Human rights groups say the Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to thousands of disabled Ukrainian children being abandoned in institutions that can't look after them.
Human rights organisation Disability Rights International says it found children with severe disabilities tied to beds in overrun children's homes whose remaining staff were unable to cope.
Take a look back at all of Thursday's updates in our blog.
Key events
- Children with disabilities found tied to beds in homes after being abandoned
- 220 children killed in Ukraine since war began, Zelenskyy says
- US says Russia has 'already lost' war in Ukraine
- Analysis suggests around 600 people killed in Mariupol theatre strike
- 334 evacuees arrive in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine's Deputy PM says
- Ukraine defenders fighting 'bloody battles' inside Mariupol steel works
- Russia says it will open corridors out of Azovstal steel plant
- G7 leaders to discuss further potential sanctions on Russia
Live updates
By Caitlyn Davey
That's all folks
We're going to leave it there on the Ukraine blog for today.
We'll be back with more updates tomorrow.
By Caitlyn Davey
By Caitlyn Davey
Wives of soldiers plead for evacuation of soldiers in Azovstal
The wives of at least two Ukrainian soldiers inside Azovstal have been in Rome pleading with the international community for an evacuation of the soldiers there, arguing they deserve the same rights as civilians.
Kateryna Prokopenko, whose husband, Denys Prokopenko, commands the Azov Regiment at the plant, told The Associated Press she went without word from him for more than 36 hours before finally hearing from him Wednesday.
He told her that Russian soldiers had entered Azovstal and “our soldiers are fighting, it is crazy and difficult to describe.”
“We don’t want them to die, they won’t surrender,” Kateryna Prokopenko said. “They are waiting for the bravest countries to evacuate them. We won’t let this tragedy happen after this long blockade.”
“We need to evacuate our men as well.”
Ukrainian authorities have also demanded that Russia offer the Azovstal soldiers a safe exit — with their arms.
But experts say it would be nearly unprecedented for them to be simply allowed to walk free, not least because they could take up arms again and possibly cause Russian casualties.
By Caitlyn Davey
25 civilians wounded in Kramatorsk - Russian attacks accelerate in south and east
After failing to capture the capital Kyiv in the early weeks of a war that has killed thousands and flattened cities, Russia has accelerated attacks on Ukraine's east and south.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the eastern region of Donetsk, says at least 25 civilians were wounded as Russian forces shelled Kramatorsk, and town some 180 kilometres west of Luhansk.
By Caitlyn Davey
Concerns for soldiers as civilians evacuate from Mariupol
With the evacuation of some civilians from a steel mill besieged by Russian forces in the port of Mariupol, attention is turning to the fate of hundreds of Ukrainian troops still inside after weeks in the plant's warren of underground tunnels and bunkers.
Counting both able-bodied and wounded among their ranks, their choice seems to be either fighting to the death or surrendering in hopes of being spared under the terms of international humanitarian law. But experts say the troops are unlikely to be afforded any easy exit and may have difficulty getting out as free men or even alive.
“They have the right to fight until they are dead, but if they surrender to Russia, they can be detained,” says Marco Sassoli, a professor of international law at the University of Geneva.
“It’s simply their choice.”
Laurie Blank, a professor at Emory Law School in Atlanta who specialises in international humanitarian law and law of armed conflict, said injured fighters are considered “hors de combat” — literally “out of the fight” — and can be detained as prisoners of war.
“Russia could let the injured Ukrainian troops return to Ukrainian areas but is not required to,” she says.
By Caitlyn Davey
East of Ukraine continues to get pummelled
Russian forces continue to pound sites to the east of the country, Ukraine's general staff says, as Moscow seeks to establish "full control" of the regions of Lugansk and Donetsk, and to maintain a land corridor to occupied Crimea.
In Lugansk, Governor Sergiy Gaiday says two people have died in the past 24 hours, and "the whole region is under fire completely, there is no safe place".
By Caitlyn Davey
Mariupol military parade planned says Kyiv
Ukraine is accusing Russia of planning to hold a military parade in the destroyed city of Mariupol on May 9 to celebrate victory over the Nazis in World War II.
Kyiv says an official from Russia's presidential administration has arrived in the strategic southern port city to oversee plans for the Victory Day parade.
By Caitlyn Davey
Five civilians killed in Luhansk, Governor says
Five civilians have been killed by shelling from Russian forces in Ukraine's Luhansk region in the past 24 hours, Governor Serhiy Gaidai says.
Gaidai said the shelling focused on the Sievierodonetsk, Popasna, Hirske and Lysychansk areas.
By Caitlyn Davey
Belarusian military exercises expected to be used to inflate threat Russia poses
According to UK's Ministry of Defence, the Belarusian military exercises being conducted are in line with "seasonal norms".
The ministry believes Russia will look to use these exercises to "inflate the threat" posed by Russia to Ukraine.
By Caitlyn Davey
20 bodies found in Kyiv region
The bodies of another 20 civilians have been found in the Kyiv region, police say, raising the total number found there so far to 1,235.
Kyiv regional police chief Andriy Nebytov said the latest discoveries were in Borodianka and the surrounding villages, some 25 kilometres from Bucha, the town near Kyiv now synonymous with allegations of Russian war crimes.
By Caitlyn Davey
Ceasefire to begin in Mariupol
The Russian-announced ceasefire is due to begin today at the besieged steel plant in the devastated Ukrainian city of Mariupol to allow civilians to flee even as its defenders vowed to fight to the end.
It will last for three days.
By Caitlyn Davey
11 attacks 'repulsed' in Donetsk and Luhansk in past 24 hours, general staff of armed forces says
By Caitlyn Davey
By Caitlyn Davey
Why is Russia attacking Ukraine's railway system?
Russia's military has launched a string of attacks on Ukraine's railway network, which has been vital for transporting Western arms to Ukrainian forces, evacuating refugees and exporting food.
A Russian official said the aim was to disrupt Western weapons deliveries. Experts said Ukraine’s railways appeared to be largely spared at the start of the invasion because Russian planners wanted them to move their own troops and arms across captured territory. The latest strikes still appear to be more designed to damage, rather than destroy, the system.
Why are the railways so important for Ukraine?
The largely flat country has a vast railway network, which has proved invaluable from a military viewpoint for supplying key Western arms shipments — and has also helped in the exodus of refugees from Russian air assaults and land advances.
Western weaponry pouring into Ukraine helped its forces blunt Russia’s initial offensive. It also seems certain to play a central role in the battle for the Donbas in the east, which Moscow now says is its focus following its failure to take the capital, Kyiv.
The US and other Western allies have increased weapons shipments at the urging of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu warned that Moscow would see any Western transport carrying weapons into Ukraine as a legitimate target.
The rail attacks were meant to disrupt the delivery of Western weapons, Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said on Wednesday.
By Caitlyn Davey
Zelenskyy remembers journalist-turned-soldier Oleksandr Makhov
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has paid tribute to journalist Oleksandr Makhov, who has been killed in combat in the Ukrainian conflict.
"He was always among the bravest," Zelenskyy says in a video he has released. "He has always been like that, patriotic and sincere."
By Caitlyn Davey
Children with disabilities found tied to beds in homes after being abandoned
Human rights groups say the Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to thousands of Ukrainian children with disabilities being abandoned in institutions that can't look after them.
Human rights organisation, Disability Rights International says it found children with severe disabilities tied to beds in overrun children's homes whose remaining staff were unable to cope.
One of the groups representatives, Halyna Kurylo says she visited an institution in the country's south west.
"They're not treated as human beings. They're only kept alive here. Even though they're in a safe place, their state will deteriorate because they are not getting any kind of stimulation, any kind of rehabilitation and this is further disabling them."
By Kate Ainsworth
220 children killed in Ukraine since war began, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told Danish parliament that Russian forces have killed 220 children since the start of the war in February.
He spoke to Danish parliament to mark 77 years since Denmark was liberated from German occupation, before addressing crowds in Copenhagen and Aarhus.
"On March 29, I told you that the Russian occupiers destroyed 773 educational facilities in our country, and today it is twice many — 1,584," he said.
"These are kindergartens, these are schools, these are universities. This is what the Russian army is fighting against in Ukraine. The invaders have already killed 220 Ukrainian children, and we do not yet know precisely what is happening in the occupied areas.
"Russia is not yet ready to stop the war. They still dream of capturing Ukraine and other European countries. They desire that freedom in Europe must disappear.
"But their dreams must not come true. The dream of peace must come true. Ours and your dream. Just like it was 77 years ago.
"How people will live on our continent is being decided right now, exactly in Ukraine."
By Kate Ainsworth
Russian air force squadron flies in 'Z' formation over Moscow ahead of Victory Day
The Russian air force conducted a rehearsal of its annual Victory Day flyby on Wednesday, with one squadron flying over Moscow's Red Square in a controversial "Z" formation.
The "Z" symbol is associated with what Russia calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine and has become a symbol of the ongoing conflict, which Kyiv and the West see as an act of aggression.
A series of plane formations could be seen flying over the Russian capital ahead of Victory Day celebrations which are held annually in Russia on May 9 to mark the country's victory over Nazi Germany in the World War II.
The letter "Z" was initially seen, hand-painted on the side of military vehicles, but can now be seen widely in Russia, including on official buildings, regular Russians' cars and on social media as a display of support for Russia's offensive.
Military vehicles drove through the streets of Moscow later in the night, rehearsing for the parade as crowds stood watching behind barriers.
By Kate Ainsworth
US intelligence helping Ukraine kill Russian generals: NY Times
The New York Times is reporting the United States has provided intelligence that has helped Ukrainian forces kill many of the Russian generals who have died in the Ukraine war, citing senior US officials.
The newspaper says the US has provided details on Russia's mobile military headquarters and expected troop movements to Ukraine, which then uses that information with its own intelligence to conduct artillery strikes and other attacks that have killed Russian officers.
The Pentagon and the White House are yet to comment on the report.
Ukrainian officials said they have killed about 12 Russian generals on the battlefield, according to the New York Times, but says US officials have declined to specify how many generals had been killed as a result of American intelligence.
By Kate Ainsworth
Ukrainian TV reporter-turned-soldier killed in fighting
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says a Ukrainian television reporter who enlisted after the Russian invasion has been killed in fighting outside the northeastern city of Izyum.
36-year-old Oleksandr Makhov is at least the eighth journalist to have died in more than two months of conflict.
Makhov, known for graphic accounts from conflict zones, had also reported from Antarctica.
He fought in a 2014 conflict after Russian-speakers staged separatist insurrections in two eastern regions of Ukraine.
"Patriotic and sincere, and always without vanity. And he was always among the bravest, among those first in line," Zelenskyy said.
