Five people, including two children, died on Sunday during Russian shelling in the Donetsk region, its governor Pavlo Kyrylenko has confirmed.

Meanwhile three others died in the Kharkiv region and 14 were injured as a result of continuous shelling through the day, which happened to be Orthodox Easter, a major holiday in both Russia and Ukraine.

"Today, when Orthodox Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Christ, the Russians killed five people in Donetsk region," tweeted Kyrylenko earlier. "Among the dead are two children aged 5 and 14."

For many Ukrainians, the day was spent under a strict curfew.

"I am grateful to all the residents of Kharkiv region who refrained from visiting the churches this Easter," posted, external Kharkiv governor Oleg Synegubov on Telegram. "As well as the clergy for understanding the situation and a well-considered decision not to hold night services."

Russia says it will allow civilians trapped in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol to evacuate the area from about now.

Previous ceasefires to allow civilian evacuations from Mariupol have repeatedly failed or not been observed by Russian forces.

It comes as the bombardment of the steelworks, where Ukrainian combatants and civilians have been holed up, continued over the weekend.

Despite Russia's President Putin declaring last week that his soldiers would not attempt to enter the Azovstal plant, Ukrainian armed forces report that troops attempted to storm the complex on Sunday.

President Zelensky has said that peace talks with Russia would be impossible if the soldiers sheltering in the steelworks were killed, and the International Red Cross has called for access to Mariupol to evacuate trapped civilians and wounded fighters.

Image source, .

Toby Luckhurst and Olga Pona
Reporting from Lviv

We’re at the scene of one of the strikes on rail stations in western Ukraine, around the town of Krasne. We ask one of the police officers guarding the site if anyone was hurt.

“No,” he says, before breaking into a huge grin and giving a thumbs up.

Lviv’s regional governor says a missile struck an electrical substation here. But he also announced that the air defence system had managed to bring down one rocket in the Lviv region, and thanked the Air Force in a later Telegram post.

Mikhailo is a rail despatcher here. He tells us he heard two huge blasts this morning.

“I saw in the sky our anti-air defence trying to bring down [the missiles],” he tells us.

The military here tell us we can’t identify the specific location. The police say we have to wait until they’ve finished their investigation before we get closer to the site.

But they allow us to take photos of what they say is part of a Russian rocket. All that remains is a mangled lump of metal in the grass - our Ukrainian colleagues tell us there’s Russian writing on the side.

Ukrainian authorities say Russia hit five train stations in western and central Ukraine. Officials in Vinnytsia region said there were dead and wounded, but have not yet given numbers.

The Lviv governor has just posted on Telegram, saying there were no casualties in the Lviv region from the strikes.

The rail lines here are a crucial route for refugees heading west, but also for equipment needed in the east.

Image source, Reuters

Russia's defence ministry says it will allow civilians trapped in the Azovstal steel plant to evacuate the area.

Russian units would withdraw to a "safe distance" from 12:00 BST, the defence ministry said.

Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have been under siege in the industrial complex for weeks, the last part of Mariupol not under Russian control.

Austin's comments on seeing Russia weakened are surprisingpublished at 11:18 British Summer Time 25 April 2022

11:18 BST 25 April 2022

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

The visit to Ukraine by Anthony Blinken and Lloyd Austin was all that you might expect.

A visible show of support. An announcement that US diplomats will return to Ukraine shortly. The promise of more military support.

But what stood out was this comment from Austin: “We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can't do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine. It has already lost a lot of military capability… we want to see them not have the capability to very quickly reproduce that capability.”

That is a surprising thing for a US defence secretary to say.

He might, of course, have been referring to Western sanctions degrading Russia’s military industrial base.

Or was he instead expanding Western war aims? Was he even implying that a longer war in Ukraine might be a useful thing?

Not all Western allies might share Mr Austin’s position, or his candour.

The US has pledged a further $713m (£560m) in military aid to Ukraine and 15 allied and partner countries, following Secretary of State Antony Blinken's meeting with President Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday.

So what will the money be used for - and just how much has the US committed to the Ukraine effort so far?

According to a senior defence official, some $322m of the latest tranche of money is earmarked for Ukraine itself, to allow the country to purchase necessary weapons to resupply their forces.

The remaining funds will be split among Nato members and other nations that have provided Ukraine with critical military supplies since the war began two months ago.

In addition, the US is selling $165m worth of ex-Soviet ammunition - familiar to domestic forces in Ukraine.

Just last week President Biden announced $800 million in more weaponry "to further augment Ukraine's ability to fight in the east, in the Donbas region".

President Biden said that package included "heavy artillery weapons, dozens of howitzers and 144,000 rounds of ammunition" as well as tactical drones.

At the same time, the US president announced $500m "for the people of Ukraine". This direct economic assistance to the Ukrainian government would support local communities "devastated by the Russian onslaught", he said.

It brings the United States’ total military aid to Kyiv to $3.7 billion since the Russian invasion was launched on 24 February.

Image source, .

Toby Luckhurst and Olga Pona
Reporting from Lviv

We’re en route to the site of a strike in the Lviv region.

Authorities here have announced a number of Russian missile hits on western and central Ukrainian stations.

The head of the central Vinnytsia region has just announced on Telegram that there are dead and wounded there, after strikes on Zhmerynka and Kozyatyn stations.

Serhiy Borzov did not say how many casualties there were but said the Russians were trying to hit “critical infrastructure”.

Ukrainian railways have cancelled or diverted trains in the west and centre after the attacks.

Image source, Reuters

If you're just joining us this morning, here's a quick recap on the developments in Ukraine:

• The head of Ukraine's railways says five train stations in central and western Ukraine have come under fire, resulting in a number of casualties

• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Russia is failing in its war aims, while Ukrainians are standing strong. He was speaking in Poland after a trip to Kyiv on Sunday - the first such US visit since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion in February
• Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, who was also on the trip, said on Monday the US wanted to "see Russia weakened to the degree that it can't do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine". The US defense secretary also said he believed Ukraine could win with the right support
• The UK's Ministry of Defence says Russia has made "minor advances" in its push to occupy the Donbas region - adding it is yet to achieve any "significant breakthrough"
• Two fires broke out early on Monday morning in the Russian city of Bryansk - close to the Ukrainian border, Russian media say. One is said to be at an oil storage depot
• Meanwhile, Putin has congratulated French President Emmanuel Macron on his re-election and defeat of far-right candidate Marine Le Pen

Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said on Monday that the US wants to "see Russia weakened to the degree that it can't do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine".

The US defence secretary also said during the press conference that he believes Ukraine can win with the right support.

His comments follow a trip to Kyiv on Sunday alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, where both met Ukraine's President Zelensky.

During their trip, they announced US diplomats would begin to gradually return to Ukraine and that the US had offered Ukraine $700m in additional military aid.

Toby Luckhurst
Reporting from Lviv

As we reported earlier, Russian strikes have hit a number of stations in central and western Ukraine.

One of those hit was Krasne, east of Lviv. Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the Lviv region, has posted on his Telegram channel that a missile hit an electrical substation there around 08:30 local time (06:30 BST).

“There is no information about casualties yet,” he wrote. Emergency services are at the scene and are working to put out a fire.

Footage posted online shows a thick black plume of smoke rising from the site.

We’re en route to to the station now and as we set off another air raid siren has sounded in Lviv. We’ll provide any updates as we get them.

Image source, Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked the US for its "unprecedented" support for Ukraine.

According to Ukraine's presidential website, he made the remarks during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who arrived on a visit on Sunday.

Zelensky said: "We appreciate the unprecedented assistance of the United States to Ukraine. I would like to thank President Biden personally and on behalf of the entire Ukrainian people for his leadership in supporting Ukraine, for his personal clear position. To thank all the American people, as well as the Congress for their bicameral and bipartisan support. We see it. We feel it."

The parties also discussed further defence assistance, the strengthening of sanctions on Russia, financial support for Ukraine and security guarantees, the website says.

Particular attention was paid to the sanctions policy, which was agreed should be further strengthened, the website added.

"We understand what the next steps on this track should be. And we count on the support of our partners," Zelensky said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Emmanuel Macron on his re-election, Moscow has said.

According to a statement from the Kremlin, Putin's telegram wished French President Macron success in "state activities, as well as good health and well-being".

Centrist Macron beat far-right candidate Marine Le Pen with a surprising margin of votes, becoming the first French sitting president in 20 years to be re-elected.

Read more about the French elections here.

Image source, epa

It's been a week since the start of Russia's all-out drive began to conquer and occupy eastern Ukraine - so are the Kremlin's forces anywhere near a breakthrough?

Professor Phillips O'Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews, tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme the Russian army isn't what many believed it would be - steamrollering its way through Ukraine.

"Actually it's hardly advanced at all," he says. "They've suffered so many losses in the Kyiv campaign and others... and it's not fighting particularly intelligently as far as we can tell."

He also makes the point that human beings are "not just programmable machines". "These soldiers that were taken out of Kyiv were defeated soldiers - they'd seen and they had committed war crimes, they had seen people die, they were exhausted, their equipment had gone."

The fact the Russians aren't letting them rest, he continues, "is a sign of either stupidity or desperation".

O'Brien also says the drip feeding of forces into action as they come available means the front line might not move very quickly.

"The Ukrainian's problem will be, can they drive the Russians back? The Russians still have a lot of heavy artillery and they've got some modern weaponry, and the Ukrainians are a lighter army. So it might not be so easy...

"This Russian army will be gone in say two months... So if you're going to switch to a long war where Russia fights a long war of occupation in Ukraine, they're going to need a new army. And it's going to be a conscription army."

Image source, .

Ukrainian Railways are reporting that five train stations in central and western Ukraine have come under attack, resulting in a number of casualties.

Oleksander Kamyshin, who heads Ukraine's Ukrzaliznytsia state railway company, told Ukrainian television the attacks took place within an hour of one another on Monday morning.

It follows a missile strike by Russian forces last month on a railway station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, which killed at least 50 people - including children - as they waited to be evacuated to safer parts of the country.

Image source, Reuters

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has also been speaking - returning from an American delegation trip to Kyiv yesterday.

He says that on the way to the capital it looked like things were beginning to get back to normal.

Austin says the nature of the fight in Ukraine has evolved so it needs long-range weapons, and it has expressed a need for tanks. He says it is difficult for the US to track what happens to weapons transferred to Ukraine, as there are no US forces on the ground. But he spoke to Ukrainians to make sure weapons are tracked as best as possible.

"The first step in winning is believing that you can win... We believe that we can win, they can win if they have the right equipment, the right support," he says.

The Pentagon chief adds that Zelensky was grateful for everything the US is doing, but is focused on what he needs next in order to be successful.

Two fires broke out early on Monday morning in the Russian city of Bryansk, close to the Ukrainian border, according to Russian media, citing emergency services.

One fire is said to be at an oil storage depot, the second location was not disclosed.

Officials said no one was injured and there are no plans to evacuate the area.

No reason was given for the fires and there was no immediate indication that they were related to the war in Ukraine, although Russia has previously accused Ukraine of an air strike on the same region.

Nearby residents told Russia's Ria news agency that they heard two blasts. They also said they did not see helicopters flying above the city at the time.

Videos have appeared on social media which appear to show two large fires in the city. The BBC has not been able to independently verify the videos.

Image source, Reuters

Continuing with his remarks following his visit to Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin took a train from Poland to Kyiv where they met Ukrainian President Zelensky.

He says the American delegation saw people on the streets of Kyiv, indicating - he says - that the battle for the city was won. During the visit on Sunday, which was the highest-level to Ukraine by American officials since the Russian invasion - the US announced more than $700m in additional military aid to Ukraine.

The State Department also said that US diplomats would start returning to Ukraine this week. Blinken says the US will decide deliberately and carefully when to reopen the embassy in Kyiv.

He adds that he spoke to the chief of the UN on Friday, and understands he'll deliver a very strong message to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the need to end the war, the need for a ceasefire, and corridors for aid to get in and people to get out.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been speaking about his trip to Kyiv, saying it was a chance to demonstrate strongly America's ongoing support for the Ukrainian government.

He says that during his meeting with officials, Ukraine's President Zelensky expressed his appreciation for President Joe Biden's leadership, and the US's generosity towards Ukraine.

Blinken adds that Russia continues to try to brutalise parts of Ukraine, but Ukrainians are standing strong. He also says Moscow is failing in its war aims while Ukraine is succeeding.

The secretary of state says: "The bottom line is this. We don't how the rest of this war will unfold, but we do know that a sovereign, independent Ukraine will be around a lot longer than Vladimir Putin is on the scene. And our support for Ukraine going forward will continue and it will continue until we see final success."

We're getting the latest intelligence report on Ukraine from the UK's Ministry of Defence., external It says Russia has "made minor advances in some areas since shifting its focus to fully occupying the Donbas".

But it says that "without sufficient logistical and combat support enablers in place, Russia has yet to achieve a significant breakthrough".

It continues: "Russia’s decision to besiege rather than attack Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant means many Russian units remain fixed in the city and cannot be redeployed. Ukraine’s defence of Mariupol has also exhausted many Russian units and reduced their combat effectiveness.

"Russia’s Ministry of Defence has proposed compensation payments for the families of deceased service personnel be overseen by military rather than civilian officials. This likely reflects a desire to hide the true scale of Russia’s losses from the domestic population."

Russian troops continue to bombard the Azovstal steel works in the southern port city of Mariupol and may be preparing for renewed assaults on the facility, according to the Institute for the Study of War's latest update.

The US-based think tank says Ukrainian defenders of the plant are under continued pressure.

Though it says Russian commanders are still likely to be seeking to starve out the remaining Ukrainian troops, it adds that Russian soldiers may be compelled to launch what it described as a "hasty assault" on the steelworks in order to meet a Kremlin-imposed deadline to fully clear Mariupol, which would likely cause heavy casualties for Russia.

It adds that it is unable to verify reports of such a deadline, which come from Ukrainian sources.