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The White House has proposed giving the government greater power to seize and sell the assets of Russian oligarchs, and transfer their proceeds to Ukraine.

The legislative proposal will be presented to Congress for consideration.

It follows similar legislation recently passed in the US House of Representatives.

But the new White House plans go further, focusing on collaboration between Justice, Treasury, State and Commerce departments.

The measures would make it easier for the US to seize and sell oligarchs' assets, and use the funds "to remediate harms of Russian aggression", the White House said in a statement.

Pro-Russian separatists controlling the city of Donetsk say a market has been bombarded, with three civilians killed and several injured.

Unverified video clips show what appear to be bodies lying in a market area and smoke rising over a street.

According to the territorial defence staff of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, the Merkuriy Market in Kirovskyi District was hit by Ukrainian forces. The report could not be independently confirmed.

Donetsk is the main city in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, which is now the focus of the ground war between invading Russian forces and government troops.

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As we've been telling you, it's being reported that European companies could use a loophole in order to meet Russian demands that gas be paid for in roubles (see our earlier post).

But a senior EU official has now said that opening a bank account in roubles at Russia's Gazprombank – the reported loophole - may be in breach of EU sanctions.

However, the official said it had no formal indication that EU companies have set up rouble accounts for gas payments.

Poland's climate minister said the EU should penalise countries which use the currency to pay for Russian gas. Anna Moskwa said Poland is "counting on there being consequences for these countries".

This all follows the announcement by the Russia state-owned energy giant Gazprom that it had stopped gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria over their refusal to pay in roubles.

Image source, EPA

More now on Mariupol, which lies in ruins and is largely under Russian control.

There are some 100,000 residents left there – and they are in "mortal danger" due to "unsanitary" and "medieval" conditions, the city council has said.

There's a risk from diseases such cholera and dysentery due to the lack of sanitation, it said.

"Powerful and deadly epidemics" could soon take hold as it gets warmer, the council posted on Telegram.

It added that the decomposition of thousands of corpses under the rubble - and a catastrophic shortage of drinking water and food - could add to the outbreak.

"The occupiers are unable to provide the existing population with food, water and medicine - or just not interested in it," the city's mayor, Vadym Boychenko, said, calling for immediate and complete evacuation of Mariupol.

"They block all evacuation attempts and without that, people will die."

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres is in Kyiv today speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss setting up humanitarian corridors to get people out of Mariupol.

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UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is to discuss fresh attempts at setting up humanitarian corridors in Mariupol, including for those in the vast Azovstal steel works, during his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today.

Repeated efforts to evacuate thousands of trapped civilians in the devastated port city have so far failed. But why has it been so hard to guarantee people a passage to safety?

Humanitarian corridors have been mostly unsuccessful up to now - with Russia breaking its promised temporary ceasefire window to allow civilians out of bombarded cities - by blocking and shelling escape routes.

Many Mariupol residents fled on foot or by car when efforts to organise mass evacuations by bus - including with the help of the Red Cross - collapsed. Ukrainian officials say around 100,000 civilians remain in the city, which has been almost totally levelled by the Russian bombardment.

Moscow has also been accused of forcibly relocating thousands of civilians to Russia or Russian-controlled areas.

Hundreds of civilians are said to be with the Ukrainian fighters, in a network of bunkers and tunnels underneath the Azovstal steel plant.

Elderly people, children and many people with disabilities are among those stuck needing medicine, and about 600 seriously wounded fighters are not getting the care they need, including major surgery such as amputations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in principle to the UN and the Red Cross being involved in civilian evacuations, at a meeting with Guterres in Moscow on Tuesday - but Ukrainian officials remain pessimistic.

And the governor of Donetsk has said Russia is not agreeing to the evacuation of wounded Ukrainian fighters from the Azovstal steel works.

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Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says the military alliance is ready to support Ukraine for years to come in the war against Russia.

Speaking at a youth summit in Brussels, Stoltenberg said "we need to be prepared for the long term".

He added that "there is absolutely the possibility that this war will drag on and last for months and years".

Nato countries - alongside countries that are not part of the alliance - met in Ramstein, Germany, earlier this week to discuss how they can support Ukraine's defence and security.

The Nato chief said Ukraine's allies are preparing to provide it with Nato-standard weapons.

Several countries have been sending military assistance and financial aid to Ukraine since Russia's invasion on 24 February.

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Russia has deployed two pens of trained navy dolphins at the entrance to Sevastopol harbour in Crimea, according to the US Naval Institute (USNI).

The USNI concluded satellite images show the pens were moved to the location at the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February to protect a Black Sea naval base.

Sevastopol is said to be Russia's most significant naval base on the Black Sea, housing high-value ships out of range of Ukrainian missiles - but vulnerable to underwater infiltration and diver operations.

Traditionally, marine mammals have been trained by both US and Russian military to aid in underwater and counter-diver operations.

A beluga whale wearing a Russian harness was dubbed a spy for a Russian research programme when he was found off the coast of Norway in 2019.

The US Navy Marine Mammal Program, external claims dolphins can be trained to "assist security personnel in detecting and apprehending unauthorized swimmers and divers that might attempt to harm the Navy’s people, vessels, or harbour facilities".

Image source, Reuters

If you're just joining our live coverage of the war in Ukraine, here's a quick summary of what's been happening today:

• The Kremlin has warned the West that sending heavy weapons to Ukraine threatens security on the European continent
• Russia's foreign ministry singled out the UK for criticism, saying it was encouraging Ukraine to attack Russia within Russian territory
• UN chief Antonio Guterres is visiting some of the war-torn sites left behind by retreating Russian forces. "The worst of crimes is war itself," he said at the site of a mass grave in Bucha
• Guterres chose his words carefully, stopping short of blaming Russia directly. Later today he'll meet President Zelensky for talks and discuss the release of civilians still trapped in Mariupol
• In other news, 27,100 Ukrainians have so far arrived in the UK under special visa schemes. That's less than one-third of the total number of visas the government says it has issued
• Elsewhere, Nato says applications from Finland and Sweden to join the military alliance would be "welcomed with open arms" and processed quickly

A panel of experts are answering your questions about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

You can watch the broadcast now by clicking the blue play button at the top of this live page.

It's being reported that European energy companies could use a loophole in order to satisfy a Russian demand that gas be paid for in roubles – amid fears that the supply might be cut off to more countries.

On Wednesday, the state-owned energy giant Gazprom halted gas exports to Poland and Bulgaria over their refusal to pay in roubles.

Today, the Financial Times is reporting, external that two of the single largest importers of Russian gas to Europe - Germany's Uniper and Austria's OMV - are preparing to use a new system which allows them to acquiesce to Russia's demand.

In order not to breach EU sanctions, Russia established a mechanism in late March whereby European companies would continue to pay Gazprombank - the Swiss-based financial arm of Gazprom - for their imports in euros.

The Russian bank, which is not under EU sanctions, would then convert euro-denominated deposits into roubles in a second account opened in their name, for onward payment to Russia, the FT reports.

Tiina Tuomela, chief financial officer of Uniper, told the newspaper that the company believes this amended payment process complies with sanctions.

Image source, Reuters

Some more now from the Russian foreign ministry press conference, where spokesperson Maria Zakharova warned the West against encouraging Ukraine to attack inside Russian territory.

"Further provocation prompting Ukraine to strike against Russian facilities will be met with a harsh response from Russia," she said.

Zakharova singled out UK armed forces minister James Heappey - saying that his claim that it would be "legitimate" for Kyiv to carry out strikes in Russia was being taken by Ukraine as permission to act.

Russia would not allow Western officials visiting Ukraine to deter it from launching retaliatory strikes on nearby Ukrainian targets, she also warned.

"Advisers from Western countries staying in Ukraine's decision-making centres will not necessarily be a problem for Russia's response measures."

Image source, Reuters

Sending heavy weapons and other arms to Ukraine is dangerous for European security, the Kremlin has warned Western nations.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov was responding to a speech by UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss urging Kyiv's allies to "ramp up" military production to help Ukraine.

Western allies have maintained their support does not amount to a military confrontation between Moscow and Nato.

But Peskov told reporters: "The tendency to pump weapons, including heavy weapons into Ukraine, these are the actions that threaten the security of the continent, provoke instability."

It comes after President Vladimir Putin warned nations creating "strategic threats" for Russia by intervening in the Ukraine war would face a "lightning-fast" response.

Russia has still not received a response from Ukraine regarding its latest proposals for a possible peace agreement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova says.

"As of this morning, at the time of preparing for the briefing, the Russian side has not received an answer," Reuters reported her saying.

Both sides met for peace talks in Istanbul a month ago, but there has been no significant breakthrough since then.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said peace talks will continue with Russia despite accusing Moscow of war crimes and genocide.

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Moscow has responded to reports that the US is considering labelling Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, saying it is a measure of an "idiotic nature" which will not remain unanswered.

"We, of course, do not leave anything unanswered, and they should understand this," TASS news agency reported Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, as saying.

She said US attempts to take unfriendly measures against Russia - because of crimes allegedly committed in Ukraine - may "ricochet" on Washington.

"The more the US starts up this topic in the minds of the international community, the more the international community remembers the crimes of the US," she said.

Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney has urged countries to collect and preserve evidence of atrocities in Ukraine.

Speaking at the United Nations in New York on Wednesday, she said: "Ukraine today is a slaughterhouse."

She also said she feared politicians would get distracted by other matters and could become "numb" to the conflict.

Clooney is part of an international legal task force advising Ukraine on securing justice for the victims of war crimes.

Image source, Reuters

Western countries are now openly calling for Ukraine to attack Russia, Kremlin Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova says.

Speaking after a top UK minister said Ukrainian strikes on Russian targets were legitimate, she warned that the West should take Moscow's vows to respond to strikes on its territory seriously.

Her comments come after Russia reported multiple blasts and an ammunition depot fire yesterday in the country's south, the latest in a spate of incidents described by a top Ukrainian official as "karma."

As we reported earlier this morning, the UK's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told the BBC that it was fair for Ukraine to strike Russian targets in self-defence.

"If Ukraine did choose to target the logistics structure of the Russian army, that would be legitimate under international law," Wallace said.

Earlier this week another UK minister said it would be legitimate for Ukraine to use Western-supplied weapons on Russian soil.

We've been reporting that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is visiting sites around Kyiv that were previously occupied by Russian troops.

The UN chief spoke to reporters in Borodyanka, north west of the capital city, calling the war unacceptable and an "absurdity in the 21st century."

Image source, Reuters

Around 27,100 Ukrainians have reached the UK under special visa schemes as of Monday, the government says – less than one-third of the total number who've been issued visas.

The arrivals include 11,100 people on the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme – for Ukrainians who have named a sponsor providing them with accommodation.

It also includes 16,000 on the Ukraine Family Scheme - for Ukrainians joining family members already in the UK.

According to the government's data, external, 59,000 Ukrainian refugees who have been granted visas were yet to arrive in the UK as of Monday.

Earlier this month, the UK home secretary apologised for "frustrating" visa delays after would-be sponsors complained that the system was too slow and complicated.

In total, more than five million Ukrainians have left the country since the war began, the UN says.

Poland has taken in over half of those fleeing - 2.9 million people, more refugees than any other country.

Sarah Rainsford
Reporting from Irpin

Image source, EPA

After Borodyanka and Bucha, the UN chief's third stop was Irpin.

All along the route he passed scenes of terrible destruction: houses, shops, infrastructure smashed to burned ruins by the bombs and fighting. Russian forces occupied territory here close to Kyiv for most of March.

In the morning sunshine, there were some signs of life returning: small street market with tables of pork meat; on Voksalna street in Bucha what looked like a demining team; elsewhere, men repairing electricity pylons.

But these towns and suburbs have seen immense suffering.

Lt Gen Olexandr Pavlyuk, head of Kyiv region military administration, said it was important for Antonio Guterres to see the damage with his own eyes and hear what happened - and so that Russia could be stopped.

Whilst the troops have been pushed back from the capital, the fighting in eastern Ukraine is now intense and the general said he fears more atrocities are being committed.

Against a backdrop of a housing complex in charred tatters, its inside hanging out, Mr Guterres said he was struck by how innocent civilians "always pay the highest price… wherever there is war".

But as in Bucha and Borodyanka he chose his words carefully, talking about war in general and not blaming or criticising Russia directly.

The UN convoy has now sped off back to Kyiv to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky who previously criticised Guterres for visiting Moscow and Vladimir Putin first, before seeing what his troops have done here.

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Nato is ready to quickly welcome Finland and Sweden, should they decide to apply for membership, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels, the secretary general said it's up to each country to decide whether to apply for membership, but they would be "welcomed with open arms to Nato" if they chose to do so.

Stoltenberg said the formal joining process would "be quick" if Finland and Sweden apply.

He added that the Nato military alliance would also support both countries in the interim period between application and formal ratification.

Russia - which shares a 1,340km (830 miles) border with Finland - has previously said it would have to "rebalance the situation" with its own measures if Finland's Nato bid went ahead.

The Nato chief told reporters that he plans to speak with the Finnish president Sauli Niinisto later in the day.