Mariupol authorities sound the alarm over unsanitary conditions they say pose a "deadly danger" to the city's remaining residents.
Catch up on all of the day's developments with our live blog.
Key events
- Ukrainians warned to abstain from post-Easter ritual
- Mariupol authorities fear 'deadly epidemic' may break out due to unsanitary conditions
- US revives 'Lend-Lease Act'
- UN boss has been left 'shocked' by attacks on Kyiv
- 'Don't test our patience', Russia warns the West
- Explosions in Kyiv while the UN boss is visiting
- Russia wants to capture Mariupol's wounded fighters, local governor says
Live updates
By Jacqueline Howard
That is all for today
We are closing the Ukraine-Russia war blog for today.
You can stay up-to-date with the latest news online or on the ABC News app.
By Jacqueline Howard
Ukraine hopes evacuation of 1,000 residents trapped in Mariupol's besieged Azovstal steelworks is imminent
"An operation is planned today to get civilians out of the plant," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office said without giving details.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said after meeting with Mr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Thursday that intense discussions were under way to enable the evacuation of the Azovstal steel plant, which has been pounded by Russian forces occupying Mariupol.
The meeting with Mr Zelenskyy followed talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday where the latter agreed "in principle" to a humanitarian corridor coordinated by the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The Mariupol city council has said about 100,000 residents across the city are "in mortal danger" because of Russian shelling and unsanitary conditions, and described a "catastrophic" shortage of drinking water and food.
By Jacqueline Howard
Ukrainians warned to abstain from post-Easter ritual
Ukrainian authorities have issued a warning to refrain from observing Provody — a ritual that takes place after Easter where families attend the grave sites of their relatives to honour them.
The SES issued a message via its social media channels warning the threat of a Russian strike, and the danger of explosives left behind make it too dangerous for the custom to be observed.
"This year, we urge Ukrainians to refrain from going to cemeteries. After all, the enemy continues to mercilessly shell our territory, in many places already making it too dangerous," it said.
"Today, even the occupied territories are littered with tens of thousands of explosive devices that need to be destroyed."
"The price of planting flowers on a grave may be too high."
By Jacqueline Howard
By Jacqueline Howard
Russian checkpoint by near Ukraine border shelled
A checkpoint at a village in Russia's Kursk region bordering Ukraine was shelled on Friday, the region's governor said.
"Mortars were fired at a checkpoint in the village of Krupets," Kursk governor Roman Starovoyt said.
Mr Starovoyt said Russian border guards and military gave retaliatory fire.
"There were no casualties or damage," he said.
By Jacqueline Howard
Clean-up after the strike in Kyiv has begun
By Jacqueline Howard
By Jacqueline Howard
Ukraine to attempt Mariupol evacuation again today
Ukraine hopes to evacuate civilians who are holed up with Ukrainian fighters in the vast Azovstal steel plant in the southern city of Mariupol.
"An operation is planned today to get civilians out of the plant," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office said without giving details.
Multiple attempts to evacuate the steelworks in recent days have been unsuccessful.
By Jacqueline Howard
Ukraine now 'an epicentre of unbearable heartache', UN chief says on visit to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv
The head of the United Nations says Ukraine has become "an epicentre of unbearable heartache and pain".
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made the comment during a visit to Kyiv, just before the first Russian strike on the Ukrainian capital since Moscow's forces retreated from the city's outskirts weeks ago.
Russia pounded targets all over Ukraine on Thursday, including the attack on Kyiv that struck a residential high-rise and another building and wounded 10 people, including at least one who lost a leg, according to Ukraine's emergency services.
The bombardment came barely an hour after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a news conference with Mr Guterres, who toured some of the destruction in and around Kyiv and condemned the attacks on civilians.
Explosions were reported across the country, in Polonne in the west, Chernihiv near the border with Belarus, and Fastiv, a large railway hub south-west of the capital. The mayor of Odesa, in southern Ukraine, said rockets were intercepted by air defences.
By Jacqueline Howard
Battle of Donbas remains main focus: UK Intelligence
The "Battle of Donbas" remains Russia’s main strategic focus in order to achieve its stated aim of securing control over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Britain's defense ministry said.
"In these oblasts fighting has been particularly heavy around Lysychansk and Severodonetsk, with an attempted advance south from Izium towards Slovyansk," the ministry tweeted.
It said due to strong Ukrainian resistance, Russian territorial gains have been limited and achieved at significant cost to Russian forces.
By Jacqueline Howard
Holocaust memorial event draws attention to Ukraine war
Polish President Andrzej Duda denounced Russia's war against Ukraine on Thursday as he joined Holocaust survivors and people from around the world at an annual observance at the former site of Auschwitz.
“We are here to show that every nation has a sacred right to life, has a sacred right to cultivate its traditions, has a sacred right to develop,” he said.
He said it was difficult to believe that Russia, whose forces contributed to the defeat of the Nazi regime in World War II, would attack its neighbour.
This year, Ukrainian war refugees took part in the event, marching from the Birkenau camp to the adjoining Auschwitz.
One survivor of the Holocaust, 96-year-old Edward Mosberg, said he was sorry for the victims of the war in Ukraine but refused to compare current events to the Nazi campaign against the Jewish people.
By Jacqueline Howard
Landmine detector dog moonlights as support animal
You may remember from a previous blog the story of Patron, the Jack Russell terrier sniffing out landmines in Ukraine.
He's taken the trip from Chernihiv to Kyiv to visit a children's hospital to bring a smile to the faces of other tiny victims of this war.
By Shiloh Payne
Mariupol museum staff work to recover exhibits damaged by bombing
Employees of the local history museum in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol are working to recover exhibits after a fire caused by Russian shelling damaged the building.
Frequent bombings have meant the museum's building has been almost entirely destroyed, with many exhibits partially or completely burned.
Some exhibits have also disappeared, with allegations of looting from rebel Donetsk authorities.
The museum's building was constructed in the 19th century, the senior researcher at the museum of local history of Mariupol Eduard Kravchenko told The Associated Press.
The building is in the historical centre of Mariupol, located next to other buildings which date back to the Russian Empire.
According to museum workers, exhibits are unique as the collections collection survived World War II.
Exhibits have been temporarily moved to another museum to carry out restoration work, and staff hope to return all the items to the Mariupol museum once the building is rebuilt.
By Shiloh Payne
US sends M777 howitzers to Ukraine
The US has committed to sending 90 howitzers to Ukraine as a part of their military assistance packages.
Australia will also be sending Ukraine six howitzers, it was announced in a new military package on Wednesday.
This is what they look like packed up and ready to go on the U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III.
By Shiloh Payne
NATO chief says Finland and Sweden could join quite quickly
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Finland and Sweden would be embraced with open arms and could become NATO members quite quickly.
There's speculation that the countries might apply for membership in mid-May as Russia's war continues in Ukraine.
“It’s their decision," Mr Stoltenberg said.
"But if they decide to apply, Finland and Sweden will be warmly welcomed, and I expect that process to go quickly.”
He said the two countries could expect some protection if Russia tries to intimidate them during the application process.
Under NATO's collective security guarantee, all member countries must come to the aid of any ally under attack.
NATO allies have now pledged and provided at least $8 billion to Ukraine, the Associated Press reports.
Before launching the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that NATO stop expanding and pull its troops back from Russia’s borders.
So the prospect of Finland, and Sweden joining NATO is unlikely to be welcomed in Moscow.
By Shiloh Payne
Head of International Atomic Energy Agency says radiation levels at Chernobyl are low
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said radiations in "excavation" found in Chernobyl's exclusion zone are well below the maximum authorised levels for plant workers.
Ukraine's state power company said after Russian troops withdrew at the end of March that they received "significant doses" of radiation from digging trenches in the area.
But Mr Grossi said during a visit this week, experts from his agency took measurements from "excavations" probably made by occupying soldiers.
He said that the levels were "three times or more lower than the authorized levels for workers in areas exposed to radiation."
As for whether anyone was actually exposed to those radiation levels, he said: "We have asked about possible exposures or situations; we haven't received any answer".
While the suggested the health risk isn't as great as feared, Mr Grossi stressed that "it's not a place to have a picnic or excavate."
By Shiloh Payne
Heavily damaged buildings in Mariupol
Residents are taking household items out of damaged buildings in Mariupol after weeks of shelling destroyed homes across the city.
More than 21,000 civilians have been killed in the attacks, Ukrainian authorities say.
By Shiloh Payne
Mariupol authorities fear 'deadly epidemic' may break out due to unsanitary conditions
Mariupol authorities are sounding the alarm about unsanitary conditions that they say pose a "deadly danger" to its remaining residents.
The Associated Press is reporting that Mariupol City Council posted a Telegram that said: "deadly epidemics may break out in the city due to the lack of centralized water supply and sewerage, the decomposition of thousands of corpses under the rubble, a catastrophic shortage of drinking water and food."
It said that the lives of 100,000 people who still remain in Mariupol, out of 450,000 pre-war residents, may be in danger — pointing to diseases like cholera and dysentery.
The Telegram post cited Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko as saying that "the invaders are not able to provide the remaining population with food, water and medicines — or are simply not interested in that." He said that "living conditions in the ruined Mariupol are now medieval" and that "an immediate and complete evacuation is needed."
By Shiloh Payne
US revives 'Lend-Lease Act'
The US House of Representatives has overwhelmingly backed legislation making it easier to export military equipment to Ukraine, reviving an act that helped defeat Hitler in WWII.
The House passed the "Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022" today and will go to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign into law.
During WWII, the program allowed the US to lend or lease military equipment to its allies.
In this case, it will help countries affected by Russia's invasion, like Poland and other eastern European countries as well as Ukraine.
Two months into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, members of Congress hope the act will work as it did eight decades ago by allowing U.S. companies to quickly resupply partner nations without having to clear bureaucratic hurdles.
"As war rages in Ukraine, every minute matters. It's about time. This strong action can mean the difference between lives saved and lives lost," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
Among other provisions, the bill will allow the United States to provide equipment to Ukraine now, with just a technical requirement to pay at some later date, essentially giving it to the Kyiv government.
By Shiloh Payne
Poland says 3 million Ukrainians have crossed the border
Poland's border guard agency says it has had 3 million Ukrainians cross into its country since Russia invaded in February.
Anna Michalska, a border guard spokeswoman, said the number included people who have crossed a number of times.
Polish authorities say some 1.6 million refugees have applied for and received special ID numbers allowing them to work and receive free healthcare and education.
There have been 904,000 crossings from Poland into Ukraine since the invasion began, the Associated Press reports.
