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
Ros Atkins looks at why Nato’s border with Russia looks likely to expand significantly, as both Finland and Sweden consider applying to join the alliance.
Ros Atkins on… Finland, Nato and Russia
All eyes are now on Finland as their President and Prime Minister are set to lay out their positions on whether or not the country might join Nato.
The Nordic country has had a long history of neutrality - but as the war in Ukraine rages, public support for joining Nato has soared to record highs.
We'll bring you more on this as it happens - for now its Yvette Tan and Zubaidah Abdul Jalil signing out and handing over to our colleagues Holly Wallis, Malu Cursino and Thom Poole in London who will bring you the latest updates.
German industrial conglomerate Siemens has announced on Thursday it would pull out of the Russian market as a result of the war on Ukraine.
"We will exit Russia with an orderly ramp down of activities," a statement posted on the firm's Twitter account said on Thursday., external
The company had earlier announced in March it would halt all new business and international deliveries to Russia, but would continue local service and maintenance-related activities while ensuring "strict adherence to sanctions."
But the firm said in a press statement on Thursday that "comprehensive international sanctions ... impact the company’s business activities in Russia, particularly rail service and maintenance."
Siemens has had dealings with Russia since the 1850s, and until recently was a supporter of greater economic rapprochement between Germany and Russia.
Phelan Chatterjee
BBC News
We’ll get a lot closer to a definitive answer this morning. President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin will be setting out their positions at 10:00 local time (07:00 GMT).
It’s likely to be a yes from both. That would pave the way for a final decision to be made involving parliament in the coming days.
In neighbouring Sweden, the ruling party – which has been divided on the issue – will say if it’s in favour of joining the alliance on Sunday.
The two Nordic nations have a long history of neutrality, which has shaped their foreign policy and identity. Becoming Nato members would be a monumental shift.
As Putin’s war in Ukraine rages, low levels of public support for joining have soared to record highs, with 76% of Finns, external and 57% of Swedes saying they’re in favour.
But not everyone agrees it’ll make their countries safer. And Russia – which uses Nato expansion as a pretext for its invasion – is strongly opposed to the move.
Read more: Are Sweden and Finland going from neutral to Nato?
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, ReutersAzovstal has for weeks been under heavy Russian bombardment
A Ukrainian marine commander, holed up with other fighters at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, has personally appealed to Elon Musk to help them safely leave the southern city that has for weeks been besieged by Russian invaders.
In a Twitter post, Serhiy Volyna wrote: "People say you come from another planet to teach people to believe in the impossible.
"Our planets are next to each other, as I live where it is nearly impossible to survive. Help us get out of Azovstal to a mediating country. If not you, then who? Give me a hint."
In a separate Facebook post, Volyna described Musk as a "superhuman", asking him to help with the evacuation to "a third country".
Hundreds of marines - as well as Azov regiment fighters, National Guard members and border guards - are the last Ukrainian defenders sheltering from heavy Russian bombardment in underground bunkers at Azovstal, a vast industrial area.
Musk has so far not commented on the marine commander's plea.
All attempts to evacuate the Ukrainian fighters, many of whom are seriously injured, have so far been unsuccessful. However, hundreds of civilians have been allowed to leave the site in recent days.
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Image source, ReutersFrom left to right: European Council President Charles Michel, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Tokyo
Russia is the "most direct threat" to the international order because of its "barbaric" war in Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has warned.
Speaking after Thursday's talks in Tokyo with Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, she also mentioned Moscow's "worrying pact with China".
European Council President Charles Michel also took part in the summit in the Japanese capital.
Meanwhile, Mr Kishida said: "Russia's invasion of Ukraine is not just a matter for Europe, but it shakes the core of the international order including Asia. This must not be tolerated."
Welcome back to our live coverage of the Ukraine crisis. It's just past 07:00 in Kyiv, and if you're just joining us now, here is the round-up of the latest:
This is Yvette Tan and Zubaidah Abdul Jalil in Singapore, stay with us as we continue to bring you the latest on the war.
Image source, ReutersWe'll be back on Thursday morning. We leave you with a round-up of the latest from Ukraine.
On the ground:
Beyond Ukraine:
Image source, Getty ImagesBen Wallace and Lloyd Austin met at the Pentagon
British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said that Russia will emerge from its war in Ukraine weaker than it was before the invasion.
Speaking to reporters in Washington - where he met US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin - Wallace said that only Vladimir Putin "can know where his off-ramp is going to be".
"He's got to reconcile that in the long run he's lost," he added. "Whatever happens in Ukraine, let's consider that Russia is a lesser country now than it was before this invasion."
Wallace also said that Russia's military "is worn out" and may have difficulties reconstituting itself amid harsh sanctions.
Additionally, Wallace said he believes China is growing increasingly wary of Russia's actions, seeing them as "bad for business".
"He's a rather inconvenient friend," he said. "You don't see a full-throated support."
Gordon Corera
Security correspondent, BBC News
Image source, Getty ImagesDespite major cyber-attacks in the West so far not having materialised, a senior US intelligence official says that the ongoing cyber-conflict over Ukraine could escalate.
In an interview with the BBC, Rob Joyce, director of cyber-security at the National Security Agency, said that while a single massive attack hasn't taken place, there has been a "sustained conflict" in the cyber realm.
So far, this has included Russia deploying eight or nine different viruses to wipe computer systems.
On Tuesday, the US, UK and EU accused it of targeting a satellite communications provider used by the Ukrainian military - an attack that also affected other customers in Europe.
Joyce added that US officials are concerned that Russia could increasingly turn to cyber-attacks as its campaign in Ukraine falters and sanctions bite on its economy.
"Our worry is that it's a decision point," he said. "When that decision point happens, there certainly is capability to come after some of that [Western] infrastructure."
Read more about the cyber-conflict over Ukraine here.
Image source, Ukraine's defence ministryA photo purportedly showing destroyed Russian armoury on the banks of the Siverskyi Donets river, Luhansk region
Ukraine's military says it has again destroyed pontoon bridges that Russian troops were using to cross a river in the eastern Luhansk region, where heavy fighting has been raging for days.
The Ukrainian defence ministry published photos of what it said were destroyed Russian tanks and other armoury in the village of Bilohorivka, near the strategic Ukrainian-held city of Lysychansk.
Luhansk regional head Serhiy Haidai described Bilohorivka as a "fortress" that - like the city of Mariupol - was "holding back a great number" of Russian troops.
Image source, Ukraine's defence ministryRussian pontoon bridges were smashed by Ukrainian artillery, Kyiv says
Russia's military has not commented on the Ukrainian claim, which has not been independently verified.
After failing to capture Ukraine's capital Kyiv and the north-east of the country during the first few weeks of its invasion, Russia said it would now be focusing on taking full control of the Luhansk and the neighbouring Donetsk regions in the east.
Moscow has so far failed to achieve this.
Image source, Getty ImagesA fragment of a Russian missile pictured near Kharkiv on 8 May
Nearly 800 cruise and ballistic missiles have been launched at targets in Ukraine since the war began on 24 February, according to an operational update from the general staff of Ukraine's military.
In the update, the general staff said that the missiles mostly targeted Ukraine's south and east, although "they [the Russians] also repeatedly fired on other objects of critical infrastructure of social significance".
In a separate update, the general staff said that fighting continued on Wednesday in various parts of Ukraine.
In Kharkiv, it said that Russia is reinforcing its offensives to stem a counter-offensive being conducted by Ukrainian troops, which recently re-took a number of villages in the area.
In Mariupol, the general staff said that Russian forces were continuing to launch artillery and airstrikes amid continued resistance at the Azovstal steel plant.
Children 'suddenly have to learn what war looks like'
Unicef spokesman James Elder has described the devastating impact of Russia's invasion on the children of Ukraine.
Elder said it was "infuriating" to see young boys and girls with mortal wounds or injuries from which they may not recover.
Image source, Ukraine Government HandoutUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his televised address
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has praised the US House of Representatives for approving a $40bn (£32.66bn) assistance package for Ukraine, saying the aid will quickly contribute to Ukraine's defence.
The package must still be approved by the US Senate before being signed by President Joe Biden. It has strong bipartisan support from US lawmakers.
In a televised address, Zelensky said the funds will provide weapons, ammunition, and support for "the investigation of war crimes... [as well as] support for diplomatic work and more."
Additionally, Zelensky also thanked President Biden for signing "lend-lease" legislation that allows equipment to be quickly sent to Ukraine, provided that it is replaced or reimbursed later.
"We will have access to modern weapons, ammunition, and equipment, and we do not need to look for options to pay for it all," he said.
The system was first used in the Second World War to streamline US aid to its allies fighting Nazi Germany, including the Soviet Union.
"Simply put, lend-lease is a scheme to give us everything we need for defence," Zelensky said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said that Ukraine can expect to feel the aftermath of Russia's war "for 100 years" because of unexploded bombs littering cities.
"That is why we will also have to work together on the reconstruction," he told reporters at a news conference in Berlin.
Referring to Germany's war-torn past, the German chancellor said "those who live in Germany know that bombs from World War Two are still frequently discovered".
Image source, Getty ImagesIn December 2020, police closed a street and people had to leave their homes in western Germany because a World War Two bomb weighing 500kg was found and it had to be defused
New images published by the Reuters news agency on Wednesday have shown more devastation in Mariupol.
The south-eastern port city - now under near-total Russian control - has seen some of the worst fighting of the war.
Image source, ReutersMany of the city's residential buildings have been destroyed
Image source, ReutersDrone footage has revealed entire apartment blocks obliterated by shelling
Image source, ReutersSome of these are now being cleared by emergency workers
Image source, ReutersRussian troops have almost total control of the key port city
Image source, ReutersThey continue to bombard the Azovstal metal works - which is sheltering Mariupol's last Ukrainian defenders
Image source, .Right from the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Snake Island was given a vital and almost mythical status in the war. This unremarkable, rocky outcrop in the Black Sea - where 13 Ukrainian soldiers defiantly refused to surrender to Russian forces, telling a warship to "go to hell" - was seized by Russia and has become a battleground of strategic value.
Russia claims Ukraine has sustained disastrous losses in a failed bid to recapture the island - but Ukraine insists its operations have been more targeted. British intelligence claims Russia is trying to strengthen its exposed garrison there.
The island is crucial for control of the western Black Sea. But it's thought Russia could gain a hold over wider Ukrainian territory - including Odesa - if it's able to set up long-range air-defence systems there.
Controlling Snake Island could also give Russian troops the chance to break into nearby Transnistria - a breakaway region of Moldova that's under Russian control.
Image source, Getty ImagesUkraine's armed forces have published their evening update on the fighting.
Here are some of the key takeaways:
It was not possible for the BBC to independently verify the claims.
Image source, .
Quentin Somerville
Reporting from Kharkiv
Image source, DARREN CONWAY/BBCRaisa Opanasivna's village was recently liberated
The village of Ruska Lozova stands at the centre of what could be a shift in the war's momentum: a Ukrainian offensive to push Russian troops back towards the border.
It was recently liberated in a co-ordinated effort led by senior military commanders. Ukrainian troops from territorial defence, the national guard, and the regular army are seeking to push the Russians back along a 32-km (20-mile) front line. In the Russian city of Belgorod, just across the border, troops have amassed for a likely counter-offensive.
We drove north from the city of Kharkhiv with Ukrainian forces. Russian shells continued to hit the village.
With no power or water, little food, and neither phone or internet, its residents had been isolated from Ukraine's second-largest city - just 8km (5 miles) south. From the woods and hills nearby, Russian mortars and artillery shelled Kharkiv relentlessly.
Image source, .At an army aid station we met Raisa Opanasivna, who has lived in Ruska Lozova for 30 years. The 66-year-old approached the Ukrainian soldiers weighed down by history - and two large plastic shopping bags.
Under a knitted grey beanie, her gaunt face was weather-beaten, her slim frame stooped. She hadn't seen this many people for months. Since the beginning of the war, her village had been under Russian occupation.
The Russians had come house to house. "They were checking homes, asking if we have rifles. But I have nothing. I'm alone," Raisa said.
Ruska Lozova has been torn apart, but more than that, Raisa's whole world had been upended by Russia's invasion. In the east, the war is bringing not just a re-examination of people's relationship to Russia - barely 30km north - but a more personal reassessment of what it means to be a Russian-speaking Ukrainian.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he has been discussing defence assistance, energy co-operation and "increasing the pressure of sanctions" on Russia with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Zelensky has said on Twitter:"I value the level of dialogue with Germany and its support for our fight."
The Ukrainian president has previously been critical of Germany's reliance on Russian energy.
Germany's finance minister has said his country's moving "as fast as possible" to wean itself off Russian energy but "we have to be patient".