World War Three is now a "real" danger, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, warned today as criticised Kyiv's approach to peace talks.
Speaking to Russian news agencies, he said: "Good will has its limits. But if it isn't reciprocal, that doesn't help the negotiation process."
He added that the Ukrainian conflict will end with an agreement but its content would depend on the military situation.
It comes after Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, estimated that 15,000 Russian troops have been killed in the two months since Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine.
He told MPs that Britain will send a small number of Stormer armoured vehicles fitted with launchers for anti-air missiles to Ukraine.
Follow the latest updates below.
01:03 AM
Family of captured Briton plea for help
The family of a British man who was captured while fighting with Ukrainian armed forces against Russia has pleaded for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to help free him.
Aiden Aslin, who is originally from Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire, was fighting in Mariupol, Ukraine, when he was captured earlier this month.
Fellow Briton Shaun Pinner was also captured during the siege.
Mr Aslin's mother, Angela, and his brother, Nathan, said he had appealed to Mr Johnson for his freedom during a phone call with them.
Last week, Conservative MP for Newark Robert Jenrick said a prisoner swap was the most likely route to get Mr Aslin to safety while Mr Johnson said he hoped that Mr Aslin is "treated with care and compassion" by his captors.
11:34 PM
'New mass grave' north of Mariupol
Officials in the embattled Ukrainian city of Mariupol say a new mass grave has been identified north of the city.
Mayor Vadym Boychenko said authorities are trying to estimate the number of victims in the grave about 6 miles north of Mariupol.
Satellite photos released over the past few days have shown what appear to be images of other mass graves.
Mariupol has been decimated by fierce fighting over the past two months. The capture of the city would deprive Ukraine of a vital port and allow Moscow to establish a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014.
Mariupol has been under siege for nearly two months - REUTERS
10:42 PM
Western arms deliveries are fair targets, says Lavrov
Deliveries of Western weaponry to Ukraine mean that the Nato alliance is "in essence engaged in war with Russia" and Moscow views these weapons as legitimate targets, Russia's foreign minister said on Monday.
"These weapons will be a legitimate target for Russia's military acting within the context of the special operation," Sergei Lavrov told state television in an interview posted on the foreign ministry's website.
"Storage facilities in western Ukraine have been targeted more than once (by Russian forces). How can it be otherwise?" he said.
"Nato, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy. War means war."
09:46 PM
Britain donates ambulances to Ukraine
Britain is providing Ukraine with new ambulances, fire engines, medical supplies and funding for health experts to help its emergency services deal with the aftermath of Russian attacks, the Government has said.
The latest batch of support will see 22 new ambulances leave for Ukraine in the coming days to join more than 40 fire engines carrying rescue equipment, thermal imaging cameras and almost 10,000 items of protective clothing which have already been dispatched there.
The Government is also giving £300,000 to the medical aid charity, UK-Med, to help it train Ukrainian doctors and nurses to deal with mass casualties, as well as £300,000 worth of medicines and pharmaceutical supplies.
08:59 PM
Expect 'swift support' in fight to help Ukraine, says US Senate Leader
Chuck Schumer, the US Senate Majority Leader, said he expected "swift, bipartisan" passage of another bill to aid Ukraine in its fight against Russia once President Joe Biden submits a new funding request.
While Schumer did not provide any details on the possible size of such a package, he said, "We must continue helping the people of Ukraine in their fight against Russian aggression" and "I expect swift bipartisan cooperation to get it done."
08:54 PM
‘In Russia, brutality is part of everyday life’: meet Face, the rapper exiled by Putin
Russian rapper Face (real name Ivan Dryomin) has the following message to his critics. “I love all of you,” the 25-year-old mocks. “You are the best thing that happened in my life! You are the reason that I have so much money and clout. You can stand on your knees and suck my d---!”
When you consider that Dryomin has been labeled a “foreign agent” by the Russian government and is currently hiding in an unnamed country, this taunt seems particularly brazen.
It feels like it has been made by someone with nothing left to lose, an artist who has made peace with the idea that their future will likely be spent living in exile.
Russia’s claim it foiled a Western plot to kill pro-Putin journalist ‘exposed as propaganda’
A raid on an alleged Western plot to kill a pro-Putin journalist in Russia appeared to have been exposed as mere propaganda on Monday night after a video on state TV showed a clumsy attempt to frame the alleged attackers.
Vladimir Putin announced that an FSB operation had thwarted a plan by neo-Nazis backed by the West to kill one of Russia’s most notorious pro-Kremlin TV hosts because the West “faced an information fiasco in Russia”.
The FSB promptly released footage, broadcast on state TV, purporting to show the operation to arrest six Russian members of a fascist group who have been recruited by Ukraine’s intelligence agency to kill Vladimir Solovyov as well as other TV personalities.
Read the full report from our Russia Correspondent Nataliya Vasilyeva here
08:21 PM
Russian FSB hoax shows 'The Sims' video games instead of sim-cards in propaganda video
07:55 PM
‘You’ll help us find other women’: Ukrainian rape victim taken on door-to-door hunt with Russian troops
Anna had just fallen asleep next to her husband on the kitchen floor of their home in a small village near Kyiv when the Russian soldiers started banging on her door.
She dragged herself off the mattress in the only room warm enough to sleep in since the electricity in their village was cut off, and opened the door.
Anna had already encountered the three men standing in front of her.
Sasha, the commander, and Oleh and Dania, his two younger soldiers, had torn her front door from its hinges earlier that day as they forced their way into her home to loot laptops and mobile phones.
She had gone to bed hoping that was the worst of it. She was wrong.
Danielle Sheridan, our Political and Defence Correspondent in Kyiv, has the full report here.
07:33 PM
Around 15,000 Russian troops have died since Ukraine invasion began, says Ben Wallace
Some 15,000 Russian troops have been killed in the two months since Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, the Defence Secretary said on Monday.
Ben Wallace told MPs that more than 2,000 of Russia's armoured vehicles have either been destroyed or captured as he outlined further UK support to Ukraine to help defend its territory.
With Russia switching its attention to the Donbas region in the south-east, Mr Wallace said Britain would supply Ukraine with armoured vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft missiles to help it fight off the assault.
Five reportedly killed in rail strikes in Vinnytsia
Five people have reportedly been killed and 18 injured in Russian rocket strikes on railway stations in the central Ukraine region of Vinnytsia, the Ukrainian prosecutor general's office says.
The head of Ukraine railways says five stations in the centre and west of the country came under fire in the space of an hour.
57 people were killed earlier this month in Russian strikes on a train station used for evacuations in the eastern city of Kramatorsk.
06:57 PM
We want to live’: a woman's tearful plea from Mariupol bunker
06:39 PM
Ukraine urging UN to press Russia for Mariupol evacuation
Ukraine's foreign minister is urging the UN chief to press Russia tomorrow for an evacuation of Mariupol.
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's Foreign Minister, said he was concerned that by visiting Moscow before traveling to Kyiv, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres could be vulnerable to falling into a Kremlin "trap" in the war.
"Many other foreign officials were trapped visiting Moscow and played around just to show the supremacy of Russian diplomacy and how great they are and how they dictate the world how to behave," he said.
Guterres "should focus primarily on one issue: evacuation of Mariupol," Kuleba said, referring to the the besieged city where an estimated 100,000 people are trapped while a contingent of Ukrainian fighters hold out against Russian forces in a steel mill where hundreds of civilians also are taking shelter.
"This is really something that the U.N. is capable to do. And if he demonstrates political will, character and integrity, I hope that will allow us to make one step forward," he said.
06:27 PM
Labour has ‘unshakeable’ commitment to Nato
Labour's commitment to Nato is "unshakeable", the shadow defence secretary said after Jeremy Corbyn, the former party leader, said the alliance should be disbanded.
John Healey said that in "an age of growing autocracy" the military alliance's article five – which states that an attack on one ally is considered an attack on all – is the "cornerstone of our defence".
Writing for The Telegraph, he said: "Labour is the party of Nato. All wings of our party supported its formation over 70 years ago, and I am proud of the leading role Attlee's government played in forging this successful post-war pact.
Read the full report from Camilla Turner, our Chief Political Correspondent, here.
06:23 PM
Watch: Azovstal’s long and winding tunnels shielding civilians from Russian fire
Russia continued to bomb Mariupol’s last bastion of resistance at the Azovstal steel plant on Monday despite calling a ceasefire, as new video footage revealed the deep network of tunnels protecting Ukrainian troops and civilians.
Oleksiy Arestovych, a Ukrainian presidential aide, said that Russian troops had defied their leaders’ own orders by attacking the plant in the southern port city.
“The enemy continues to attack our defences in the area of the Azovstal plant, using aircraft, artillery… firing with tanks and trying to advance with assault groups, violating the order of their own supreme commander,” he said.
Metal darts discovered in Bucha dead are 'further evidence of war crimes'
Many of the civilians who died in Bucha as Russia advanced on Kyiv were killed by metal darts, according to forensic doctors, in what was likely a war crime.
Tiny metal arrows, called fléchettes, have been found in dozens of bodies exhumed from mass graves in the city just to the north of the Ukrainian capital.
Deliberately targeting civilians who are taking no part in hostilities would constitute a war crime.
Bridget Brink has been named as the new U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, President Joe Biden announced today.
The White House said it was moving to fill a crucial position that was vacant for nearly three years as Washington ramps up efforts to help Ukraine fend off a Russian invasion.
Brink, currently U.S. ambassador to Slovakia, has been a career diplomat for 25 years and has worked in Uzbekistan and Georgia as well as in several senior positions across the State Department and White House National Security Council.
A Michigan native who speaks Russian, Brink's "decades of experience make her uniquely suited for this moment in Ukraine’s history," a State Department statement said.
The U.S. Senate needs to confirm the choice for the post, vacant since former President Donald Trump abruptly recalled then U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch in May 2019.
05:34 PM
Listen to our Ukraine podcast: Fire at a Russian fuel depot, Antony Blinken visits Ukraine and the fall-out from the French election
05:20 PM
Four people including two children reportedly killed in Donetsk
Four people including two children were reportedly killed on Monday in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region where Russia is on the offensive, the region's governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said.
Russia denies targeting civilians.
Kyrylenko said on Telegram that a 9-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy were among those killed.
05:13 PM
UK and Poland launch collaboration on cutting-edge missile system
The UK has today signed a contract with the Polish Government supporting the early introduction of Poland’s future short-range air defence system, Narew.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:
Poland and the United Kingdom maintain a wide-ranging and important defence partnership and this move will benefit both countries, as well as the wider NATO alliance.
This missile is at the forefront of threat detection and deterrence, with Poland’s Short-Range Air Defence system seeing even greater alignment between our Armed Forces.
Flying at supersonic speeds, CAMM missiles can destroy modern air threats including stealth aircraft and high-speed missiles.
Each CAMM family missile is equipped with an advanced active radar seeker that can see even the smallest, fastest and stealthiest targets through the worst weather and the heaviest electronic jamming. They are capable of hitting a tennis ball-sized object travelling at several times the speed of sound.
04:55 PM
Pictured: Ukrainian serviceman looks at Russian ballistic missile booster
A Ukrainian serviceman looks at a Russian ballistic missile's booster stage that fell in a field in Bohodarove, eastern Ukraine - AFP/AFP
04:41 PM
Putin claims that Russian economy is 'stabilising'
President Vladimir Putin said today that Russia's economy was stabilising after being hit by unprecedented sanctions over the military campaign in Ukraine.
"The Russian economy continues to stabilise. Inflation has slowed down, the weekly rate of price growth has approached normal levels and prices for some goods have already begun to decline," Putin said during a televised government meeting.
He added that it was due to two factors: the ruble "actively strengthening" and the "dynamics of consumer demand".
"After a spike in February-March, there is an objective decline in consumer activity," Putin said.
Since Moscow moved troops into Ukraine on February 24, Russia has been hit with a barrage of international sanctions, including embargoes on key exports, accelerating already high inflation.
While Putin has said Russia's economy weathered the sanctions well, economists believe that the worst economic impact is still to come.
04:29 PM
Greenpeace activists block Russian oil tanker in Norway
Greenpeace activists in Norway blocked a Russian oil tanker from unloading its cargo near Oslo for several hours Monday, saying the shipment was helping to finance Russian President Vladimir Putin's "warfare".
The Hong Kong-registered Ust Luga, leased by Russian oil company Novatek, was carrying 95,000 tonnes of fuel bound for Esso's terminal in southeast Norway, Greenpeace said in a statement.
The tanker was coming from its namesake Russian city, near Saint Petersburg, according to the Marine Traffic website.
Greenpeace activists in a small boat chained themselves to the ship, while others in kayaks unfurled banners reading "oil fuels war," the group said.
Some activists were stopped by police before they could take part in the action.
After several hours, police removed 20 activists who had chained themselves to the ship, police said in a statement.
04:17 PM
Ukraine says Russia is targeting railways to cut arms supply routes
Ukraine's military command said on Monday that Russia was trying to bomb Ukraine's rail infrastructure in order to disrupt arms supplies from foreign countries.
"They are trying to destroy the supply routes of military-technical assistance from partner states. To do this, they focus strikes on railway junctions," the armed forces command wrote in a post on Facebook. (
04:04 PM
'If Ukraine stops fighting there will be no more Ukraine'
Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, told the House of Commons that "all of Europe can now see the true face of President Putin and his inner circle".
He added: "His intention is only to destroy, to crush, to rub out the free peoples of Ukraine. He does not want to preserve. He must not be allowed to prevail. Ukrainians are fighting for their very lives and they are fighting for our freedoms.
"The President of Ukraine himself said as much. If Russia stops fighting there will be peace. If Ukraine stops fighting there will be no more Ukraine. "
04:03 PM
Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister arrives at UN forum
Honoured to represent 🇺🇦 at the 21st session of @UN4Indigenous to spread the truth about gross human rights violations in occupied #Crimea by #Russian occupiers and the barbaric #Russia's invasion of #Ukraine. I will call on International community to step up pressure on Russia. pic.twitter.com/PMMcjj3quz
Woman says 'tinfoil cap' shielded her from Russian missile attack
A woman from the Ukrainian city of Odesa says she had a lucky escape from a Russian missile attack at a hair salon as a tinfoil cap shielded her from serious injuries, writes Nataliya Vasilyeva.
Until last weekend, the Black Sea port of Odesa had been spared the intense airstrikes and shelling that the country’s south was witnessing when the city came after the first major Russian airstrike since the war started two months ago.
One of the Russian missiles that hit Odesa on Saturday landed near a hair salon.
One unnamed customer filmed herself walking out of the salon, with a hair cutting cape and hair foils on. “Hello, Russian worlds, let me show you what kind of Nazis you’re fighting,” she said as she showed a bleeding wound on her hand to the camera.
“We, girls, decided to fix ourselves up a bit at the hairdresser’s - and a missile fell right on our hairdresser’s. Thank you, Russian world!”
In another video recorded later that day, the hair salon customer joked about how she used to wonder what chances were she could get “hit by a missile.”
“One in a million,” the blonde woman with a patch on her right shoulder said.
“Well, this day has come. I was saved by circumstances.”
The woman said she sat with the tinfoil cap on during her colouring as she heard a whistling sound before the missile hit the building.
03:39 PM
Ben Wallace: Putin should withdraw from all Ukrainian territory, including Crimea
Vladimir Putin should leave all occupied territory in Ukraine including Crimea for true peace to be achieved, the Defence Secretary has suggested, as he said it is up to Ukraine what a resolution to the war would look like.
Commons Defence Select Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood asked: "What does success in Ukraine look like? Are we doing enough to prevent Ukraine from losing but not enough to make sure that they win? What is our strategy?
"Is it to push Russia back from the pre-February lines or indeed liberate the entire Donbas region? If it is in Europe's wider security interest to see Putin humiliated in Ukraine then the entire mainland must be liberated, that must be our strategic end."
Ben Wallace replied: "Our strategic aim is twofold. One is that Putin must fail in Ukraine, he must fail in his invasion and I think he is on course to do that actually. He must fail in his occupation of Ukraine and I think he has definitely failed in achieving that.
"To the fine tuning of that, that is as much a matter of Ukraine's choice as it is of anybody else - that Ukraine gets to choose where it wishes to settle for peace. We will do everything we can to support them.
"For my part, I want Putin not only beyond the pre-February boundaries. He invaded Crimea illegally, he invaded Donetsk illegally and he should comply with international law and in the long run leave Ukraine."
03:24 PM
Labour: UK risks falling behind military allies' commitments to NATO
The UK risks falling behind its military allies' commitments to Nato if it does not "reboot" defence spending, Labour has warned.
John Healey, Shadow defence secretary, told the Commons: "I say to the Secretary of State he has given us a paragraph in his statement today on Nato. Our leadership in Nato could be at risk as Britain falls behind allies in responding to this Ukraine invasion. More than a dozen European countries are now rebooting security plans and defence spending but the UK has not yet done either.
"Can I urge him therefore to revisit the integrated review, review defence spending, reform military procurement and rethink his Army cuts? Because we will be dealing with the consequences of Putin's war for many years to come."
Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, agreed that Nato needs "a long-term plan", adding: "We need to know what will Nato look like and how will western Europe or Europe including many of its new members contain Putin after all this has passed.
"Because we have a man who has clearly been involved in an illegal invasion of a country, war crimes against the Ukrainian people, and how are we going to live with that neighbour in Europe should he still remain? And that is an important consideration for all of us."
03:00 PM
Ben Wallace: 'More needs to be done'
Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, said Stormer armoured vehicles will give Ukrainian forces "enhanced, short-range anti-air capabilities both day and night".
Mr Wallace told the Commons that "as we can see from Ukrainians' requests, more still needs to be done".
He added: "So, for that reason I can now announce to the House that we shall be gifting a small number of armoured vehicles fitted with launchers for those anti-air missiles.
"The Stormer vehicles will give Ukrainian forces enhanced, short-range anti-air capabilities both day and night."
02:50 PM
Ben Wallace: 'Ukraine is an inspiration to us all'
Ben Wallace reiterated Russia has so far "failed in nearly every one of its objectives", adding: "In recognition of this failure the Russian high command has regrouped, reinforced and changed focus to securing Donetsk and Luhansk oblast."
He added in the Commons: "At the start of this conflict Russia had committed over 120 battalion tactical groups, approximately 65% of its entire ground combat strength.
"As of now we assess around over 25% of these have been rendered not combat effective.
"Ukraine is an inspiration to us all. Their brave people have never stopped fighting for their lands. They have endured indiscriminate bombardment, war crimes and overwhelming military aggression but they have stood firm, galvanised the international community and beaten back the army of Russia in the north and the north east.
"We anticipate this next phase of the invasion will be an attempt by Russia to occupy further the Donbas and connect via Mariupol the Crimea so it's urgent that we in the international community ensure Ukraine gets the aid and weapons it so much needs."
02:46 PM
Ben Wallace: '15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed'
Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, is giving a statement to the House of Commons.
He told MPs: "It is our assessment that approximately 15,000 Russian personnel have been killed during their offensive.
"Alongside the death toll are the equipment losses and in total a number of sources suggest that to date over 2,000 armoured vehicles have been destroyed or captured.
"This includes at least 530 tanks, 530 armoured personnel carriers and 560 infantry fighting vehicles.
"Russia has also lost over 60 helicopters and fighter jets.
"The offensive that was supposed to take a maximum of a week has now taken weeks."
02:42 PM
Kyiv 'can win the war' if it has 'right equipment', says US
The United States believes Kyiv can win the war against Russia if it has the "right equipment", Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said today, as strikes on railway infrastructure in the central Ukraine killed at least five.
A landmark visit by Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Ukraine came as the war entered its third month, with thousands killed and millions displaced by the fighting.
"The first step in winning is believing that you can win. And so they believe that we can win," Austin told a group of journalists after he and Blinken met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"We believe that we can win, they can win if they have the right equipment, the right support."
The meeting between the two sides lasted three hours and was "very productive and detailed", according to a Pentagon spokesman, adding that Zelensky was also briefed on a security summit in Germany on Tuesday among Western allies.
02:30 PM
Russian diplomat claims there is 'no point' in establishing ceasefire in Ukraine
Russia's first deputy permanent representative to the United Nations said Moscow sees no point in establishing a ceasefire in Ukraine at this stage, fearing Kyiv may use it to stage "provocations", RIA reported.
RIA cited Dmitry Polyanskiy as saying that Russia had not struck any residential areas in Ukraine's Black Sea port city of Odesa.
Ukraine's southern air command on Saturday said that two missiles struck a military facility and two residential buildings in Odesa.
02:20 PM
ICC prosecutor to join EU team probing crimes in Ukraine
The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor will join an EU investigations team to probe possible international crimes committed in Ukraine, the EU's judicial cooperation agency has said.
It will be the first time the Hague-based ICC - set up in 2002 as an independent tribunal to probe the world's worst crimes - will take part in a joint investigation with other countries.
"The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague will become a participant in the joint investigation team (JIT) on alleged core international crimes committed in Ukraine," Eurojust said in a statement.
Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor, has signed an agreement with prosecutors general of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine to take part in a joint investigative team to look into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed since Russia's invasion on February 24.
The agreement "aims to facilitate investigations and prosecutions in the concerned states as well as those that could be taken forward before the ICC," Eurojust said.
02:10 PM
Five killed in alleged Russian attack on railways in Vinnytsia
At least five people were killed and another 18 injured on Monday in Russian strikes on railway infrastructure in the central Ukraine region of Vinnytsia, Kyiv said.
"Preliminary information shows that five people died and 18 were injured. Rescue operations are under way, investigators, prosecutors and other services are working at the scene," the office of the Ukrainian prosecutor general said in a statement on social media.
02:01 PM
Russia expels 40 German diplomats
Moscow said it was expelling 40 German diplomats in response to the "unfriendly decision" by Berlin to kick out Russian diplomats over the conflict in Ukraine.
Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement it summoned Germany's ambassador in Moscow and handed him a note "declaring persona non grata forty employees of German diplomatic institutions in Russia as part of a symmetrical response".
"A strong protest was made to the head of the German diplomatic mission in Moscow in connection with the openly unfriendly decision of the German government," to expel Russian diplomats, the ministry said.
Earlier in April, Germany said it was expelling a "significant number" of Russian diplomats, amid similar moves by other European states, over Ukraine.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the decision was in response to the "unbelievable brutality" of Russian forces in its pro-Western neighbour Ukraine.
01:51 PM
Ukraine's security service denies plans to kill Russian TV host
Ukraine's State Security Service (SBU) has denied having any plans to kill Russian television host Vladimir Solovyev.
It issued the denial after Russian President Vladimir Putin said the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, the Federal Security Service, had prevented a murder attempt by a "terrorist group" on a journalist later named by state media as Solovyev.
"The SBU has no plans to assassinate V. Solovyev," the SBU said in a statement published on the Telegram messaging app.
01:44 PM
More than 800 Ukrainian refugees waiting since March to come to UK
More than 800 Ukrainian refugees have been waiting since March to come to the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, according to would-be sponsors.
British hosts frustrated by delays have compiled a spreadsheet detailing how many refugees are waiting since the sponsorship scheme opened on March 18.
It shows that visa applications for at least 622 Ukrainians, sponsored by 310 UK hosts, are still outstanding after being made during the first week.
A further 261 refugees, sponsored by 130 Britons, are waiting for a decision on applications made during the second week of the scheme.
And 128 Ukrainians who applied under the scheme, sponsored by 43 hosts, after April 1 are still waiting.
01:36 PM
'Democratically elected governments will always endure'
Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, said this morning following a trip to Kyiv yesterday that he believes "a sovereign, independent Ukraine will be around a lot longer than Vladimir Putin is on the scene".
Downing Street was asked if the UK agreed with Mr Blinken. The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman said the UK is not seeking regime change in Russia but insisted "democratically elected governments will always endure".
The spokesman said: “We are not focused on anything to do with regime change in Russia. We are focused on changing Putin’s course of action in Ukraine.
“But nonetheless I think it is always clear democratically elected governments will always endure over the alternative.”
01:25 PM
UK's embassy in Kyiv to reopen next week
Boris Johnson announced on Friday last week that the UK intended to reopen its embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv this week.
No 10 has now said it is hoping the embassy will be "up and running by next week".
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman said: “We announced last week we are in the process of reopening the embassy. That work is taking place in earnest this week with the aim of having it up and running by next week.”
01:09 PM
UK extends sanctions to £1bn of Russian goods
The Government has announced plans to roll out further import bans and tariff increases on Russian goods, taking the total value of goods targeted to more than £1bn.
The new sanctions. will include import bans on silver, wood products and high-end products from Russia including caviar.
Tariffs will also be increased by 35 percentage points on around £130m worth of products from Russia and Belarus, including diamonds and rubber.
International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said:
The UK continues to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine and is working closely with our international partners to inflict maximum damage to Putin’s regime, reducing the resources and funds he needs to carry out this illegal war.
We are taking every opportunity we can to ratchet the pressure to isolate the Russian economy and these further measures will tighten the screws, shutting down lucrative avenues of funding for Putin’s war machine.
Over the coming weeks, the UK will ban additional Russian goods from reaching UK shores and will also be imposing tariffs on additional products.
Explosions have rocked a Russian fuel depot and logistics hub near the Ukrainian border, in a reported missile strike.
Emergency services said the large fire began at around 2am Moscow time (11pm GMT) at the Transneft Bryansk-Druzhba facility in Bryansk, owned by the oil pipeline company Transneft.
No injuries have been reported and the cause has not yet been established. The depot is being used to shore up Vladimir Putin's forces, prompting the Russians to launch an investigation.
Bryansk is a strategic administrative centre 154 km (96 miles) northeast of the Ukrainian border, and Russian officials said last week that Ukrainian helicopters had hit residential buildings and injured seven people in the area.
Footage on social media appeared to show at least two blasts lighting up the city's skyline, one at a military unit's fuel tank and the other at an oil refinery, with huge plumes of smoke and reports of evacuations.
Rob Lee, from King's College London's war studies department, said the targets were within range of a Tochka-U tactical ballistic missile if deployed close to the Russia-Ukraine border. Ukrainian officials have not commented.
12:55 PM
UN 'must be guarantor of Mariupol steel plant exit route'
Ukraine has denied reaching an agreement with Russia on evacuating civilians from a steel plant in Mariupol, the final pocket of resistance in the besieged southern city.
Russia had said earlier on Monday that it would open a humanitarian corridor for civilians to leave the huge Azovstal plant where they are holed up with Ukrainian fighters and have come under heavy fire.
"Today, the Russian side once again announced the existence of a corridor for civilians to leave Azovstal. This could be believed if the Russians had not destroyed humanitarian corridors many times before," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
"It is important to understand that a humanitarian corridor opens by the agreement of both sides. A corridor announced unilaterally does not provide security, and therefore is not a humanitarian corridor."
She said Ukraine had "appealed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to be the initiator and guarantor of the humanitarian corridor from Azovstal for civilians."
12:41 PM
White House appoints new US ambassador to Ukraine
President Joe Biden has nominated career foreign service officer Bridget Brink to be the next US ambassador to Ukraine, the White House announced on Monday.
Brink, currently the US ambassador to Slovakia, speaks Russian and will fill a position that has been officially empty since 2019.
She has "spent her twenty-five-year career in the Foreign Service focused on advancing US policy in Europe and Eurasia," the White House said in a statement.
The seasoned diplomat has also served as deputy chief of mission in US embassies in Uzbekistan and Georgia, and was stationed early in her career in Belgrade, Serbia and in Cyprus.
Budget Brink is a seasoned diplomat and speaks Russian - Aziz Karimov/Pacific Press/LightRocket
12:28 PM
More details on Kremlin's claim of assassination bid
Moscow said Monday it had arrested members of a "neo-Nazi terrorist" group in Russia who allegedly planned to assassinate pro-Kremlin TV anchor Vladimir Solovyov on orders from Ukraine.
"The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation detained a group of members of the neo-Nazi terrorist organisation National Socialism/White Power, which is banned in Russia," Russia's FSB security agency said in a statement carried by news agencies, adding that those arrested are Russian citizens.
The FSB claimed the group was planning the "murder" of Russian TV and radio journalist Solovyov "on the instructions of the Security Service of Ukraine".
According to the FSB, "fake" Ukrainian passports, arms, drugs and an improvised explosive device were found during a search of the detainees' homes.
The claims come after separate allegations last month that pro-Kremlin mercenaries were planning assassination attempts on Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky, leaving his family "terrified".
12:01 PM
Now Putin accuses West of plot to kill Russian journalist
Russian president Vladimir Putin has claimed the Kremlin's main spy agency foiled what he described as a Western plot to kill a prominent Russian journalist.
"This morning, the Federal Security Service stopped the activities of a terrorist group that planned to attack and kill one famous Russian TV journalist," Putin told prosecutors.
"They have moved to terror - to preparing the murder of our journalists," Putin said.
He did not immediately provide evidence to support his claims and they have not been independently verified.
The Interfax news agency said that members of a nationalist group had been detained by Russian authorities. It claimed the group, acting on the orders of Ukrainian spies, was plotting to kill Russian journalist Vladimir Solovyev.
Russian president Vladimir Putin holds a candle during an Orthodox Easter service at the weekend - ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP
11:53 AM
UK-France ties crucial for fight against Putin, says PM
Boris Johnson said it was "very important" to have a French president "who can be relied upon" on international issues such as the war in Ukraine.
Emmanuel Macron defeated right-wing rival Marine Le Pen - who has previously had close ties to Vladimir Putin - to secure a second term in office.
Mr Johnson told reporters this lunchtime: "I think it's very important that we have in Paris, a president of the French Republic who can be relied upon when it comes to some of the most important international issues, and particularly when you look at what's been going on in Ukraine."
He added: "We share a very common, very similar perspective and the unity of the West, the unity of Nato, has been absolutely vital for the stance we've taken against Putin, and that will now continue and I'm very, very reassured by that."
11:37 AM
Aeroflot passenger numbers plummet as sanctions bite
Russia's flagship carrier Aeroflot on Monday reported a 20 percent fall in passenger traffic in March year-on-year following tough Western sanctions over Moscow's military operation in Ukraine.
Passenger traffic on international and domestic flights fell to 2.2 million in March, the first full month after the conflict began, from 2.77 million last year, the airline said
Passenger traffic on international flights declined by half, it said in a statement. The Russian state owns a 57.3 stake in the group.
11:34 AM
Top Italian politician under fire over Z symbol
A senior Italian politician faces calls to resign after sending a tweet featuring a capital Z, in apparent coded support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Nick Squires writes from Rome.
The letter Z, a marking used by some Russian tanks, armoured vehicles and trucks, has come to represent the brutal two-month-old Russian assault on its neighbour.
Critics said that Vito Petrocelli’s position as head of the commission on foreign affairs for the senate, the upper house of parliament, was no longer tenable.
Mr Petrocelli wrote a tweet ostensibly wishing Italians a happy Liberation Day – April 25 is celebrated for the Allied liberation of Italy and the defeat of Italian Fascist and German Nazi forces. But he chose to write the word “liberazione” or liberation as LiberaZione, with a capital Z.
Mr Petrocelli is a member of the Five Star Movement, the populist party which has had a strong pro-Moscow stance. Giuseppe Conte, the head of Five Star and a former prime minister, called the tweet “shameful”.
11:07 AM
'Russia has already failed', Blinken says on Ukraine visit
10:59 AM
Russia 'wants peaceful solution in Moldovan breakaway region'
Russia sees no risks in Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniestria, and wants a peaceful settlement of the situation there, Interfax news agency reported on Monday citing Russian deputy foreign minister Andrei Rudenko.
Rustam Minnekayev, deputy commander of Russia's central military district, was earlier quoted by Russian state news agencies as saying full control over southern Ukraine would give it access to Transdniestria, a breakaway Russian-occupied part of Moldova in the west.
This prompted Moldova to summon the Russian ambassador to express "deep concern" over the comments.
10:47 AM
Russia to discuss Mariupol crisis in talks with UN
Russia intends to discuss issues related to the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and its besieged Azovstal steel plant in talks with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, its foreign ministry said on Monday.
Thousands of Ukrainian civilians and defiant troops are in the encircled plant and multiple attempts at humanitarian corridors have collapsed. Russia said a ceasefire would allow evacuations on Monday, but its success remains to be seen.
The UN chief is due to visit Moscow this week, prompting Prime Minister Boris Johnson to warn that the Russian president Vladimir Putin would "manipulate" the trip for his benefit.
Guterres will meet Putin and then head to Ukraine for talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
10:37 AM
War in Ukraine: latest pictures
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a secret meeting with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken over the weekend - UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE A boy stands next to a wrecked vehicle in front of an apartment building damaged in the southern port city of Mariupol - ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO/Reuters A local resident looks at damaged graves in a cemetery of Odessa, southern Ukraine, on April 24, which was reportedly hit by missile - OLEKSANDR GIMANOV/AFP
10:22 AM
Germany to decide on heavy weapons for Ukraine 'soon'
The German government will make a decision on the delivery of 100 old Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine "soon," said a German government spokesman on Monday.
German defence company Rheinmetall has requested approval to export the vehicles to Ukraine, a defence source told Reuters on Monday, in what would be the first heavy weapons shipment from Germany to the country.
10:12 AM
Breaking: Russia announces ceasefire around Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant
Russia's defence ministry on Monday announced a ceasefire around the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol to allow a civilian evacuation from the industrial area that has been sheltering the port city's remaining defenders.
Russian troops "from 14:00 Moscow time (1100 GMT) on April 25, 2022, will unilaterally stop any hostilities, withdraw units to a safe distance and ensure the withdrawal" of civilians, the defence ministry said in a statement.
It follows multiple pleas from the Ukrainian president and the UN over the weekend to cease fighting in the area, where an estimated 1,000 civilians are located along with about 2,000 Ukrainian fighters.
The destroyed city's last Ukrainian defenders have already rejected Vladimir Putin's call for them to surrender, instead warning Moscow that peace talks would be called off if any of them were killed.
Russia has claimed victory in the city, however the steel plant has remained a stubborn pocket of resistance. The city is crucial to the Kremlin's new aim of occupying the south of the country and establishing a land route to Crimea.
09:50 AM
Russia warns US against sending more arms to Ukraine
Russia has warned the United States against sending more arms to Ukraine, Moscow's ambassador to Washington told Russian state television.
"We stressed the unacceptability of this situation when the United States of America pours weapons into Ukraine, and we demanded an end to this practice," Anatoly Antonov said in an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel.
Antonov said an official diplomatic note had been sent to Washington expressing Russia's concerns. He said such arms supplies from the US would further aggravate the situation and raised the stakes of the conflict.
It comes hours after Washington's top diplomat met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, pledging new assistance worth $713 million (£560m) for him and allies fearing Russian aggression.
09:35 AM
In video: Fires rage at Russian logistical hub near Ukrainian border
Dramatic videos show the moment large fires erupted early on Monday morning at an oil storage facility in the Russian city of Bryansk, used as a logistics base for Moscow's forces.
Russian officials said the blaze broke out at a facility owned by oil pipeline company Transneft at 2am Moscow time (11pm GMT), and there had been no need to evacuate any parts of the city of 400,000 people.
Russia's investigative committee said in a separate statement that its head, Alexander Bastrykin, has ordered a probe into the incident. Ukrainian officials have so far made no comment on the fire and its possible cause.
Unconfirmed reports on social media suggested a missile strike may have hit the facilities. No injuries have been reported. Footage online appeared to show a second large fire had broken out in the city.
Good morning, if you're just joining us, here are five Ukraine developments from the weekend to get you up to speed. Scroll down in this blog for latest and breaking news.
Blinken says US diplomats will return to Ukraine 'this week': the US Secretary of State expressed solidarity with Volodymyr Zelensky and announced the gradual return of US diplomats to Ukraine.
Zelensky says the Easter holiday doesn't bring any joy: "The great holiday today gives us great hope and unwavering faith that light will overcome darkness, good will overcome evil, life will overcome death, and therefore Ukraine will surely win," Mr Zelensky said from Kyiv's ancient St Sophia Cathedral.
Ukraine proposes talks with Russia next to Mariupol steel plant: Russian forces launched fresh airstrikes on a Mariupol steel plant where an estimated 1,000 civilians are sheltering along with about 2,000 Ukrainian fighters.
UN chief warned that Putin will 'manipulate' Russia visit: Boris Johnson has warned that Vladimir Putin will try to "manipulate" a visit by Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, to Moscow.
Russia has made 'minor advances': Russia has made minor advances in some areas since shifting its focus to fully occupying the Donbas, the UK's Ministry of Defence said on Monday.
Mother killed with 3-month old baby in missile attack on Odesa
08:40 AM
Russia 'strikes Ukrainian oil depot and military installations'
Russia struck Ukraine's Kremenchuk oil refinery with long-range missiles and hit military installations in its former Soviet neighbour, the Russian defence ministry reported this morning.
The ministry said it hit Ukrainian military installations and the Kremenchuk oil refinery near the Dnipro River, which the governor of the Poltava region had said was destroyed earlier this month.
"High-precision long-range weapons destroyed fuel production facilities at an oil refinery on the northern outskirts of the city of Kremenchuk, as well as petroleum products storage facilities which fuelled military equipment for Ukrainian troops," the ministry said, though this has not been independently verified.
It comes as a Russian oil depot in Bryansk, near the Ukraine border and used as a logistical hub for troops, was ablaze overnight. The cause has not yet been determined.
08:30 AM
Russian soldiers write 'Christ is risen' on Easter missiles
Russian soldiers wrote “Christ is risen” on missiles fired into Ukraine over the Orthodox Easter weekend as Vladimir Putin spoke about “neighbourly love” at a Moscow cathedral service.
At least a dozen people died in the Russian missile attacks exactly two months after Russian forces launched their invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin has used the Russian Orthodox Church in its propaganda machine.
Over the weekend, Russian forces described missiles as “Easter eggs” being sent to Ukraine.
"The tankmen wrote 'Christ is risen' on their missiles," a Russian soldier told a chuckling woman in a phone recording released by Ukraine's SBU. "So we are having some fun in any way we can."
The US wants Russia "weakened" so it cannot invade again and Ukraine can win the war if it has the right equipment, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said Monday on returning from a trip to Kyiv.
"The first step in winning is believing that you can win. And so they believe that we can win," Austin told a group of journalists after the visit with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The pair met Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, were the first high-profile US officials to visit Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24.
"We believe that we can win, they can win if they have the right equipment, the right support," Austin said. "We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can't do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (C) with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin (L) and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) - UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE
07:59 AM
Putin congratulates Macron and wishes him 'success'
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated French President Emmanuel Macron on his re-election and defeat of far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, the Kremlin said Monday, as tensions remain over the Ukraine conflict.
"I sincerely wish you success in your state activities, as well as good health and well-being," Putin said in a telegram to Macron, according to a statement from the Kremlin.
Mr Macron has liaised with Putin several times during the two months of conflict and attempted - unsuccessfully - to mediate between the sides at several points.
Russian president Vladimir Putin was ashen-faced as he held a candle during the Orthodox Easter mass on April 24 - Contributor/Getty Images
07:37 AM
What was agreed on the US visit to Ukraine?
It was a visit mired in secrecy and only confirmed by the White House after it had taken place, but Washington's top diplomat Antony Blinken and defence secretary Lloyd Austin agreed several measures while meeting Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv at the weekend.
US officials said the cabinet secretaries pledged new assistance worth $713 million (£560m) for Mr Zelensky's government and 15 allied, Nato and partner countries in the region that are fearful of further Russian aggression.
This includes more than $300 million (£235m) in foreign military financing for Kyiv and $165 million (£130m) in sales of non-US made ammunition, compatible with Soviet-era weapons the Ukrainians use.
Such financing is different from previous US military assistance for Ukraine. It is not a donation of drawn-down US Defence Department stockpiles, but rather cash that countries can use to purchase supplies.
US diplomats will return to Ukraine in the coming weeks, with Washington announcing a new ambassador to the country, Budget Brink, a veteran official. Staff from Kyiv's US Embassy had been relocated to Poland.
Ahead of the visit by Blinken and Austin, Ukrainian officials drew up a list of weapons urgently needed from the United States, including anti-missile systems, anti-aircraft systems, armoured vehicles and tanks.
It comes as the US and Nato allies have shown growing readiness to supply heavier equipment and more advanced weapons systems. Britain has promised to send military vehicles and is considering supplying British tanks to Poland to free up Warsaw's Russian-designed T-72s for Ukraine.
07:26 AM
Breaking: Five railway stations come under fire in Ukraine
Five railway stations came under fire in western and central Ukraine on Monday, causing an unspecified number of casualties, Ukrainian television quoted state-run Ukrainian Railways as saying.
Oleksander Kamyshin, the company's chief, said the attacks took place in the space of an hour and details were being checked.
We'll bring you more details on this when we have it.
07:15 AM
In pictures: Fire rages at strategic fuel depot for Russian forces
The fuel depot is a logistical hub for Vladimir Putin's forces Bryansk is an administrative centre 154 km (96 miles) northeast of the Ukrainian border, and around 230 miles from Moscow No injuries have been reported and the cause has not yet been established
07:00 AM
Russia 'made minor advances in Ukraine' in shift to Donbas
Russia has made "minor advances" in some areas since shifting its focus to fully occupying the Donbas, according to the UK's Ministry of Defence.
The ministry said in its latest intelligence briefing that Moscow is still "yet to achieve a significant breakthrough" and that its decision to besiege rather than attack Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant has "exhausted many Russian units and reduced their combat effectiveness".
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 25 April 2022
United States diplomats will begin a gradual return to Ukraine this week, Washington's secretary of state and defence chief have announced, in a further signal to Russia that its war is failing.
The trip by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin - which the US confirmed only after the two had left Ukrainian territory - came as the invasion enters its third month, with thousands dead and millions displaced.
Washington ordered the withdrawal of its diplomats in the weeks prior to Russia's February invasion of Ukraine.
"Starting this week, members of that team will be able to do day trips instead into Ukraine," a US official said. "Ultimately, (they will) resume presence in Kyiv."
Britain and a host of European capitals are also reopening their embassies in Ukraine's capital in the coming days.
06:47 AM
Russia 'downs two Ukrainian drones in Russia's Kursk region'
Russian air defence systems shot down two Ukrainian drones in Russia's Kursk region which borders Ukraine, regional governor Roman Starovoyt wrote on his Telegram channel on Monday.
He said there were no casualties. The report could not be immediately verified.
06:44 AM
Blinken: Russia is failing in war aims and Ukraine 'succeeding'
After a secrecy-shrouded visit to Kyiv, US Secretary of State Blinken said Russia is failing in its war aims and "Ukraine is succeeding."
The trip by Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin was the highest-level American visit to the capital since Russia invaded in late February, though Washington refused to confirm any travel plans.
They told Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and his advisers that the US would provide more than $300 million in foreign military financing and had approved a $165 million sale of ammunition.
"We had an opportunity to demonstrate directly our strong ongoing support for the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people. This was, in our judgment, an important moment to be there to have face-to-face conversations in detail," Mr Blinken told reporters Monday near the Polish-Ukrainian border.
Mr Austin said Zelensky's response to the aid was deep appreciation for what was being given but "he has the mindset that they want to win and we have the mindset that we want to help them win."
Samantha Davis, the wife of Star Wars and Harry Potter actor Warwick Davis and herself an actress, has died aged 53. Samantha co-founded the dwarfism charity Little People UK and featured in the final Harry Potter film, alongside Warwick. Warwick announced the news in a statement to the BBC, revealing she had died on 24 March.
The Prince of Wales has made his first public appearance since his wife, the Princess of Wales, announced she was battling cancer last month, and made a sweet promise to a Royal fan
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King Charles is said to have extended an olive branch to his youngest son and his wife by 'hinting' they should visit Balmoral this summer - but it could put the couple in a 'difficult position'.
Meghan Markle was on hand to congratulate her husband Prince Harry and his Royal Salute Sentebale team after they won the Royal Salute Polo Cup in Wellington, Florida
BBC Breakfast star Carol Kirkwood has been missing from the show this week. The weather presenter's absence comes after she shared an update on her health last week…
Springtime On The Farm returned to Channel 5 with Helen Skelton and Jules Hudson but fans had the same complaint for the show and the former Blue Peter presenter
The rest of Europe, Remainers like to tell us, is forging ahead into a glorious green future while Brexit Britain is stalling, the government backsliding one by one on its net zero commitments.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh's daughter Lady Louise Windsor has to follow a very antiquated rule with regards to her younger brother James, Earl of Wessex
Meghan Markle is said to be missing "some aspects" of life in the UK and is worried that her children may grow up to "blame her" if they are "deprived" of the chance to be working royals in the UK.
This Morning guest Catherine was left stunned as she learnt the real value of her £10 charity shop bargain during the latest episode of the ITV chat show.
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