James FitzGerald
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Throughout the war, ordinary Ukrainians and officials have been likening Russian troops to mythical monsters popularised by JRR Tolkien’s book The Lord of the Rings.

The creatures in question are orcs.

Just yesterday, two Russian spies were arrested in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region; the governor calling them "orcs" who were hatching a "treacherous plan".

In Tolkien's fantasy, orcs are seen as "brutal, aggressive and chaotic" says Ostap Slyvynsky, an associate professor at Lviv University who specialises in the literature of east-central Europe.

Some Ukrainians call Russia itself "Mordor" – alluding to a dark land in Tolkien’s work.

"I think people use these images to make clear a distinction between good and evil, and create a metaphor of what is going on in the real world," Slyvynsky explains.

"The terms are very emotionally loaded, of course."

As both a book and a film series directed by Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings has long been a popular work in Ukraine.

Slyvynsky says the fantasy has fed into the language of war since 2014 - when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula and Russian-backed separatists seized parts of the eastern Donbas region.

Two years later, Google fixed a bug which reportedly saw its translation tool turn the term "Russian Federation" into "Mordor" when a Ukrainian-to-Russian conversion was selected. It was widely speculated that this was the result of a hack.

Some Russians are thought to be adopting the term "orc" as a badge of honour, Slyvynsky says. In return, Ukrainians are being labelled "elves" – another Tolkien allusion – because Russians believe those fictional beings embody "softness and a lack of male power".

Slyvynsky says many Ukrainians have tried to see difficult events with "a huge dose of humour", and the use of colourful language is all part of that.

"These terms are kind of euphemisms," he says. "It is better to call Russians 'orcs' than more vulgar words."

Another mass grave containing 900 bodies has been found in the Kyiv region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

In an interview with Polish media outlets, he accused Russian troops of "clearing the tracks" and using mobile crematoriums to burn the corpses.

"Nobody knows how many people died in total. There will be consequences, there will be an investigation," Zelensky said.

He provided no further details.

Ukraine earlier accused Russian troops of killing hundreds of civilians in Bucha, Borodyanka and Irpin - the towns near the capital Kyiv which were for weeks occupied by Russia.

Moscow rejects the allegations.

Image source, EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has told Polish media he's still ready to speak to Vladimir Putin despite Russian atrocities in Bucha, Mariupol and other places.

Zelensky says he wants to meet President Putin because "a single man decides everything" in Russia.

He also said the risk of talks falling apart are high because of Russia's actions in the areas of Ukraine its forces have occupied.

"After Bucha and Mariupol people just want to kill them. When there is such attitude, it is hard to talk about anything," Zelensky said.

He went on to say he's with his people "in heart and soul" but "if there's a single chance, we should talk".

More now on the UK aid workers captured by Russia in Ukraine.

Paul Urey is one of the captives, said to have been detained at a Russian checkpoint in southern Ukraine on Monday.

His mother, Linda, spoke to the BBC about her concerns for her son's welfare.

She says she's worried about his health because he has type 1 diabetes, saying he will have taken insulin with him but thinks his supply will only last for so long.

Before leaving the UK, Paul told his mother he could not sit there and "watch people dying". He has been working as a volunteer for the Presidium Network non-governmental organisation in Ukraine.

The last time she spoke to her son she says he was in a good mood and looking for petrol. He said he was going to "save a woman and her two children".

Speaking directly to those holding him, she said: "Please let him come home to me, to his kids, to his dog... so he can come back to a boring life."

More now on Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov's latest comments.

Lavrov has said "Moldovans should be worried about their future, they are being dragged into Nato", Russian state news network Ria reports.

Mysterious explosions in Transnistria, a breakaway Russian-backed territory in Moldova bordering Ukraine, raised fears earlier this week about the conflict spreading.

Image source, .

Lavrov also says most of Russia's key partners have agreed to use Moscow's proposed payment methods for natural gas, state-run Tass news agency reports.

Russia earlier this week said it's no longer supplying gas to Poland and Bulgaria after the countries refused to pay for their supplies in roubles.

The EU has said it considers the move to be a form of blackmail.

Image source, EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV

Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said his country does not consider itself to be at war with Nato, according to state news agency Ria.

He says such a development would increase the risk of nuclear war, which cannot be allowed, Ria reports.

Lavrov has also said Russia is not threatening anyone with nuclear war, but accuses Western nations of doing so.

The foreign minister blames stalled peace talks with Ukraine on what he calls Kyiv's desire to "constantly play games", Ria reports.

The US has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of "depravity and brutality" in his invasion of Ukraine.

Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby said: "It's brutality of the coldest and the most depraved sort," Reuters news agency reported.

He told reporters. "I don't think we fully appreciated the degree to which he would visit that kind of violence and cruelty and as I said depravity, on innocent people, on non-combatants, on civilians, with such utter disregard for the lives he was taking."

He said it was hard to look at what Putin is doing in Ukraine and "think any ethical, moral individual could justify that".

Image source, EPA

Another indication now on Russian casualty figures.

The BBC's Russian service has been compiling a list of names of personnel whose deaths in Ukraine have been officially confirmed.

There are now 1,899 names on that list.

About 20% of the dead were airborne forces, and most of the dead came from deprived regions of Russia.

The BBC counted names given by regional authorities, local media and educational institutions announcing the deaths of former students.

The last time the Kremlin gave its own consolidated total was on 25 March, when 1,351 servicemen deaths were reported.

Ukrainian officials claim the true numbers are far higher. An aide to President Zelensky earlier called the figures "colossal".

But he also acknowledged his own country had taken serious losses.

Image source, EPA

The Bank of Russia has cut its key interest rate from 17% to 14%, saying the risks facing price and financial stability are no longer rising.

But the bank has admitted foreign sanctions are challenging and predicted imports could fall this year by more than a third, with exports likely to fall by about a fifth.

The bank's governor Elvira Nabiullina says Russia has the resources to avoid any financial default.

Interest rates were hiked to 20% shortly after the invasion of Ukraine.

Western nations have put in place unprecedented financial penalties on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

More now on the death in Kyiv of journalist Vira Hyrych, who was killed after the residential building she lived in was hit by a missile on Thursday in an attack which took place while the UN's chief was visiting the city.

The director of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Ukrainian Service, Maryana Drach, says Vira's death came as "an absolute shock" and is a great loss for the broadcaster and devastating for her family.

The Russian campaign to seize control of the Donbas region is behind schedule and moving slowly, a senior US defence official has said.

Fierce resistance from Ukrainian troops and caution after Russia's failure to capture Kyiv has led to "slow and uneven progress" in the region, the Pentagon believes.

The official said Russian troops are wary of getting ahead of their supply lines, adding: "We believe that essentially what they're doing is continuing to set conditions for a sustained and larger and longer offensive."

The Pentagon believes the Russians "are at least several days behind where they wanted to be," the official said.

Moscow has 92 battalion tactical groups in the east and south of Ukraine now, with more poised on the Russian side of the border, according to the US department of defence.

But those groups are not necessarily full-strength after significant setbacks in the first weeks of the invasion, the official said.

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Ukraine has received an 88.5 million euro ($93.54m, £74.46m) grant from the World Bank, according to the Reuters news agency, citing the country’s finance ministry.

In a statement, the ministry says the grants will be used for social, humanitarian and healthcare needs as well as to support people who’ve been internally displaced in the country.

It says it expects to receive an additional 495 million euros in grants from the World Bank Trust Fund.

Image source, Getty Images

Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska has indicated that she's not seen her husband since the war started more than two months ago.

Speaking to Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, she said she was seeing President Zelensky "just like you - on TV and on video tapes of his speeches".

Zelenska said the conflict has not changed her husband, as "he has always been like that [...] a man you can rely on".

Echoing comments from the president, she accused Russia of plotting to commit genocide – something that Russia has vehemently denied.

Zelenska was asked if she had any messages for the mothers or partners of Russian soldiers.

"I have nothing more to say to them," she said.

"If the coffins do not convince them that something is wrong here – I have nothing to say to them."

More now on the British aid workers Paul Urey and Dylan Healey, who are believed to have been captured by the Russian military.

The non-profit aid organisation the pair were in touch with is stressing they are "just humanitarian workers who got caught in a bad situation".

The Presidium Network says the men were mostly helping with the distribution of medical supplies and evacuations.

Dominik Byrne, one the founders, said: "We need to put pressure on the [UK] government to take this case seriously...

"But also because I know diplomatic channels are completely broken down, we use these tactics to find people by having it very public and putting pressure publicly on Russia to determine that they have got these two people and that they're safe and well."

He added: "We want to tell the Russians basically that these aren't spies. These aren't military people."

Image source, EPA

The rate at which Russian troops are being killed in Ukraine has slowed down, according to remarks from Western officials reported by the Reuters news agency.

They observed the decrease after Russia narrowed its operations to concentrate on eastern Ukraine.

But the numbers are still "quite high", Reuters quotes them saying.

As we've been reporting, a Ukrainian presidential adviser has conceded his country has seen losses in the east - but claimed Russia's own numbers were "colossal".

We've not been able to verify the claim. However, earlier this month, the Kremlin conceded it had experienced "significant losses".

The United States does not believe there's a threat of Russia using nuclear weapons despite a recent escalation in Moscow's rhetoric, a senior US defence official has said, according to Reuters.

The US is continuing to monitor Russia's nuclear capabilities every day "the best we can", the official says, speaking anonymously.

"We do not assess that there is a threat of the use of nuclear weapons and no threat to Nato territory," they say.

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The UK's ambassador to Ukraine, Melinda Simmons, says she is back in Kyiv after leaving the city when Russia invaded.

Boris Johnson announced during a visit to Delhi last week that the British embassy in the Ukrainian capital would reopen this week.

It comes after Russia withdrew forces from around Kyiv when it failed to seize the capital, and launched an assault on the eastern Donbas region.

Ukrainian special forces have regained control of the eastern village of Ruska Lozova, Ukraine's Ministry of Defence has said on Twitter.

The village is near the country's second city, Kharkiv, and is roughly 25 miles from Ukraine's border with Russia.

Kharkiv has suffered intense bombardments, with airstrikes and shelling, since the start of Russia's invasion.

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Image source, Reuters

If you are just joining us, or looking for a recap, here's a round-up of the latest events in Ukraine:

• Heavy fighting is continuing in eastern Ukraine as Russian forces try to take the entire Donbas region. But one military expert predicts that the Russian campaign in the east will collapse in weeks
• Ukraine has taken serious losses, but Russian casualties have been "colossal", says Oleksiy Arestovych, a Ukrainian presidential adviser
• A number of civilians have been killed in the latest Russian bombardment of the Donetsk region and Kharkiv to the north
• Meanwhile in Kyiv, we've learnt that Ukrainian journalist Vira Hyrych was killed in yesterday's Russian rocket strikes

• The capital's mayor Vitali Klitschko says the strikes - which took place during a visit by the UN chief - was Putin showing his middle finger to the international organisation
• Two British volunteers providing humanitarian assistance in Ukraine have been captured by the Russian military, an aid organisation says
• And Ukraine's government says it will attempt to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol where its soldiers are still holding out

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Image source, Department of Physical Culture and Sports

A 14-year-old girl who won gold medals in Ukraine's national weightlifting championships has been killed by Russian shelling in Mariupol, the city's council has said.

Alina Peregudova was a candidate for the national team of Ukraine and aspired to represent her country at the highest level.

"The 'Russian peace' came which liberated her from this future," Mariupol city council said on Telegram.

"The promising sportswoman from the Donetsk region died from enemy shells."

Her mother was also killed in the attack.

Alina was a pupil at the Donetsk Regional Specialised Professional College of Sports and the Serhiy Bubka College of Olympic Reserve.

"'Russian Peace' is killing - Mariupol and the world will never forget Russia's crime against humanity," the council added.

Ukraine's Department of Physical Culture and Sports said: "It's hard to find the words to convey my deepest condolences to all who knew the lost."