Summary

  • In the key city of Severodonetsk, Ukraine says it has recaptured part of the territory that was lost to Russian forces

  • Previously, the governor of Luhansk Serhiy Haidai had said 70% of the eastern city had fallen to Russia

  • Moscow is increasing air strikes in the eastern Donbas region - the focus of its fight - UK military intelligence says

  • Across the whole of Ukraine, Russian forces are in control of roughly a fifth the territory

  • But Ukraine's president Zelensky has said the country did "what seemed impossible" by resisting "the second army of the world"

  • In an overnight address, he said Russia's invasion was nothing more than "war crimes, shame and hatred"

Live Reporting

Edited by Gareth Evans

  1. Your Questions Answered

    Will Turkey allow Sweden and Finland to join Nato?

    Paul Adams
    BBC Diplomatic correspondent

    Deborah Sheaf, from Hertfordshire, asks: Will Turkey allow Sweden and Finland to join Nato, and how will this impact on those countries’ security if they don’t manage to join?

    Turkey is driving a hard bargain and it’s not entirely clear what price it expects to extract for agreeing to allow Finland and Sweden to join the club.

    Publicly, it says both countries must stop harbouring Kurdish militants Ankara regards as terrorists. Privately, there may be other things Turkey wants.

    There’s been speculation that Ankara wants to be readmitted to the American F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme. Washington kicked Turkey out of the programme after it decided to go ahead with plans to buy Russia’s advanced S-400 air defence system.

    American officials have for some time sounded confident that Ankara can be persuaded to admit Finland and Sweden to Nato. But the clock is ticking. Other Nato members had hoped to be in a position to make an announcement at their summit in Madrid later this month.

  2. Your Questions Answered

    How does aid reach Ukraine?

    Sarah Rainsford
    BBC Eastern Europe Correspondent

    Rashod Mahmood asks: Why is it that Ukraine can’t send any food out, yet it can accept deliveries of weapons and billions of pounds in aid?

    It boils down to routes and logistics: military support enters Ukraine over land, not by sea, so it’s still able to get in although Russia is doing its best to stop it reaching where it’s needed.

    There’ve been multiple missile strikes on the rail infrastructure and air raid sirens howl across Ukraine multiple times every day.

    By the way, as Western pundits talk more about possible ‘endgames’ in all of this - with one eye on rising energy prices back home - it’s important to remember that Russia currently occupies way more land than the Donbas. It’s taken territory far along Ukraine’s south coast and is still fighting there, with big implications for Ukraine’s economy.

    As for grain exports: firstly, Russia controls the sea routes; then, lots of Ukrainian grain was simply looted by Russia; some stores are located in occupied areas; and whilst there are efforts to export all this vital food via road and rail, it’s impossible to deliver the same capacity that way to global markets.

  3. Your Questions Answered

    Why doesn't Nato protect Odesa?

    Paul Adams
    BBC Diplomatic correspondent

    Map of war

    Philip Withers asks: Why has Nato not moved to protect the Black Sea port of Odesa, given that the Black Sea is international waters?

    There are lots of complicated reasons for this.

    Firstly, Nato is not directly involved in the conflict and wants to keep it that way.

    Second, the Montreux Convention, which regulates maritime access to the Black Sea, gives Turkey a say over which non-Black Sea states are allowed to pass in and out through the Bosphorus.

    Turkey has much closer relations with Moscow than almost all other Nato members (with the exception of Hungary) and wants to be seen as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine. Any move to forcibly break Russia’s blockade of Odesa would inevitably be seen by Moscow as a hostile move.

    Britain and Lithuania recently indicated that they wanted to see a “coalition of the willing” to protect commercial shipping in and out of Odesa, in an effort to allow Ukraine to export its badly needed agricultural products, especially grain, around the world.

    But plans have yet to take shape. In the meantime a Danish decision to supply Ukraine with American-made Harpoon missiles, combined with Ukraine’s own Neptune system (which was responsible for sinking the Moskva, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet) mean that, for now, Odesa is not likely to be attacked from the sea.

  4. Your Questions Answered

    Are there any moves to remove Putin from power?

    Steve Rosenberg
    BBC Russia editor

    Vladimir Putin attends a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Moscow, on 27 MayEPA

    Rumours about President Putin's ill health or questioning his grip on power are largely unfounded

    Lois Barakat Ichelson says: In light of new EU oil embargoes, which will be tougher by the end of the year, are the oligarchs organised, powerful and motivated enough to oust President Putin?

    He goes on to ask whether there are any other groups or forces in the country that could remove him.

    Considering the highly secretive nature of Kremlin politics, it’s only natural that there’s lots of rumour and speculation about the man at the top; after all, it’s Putin who takes all key decisions in the country.

    So… is Vladimir Putin seriously ill? Are the knives being sharpened ahead of a ‘palace coup’? Are the oligarchs plotting to overthrow the president?

    Much of this, I suspect, is wishful thinking on the part of President Putin’s detractors. Of course, not everyone in the corridors of Kremlin power will be happy with what Russia’s doing in Ukraine and the international sanctions Moscow has brought upon itself.

    But, right now, there’s no hint of an anti-Putin coup – and that includes amongst the oligarchs, whose wings the Kremlin clipped long ago. Mind you, if you were Vladimir Putin, would you be taking any chances? That may explain why the head of the Russian National Guard is an ex-Putin bodyguard. According to Russian media reports, so, too, is Russia’s new Emergencies Minister, promoted last week.

    Read more about the EU's oil embargo here.

  5. How do journalists stay safe in Ukraine?

    Sarah Rainsford
    BBC Eastern Europe Correspondent

    Journalist Frédéric Leclerc-ImhoffReuters

    Journalist Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff was killed by a wound to the neck as fighting rages around the city of Severodonetsk

    Fezile Simelane, from the southern African kingdom of Eswatini, asks: How does the BBC and other broadcasters keep their correspondents safe when reporting from conflict zones such as Ukraine?

    Many of the BBC teams covering the Ukraine war have, unfortunately, reported on wars before; we also have special training for working in what are designated as hostile environments and our frontline teams wear protective clothing and operate with security advisers.

    In my own case, I find it helpful that I speak the language: it really helps not to need a translator if someone is yelling about something dangerous.

    In all conflict zones we also work with fantastic local producers and drivers and couldn’t do half of what we do without them.

    We all have a choice about whether or not we report from Ukraine and even whether we go to a specific location at a specific time. Decisions are made as a team. But sometimes, despite all that, journalists are killed, as happened just this week in Ukraine. It’s a very sad and sobering reminder of the risk.

    Read more about the French journalist killed this week in Ukraine here.

  6. Your Questions Answered

    How are sanctions affecting Russia's economy?

    Steve Rosenberg
    BBC Russia editor

    File photo of man in front of McDonald's restaurant in central MoscowGetty Images

    Many international companies, such as McDonalds, have quit Russia in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, further impacting Russian consumers

    Joseph Roberts has asked about the state of the Russian economy. How badly is it declining?

    The good news for the Kremlin: the Russian economy hasn’t collapsed.

    The bad news: there’s no more good news.

    International sanctions are having an impact: hardly surprising, considering the scale of the sanctions imposed on Moscow.

    Although Russia continues to earn huge amounts of money each day with its energy exports, sanctions make it difficult to import key items for the economy: high-tech imports like semiconductors, components and spare parts for all kinds of equipment.

    What’s more, the ability to service this equipment has been impacted, too.

    Under sustained pressure, the Russian economy is heading for a bumpy autumn and winter. What does this mean for Russian consumers? In some cases, shortages of certain items and higher prices.

    And anyone looking to buy a new car here, watch out. Since sanctions have sparked a shortage of electronic components and car parts, the Russian government has eased the safety standards for cars produced in Russia: it’s dropped the requirement for airbags.

  7. Your Questions Answered

    Are some Russian soldiers refusing to fight?

    Sarah Rainsford
    BBC Eastern Europe Correspondent

    Isobel McRae-Morris asks about reports that some Russian soldiers have been refusing to fight in Ukraine, with some conscripts deserting their positions. Is this really happening?

    Yes, although it’s hard to know the scale. The thing is, Russia hasn’t officially declared war: Vladimir Putin insists on calling his invasion a "special operation" and that means professional soldiers can refuse to take part. They can be fired, but they can’t – or shouldn’t - be prosecuted.

    Still, it takes some guts to actually do it. From my own reporting in Ukraine, I know that many of the Russian soldiers deployed at the start of this invasion were young and inexperienced; some didn’t know they were going to war, others thought they’d take Kyiv in days, without resistance.

    But the proof of heavy battles and heavy losses is everywhere, including in the refrigerated train carriages I’ve seen piled up with dead Russian soldiers. So it doesn’t surprise me that some would refuse to fight, especially now they've seen for themselves that Ukraine doesn’t want "liberating". But we’re not seeing reports of mass desertion.

  8. Your Questions Answered

    Why doesn't Ukraine join Nato?

    Paul Adams
    BBC Diplomatic correspondent

    Billy from Merseyside wants to know: Why doesn't Ukraine join Nato?

    This is the question that was being asked every day before this phase of the war began.

    In many ways, that ship has sailed. There is no way Nato would allow a country in the middle of a major war to join the alliance.

    Not even Ukraine’s most ardent backers want to see themselves automatically embroiled in a war against Russia – something Article 5 of Nato’s founding charter (an attack on one member is regarded as an attack on all) would necessitate.

    Ukraine no longer asks or expects to join in the near future, if ever.

    But as Nato members send ever-more sophisticated military hardware to Kyiv, slowly replacing Soviet-era kit with Nato standard equipment, Ukraine is gradually turning into a member of the western alliance.

    It’s the exact opposite of what Moscow set out to achieve.

    Nato
  9. Your Questions Answered

    What will Russia do next?

    Steve Rosenberg
    BBC Russia editor

    David Perdue, in Washington DC, asks: Has Russia’s ground offensive practically stalled? What further Ukrainian territory will Russia look to occupy, if any?

    After initial setbacks, Russian troops seem to be making gains in eastern Ukraine. But what’s Moscow’s objective? If Russia occupies the whole of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, will the Kremlin stop or push on for more territory?

    Even if Russia does call a halt, there’s no guarantee it would be a permanent cessation of hostilities. They say a leopard doesn’t change its spots… neither, I suspect, would Russia’s president.

    In speeches and articles Vladimir Putin has made it clear that he does not see Ukraine as a sovereign nation; instead he views it as a territory that belongs historically in Moscow’s orbit.

    After launching his "special military operation", the Kremlin leader seems to have expected the government in Kyiv to fall quickly. He even called on the Ukrainian military to rise up and overthrow the Ukrainian leadership. That didn’t happen.

    But that doesn’t mean Vladimir Putin has given up on the idea of forcing Ukraine back into Moscow’s sphere of influence. Even in the face of Western sanctions.

    Map of Russian control in Ukraine.
  10. Your Questions Answered

    Why isn't Ukraine attacking Russia?

    Sarah Rainsford
    BBC Eastern Europe Correspondent

    Ukraine forcesGetty Images

    This question comes from SC Bhargava: Why is it that Ukraine has been mostly defensive? Why has it not attacked military and civilian targets inside Russia?

    This is a war Ukraine did not choose and did not start. It’s defensive in its very nature: the country is fighting for its right to exist against an all-out Russian attack.

    I don’t think you can underestimate what it has cost Ukraine to stop Russia taking Kyiv and now to try and halt the advance of Russian troops across the Donbas.

    Openly and deliberately targeting Russia itself would be a major escalation at a time when Ukraine is battling to hold the line.

    The pleas from Kyiv for more weapons from the West are constant. But the US recently made very clear that the longer-range missiles it will provide are not for hitting Russian territory: it fears an escalation.

    Remember, the West judged it too risky to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine when Kyiv was begging for that at the start. As for Ukraine targeting Russian civilians? That would be a war crime.

  11. Your Questions Answered

    When will support for Ukraine start to decline?

    Paul Adams
    BBC Diplomatic correspondent

    Support for Ukraine at a football matchGetty Images

    Sheila has a question now: In view of the economic situation in Europe, how long before there is a decline in support for Ukraine?

    Russia, which is experiencing real economic hardship as a result of sanctions, must be hoping that time will work in its favour.

    Speaking to members of Congress last month, Avril Haines, the US Director of National Intelligence, said Putin was “probably counting on US and EU resolve to weaken”.

    With British government ministers warning of possible power cuts for millions of British customers later this year, the Kremlin may expect public pressure to undermine western resolve.

    The EU’s difficulty in getting members to agree to a partial ban on Russian oil also gives a hint of how hard it is to reach consensus on sanctions on key areas.

    But as the latest American announcements regarding military support show, there’s still a desire among Ukraine’s allies to give it what it needs to repel Russian advances, perhaps even to reverse them.

    So I don’t see western support for Ukraine diminishing any time soon.

  12. Your Questions Answered

    What's happening with peace talks?

    Steve Rosenberg
    BBC Russia editor

    President Tayyip ErdoganMurat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office

    Earlier this week, President Erdogan of Turkey talked by phone with his Ukrainian and Russian counterparts and offered to mediate in the conflict

    The next question comes from reader Jayesh who asks whether Russia and Ukraine are holding any peace talks at the moment on establishing a ceasefire.

    Talks between Russia and Ukraine started up soon after the Russian invasion. There were several rounds of negotiations, but they didn’t produce any agreement.

    For now, the talking’s over. Both sides blame each other for that. But remember: if Russian forces hadn’t attacked Ukraine in the first place, there’d be no need for a ceasefire!

    It’s likely that developments on the battlefield will dictate when, how and in what format negotiations resume.

    This week President Erdogan of Turkey talked by phone with his Ukrainian and Russian counterparts and offered to mediate in the conflict. Russia’s current military aim appears to be to seize and occupy (or “liberate” as the Russians put it) the whole of the Donbas region. Moscow may not be ready for a ceasefire until it manages that.

  13. Your Questions Answered

    What's life like in Ukraine away from the frontline?

    Sarah Rainsford
    BBC Eastern Europe Correspondent

    Oleh Psiuk, frontman of the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest winners Kalush Orchestra, takes a selfie with fans in Lviv, on 17 MayReuters

    Life in cities such as Lviv retains some semblance of normality: here people in the city celebrate Ukraine's recent Eurovision winners

    John Inwood asks what the situation is like in rural parts of Ukraine and other areas, such as Lviv in the west, where there hasn’t been so much fighting. Is it life as normal or is it on hold?

    Life in western Ukraine can seem relatively normal with busy cafes and streets. But many people have been displaced from further east and keep an anxious eye on developments ‘back home’.

    A family I know who’d fled Kharkiv were holding out in Lviv until a couple of weeks ago, when a missile strike nearby scared them into leaving Ukraine. Now they tell me they finally feel safe and "have even begun smiling again".

    That said, Kyiv has become much busier in the past couple of weeks as people venture back and in villages away from the frontlines, you see people out digging their allotments.

    But the whole of Ukraine sits somewhere on a fear spectrum. In Donbas in the east, it’s the terror of constant shelling; places like Kharkiv are on edge for the next attack, and in towns that lived through Russian occupation, the damage is far deeper than the wrecked homes that line the streets.

  14. Your Questions Answered

    Will Western countries take more action?

    Paul Adams
    BBC Diplomatic correspondent

    One reader, Johnny, writes: When are countries going to stop acting scared of Russia and stand up to them?

    Are Ukraine’s Western backers scared or merely acting cautiously?

    Some, like the Baltic republics, have voiced frustration over what they see as the West’s reluctance to give Ukraine everything it needs.

    But for all Russia’s military deficiencies – which have been cruelly exposed over more than three months of a frequently bungled campaign – it is still armed with a vast arsenal of nuclear weapons which it has hinted it could use.

    Western officials continue to believe that Moscow is unlikely to resort to such doomsday options, but they cannot simply act as if such dangers didn’t exist.

    And while some, including the British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, seem happy to talk about expelling Russian forces from the whole of Ukraine, others see a return to the situation that existed on the morning of 24 February as a more likely and feasible scenario.

    This would leave Russia in control of the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed in 2014, as well as significant chunks of the eastern Donbas.

  15. Answering your questions on the Ukraine conflict

    We're going to focus now on answering some of the questions you've been sending in recently on the war in Ukraine.

    It's been nearly 100 days since Russia invaded and the story remains complex. So we have three of our correspondents here to explain the latest situation.

    They are:

    • Sarah Rainsford, our Eastern Europe correspondent, has been covering the war in Ukraine after more than two decades reporting from Russia
    • Steve Rosenberg is our editor in Moscow and an expert on Russia who has lived there since the end of the Cold War
    • Our diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams who has reported from conflict zones all over the world, including from Ukraine
    Your Questions Answered.

  16. What's been happening in Ukraine?

    Ukrainian servicemen patrol the territory close to a front line near the small city of Bakhmut in Ukraine's Donetsk regionEPA

    Intense fighting continues in the Donetsk region, in eastern Ukraine

    If you are just joining us, here are the main headlines on the Ukraine war so far today.

    • US President Joe Biden stressed the US would not seek to remove Vladimir Putin from power: "So long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict," he wrote in a piece in the New York Times.
    • Biden also indicated he would not pressure Ukraine to cede territory in order to bring an end to the war, stating it would be "wrong and contrary to well-settled principles".
    • It follows President Biden's decision to send Ukraine longer-range rockets, including systems which can launch multiple precision-guided missiles at targets as far as 70km (45 miles) away - but only after assurances by Ukraine that the weapons would not be used to target inside Russia.
    • Ukraine's President Zelensky has said his country has "no intention of attacking Russia" and the promised long-range artillery would be used solely for self-defence.
    • But Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister 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.
    • Germany has committed to sending a range of weapons to support Ukraine, including medium-range surface-to-air defence systems and multiple rocket launchers - but echoed the US in stressing the missiles would not able to hit Russian territory.
    • Russia is now in control of around 70% of the key eastern city of Severodonetsk, according to the governor of the Luhansk region, with Ukrainian troops making a tactical withdrawal to positions west of the city.

  17. WATCH: Chemical plant attack 'simply madness' - Zelensky

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemns Russian strikes on Severodonetsk

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned Russia's strike on a chemical plant in Severodonetsk.

    He said "blind air bombing" was "simply madness".

  18. Coming up - Your Questions Answered

    For the past three months, we've been bringing you daily updates with the latest news from the Ukraine war. As the conflict goes on, Russia's objectives have changed and the international response has ramped up. Ukrainians have seen parts of their country changed beyond recognition.

    All of this has raised a lot of questions - and you've been sending yours in to us. So from 12:00 (UK time) we're going to dedicate some time to answering them.

    We'll have three of our correspondents here to provide explanations: Russia editor Steve Rosenberg, Eastern Europe correspondent Sarah Rainsford and diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams.

    Your Questions Answered graphic.

  19. Wheat 'should not be a weapon of war' - Pope Francis

    Chornomorsk port on Ukraine's Black SeaGetty Images

    The invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions imposed on Russia by the West have sent the price of grain soaring.

    The Pope has called for blockades on grain exports to be lifted, saying wheat should not be used as a "weapon of war".

    Speaking in his weekly address to those gathered in St. Peter's Square, Pope France said many millions of the world's poorest people depended on wheat from Ukraine, which produces approximately 12% of the globe's wheat.

    “I earnestly appeal for every effort to be made to resolve this issue and to guarantee the universal human right to food," he said.

    Amid a deepening food crisis, the United Nations is trying to broker a deal to allow the export of Ukrainian grain currently held up in Black Sea ports by Russian military.

    Before the war, 90% of Ukraine's exports left via deep ports in the Black Sea, but all are now closed. Russia has seized most of Ukraine's coastline and blockaded the rest.

    Ukraine continues to try to export its stores of grain by road, river and rail - but without access to the Black Sea ports it has little chance of meeting its targets, an official at Ukraine's Agriculture Ministry told Reuters last week.

    The West has accused Russia of holding the world to ransom; President Vladimir Putin has said he will only allow grain ships to leave the port of Odesa in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.

    Read more on Ukraine's export woes.

  20. Russia's hypersonic Zircon missile ready for use - military official

    A hypersonic Zircon cruise missile is fired from the Admiral Gorshkov frigate during testing in the Barents Sea on 28 MayRussian Defence Ministry/Reuters

    A hypersonic Zircon cruise missile is fired from the Admiral Gorshkov frigate during testing in the Barents Sea on 28 May

    Russia has completed testing of its hypersonic Zircon cruise missile, a senior military official told the Russian news agency TASS.

    It comes after Russia's defence ministry said last week it had successfullytest-fired the cruise missile from a vessel in the BarentsSea to a target some 1,000 km (625 miles) away in the White Sea.

    Despite heavy losses in its battle with Ukraine, Russia's President Vladimir Putin has continued to champion the Zircon missile, part of a new generation of weapons systems, which he boasts can travel at nine times the speed of sound.

    Speaking on Wednesday, Alexander Moiseyev, commander of the Northern Fleet, said the missile would be deployed full-time on board Russia's Admiral Golovko frigate before the end of the year.