from the shattered port city of Mariupol have been largely frustrated
• Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said an exit corridor did not work as planned, because Russia had a "lack of control" over its troops
• A Ukrainian negotiator said he was happy to hold special talks in Mariupol without any conditions - to save soldiers and civilians still trapped there
• A Russian deadline for the last Ukrainian soldiers in the city to surrender came and went earlier, with no signal that the defenders had given up their arms
• Away from Mariupol, Russia has released a video showing a test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. The US said it had been notified of the launch in advance, according to international protocol
• A decision to ban Russian and Belarusian competitors from this year's Wimbledon tennis championships met criticism from the ATP and WTA, the bodies that govern men's and women's tournaments

Image source, Getty Images

There's been a boost for internet coverage in Ukraine after civilians were given full permission during the period of martial law to use Starlink internet terminals.

These look like home TV dishes and offer relatively fast internet by connecting to satellites in low orbit.

The terminals were provided to Ukraine by Elon Musk's SpaceX company, and have been benefiting the Ukrainian military. Officials say restrictions on civilian use have now been removed, too.

Minister of Digital Transformation, Mikhail Fedorov, requested the tech from Musk at the start of the war - and said there were now 10,000 terminals in Ukraine.

The war has worsened internet access in parts of the country, due to damaged infrastructure.

Image source, PA Images

The UK's prime minister has suggested discussions with Russia to end the war are likely to fail.

Boris Johnson said dealing with Russia's President Putin was like bargaining with a "crocodile when it's got your leg in its jaws".

Speaking to reporters while on a flight to India, the UK PM suggested Putin may only look to negotiate if he had gained a position of strength in Ukraine. But he warned that the Russian leader might then look to launch a fresh assault on the capital Kyiv.

As for the Ukrainian side, Johnson thought President Zelensky wanted to see Russian forces expelled from eastern Ukraine. But he thought Zelensky would consider talking about Crimea - a peninsula that was annexed by Russian forces on 2014.

In any case, he said it was up to the people to decide on their future.

"Nothing should be decided about Ukraine without Ukraine," he said

Russia has released video which it says shows a test launch of its intercontinental ballistic missile earlier.

President Putin said the launch of the long-range Sarmat rocket would make those who threaten his country think twice.

The Pentagon described the test as "routine" and said the US had been properly notified beforehand.

Norway has donated about 100 Mistral air defence missiles to Ukraine, the Norwegian defence ministry said.

Defence minister Bjørn Arild Gram said in a tweet, external the air defence system was “an effective weapon” and would be a "great benefit" to Ukraine.

The missile is due to be phased out of the Norwegian armed forces. Other countries have also donated similar systems, he said.

The weapons have already been shipped to Ukraine.

Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak says he's happy to hold a "special round of negotiations" with Russia in the besieged city of Mariupol without any conditions.

Podolyak tweeted that he was making the offer "to save our guys, Azov [battalion], military, civilians, children, the living and the wounded."

Mariupol remains under siege from Russian troops. Some civilians who've been trapped for weeks were able to leave on Wednesday - but officials say there were far fewer than hoped.

Ukraine's foreign ministry says an elderly woman who survived the Nazi occupation of Mariupol in World War Two has died in the city decades later.

Vanda Obiedkova, 91, was said to have died earlier this month while sheltering from the Russian siege in a basement.

Unable to access water, electricity, and heat, the family were "living like animals", her daughter Larissa told the Jewish Chabad.org website.

Vanda was 10 when German troops entered her home city in October 1941, the site reports.

Larissa said while her mother evaded capture by the Nazis, Vanda's mother was among thousands of Jews who were taken away from Mariupol and executed.

Referring to the current situation in the city, Larissa was quoted saying: “Mama loved Mariupol; she never wanted to leave."

Last month, another Holocaust survivor died in Kharkiv - you can read more about this story here.

Image source, Reuters

The US has promised to train over 50 Ukrainians to use howitzers, a long ranged weapon that fires shells.

The US said the training will take place in a country outside of Ukraine and should last a week.

The expectation is that Ukrainians trained by the US will be able to go back and train others.

Earlier on, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Germany would also be providing Ukraine with military training.

Image source, Getty Images

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Minister of National Defence General Wei Fenghe held a phone call on Wednesday - their first since President Joe Biden took office over a year ago.

The call lasted about 45 minutes, a US official told Reuters. On the call, Austin reiterated the importance of not supplying weapons to Russia to help in its invasion, the official continued.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the leaders discussed "regional security issues, and Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine".

Wei reiterated China's position that Taiwan is part of China, according to Beijing. "If the Taiwan issue were not handled properly, it would have a damaging impact on Sino-US relations," Wei's statement said.

The US provided arms to Taiwan to help the island nation fend off a potential conflict with mainland China.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has put Taiwan on high alert for the possibility that Beijing will use the Ukraine war to move against the country.

Image source, Getty Images

The decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from this year's Wimbledon tournament has been criticised by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) as discriminatory.

In a statement, the organisation said it was "disappointed" adding that a key principle "of the WTA is that individual athletes may participate in professional tennis events based on merit and without any form of discrimination".

"Individual athletes should not be penalised or prevented from competing due to where they are from, or the decisions made by the governments of their countries," the statement continues.

The group is now "evaluating its next steps and what actions may be taken regarding these decisions".

The decision has also been criticised by the ATP.

Image source, Getty Images

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen led a walk-out today of a meeting of finance officials from the world's richest countries when Russian officials spoke.

It was the first meeting of G20 ministers and central bank governors since President Putin's invasion of Ukraine in late February.

British, French and Canadian officials joined the boycott, officials confirmed.

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak tweeted, external that his representatives, along with US and Canadian counterparts, left the meeting in Washington, "united in their condemnation" of Russia's war against Ukraine.

And Canada's deputy PM - and finance minister, Chrystia Freeland tweeted that the world’s democracies would not stand idly by in the face of Russian war crimes.

Both Yellen and President Biden have called for Russia to be removed from the G20, something not all members support.

Russia's finance minister, Anton Siluanov, had urged the group not to politicise the talks, warning that it would risk undermining confidence in the global monetary system, RIA news agency said.