Joe Inwood
Reporting from Kyiv

Russia is now in control of around 70% of the key eastern city of Severodonetsk, according to the governor of the Luhansk region.

Serhiy Haidai said Ukrainian troops were now making a tactical withdrawal to defensive positions further to the west.

Taking the city is a key aim of Russia’s invasion. It would mean they controlled almost all of the Luhansk region, one of two areas that make up the Donbas.

It seems they are getting close to achieving that goal. Haidai wrote on social media that Ukrainian troops had “retreated to more advantageous, pre-prepared positions".

It comes as the US announces a delivery of new, high-tech rocket artillery. They are GPS guided and have a much longer range than the Russian equivalents. While they could be a game changer it seems it will be too late to save Severodonetsk.

Image source, .

More now from the US president's guest essay in the New York Times.

The wide-ranging piece covered various issues from the conflict - including how it could end.

President Biden, however, insisted he would not suggest to Kyiv that it surrender territory - likely in the east - in order to bring about an end to the war. He wrote:

European leaders have been divided on how to engage with President Putin. France and Germany, for example, held an 80-minute phone call with the Russian leader prompting criticism from eastern European countries.

It has also led to suspicions that some countries are pushing for Ukraine to cede territory, analysts say.

Caroline Davies
Reporting from Odesa

Image source, Sergei Ilnitsky

The BBC has heard multiple allegations of torture inside the Ukrainian city of Kherson, which is currently under Russian occupation.

A hospital doctor in the city said he had seen patients with burns from irons and cigarettes, signs of electric shock, strangulation marks, fractures and severe bruising.

"They were tortured if they did not want to go over to the Russian side, for being at rallies, for being in the territorial defence, for the fact that one of the family members fought against the separatists - some got there randomly," he told the BBC.

One man, whose views against the Russian invasion were publicly known, said he was so badly beaten that he passed out. Another, who worked as a journalist, said four of his ribs had been broken.

"In Kherson, now people go missing all the time," said one former resident, whose parents remain trapped in the city. "There is a war going on, only this part is without bombs."

The Russian authorities did not respond to a BBC request for comment - and corroborating these accounts independently has not been possible.

But Human Rights Watch and the UN Human rights monitoring mission inside Ukraine have both said they are investigating similar accounts.

"These are potential war crimes we're looking at," says Belkis Wille, from Human Rights Watch.

Image source, Reuters

Germany has committed to sending a range of weapons to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

Speaking to German parliament on Wednesday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany would deliver medium-range surface-to-air defence systems - the most modern in its armament - which would allow Ukraine "to protect an entire major city from Russian air attacks".

Scholz also promised to give Ukraine a tracking radar which is capable of detecting enemy howitzers, mortars and rocket artillery - as well as multiple rocket launchers, in step with those being sent by the US.

The Chancellor reiterated that the rocket launchers would not be able to target Russian territory.

It follows pleas from Kyiv, as well as German opposition parties, to step up heavy weapons deliveries to Ukraine.

More than 15 million round of ammunition, 100,000 hand grenades and more than 5,000 anti-tank mines have been delivered to Ukraine by Germany since the outbreak of war in February.

Chris Partridge
BBC News

The new weapon being sent to Ukraine is the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) - a mobile unit that can simultaneously launch multiple GPS-guided rockets.

Both Russia and Ukraine are using similar systems in the war, but HIMARS has better range and better precision.

US President Joe Biden says that this new system would help the Ukrainians "to more precisely strike key targets."

But there has been some concern in Washington about sending HIMARS. There were fears that its greater range might lead to targets being hit inside Russia itself, which would be a serious escalation with US-supplied weaponry.

These rockets have a range of about 50 miles (80km) - about double the range of the M777 Howitzer heavy artillery that the US has already supplied.

Image source, Getty Images

President Joe Biden made the announcement about the US sending Ukraine longer-range rocket systems in a guest essay published in the New York Times.

But beyond weapons, the president touched on other key issues in the conflict. He stated outright, for example, that the US would not seek to remove Vladimir Putin from power. He wrote:

The president then added that the US would not seek to prolong the conflict solely to inflict pain on Russia. He also stressed that the US did not want war between Nato and Russia, and sought to reassure Moscow that he would not encourage Ukraine to strike outside of its territory.

His comment about the removal of Putin from power appears to clarify earlier, unscripted, comments he made during a speech in Poland in March. At the end of that speech, Biden said of the Russian president:

Analysts suggested that comment risked escalating the war. A spokesman for the Russian government described it as "astounding", and White House officials quickly attempted to row back.

"The president's point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbours or the region," a Biden administration official said shortly after.

You can read the president's guest essay in full here., external

Image source, AFP

Russia has said the US decision to supply advanced rocket systems and munitions to Ukraine would increase the risk of a direct confrontation between Moscow and Nato.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that Moscow views the US military aid package - which will include the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) - "extremely negatively".

The weapons, long requested by Ukraine, are intended to help it strike enemy forces more precisely from a longer distance.

Until now, the US had refused to supply the long-range artillery amid fears could be used against targets in Russia.

But, Mr Biden said the lethal aid would strengthen Kyiv's negotiating position against Russia and make a diplomatic solution more likely.

Ukraine's President Zelensky has said his country has "no intention of attacking Russia".

Image source, Getty Images

As we have been reporting, US President Joe Biden has agreed to send Ukraine more advanced rocket systems, in the hope that more artillery power will level the playing field between the two sides and make a diplomatic solution to bring the war to an end more likely.

But the US has agreed to provide the precision-guided missiles, which can reach targets as far as 70km (45 miles), only after gaining assurances that the weapons would not be used to attack targets inside Russia.

Ukraine's President Zelensky has said his country has "no intention of attacking Russia".

In an interview with conservative US TV channel Newsmax, the Ukrainian leader insisted the artillery would be used solely for self-defence.

"We are not interested in the Russian Federation. We are not fighting on their territory like they do with us," Zelensky told Newsmax's Rob Schmitt.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has been speaking to BBC Radio 4 this morning.

Asked about fears expressed by some Ukrainians that European support had slowed in recent weeks, he said: "We have banned imports of Russian oil. More than 90% will be stopped. And we will continue providing military support."

"Don't decrease the fact that we have reduced 90% of [Russia's] oil revenue," he added.

On the supply of weapons, he said: "The flow of arms going to Ukraine continues at a high pace. We can increase this - everything can be increased - but I don't see any problem with the supply of arms to Ukraine."

Image source, Getty Images

Russia's focus on eastern Ukraine has created vulnerabilities in other parts of the country that can be exploited, a leading think tank says.

"Putin has chosen... to concentrate all the forces and resources that can be scraped together in a desperate and bloody push to seize areas of eastern Ukraine that will give him largely symbolic gains," an analysis from the Institute for the Study of War said.

"Ukrainian counter-offensives in Kherson indicate that Ukraine’s commanders recognize these realities and are taking advantage of the vulnerabilities."

On Severodonetsk, the think tank says Russian forces now control up to 70% of the eastern city with its forces making gains towards the centre.

You can read their latest assessment of the conflict here., external

The UK Ministry of Defence has just released its daily intelligence briefing on the war. "Russian ground operations remain tightly focused, with the weight of fire power concentrated within a small sector of Luhansk," it says.

It echoes the assessment from both sides, suggesting Russia now controls more than half of Severodonetsk as fighting becomes more intense. It adds that Russian forces are pushing towards the centre.

"Beyond the Donbas, Russia continues to conduct long-range missile strikes against infrastructure across Ukraine," it adds.

Joe Inwood
Reporting from Kyiv

To understand the importance of these systems, and systems like them, we need to understand the way this war is being fought.

This is now an artillery battle. For the most part, the way the Russian’s operate is they blast places into submission. They fire these huge artillery barrages of howitzers as well as multiple launch rocket systems.

At the moment the Russians have had an advantage in that, they’ve got more systems, they’ve got more ammunition, and they’ve got better supply lines in the areas where these battles are taking place.

The idea is the Americans are going to provide the Ukrainian army with game changing rocket systems which have double the range of the Russian systems and are much more accurate.

Whereas the Russian systems are done by hand - by trajectory and estimates - these use GPS guidance.

If the Ukrainians can get them to the front lines it will allow them to out-gun, out-range and therefore ultimately destroy the Russian artillery.

Image source, Getty Images

As we've been reporting, US President Joe Biden has agreed to send Ukraine more advanced rocket systems and munitions.

Context: Ukraine has been asking for longer-range weaponry for some time, making pleas to Western nations to send more. Ukraine has struggled to slow Russian progress in the east, which has been reliant on artillery strikes from distance. Ukraine hopes these new systems could intercept Russian artillery and take out their positions in eastern cities such as Severodonetsk

US view: Biden said the rockets would strengthen Kyiv's negotiating position against Russia and make a diplomatic solution more likely. The US agreed to provide them only after gaining assurances that they would not be used to attack targets inside Russia, White House officials said

What are they?: The new weaponry will include the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The systems can launch multiple precision-guided missiles at targets as far as 70km (45 miles) away - far further than the artillery that Ukraine currently has. They are also believed to be more accurate than Russian equivalents

Want to know more? Read our full story here.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Moscow of "madness" after Russian troops hit a chemical plant in their bid to complete the capture of a key eastern city.

Russian forces struck the nitric acid tank in Severodonetsk, prompting the local governor to warn people to stay indoors.

In his overnight address, Zelensky said: "Given the presence of large-scale chemical production in Severodonetsk, the Russian army's strikes there, including blind air bombing, are just madness."

The battle for Severodonetsk has become more intense in recent days, with heavy casualties on both the Ukrainian and Russian sides.

Image source, .

Welcome to our live coverage of the conflict in Ukraine - we’ll be bringing you updates and analysis here throughout the day. Here’s the latest:

‘Madness’: That’s how Ukraine’s president described the Russian bombing of the key eastern city of Severodonetsk in his nightly address. Referring to the situation in the east as “very difficult”, Volodymyr Zelensky said the presence of chemical production facilities in Severodonetsk made “blind air bombing… just madness”

The frontline: Both sides have said more than half of Severodonetsk is now under Russian control. Heavy street fighting is continuing there as Russia's focus remains on the east. "The city is essentially being destroyed ruthlessly block by block,” one official there said. If Russia were to seize Severodonetsk and another nearby city it would control all of the Luhansk region

Ukrainian success: Despite difficulties in the east, President Zelensky has been upbeat about his troops' advances in both Kherson in the south and around Kharkiv in the north-east. He praised his military's "utmost courage" but said Russia has a "significant advantage" in terms of equipment and numbers

Biden delivers: We've long been hearing about Ukraine's plea for more long-range weaponry to help counter Russia's consistent use of artillery. Now, US President Biden has agreed to send Ukraine more advanced rocket systems to help it strike enemy forces more precisely from a longer distance