Putin's Moscow rally and terror in Mariupol: Ukraine war daily round-up

As the war in Ukraine continues, President Vladimir Putin addressed tens of thousands of Russians filling Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, to celebrate eight years since the annexation of Crimea.

Mr Putin has regularly used the anniversary to highlight love of the motherland.

Officials said more than 200,000 people had gathered at the stadium, although the numbers could not be verified. The stadium's official capacity is 81,000, but there were also large crowds outside.

Many people at the rally told the BBC they worked in the public sector and had been pressured into attending by their employers.

One man who works in the Moscow metro said he and other employees had been forced to attend the rally.

"We know what we have to do next," the Russian president told the crowd. "We'll definitely carry out all the plans we have made."

But his address on state TV suddenly cut to singer Oleg Gazmanov belting out the words "Forward, Russia", in what the Kremlin later called a technical glitch.

Hundreds still trapped under Mariupol theatre

In Ukraine itself, the plight of the besieged southern port city of Mariupol was the focus of renewed concern.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said 130 survivors had so far been recovered from the basement of a theatre in the city, but hundreds more remained trapped,

Civilians were sheltering underground when the theatre was bombed by Russia on Wednesday.

The city council said that so far, rescue workers had found one severely injured person, but there were no reports of deaths.

Mr Zelensky said Russian shelling prevented the city authorities from establishing effective humanitarian corridors to the besieged city.

Mariupol's mayor, Vadym Boichenko, confirmed Russian reports that fighting had reached the centre of the city.

"There's no city centre left. There isn't a small piece of land in the city that doesn't have signs of war," he told the BBC.

Overall, however, military analysts say the Russian invaders have made little progress in the past week.

Mariupol being wiped off face of the earth, refugee says

Fergal Keane, BBC News, Lviv

Yulia Yashenko, left, said it was "only fate that we are alive"

The first refugees from Mariupol have arrived in Lviv in western Ukraine.

The evacuees described scenes of terror in the city, which is under sustained Russian bombardment.

"The city is being wiped off the face of the earth," said 28-year-old Yulia Yashenko.

Yulia and her elderly parents were among a group of several hundred people who arrived in Lviv on Friday morning.

"Our house was burned by artillery. They fire everything at the city, every weapon is used," she said.

"There is black smoke everywhere. There are bodies everywhere and there is nobody to collect them."

Yulia said that, after their home was burned, she and her parents sought safety in the city's theatre for nine days, leaving the day before it was bombed.

"It is only fate that we are alive," she says. "We could have been killed any time. People took us in their car out of the city on the green corridor [humanitarian corridor].

"It should not be like this. Tell the world what is happening."

Russia destroys aircraft repair plant near Lviv

Three loud explosions were heard early on Friday, before a thick plume of black smoke rose above Lviv

Early on Friday, Russian missiles hit an aircraft repair plant near Lviv, a city that has become a safe haven for people fleeing the war.

Emergency vehicles raced to the site of the strike, just 6km (four miles) from the city centre, after three loud explosions were heard early on Friday. No-one was reported injured in the attack.

It is the closest the conflict has come to Lviv, a key humanitarian supply route and a hub for hundreds of thousands of people who have fled.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, a missile strike on an army barracks in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolayiv was reported to have killed more than 40 people.

Abramovich's jet among 100 planes grounded by US

The sanctioned aircraft include Boeing jets being used by Russian flag carrier Aeroflot

Nearly 100 planes with ties to Russia have been grounded by the US government, including one belonging to billionaire businessman Roman Abramovich.

The US Commerce Department has said providing service to these aircraft anywhere in the world - including inside Russia - may lead to heavy fines and potential jail time.

The planes, it says, are in contravention of US sanctions on Russia.

The list includes aircraft operated by Russian airlines, including national flag carrier Aeroflot.

While most are Boeing aircraft, a Gulfstream private jet owned by Mr Abramovich - the current owner of Chelsea football club - is also included.

The Russian was among seven oligarchs sanctioned by the UK government earlier this month in response to the Ukraine war.

Russian and Canadian diplomats spar over 'edited' letter

Russia has accused Canada of "kindergarten-level" diplomacy in a Twitter tiff over a social media post by Canada's United Nations mission.

The diplomatic spat is over a letter seeking support for a draft Russian resolution about aid in Ukraine, which made no mention of Russia's invasion of the country.

Canada posted the letter to Twitter with "suggested edits", which led to retweets from other UN missions.

A Russian diplomat has called it "Russophobic libel".

War in Ukraine: More coverage

• LIVE: Latest updates from Ukraine and nearby

• ANALYSIS: Putin's redrawn the world - but not as he wanted

• BATTLEFIELD: What have been Russia's military mistakes?

• WATCH: Drone footage shows Mariupol devastation

• IN DEPTH: Full coverage of the war