The UN humanitarian chief says a new convoy is on its way to the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol
There are thought to be about 200 civilians, including at least 20 children, stuck in the steel plant
Vladimir Putin says Ukraine should order its fighters remaining in the Azovstal complex to surrender
Capturing the whole of Mariupol would be symbolic for Moscow ahead of its annual 9 May Victory Day celebration
Meanwhile, international donors have pledged $6.5bn to support Ukraine during a conference in Poland
A Russian politician who is taking part in talks with Ukraine says negotiations between the two sides are difficult.
In comments cited by Russian news agency TASS, Leonid Slutsky accused Ukrainian representatives of "rolling back" existing agreements.
There have been several rounds of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia since February, but little has come of them so far.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says Ukraine should order its fighters remaining in Mariupol's besieged Azovstal steel plant to put down their weapons and surrender.
According to the Kremlin he made the comments during a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
Putin said Russian forces are ready to offer safe passage to civilians who remain trapped in the plant, according to Moscow officials.
According to Ukrainian fighters around 200 civilians are still trapped inside the steel works under intensifying Russian attacks, something the Kremlin denies.
Image source, .Boris Johnson and Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the possibility of the UK sending long-range weapons to help Ukraine defend itself, according to Downing Street.
The pair spoke over the phone on Thursday about Ukraine's military needs and how the UK could support them, Johnson's office said.
"The leaders discussed developments on the battlefield and the Ukrainian armed forces' requirements, including the provision of longer-range weaponry to prevent the bombardment of civilians," a Downing Street spokesperson said.
The Ukrainian army will not be ready to start a major military counteroffensive against Russia until late June at the earliest, an adviser to the Ukrainian president has said.
As we reported in an earlier post, Oleksiy Arestovych says it will take time for Ukraine to receive weapons donated by Western allies and then train up its troops to use them.
Ukraine needs "enough to fully arm at least several brigades" Arestovych said, and "only then we can start an offensive".
"The first weapons that can stop the enemy will arrive in big numbers in late May or early June," he added, meaning that any counterattack would most likely not happen until late June or July.
Ukraine is set to receive more military aid from its Western allies in the coming weeks and months, including from the UK which two weeks ago said it would be donating armoured vehicles, drones and anti-tank weapons.
Russian soldiers, tanks, and armoured vehicles have been preparing for Moscow's annual Victory Day parade, a massive show of Russian military might held each year on 9 May to celebrate the Red Army's World War Two defeat of Nazi Germany.
This year the Kremlin announced plans for parades in 28 cities involving 65,000 people, 2,400 items of military hardware and more than 400 aircraft, according to AFP.
Ukrainian intelligence officials believe that one of those parades will be taking place in the devastated city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine.
But Russia's proxy leader in the region, Denis Pushilin, has said a parade will have to wait until Mariupol becomes part of his so-called Donetsk People's Republic.
Read more on why Victory Day is so important to Russia and what might happen on the day.
Image source, ReutersJapan is freezing the assets of 140 more Russian nationals and expanding its export ban to include Russian military firms, its prime minister has said while on a trip to London.
The measures were announced by Japan's Fumio Kishida after a Downing Street meeting with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Kishida said there must be consequences to Russia's violence and that its aggression was not just a problem for Europe.
"Ukraine might be East Asia tomorrow," Kishida said when asked if there were parallels between Russian aggression in Europe and China's assertion of its dominance in the Indo-Pacific region.
Japan and its allies must "never tolerate a unilateral attempt to change the status quo by use of force in the Indo-Pacific, especially in East Asia," he said.
Image source, Getty ImagesIf you're just joining us or need a catch-up, here are the latest developments in Ukraine:
Image source, ReutersScholz and Zelensky in Kyiv last year
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has invited German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to meet him in Kyiv, the AFP news agency quotes the German president's office as saying.
Zelensky made the invitation during a telephone call with Steinmeier, during which "past irritations were cleared up" and Steinmeier expressed his "solidarity, respect and support" for Ukraine.
The invitation comes three weeks after Steinmeier was snubbed by Kyiv because of Germany's close economic ties with Russia. The planned visit to the Ukrainian capital by the German president was cancelled at the last minute.
Adam Easton
Warsaw Correspondent
Image source, EPAInternational donors have pledged $6.5bn to support Ukraine during a conference in the Polish capital Warsaw.
"Today has shown that our support for Ukraine continues and that here there is no selfishness among us," Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said during his concluding remarks.
The money was pledged by countries around the world as well as businesses and banks.
Morawiecki said Ukraine needs 12,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid daily, but currently the international effort is providing just 3,000 tonnes, while international aid agencies estimate about 40% of Ukraine’s population is in need of humanitarian aid.
Addressing the conference via video link, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky highlighted three elements of support:
Ukraine has received over $12bn in weapons and financial aid since the start of Russia's invasion on 24 February, Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at the conference.
The Kremlin has said it was well aware that the US, UK and other Nato countries were constantly feeding intelligence to the Ukrainian military.
"Coupled with the flow of weapons that these countries are sending to Ukraine, these are all actions that do not contribute to the quick completion of the [Russian] operation [in Ukraine]," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
This would not stop Russia from achieving its objectives, he added.
Peskov was reacting to a New York Times report that the US had provided intelligence that helped Ukrainian forces kill Russian generals (as we reported earlier).
Image source, ReutersUkraine hopes to receive more weapons from its allies in mid-June
Ukraine is unlikely to launch a counter-offensive against Russia before mid-June, when it hopes to have received more weapons from its allies, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said.
Political adviser Oleksiy Arestovych also said he did not expect Russia's offensive in Ukraine to produce any "significant results" by Russia's 'Victory Day' on 9 May, when it celebrates defeating Nazi Germany in World War Two.
He said fighting is ongoing at the Azovstal steel works where Ukrainian fighters and some civilians are holed up in the city of Mariupol, but gave no details.
Image source, Azov RegimentCapt Svyatoslav Palamar, Deputy Commander in the Azov Regiment
A deputy Ukrainian commander fighting in the Azovstal steelworks has accused Russian troops of thwarting efforts to evacuate civilians.
In a video posted on Telegram, external, Capt Svyatoslav Palamar said: "It's day three since the enemy entered the Azovstal factory, where heavy, bloody fighting continues".
"Yet again, the Russians have broken their promises of a ceasefire and did not allow the evacuation of civilians who continue to shelter from the shelling in the factory's basements.
"Our enemy observes no ethical norms, conventions or laws".
Palamar also asked Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky to "take care of wounded soldiers who are dying in horrible agony because there is no appropriate medical care" and called on the international community for further assistance evacuating civilians.
Earlier, a Kremlin spokesperson was quoted by Reuters as saying that Russia was not storming the plant and that humanitarian corridors out of the steelworks were functioning.
The BBC is unable to verify each side's claims.
Image source, Ministry of Internal Affairs Donetsk Peoples Republic/ReutersAerial footage released on 5 May of smoke rising from the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol
Frank Gardner
BBC News, Security Correspondent
Russia says it's nonsense that it will declare all-out war in Ukraine in the coming days.
Up until now Moscow has denied it is at war, instead referring to its invasion of Ukraine as a "special military operation".
But Western officials have speculated that President Vladimir Putin could use Russia's annual Victory Parade on 9 May to announce an escalation of military action. He of course is keeping his cards close to his chest and until then we should take Moscow’s denials with a hefty pinch of salt.
In the days leading up to the invasion on 24 February, Russian officials queued up to ridicule suggestions of an imminent invasion as ‘Western hysteria and propaganda’.
Yet invade they did, catching even many Ukrainians by surprise.
So the very least we can expect is some triumphant announcements of objectives achieved and enemies (real or imagined) vanquished.
Blame for the slow pace of Russian advance in the Donbas will likely be placed on Nato and there will probably be further warnings to the West to stop helping Ukraine defend itself.
Whatever happens on 9 May it is hard to see this war ending any time soon.
Adam Easton
Warsaw Correspondent
Image source, EPAPolish PM Mateusz Morawiecki and EC President Ursula von der Leyen are attending the event
An international donors' conference to raise money for Ukraine is taking place in the Polish capital, Warsaw.
The event is co-hosted by Poland and Sweden in co-operation with the EU, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Charles Michel in attendance.
As well as the prime ministers of Poland and Sweden, the prime ministers of Ukraine and Finland are also attending the three-hour conference in Warsaw’s National Stadium.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the event via video link, saying funds were needed to rebuild his country's economy and infrastruture, adding it would be an "investment in the stability of the whole of central and eastern Europe."
“Rebuilding Ukraine from the destruction of the war is a huge effort in which we want to involve the whole world,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on Facebook shortly ahead of the start of the conference.
More than a quarter of Ukraine’s population have fled their homes since the Russian invasion on 24 February, including 7.7 million people who are internally displaced and 5.2 million who have fled abroad. More than three million have fled to Poland.
An EU-Canadian pledging event in Warsaw last month raised more than €10bn (£8.4bn, $10.6bn) for Ukraine.
Image source, ReutersWe've been hearing from people in a shelter in Zaporizhia who were evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in the past week, who said conditions inside the plant were "hellish".
A woman named Katerina said she didn't see the light of day or breathe fresh air while she was stuck in the steelworks.
She described her fears for the safety of men who were with them in the shelters, who "cooked over the fire" and "brought water so we could wash ourselves."
She said if the last remaining Ukrainian soldiers who are holed up in the steelworks don't leave, "they will all be killed".
A woman named Olena said: "People don´t stop crying. They're in absolute desperation to get out of there.
"People started thinking about suicide because there's no way out of it."
Mark, an 11-year-old-boy, said he was scared because war planes "were always firing" and "there were bombs falling and exploding".
"It was scary to hear all that - the whole bunker shook," he said.
As Russian attacks on the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol intensify, around 200 civilians are thought to remain trapped inside the plant.
Russia stated yesterday that humanitarian routes out of the steelworks would open from 08:00 to 18:00 Moscow time (05:00 to 15:00 GMT) on 5, 6, and 7 May, with a pause in attacks to facilitate it.
According to Reuters, a Kremlin spokesperson told reporters that humanitarian corridors were indeed working today and denied that Russia forces were storming the plant.
But Ukrainian officials say fighting continues. Inna Sovsun, an MP, said preparations were in place to evacuate civilians, but she said the Russian assault on Azovstal had not stopped. The army meanwhile says Russia is trying to destroy the remaining defenders at the plant.
Yesterday, 344 people - mostly women, children and the elderly - were evacuated from the Mariupol area with the support of the UN and the Red Cross, according to a Ukrainian politician. They arrived in Zaporizhzhia late last night, but were not evacuated from the steelworks itself.
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Image source, ReutersRussian gas giant Gazprom has announced that it will use the onshore capacity of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline for Russia's domestic needs.
In a post on Telegram, external, it said that due to the fact that the pipeline is currently not in use, it has decided to use the gas to supply the north-western regions of Russia.
Nord Stream 2 is a 1,200km pipeline under the Baltic Sea, which was designed to take gas from the Russian coast near St Petersburg to Lubmin in Germany.
In February, Germany suspended the process of giving the pipeline between it and Russia an operating licence - effectively stopping the project until further notice.
Russia says its forces have practised simulated nuclear-capable missile strikes in the Baltic Sea enclave of Kaliningrad, which is located between EU members Poland and Lithuania.
Moscow says it practised simulated "electronic launches" of nuclear-capable Iskander mobile ballistic missile systems, the defence ministry says in a statement quoted by the AFP news agency reports.
The Iskander system has a range of up to 700km (440 miles) and could reach, for example, the German capital, Berlin. Kaliningrad is more than 300km away from Russia and can only be reached by land through an EU country.
The Kremlin has denied reports that it has stormed the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, rejecting claims that Russian troops have successfully infiltrated the plant.
Ukrainian defenders had earlier said that Russian troops invaded the plant in the besieged city and were attempting to "destroy" them.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the claims and re-iterated that last month Russian President Vladimir Putin officially cancelled plans to assault the steelworks and instead ordered his defence minister to seal off the plant "so that a fly cannot not pass through".
Sophie Williams
Reporting from Lviv
Here in Lviv, in western Ukraine, near the Polish border, we’ve just had our third air raid siren in about 12 hours. Throughout the week, the frequency of these alarms have increased as Russian missiles target infrastructure used to bring western arms into the country.
On Tuesday, missiles hit three electrical sub stations on the outskirts of the city. The governor confirmed that anti-missile defence systems stopped a further two missiles.
There were a series of strikes yesterday evening in other areas. A missile hit a bridge in Dnipro in the east of Ukraine used for key transport. While in Kramatorsk, further east, more than 25 people were wounded during a missile attack on the city. Russia also claimed to have hit a large ammunition depot in southern Mykolaiv.
Kyiv was also targeted but defence systems were able to shoot the missile down.
Russia has said it is targeting rail infrastructure to disrupt the supply of weapons into Ukraine as it continues its main offensive in the east of the country, which analysts say hasn't made much ground.
But a US defence official, quoted by the Associated Press, says strikes near Lviv - a key way-point for weapons - have had "no appreciable impact" on the effort.