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13:26
Victory Day celebrations won't be held in Mariupol - Kremlin
Russian aircrafts fly over the Kremlin during the general rehearsal for the Victory Day parade in Moscow
Copyright: EPA/YURI KOCHETKOV

Russia has said there will be no Victory Day celebrations in Ukraine's besieged south-eastern city Mariupol - a strategic port Russian troops claimed control of last month, AFP reports.

Victory Day is celebrated annually on 9 May in Russia to mark the Soviet Union's victory in the Second World War.

"A time will come and there will be a big celebration there," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding there were no plans for official visits on the day.

Some Ukrainian soldiers and civilians remain in the city's huge Azovstal steel plant.

13:43
Putin's alleged mistress on EU's proposed sanctions list
Russian retired gymnast and politican Alina Kabaeva attends a reception in February 8, 2014 in Sochi, Russia
Copyright: Getty Images
Image caption: Kabaeva retired from gymnastics to become a politician but then went into business

Alina Kabaeva, a former Russian gymnast who has long been closely linked to Vladimir Putin, has been added to a sixth package sanctions being considered by the European Union.

The Russian leader's private life is closely guarded but she is rumoured to be his girlfriend. Putin denied that initially but reports say she has since given birth to his children.

Two sources have told the BBC in Brussels that she's on the European Commission's sanctions list. That's because of her role as chair of Russia's National Media Group, a TV and media empire with holdings in various channels and websites.

The US has already targeted the assets of two of Putin's daughters by his first marriage, but has not acted against Kabaeva.

While the EU's 27 states are involved in difficult negotiations on other parts of the sanctions package, chiefly on the timing of a ban on Russian oil imports, the proposals targeting dozens of Russian individuals are less controversial. If they go through, those involved would face a ban on entering the EU as well as an assets freeze.

14:02
Ukraine forces accuse Russia of firing during Azovstal civilian evacuation

During a ceasefire to rescue civilians from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol a car was hit by Russians using an anti-tank guided weapon, Ukrainian fighters the Azov Battalion have claimed on Telegram.

They say the car was moving towards civilians in order to evacuate them from the plant.

One fighter was killed and six were wounded by the shelling, the Azov Battalion has said.

The BBC could not independently verify this information.

There are thought to be about 200 civilians - including at least 20 children - still in bunkers under the steel plant.

14:22
Russia uses nukes to act with impunity - Zelensky

Moscow believes it can commit war crimes with impunity because of its status as a nuclear power, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

"They [the Russians] do not believe they can be held responsible for war crimes because they have the power of a nuclear state," the leader said in an address to the Chatham House think tank.

When asked about the situation in Mariupol, Zelensky said "this is not a military event" but "torture with starvation."

He blamed the "beastly attitude" of the Russian military in Mariupol on decades of anti-Ukrainian propaganda.

"There will be a military tribunal for the killing, the death, the torture. But why this cruelty? That's the information apparatus that developed this hatred and heated it to such an extent before the fully-fledged war."

14:43
Zelensky outlines possible peace deal concessions

The Ukrainian president says that he would accept a peace deal in which Russian troops returned to the positions they held the day before the fully-fledged invasion began in February.

When asked by the BBC's Frank Gardner what the "minimum" concession from Russia would be in return for peace, Zelensky responded: "A return of Russian forces to where they were on 23 Feb."

"But for this to happen there needs to be diplomatic dialogue," he added. "From our side, not all the diplomatic bridges have been burnt."

Zelensky did not specifically mention Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014 - but his response signals a willingness to acknowledge Russian control of the peninsula as part of a peace settlement.

It's also not clear what this would mean for the areas of Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine's east which have been partly under the control of pro-Russian separatist since 2014 too.

15:27
Refurbished fire engine on its way to Kharkiv
Sophie Williams
Reporting from Lviv

Daniel Hannan pictured with a fire truck in Lviv
Copyright: BBC

Here in Lviv, I've just met with Daniel Hannan, who has travelled from Cambridge to deliver a fire truck that will be sent to Kharkiv.

It is one of three fire trucks that he will be sending over to help Ukrainians as part of a specialist project in collaboration with Dobrovoz.

"When places are being bombed, you need fire engines. For me it's a no brainer," he told me. "Fire engines save lives and buildings. They can make a difference."

Hannan, 70, has bought the trucks with his own money and is refurbishing them. The trucks have been tested by volunteer firefighters in the UK to ensure that they are ready for firefighters to use in Kharkiv.

Kharkiv is Ukraine’s second-largest city and has been heavily targeted by Russian bombardments.

Hannan has even thought about the equipment that goes with the vehicles too – from helmets to specialist boots and bottles that purify water.

Daniel, Simon and Richard pictured in front of the truck
Copyright: BBC
Image caption: Simon, Daniel and Richard have travelled from Cambridge

It's taken Hannan, along with the rest of this team, Simon and Richard, a week to get to Lviv. But he says the journey has been vital to see how it can be done in the future.

"The border was flooded," he told me.

"Lviv is beautiful. People here have been fantastic," he said.

15:44
BBC identifies 2,120 killed Russian soldiers

An open source investigation by the BBC Russian Service has established the identities of 2,120 Russian soldiers killed during the invasion of Ukraine so far.

The figure - likely only a fraction of the true death toll - was compiled using official notices, press reports, and family confirmations.

Around 20% of the confirmed dead were officers, but this may be partly explained by the fact that the deaths of higher-ranking officers are more likely to be reported.

A disproportionate number of the casualties also came from poorer Russian regions, with only three of the dead known to have come from Moscow despite almost 1 in 10 Russians living in the capital.

The Kremlin hasn't released an updated death toll since 25 March - when it put its own losses at 1,351.

The true number of casualties is impossible to know, but last week the UK estimated around 15,000 Russian troops had been killed - lower than Ukraine's own estimates but significantly more than has been acknowledged by Moscow.

15:56
Millions of tonnes of Ukraine grain exports blocked
Imogen Foulkes
Reporting from Geneva

Twenty five million tonnes of Ukrainian grain, due for export, is blocked because the Black Sea ports are closed, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN says.

The FAO’s deputy director Josef Schmidhuber also told a news briefing in Geneva that around 700,000 tonnes of grain appeared to have gone missing, citing what he said was "anecdotal evidence" based on social media reports that Russian troops were stealing grain and agricultural equipment from Ukraine.

The grain shortages are leading to global food price rises, amid warnings from UN aid agencies that many countries dependent on either humanitarian food supplies or on imports of Russian or Ukrainian grain, face food insecurity and even famine.

16:13
Russian frigate hit by missile in Black Sea - Ukrainian report

A Russian warship, Admiral Makarov, has been hit by a Ukrainian Neptune missile in the Black Sea and has been badly damaged, according to an unconfirmed report by a local website in Odesa.

Dumskaya's report, which has been widely picked up by Ukrainian media, says the Makarov was hit near Snake Island and Russian rescue ships sailed to its assistance from Crimea.

Asked about the report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "No, we don't have such information." Western defence officials said they had not seen "anything at the moment" that confirms the frigate has been hit.

The Admiral Makarov is much smaller than the Russian flagship cruiser Moskva, which sank last month, but it is only five years old and one of the most powerful Russian warships in the Black Sea. It features a Kalibr cruise missile system and is designed to hit other ships or submarines as well as coastal targets within a range of 2,600km (1,610 miles).

The loss of the Moskva was a major blow for Russia's military operation, as the ship led its naval assault on Ukraine. At the time Russia's Defence Ministry claimed an unexplained fire had led to ammunition on board exploding. Ukraine said it was hit by a Neptune missile.

Last night an unnamed US official said intelligence was shared with Ukraine about the Moskva, but the US was not aware it was planning an attack.

16:26
Twelve civilians make it out of Azovstal - report

Some more now on the ongoing attempt to evacuate people out of Mariupol's besieged steelworks, where around 200 civilians are believed to be trapped, including children.

A bus carrying 12 civilians has now left Azovstal with some children on board, the Russian news agency RIA is reporting.

No other information was given and the BBC has not been able to verify this report.

For weeks fighting has trapped civilians in shelters beneath the plant, and earlier today Ukrainian forces accused Russian soldiers of firing at a car intended to help evacuate civilians during a ceasefire.

17:14
Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners

Russia has handed over 41 prisoners of war back to Ukraine as part of a prisoner exchange including 28 members of the military, Ukraine's deputy PM Iryna Vereschuk said.

Vereschuk added that it was "especially gratifying" that a religious leader from Ukraine's Orthodox Church was among those to be returned.

There was no mention of how many prisoners of war had been returned to Russia as part of the exchange.

17:51
Second civilian bus has departed Azovstal - report

Some more now on today's ongoing attempts to evacuate civilians trapped for weeks in Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant.

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti is now reporting that a second evacuation bus with 13 civilians on board, including a child, has left the complex.

This is in addition to a previous group of 12 civilians said to have left the plant on an earlier bus which we reported on a little earlier.

According to RIA Novosti, that first bus had four children on board.

The operation is part of a third evacuation attempt by the UN and Red Cross to provide safe passage to around 200 civilians trapped in the massive industrial site.

18:19
Azovstal evacuees arrive in Bezimenne
Image shows bus
Copyright: Reuters

The first of two buses evacuating civilians out of the besieged Azovstal steel plant has now arrived in the nearby town of Bezimenne, which is under Moscow's control.

For more than two months the civilians have been sheltering in a vast network of underground tunnels beneath Mariupol's massive steel works, with dwindling supplies.

The initial bus has now arrived to the relative safety of Bezimenne.

Image shows evacuees
Copyright: Reuters
Image shows girl through window
Copyright: Reuters
Image shows elderly evacuee
Copyright: Reuters
Image shows children evacuees
Reuters

18:36
Third evacuation bus leaves Azovstal

A bus with 23 civilians on board has now left Mariupol's besieged Azovstal steelworks, Russia's TASS news agency is reporting.

It's the third bus said to have left the site today, and brings the total number of civilians evacuated from Azovstal in the past few hours to 48, including a number of children.

According to TASS, there are plans for a fourth bus to depart the steelworks before the humanitarian corridor is closed at 21:00 local (18:00 GMT).

19:01
Russia claims dozens of missile strikes on Ukraine

Russian missiles hit a Ukrainian weapons depot near the eastern city of Popasna in addition to 31 other targets on Friday, Moscow's defence ministry said according to RIA news agency.

Russia also claimed today to have shot down a Ukrainian SU-27 fighter jet in the eastern Luhansk region, according to Interfax.

The BBC has not been able to verify these claims.

19:36
Reopen Ukraine ports or risk world hunger - WFP

The UN World Food Programme says that people around the world will starve if Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea aren't reopened soon.

"We have to open up these ports so that food can move in and out of Ukraine. The world demands it because hundreds of millions of people globally depend on these supplies," WFP Executive Director David Beasley said.

"Right now Ukraine's grain silos are full."

The WFP is concerned that if the silos aren't emptied soon there will be nowhere to store this summer's harvest, causing massive waste and further driving up global food prices.

As we reported in our earlier post at 15:56 (BST), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 25 million tonnes of grain are currently stuck in Ukraine while its Black Sea ports are closed.

Since February the country, one of the world's top maize and wheat producers, has been limited to exporting grain by train.

19:50
Fifty civilians evacuated from Azovstal plant
Image shows Azovstal evacuees
Copyright: Reuters

A humanitarian convoy carrying 50 women, children, and elderly people made it out of Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant on Friday, Ukraine's deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said.

She described the evacuation as "extremely slow" and accused Russia of delaying efforts by violating a local ceasefire allowing the civilians to leave.

"Tomorrow morning we will continue the evacuation operation," Vereshchuk added.

Moscow's defence ministry has separately confirmed that 50 civilians were evacuated on Friday and that the operation will continue tomorrow.

This confirmed number of total evacuees is slightly higher than the 48 civilians Russian media reported earlier as having been evacuated today.

20:37 6 May
We are here forever - Russian MP visiting Kherson

Image shows Andrey Turchak
Copyright: Telegram/Andrey Turchak

Russia will occupy Kherson "forever," a Russian MP has said while on a visit to the city in Ukraine's south.

"Russia is here forever. There should be no doubt about this. There will be no return to the past," Andrey Turchak said according to a statement from his ruling United Russia party.

Kherson became the first Ukrainian city to fall to Russian forces two months ago and last week authorities announced that the Russian rouble would soon be introduced as they attempt to normalise Moscow's control.

In a separate Telegram post

Turchak pictured himself laying flowers at a city war memorial and said that preparations were underway in the city for celebrations of Russia's annual Victory Day in three days' time.

"For the first time in many years, the people of Kherson will celebrate this great holiday with us again," he said. "People have been waiting for this for a long time."

The public holiday is a significant date in the Russian calendar marking the country's World War Two victory over Nazi Germany.

20:55 6 May
Why 9 May is such a big deal in Russia
Paul Kirby
Digital Europe editor

Victory Day has become a big national event in Russia marking the end of war with Nazi Germany in 1945. But it's only under Vladimir Putin that the day has featured an annual parade complete with military hardware and flypasts.

This year, it's taken on a significance of its own because, far from liberating Europe, Russia has waged the biggest war the continent has seen since World War Two.

Putin used Victory Day in 2014 to celebrate Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, attending the parade in Red Square and then travelling to the Black Sea port of Sevastopol to deliver address to thousands of onlookers.

This year there's no obvious victory to celebrate, so the Kremlin may have to settle for capturing most of Mariupol and claiming defeat of the Azov battalion, which Russia has falsely portrayed as Nazi. That would resonate on Victory Day and warplanes have been rehearsing over Red Square in Z-formation - the symbol of Russia's war.

The Soviet Union lost 27 million lives in World War Two, so Victory Day is also a solemn occasion. But Ukraine saw some of the biggest losses and one opinion poll this week suggested most Ukrainians now see 9 May as a day of remembrance not victory.

21:25 6 May
Pentagon: US intel to Ukraine 'legitimate, lawful and limited'

The US Department of Defence continues to push back on domestic media reports that US intelligence helped Ukraine kill top Russian generals and sink the Moskva missile cruiser.

At a news briefing on Friday, spokesman John Kirby said Ukraine "makes the decisions" when it comes to how they use US intel.

"The kind of intelligence that we provide them – it’s legitimate, it’s lawful, and it’s limited," he said.

Kirby also stressed that Ukraine combines intelligence from many countries and the US is "not the sole source of intelligence and information to the Ukrainians".

Also on Friday, the Pentagon said it could not confirm that a Russian frigate [warship] was on fire in the Black Sea.

"We’ve been looking at this all day and we have no information to corroborate those reports."

21:37 6 May
Injured teenager saved four adults from Popasna shelling

Diana Kuryshko
BBC News Ukrainian

Lisa shows doctors in Lviv her wounds after the shelling
Copyright: BBC

A 15-year-old girl managed to save the lives of four adults after their car was attacked by Russian forces while fleeing Popasna in April.

Lisa Chernyshenko took the wheel when the driver and other passengers were hit by Russian fire on the road to Bakhmut.

The car came under fire again and Lisa was wounded in her legs, but she managed to continue driving and until they were taken to safety by the Ukrainian military. Everyone in the car survived.

She is now receiving treatment for her injuries at a hospital in Lviv.

21:57 6 May
Odesa region hit by missiles officials say

Military officials in Ukraine's Odesa region claim Russia fired two missiles into the area this afternoon.

"Fortunately there were no casualties," the local military governor Maxim Marchenko said, providing no further details about any damage.

Authorities in Odesa have also announced plans to introduce a curfew for both the port city and its surrounding area from 22:00 local (19:00 GMT) 8 May lasting until 05:00 local (02:00 GMT) 10 May.

"It is forbidden for people to stay on the streets and other public places during the specified period of time without specially issued passes and certificates," Interfax news agency quotes a military spokesperson as saying.

Ukraine's third-largest city has so far avoided the worst of the war's devastation but is still vulnerable to air attacks.

22:49 6 May
US first lady visits Romania and Slovakia
US First lady Jill Biden greets US troops during a visit to the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Romania
Copyright: Getty Images

US First Lady Jill Biden has arrived in Eastern Europe on a four-day trip intended to reaffirm the US commitment to Ukraine.

Biden will meet national leaders and US troops, as well as displaced Ukrainian parents, children, educators and aid workers in Romania and Slovakia.

She began her visit on Friday by greeting and serving food to troops stationed at a Romanian air base.

On Sunday, she is expected to spend Mother's Day with refugee mothers and their children in Kosice, a border city in eastern Slovakia.

The visit marks another high-profile diplomatic engagement by the US in the region, following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Ukraine last week.

President Biden visited Poland in March.

23:10 6 May
Zelensky: Stay out of the forests

Ukrainian officials are warning that Russian forces may escalate missile and air strikes over the weekend, ahead of Russia's planned Victory Day celebrations on Monday.

In his daily late-night address, President Volodymyr Zelensky called on citizens to "strictly follow the public order and curfew regulations" in their communities.

"I ask all our citizens - especially these days - not to ignore the air raid sirens," he said. "Please, this is your life, the life of your children."

Residents are also currently banned from visiting forests in formerly occupied territory because "a great threat of mines and tripwire mines left after the Russian military remains there".

"Be sure to comply with the ban," Zelensky reminded Ukrainians.

23:31 6 May
Ukraine's Donetsk separatists appoint 'envoy to Russia'

Days before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin formally recognised self-proclaimed independent republics in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine.

The pro-separatist Donetsk News Agency now reports that the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) has its own ambassador to Russia.

DPR leader Denis Pushylin appointed Olha Makeyeva, a vice-speaker of the DPR parliament, as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in Russia.

Makeyeva was said to be a member of the DPR people's council at its inaugural convocation.

0:05
UN issues statement but avoids word 'war'

The UN Security Council has adopted its first statement on Ukraine, but it does not use the words “war”, “conflict” or “invasion”.

The unanimous statement instead “expresses deep concern regarding the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine”.

It voiced “strong support” for Secretary General Antonio Guterres in seeking a peaceful solution to the 10-week “dispute”.

Wielding veto power in the council, Russia has stymied all prior bids to adopt a statement on Ukraine.

Mexico’s UN ambassador, whose country helped draft the statement, was asked about criticism that it took two months to draft and merely supports the UN secretary general.

The envoy, Juan Ramon De La Fuente, told the Associated Press there has to be a start somewhere.

7:49
Welcome back to our live coverage

Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. We'll be bringing you all the latest updates from around the country, as the Ukrainian military continues a counter-offensive against Russian forces who've been bombarding the city of Kharkiv.

On Friday, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said any peace deal with Russia would depend on Russian forces pulling back to their pre-invasion positions.

8:09
Counter-offensive around Kharkiv
Joe Inwood
Reporting from Lviv

Kharkiv has been under constant shelling since the start of the war. No-one knows how many people have died in the battle for Ukraine's second city – civilians as well as soldiers from both sides.

But, according to an assessment from a respected military think-tank in the US, the battle for Kharkiv could be in a decisive phase.

The Institute for the Study of War says Ukrainian forces could soon have freed Kharkiv from the threat of Russian artillery – and secured a strategically crucial city in the fight for the Donbas.

Further east, Moscow’s forces are said to have made small but costly advances around the eastern city of Severodonetsk – with the head of the local Ukrainian military administration saying his forces are almost encircled.

8:40
War raises hard questions for neutral Swiss
Imogen Foulkes
Reporting from Geneva

How does a European country stay neutral when war rages in Europe? Switzerland managed it during the first and second world wars, but now, watching Russia's attack on Ukraine, many Swiss are rethinking their long-established position.

During World War Two, Swiss neutrality - in place since 1815 - was more pragmatic than heroic. Switzerland mobilised all its able-bodied men to defend its borders, but it also banked gold looted by the Nazis and, in a shameful move designed to keep Germany at bay, turned away thousands of Jewish refugees - a policy it finally apologised for in the 1990s.

For decades, neutrality has enjoyed almost universal support among the Swiss - opinion polls have shown approval ratings of well over 90%. But now, many Swiss are soul-searching, asking if it is right to stay neutral.

8:55
Firefights reported on edge of Donbas city
A crater in Kramatorsk, 6 May
Copyright: Getty Images
Image caption: A missile left a huge crater in the government-held city of Kramatorsk on Thursday

Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine are reporting small-arms fighting in the suburbs of the government-held city of Severodonetsk.

Separatist forces were advancing but coming up against snipers and drones, a representative of the unrecognised separatist-run Luhansk People's Republic told Russian news agency Ria-Novosti.

It is believed that the city, which had a pre-invasion population of about 100,000, is close to being encircled.

New civilian deaths have been reported both in the government-held town of Bakhmut after a missile attack on a residential area and in the unrecognised Donetsk People's Republic where separatists say one civilian was killed and two were injured as a result of government shelling.

The focus of the war switched to the east of Ukraine last month after Russia pulled its troops back from around the capital Kyiv.



9:55
Italy orders seizure of yacht linked to Putin

Italy has ordered the seizure of a $700m yacht linked to Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

The Scheherazade has been undergoing repairs at a port in Tuscany since September last year.

Italy's finance ministry said that the boat's owner had ties to "prominent elements of the Russian government".

It is being seized under EU sanctions brought in over Russia's invasion of Ukraine that have seen other vessels confiscated.

10:12
Belarus saboteurs 'played role in getting Russia to give up on Kyiv'

Saboteurs in Belarus played a significant role in forcing Russia to abandon its attempt to capture the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, according to the exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.

She told the BBC that there had been 80 acts of sabotage against railways that were supplying Russian forces before they withdrew from northern Ukraine a month ago.

She also said activists were providing Ukraine with intelligence on troop movements and missile launches.

The vast majority - 86% - of Belarusians were against the war, she said.

Ms Tikhanovskaya said the fate of Ukraine and Belarus were interconnected and a Ukrainian victory could help Belarus free itself from the authoritarian rule of Alexander Lukashenko.

Some of Russia's invading forces entered Ukraine from Belarus, which is seen as a client state of Moscow.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a Belarusian opposition leader, poses for a portrait April 29, 2022, in Washington, DC.
AFP

10:41
Diplomatic efforts afoot to get Ukrainian military out of Mariupol works - Zelenksy
Russian servicemen control the boarding of a bus by civilians evacuated from Azovstal in Mariupol on Friday 6 May
Copyright: EPA
Image caption: Russian forces were in charge as civilians evacuated from the steelworks on Friday boarded buses

Friday saw a further 50 civilians, including 11 children, evacuated from the beseiged Azovstal steelworks in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, in an operation co-ordinated by the UN and the Red Cross.

"We hope that soon they will be able to arrive in a safe area after two months of shelling, just underground," said Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Earlier this week it was estimated that 200 civilians were still trapped inside the steel plant - the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in the port city, which is now largely in the hands of Russian forces.

Zelensky said diplomatic efforts were afoot to get both the civilians and the remaining military personnel to safety - with evacuations expected to resume today.

He said his government was "working on diplomatic options to save our military who still remain at Azovstal".

"Influential mediators are involved," he added.

Russia had earlier announced a daytime ceasefire at the plant for three days, beginning on Thursday.

11:11
Shelling continues in Kharkiv area
Sophie Williams
Reporting from Lviv

Hryhoriy Skovoroda National Museum destruction
Copyright: Oleh Synyehubov

Russian shelling has continued over the past 24 hours in the Kharkiv region.

According to the governor of Kharkiv region, a missile fell on the roof of the Hryhoriy Skovoroda National Museum – a museum dedicated to a Ukrainian philosopher.

According to Oleh Synyehubov, a 35-year-old man who was looking after the building was injured.

Images posted to telegram show the devastation caused to the building.

The exhibits had already been moved to a safe place, Synyehubov said on Telegram.

11:34
War in Ukraine 'taking heavy toll' on Russian military capability

The conflict in Ukraine is inflicting considerable damage on Russian military forces and their equipment, according to the UK's Ministry of Defence.

Overnight the MoD's daily report - posted on Twitter

- said at least one of Russia's "most advanced" tanks, the T-90M, had been destroyed in fighting.

The MoD said "it will take considerable time and expense for Russia to reconstitute its armed forces following this conflict".

It added: "It will be particularly challenging to replace modernised and advanced equipment due to sanctions" which prevent access to essential microelectronics.

The T-90M, which comes with upgraded armour designed to counter anti-tank weaponry, is one of 100 such tanks deployed by Russia's best equipped forces.

But the tank "remains vulnerable if unsupported by other force elements", the MoD stated.

12:01
Staggering violation of rights in Ukraine - Council of Europe

The Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights has described as "staggering" the extent and gravity of "violations of rights and international humanitarian law" by Russian forces in Ukraine.

Dunja Mijatovic was speaking at the end of a four-day trip to Kyiv and its surrounding region. She highlighted mounting evidence of arbitrary killings, torture, enforced disappearances, and sexual violence by Russian soldiers.

Mijatovic said it was imperative to deliver justice and support victims and their relatives, but described this task as "incredibly daunting".

12:53
Artworks back on display in historic Lviv
A statue in Lviv is wrapped in protective fabric, on 3 March 2022
Copyright: re
Image caption: In March, many of Lviv's historic artworks were wrapped and scaffolded to protect them from possible shelling

Artworks from Lviv's National Gallery - many of which were removed for safekeeping at the outbreak of the Russian invasion - are going back on display in key buildings around the western Ukraine city.

Gallery director Taras Voznyak told the New York Times putting up the work was an act of resistance.

“Putin now has the goal of turning Ukrainians into nobody, into nothing,” he says.

“In order to show that we are alive, we have opened several branches," he adds.

Eighteen branches across the Lviv province are hosting works from the 65,000-piece collection, in buildings including palaces, castles and cathedrals.

There are even plans to re-open the main gallery in Lviv's ornate Potocki Palace, where two local artists have been sheltering - and producing "living art" reflecting the war - over the past two months.

“Life does not stop,” insists Mr. Voznyak.

Earlier in the invasion, as the Russian threat to Lviv - which sits a short distance from the Polish border - intensified, many of the historic city's artworks were boarded up or wrapped in protective sheets to shelter them from artillery damage.

13:22
German police probe bomb found at Russian journalists' building

Police in Berlin say criminal investigators are studying an improvised bomb that was found and deactivated on Friday at a residential building housing journalists from Russia's RIA news agency.

A German police spokesman said the investigators were looking into how dangerous it was and who it was aimed at.

Russia's embassy in Berlin said a bottle had been thrown through a window of the building in the city's Steglitz district.

It blamed what it described as the persecution of Russian media outlets and their employees in the West.

Two state-controlled Russian TV outlets, RT and Sputnik, were banned in the EU on 2 March, a week after the invasion of Ukraine.

13:34
Ukraine says it hit Russian landing craft

The Ukrainian defence ministry says it has hit a Russian landing craft, striking it with a missile from a drone.

It released video footage of a small ship at a dock being engulfed in smoke and flame, saying a Bayraktar TB2 drone was used in the attack.

It appears the vessel is a Serna-class fast landing craft which is capable of carrying an armoured vehicle.

No date or location for the attack was given but Reuters news agency verified the location of the video as Snake Island, matching buildings, roads and structures as seen on satellite imagery.

The island in the north-western Black Sea was captured by Russian forces at the start of the invasion after a battle with border guards which inspired Ukrainian resistance to the invasion.

Ukraine has claimed the destruction of 11 Russian warships so far, the biggest of which was the cruiser Moskva.

There is still no confirmation of Ukrainian claims on Thursday that a frigate called the Admiral Makarov was also hit.

13:40
Several missiles hit Odesa, regional administration says
Several missiles have hit Odesa on Saturday, a spokesman for the administration in the southern Ukrainian city says.

Serhiy Bratchuk did not give further detail about casualties or the extent of the damage cause by the missiles.

Earlier in the day targets in the surrounding region were hit by four missiles, he said.

Images online showed plumes of black smoke rising over the city.

We'll bring you more details when we have them.

14:14
Russia and Ukraine flag ban in Berlin for Victory Day

Police in Berlin have banned the display of Russian and Ukrainian flags at World War Two memorial sites during events to mark the anniversary of the end of the war in the German capital.

They said the flags of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics and the Russian war symbols V and Z would also be outlawed during ceremonies on Sunday and Monday.

The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, expressed outrage at the ban, which he said amounted to giving the same treatment to the victim and the aggressor in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"We are shocked that Berlin police banned flags connected to Ukraine on 8 and 9 May," he said. "This is a slap in the face of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people."

Russians celebrate victory over Nazi Germany on 9 May, whereas in Western Europe the end of the war on that continent is commemorated on 8 May.

14:42
Authorities in three Ukrainian regions report Russian strikes on Saturday

As we've been reporting, missile strikes have been hitting Ukrainian targets throughout the day.

Local authorities in Kharkiv, Odesa and Poltava have reported attacks by Russian missiles.

A 28-year-old civilian was killed when heavy shelling hit her home in Korobochkyne, Kharkiv's regional military administration reports.

The Interfax-Ukraine news agency reports that a cruise missile in the Poltava region was shot down.

But another missile hit an infrastructure facility in Karlivka (in the Poltava region), causing fire and damage to buildings nearby. No one was killed or injured, the agency reports.

Meanwhile, the region surrounding Odesa was hit by shelling earlier on in the day and the city itself has been hit by missiles in the past hour or so.

Shelling hit the Hryhoriy Skovoroda Literary Memorial Museum in Skovorodynivka village near Kharkiv, Ukraine. 7 May 2022
Reuters

15:15
Plumes of black smoke seen over Odesa

Back now to Odesa, where there have been reports of further missile attacks this afternoon.

It's not yet clear if there are any casualties - but images shared on social media, including by the Belarusian media outlet Nexta TV, show black smoke rising.

Meanwhile authorities in Odesa have announced a curfew between 22:00 local time on 8 May and 05:00 local time on 10 May.

15:38
Russian missiles hit two locations in Sumy

Air-launched Russian missiles have hit two locations in Sumy, a city in northern Ukraine near the Russian border, officials say.

Both the local governor, Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, and the governor of the neighbouring Russian Kursk region Roman Staraovoyt said a Russian air strike hit the Sumy area.

Zhyvytskyi said a border guard was wounded by the strikes.

Russia's governor Staraovoyt assured the residents of his region that there was no fighting on Russian territory and their lives were not in danger.

He added "our aircraft are working on ground targets in the adjacent territory".

Russian ground forces fully withdrew from Sumy region in early April after advancing into parts of the region at the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

16:08
Putin manipulating history for own ends - Blinken

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has accused President Putin of twisting history in order to justify an unprovoked war against Ukraine.

Blinken's remark came in a statement issued on the eve of Victory in Europe, or VE Day, the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War Two.

Russia has claimed the intention behind its fight in Ukraine is to 'denazify' the country - claims it has made since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea.

The secretary of state said Putin was manipulating historical memory to advance his own ambitions.

Last month Blinken, who is currently isolating at home in the US after a positive Covid test, visited Kyiv, where he met President Zelensky and pledged further military aid for Ukraine.

16:32
Odesa hit by Russian missiles for third weekend in a row
Caroline Davies
Reporting from Odesa

Four missiles hit the city of Odesa this afternoon. There are currently no reports of casualties.

Ukrainian authorities have confirmed that several locations around Odesa’s airport were hit. That includes the runway which was hit twice and a furniture production plant.

The spokesperson said that oils and chemicals used in the plant had caused black smoke and fumes that many filmed on social media.

The fire covered about 900 square metres.

The spokesperson said that the airport's radar equipment had also been destroyed. The missiles, she said, had come from the Caspian Sea.

It’s the third weekend in a row that Russian missiles have hit the port city.

In the housing estate close to the airport people swept up shattered glass from their broken windows.
Shattered windows in Odesa
Copyright: BBC

One man angrily waved a shared of blackened metal that he believed was from a missile.

"My father defended this country from Nazis and now it’s happening again!" he shouted.

Ksenia and Andrei’s windows were completely destroyed.

"I don’t feel safe here," Ksenia said. "But our family are in Odesa. We will try to clear up but then see where we can go."

Man holding blackened metal
Copyright: BBC

17:13
Zelensky's plan to evacuate military personnel gives families hope
Hugo Bachega
Reporting from Dnipro

Efforts are still under way to secure the evacuation of civilians who remain trapped in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, after several successful – and extremely difficult – operations in recent days.

Relatives of the fighters who are waiting for any plan to include them have now been given an indication that work is taking place to get military personnel out too.

That came in President Zelensky’s late-night video address on Friday, in which he said “influential intermediaries” and “influential states” were involved in a diplomatic effort to save the fighters.

Oksana, whose husband is a fighter at the plant, told me that everyone should be evacuated, civilians and fighters. “There’s a large number of wounded and sick [fighters].”

She said the intensity of Russia’s bombing of the site suggested that Russian forces did not care whether there were civilians there.

It is not clear how many fighters are still in the plant, hiding within a sprawling network of underground shelters and bunkers.

Ukrainian officials fear Russia may step up its attacks ahead of Russia’s Victory Day, to mark victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, which falls on Monday.

No further details of the efforts mentioned by President Zelensky are known. But his words were enough to renew the hopes of the families.

“We hope that this goal will be achieved,” Oksana said.

17:30 7 May
Breaking
All women, children and the elderly evacuated from Azovstal, Ukraine's Deputy PM says
Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on her Telegram channel that all women, children and the elderly have been evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.

Earlier this week it was estimated that 200 civilians were still trapped inside the plant - the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in the city.

17:42 7 May
Breaking
'This part of the Mariupol humanitarian operation has been completed' - Ukraine deputy PM

As we've been reporting, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said all women, children and the elderly have been evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.

Vereshchuk said: "This part of the Mariupol humanitarian operation has been completed."

The besieged southern port city in Ukraine has been targeted by Russia since the start of the war.

Several humanitarian corridor attempts were made during the last couple of weeks, but over the past few days Ukrainian officials have reported progress on the evacuation.

17:57 7 May
UN and Red Cross haven't confirmed Azovstal evacuation

The evacuation efforts from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol are being coordinated by the United Nations and the Red Cross.

But they have not yet commented on the announcement made by Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vershchuk.

Vereshchuk said all women, children and the elderly have been evacuated from the steel plant in the besieged city.

18:20 7 May
Civilians were evacuated from Azovstal, what next?

Service members of pro-Russian troops with civilians next to buses carrying people evacuated from Mariupol on 7 May 2022.
Copyright: Reuters
Image caption: Pro-Russian troops next to civilians being evacuated from Mariupol to temporary accommodation centres in Bezimenne in the Donetsk region

So, Ukraine says all elderly people, women and children have been evacuated from the Mariupol steel plant, encircled by Russian forces.

It is not clear where the evacuees that have just left Mariupol are and it might take a while until we have further information.

In the past, once civilians were evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant - and other areas surrounded by Russian-controlled troops - they were re taken to Russia's so-called filtration camps, set up outside Mariupol to house civilians before being allowed to proceed into Ukrainian-held territory.

On one occasion, this transfer lasted five days, even though the distance travelled could be covered in hours.

Ukraine: Intense shelling as troops battle to regain Kharkiv region
By Sophie Williams
BBC News, Lviv
Additional reporting by Olga Pona.
Published 1 day ago

A destroyed museum in Kharkiv region
Image caption, Ukrainian troops are trying to regain full control of the region

Intense fighting is continuing in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine as troops attempt to regain control of the area from the Russians.

It comes after Ukraine's armed forces claimed on Saturday that they had taken five villages north-east of the country's second largest city.

Analysts say the Ukrainian operation is developing into a successful counter-offensive.

Kharkiv has been the focus of intense shelling since the February invasion.

The governor of Kharkiv region said on Saturday that Russian troops continue "to fire on civilians in Kharkiv region".

Oleh Synyehubov on Telegram reminded people to "not go out unnecessarily" and told people not to ignore the air raid sirens.

There is concern that the Russian shelling could intensify in the run up to Victory Day on May 9, when Russia commemorates its win over Nazi Germany in 1945.

The region has been heavily targeted by Russian forces since the invasion, but a report from the Institute of the Study of War says that Ukrainian troops are now "notably retaking territory along a broad arc around Kharkiv".

It added that Ukrainian troops may be able to relieve Russian pressure on Kharkiv "and potentially threaten to make further advances to the Russian border."

Hubanov Pavlo, a children's doctor in Kharkiv told the BBC that people are still hiding in shelters and are not going to work.

"There is no normal life in the city," he said. "Kharkiv is very close to the Russian border and so the city is constantly under attack. Unfortunately while the war continues, we cannot relax and we are constantly on alert."

Mr Pavlo used to work at Kharkiv Regional Pediatric Hospital but it was destroyed by shelling.

"The shells hit our hospital several times, and now the building is destroyed and it was impossible to provide medical care there, because Russians were shooting all the time. I am now working in another hospital," he said.

On Saturday, a museum dedicated to philosopher and poet Hryhoriy Skovoroda in Kharkiv region was confirmed to have been destroyed after Russian shelling hit the roof. Items had been removed ahead of time.

19:23 7 May
Russia not preparing nuclear strikes, says CIA chief

The head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) says the intelligence community has seen no "practical evidence at this point of Russians planning for the deployment or even potential use of tactical nuclear weapons" in Ukraine.

Director William Burns was addressing a conference hosted by the Financial Times.

Russia announced it was placing its nuclear arsenal on high alert after launching the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, and Mr Burns warned: "Given the kind of saber rattling that ... we've heard from the Russian leadership, we can't take lightly those possibilities.

"So we stay very sharply focused as an intelligence service ... on those impossibilities at a moment when the stakes are very high for Russia."

19:24 7 May
Putin 'believes he cannot afford to lose'

CIA director William Burns says Russia's President Vladimir Putin is in "a frame of mind in which he doesn't believe he can afford to lose".

"I think he's convinced right now that doubling down still will enable him to make progress," Burns said.

19:33 7 May
200 healthcare facilities hit in Ukraine, WHO reports

Destroyed hospital in Volnovakha in the Donetsk region
Copyright: Reuters
Image caption: Hospitals have been the target of Russian missiles since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it has documented 200 attacks on healthcare centres in Ukraine since the start of Russia's invasion on 24 February.

WHO's emergencies director Mike Ryan told a news conference that it would pass its findings on to those who could assess whether crimes had been committed.

During the same news conference, WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged Moscow to stop waging a war on its neighbour and told Ukrainians "WHO stands by you".

Ukraine's Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said 40 hospitals in Ukraine had been completely destroyed.

Lyashko was quoted by the Unian news agency saying that "about 500 hospitals were damaged, in which medical care cannot be provided".

19:48 7 May
Russia says it has destroyed Ukrainian aircraft

On Saturday, Russia's defence ministry said its high-precision missiles had destroyed Ukrainian aircraft at air fields in Artsyz, Odesa and Voznesensky.

The defence ministry reported that its Iskander missiles hit US and European equipment near Kharkiv.

There is no confirmation from Ukrainian or Western officials.

Throughout the day, there have been several missile strikes across Ukraine.

The attacks ranged from Kharkiv and Sumy in the north-east to Odesa in the south-west. But the main focus of the Russian assault remains the Donbas.

8:00
What is happening in Ukraine right now?
Welcome back to our live coverage on the 74th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is what has been happening:

• More than 60 people are now feared dead after a Russian bomb hit a school in eastern Ukraine on Saturday, the local governor says. Some 90 local residents had been sheltering in the school in the village of Bilohorivka, near the frontline in the Donbas region - 30 have been rescued

• Diplomatic efforts are continuing to try to rescue wounded soldiers from the besieged Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, after the evacuation of civilians was completed, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says. Hundreds of Ukrainian fighters are still holding out in the sprawling industrial site, which has been subjected to weeks of Russian bombardment

• President Zelensky is also set to hold talks with G7 leaders - including US President Joe Biden and the UK's Boris Johnson - via video conference later. Ambassadors from EU member states will also meet in Brussels on Sunday to discuss their sixth round of economic sanctions against Moscow

• In Russia, final rehearsals have taken place for Monday's huge annual parade marking the Soviet victory in World War II, where its military might will be showcased amid Moscow's ongoing campaign in Ukraine

8:30
Entire village sheltering in bombed school - local governor

Rescuers in Bilohorivka
Copyright: Serhiy Haidai


Returning to our top story this morning, many are feared dead after a bomb hit a school in the village of Bilohorivka, in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine.

Regional governor, Serhiy Haidai, confirmed two deaths, but claimed as many as 60 people could be lying dead under the rubble.

About 90 people had been sheltering in the building and 30 were rescued, seven of them wounded, he added. Two deaths have been confirmed so far.

Haidai said a Russian plane had dropped the bomb on Saturday, but his accusation could not be independently verified and there was no immediate response from Russia.

The blast brought down the building which caught fire and it took firefighters three hours to extinguish the blaze, according to the governor, writing on Telegram.

He said almost the entire village had been sheltering in the basement of the school.

The final death toll would only be known when the rubble had been cleared, he added.

Bilohorivka is close to the government-held city of Severodonetsk, where government forces are battling Russian troops and separatists. Heavy fighting was reported in the suburbs there on Saturday.

8:50
WATCH: Rebuilt railway bridge a symbol of hope
James Waterhouse
Kyiv correspondent, BBC News

Video content
Video caption: Ukraine war: Rebuilt Kyiv railway bridge a symbol of hopeUkraine war: Rebuilt Kyiv railway bridge a symbol of hope

Railway lines and stations are increasingly being targeted by Russian forces in the war in Ukraine. But the authorities there are determined to maintain some normality across the country, as the Russian invasion continues into a third month.

With this in mind, a railway bridge connecting war-torn towns such as Irpin, Bucha and Borodyanka with the capital Kyiv has been rebuilt - in just one month - allowing some 400,000 people who depend on the service to return to a semblance of everyday life.

It's a symbol of hope for devastated communities. "Destruction like this can be recovered with time," says one passenger. "Rome was not built in a day."

9:08
Viewpoint: Putin now faces only different kinds of defeat

On Monday Russia will celebrate Victory Day, with a grand military parade and flypast in Moscow's Red Square.

Vladimir Putin may have hoped to have used the annual holiday - which commemorates the Soviet Victory over Nazi Germany in 1945 - to present the Russian people with a victory of his own in Ukraine.

But the invasion hasn't gone to plan. And regardless of the spin the Russian leader puts on it tomorrow, his war is one that Russia cannot win in any meaningful sense - writes defence analyst Michael Clarke.

Within two months, the Kremlin has moved rapidly from Plan A to Plan C - and even if the Russians now succeed in overrunning the whole of the Donbas and all across the south, they still have to hold those territories for the indefinite future in the face of several million Ukrainians who don't want them there.

9:34
'Extremely difficult' to evacuate troops - Zelensky
Hugo Bachega
BBC News, Dnipro

President Zelensky says efforts are continuing to try to rescue the wounded, and medical staff, from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol after the evacuation of all civilians was completed on Saturday.

The president also said officials were trying to evacuate the military forces who remained at the site, holed up in deep underground shelters and tunnels, with very little food, water or medical supplies.

But he acknowledged that this was “extremely difficult”.

The sprawling industrial site, which has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance in a city now almost entirely occupied by Russian forces, has been largely destroyed after weeks of intense Russian bombardments.

Relatives of the fighters are desperately waiting for a plan for their safe passage.

“Everyone must be evacuated,” Oksana, whose husband is a fighter at the plant, told me on Saturday. “There’s a large number of wounded and sick [fighters].”

Ukrainian officials fear Russia may step up its attacks ahead of Russia’s Victory Day, to mark victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, on Monday.

Russia has said the fighters must lay down their weapons. They say they will not surrender.

9:39
Small chance of survivors in school - Governor

School building destroyed
Copyright: Reuters


The governor of Ukraine's Luhansk region has been giving more details about what he says was a Russian airstrike on the school sheltering civilians in the village of Bilohorivka.

Serhiy Haidai told reporters: "An aircraft bomb went into a school. Unfortunately, it is completely destroyed... There were 60 people hiding from the shelling...

"Considering it was an aircraft bomb, not an artillery shell, when the explosion happened, the temperature was wild. Of course, our State Service Emergency workers will try to clear the debris as fast as they can, but the chances of people still being alive are small.

"But we hope for the best. A bit later, when the debris is cleared, I will report on the situation. Maybe, someone will actually stay alive."

10:30
All that time we were praying - Escaped Izyum resident
Sophie Williams
BBC News, Lviv

Izyum came under heavy bombardment soon after the Russian invasion began
Copyright: Maxym Strelnik


The town of Izyum, referred to as the gateway to the Donbas, has been occupied by Russian troops since 1 April.

One city council official, Maxym Strelnik, estimates 80% of the city has been destroyed - while up to 15,000 civilians - out of a population of 50,000 - remain in the city.

Since the Russian occupation last month, little has been heard about what is going on inside Izyum.

Now, residents who recently escaped the city - using a route organised by volunteers - have told the BBC about how they were forced to live in the basement for months.

One woman recalled the horror of bodies lying in the streets. drunken Russian troops looting homes, and how she and her daughter survived off vegetables cooked on open fires.

"All that time we were praying," said Elena, 52, who spent two nerve-shredding days on the road fleeing to safety.

'We tried not to watch' - escapees recount terror of Russian-occupied Izyum
By Sophie Williams and Olga Pona
BBC News, Lviv
Published 19 hours ago

"We thought those were our last minutes. It was extremely scary but we were lucky."

Elena is recalling the moment Russian troops started shelling, after she and a group of escapees passed through one of their checkpoints.

After two months living in the basement of a kindergarten in the Russian-occupied town of Izyum in Ukraine, Elena spent two nerve-shredding days on the road to safety. She and her daughter were among 20 people in a convoy of vehicles heading away from Russian-controlled territory. They fled last Friday using a route organised by volunteers.

"All that time we were praying," said Elena, 52, recounting how they passed through numerous Russian checkpoints. When troops asked them where they were going, the group convinced the soldiers they were headed for Russia. At one checkpoint, Elena said, Russians looked through her daughter's phone, and became angry when they saw messages to her friends about the situation in Izyum.

Finally the pair reached safety in Poltava, a city in central Ukraine. But she said she felt as though she'd lost everything and couldn't forget the horror of what she went through in her home city after the start of the war.

Hiding from soldiers
"Bodies were lying for weeks in the streets. We tried not to watch them in order to save our minds. We couldn't bury dead people because it equalled being killed as well. The shelling was non-stop," she said.

Elena and others in the basement had cooked food on a fire and lived off vegetables collected from their gardens.

"Everyone brought everything they had. We all shared food," she said. "It helped us not to lose hope."

She adds that Russian troops were looting everything, including people's underwear. Soldiers drove around the city in stolen cars with "Z" signs painted on them, she recalled. "They were armed and often very drunk. It was very scary when an armoured personnel carrier was driving on your street and soldiers with machine guns were sitting in it. We tried to hide."

Situated south-east of Kharkiv, the city of Izyum is known as the gateway to the Donbas - Ukraine's old coal and steel-producing region, more than a third of which was seized by Moscow-backed separatists in 2014. It is surrounded by forests and rivers, which make it a natural fortress. And within the city boundaries is the Kremenets mountain, which is 218m (715ft) above sea level.

"Whoever has control of this mountain has a significant military advantage," said Maxym Strelnik, an official of Izyum city council.

All this made the city an important prize and soon after the Kremlin's invasion, it came under heavy bombardment. On 1 April, Russia seized control and has occupied the city since.

Now, Mr Strelnik, who was told by the Ukrainian military to leave the area, estimates that 80% of the city has been destroyed. Between 10,000 and 15,000 civilians remain in Izyum, he believes.

"There is no water, electricity, gas, heating and the sewage system doesn't work," he said.

In March, during the initial stages of the invasion, people were forced to stay in their freezing basements without heating. Those who fell ill were unable to get medical treatment. "We cannot even estimate how many victims there are in the city. There are no medical facilities or funeral services. The dead are buried near houses and in the city parks. It's a horrible reality," he said.

Among those still trapped in Izyum is the mother of Katerina, who escaped with her husband and two children at the beginning of March.

Ceiling fell in
"She calls me from time to time - sometimes once a week," Katerina said. "Even now when I'm safe, I can't feel 100% fine because my mum is left in a town that doesn't exist."

By the time Katerina got out, it was too late for her mother, who lived in a part of Izyum then already occupied by the Russians. She was forbidden to leave her house by soldiers.

Katerina's own escape was a harrowing experience. The family had been sheltering together in their basement for seven days when a Russian bomb fell just 500 metres from their house. "The ground started to fall from the ceiling," she told the BBC. "I started to understand then that our basement would not withstand the bombs."

She and her family had just 15 minutes to prepare to leave. They took very little - only children's clothes. Even the family pets had to be left behind.

As they left, she said, she could hear shells above her head. "The feeling of hearing them will be impossible to get rid of."

Damaged building in Izyum
Image source, Maxym Strelnik
Image caption, Up to 80% of the city has been destroyed, says one official

Mr Strelnik has stayed close to Izyum, albeit in a zone still under Ukrainian control, to ensure he can try to help the people still inside. But communication with them is incredibly hard.

For the past seven days, there has been no mobile phone connection between the town and the outside world. The families of those still inside are desperate to hear from them, he says.

The lack of mobile coverage has also made life difficult for Volodymyr Zelensky - not Ukraine's president, but an ordinary citizen of the same name who has been volunteering to help those inside the city get out. During brief spells when a signal was available, relatives informed those still inside about evacuation buses which collected residents from small villages on the outskirts of the city.

"We evacuated about 200 people," said Mr Zelenskyy. "People were very emotional when they got to the evacuation points. They didn't have a hope for weeks and finally when they saw us, they thought that we were their saviours."

But he said the rescue effort was dangerous work.

"The last time our volunteers extracted people from [the nearby village of] Spyvakiva, they were shot by Russian snipers. Three people were killed and three people were wounded," he said. The BBC has been unable to independently verify this claim.

Both Katerina and Elena count themselves lucky they were able to escape Izyum when they did. But their memories of home in peacetime are haunting.

Katerina remembers the place which she says had everything she needed, including parks for children. "It was so cute, so cosy, like a small fluffy pillow, that feels like your mother hugging you," she said.

Elena misses the days when she would plant flowers in the garden with her granddaughter.

"We did not realise how lucky we were," she said. "Now I realise I was living in a paradise."