Russia plans to take full control of southern Ukraine and the Donbas region, which could give Vladimir Putin a gateway to the breakaway republic of Transnistria inside Moldova.
After moving some troops away from Mariupol - where hundreds of Ukrainian marines are bunkered down in a defiant last stand - the Russian leader is said to be focused on taking total control of the Donbas.
The reports come after a senior Ukrainian official said Russian troops were massing in the self-declared republic of Transnistria and preparing to carry out "provocations" along the border.
Ukraine fears Russian troops in Transnistria - believed to number around 1,300 - could open another front in the war.
It comes after Putin savagely ordered his army to seal off all routes out of the vast Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol “so that even a fly cannot pass through”, effectively condemning those inside to their deaths.
In a new interview, Captain Svyatoslav Palamar from the Azov Battalion holed up in deep tunnels in the plant insisted: “I always say that as long as we are here, Mariupol remains under control of Ukraine.”
He went on: "All the buildings in the territory of Azovstal are practically destroyed. They drop heavy bombs, bunker-busting bombs which cause huge destruction. We have wounded and dead inside the bunkers. Some civilians remain trapped under the collapsed buildings."
Mariupol's mayor says there are still 100,000 people stuck in the shattered city and their lives are in Putin's hands.
Today a photographer who visited Mariupol this week revealed how dead bodies are being “chucked” into craters left by Russian airstrikes.
Describing the scenes in the devastated city, Max Clarke said: "It just keeps getting worse.
"When I first described the situation on the ground, there were bodies in impromptu graves but towards the end there were bodies chucked in craters left by airstrikes.
"I saw one which had 15 bodies chucked in."
Photographs taken today showed members of the Chechen special forces, and Russia's State Duma member Adam Delimkhanov, walking near the Azovstal steelworks.
Meanwhile the World Bank has estimated that the physical damage to Ukraine's buildings and infrastructure from Russia's invasion has reached roughly £46bn.
According to an official statement from the Kremlin, Russia is now also focusing on securing a land bridge between Ukraine and Crimea, which it seized in 2014.
Tonight it emerged that Russian forces took 40 villages in east Ukraine on Thursday.
A hospital was hit in the town of Lyman, north-east of Slovyansk, which had been targeted by Russian artillery and rockets overnight.
But Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky says these and other gains are only temporary.
After a series of catastrophic defeats, British military intelligence has revealed that the Russian military has now resorted to returning inoperable equipment back to base for repair.
Ukraine says it remains hopeful for peace despite Russia rejecting a proposed truce this weekend over the Orthodox Christian Easter period.
Russia's chief negotiator claimed "several long conversations" took place with the head of Ukraine's delegation today.
