Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is warning dangers remain even in areas of the country where Russian troops have withdrawn, accusing the invaders of laying mines in houses, equipment and even the bodies of the dead.
Look back on Saturday's developments with our blog.
Key events
- US pledges another $300 million worth of military gear to Ukraine
- Satellite images show retreat from Russian-held airport
- Ukrainians warned to be wary of mines as Russia repositions troops
- Zelenskyy: Russia's pulling back from the north, but preparing more strikes in the east
- Troops released in Russia-Ukraine prisoner swap
- Where to find yesterday's blog
Live updates
By Jacqueline Howard
This is where we will leave the blog for today
Thank you for reading along with us today.
You can continue to stay up to date on the ABC News website on the ABC News app.
By Jacqueline Howard
Two further missile strikes in Ukraine
Russian missiles hit two cities in central Ukraine early on Saturday, damaging infrastructure and residential buildings, the head of the Poltava region said.
"Poltava: A missile struck one of the infrastructure facilities overnight," Dmitry Lunin wrote in an online post.
"Kremenchuk: Many attacks on the city in the morning."
Poltava city is the capital of the Poltava region, east of Kyiv, and Kremenchuk one of the area's major cities.
There was no immediate information about possible casualties, Mr Lunin said.
By Jacqueline Howard
Zelenskyy won't discuss fuel depot attack
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has declined to comment on whether he ordered an attack on a Russian fuel depot.
In an interview with Fox News, Zelenskyy said he does not discuss any orders he issues as commander in chief.
Earlier, the secretary of Ukraine's national security council denied allegations from Moscow that two Ukrainian helicopter gunships had struck the facility in the city of Belgorod north of the border at around dawn Friday.
The regional governor in Belgorod said two workers at the depot were injured, but Russian media cited a statement from state oil company Rosneft that denied anyone was hurt.
But if Moscow’s claim is confirmed, it would be the war’s first known attack in which Ukrainian aircraft entered Russian airspace.
By Jacqueline Howard
Red Cross attempting to reach Mariupol again
A Red Cross convoy travelling to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol will try again to evacuate civilians from the besieged port today.
Mariupol, encircled since the early days of Russia's five-week-old invasion, has been Moscow's main target in Ukraine's southeastern region of Donbas. Tens of thousands there are trapped with scant access to food and water.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sent a team on Friday to lead a convoy of about 54 Ukrainian buses and other private vehicles out of the city, but they turned back, saying conditions made it impossible to proceed.
"They will try again on Saturday to facilitate the safe passage of civilians," the ICRC said in a statement. A previous Red Cross evacuation attempt in early March failed because the route was found to be unsafe.
The ICRC says its Mariupol operation has been approved by both sides, but major details were still being worked, out such as the exact timing and destination of the convoy, which would be an undetermined location in Ukraine.
Reuters
By Dannielle Maguire
A recap of the situation in Ukraine
Now that daylight has broken in Ukraine, let's go over what we're expecting to hear more about today:
- Mariupol evacuations — A Red Cross aid convoy will be heading to Mariupol to again try to evacuate civilians after being denied access to the city yesterday
- Russia's repositioning of troops — We've seen pictures of utter devastation in places like Bucha and Irpin on the outskirts of Kyiv after Russian forces pulled back from those regions. But even though it looks like troops have long gone — having left some of their dead and burnt-out tanks in their wake — locals have been told to stay well away in case of further attacks. They've also been warned to watch out for landmines
- Attacks in Ukraine's east — In his nightly national address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that while troops were "slowly" but "noticeably" pulling back in the north, he was very much braced for attacks in the east, particularly around the city of Kharkiv and in the Donbas region. He said the situation was still "extremely difficult" there
- The Russian oil depot fire — The facility is located in Belgorod, about 35km from the Ukrainian border. A fire there prompted evacuations locally, with Russia saying it was the result of a Ukrainian attack. Russia said two Ukrainian choppers flew over the border and struck the facility. Ukraine's Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov denied this
By Dannielle Maguire
More photos from Ukraine
It's now past 6am there.
These images from yesterday come to you from the outskirts of Kyiv via the Associated Press:
By Dannielle Maguire
China says it's contributing to the economy by continuing with Russian trade
Yesterday, the EU told China not to allow Russia to work around Western sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine.
Today, a Chinese diplomat said China was not deliberately circumventing sanctions on Russia.
Wang Lutong, the director-general of European affairs at China's foreign ministry, told reporters that China is contributing to the global economy by conducting normal trade with Russia.
Reuters
By Dannielle Maguire
China says it'll push for peace, but do so its own way
China has told the European Union it'll seek peace in Ukraine, but says this will be on its own terms following pressure for a tougher stance toward Russia.
China's Premier has told EU leaders Beijing will push for peace in "its own way", while President Xi Jinping says he hopes the EU will treat China "independently" in a reference to Europe's close ties with the US.
In their virtual summit, the EU called on China not to allow Russia to circumvent Western sanctions imposed following its invasion of Ukraine.
By Dannielle Maguire
Some Russian troops still in the Chernobyl exclusion zone
Russian forces ended their occupation of the Chernobyl nuclear power station on Thursday, with Ukraine's state nuclear energy company, Energoatom, saying troops were headed towards the border with Belarus.
Energoatom suggested the Russians left because of concerns about radiation levels.
The company also said they'd taken an unspecified number of members of Ukraine's National Guard who had been held captive since the plant was taken on February 24.
However, that information could not immediately be verified.
On Friday, local time, a Ukrainian official said some troops were still in the exclusion zone around the plant.
"Russians were seen in the exclusion zone this morning," Yevhen Kramarenko, who heads the agency in charge of the exclusion zone in a TV report on Friday.
He didn't say what the troops were doing or where they might be headed.
But he added that no Russian troops had been seen on the actual territory of the decommissioned nuclear power plant.
Now that troops have cleared out of the power plant, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine would work with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to establish what Russian troops did while they were there.
"Russia behaved irresponsibly in Chernobyl on all accounts, from not allowing personnel of the station to perform their functions to digging trenches in the contaminated areas," Mr Kuleba said.
He said the Russian government must "answer to the mothers, the sister, the wives of those soldiers - why did they force them to put their lives at risk?"
By Dannielle Maguire
US working to get Soviet-made tanks to Ukraine
The US will work with allies to transfer Soviet-made tanks to Ukraine to bolster its defences in the Donbas region, the New York Times reported, citing a US official.
The transfers, requested by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, would begin soon, the unnamed official said, according to the Times.
The official declined to say how many tanks would be sent or from which countries they would come, according to the report.
The Pentagon declined to comment to Reuters.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The tanks would allow Ukraine to conduct long-range artillery strikes on Russian targets in the Donbas region, the official told the newspaper.
It marks the first time in the war that the United States has helped transfer tanks, the newspaper said.
Reuters
By Dannielle Maguire
Kyiv Mayor: Attacks continuing despite Russian repositioning
In an interview with UK's Sky News on Friday, local time, Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said satellite towns near the Ukrainian capital were still being bombed.
He told the broadcaster he could hear explosions “nonstop during the day and night".
At the time, Mr Klitschko said the cities north-west of Kyiv such as Irpin, Borodyanka and Hostomel were being targeted after Ukrainian fighters pushed back Russian troops, and that fighting also persisted in Brovary, which is east of Kyiv.
Given it's only a little after 4:30am in Ukraine right now, it's hard to gauge what the situation is like at the moment — so we'll be keeping a close eye out for any reports of shelling there.
Mr Klitschko said those who wanted to return to Kyiv should wait a “couple of weeks” just to make sure the attacks had well and truly stopped.
By Dannielle Maguire
Ukraine to work with UN over reclaimed Chernobyl site
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that, now his country is back in control of the Chernobyl nuclear site, it will work with the UN atomic agency to determine what the occupying Russians did there and mitigate any danger.
Russian troops left the heavily contaminated nuclear site early Friday, local time, after returning control to the Ukrainians.
Mr Kuleba said Russians behaved irresponsibly at the site during the more than four weeks that they controlled it, preventing staff at the plant from performing their full duties and digging trenches in contaminated areas.
He told a news conference the Russian government had exposed its soldiers to radiation, endangering their health.
Associated Press
By Dannielle Maguire
Turkey's President speaks to Putin
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, local time.
A statement from Mr Erdogan’s office said he renewed a call for a meeting between Mr Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Earlier on Friday, Mr Erdogan said Mr Zelenskyy was willing to participate in a leaders’ meeting to be hosted by Turkey.
Mr Erdogan said he and Putin also discussed the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia that were held in Istanbul earlier in the week.
The Turkish leader said he told Mr Putin the Istanbul talks had "raised hopes for peace" and that it was important for the sides "to act with common sense and to maintain the dialogue".
During the call, Mr Putin thanked Erdogan for hosting the meeting between the delegation.
By Dannielle Maguire
US pledges another $300 million worth of military gear to Ukraine
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the $US300 million military equipment package included laser-guided rocket systems, unmanned aircraft, armoured vehicles, night vision devices and ammunition.
Also included are medical supplies, field equipment and spare parts.
Mr Kirby said the new package “represents the beginning of a contracting process to provide new capabilities” to Ukraine, rather than delivering equipment drawn from US military stockpiles.
The US has provided more than $1.6 billion in security assistance since Russia’s invasion, Mr Kirby said.
By Dannielle Maguire
Zelenskyy on the EU meeting
President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola travelled to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday, local time.
Here's how Mr Zelenskyy summed up the meeting in his nightly national address — which was translated into English on the Office of the President of Ukraine website:
"We talked about how to accelerate Ukraine's accession to the European Union. There are specifics.
"We also talked about arms supplies and support of European parliamentarians in this. And also about the sanctions policy. About a deeper sanctions policy against Russia.
"Because if there is an embargo, then it is an embargo. If there is SWIFT, then it is for all banks.
"And if it is business with Russia, it is not just a suspension of activities, but a complete withdrawal of European companies from the Russian market."
By Dannielle Maguire
Satellite images show retreat from Russian-held airport
Let's have a look at an aerial view of the Antonov Airport, just outside of Kyiv, which was taken by Russia soon after the invasion.
Here's a shot taken above the airfield on March 21.
Pay special attention to the vehicles parked in those open pits:
By Dannielle Maguire
Zelenskyy: We want to be able to retrieve our dead
In his nightly national address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine and Russia were separately working on how to retrieve the dead and the wounded from besieged cities.
"We are talking about this with Turkey as a mediator," he said.
"Hopefully I will be able to report the details soon."
By Dannielle Maguire
Ukrainians warned to be wary of mines as Russia repositions troops
While Russian troops have pulled back from some areas around Kyiy, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns the danger isn't over yet.
In his nightly national address, he said bombing might continue.
Here's a snippet from his speech, posted to the Office of the President of Ukraine website in English:
"[Russian troops] are mining all this territory. Mining houses, equipment, even the bodies of killed people.
"Too many tripwire mines, too many other dangers …
"We are moving forward. Moving carefully. And everyone who returns to this area must also be very careful!
"It is still impossible to return to normal life as it was. Even in the areas we return [to] after the fighting.
"You will have to wait. Wait for our land to be cleared. Wait until you can be assured that new shelling is impossible."
By Dannielle Maguire
More photos from yesterday
It's just after 2:30am in Ukraine, so it's a good time to look back over the images that came in from correspondents yesterday.
These are from Associated Press journalists:
By Dannielle Maguire
Zelenskyy: Russia's pulling back from the north, but preparing more strikes in the east
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian troops are withdrawing in the country's north.
Making his nightly national address, he said the troops were pulling back slowly, but noticeably.
However, his said the situation in the east was still extremely difficult.
Mr Zelenskyy said Russia was preparing for new strikes in the Donbas region and the city of Kharkiv.
I'll bring you more from that address once we've got the translations.
