Good morning and thanks for joining us as we restart our coverage of the war in Ukraine. Here are some of the latest headlines:

• Ukraine's President Zelensky expects "good news" on the supply of heavy weapons from the West next week, he said in his regular nightly address
• Zelensky also admitted the situation on the front line in Donbas and parts of Kharkiv region is "indescribably difficult" for the Ukrainian army
• He accused Russian forces of trying to prevent the "departure" of Ukrainians from occupied areas of the Kherson region in the south
• Elsewhere, heavy fighting is continuing near Severodonetsk in Luhansk Region, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed forces says
• The update also claims hospitals in annexed Crimea are suspending the admission of civilians in order to free up beds for wounded Russian soldiers

Image source, Reuters

We're pausing our live coverage. Here's a round-up of the day's main developments:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz this morning
• In the call the Russian leader was urged to hold "serious negotiations" with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky
• The French and German leaders asked Putin to release Ukrainian fighters who were holed up inside the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol and who were subsequently taken prisoner by Russia after surrendering
• Moscow said the city of Lyman has fallen under the full control of Russian and Russian-backed forces
• Lyman is a small city in the Donetsk region but is another significant victory for Russian forces in the eastern Donbas
• There are battles taking place in the streets of Severodonetsk, the regional governor says
• Russia has scrapped its age limit for professional soldiers, paving the way for more civilians to be recruited for the Ukraine conflict

Image source, Getty Images

The sale of Chelsea Football Club is expected to be completed on Monday after a "final and definitive agreement" was reached with the consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly.

Chelsea were put up for sale in March before owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned over his links to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had recently ordered the invasion of Ukraine.

The Premier League and UK government have approved the £4.25bn takeover.

The club have been operating under a special government licence which expires on 31 May.

Abramovich, who bought Chelsea in 2003, said he was "pleased this search has now come to a successful conclusion".

He added: "As I hand over Chelsea to its new custodians, I would like to wish them the best of success, both on and off the pitch.

"It has been an honour of a lifetime to be a part of this club - I would like to thank all the club's past and current players, staff, and of course fans for these incredible years."

Read in full

Ukraine has started receiving Harpoon anti-ship missiles from Denmark and self-propelled howitzers from the US, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has said.

"The coastal defence of our country will not only be strengthened by Harpoon missiles – they will be used by trained Ukrainian teams," Reznikov wrote on his Facebook page.

Reznikov said the supplies of Harpoon missiles were the result of cooperation between several countries.

Ukraine has been requesting more sophisticated weapons but so far most aid has been in short-range systems such as anti-tank weapons.

The US is considering a request from Ukraine to supply Kyiv with heavier longer-range weapons but hasn't come to a final decision yet.

Image source, .

Having abandoned his campaign to capture the capital Kyiv, Vladimir Putin is now looking for military victory in the east of Ukraine.

As battles rage in the eastern Donbas region, some semblance of normality is returning to the capital.

The city has been hosting events to celebrate Kyiv Day on the last weekend of May.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

A court in Ukraine has sentenced a man to 15 years in prison for helping Russian troops in the Donetsk region.

The 40-year-old was found guilty of providing them with information about the location of Ukrainian military facilities in the city of Kharkiv which were subsequently shelled.

He was detained in Uzhhorod, close to the border with Slovakia, where prosecutors said he had moved to carry out further subversive activities.

Image source, Arif Bagirov

A Ukrainian man has managed to flee the heavily-bombed eastern city of Severodonetsk by bicycle, dodging Russian shells and warplanes.

Speaking to BBC Newshour, Arif Bagirov, 45, said the trip was the "craziest journey" he has ever undertaken.

"There was a lot of firing, and at least two air strikes near me," he said, recounting his 70km (43-mile) bike ride to the city of Bakhmut.

The editor and blogger said he knew if one shell landed close then Russian troops were unlikely to fire on that area again. Using those tactics, he reached Bakhmut unharmed.

"There were holes on the road, everything there was smashed up, including cars," Mr Bagirov said.

"And there was a lot of debris all over the place. It's a front-line road, after all. Thank God, there were no corpses - but you could tell that people have died there."

Read more about Arif's journey here.

Image source, Getty Images

A ship has entered the Ukrainian port of Mariupol for the first time since Russia completed its capture of the city, Russian media reports.

A spokesperson for the port told the Tass news agency that metal bound for Russia was loaded at the port.

Ukraine's Human Rights Ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova said the shipment amounted to looting.

"Looting in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine continues," she wrote on the Telegram.

"Following the theft of Ukrainian grain, the occupiers resorted to exporting metal products from Mariupol."

After almost three months of relentless assault, Mariupol fell to Russian forces this month.

Read more: The 80 days that left a flourishing city in ruins

Roman Lebed and Rhodri Davies
Reporting from Kyiv

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said that the Russian invasion of his country has destroyed more than 25,000 km of roads, several hundred bridges, and 12 airports.

Speaking to the BBC, Shmyhal said that more than 100 educational institutions, over 500 medical facilities, and 200 factories are also ruined or damaged.

"About 35% of the economy is currently not functioning,” he said.

More than 300,000 sq. km of land had been mined or contaminated with bombs, he added.

Shmyhal estimated that 30 to 50% of the country's GDP has been lost. The monthly budget deficit is $5 billion (£3.9 billion).

According to various estimates, the direct damage to infrastructure and the economy is about $600 billion.

Shmyhal said that the government has allocated more than $50 billion for immediate reconstruction, where that was possible.

The next stage will be to restore major infrastructure, such as power and water supplies, and to reconstruct bridges and roads, he said.

The third stage, he said, will be the “great rebuilding of our country”.

“We do not just want to restore bricks and concrete. We want to build a new state.”

The PM said this will require Ukrainian funds, international help, and Russian money.

“We are convinced that the aggressor must pay for the destruction it has created. It should be clear, at the expense of frozen Russian assets - confiscated and transferred to Ukraine for joint restoration of our state," he said.

During their phone discussion, the leaders of France and Germany asked Vladimir Putin to hold "direct serious negotiations" with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron held the 80-minute conversation with the Russian president this morning.

The two EU leaders "insisted on an immediate ceasefire and a withdrawal of Russian troops", the German chancellor's office said.

Macron and Scholz urged Putin to have "serious direct negotiations with the Ukrainian president and (find) a diplomatic solution to the conflict".

Ukrainian presidential adviser and peace talks negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak earlier said that any agreement with Russia cannot be trusted.

"Any agreement with Russia isn't worth a broken penny," Podolyak wrote on Telegram.

"Is it possible to negotiate with a country that always lies cynically and propagandistically?"

Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other after peace talks broke down, with the last known face-to-face negotiations on 29 March.

More now on Vladimir Putin's call with Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz.

The French president and German chancellor asked Russia's president to release Ukrainian fighters who were holed up inside the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol and who were subsequently taken prisoner by Russia after surrendering.

"The president of the Republic and the German chancellor asked for the release of some 2,500 defenders of Azovstal made prisoners of war by the Russian forces," the French presidency said after the telephone call between the leaders.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, AFP

Russia has scrapped its age limit for professional soldiers, paving the way for more civilian experts to be recruited for the Ukraine conflict.

President Vladimir Putin has signed a law enabling people over 40 to enlist for the armed forces. They are expected to be people of normal working age.

Previously the army had age limits of 18-40 years for Russians and 18-30 for foreigners.

The new law says specialists are required to operate high-precision weapons and “experience shows that they become such by the age of 40-45”. More medics, engineers and communications experts may also be recruited.

Ukrainian and Western military experts say Russia has suffered heavy losses in the war: about 30,000 killed, according to Ukraine, while the UK government estimates the toll at about 15,000. Soviet losses in nine years of war in Afghanistan were about 15,000.

Russia gave a total of 1,351 dead on 25 March, which it has not updated.

President Putin has avoided large-scale conscription for what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Image source, Getty Images

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz this morning.

Putin told the two leaders that supplying arms to Ukraine was "dangerous", warning "of the risks of further destabilisation of the situation and aggravation of the humanitarian crisis", the Kremlin said.

Putin also said he was ready to look for ways to ship grain stuck in Ukrainian ports during Moscow's military campaign, it added.

"Russia is ready to help find options for the unhindered export of grain, including the export of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports," the Kremlin said.

"An increase in the supply of Russian fertilisers and agricultural products will also help reduce tensions on the global food market, which, of course, will require the removal of the relevant sanctions."

"Special attention" was paid to negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, "which is frozen through the fault of Kyiv", the Kremlin said.

"Vladimir Putin confirmed the openness of the Russian side to the resumption of dialogue."

Image source, Getty Images

Just joining us or need a re-cap? Here's are the latest developments in Ukraine:

• Moscow says the city of Lyman has fallen under the full control of Russian and Russian-backed forces
• Lyman is a small city in the Donetsk region but is another significant victory for Russian forces in the eastern Donbas
• There are street battles taking place in the streets of Severodonetsk, the regional governor says
• Ukraine has warned it may have to withdraw its forces from Luhansk to avoid them being captured by Russian forces
• Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says he discussed strengthening defence support for Ukraine during a call with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson
• Former US President Donald Trump has called on US lawmakers to prioritise funding for school security over sending military aid to Ukraine

Image source, Getty Images

Former US President Donald Trump has called on US lawmakers to prioritise funding for school security over sending military aid to Ukraine.

Speaking at a pro-gun conference, Trump questioned how the US "has $40 billion to send to Ukraine" but cannot ensure security in schools.

The meeting of the National Rifle Association, the US's largest gun-owners' organisation, is taking place in Houston.

The intervention comes days after 21 people died in a Texas school shooting.

"Before we nation-build the rest of the world, we should be building safe schools for our own children in our own nation," Trump said in Friday's speech, drawing loud applause.

Earlier this month, the US Congress overwhelmingly voted to send nearly $40bn (£31bn) in military aid to Ukraine. In total, US lawmakers have sent about $54bn to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February.

Read in full

Image source, Getty Images

Street fights are taking place in Severodonetsk as Russian forces seek to take control of the city, the regional governor says.

Serhiy Haidai, the governor of the Luhansk region, posted on Telegram that Russian forces had "suffered significant losses and were forced to retreat" in ​​Severodonetsk and nearby areas.

However, Russian troops are continuing to attack the city from the rear, he said.

"The enemy fired on Severodonetsk several times, at least three times - very heavily, and street fights broke out in some places," he said, adding that 14 high-rise buildings were damaged.

The nearby village of Synetsky was also shelled, he said.

The BBC has been unable to independently verify the claims.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says he has spoken on the phone with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to discuss a number of topics.

In his tweet, external, Zelensky says the two leaders dicsussed strengthening defence support for Ukraine, intensifying work on security guarantees and supplying fuel to Ukraine.

"We must work together to prevent a food crisis and unblock Ukrainian ports," he says.

Their conversation comes as Ukraine faces mounting losses in the east as Russia looks to secure further territory in the Donbas region.

Image source, PA Media

Zhanna Bezpiatchuk
BBC Ukrainian Service reporter

Image source, Lena Trendyuk

Severodonetsk is the focus of Russian forces in its quest to take control of the eastern Donbas region.

Officials say Russian troops have entered the strategically vital city, but that Ukraine's military is still repelling attacks. Much of the city lies in ruins and most have fled.

Lena Trendyuk, 44, ran a successful cake making business in the city before the Russian invasion. She fled in March and is now in Lviv.

“When the first explosions happened ... it took a few days to destroy all roads there. Then all supermarkets were destroyed. What I observed in March was almost half of the city reduced to rubble or severely damaged," she tells me.

"Now over 70% of the city is simply destroyed. There are almost no more roads left at least relatively untouched. All bridges are blown up”.

Since March there has been no way to contact anyone in the city, she says.

"There has been no mobile connection with my friend in the outskirts of Severodonetsk. I don’t know if she is still alive," she says.

Image source, Lena Trendyuk

Trendyuk was forced to flee with very few possessions as the city was being shelled.

She's now helping her sister make cakes in Lviv, but business is far slower than before in her hometown.

“I hope I might be able to come back one day to Severodonetsk. I spent most of my life there. I want it to be Ukraine. And it has to be Ukraine there. I won’t be able to live in Russia," she says.

“In recent years even those who were the most sceptical about the future of Severodonetsk and the Donbas trusted the peace we achieved. People believed in a better future and in peace for the Donbas.

"This hope is destroyed”.

Paul Kirby
Digital Europe editor

Seizing Lyman represents a significant moment in the slow advance of Russia's proxy forces in eastern Ukraine. The battle for the city has been intense, even if Ukrainian forces started pulling back from it earlier this week. It's the second major success for Russia this week, following the fall of Svitlodarsk further south.

Lyman is not a big city in itself, but it gives Russia's proxies control of a key east-west road. It also means they are now within 20km (12 miles) of the city of Slovyansk, to the south-west. Slovyansk is a major transport and supply hub for Ukraine, even though the trains stopped running there weeks ago.

Image source, Reuters

The other big battle is further to the east, where Russian forces are targeting the twin cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk. Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Luhansk, has said Ukrainian troops could withdraw from Severodonetsk, which Russian forces are close to surrounding.

These are important cities in Ukraine's industrial heartland known as Donbas and losing them would be a signficant blow for the army.

Read more of Paul's analysis here.

More now on Lyman.

Russia's defence ministry says the city in the Donetsk region has fallen under the full control of Russian and Russian-backed forces.

It comes a day after pro-Russian separatists from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic said they had fully captured the town, a railway hub west of Severodonetsk.

"Following the joint actions of the units of the militia of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Russian armed forces, the town of Lyman has been entirely liberated from Ukrainian nationalists," the defence ministry said in a statement.

On Friday, Ukraine said that Russia had captured most of Lyman but that its forces were blocking an advance to Sloviansk, a city a half-hour drive further southwest.

Lyman is strategically important because as it gives access to important rail and road bridges over the Siversky Donets River.

Image source, .