Image source, Reuters

Eyewitnesses in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson - the first city in Ukraine to be captured by Moscow in the early days of the invasion - say Russian troops have attempted to disperse a protest in the city centre using stun grenades and tear gas.

The protesters were holding a rally in Kherson's central square against Russia's plans for a referendum on independence. Ukraine's President Zelensky has warned this would be a fake poll designed to allow President Putin to lay claim to Ukrainian territory.

Earlier, Russia's ministry of defence claimed its forces had gained control of the Kherson region, but the BBC has not been able to independently confirm that.

Image source, Reuters

Polish President Andrzej Duda says "appropriate legal steps" will be taken against Russian energy provider Gazprom after it cut off gas exports to Poland and Bulgaria.

Moscow had demanded all energy payments be made in roubles - which Poland and Bulgaria refused.

Duda said "appropriate compensation" would be sought from Gazprom for ' breach of contract'.

Nick Thorpe
BBC News

Image source, EPA

The Bulgarian government says it was prepared for Russia's move today to suspend its gas supply.

Prime Minister Kiril Petkov has reassured Bulgarians there will be no shortage, and has spoken to the neighbouring Greek government to ensure alternative supplies.

Bulgaria gets 90% of its gas from Russia - making it more vulnerable to the Russian move than Poland.

But the political reaction in the capital Sofia was robust, reports the BBC's Central Europe correspondent Nick Thorpe.

Prime Minister Petkov has accused the Kremlin of racketeering and blackmail.

Mr Petkov immediately began talks with the Greek government, with the Greek PM confirming that a crucial interconnector, carrying Azeri gas from Komotini in Greece to Stara Zagora in Bulgaria, will open - as planned - in June.

The Greek government also offered supplies of liquefied natural gas to Bulgaria, if needed.

The new gas is likely to cost Bulgaria more, however.

And the Russian move could increase tensions in the Bulgarian government, where two of the four coalition partners in government are friendlier toward the Russians.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

The commander of Ukraine's 36th Marine brigade besieged in Mariupol has made an appeal to world leaders and diplomats for a Dunkirk-like "extraction" of military and civilians in a video address posted on Facebook.

"For 62 days we have been fighting in full encirclement. Now, we are territorially located at the Azovstal plant. We are carrying out tasks together with units of the Azov Regiment and other units that were surrounded," Serhiy Volynsky said

"In our group, there are more than 600 wounded guys of varying degrees of severity. They are in dire need of medical care. There are no proper conditions, no drugs, no staff who could help them.

"There are also civilian wounded, whom we help as much as we can. Hundreds of civilians, dozens of children, many people with disabilities and the elderly are with us," he added.

Volynsky said they could be saved by an "extraction procedure" similar to the one the UK carried out at Dunkirk in 1940, when Anglo-French forces were trapped by the German army during the Battle of France.

That evacuation is widely known as the Miracle of Dunkirk.

Paul Adams
BBC Diplomatic correspondent

Western officials don’t think it is likely that Russia will manage to extend its land bridge to link up with Transnistria - the breakaway region of Moldova controlled by pro-Russians - at least in the near term.

The Russian troops stationed in Transnistria carry outdated Soviet-era equipment. Any attempt to reach them by invasion forces currently fighting around Kherson would be fraught with risk.

"Going all the way to Transnistria risks overextending their supply lines and their capabilities once again," a western official said.

Reaching Transnistria would involve capturing the heavily defended Ukrainian port city of Odesa, an objective thought to be almost impossible without a successful amphibious landing.

Since Ukraine managed to sink Russia’s Black Sea flagship, the Moskva, the rest of Moscow’s fleet has been hanging back, out of range of Ukrainian missiles, making a landing unlikely.

“The longer term strategic objectives of the Russians may include Transnistria,” the official said. “But their military ability to tackle that as a target at this moment in time is limited.”

Paul Adams
BBC Diplomatic correspondent

With mysterious reports of explosions in the breakaway region of Moldova that has been controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 1990, and Moldova’s president warning that Russia is planning to destabilise her pro-western government, there’s a fear this little-known region could represent a new flashpoint in the conflict.

Russia has maintained a small military presence there (around 1,500 troops) over the past three decades, preserving one of the oldest “frozen conflicts” left over from the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Last week, a Russian general said Moscow planned to extend its land bridge from the Donbas to Crimea further west to link up with Transnistria.

This would mean completely cutting off Ukraine from the Black Sea.

It’s almost impossible to know who is behind the recent attacks inside Transnistria, but allegations of “acts of terror” made by Russia’s allies in the breakaway region sound a lot like discredited charges levelled by pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas in the run-up to Russia’s invasion on 24 February.

Somebody, it seems, wants to create the appearance of a crisis.

• Transnistria and Ukraine conflict: Is war spreading?

A Ukrainian woman who has friends stuck in the Azovstal steel plant - the last part of the southern city of Mariupol not under Russian control - says they are surrounded by the Russian army with no chance of getting out, and only have supplies left for a few more days.

Lyuba Shipovich, in Lviv, is in daily contact with her friends who are fighting in the Ukrainian military - but she says time is running out for them.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is "the only person who knows the answer" about when they will get out of the plant, she told BBC's Ukrainecast.

Fighters from the Azov battalion and the 36th marine brigade are still trying to defend the plant but "it's impossible to vacate Mariupol so they're just trying to fight and stay as long as they can", she says.

She adds that Elon Musk's Starlink dishes have enabled the fighters to connect to the internet and they try to be in contact at least once a day.

"If they kill civilians with white flags, what will they do to military personnel?", she says.

"They will get them and torture them - for military, it's better to die fighting than leave the plant directly to the hands of Russians."

Image source, .

Image source, Getty Images

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has rejected accusations Russia is using natural gas supplies as a tool of blackmail - saying Russia is a reliable energy supplier.

The EU made the blackmail comment earlier today, after Russia decided to cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. Moscow said it was because they had refused to pay in the Russian currency, the rouble.

Peskov did not say how many countries have agreed to pay for gas in roubles, but said Russia introduced the new rule because of sanctions by "unfriendly countries against us".

"This need was dictated by the fact that, as you know, a significant amount of our reserves were blocked or - in other words - stolen. Therefore, there is no question of any blackmail," he said.

He said if other consumers "decline to pay under the new system," then President Putin's decree, under which gas supplies can be cut off, "of course will be applied".

Finland is a neighbouring country of Russia and has long pursued a policy of military neutrality - it's not a Nato member. But it is now reassessing its position in light of Russia's invasion. So will Finland be applying for Nato membership?

That's an ongoing debate, says Finland's Europe minister Tytti Tuppurainen. She tells the BBC Russia's invasion of Ukraine "changed everything".

Finland has been a close partner with Nato for a long time and has had the option to join the alliance if it wants to "everything is set up" and "we are debating at the moment", Tuppurainen says.

Asked whether joining Nato could increase tensions with Russia, Tuppurainen says that's the message they've heard frequently from Moscow - but "we must be very careful in order not to limit our room of manoeuvre... we will do our own decisions".

When she's asked if there are troops gathering on the long Russian-Finnish border, Tuppurainen says she does not see any immediate threat.

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has united western nations, with the conflict throwing its values - like freedom, sovereignty and the rule of law - into sharp focus.

But when it comes to the next phase of the conflict, how long will that unity last?

Our diplomatic correspondent has taken a look at five issues that could ultimately divide the Western alliance.

Image source, Reuters

Russia's president Vladimir Putin has warned that any countries meddling in Ukraine would be met with a swift response.

"If someone from the outside tries to intervene in Ukraine" he said speaking just now to Russian lawmakers, "our response will be lightning fast."

"We have all the tools [to respond] that no one can boast of. And we will not be bragging about them, we will use them if necessary," he said.

The Russian leader added all decisions on what that response would include have already been made, but didn't give any further detail.

Image source, Reuters

As we've been reporting, the Russian gas provider Gazprom has cut off its supplies to Poland and Bulgaria.

The Polish gas pipeline operator Gaz-System said customers in the country are receiving enough gas to meet the current demand.

"The transmission network is continuously supplied from other directions" including from Germany and the Czech Republic, the company said in a statement quoted by Reuters.

Image source, Getty Images

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner says there are no signs that suggest Russia will stop delivering gas to Germany, Reuters reports.

Germany on Tuesday authorised the supply of dozens of tanks to Ukraine on Tuesday, in a policy shift from the government.

Russian state gas company Gazprom has halted supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. Germany relies on Russia for about 40% of its gas supplies.

Russia has said "unfriendly" nations must pay for gas in roubles, a demand that has been seen as an attempt to shore up its currency as Western sanctions take effect.

Image source, EBU

Russia's decision to halt gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria is an aggressive move that the EU considers to be a form of blackmail, EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said.

"We will ensure that Gazprom's decision has the least possible impact on European consumers," she said at a press conference this afternoon.

The EU chief also warned European energy providers against complying with Russian demands to pay for their gas in roubles, saying that this would most likely be a breach of EU sanctions.

"To pay in roubles, if that is not foreseen in the contract, is a breach of our sanctions," she said.

She said companies without contracts specifying payment in roubles should not give into the Russian demands as it would be "high risk" for them.

Jenny Hill
Reporting from Moscow

Image source, Reuters

Russia turned off the taps and state TV relished the moment.

Gazprom, the presenter announced this morning, had cut supplies to Poland and Bulgaria after the countries refused to pay in roubles.

Vladimir Putin knows Europe relies on Russian energy. But he needs the revenue – even from the countries he deems to be unfriendly.

It’s estimated that in January alone those countries – including Germany and Poland - paid $6bn for their gas.

It’s why – despite Putin’s public demand that they pay in roubles – the reality is more complex.

Countries can pay in euros or dollars but only if they open Russian bank accounts, which then convert the currency and make the final payment.

It’s thought that some countries have opened those accounts, with Hungary’s foreign minister confirming earlier that’s the way his country would make its next payment.

Putin is doubtless keen to pressure - and divide - Europe in retaliation for its support for Ukraine. It's a tactic which, given the EU’s failure to agree on a coordinated energy embargo, seems to have at least partially succeeded.

Image source, .

Image source, Getty Images

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will call for the UK and other western powers to provide fighter jets to Ukraine in a speech this evening in London.

She will say the West "must be prepared for the long haul and double down on our support" for the country as it defends itself from the Russian invasion.

"If Putin succeeds there will be untold further misery across Europe and terrible consequences across the globe. We would never feel safe again," she will say.

"Heavy weapons, tanks, aeroplanes - digging deep into our inventories, ramping up production. We need to do all of this."

Kyiv has repeatedly called on allies to supply heavy armaments such as aeroplanes and tanks.

Nato has provided mostly only lighter weaponry amid fears of escalation, although in recent days there have been an increasing number of pledges to send tanks.

But Truss's colleague, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, declined to answer three times when asked by the BBC this morning if he backed the call for warplanes to be sent to Ukraine.

Image source, PA Media

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it is sanctioning 287 MPs in the UK Parliament, accusing them of "groundless whipping up of Russophobic hysteria".

It means some 213 Conservative politicians and 74 from Labour will be banned from entering Russia.

The ministry says there could be further "retaliatory counter-measures" - after the UK sanctioned 386 Russian parliamentarians in March - with more names added to the list.

Russia's list of sanctioned MPs includes several who are no longer in the House of Commons, such as former Attorney General Dominic Grieve (who lost his seat in 2019), Rory Stewart (who stood down in the same year) and Charlie Elphicke (who was jailed for a year in 2020 for sexual assault).

It also omits some outspoken critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin, such as Labour's Chris Bryant.

He told the Commons he was "absolutely distressed" not to be on the list, and joked that the Russians must agree with his assessment that their president is a "barbarous villain".

Oksana Antonenko
BBC News Russian, Budapest

Polina arrived in Hungary from eastern Ukraine with her 13-year-old daughter and elderly mother, thinking it would be less crowded than Poland which has received five-times as many Ukrainian refugees.

But out of all the EU members the Hungarian government is the least supportive of Ukraine, and Polina says many of the people she's met simply feel ambiguous about the war.

“Here information is limited, just like in Russia. We are being asked if there is a civil war going on and whether Russia was conducting a peacekeeping operation in Ukraine. We are shocked - how can they believe something like this?”

Many Hungarians believe her when Polina explains what's happening, but others find it "hard to digest".

Sometimes things turn nasty. While in a shop, Polina says a man threatened her with verbally abusive language for being Ukrainian.

“He waved a bottle at us, as if he was going to hit us,” she says. "Russia [is] good," he apparently said.

If you're just joining our live coverage, or need a bit of a catch-up, here are the main developments in the war in Ukraine today:

Gas supplies cut off to Poland and Bulgaria

• Russian energy supplier Gazprom has cut gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, saying it was because both countries had refused to make payments in roubles. Russia said it would do the same with other "unfriendly" countries
• Poland and Bulgaria criticised the move, accusing Gazprom of breaching its contracts
• European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called it "an instrument of blackmail"
• Following Gazprom's announcement today, European gas prices rose by 19%

Other developments

• Air strikes have hit regions in Ukraine, Russia and Moldova in the last 24 hours. Russia's Belgorod mayor said an arms depot near the village of Staraya Nelidovka - 20km (12 miles) from Ukraine - was struck in the early hours of Wednesday
• The Russian-backed government of Moldova's breakaway Transnistria region accused Ukraine of firing shots into the region. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian special services were behind attacks in the region
• In Ukraine, Russia's defence ministry said its Kalibr missiles hit an arms depot in Zaporizhzhia and 58 other targets overnight
• Mariupol's mayor said Russian forces are continuing to attack the Azovstal steel plant, the last Ukrainian stronghold in the city, which has been shattered by Russia's invasion

Image source, Getty Images

In the diplomatic realm, no agreement has been reached today for the Ukrainian and Russian presidents to discuss the war in Ukraine despite efforts by Turkey to arrange talks, Ukrainian presidential aide, Mykhailo Podolyak, says.

Podolyak drew attention to increased hostilities in eastern Ukraine and Russian attempts to "completely destroy" the southern port city of Mariupol.

Earlier, he said explosions heard in three Russian provinces bordering Ukraine were "karma" and payback for Russia's invasion of the country.

He did not acknowledge Ukraine was responsible for the incidents, in comments on the Telegram messaging app.

"Sooner or later the debts will have to be repaid" when one country decides to attack another country, he wrote.

Earlier today, the governor of Russia's Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said an arms depot was on fire near the village of Staraya Nelidovka, located 20km (12 miles) from the Ukrainian border - but he said it has now been put out and there were no injuries among civilians or damage to residential buildings.