Ukraine's defence minister says he hopes to arm a million fighters as the country prepares for a "new, long phase of war"
The arrival of foreign weapons and "stimulating Ukrainian producers" will help further tip the balance against Russia, Oleksiy Reznikov says
Russian troops made three unsuccessful attempts to build bridges across a river in eastern Ukraine, Luhansk's regional governor says
Images from the scene show dozens of burnt-out tanks after Ukrainian forces shelled the temporary structures
Ukrainian defenders destroyed around 70 units of heavy weaponry and equipment over three days, says Serhiy Haidai
The first alleged war crime case since the conflict began has started in Ukraine's capital Kyiv
Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin, 21, faces possible life imprisonment on charges of war crimes and premeditated murder
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is starting his news conference in Sweden, where he has been meeting the prime minister as the country considers whether to join Nato.
The leaders have been discussing Europe's response to Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Image source, PoolBritish PM Boris Johnson and Swedish PM Magdalena Andersson sign a declaration of political solidarity
Boris Johnson is shortly due to speak at a press conference during a visit to Sweden where he is expected to talk about bolstering European security.
The prime minister has said he will support Sweden and Finland if they come under attack - amid debate within both nations about whether to join the Nato alliance.
The prime minister is on a 24-hour trip where he will be meeting with the leaders of Sweden and Finland to discuss the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
"We are steadfast and unequivocal in our support to both Sweden and Finland and the signing of these security declarations is a symbol of the everlasting assurance between our nations," the prime minister said in a statement issued before he speaks.
It said the PM would "set out the UK's intention to support the two nations' armed forces should either face crisis or come under attack".
As we've been reporting, pro-Russian authorities in occupied Kherson have raised the prospect of becoming part of Russia.
It remains the only major city that Russian forces have captured since the start of the invasion.
Its strategic importance can be seen by looking at our map of the parts of Ukraine under Russian military control - it is near Russia-annexed Crimea and the southern coast.
Pro-Kremlin authorities in Kherson, which has been occupied by Russian forces since early March, will ask Vladimir Putin to become part of Russia, Tass news agency reports.
Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the military administration in Kherson, is quoted by the Russian news agency as saying a decree will ask for the Kherson region to become a "full-fledged subject of the Russian Federation".
In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was for residents of Kherson to decide their own fate. He added that there needed to be a clear legal basis for such a move, claiming there had been one for the annexation of Crimea by Russian forces in 2014.
Since seizing Kherson, Russian military authorities dismissed its elected mayor from his post, have been introducing the Russian rouble as its currency and have blocked Ukrainian television channels.
Earlier, we reported that Ukraine will suspend the flow of Russian natural gas through one of its transit points, and reroute it - prompting concerns about what that means for countries on the other end.
Now we've had an update from Germany, which says its gas supply is currently still secure. But "we are monitoring the situation closely", the economy ministry said.
Germany is Europe's biggest natural gas consumer and is supplied gas from several European countries.
Ukraine's gas operator GTSOU said on Tuesday it would suspend flows through the Sokhranivka transit point, which it said delivered almost a third of fuel piped from Russia to Europe via Ukraine.
The company says it will divert deliveries for Europe to another route - the Sudzha entry point, the biggest of Ukraine's two crossing points.
But Russia's state gas supplier Gazprom says it is "technologically impossible" to shift all volumes to the new route.
Data provided by Gazprom suggests gas via the Sokhranivka route fell to zero on Wednesday. This suggests only Sudzha is now being used - and Gazprom says Russian gas flows to Europe fell by a quarter due to the switch.
But Germany's gas industry association says it will only be able to assess the impact of the shutdown of the transit point once it had seen how the move affects flows.
Phelan Chatterjee
BBC News
As we've been reporting, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is today visiting Sweden and Finland to discuss the war in Ukraine - at a time when both nations are considering whether to join the Nato military alliance.
But will they go from neutral to Nato?
Finland adopted neutrality in the aftermath of the Soviet Union's invasion of the country during World War Two, and if Sweden decides to join Nato it would end more than 200 years of non-alignment for the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has frequently used the prospect of Nato expanding to Ukraine to justify his invasion. So Sweden and Finland joining the alliance would be perceived as a provocation.
But since the war began, support in both countries for Nato membership has shot up.
Finnish public support for joining Nato was for years at around 20-25%. But since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it is up to a record high of 76%, external, according to the latest opinion poll. In Sweden, 57% of the population want to join, again far higher than before the war.
Image source, PA MediaBoris Johnson arriving at Stockholm Airport
The UK's Prime Minister Boris Johnson has arrived in Sweden for the start of a 24-hour trip where he will also visit Finland.
Johnson will meet the leaders of both nations - as they consider whether to join Nato - and discuss Europe's response to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, support for joining the Nato alliance has increased in both Sweden and Finland - despite their long history of military neutrality.
Johnson is scheduled to give a news conference in each country, before returning to the UK.
Previously, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would welcome Finland and Sweden with "open arms" and there would be minimal delay in processing their membership.
Russia is introducing its own currency, media and internet services into parts of Ukraine its army has occupied - especially the southern city of Kherson.
Ukraine says Russia may be planning to hold a referendum in the city - to see whether its inhabitants want to set up a pro-Russian breakaway "people's republic" - but the vote will be illegal and a sham.
Russian forces occupied Kherson in early March - one week after the invasion of Ukraine began. It was the first major city to fall.
Russia dismissed Kherson's elected mayor from his post and replaced him with a pro-Russian administration for the city and surrounding region.
Access to Ukrainian television channels has been blocked and internet service providers replaced with Russian ones.
Image source, EPAPeter Szijjarto said no solution has been found at EU level
We've reported plenty about how dependent Europe is on Russian gas, but the EU has targeted a total ban on oil imports as part of its toughest measures yet against Russia.
But not every EU member is on board.
Member state Hungary says oil sanctions against Russia would "destroy" the Hungarian economy.
Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said the European Commission doesn't have a solution for the "huge problems it would create for Hungary", despite talks that have been taking place, Reuters reported.
He added that an agreement on an oil embargo would only work if it applied to maritime oil shipments, and all shipments of Russian oil via pipelines would be fully exempted.
More now on Ukraine's counter-offensive near Kharkiv, after Ukrainian officials earlier said their troops had reclaimed some towns near the key city.
Kharkiv is under heavy fire and "fierce battles" are ongoing in the region, governor Oleg Synegubov has said.
Kharkiv is the second-largest Ukrainian city and has been the focus of intense shelling since the invasion began.
Synegubov said Russian troops have left behind "deadly traps" in the region and he urged residents to stay in shelters, rather than "rush to liberated settlements".
"The enemy is insidious and is doing everything to hurt as many civilian Ukrainians as possible," he said on Telegram.
Due to successful offensive operations by Ukrainian troops, they have liberated several nearby towns from Russian forces, Synegubov added.
"Thus, the enemy was driven even further from Kharkiv, and the occupiers had even less opportunity to fire on the regional centre," he said.
Image source, .
Image source, ReutersAs we reported earlier, Ukraine has said it will suspend the flow of natural gas through a transit point it says delivers almost a third of the fuel piped from Russia to Europe through Ukraine.
But how much gas does Russia supply to Europe?
In 2019 Russia accounted for 41% of the EU's natural gas imports, external.
Italy and Germany would be particularly vulnerable to supplies drying up as they are the countries that import the most gas from Russia.
Russia only provides about 5% of the UK's gas supplies.
Gas is sent to Europe from Russia through several main pipelines.
Europe could turn to existing gas exporters such as Qatar, Algeria or Nigeria as alternatives - but there are political obstacles to expanding production quickly.
Image source, ReutersRussia has lost 26,350 troops since it invaded Ukraine on 24 February, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence said in its latest update.
Ukraine claims the total losses from Russia are:
The BBC has not been able to independently verify these claims.
Image source, EPAThe UK's prime minister will visit Sweden and Finland later today to discuss the war in Ukraine, as both nations consider whether to join the Nato alliance.
Boris Johnson will meet the leaders of both countries during a 24-hour trip on Wednesday.
His official spokesman said the visit was also about the "security of Europe more broadly".
Support for joining Nato has increased in both Sweden and Finland since Russia invaded Ukraine, despite their long history of pursuing policies of military neutrality to avoid conflict with regional powers.
Both countries are expected to decide within days whether to join the alliance.
Image source, EPAMore now on the warning from US intelligence that Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for a long war in Ukraine, with even victory in the east potentially not ending the conflict.
It comes as fierce fighting continues in the east, where Russia is trying to take territory.
Moscow refocused its troops on capturing the Donbas region after Ukraine resisted attempts to take its capital, Kyiv. But despite this, its forces remain in a stalemate, US intelligence said.
Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, told a US Senate committee hearing on Tuesday that Putin was still intending "to achieve goals beyond the Donbas", but that he "faces a mismatch between his ambitions and Russia's current conventional military capabilities".
Fighting is continuing on Ukraine's Zmiinyi Island, also known as Snake Island, the UK's Ministry of Defence has said in its daily intelligence update.
The MoD says Russia is repeatedly trying to reinforce its exposed garrison on the island, but Ukraine successfully struck Russian air defences and resupply vessels with Bayraktar drones.
Russia's resupply vessels now have minimum protection in the Black Sea - following a retreat after the loss of the sunken Moskva warship - the MoD says.
The island is of strategic importance because it provides access to Ukraine's major port cities, namely Odesa.
At the beginning of the war, 13 Ukrainian soldiers were thought to have been killed by Russian troops on the island after they were heard telling a Russian warship to "go to hell" - though Ukraine later confirmed they were alive.
Eurovision 2022: Emotions run high as Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra qualify for final
And now for some lighter news. Last night Ukrainians celebrated in the Italian city of Turin, as folk-rap band The Kalush Orchestra qualified for Eurovision's final on Saturday.
Support for the band has swelled since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, and the semi-final victory has cemented their position as favourites to win the competition.
You can read more about the first semi-final here.
Peter Hoskins
Business reporter, BBC News
Image source, Getty ImagesDespite the invasion, Russian gas still passes through Ukraine into Europe
Ukraine has said for the first time since the war started that it would suspend the flow of natural gas through a transit point, which it said delivers almost a third of the fuel piped from Russia to Europe through Ukraine.
Kyiv blames Moscow for the move, saying it would move the flows elsewhere.
Even after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, it has remained a major transit route for Russian gas to Europe.
However, Russian troops have been taking gas transiting through Ukraine and sending it to Russian-backed separatist areas in the eastern Donbas region of the country, the boss of the operator of Ukraine's gas network GTSOU told the Reuters news agency, without providing evidence.
GTSOU says it will stop shipments via the Sokhranivka route from today.
That comes after it declared a so-called force majeure, a clause invoked when a business is impacted by something that is beyond its control.
Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom said it had received notification from Ukraine that it would stop the transit of gas to Europe via the Sokhranivka interconnector from 0700 local time on Wednesday.
However, Gazprom, which has a monopoly on Russian gas exports by pipeline, says it is "technologically impossible" to shift all volumes to the Sudzha interconnection point further west, as GTSOU proposed.
Gazprom added that it was meeting all of its obligations to buyers of gas in Europe.
The United States has called on countries to curb their dependence on Russian energy and has banned Russian oil and other energy imports in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.
Tuesday's announcement does not change the timeline to lessen global dependence on Russian oil "as soon as possible", US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said.
Image source, EPAMs Pelosi had urged fellow Democrats to approve the bill
We've also got more on the Ukraine funding that was recently approved in the US.
On Tuesday the US House of Representatives voted on a bill that will provide $39.8bn (£32.3bn) in aid for Ukraine.
It includes $6bn for security assistance, as well as $8.7bn to pay for the replenishment of US military stocks already sent to Ukraine.
Another $3.9bn is earmarked for intelligence and mission support.
The supplemental bill, introduced to the House by House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro, represents a significantly higher figure than the $33m requested by President Biden.
In a letter to fellow Democrats on Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that lawmakers hoped to see a "bipartisan vote" on the "monumental" package.
"Time is of the essence - and we cannot afford to wait," Pelosi wrote.
"With this aid package, America sends a resounding message to the world of our unwavering determination to stand with the courageous people of Ukraine until victory is won."
In the end the bill was passed with 368 saying yes and 57 saying no. It's now headed to the Senate, where it's likely to be approved.
More on Ukraine's counteroffensive near Kharkiv.
Officials say their troops have reclaimed some towns near the key city in the north of Ukraine, in an effort to push Russian forces back towards the border.
The settlements of Cherkaski Tyshky, Ruski Tyshki, Borshchova and Slobozhanske were back in Ukrainian hands, a military spokesman said.
Military analysts say Ukraine’s northern campaign continues to successfully push Russian forces back.
The Institute of War, a US-based think tank, noted one Russian source, external which claimed that Russian troops had been pushed back to within 10km (6 miles) of the border.
Image source, Institute of WarPresident Zelensky spoke about the counteroffensive last night in a video address - while sounding a note of caution.
“But I also want to urge all our people… not to spread excessive emotions.
"We should not create an atmosphere of excessive moral pressure, where victories are expected weekly and even daily."
Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine, where it’s 07:30 in Kyiv.
This is Tessa Wong and Frances Mao in Singapore, stay with us as we continue to bring you the latest on the war.