Image source, Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky didn’t hold back during his Saturday's news conference in the Kyiv metro, describing those who had planned and carried out the Odesa attack as "bastards".

Visibly angry, he said the baby was just one-month-old when the war started.

"It's simply horror… they just don't care," he added, stressing that the Black Sea city was struck on the eve of Orthodox Easter - a major festival in the Orthodox calendar.

A mother and her three-month-old baby were among the fatalities after an Odesa building was hit by missiles on Saturday, Ukraine's President Zelensky has said.

Journalists and others have taken to Twitter, posting pictures and tributes of the mother and child.

Myroslava Petsa, a journalist for the BBC Ukrainian Service, said the mother was called Valeria, and her new-born baby was Kira.

In a post on Valeria's social media, re-shared by a Kyiv Independent journalist on Twitter, she said the period since giving birth to Kira had brought her "a whole new level of happiness".

Eight people were killed in a Russian missile strike on a block of flats in the southern port city, according to Ukrainian officials.

Image source, Reuters

If you're just joining us, hello and welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. Here's a quick recap of what's been happening.

• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary for Defence Lloyd Austin are due to visit Kyiv today, according to Ukraine's President Zelensky. They'll be the most senior American officials to visit since Russia launched its invasion. The US has not commented on the trip
• Zelensky threatened to pull Ukraine out of peace talks if his enemy kills any of the last remaining defenders in Mariupol, or if Russia holds an independence referendum in the occupied city of Kherson
• As for the situation in Mariupol - Russian troops are keeping up pressure on the Azovstal metal works, the last holdout of Ukrainian resistance there, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War
• Ukrainian troops have repelled numerous Russian assaults along the front line in eastern Donbas region, according to the latest assessment of the fighting by the UK's Ministry of Defence
• Tributes have been paid to a mother and baby who were among eight people killed when a Russian missile hit a residential building in Odesa yesterday

Image source, .

Image source, EPA

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary for Defence Lloyd Austin are due in Kyiv today, according to comments from Ukraine's President Zelensky in a press conference yesterday evening.

That would make them the first top American officials to visit since Ukraine was invaded in February.

Zelensky said weapons would be top of the agenda - and that he would be bringing a list of requests.

That's about as much as we know for now. The White House has not yet commented on the plans.

Zelensky said he was hopeful the US visit would set the stage for a visit by President Biden another time.

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

In just eight weeks, Russia has turned back the clock, forcing Ukraine to relive the worst horrors of the 20th Century.

Thousands dead, millions displaced, cities reduced to rubble.

Invading forces accused of war crimes after bombing maternity hospitals and civilians hiding in a theatre. Urban sieges, mass graves, fruitless peace talks.

And yet Russia has failed to seize Kyiv and oust the government. Ukrainian forces have mounted a robust defence and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has shown great leadership; both binding the nation more closely together.

But as Russian forces regroup in the east, can Ukraine hold them back? Can Western powers step up their military support and stay united around common war aims?

Or will time, fatigue and declining stockpiles of ammunition take their toll? This war is two months old but there may be many more to come.

Image source, Reuters

The Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into a rocket attack on a residential building in the city, according to reports.

Local authorities had earlier said that rockets hit a military facility and two residential buildings on Saturday.

"Explosions of enemy shells destroyed the living quarters between the 2nd and 5th floors and blocked the exits, leaving people trapped," a statement from the prosecutor's office said.

In total, seven missiles were fired at Odesa, two of which were shot down, Ukraine's President Zelensky said on Saturday evening.

At least eight people, including a baby, died in the strikes, he said.

The Russian Ministry of Defence on Saturday confirmed that it had carried out strikes on Odesa but claimed that the Russian Aerospace Forces had attacked a logistics terminal "where a large batch of foreign weapons received from the United States and European countries was stored".

"Ukraine has repelled numerous Russian assaults along the line of contact" in the country's eastern Donbas region this week, the UK's Defence Intelligence (DI) says in its latest report.

"Despite Russia making some territorial gains, Ukrainian resistance has been strong across all axes and inflicted significant cost on Russian forces.

"Poor Russian morale and limited time to reconstitute, re-equip and reorganise forces from prior offensives are likely hindering Russian combat effectiveness," DI says.

Part of the UK's ministry of defence, DI focuses on gathering and analysing military intelligence.

Image source, Reuters

Eight people have been killed and two injured in Russian shelling of Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region, regional head Serhiy Haidai says.

In a Telegram post, he writes that six people died when the towns of Hirske and Zolote were bombarded on Saturday.

Separately, two people - both women - were found dead under the rubble of a destroyed house in the town of Popasna, which was hit several days ago.

Haidai also says a police office in the city of Severodonetsk was destroyed.

Earlier this week, Russia said it was now focusing its military operation on capturing the Luhansk and the neighbouring Donetsk regions after failing to seize northern Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv.

If you're just joining our coverage of the war in Ukraine, here are the latest developments this morning:

• The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary for Defence Lloyd Austin will visit Kyiv today, according to Ukraine's President Volodymr Zelensky. They would be the first top US officials to visit since the invasion. Washington has not yet commented on the visit
• In the same press conference on Saturday evening, Zelensky warned that Ukraine would abandon peace talks with Moscow if Russia kills any of Mariupol's last defenders or if Russia holds an independence referendum in the occupied city of Kherson
• Ukraine's armed forces say Russia continues to attack its units in the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol - where hundreds of people are said to be sheltering. It adds that air strikes have been carried out in the area and evacuations from the southern city have been halted

• Elsewhere, at least eight civilians have been killed in Odesa after Russian shelling hit a residential building

• In other diplomatic news, the UN's Secretary General Antonio Guterres will head to Turkey on Monday before visiting Moscow and Ukraine later in the week

Image source, China News Service via Getty Images

The UN's Secretary General will visit Turkey before heading to Moscow and Kyiv.

According to a statement from the UN, Antonio Guterres will visit the capital Ankara on Monday, where he will meet Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He will then head to Moscow on Tuesday, where he is set to meet Russia's President Vladimir Putin and have a "working lunch" with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

His final stop will then be in Kyiv on Thursday, where he will meet Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Turkey has served as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia during the war and has hosted peace talks between the two sides.

But the UN's decision to visit Russia before Ukraine has been criticised by Zelensky.

"The war is in Ukraine, there are no bodies in the streets of Moscow. It would be logical to go first to Ukraine, to see the people there, the consequences of the occupation," he said on Saturday.

Image source, Getty Images

More now on that expected visit by top US officials to Ukraine.

According to Ukraine's President Zelensky, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit the capital Kyiv later today.

The White House, however, has still not commented.

It's likely Zelensky will make an appeal for more heavy weapons during the meeting, which he earlier said are absolutely vital to Ukraine's war effort.

"We will talk about the weapons we need and about the time framework for deliveries," he said on Saturday.

Among the officials who have already travelled to Ukraine since Russia's invasion are the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who stopped in Bucha; the EU's top diplomat Josep Borell; the leaders of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland; and most recently, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Read more about what weapons the US is sending to Ukraine here.

Doug Faulkner
BBC News Online

Image source, Syria Relief

On Thursday, trauma surgeon David Nott was in London - a long way from Ukraine. But that didn't stop him from helping to save the leg of a man who'd been caught by a blast in the war-ravaged country.

Oleksandr, the doctor who actually carried out the operation, had never performed the tricky procedure before. But a little over a week previously he had watched Prof Nott demonstrate how it was done inside a Ukrainian hospital.

And so Oleksandr took a photo of the wound with his smartphone and sent it to Prof Nott, who had recently flown back to the UK.

The experienced British war surgeon confirmed the operation was necessary. He'd also previously given Oleksandr a video talking him through how it was done.

"I was quite nervous and it was slowly, step-by-step surgery, but it went well thanks to David Nott," Oleksandr says.

Read more here.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Earlier, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky held lengthy a press conference in Kyiv's metro.

Here are some of the top lines from Zelensky:

• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin will visit Kyiv on Sunday. The US has not confirmed this, but it's expected to be the first trip by American government officials since Russia's invasion
• Zelensky warned that Ukraine will abandon peace talks with Moscow if Russia kills any of the last soldiers defending Mariupol's steel plant or if Russia holds an independence referendum in the occupied city of Kherson
• He added that he is willing to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for peace talks
• Zelensky discussed the shelling of a residential building in Odesa where there were eight fatalities, including a three-month-old baby

Image source, Getty Images

The US based Institute for the Study of War has released its latest update, external on Russia's offensive in Ukraine.

In the update, it says Russian troops continue their pressure on the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol - where the last Ukrainian defenders of the city are located.

It adds that Russian forces will attempt to starve out the remaining defenders of the steel plant, and will not allow trapped civilians to evacuate.

A humanitarian corridor was planned to evacuate civilians trapped in the city on Saturday, but it did not go ahead. About 200 people were gathered, hoping to leave, but were dispersed by Russian forces, who warned them of impending shelling.

The think-tank says Russia has turned to concentrate on attacks in the east, and that troops who have been drawn from the retreat in the Kyiv region are re-entering combat there.

It adds that Russian forces are likely to increase the scale of ground offensive operations in the coming days, but it is too soon to tell how fast they will do so, or how large those offensives will be.

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

In just eight weeks, Russia has turned back the clock, forcing Ukraine to relive the worst horrors of the 20th Century.

Thousands dead, millions displaced, cities reduced to rubble.

Invading forces accused of war crimes after bombing maternity hospitals and civilians hiding in a theatre. Urban sieges, mass graves, fruitless peace talks.

And yet Russia has failed to seize Kyiv and oust the government. Ukrainian forces have mounted a robust defence and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has shown great leadership; both binding the nation more closely together.

But as Russian forces regroup in the east, can Ukraine hold them back? Can Western powers step up their military support and stay united around common war aims?

Or will time, fatigue and declining stockpiles of ammunition take their toll? This war is two months old but there may be many more to come.

Among the fatalities in a residential building in the southern city of Odesa were a mother and her three-month-old baby, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an earlier press conference today.

Journalists and others have taken to Twitter, posting pictures and tributes of the mother and child.

Myroslava Petsa, a journalist for the BBC Ukrainian Service, said the mother was called Valeria, and her new-born baby was Kira.

In a post on Valeria's social media, re-shared by a Kyiv Independent journalist on Twitter, she said the period since giving birth to Kira had brought her "a whole new level of happiness".

Eight people were killed in a Russian missile strike on a block of flats in the city, according to Ukrainian officials.

The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed in a telephone call with his Ukrainian counterpart on Saturday that the UK is providing more defensive military aid to Ukraine.

According to a Number 10 spokesperson, protected mobility vehicles, drones and anti-tank weapons are being sent to Ukraine.

Mr Johnson also said that the UK would be reopening its embassy in Kyiv next week.

According to a readout from the call, President Zelensky thanked Johnson for training that Ukrainian military personnel are currently receiving in the UK.

As we've been reporting, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his press conference earlier that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken would be travelling to Kyiv on Sunday.

The trip will include US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, said Zelensky.

They will be the most senior US officials to visit Ukraine since the start of the conflict.

But so far there's been no immediate confirmation or comment from the White House or the Department of State on the visit to the Ukrainian capital.

Secretary Lloyd Austin is travelling to Europe this week already, however.

The Pentagon previously said that the defense secretary would be travelling to Germany on Tuesday to meet with counterparts from allied nations to discuss Ukraine's security needs.

Some more now on reports today of shelling in Ukraine's east.

Six civilians have been killed by Russian attacks on a village in the Luhansk region, its governor said on Saturday.

"The village of Girske suffered heavy Russian shelling the entire day," Sergiy Gaidai posted on Telegram.

The BBC has not been able to independently verify this information.