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23:41 16 May
Where are the Azovstal defenders going?
The 264 troops rescued from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol are being taken to two Russian-held parts of Ukraine, according to Ukraine's defence ministry.

"On 16 May, 53 badly wounded people from Azovstal were evacuated to a medical facility in Novoazovsk to be given medical assistance," Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said in a video statement.

"Another 211 people were taken to Olenivka via a humanitarian corridor," she said.

"For their future return home, an exchange procedure will be carried out."

Both cities are in the breakaway eastern Ukrainian region known as the Donbas. They were each captured by Russian-backed separatists in 2014.

Maliar added that Ukrainian troops are working to rescue the remaining forces inside the Azovstal plant.

23:58 16 May
Zelensky praises Mariupol evacuation operation
Video content
Video caption: Ukraine: Evacuation of Mariupol steelwork fighters has begun - ZelenskyUkraine: Evacuation of Mariupol steelwork fighters has begun - Zelensky
Volodymyr Zelensky has said an operation to "save the defenders of Mariupol" has started, but added the work will require "discretion and time".

Ukraine's defence ministry says 264 fighters have left the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol and been taken to areas held by Russian-backed rebels.

0:12 17 May
Pictures show buses arriving in Novoazovsk
Buses said to be carrying Ukrainian fighters from the besieged Azovstal steelworks arrive in Novoazovsk, Ukraine
Copyright: Reuters


Reuters news agency has taken a series of pictures it says show the buses carrying Ukrainian fighters evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.

It says the buses were seen driving away from the plant and arriving in Novoazovsk under the escort of pro-Russian forces.

Men can be seen being transferred on to stretchers from the buses.

As we have been reporting, Ukraine's deputy defence minister says 53 heavily injured fighters were taken to Novoazovsk, a town in eastern Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed rebels.

Men said to be wounded fighters evacuated from Azovstal are put on stretchers on arrival in Novoazovsk
Copyright: Reuters

Man said to be a wounded fighter from Azovstal is removed from a bus arriving in Novoazovsk
Copyright: Reuters

Mariupol: Hundreds of besieged Ukrainian soldiers evacuated
By Yaroslav Lukov & Matt Murphy
BBC News
Published1 day ago
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61472025

Video
Media caption, Watch: Fighters evacuated from Mariupol arrive in Russian-held town
Ukraine has confirmed that hundreds of its fighters trapped for more than two months in Mariupol's Azovstal steelworks have been evacuated.

Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said 53 badly wounded soldiers were taken to the town of Novoazovsk, held by Russian-backed rebels.

She said another 211 were evacuated using a humanitarian corridor to Olenivka - also a rebel-held town.

Russia earlier said a deal had been reached to evacuate the injured troops.

About a dozen buses carrying Ukrainian fighters who were holed up beneath the besieged plant were seen leaving the huge industrial site in the southern port city on Monday evening, Reuters news agency reported.

Russian state-run media outlets also posted footage of what they say were injured Ukrainian soldiers being evacuated from Azovstal.

Ms Maliar said the troops would be exchanged for captured Russian soldiers.

In his video address after midnight local time on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainian military, intelligence and negotiating teams, as well as the Red Cross and the UN were involved in the evacuation operation.

"Ukraine needs its heroes alive," he said.

However, he cautioned that the Ukrainian troops may not be freed immediately and warned that negotiations over their release will require "delicacy and time".

Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko told the BBC it is essential that the deal struck with Russia, with the help of the Red Cross and the UN, goes through and the soldiers are exchanged. Otherwise, she said, "the fate of these very brave men will be absolutely unknown and will be in Russian hands, which is far far from an ideal situation".

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukrainian soldiers evacuated from the steel plant will be treated "in line with the relevant international laws".

A picture purportedly showing a wounded Ukrainian soldiers from the besieged Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol is transported on a stretcher out of a bus in Novoazovsk, a town held by Russian-backed rebels. Photo: 16 May 2022
IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS
Image caption,Pictures have emerged purportedly showing injured Ukrainian soldiers arriving in Novoazovsk, a town held by Russian-backed rebels

Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers - Marines, the National Guard - including the Azov regiment - border guards, police and territorial defence units - as well as a number of civilians with young children have been holed up at the site since advancing Russian troops encircled the southern city in early March.

The sprawling four-square mile complex is a maze of tunnels designed to survive a nuclear war.

Last month Mr Putin called off a planned assault on the site, citing fears of high Russian casualties. But heavy bombardment continued virtually non-stop, Ukrainian commanders have said.

Earlier this month, dozens of civilians were evacuated from Mariupol to both Russia-controlled and Ukraine-controlled territory after weeks under siege.

It was not immediately clear how many people still remain in underground bunkers.

Mariupol map with evacuation destinations 17 May


Ms Maliar, Ukraine's deputy defence minister, said Ukraine's military, intelligence, National Guard and Border Service were "carrying out joint efforts to save" those left behind.

She also hailed the actions of the plant's defenders, who she said had "fully accomplished all missions assigned by the command". But she noted that their position had become untenable after it became "impossible to unblock Azovstal by military means".

In a message posted to Facebook on Monday night, Ukraine's General Staff called the troops "heroes of our time" and said their efforts had helped Kyiv organise the defence of its southern flank.

"Maintaining their positions at Azovstal, they did not allow the opponent to shift the grouping of up to 17 battalion tactical groups (about 20,000 personnel) to other directions. Thereby hindered the implementation of the plan for the rapid capture of Zaporizhzhia," military chiefs said in the post.

Meanwhile, the Azov regiment, a National Guard unit which once had links to the far right, appeared to confirm that its fighters had agreed in a social media post to lay down their arms.

The group's commander, Lt Col Denys Prokopenko said his priority was saving "as many lives of personnel as possible".

Marianna Vyshemirsky: 'My picture was used to spread lies about the war'
Marianna Spring
Presenter, War on Truth podcast
Published1 day ago
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-61412773


Marianna Vishegirskaya stands outside a maternity hospital that was damaged by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 9, 2022. Vishegirskaya survived the shelling and later gave birth to a girl in another hospital in Mariupol days later
IMAGE SOURCE,AP
Image caption, The beauty influencer was accused of being an actor after this photo was published

A photo of a heavily pregnant woman fleeing a bombed maternity hospital became one of the most iconic images of the war in Ukraine. But its subject was targeted by an extraordinary Russian disinformation campaign and she received hate from both sides.

Wrapped in a duvet with her forehead bloodied, Marianna Vyshemirsky's image was seen around the world.

The photo above was taken in the aftermath of a Russian airstrike in Mariupol. It circulated online, on newspaper front pages, and was argued about at the UN Security Council.

But, having survived one attack, Marianna faced another onslaught - of disinformation and hate aimed at her and her family.

As Russia attempted to sow falsehoods about the attack, 29-year-old Marianna was falsely accused of "acting". Russian diplomats even claimed that she had "played" not one, but two different women.

Marianna Vyshemirsky smiling as she talks to the BBC on a video call.
Image caption, Marianna on a video call during her interview with the BBC


I've spoken extensively to her friends and relatives, but have been trying to interview my namesake for weeks. So when she finally appears on my screen on a video call, it feels a little surreal. She tells me about her harrowing escape, and about the online abuse that came after.

"I received threats that they would come and find me, that I would be killed, that my child would be cut into pieces," she says.

This is her first interview with a major western media outlet after being evacuated to her hometown in a part of Donbas controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

Marianna seems at ease, and is speaking to me without any preconditions, but a pro-separatist blogger is with her.

She tells me what it's like to find herself inside an information battle - all while giving birth to her daughter Veronika in a war zone.

"She chose to show up at a difficult time," she explains, "but it's better she arrived under these circumstances than not at all."

Listen to Marianna's story on War on Truth https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0btv73r from Radio 4, now on BBC Sounds

'Things were turned upside down'
Life in Mariupol was very different before the war. Marianna promoted beauty products on social media, while her husband Yuri worked at the Azovstal steel works.

"We had a quiet and simple life," she says, "and then, of course, things were turned upside down."

Her Instagram account shows her excitement at the prospect of becoming a mother.

Marianna posted this picture on Instagram in late February, asking her followers to guess whether her baby would be a boy or a girl
IMAGE SOURCE,INSTAGRAM


But by the time Marianna was admitted to hospital, Mariupol had become the most bombed city in Ukraine.

On 9 March, she was chatting with other women on the ward when an explosion shook the hospital.

She pulled a blanket over her head. Then a second explosion hit.

"You could hear everything flying around, shrapnel and stuff," she says. "The sound was ringing in my ears for a very long time."

The women sheltered in the basement with other civilians. Marianna suffered a forehead cut and glass fragments lodged in her skin, but a doctor told her she didn't need stitches.

What she did need, she explains, was to retrieve her possessions from the ruins of the hospital. She asked a police officer to help her back inside.

"Everything I had prepared for my baby was in that maternity ward," she says.

Anatomy of a lie
While she stood outside the hospital, waiting to recover her things, she was photographed by journalists from the Associated Press. They snapped her again as she descended the stairs exiting the building.

An injured pregnant woman walks downstairs in a maternity hospital damaged by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 9, 2022
IMAGE SOURCE,AP


Those images quickly went viral. And that's when false allegations that the pictures were "staged" first appeared on a pro-Kremlin Telegram channel. Marianna's beauty blogging was used to suggest she was an "actor" who had used makeup to fake injuries.

These falsehoods were repeated and amplified by senior Russian officials and state media.

They even claimed that a photo of another pregnant woman on a stretcher was also Marianna, even though it's clear that the photos are of different people. The woman on the stretcher and her unborn child later died from their injuries.

This tweet from the Russian Embassy in London containing false information was taken down by Twitter
IMAGE SOURCE,TWITTER


Fleeing and without internet access, Marianna didn't see those images until days later.

By that point, her Instagram was inundated with accusatory and threatening messages. She found both the trolling and the false allegations shocking.

"It was really offensive to hear that, because I actually lived through it all," she says. But she refrains from directly criticising the Russian officials who spread the false information about her.

Instead, she criticises the Associated Press.

"I was offended that the journalists who had posted my photos on social media had not interviewed other pregnant women who could confirm that this attack had really happened."

She suggests this may help explain why some people "got the impression that it was all staged". But by Marianna's own account she was one of the last patients to be evacuated, and that was when the AP journalists arrived. The journalists interviewed other people at the scene. And they had nothing to do with the subsequent false story spread by Russian officials. We approached the AP for comment.

The search for Marianna
In the days after the attack, Marianna gave birth to Veronika in another hospital.

Marianna Vishegirskaya lies in a hospital bed after giving birth to her daughter Veronika, in Mariupol,
IMAGE SOURCE,AP


Like thousands of others, Marianna and Yuri were desperately trying to escape Mariupol. For weeks, it was largely impossible to make contact with them. Eventually Marianna's relatives told me the couple had got out of the city, but their whereabouts were unclear. Then in early April, they resurfaced in the Donbas region.

She filmed an interview with Denis Seleznev, a blogger who is a vocal supporter of Russian-backed separatists. There was speculation how free she was to say what she wanted.

Marianna says to me: "I had to describe the whole situation, as I saw it with my own eyes."

My conversation with her was also arranged via Denis. Marianna speaks to me from his home. He is present throughout our chat but doesn't interrupt. Marianna's relatives and friends have assured me she is now safe.

Piecing together the truth
Much of what she says in her interview with me undermines the Russian government's mistruths.

The Kremlin wrongly and repeatedly suggested the hospital that was attacked was Mariupol's hospital number one, and that it was no longer operational.

But the BBC's disinformation team identified the hospital where Marianna was - hospital number three.

map of hospitals in Mariupol


We contacted the Russian Embassy in London for comment.

Marianna confirms that the hospital was definitely treating her and other patients - contrary to Russian claims that it was not functioning as a health care facility.

Russia also claimed that the hospital had been taken over by the Azov regiment - the controversial Ukrainian nationalist group that has been linked with neo-Nazis, allegations they themselves deny.

Comments Marianna made in her interview with Denis were cherry-picked by Russian officials to claim soldiers forced Marianna and the other pregnant women to act as human shields.

But Marianna told me there were no Ukrainian military stationed in the building where she was. She says she saw Ukrainian soldiers in the oncology unit in the building opposite the maternity unit. It's unclear whether they were based there or not.

Nevertheless, Marianna's interview with Denis Seleznev was used by the Kremlin to suggest further falsehoods.

Russian officials have seized on her comments that she doesn't believe the explosions at the hospital were caused by an airstrike, implying that the damage was Ukrainian shelling.

"The typical sound a plane makes when it flies overhead is impossible to miss," Marianna tells me, saying that she did not hear one.

But here she is mistaken. The AP journalists documented evidence it was an airstrike, including video where a plane can be heard. At the scene both a soldier and a police officer say the attack was an airstrike.

Also visible in photos is a huge crater which munition experts say could only have been caused by an airstrike.

"I personally did not see this crater, but I saw the video of it," Marianna says. "In reality I can't blame anyone - because I didn't see with my own eyes where for certain [the explosions] came from."

Target for trolls
This fresh controversy sparked a new wave of online vitriol.

"Some people said that I was an actress, others said that I was lying about the fact that there were no air raids," she says.

Even some she regarded as friends don't believe her. Fellow beauty blogger Yaroslava lives in Russia and continues to believe state TV claims that Marianna was acting.

"I think that Marianna played her part. That Ukraine needed the Ukrainian military to blame everything on Russia." Yaroslava told me. She's since unfollowed Marianna on Instagram - and doesn't want to speak to her again.

"It's a pity when people I know believe in something that I haven't done," Marianna says.

But she brightens whenever the conversation turns to baby Veronika.

Marianna has returned to blogging and in a recent post told readers to stick around if they were interested in "cosmetics, nappies and the everyday life of a new mum".

Her message to those who want to send her hate was "go in peace".

But unwillingly finding herself at the centre of an information war - as the military conflict continues - has changed Marianna's life forever.

"You know, for now I'm not thinking about my hopes or making plans, because we don't know what tomorrow will bring."

6:44 17 May
Pro-Russia bloggers disenchanted with Moscow - think tank
Former pro-Russian separatist military commander Igor Girkin, widely known by pseudonym Igor Strelkov
Copyright: Reuters

Pro-Russian military bloggers are becoming increasingly sceptical of Russia's war effort, according to a US-based think tank.

The Institute for the Study of War's (ISW) latest assessment noted that well-known blogger Igor Strelkov had claimed the Russian attempt to take the eastern Donbas region "ultimately failed", and that not a single large Ukrainian settlement “[had] been liberated".

Strelkov is a former Russian soldier and spy who led a military team that captured Donbas before rising to become defence minister of the breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic.

"The continued disenchantment of pro-Russian military bloggers with the Russian war effort may fuel dissatisfaction in Russia itself, especially if Moscow continues to press recruitment and conscription efforts that send poorly-trained cannon-fodder to the front lines," said the ISW in its assessment.

The report added that frictions between Russian administrators and local collaborators is "growing" in occupied areas of Ukraine, as a result of "inter-personal power conflicts".

The ISW cited an example from the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, in which an Ukrainian collaborator accused the Russian-installed governor of the area of stealing his 10,000 ruble (£124; $154) compensation.

"Such discontent amongst occupation elements suggests a general lack of planning by Russian authorities in occupied areas, now compounded by increasingly evident Russian losses," said the ISW.

7:44 17 May
It's not over in Mariupol yet - Ukrainian officer
Oleksandr Danylyuk, a former Ukrainian national security chief and finance minister, currently serving as an officer in the Ukrainian army, has been talking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme about the situation at the steelworks.

He won’t say exactly how many remain at the plant, but says there are many more left there, some of them wounded.

"It's a relief, but it's not the end."

Their main mission is completed and their lives need to be saved, he says.

Russia controls Mariupol but they don't control the steel plant, though the strategic importance of the plant is minimal at this stage, he adds, so it's rather symbolic for Russia to take full control of the city.

"But that symbolic action will cost them a lot of lives."

7:59 17 May
Ukraine military says it's working to evacuate remaining fighters
A screengrab from a video shows a shower of burning munitions hitting Azovstal steelworks in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, Ukraine. Video obtained by Reuters on 15 May 2022
Copyright: Reuters

Ukraine's military has said it is working to evacuate all remaining troops from the steelworks after months of bombardment, as it ends its defence of the plant.

"The 'Mariupol' garrison has fulfilled its combat mission," the general staff of Ukraine's armed forces said in a statement.

"The supreme military command ordered the commanders of the units stationed at Azovstal to save the lives of the personnel," it added.

Some 600 troops are thought to have been inside the steel plant but it's unclear exactly how many remain.

"We hope that we will be able to save the lives of our guys," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an early morning address.

"There are severely wounded ones among them. They're receiving care. Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes alive."


8:15 17 May
Putin making military decisions in Donbas - Western military source
Jonathan Beale
BBC defence correspondent

Russia's President Putin and his military chief, General Valery Gerasimov, are believed to be directly intervening in Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine and taking decisions normally made by more junior officers - according to a Western military source.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the source said: “We think Putin and Gerasimov are involved in tactical decision-making at a level we would normally expect to be taken by a colonel or brigadier.”

The military source said the two were the ones making decisions about troop movements in the Donbas – the area of eastern Ukraine which is now the focus of Russia’s military offensive.

There have already been suggestions that President Putin has become more involved in the day-to-day running of the military campaign, ever since Russia suffered setbacks in the north of the country and around the capital Kyiv.

There’s also been recent speculation that Russia’s military chief, General Gerasimov, may have been sidelined – along with unsubstantiated rumours that he was injured while visiting the Donbas a few weeks ago.

But the Western military official made clear that Russia’s chief of the general staff was still giving orders. “Gerasimov is up and running,” he said.

8:36 17 May
Russia uses artillery strikes indiscriminately - MoD
In its latest update on the situation in Ukraine, the UK Ministry of Defence says that in the northern Chernihiv region, some 3,500 buildings - mainly residential - are estimated to have been destroyed or damaged during Russia's advance (now abandoned).

This shows Russia is prepared to use artillery in inhabited areas and seems to have bombarded indiscriminately, because of a "limited target acquisition capability" and not wanting to fly combat aircraft beyond its front line, it says.

It predicts Russia will continue to rely on massed artillery strikes in the coming weeks to regain momentum in its advance in Donbas.

8:59 17 May
Mariupol fighters expected to be swapped for Russian PoWs
Hugo Bachega
Reporting from Dnipro

A bus carrying service members of Ukrainian forces from the besieged Azovstal steel mill drives away under escort of the pro-Russian military in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in Mariupol, Ukraine May 16, 2022.
Copyright: Reuters

The evacuation of the Ukrainian fighters from their last stronghold in Mariupol likely marks the end of the months-long deadly battle for the city.

The troops’ defence of the Azovstal steelworks with very little food and water, and under intense Russian bombardment, became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance. Hundreds were said to have been in urgent need of medical help, and pictures showed men with broken arms and amputated limbs. Their relatives made desperate pleas for a deal to rescue them.

Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said 53 injured fighters had been taken to a hospital in the Russian-controlled town of Novoazovsk, while another 211 people had been transported to Olenivka, a town controlled by Russian-backed separatists. All of the evacuees, she said, would be subject to an “exchange procedure”.

The speculation is that the evacuated fighters will be exchanged for Russian prisoners of war, but that has not been officially confirmed. Hundreds of fighters are believed to remain at the plant, and it is also not clear when and how they will be evacuated.

As for Mariupol, most of it now lies in ruins. Local officials say tens of thousands have been killed, with many of their bodies still under the rubble of destroyed buildings.

9:57 17 May
Russian missile hits Lviv railway infrastructure - Ukrainian officials
Ukraine's air force says a sea-based Russian cruise missile has hit infrastructure targets outside the western city of Lviv overnight.

It says Ukraine's air defence shot down another three missiles.

The regional governor said railway facilities had been hit.

Russia has been targeting transport hubs and fuel depots around Lviv, in an apparent attempt to disrupt weapons deliveries from countries to the west.

10:14 17 May
Intense fighting continues in eastern Ukraine - report
Ukraine's military says Russia is "continuing its offensive" in the east of the country, but claims its troops have enjoyed some defensive successes in the last 24 hours.

"The enemy focused its main efforts on Donetsk," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a Facebook update this morning.

"The enemy aviation hit civilian and military infrastructure in the Eastern Operational Zone and industrial facilities deep in Ukraine."

Officials added that mortars, conventional artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems were still being used to target Donetsk.

However, the General Staff also said its troops had managed to repel 11 Russian attacks across Donetsk and Luhansk, hitting a Russian Su-25 aircraft and a cruise missile in the process.

Five Russian tanks, one Tor anti-aircraft missile system, six artillery systems and 12 pieces of armoured hardware were also destroyed, the report states.

The BBC has been unable to independently verify these claims.

10:26 17 May
Retired colonel gives rare realistic analysis on Russian TV
Steve Rosenberg
BBC Russia editor

It was an extraordinary piece of television.

60 Minutes is the flagship talk show on Russian state TV: studio discussion promoting the Kremlin line in everything, including President Putin’s so-called "special military operation" in Ukraine. The Kremlin still maintains that the Russian offensive is going according to plan.

But studio guest Mikhail Khodarenok, a military analyst and retired colonel, painted a very different picture.

He warned that “the situation [for Russia] will clearly get worse” as Ukraine receives additional military assistance from the West and that “the Ukrainian army can arm a million people”.

Referring to Ukrainian soldiers, he noted that “the desire to defend their motherland very much exists".

"Ultimate victory on the battlefield is determined by the high morale of troops who are spilling blood for the ideas they are ready to fight for.”

“The biggest problem with [Russia’s] military and political situation”, he continued, “is that we are in total political isolation and the whole world is against us, even if we don’t want to admit it. We need to resolve this situation.”

“The situation cannot be considered normal when against us is a coalition of 42 countries and when our resources, military-political and military-technical, are limited.”

The other guests in the studio were silent; even the host, Olga Skabeyeva, normally fierce and vocal in her defence of the Kremlin, appeared unusually subdued.

It’s rare to hear such realistic analysis on Russian TV. The Kremlin has gone out its way to control the informational landscape here: shutting down independent Russian news sources, and ensuring that television – the principal tool in Russia for shaping public opinion - is on message.

So, what happened on 60 Minutes? Was this a spontaneous and unexpected wake-up call on Ukraine that slipped through the net? Was it pre-planned to prepare Russians for negative news on the "special military operation"?

It’s too early to say. Stay tuned to Russian TV for further signals.

10:40 17 May
Ukraine working on 'next stages' for Azovstal evacuation
Ukraine is working on the "next stages" of the evacuation of fighters from the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said on Telegram.

"In the interest of saving lives, 52 of our severely wounded servicemen were evacuated yesterday [Monday]. After their condition stabilises, we will exchange them for Russian prisoners of war."

She gave no other details, but concluded by saying: "God willing, everything will be fine."

On Monday, more than 50 wounded troops were taken from Azovstal to a hospital in the Russian-controlled town of Novoazovsk. More than 210 others were taken to the town of Olenivka, which is controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

10:59 17 May
We're working to bring our lads home from Mariupol - Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said an operation to "save the defenders of Mariupol" has started, but added the work will require "discretion and time".

In a video statement - which you can watch below - Zelensky thanks the Red Cross and UN, as well as Ukraine's military and intelligence services, for its efforts to "bring our lads home".

"Ukraine needs our Ukrainian heroes alive. This is our principle," he says.

Ukraine's defence ministry says 264 fighters have left the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol and been taken to areas held by Russian-backed rebels.

Video content
Video caption: Ukraine: Evacuation of Mariupol steelwork fighters has begun - Zelensky

11:15 17 May
Russia says no talks happening between Moscow and Kyiv

Moscow's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko has said there are currently no negotiations taking place between Russia and Ukraine, according to the Interfax news agency.

"No, the negotiations are not continuing. Ukraine has practically withdrawn from the negotiating process," the foreign minister told journalists in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.

Rudenko said Kyiv has withdrawn from diplomatic talks as he reiterated that negotiations are not happening "in any form".

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky previously told the BBC's Frank Gardner that he understands the need for dialogue with Russia - and that from their side, "not all the diplomatic bridges have been burnt".

11:41 17 May
Destroyed Russian tanks seen dumped in Bucha
Images of destroyed Russian tanks and military vehicles dumped in Bucha
Copyright: Reuters

Just over a month after Russian forces withdrew from Bucha, near Kyiv, new pictures show destroyed Russian tanks and military vehicles dumped in the Ukrainian town.
Russian troops pulled out of the area in April to regroup and bolster its forces in the east of Ukraine.
The bodies of at least 500 people have been found since the Russians left Bucha. Moscow has denied any involvement in the atrocities.

Images of destroyed Russian tanks and military vehicles dumped in Bucha
Copyright: Reuters

11:58 17 May
Chernihiv strike leaves some dead and many injured - governor
A number of Ukrainians have been injured, and some are presumed dead, after Russia launched a missile strike on the village of Desna near Chernihiv, the city's governor has said.

In a video posted to Facebook, Viacheslav Chaus claimed Russia launched four missiles at around 05:00 local time. “Preliminarily, we have dead and many wounded,” he said.

Two of the missiles hit buildings in the village, Chaus went on, without clarifying whether these were residential or industrial sites.

Rescue teams and law enforcement officers are working to recover the bodies of those caught up in the attack, he added.

The BBC has been unable to independently verify these claims.

Desna, a small town, is home to the Ukrainian military's 169th Training Centre.

13:03 17 May
Mariupol defenders will be treated in line with 'international laws' - Kremlin
Back now to Mariupol's besieged Azovstal steel plant, from where hundreds of Ukrainian fighters have been taken to Russian-controlled territories.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the status of the evacuated troops and did not answer whether the Ukrainian soldiers would be treated as war criminals or as prisoners of war.

"[President Vladimir] Putin has guaranteed that they will be treated in line with the relevant international laws," he said, refusing to provide any further details on what will happen to the evacuated troops.

Speaking in the Russian State Duma (parliament), Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said those evacuated should not be subject to exchange and should instead be brought to justice.

More than 260 fighters left the Azovstal steelworks late last night and were taken to surrounding areas held by Russian-backed rebels - with 53 injured fighters taken to Novoazovsk and 211 people taken to Olenivka, north of the port city.

Ukraine's deputy prime minister said earlier that Ukraine is working on the next steps of the evacuation and hopes to swap the Ukrainian defenders for Russian prisoners of war it holds.

13:22 17 May
Mariupol defenders 'changed course of war' - Ukraine negotiator

The defenders of Mariupol "changed the course of the war" by holding out for 82 days, according to Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak.

In televised comments, reported by Reuters, he says the defence of the port city had interrupted Russia's operation to capture territory in the east and south of the country.

He says talks over evacuating more people from the Azovstal steelworks, the last remaining Ukrainian held area of the city, were difficult but there was hope they would be successful.

Podolyak, one of the Ukrainian negotiators, says overall peace talks with Russia were effectively on "pause" and reiterated that Ukraine was not prepared to give away any territory.

But he added that "any war will all the same end at the negotiating table".

13:40 17 May
Eight killed and 12 wounded in Chernihiv strike - officials
We reported earlier that the village of Desna, near Chernihiv, had been struck by Russia and an unknown number of people had died as a result.

Ukraine’s state emergency service has now confirmed the deaths of eight people and said 12 more were injured, Reuters reports.

Viacheslav Chaus, Chernihiv's governor, said this morning that Moscow had fired four missiles at around 05:00 local time. Two hit buildings in the small village, he added.

The BBC has not been able to independently verify these claims.

13:54 17 May
Families concerned how evacuated fighters will be treated
Hugo Bachega
Reporting from Dnipro

Details of what will happen to the fighters evacuated from the Azovstal steelworks in the southern city of Mariupol are still not clear. In total, 264 troops were taken to Russian-controlled territory, including 53 injured men who were transported to a hospital.

Ukrainian officials have suggested a prisoner swap would take place, with the wounded exchanged when their condition stabilised. But there has been no official confirmation of those plans.

Anna, whose brother was inside the plant, told me she hoped those evacuated would not “stay in the enemy’s territory” for long. “There are many concerns about how they’ll be treated and whether they’ll manage to survive until a swap [happens],” she said.

“In 2014, fighters who were taken prisoners were swapped only after several years,” she said, referring to the year when conflict broke out in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists.

Oksana, the wife of a fighter, said some families had received messages this morning from those inside the steelworks telling them the “situation was tense” and that they “wouldn’t have connection for a long time”.

“It’s very worrying for me and others that they were evacuated only to Russian-controlled territory,” she said. “It scares us a lot, because it’s not clear where they will be. We’re very, very worried about the things that can happen to them.”

The Ukrainian deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, said the authorities were working on the next stages of the operation to evacuate the fighters who are still in the plant. But, again, there are no details about how and when this is going to happen.

14:29 17 May
Germany to 'intensify' military work with Finland and Sweden
Germany will increase its military co-operation with Finland and Sweden, Chancellor Olaf Scholz says, adding that his country will push for a "very swift" ratification of their accession to Nato.

"We will intensify our military co-operation especially in the Baltic Sea region and through joint exercises," he says.

Speaking at a news conference with the prime minister of Liechtenstein, the German chancellor says he is confident that Turkey will support Finland and Sweden joining the alliance despite its initial objections.

Earlier, Scholz spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and, according to a spokesman for the chancellor, they agreed that a diplomatic negotiated settlement between Ukraine and Russia would require "an immediate end to hostilities on the part of Russia and a withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine".

15:00 17 May
Russia strikes in Sumy region leave at least five injured

Windows are broken at a church in Okhtyrka following shelling by the Russian military
Copyright: Dmytro Zhyvytsky/Reuters

More now on fighting in eastern Ukraine and Russian strikes have been reported in the city of Okhtyrka in the north-eastern Sumy region.

Regional Governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky said buildings including a kindergarten and a church were damaged.

The shelling of the region from Russian territory has been going on since this morning, he said on messaging app Telegram.

At least five people were injured, authorities say.

The Russian ministry of defence said its missiles had "destroyed enemy reserves" that were completing combat exercises at training centres in the Okhtyrka area.

15:16 17 May
In pictures: Ukrainian troops evacuated from Mariupol steelworks
Russia's Ministry of Defence has released footage of Ukrainian troops being evacuated from the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol after spending weeks defending the besieged city's last holdout.
More than 260 Ukrainian fighters have now been taken to the Russian-controlled areas of Novoazovsk and Olenivka.

A man believed to be a Ukrainian fighter is searched by pro-Russian military outside the Azovstal steelworks
Copyright: Russian Defence Ministry/Reuters


An injured soldier lies on a stretcher
Copyright: Russian Defence Ministry/Reuters
Image caption: An injured soldier lies on a stretcher. More than 50 severely wounded Ukrainian servicemen have been removed from the Mariupol steelworks


Another wounded fighter is taken away on a stretcher
Copyright: Russian Defence Ministry/EPA


A soldier lies on the floor as pro-Russian troops search Ukrainian defenders
Copyright: Russian Defence Ministry/EPA
Pro-Russian troops search Ukrainian defenders who've been evacuated from the steel plant.

15:43 17 May
Ukraine blames lack of Russian compromise for suspended peace talks
Ukrainians living in Turkey hold an anti-war demonstration as Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met in Istanbul, Turkey March 29
Copyright: Reuters
Image caption: Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met in Istanbul at the end of March amid anti-war demonstrations in the Turkish city

Ukraine has blamed the current suspension of peace talks with Russia on Moscow's failure to find areas for compromise.

"The negotiation process is on hold," Mykhaylo Podolyak, a presidential aide was cited as saying, in a statement issued by the presidency.

Podolyak, who is also Kyiv's lead negotiator in talks with the Russian delegation, said Russia did not appear to understand that the war is "no longer taking place according to its rules, its timetable, or its plans."

"The strategic objective of the Russians is: all or nothing," said Poldolyak, suggesting there was no room for flexibility in Moscow's negotiations so far.

Talks between Russia and Ukraine have been held regularly, both in person and via video call, since the invasion began on 24 February - but have so far failed to yield any positive results.

As we reported in an earlier post, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko confirmed there were currently no ongoing peace talks "in any form", suggesting Ukraine had "practically withdrawn from the negotiating process".

15:51 17 May
BREAKING
Seven buses carrying soldiers departing Azovstal - reports
Buses carrying members of Ukrainian forces, who have surrendered after weeks holed up at Azovstal steelworks, drive away under Russian escort
Copyright: Reuters

At least seven buses carrying more Ukrainian fighters are departing the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, Reuters news agency reports.

The fighters, who were escorted by pro-Russian forces, did not appear to be wounded, a witness told the agency.

On Monday more than 260 Ukrainian fighters left the steelworks in the besieged city and were taken to Russian-controlled territory.

The Ukrainian government said earlier today that it was working on the "next stages" of the evacuation of the remaining people from the plant.

15:57 17 May
Ukraine knows how many fighters are in steelworks - defence minister
As we're getting those reports of more buses carrying Ukrainian fighters leaving the Mariupol steelworks, Ukraine's deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar has said Kyiv knows how many fighters are still trapped at Azovstal.

But she declined to give any further details because such information is "sensitive".

At a briefing on Tuesday she promised to say more when the "rescue operation is over" and she stressed that this was the only way to save Ukrainian defenders.

16:13 17 May
ICC sends team to investigate war crimes in Ukraine
Karim Khan in Bucha
Copyright: Reuters
Image caption: Karim Khan visited the town of Bucha in Ukraine in April

The International Criminal Court has sent a team of 42 investigators, forensic experts and support personnel to Ukraine in the "largest ever single field deployment" by it's prosecutor's office.

In a statement, Karim Khan says investigators will collect testimonials of military attacks which may constitute crimes, while forensic experts would work with Ukrainian authorities to map existing action and "strengthen the chain of custody" regarding hard evidence.

"Now more than ever we need to show the law in action," he says. "It is essential that we demonstrate to survivors and the families of victims that international law is relevant to their experience... in order to bring them some measure of solace through the process of justice."

Khan says his team will work with French experts and those sent by other states and thanked the Netherlands government for facilitating the secondment of Dutch national experts to support the mission.

16:27 17 May
Russia withdraws from Council of the Baltic Sea States
Russia has announced plans to withdraw from the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS).

It comes more than two months after the inter-governmental political forum - comprised of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Russia - suspended Moscow in response to the war in Ukraine.

Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, insisted today that Russia had made the decision to leave CBSS "in response to hostile actions" by the group, presumably referring to both the suspension and various sanctions imposed on Russia by the EU.

"The termination of membership in the CBSS will not affect Russia's presence in the region," Lavrov said, before warning that any attempts to "oust our country from the Baltic are doomed to failure". He also accused Nato and EU members of the CBSS of turning the council into "an instrument of anti-Russian policy".

16:41 17 May
Russian court to decide if Azov Regiment is terrorist organisation
Buses carrying members of Ukrainian forces who have surrendered after weeks holed up at Azovstal steelworks drive away under Russian escort
Copyright: Reuters
Image caption: Buses were pictured leaving the steelworks, with Ukrainian soldiers reportedly on board, on Tuesday

Russia has asked its Supreme Court to designate Ukraine's Azov Regiment as a terrorist organisation.

According to Russia's Interfax news agency, the Justice Ministry in Moscow has said a court case "on recognising the Ukrainian paramilitary nationalist association 'Azov' (other names used: the 'Azov' battalion, 'Azov' regiment) as a terrorist organisation and the ban on its activities on the territory of the Russian Federation is scheduled for trial on 26 May".

It comes as Ukrainian fighters - many of them soldiers of the Azov Regiment - were evacuated from the Azovstal steelworks on Monday night.

Earlier Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on whether the defenders of the steelworks - who are now in Russian custody - would be treated as prisoners of war or as war criminals.

The Azov Regiment was formed in 2014, soon after Moscow annexed Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula, to fight against Russian forces and pro-Russian rebels in the eastern Donbas region.

Some Azov fighters originally had links to nationalist and far-right groups. The regiment was later incorporated into Ukraine's National Guard.

Analysis
Posted at 17:41 17 May17:41 17 May
Azovstal stand-off may have altered the course of war
Paul Adams
BBC Diplomatic correspondent

This moment was always going to come.

Before the war even began, the Ukrainian military decided to concentrate its effort and resources on defending the capital, Kyiv.

Faced with a Russian assault from several directions, it was simply not possible to defend everywhere.

The troops in Mariupol were told to hold the Russians off for as long as they could. But at no point did the government in Kyiv think it was feasible to stop Mariupol being taken.

Sitting on the Sea of Azov, between the Russian-held Crimean peninsula and Russian-backed separatist areas in the Donbas, Mariupol was a key objective for Moscow.

But as with almost everything in this chronically-inept invasion, its capture took much longer than anyone expected.

The city’s defence, and especially the protracted endgame in the post-apocalyptic surroundings of the Azovstal steel works, took Moscow – and the world – by surprise.

And coupled with other recent Russian setbacks, it may have helped to alter the course of the war.

Russian forces were tied down around Mariupol for weeks, preventing them from turning their attention to the encirclement of Ukrainian forces to the north, in the Donbas.

Most of the troops committed to capturing Mariupol have now been reassigned, but analysis by the US think tank, the Institute for the Study of War, suggests this large-scale encirclement may by the latest of Vladimir Putin’s war aims to be have been abandoned.

18:07 17 May
Buses carrying Azovstal fighters arrive in Russian-controlled territory - reports

As we've been reporting, more Ukrainian soldiers have today been evacuated from the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, as a convoy of at least seven buses was spotted leaving the city earlier.

That convoy has now arrived at a former penal colony in the Russian-controlled town of Olenivka near Donetsk, according to a witness who spoke to the Reuters news agency.

Neither Ukraine or Russia has officially confirmed the arrivals.

Earlier, the Russian TASS news agency said the Russian Investigative Committee planned to question the soldiers - some of them members of the Azov Battalion - as part of an investigation into what Moscow calls "Ukrainian regime crimes".

18:30 17 May
Macron promises Zelensky increased arms supplies
French President Emmanuel Macron has promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that French arms deliveries to Ukraine will intensify in coming days and said his country was ready to respond to additional demands for help, the Elysee says.

Zelensky says he enjoyed a "long and meaningful" phone call with his French counterpart this afternoon.

Zelensky tweeted that he had also spoken to Macron about Ukraine's application to join the European Union.

During the phone call, Macron said the application would be examined by EU members at a summit in June and repeated an idea about creating a new "political community" outside the EU to make it easier to integrate Ukraine.

Having long opposed Ukraine becoming an EU member, Russia briefly agreed to the prospect during a round of peace talks.

However, this support was later revoked, with officials blaming comments made by top EU diplomat Josep Borrell that the war between the two nations "will be won on the battlefield".

18:42 17 May
What's happened to the Ukraine-Russia peace talks?
As we've been reporting, talks to end the war between Ukraine and Russia have been halted, with both sides blaming each other for the collapse.

Kyiv's lead negotiator in talks with the Russian delegation today said Russia did not appear to understand that the war is "no longer taking place according to its rules, its timetable, or its plans".

Moscow's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said Ukraine had "practically withdrawn from the negotiating process", the Interfax news agency said.

Discussions between Russia and Ukraine have been held regularly - both in person and via video call - since the war began, but have so far failed to yield any breakthroughs.

Both sides have previously insisted they are still open to a negotiated end to the fighting.

"From our side, not all the diplomatic bridges have been burnt," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky told the BBC's Frank Gardner earlier this month.

But Zelensky has insisted Russian forces must at least "return to where they were on 23 February" - the day before Russia invaded Ukraine - for any peace deal to be struck.

Vladimir Medinsky, whom Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed as his chief Ukraine negotiator in February, told the New York Times, in an interview published today, that Moscow remained interested in a peace deal with Ukraine that would make it a “neutral and peaceful country, friendly to its neighbours".

Analysis
Posted at 19:02 17 May
What happens next to the defenders of Azovstal?
Danny Aeberhard, Europe regional editor, BBC World Service

To get this far has required extraordinarily complex negotiations. But the details of any deal remain under wraps.

Ukraine says its forces will be exchanged for Russian prisoners-of-war, but Moscow has not confirmed this, and it's not clear what assurances it may have given, to Kyiv, the Red Cross or the United Nations.

The Kremlin has so far evaded questions on the prisoners' status or possible transfer.

Some signs will worry Kyiv - a senior Russian MP has accused the Ukrainian soldiers of being - as he puts it - Nazis and war criminals. He's proposed banning their exchange; Russia's Supreme Court will next week hear a prosecutors' request to designate the group many of the fighters belong to - the Azov Regiment - a terrorist organisation.

Ukraine said it had no other option but the current one - to save lives. A military rescue was not on the cards. And the steelworks' defenders couldn't be resupplied with food or ammunition.

With trust in such short supply, there'll be fears though that Moscow may not even abide by any assurances it may have given.

It was one of the reasons why the Ukrainian troops in Azovstal spoke about fighting to the death, rather than surrendering to Russia.

19:17 17 May
Zelensky tells Cannes Film Festival 'hatred will disappear'
Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the audience at the Cannes Film Festival on a large screen
Copyright: Reuters

He's addressed parliaments and legislatures around the world - and now former actor and comedian, and current Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky has taken his message to the Cannes Film Festival.

In a video he told the audience: "In the end, hatred will disappear and dictators will die."

He made reference to the power of cinema during World War 2, including the Charlie Chaplin film The Great Dictator which mocked Adolf Hitler.

"We need a new Chaplin to prove today that cinema is not mute," he said.

His speech received a standing ovation from the audience at the famous festival.

20:18 17 May
More EU support needed for Ukrainian refugees - Polish president
Europe is neglecting Poland and Hungary when it comes to support for the number of Ukrainian refugees the countries are taking in, Polish President Andrzej Duda has said.

Following a meeting with his Hungarian counterpart earlier today, Duda claimed neither country had received enough backing to implement the programmes needed to sufficiently help the millions of people forced out of their homes.

He said he had "no doubt" this attitude "undermines European unity", but promised to continue to do "everything to make guests from Ukraine feel as good as possible in Poland".

The latest UN data shows that 6.2 million people have left Ukraine since Russia invaded:

Poland has taken in 3,376,992 refugees
Romania 919,574
Russia 850,534
Hungary 610,076
Moldova 464,294
Slovakia 424,027
Belarus 27,308

20:48 17 May
Seven civilians killed in Donetsk by Russian attacks - regional governor
At least seven civilians were killed and six wounded in Ukraine's Donetsk region by Russian attacks on Tuesday, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko has said.

In a post on the Telegram social media platform, he said two people had died in Bakhmutske, two in Bakhmut, one in Avdiivka, one in Drobysheve and one in Soledar.

He added that the number of casualties in Mariupol and Volnovakha remains unknown.

The BBC has been unable to independently verify these claims.

Donetsk is part of the eastern Donbas region where Russia is focusing its forces. Much of the Donbas was already controlled by Russian-backed separatists prior to the invasion of Ukraine.

22:24 17 May
US launches programme to gather evidence of war crimes
The US State Department has announced a new programme to capture and analyse evidence of Russian-perpetrated war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine.

The Conflict Observatory aims to document, verify and disseminate open-source evidence of the actions of Russian forces during the invasion of Ukraine.

Under the programme, the US State Department will gather satellite imagery and information shared via social media as part of a broader effort to hold Russia accountable for any war crimes.

An online platform will publicly share the gathered information to help refute any attempt at disinformation by the Russian government, the State Department said.

* * * * *
18 May 2022
6:00
Welcome back
It's just after 08:00 in Ukraine, and we're resuming our live coverage. Here's a quick recap of our main story:

Ukraine said it is doing "everything possible and impossible" to save the remaining fighters trapped in Mariupol's Azovstal steelworks - their fate remains unclear as the city appears on the verge of falling
Hundreds of fighters were evacuated from the site over the last few days but several more are still trapped there - Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Kyiv knew how many soldiers were still at the plant but refused to disclose the number
The Ukraine military asked the fighters who made the last stand in Azovstal to surrender on Tuesday, bringing an end to the gruelling, three-month-old siege of the south-eastern port city
Ukraine has said its forces will be exchanged for Russian prisoners-of-war, but Moscow has not confirmed this. A senior Russian MP has accused the Ukrainian soldiers of being Nazis and war criminals and Russia's Supreme Court is due to hear a prosecutors' request to designate the group many of the fighters belong to - the Azov Regiment - a terrorist organisation.
Talks between the two countries to end the war have been put on hold. Russia says Ukraine has "practically withdrawn" from the negotiations, while Kyiv blames Moscow for failing to compromise

Russia continues missile strikes across country, says Ukraine military
Ukraine's military says that Russian forces continue to launch missile strikes at military targets and civilians throughout Ukraine.

In Mariupol - which appears to be on the verge of falling after battling a months-long siege - Russian solders are blocking units in the Azovstal steel mill, according to an update by Ukraine's General Staff of the Armed Forces.

They add that Russian forces are also attacking in Donestsk, and continue to shell border areas of Chernihiv and Sumy.

6:28
Russian losses have led to 'disunited command' - UK MoD
Russia is likely to have been using thousands of Chechen fighters in the Mariupol and Luhansk areas, underlining its "significant resourcing problems in Ukraine", according to the UK Ministry of Defence.

The MoD says: "Despite Russian forces having encircled Mariupol for over ten weeks, staunch Ukrainian resistance delayed Russia’s ability to gain full control over the city. This frustrated its early attempts to capture a key city and inflicted costly personnel losses amongst Russian forces."

This left Russia needing to make "significant use of auxiliary personnel", the MoD says in its daily defence intelligence update.

"These forces likely consist of both individual volunteers and National Guard units, which are routinely dedicated to securing the rule of Chechen Republic Head, Ramazan Kadyrov."

It says Kadyrov likely maintains close personal oversight of the deployment, with his cousin probably acting as the Chechen field commander in Mariupol.

The MoD says using such "disparate personnel" could be contributing to a disunited command, hampering Russian operations.

6:56
Russian gymnast banned for wearing pro-war symbol
A Russian gymnast has been banned for a year for wearing a symbol associated with support for the invasion of Ukraine while on the medal podium.

Ivan Kuliak displayed a letter "Z" on his singlet while receiving bronze for an event in Qatar in March. At the ceremony he stood beside the gold medal winner, a Ukrainian.

The Z is painted onto Russian tanks and vehicles in Ukraine and worn by pro-war Russians, including politicians.

The Gymnastics Ethics Foundation found that the 20-year-old had violated the rules of the sport's governing body.

Kuliak must also return his medal and prize money but can appeal the decision.

7:12
Russian missile shot down over Dnipro, governor says
Hugo Bachega
Reporting from Dnipro

A damaged building in Dnipro
Copyright: Valentyn Reznichenko/Facebook

Two loud explosions were heard at about 06:00 here in Dnipro, a city in central Ukraine that has been largely spared of Russian attacks recently.

Valentyn Reznichenko, the region’s governor, says one missile was shot down by the Ukrainian air defence. The debris fell on a private garden, he says, damaging two houses and wounding a woman.

Another missile hit transport infrastructure, he says, without giving details.

One of the country’s largest cities with a population of about one million, Dnipro has become a hub for thousands of people fleeing the conflict in southern and eastern Ukraine, including those escaping the besieged city of Mariupol.

The war hasn’t brought to Dnipro the same level of suffering and destruction inflicted by Russia on other Ukrainian cities. But the constant air raid sirens, sandbags and barricades in the streets are a reminder of the conflict - as are the sporadic attacks. Earlier this month a Russian missile hit an area in the centre of the city.

7:22
Russia firing missiles because of lack of success on ground - Zelensky
Russia is firing long-range missiles on Ukrainian civilian and military infrastructure because its army cannot demonstrate any significant achievements on the ground, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed.

In a video address released late last night, Zelensky said there had been missile shelling in the Lviv, Sumy and Chernihiv regions, air strikes in the Luhansk region and "sabotage activity" in border areas.

"All this is not just creating tension for our state, not just testing our strength," Zelensky says.

"This is a kind of attempt of the Russian army to compensate for a series of failures in the east and south of our country.

"They cannot demonstrate success with general military action in the areas where they are trying to advance. So they are trying to show success through their missiles and other activities. To no avail as well."

7:46
What will happen to the evacuated fighters?
Ukraine says all those being evacuated from the Mariupol steelworks will be swapped for Russian prisoners of war, but the parliament in Moscow is sending out a different signal, with the speaker saying "Nazi criminals" should not be exchanged.

A Ukrainian MP, Oleksiy Goncharenko, told the BBC that he hoped the Russians would honour the deal:

For us, the main (thing) is to save the lives of these heroes, because they are real heroes of the whole free world. We worry very much, because we know that Russians don't care about their soldiers. We are ready to exchange, but they don't even take (the) bodies of their soldiers and officers from the field. So I hope we will have (the) exchange, and I hope to see our heroes back at home, and see them alive.

Oleksiy Goncharenko
Ukrainian MP

7:55
Finland and Sweden submit Nato applications
Finland's Ambassador to NATO Klaus Korhonen, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Sweden's Ambassador to NATO Axel Wernhoff attend a ceremony to mark Sweden's and Finland's application for membership in Brussels, Belgium, 18 May 2022.
Copyright: EPA
Image caption: The ambassadors to Nato from Sweden and Finland handed in their applications to the alliance's secretary general (centre) this morning

Sweden and Finland have formally submitted their applications to join Nato this morning.

The alliance's secretary general Jens Stoltenberg says it is "a historic moment, which we must seize", adding that the Nordic countries' membership would increase shared security.

The two nations' leaders announced their intention to apply for membership of the defence alliance on Sunday, in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Swedish parliament voted in favour on Monday, with Finland's doing the same yesterday.

Finland shares a lengthy land and sea border with Russia. Both it and neighbouring Sweden remained neutral throughout the Cold War so their applications to join Nato mark a significant change in stance.

The process could be fast-tracked to only take a few weeks but would require the support of all 30 members, ratification of which could take up to a year. The Turkish government has voiced opposition.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson are due to meet US President Joe Biden at the White House tomorrow to discuss topics including the Nato applications, European security and support for Ukraine.

8:12
Mariupol rescue only ends when all in Ukrainian territory - minister
The Azovstal steelworks rescue operation will only be finished when all Mariupol defenders have been evacuated to territories under Ukrainian control, Ukraine's deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar tells the BBC.

"There are still many people left at Azovstal and we continue negotiations in order to get them out of there," Maliar says.

She says it is a sensitive operation and any command can potentially be dangerous for people's lives.

Calls from politicians in Moscow to put some of those taken from the steelworks on trial for war crimes "were most likely made for domestic propaganda in Russia", Maliar says.

"Negotiations are still ongoing and we very much hope for a positive result."

8:27
Relatives are worried about evacuated fighters
Hugo Bachega
Reporting from Dnipro

What will happen to the hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers who have surrendered from the besieged steelworks in Mariupol and are now in Russian hands is still unclear. And that’s why their relatives are concerned.

No details of the deal negotiated between Ukraine and Russia, which put an end to the bloodiest fight in this war, have been made public. For weeks, hundreds of fighters holed up in the Azovstal’s underground tunnels and shelters put up incredible resistance, and were seen as heroes for many in this country.

They vowed to fight until the end. But, late on Monday, they were ordered to surrender.

Ukrainian authorities say the fighters could be swapped for Russian prisoners. The Russians, however, have not confirmed this. In fact, just hours after the first group left the plant, Russian officials suggested some could be questioned as war criminals, while high-profile politicians voiced strong opposition to any exchange.

They have seized on the fact that many of the fighters belong to the Azov regiment, which was set up as a far-right volunteer militia in 2014. Its members deny being neo-Nazi, and Ukraine says the regiment has been reformed and integrated into the National Guard.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia says his “special military operation” in Ukraine is an effort to “de-Nazify” the country. Any deal to exchange Azov fighters could backfire domestically.

Anna, whose brother was inside the plant, told me on Tuesday: “There are many concerns about how [the fighters] will be treated and whether they’ll manage to survive until a swap [happens].”

Oksana, the wife of a fighter, said: “It’s very worrying for me and others that they were evacuated to Russian-controlled territory… We’re very, very worried about the things that can happen to them.”

Analysis
Posted at 8:55
Mariupol defenders faced an impossible choice
Lyse Doucet
Reporting from Kyiv

I think there was a sharp intake of breath right across this country when the news was announced that some of the last soldiers bunkered in the Azovstal steelworks were not just leaving but leaving to territory occupied by Russia.

It was an impossible choice - if they stayed in the steelworks they would face a certain death, but what they face now is, at best, a very, very uncertain fate.

President Zelensky for weeks and weeks had been telling the fighters "please give up if you feel you must, please don't feel you must give your lives in this fight".

Again and again the fighters of the Azov battalion said "no, we must continue to fight".

Last night President Zelensky said this mission to evacuate the remaining soldiers - and to take care of the ones who have already left - involved, in his words, the most influential international mediators. Because the only thing which has reassured many here, and most of all the families of the fighters, is that there is international involvement, that behind the scenes there is the Red Cross and the United Nations, and they are hoping against hope this can help to persuade Russia.

Mariupol is a strategic prize for the Russians but members of the Azov battalion, a group which has origins in the far right, are a prize for President Putin, who it is feared may parade them to say "see, I told you there were Nazis in Ukraine".

9:16
BREAKING
Nearly 1,000 Azovstal fighters have surrendered, Russia says
Nearly 1,000 Ukrainian fighters holed up in Mariupol's Azovstal steelworks have now surrendered, according to Russia's defence ministry.

It says 694 fighters from the Ukrainian military and Azov battalion have surrendered over the past 24 hours.

The ministry says the total who have now surrendered is 959 (this includes the 265 it said left in the first evacuations on Monday).

Those leaving the steelworks are being taken to Russian-controlled territory.

Ukrainian authorities have not given an update on how many fighters have left Azovstal today.

9:30
Capturing Azov fighters could let Putin claim de-Nazification is happening
Steve Rosenberg
BBC Russia editor

Self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic militia guard buses readied for Ukrainian servicemen being evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine
Copyright: EPA
Image caption: Azov fighters have been among the busloads of Ukrainians taken from Mariupol

President Putin has presented what he calls his "special military operation" as an attempt to de-Nazify Ukraine - that's been one of the many excuses the Russian authorities have come up with to try to justify the decision to invade Ukraine.

Russian officials have claimed, without any evidence, that Ukraine has been overrun by neo-Nazis, fascists, ultra-nationalists.

Mariupol was the spiritual home of the Azov regiment, which back in 2014 did include some far-right volunteers but has since been integrated into the Ukrainian National Guard - and Kyiv insists the regiment now has nothing to do with politics.

Taking Azov fighters prisoner and potentially putting them on trial allows Vladimir Putin to claim to his people that de-Nazification is happening.

Last week one of Russia's most popular newspapers, a fiercely pro-Kremlin one, suggested that the most likely scenario now in Ukraine was what it described as a limited Russian victory. By that it meant Russia taking control of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions in their entirety plus the land corridor to Crimea - but it also mentioned seizing other Ukrainian cities like Odesa and Dnipro. That is still some way off, I have to say.

For Russia military progress has been slow and the Russians are beginning to admit this. A couple of days ago I was astonished to hear, live on Russian state television, a retired colonel painting a very sombre, very realistic picture of how things are looking for Russia in Ukraine.

I wonder whether that is a sign that the authorities here are preparing viewers for bad news about how things have gone, or at least giving themselves the option of saying that at some point in the future.

10:32
Court will decide fate of Mariupol fighters, separatists say
A court will decide the fate of the Ukrainian fighters who have surrendered at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, a separatist leader in eastern Ukraine says.

According to Russian news agency Tass, Donetsk separatist leader Denis Pushilin says "if the opponent has laid down his arms, the court decides the future fate".

He says any Ukrainians who are found to be "neo-Nazi war criminals" should face an international tribunal.

Pushilin says the top commanders at the steelworks are still inside the plant and have yet to surrender, Reuters reports, citing local media.

Posted at 10:52
More than 28,000 Russians killed since start of war, Ukraine says

BBC Monitoring -The world through its media

As many as 28,300 Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine says on Facebook.
It adds that over the past day Russia has lost some 400 servicemen.

The General Staff says in its daily update that Russia has also lost approximately:
1,251 tanks
3,043 armoured vehicles
586 artillery systems
199 multiple launch rocket systems
91 air defence systems
202 warplanes
167 helicopters
2,137 lorries and fuel tankers
13 warships and boats
102 cruise missiles
441 drones
43 pieces of special equipment

11:44
Russia expels more than 30 French diplomats
Russia's Foreign Ministry has said it's kicking out 34 French diplomats in a tit-for-tat move. It's giving them two weeks to leave the country.

In April, France expelled 35 Russians with diplomatic status – it was part of a wave of expulsions from European capitals that saw more than 300 Russians being sent home

Later that month, France's foreign ministry declared six Russian agents posing as diplomats as "persona non grata" – which usually means their diplomatic status is revoked.

This was after French intelligence services conduced the Russians were working against French national interests.

11:58
More than 3,700 civilian deaths in Ukraine conflict - UN
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) says 3,752 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia invaded on 24 February.

A further 4,062 are known to have been injured, it says.

Most of the recorded civilian casualties were caused by shelling, missile and air strikes, it added.

The OHCHR says that it believes that the true figures for civilian deaths in the conflict are considerably higher.

12:10
More than 270 'nationalists' killed in air strikes, Russia says
Russian forces have killed more than 270 "nationalists" and destroyed more Ukrainian military assets, including a battery of US-made M777 howitzers, the Defence Ministry in Moscow says in the latest update seen by BBC Monitoring.

While the BBC is unable to independently verify these claims, ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov says high-precision air-launched missiles have hit two command posts, including a territorial defence headquarters near Soledar in what Russia recognises as the Donetsk People's Republic.

Russia also says it hit 31 areas where Ukrainian military equipment and troops are stationed, including places where "foreign mercenaries from European countries" are based.

"As a result of air strikes, more than 270 nationalists were killed and 54 pieces of military equipment were disabled," Konashenkov says.
"Missile troops and artillery hit 76 command posts, 421 areas of concentration of manpower and military equipment, as well as 147 artillery and mortar units in firing positions."

He says in total, since the beginning of the "special military operation", the following have been destroyed:
172 planes
125 helicopters
927 unmanned aerial vehicles
311 anti-aircraft missile systems
3,139 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles
389 multiple rocket launchers
1,548 field artillery guns and mortars
2,997 special military motor vehicles

12:42
Saboteurs in Belarus could face death penalty under new law
Alexander Schlichter
BBC World Service
Belarussian leader Aleksander Lukashenko has signed a bill broadening the scope of the death penalty to include attempted acts of terrorism.

When Vladimir Putin launched his Ukraine invasion, Belarus was a critical element, providing a springboard for a lightning assault on the capital Kyiv.

But one thing he didn't count on was rail sabotage. From the word go, a clandestine network of railway workers, hackers and dissident security forces went into action to disrupt railway links, wreaking havoc on Russian supply lines.

Many Russian troops were left stranded on the front lines without food, fuel and ammunition. Now, alleged saboteurs in Belarus could face the firing squad, while the same law will apply to activists who organised the anti-Lukashenko protests a couple of years ago.

Russian soldier pleads guilty in first war crimes trial of Ukraine conflict
By Sarah Rainsford, BBC News
Kyiv
Published3 hours ago

Vadim Shishimarin, Russian soldier accused of war crimes in Ukraine.
IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS
Image caption, Vadim Shishimarin is a 21-year-old tank commander in the Russian armed forces


A 21-year-old Russian soldier has pleaded guilty to killing an unarmed civilian, in the first war crimes trial in Ukraine since the war started.
Vadim Shishimarin admitted shooting a 62-year-old man a few days after the invasion began. He faces life in jail.

The prisoner was brought into the tiny Kyiv courtroom in handcuffs, flanked by heavily armed guards. He looked nervous, and kept his head bowed.
Just a couple of metres from him, the widow of the man killed was sitting.
She wiped tears from her eyes as the soldier entered court, then sat with hands clasped as the prosecutor set out his case, describing the moment Kateryna's husband was shot in the head.

"Do you accept your guilt?" the judge asked. "Yes," Shishimarin replied.
"Totally?" "Yes," he replied quietly from behind the glass of his grey metal-and-glass cage.

Prosecutors say Shishimarin was commanding a unit in a tank division when his convoy came under attack.
He and four other soldiers stole a car, and as they travelled near Chupakhivka, they encountered the 62-year-old on a bicycle, they said.

According to prosecutors, Shishimarin was ordered to kill the civilian and used a Kalashnikov assault rifle to do so.

The Kremlin said earlier it was not informed about the case.

Shishimarin's trial was adjourned shortly after the civilian's widow heard for the first time the Russian soldier admit to the murder. This high profile hearing will restart on Thursday in a larger courtroom.

Kateryna, the 62 year-old's widow, told the BBC how she was coping, before she left the court for the day.
"I feel very sorry for him [Shishimarin]," she said. "But for a crime like that - I can't forgive him."

Ukraine has so far identified more than 10,000 possible war crimes committed by Russia.

The country's chief prosecutor Iryna Venediktova tweeted: "By this first trial, we are sending a clear signal that every perpetrator, every person who ordered or assisted in the commission of crimes in Ukraine shall not avoid responsibility,"

Moscow has denied its troops have targeted civilians, but investigators have been collecting evidence of possible war crimes to bring before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

The ICC is sending a team of 42 investigators, forensics experts and support staff to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukraine has also set up a team to preserve evidence to enable future prosecutions.

Additional reporting by Malu Cursino in London.

13:25
Russia adds Spanish and Italian diplomats to expulsions list
Earlier we reported that Russia is expelling 35 French diplomats. Now the country's foreign ministry has said it's also kicking out 24 Italian and 27 Spanish embassy workers.

The expulsions are the latest in a series of tit-for-tat moves, after European governments sent home more than 300 Russians last month.

Among them were 25 expelled from Spain, 30 from Italy and 35 from France.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi described Russia's latest move as a "hostile act".

"This absolutely must not lead to an interruption of diplomatic channels because it is through those channels that, if we succeed, peace will be achieved," Draghi said.

14:30
Peace talks unlikely to resume after Mariupol capitulation - Kremlin

Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are not progressing and they will most likely not resume after the "capitulation" of the Ukrainian military from Azovstal steelworks, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said.

"Negotiations are really not progressing. We see a complete lack of desire among the Ukrainian negotiators to continue this process," Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.

He said there was no question that the fighters who have left the besieged Azovstal steel plant in the port city of Mariupol had surrendered.

"The definition is unambiguous: those who took refuge, the soldiers who took refuge on the territory of Azovstal, they are laying down their weapons and are surrendering," he added, according to the Interfax.

Ukrainian authorities have said the fighters could be swapped for Russian prisoners, but no details of any agreement between the two sides has been made public. The fighters have been taken to Russian-controlled areas in eastern Ukraine.

Peskov said the question of trying captured soldiers at a military tribunal - either for alleged war crimes or for being what Russia calls Nazis - was "a question for the military".

14:45
The doctored passport image used to falsely claim Zelensky was Russian
Paul Myers and the BBC Disinformation Team

The doctored image of Volodymyr Zelensky
Image caption: The image has been cropped, flipped and desaturated to make it appear as if it is an old passport photo.

Claims Ukraine's President Zelensky is actually Russian – casting doubt on his eligibility for the presidency – have been exposed as fake.

In April, an image of a Russian passport depicting a young Volodymyr Zelensky spread on the messaging app Telegram, along with false claims that, as a Russian citizen, Zelensky was ineligible for the Ukrainian presidency.

The story was picked up by at least two Russian media outlets.

However, there is no evidence Zelensky is a Russian citizen. The image of the passport is fake and the photo of Zelensky was doctored.

The BBC has analysed the image in the passport and found it is not a passport photo, but an old photograph which can be found on a Russian language website in an article about Zelenksy and his wife’s ‘love story’.

Open source investigator Max Bernhard has found further evidence the passport was fake.

Bernhard discovered that the issue date did not match the other information in the passport, and it appears to have been created using a piece of software which generates fake Russian passports.

15:00
Almost 1,300 civilians found dead in Kyiv Region during invasion - police
Some 1,288 bodies of civilians have been found in the Kyiv region since the start of the Russian invasion, a police chief says.

"At present, we have bodies of 1,288 killed people. I emphasise, civilians," says Andriy Nyebytov, head of the Kyiv Region Police, quoted by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

"Most of them were shot with automatic weapons," Nyebytov continues, saying police continue to find new burials of killed civilians in the region.

In late April, the equivalent figure was just over 1,000.

15:45
Canadian broadcaster has Moscow office closed by Russia
Russia is closing the Moscow bureau of Canadian public broadcaster CBC and withdrawing the accreditation of its journalists in Russia, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says.

She says this is a response to "measures taken in practice in relation to Russian media, their transmission and broadcasts in Canada".

Canada banned TV service providers from distributing Russia state-owned channels RT and RT France back in March.

The UK has previously revoked RT's license to broadcast, after the channel had already disappeared from screens in the UK following a ban in the EU which affected satellite companies which provided streams to the UK.

16:20
Russia claims footage shows surrendered soldiers from Azovstal complex
Russia's defence ministry has released footage of what it says are some of the wounded Ukrainian soldiers who have been evacuated from the Azovstal complex in Mariupol since Monday.

The video shows tired-looking men lying on beds in a hospital ward, wrapped in blankets, with many staring straight ahead.

If they are soldiers who were defending the steelworks then they are now in the hands of the army that has bombarded them for weeks.

Some tell the film crew they are being taken care of by doctors, who have given them medication and changed their bandages.

One man says the Russians' attitude is normal and he is not being subjected to physical or psychological abuse.

It is not clear if the men are speaking freely.

Russia says nearly 1,000 fighters have so far surrendered and been taken to territory it controls.

There are increasing fears for their safety, since Moscow has said many will be investigated, with some MPs insisting they must not be exchanged for Russian prisoners.

16:49
Kremlin insider admits to war 'difficulties'

It has been suggested the Kremlin may be preparing the Russian public for news that it operation in Ukraine is not going to planImage caption: It has been suggested the Kremlin may be preparing the Russian public for news that it operation in Ukraine is not going to plan
Another pro-Kremlin voice has admitted to "difficulties" in the war with Ukraine, which Russia calls a 'special military operation'.

But Rashid Nurgaliyev, a deputy secretary of Vladimir Putin's Security Council, insisted Russia would achieve its objectives - including the "denazification of Ukraine".

It follows remarks by a retired colonel and military analyst on primetime Russian TV earlier this week, in which Mikhail Khodarenok warned "the situation [for Russia] will clearly get worse".

"We are in total political isolation and the whole world is against us, even if we don't want to admit it," said Khodarenok, while appearing on flagship talk show 60 Minutes.

Russia's Security Council is today holding a meeting with nearly 100 foreign ambassadors to discuss the threats posed by "closed laboratories" and "neo-Nazism".

Nurgaliyev told the gathered ambassadors: "In spite of all the existing difficulties, the special military operation will be completed - while its objectives, including the ones to do with the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine, [and] defence of the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic will be carried out in full."

His remarks were reported by Russia's Interfax news agency.

BBC Russia editor Steve Rosenberg has suggested the Kremlin may be preparing the Russian public for negative news on the progress of the invasion.

17:02
Czech plan to help Russians fleeing state persecution
Rob Cameron
BBC Prague Correspondent

Members of Prague"s Russian community take part in an anti-war demonstration, 26 March 2022
Copyright: Reuters
Image caption: Members of Prague's Russian community protested against Russia's invasion of Ukraine in a demonstration in March


The Czech government has approved a programme to help citizens of Russia and Belarus who have fled persecution in their home countries.

The programme, called Civil Society, will make it easier for the Czech authorities to grant visas to Russians and Belarussians if they can show they face persecution for opposing undemocratic regimes at home.

Independent journalists and academics were likely to be among those who could take advantage of the programme, foreign minister Jan Lipavsky said.

Belarussian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya recently appealed to the Czech authorities on a trip to Prague to provide protection for activists forced to flee Belarus.

17:21
US will work with Finland and Sweden in event of 'aggression'
President Biden says the United States will work with Finland and Sweden in event of any outside "aggression" which could threaten national security while their Nato membership is under review.

The US president reiterated his support for Sweden and Finland's bid to join Nato, saying it would "further strengthen our defence cooperation" and benefit the entire alliance.

The US is the latest country to offer support to the two countries in the event of any aggression, with several others offering similar assurances.

Last week the UK agreed a mutual security pact with both Nordic nations, ahead of their decision to apply for Nato membership - a decision which has been taken in the light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

18:01
Talks over Azovstal evacuation 'very difficult' - Ukraine adviser

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

The evacuation of the defenders of Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol continues but ongoing talks around the soldiers' release are "very difficult", an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency has said.

"The negotiations are very difficult because people's lives are at stake," Mykhaylo Podolyak, adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff, told Ukraine's Radio NV.

"You see, Azovstal, Mariupol and the Azov regiment - all Mariupol defenders are very symbolic, and for Russia as well, in a negative respect," he added.

Podolyak, one of Ukraine's peace negotiators, also urged people commenting about the evacuations to tread carefully, saying statements in the Russian press were "very aggressive... so let us treat this carefully".

He mentioned "influential middlemen" in the talks on the Azovstal evacuation but did not name them.

"We will be able to tell you after the operation ends," he promised.

Since Monday, nearly 1,000 Ukrainian fighters have left the steelworks - the last Ukrainian stronghold in Mariupol - and have been taken to Russian-controlled territory, Russia's defence ministry said.

18:38
Several Russian units refusing to fight in war - Ukrainian intelligence

Russian troops are increasingly refusing to take part in combat in Ukraine, the Ukrainian defence ministry's main intelligence directorate says.

In a post on the Telegram messenging service, it says several units of the 70th Guards Motorised Regiment have openly refused to take part in the war and demanded that they be returned to the areas where they are normally deployed.

Unit commanders are making every effort to hide the cases of disobedience, the directorate says, with the most un-cooperative servicemen "sent to the most dangerous area of the front-line in the hope that they would be killed quickly", the post claims.

The agency says the Russian Federal Security Service has decided to infiltrate the regiment's units with "agents and informants".

The BBC is not able to verify this information independently.

19:15
Zelensky proposes to continue martial law and mobilisation in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed decrees to extend martial law and mobilisation for another 90 days in the country, starting from 25 May.

The documents have been submitted to the Ukrainian parliament and must be approved by at least half of the lawmakers.

Martial law was implemented in the country on 24 February, the day Russia invaded. The initial period of 30 days has been extended twice so far.

Zelensky's first decree on mobilisation was for 90 days and applied to all regions of the country.

Last week, Ukraine's defence minister said he hoped to arm a million fighters as the country prepared for a "new, long phase of war".

19:48
What does martial law mean in Ukraine?
As we've just reported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is proposing to extend martial law in the country - but what does that involve?

In Ukraine, it gives the military leadership the power to intervene in areas of civilian life - for example by introducing curfews, prohibiting travel and conducting searches of civilians' homes and vehicles.

It also suspends a raft of rights that civilians have in peacetime, including:

The inviolability of private homes
The right to private correspondence and phone conversations
The right to freedom of movement, including to leave Ukraine
The right to hold peaceful meetings, rallies, marches and demonstrations
The rights to work, carry out entrepreneurial activity and to go on strike
The right to education

Under martial law since the invasion, curfews have been imposed at various times in cities around the country.

Men aged between 18 and 60 have been banned from leaving the country, although there are some exceptions, such as fathers of more than three children.

Ukraine: The police officer who lost his family in one Russian strike
By James Waterhouse
BBC News, Borodyanka, Ukraine
Published20 hours ago

IMAGE SOURCE,BBC/DUNCAN STONE
Image caption, Ivan Simoroz stands on what remains of his family's home

At first, I couldn't see the damage to Ivan Simoroz's parents' home in the Ukrainian town of Borodyanka, near Kyiv. Then I realised that was because there was nothing left that resembled a home.

As the 26-year-old stood on the rubble, in his police uniform, it felt impossible to process the devastation that surrounded him.

This report contains material some readers may find disturbing

"On 26 February, we were chatting at the police station, and then we heard a loud boom," recalls Ivan.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine was two days old and had quickly targeted towns in the Kyiv region as they looked to close in on the capital.

"The ground was shaking, I started calling each of my relatives, my wife, brother, mother, father, grandma - they were all out of reach.

"I realised something bad had happened."

Ivan had heard incoming shelling and knew it had hit something, he just didn't know what.

He drove with his police chief and several colleagues to his house on Tsentralna Street and was met with the sprawling devastation he stands on today.

I ask him what was going through his mind at the time.

"Horror. War. It was very scary and hard to understand. You hoped that someone was still alive, maybe they were hiding in the basement."

what remains of the family home
IMAGE SOURCE,BBC/HANNA CHORNOUS


Neighbours and relatives soon arrived to help with the search.

Ivan found his mother first, lying dead over a fridge. Then 200m away he found the body of his younger brother. He'd lost both legs and hands. His beloved dog was sitting in a vegetable patch next to him.

Then his grandma was found, also dead, covered in bricks.

Ivan's aunt found his one-year-old baby daughter, Polina, on a sofa, still breathing.

Then Ivan's wife was found. Then his father. Both dead.

Polina died in hospital shortly afterwards.

Ivan lost six members of his family that day.


From left to right: Brother, Petro Simoroz, 21 years old. Father, Vasyl Simoroz. Mother, Natalya Simoroz. Wife, Olena Simoroz, 27 years old. Ivan Simoroz
IMAGE SOURCE,SIMOROZ FAMILY
Image caption, Ivan Simoroz (right) pictured with - from left - his brother, Petro, 21, his father, Vasyl, mother Natalya, and wife, Olena, 27

Officers say Ivan's home was the first to be hit in Borodyanka. The town would become one of the most heavily shelled places in this war.

With extraordinary detail and composure, Ivan continues to show us around the pile of rubble that once was his family's home. Colourful tulips that his grandmother planted poke through.

It's when you look closer that you see fragments of life: one of Polina's shoes, or a dressing gown hanging on a beam.

Ivan's daughter Polina at Christmas

IMAGE SOURCE,SIMOROZ FAMILY
Image caption, Ivan's daughter Polina died in hospital later that day

Ivan only took three days off work after the attack. He worked on a military checkpoint nearby and helped people evacuate on buses to safer areas.

It has led to Ivan being recognised with a medal for his service and courage.

His local police force was one of the first to re-establish itself after the Russians pulled out of the Kyiv region. In the time since, more than 1,200 bodies have been recovered.

When I was in a terrible situation, I got help. I believe you have to give that back

Ivan Simoroz
Ukrainian police officer

So what drives Ivan on?

While work has admittedly been a distraction, he says it's also helping him process his grief. As the inhabitants of Borodyanka and its police force begin to rebuild the town, he's been able to meet people who have gone through similar tragedies.

And he says his close-knit friendships and supportive colleagues have been invaluable.

"Everybody has some misery and troubles in Borodyanka," says Ivan. "And you need to help them. This work, and my friends, is what helps me."

In early April, Ivan and his colleagues returned to Borodyanka after Russian troops retreated

IMAGE SOURCE,IVAN SIMOROZ

"He is an open, friendly, talented, focused person," says Ivan's boss Vyacheslav Tsyliuryk, the head of Borodyanka's police unit.

"For you to understand one of Ivan's character traits; in six years of work, he hasn't had one day of leave.

"I have never met anyone else so morally strong," he says, adding that he hopes never to meet someone who would need to be as strong after such tragedy.

Some buildings in Borodyanka feel like a grim tapestry of previous lives

IMAGE SOURCE,BBC/DUNCAN STONE

The destruction of Ivan's home would be replicated across Borodyanka over the following five weeks.

The main road through it is now silent. It is plain to see how uninhabitable it is when you see whole buildings hollowed out or collapsed.

People's homes are exposed where neighbouring buildings had been hit. Bookshelves and still laid kitchen tables are somehow undisturbed in some flats.

"People are fully demoralised," says Vyacheslav. "Learning to live in today's reality."

The moment that causes Ivan's mask to slightly slip, is when he describes something 30km away: six wooden crucifixes on freshly dug sand in a cemetery in the village of Piskivka.


the graves
IMAGE SOURCE,BBC/DUNCAN STONE
Image caption, None of Ivan's extended family could make it to the funerals because of the fighting


Ivan's daughter's toys on her grave
IMAGE SOURCE,BBC/DUNCAN STONE

Toys clearly mark Polina's grave, but what really strikes you is what they all have in common, the same date of death: 26. 02. 2022

The brutality and finality of this war encapsulated in a single date, carved six times.

"When you go there, you cry all the time," says Ivan. He swallows hard.

Additional reporting by Siobhan Leahy and Hanna Chornous