Summary

  • President Volodymyr Zelensky makes a rare trip outside Kyiv - visiting troops on the front line in Kharkiv region

  • His office said he had thanked troops for defending the country

  • Russians have attacked Kharkiv city again - weeks after being pushed away by Ukrainian troops

  • Mr Zelensky has described the situation in parts of Kharkiv region as "indescribably difficult" for the Ukrainian army

  • The Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai says civilians have been killed in Severodonetsk, with buildings destroyed in the key eastern city

  • Russia’s ambassador to the UK has told the BBC he does not believe his country will use tactical nuclear weapons in the war against Ukraine

  • Andrei Kelin also denied Russian forces were shelling civilians, and said allegations of war crimes in the town of Bucha were a "fabrication"

  • Meanwhile, heavy fighting is continuing near Severodonetsk in Luhansk Region, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed forces said

Live Reporting

Edited by Jeremy Gahagan

  1. Russia has captured most of Lyman - UK Ministry of Defence

    Russian forces have likely captured most of the city of Lyman in the Donetsk region, in what is likely a precursor for the next stage of Moscow's Donbas offensive, the UK's Ministry of Defence says in its daily intelligence update.

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

    "In the coming days, Russian units in the area are likely to prioritise forcing a crossing of the river," the ministry said.

    But Moscow's main focus remains on Severodonetsk in the Luhansk region, it says.

    Russian forces are bombarding towns and cities in eastern Ukraine with the declared aim of "liberating" the old industrial heartland known as Donbas, which is made up of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

    If the city falls into Russian hands, Moscow will then control the Luhansk region.

    Many believe Vladimir Putin could hold up taking control of Donbas as victory in the war.

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  2. WATCH: The families living in an underground station for three months

    Some Ukrainian families have been living in a metro station in the country’s second largest city of Kharkiv for more than three months.

    With no fresh air or access to washing facilities, disease has spread easily. But they say they have nowhere else to go and are now worried about being evicted, after local authorities reopened the metro.

    The BBC’s Olga Malchevska reports.

    The families living in an underground station for three months

  3. Russia making considerable headway in Donbas

    Joe Inwood
    Reporting from Kyiv

    Lysychansk town signGetty Images

    The town sign of Lysychansk is peppered with bullet holes

    Ukraine has said its soldiers may need to retreat from their last pocket in the eastern region of Luhansk if they are to avoid getting captured by Russian forces.

    Officials say Russian troops have entered the city of Severodonetsk but that Ukraine's military is still repelling attacks. During his nightly address, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would put up a strong resistance to reclaim the Donbas region.

    With every passing day, it seems Russia takes another bite out of Ukrainian territory. Yesterday they claimed to have taken the town of Lyman – opening the symbolically important city of Slovyansk to attack. That was where Russian backed separatists started their campaign eight years ago and it will not be given up without a fight.

    But it is Severodonetsk and Lysychansk in the Luhansk region that are in the most immediate danger – all but surrounded by Russian forces.

    Sergai Hidai is a governor with almost nothing left to govern - Russians control about 95% of the Luhansk region. He has said his forces may need to retreat to avoid being captured.

    President Zelenksy has said that “the Donbas will be Ukrainian there is and will be no alternative to our Ukrainian flags there".

    The reality on the ground is starting to say something different.

    Map showing areas of control in eastern Ukraine.

  4. Welcome back to our live coverage

    Good morning and welcome to our coverage of the war in Ukraine. Here are some of the latest headlines:

    • President Zelensky has said the situation in Donbas is “very difficult”
    • In his nightly address, the Ukrainian leader said Russia is concentrating maximum artillery and forces in a bid to gain the eastern region
    • Ukraine has warned it may have to withdraw its forces from Luhansk to avoid them being captured by Russian forces
    • The governor of the region, Serhiy Haidai, says there are some 10,000 Russian troops in Luhansk
    • Russian forces are targeting the city of Severodonetsk where fighting has broken out on the outskirts, the official says
    • The Moscow-backed branch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has declared its independence and severed all ties with Russia