Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says humanitarian corridors will not open in Ukraine on Wednesday because the occupying Russian forces have violated a ceasefire arrangement.
Catch up on Wednesday's news and updates on our blog.
Key events
- Russia claims more than 1000 Ukraine troops surrender in Mariupol
- More than 100,000 people waiting to be evacuated from Mariupol, Mayor says
- 21,000 civilians killed in Mariupol, Mayor says
- Chemical weapons watchdog concerned about unconfirmed reports of chemical agent use in Mariupol
- Australia's Bushmasters arrive in Ukraine
- Joe Biden refers to Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a 'genocide' for the first time
- Ukrainian forces 'fighting under the bombs for each metre of the city' in Mariupol
Live updates
By Michael Doyle
That is all for the blog today
We are wrapping up the blog for the day.
Thank-you to those who joined us.
You can stay up-to-date with the latest online or on the ABC News app.
Goodnight.
By Michael Doyle
At least seven dead in Kharkiv shelling, Governor says
The Governor of Kharkiv says at least seven people have died from shelling in the past 24 hours.
Oleh Synegubov said a further 22 people had been injured, including a two-year-old.
Russia denies it has targeted civilians during its military campaign.
By Michael Doyle
Ukraine says there is no information about Mariupol surrender
Ukraine's defence ministry spokesperson says he has no information marines have surrendered in Mariupol.
Both the Russian defence ministry and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said more than 1,000 Ukrainian marines had laid down their arms in the besieged city.
Ukraine has not confirmed whether the surrender occurred.
Reuters is reporting that Ukraine's defence ministry spokesperson said he had no information about any surrender.
By Michael Doyle
Russia claims more than 1000 Ukraine troops surrender in Mariupol
Following similar claims made by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, Russia's defence ministry says 1,026 Ukrainian marines are laying down arms in Mariupol.
Ukraine has not commented on the claims.
"In the town of Mariupol, near the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works, as a result of successful offensives by Russian armed forces and Donetsk People's Republic militia units, 1,026 Ukrainian soldiers of the 36th Marine Brigade voluntarily laid down arms and surrendered," Russia's defence ministry said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Kadyrov said more than 1,000 Ukraine marines had surrendered in Mariupol.
Russia is focusing its attacks on the east and south of Ukraine, after failing to capture the capital Kyiv.
By Kate Ainsworth
UK says Russia is attempting to correct ineffective pre-war planning
Britain's Ministry of Defence says Russia is looking to centralise command and control by appointing Army General Alexander Dvornikov as its Ukraine war commander.
In its latest update, the ministry said Russia's invasion of Ukraine had been impacted by its inability to cohere and coordinate military activity.
The ministry said Russia had also begun emphasising its offensives in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.
By Kate Ainsworth
Chechen chief claims Ukrainian marines have surrendered in Mariupol
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is claiming more than 1,000 Ukrainian marines have surrendered in Mariupol, according to a report from Reuters.
He has reportedly also urged remaining forces holed up in the Azovstal steel mill to surrender.
Ukrainian officials have not commented on the statement posted by Kadyrov on his Telegram channel, but have said Russian forces are proceeding with attacks on Azovstal and the port.
It's not clear whether he was referencing the Azovstal or Illich iron and steel works plants.
"Within Azovstal at the moment there are about 200 wounded who cannot receive any medical assistance," Kadyrov said in his post.
"For them and all the rest it would be better to end this pointless resistance and go home to their families."
Kadyrov is an ardent supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has deployed many of his fighters in Ukraine to bolster the offensive.
He is often referred to as Putin's "dragon" or "attack dog", and has been accused of several human rights abuses as the leader of Chechnya.
By Kate Ainsworth
They fled the war in Ukraine only to cross paths in a WA coastal town
By Kate Ainsworth
Polish, Baltic presidents to meet Zelenskyy in Kyiv
The presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have just arrived in Kyiv to meet with their Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"Our countries are showing support to Ukraine and President Zelenskyy in this way," Polish presidential adviser Jakub Kumoch said.
Yesterday the presidents met in Rzeszow, in south-eastern Poland, to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
By Kate Ainsworth
More than 100,000 people waiting to be evacuated from Mariupol, Mayor says
The Mayor of the besieged southern port city of Mariupol says more than 100,000 civilians remain in the city waiting to be evacuated.
Vadym Boichenko made the comments during a televised address on Wednesday.
Earlier, Boichenko said about 21,000 civilians had been killed in Mariupol since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The comments came after Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister said it would be impossible to open humanitarian corridors on Wednesday in Ukraine, saying Russia had violated a ceasefire arrangement.
By Kate Ainsworth
Biden has accused Russia of 'genocide'. So what does it mean?
US President Joe Biden has levelled an accusation of "genocide" against Russia in relation to its war in Ukraine. So what is the significance of the US President escalating the rhetoric?
By Kate Ainsworth
Ukrainian authorities accuse Russia of violating ceasefire, blocking humanitarian corridors
Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says humanitarian corridors won't open in Ukraine on Wednesday because the occupying Russian forces have violated a ceasefire arrangement.
Vereshchuk wrote on Telegram that the occupying forces were also blocking buses, making it dangerous for civilians to evacuate.
She said Ukrainian authorities would work to reopen the humanitarian corridors as soon as possible.
By Kate Ainsworth
Scott Morrison says there's 'no doubt' Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine
Speaking in Geelong a short time ago, Prime Minister Scott Morrison was asked whether he agreed with US President Joe Biden that Russia had committed genocide in Ukraine.
Morrison didn't say whether he shared Biden's view, but he told reporters there was "no doubt" Russia had committed war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine.
"Vladimir Putin must be held to account for those war crimes and atrocities and he should believe that the world will seek to hold him to account for that," he said.
"We are directly involved with putting people in support of the inquiry that is being undertaken internationally. We have put our own lawyers in there to assist in their investigations.
"We have actually got quite a lot of experience in investigating the Russians, when they shot down MH17 or supported that action, and so they know their way around, and they are actually also assisting, now, in investigating these atrocities and war crimes we believe are occurring in Ukraine right now."
By Kate Ainsworth
In pictures: The volunteers rescuing pets in eastern Ukraine
Reuters photographer Evgenia Novozhenina captured these images of volunteers with pets who were evacuated to Russia from the Donetsk region of Ukraine.
By Kate Ainsworth
21,000 civilians killed in Mariupol, Mayor says
The number of people who have been killed in the besieged port city of Mariupol has risen to 21,000 since Russia's invasion began.
The city's Mayor, Vadym Boichenko, made the comments during a televised address last night.
Boichenko says it's been difficult to determine exactly how many people have been killed in the city since fighting on the streets started.
By Kate Ainsworth
Chemical weapons watchdog concerned about unconfirmed reports of chemical agent use in Mariupol
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) says it's concerned about unconfirmed reports of chemical agents being used in the besieged southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.
The international watchdog said in a statement it was monitoring the situation closely, and the use of chemical weapons anywhere under any circumstances was "reprehensible".
It came after a Ukrainian army unit in Mariupol reported a Russian drone dropped a poisonous substance on soldiers and civilians, causing illness but no deaths. The report has not been verified.
Both Russia and Ukraine are member states of the OPCW, making them parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention that has been in force since 1997.
The OPCW says that means the countries have "solemnly and voluntarily committed never to develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, transfer or use chemical weapons".
By Kate Ainsworth
China's trade with Russia rises 28 per cent between January and March
Reuters is reporting that China's overall trade with Russia rose by $US38.18 billion ($51.67 billion) between January and March this year, when Russia was increasing its presence on the Ukrainian border before invading on February 24.
That represents a rise of 27.8 per cent from the same time last year.
Comparatively, China's total trade with Ukraine also climbed by 10.6 per cent to $US4.6 billion ($6.2 billion) in the same period.
At a press conference, China's customs spokesman Li Kuiwen said China's economic and trade cooperation with other countries would remain normal.
By Alexis Moran
In pictures: Bohdanivka village, north-east of Kyiv, covered in rubble
Images by Genya Savilov via AFP
By Alexis Moran
How to catch a war criminal: Investigators are building a case against Putin in Ukraine's killing fields
It is a sleepy rural scene: A pale grey sky hangs low over a grassy slope, bordered by the bare branches of winter trees. The hard work of farm life is clear in the deep grooves of a rudimentary driveway leading to and from scattered buildings.
Your eyes can't help but follow the tracks, until a gut-twisting moment of clarity: The bodies of two men are lying awkwardly, dead, in the middle of the image.
This is Ukraine's Bucha district, where body-by-body, bullet-by-bullet, the full horror of what has happened here is being revealed, and a case against Vladimir Putin is being built.
By Alexis Moran
This shopping centre in Rzeszów, Poland, has become a temporary shelter for Ukrainian refugees
Images by The Yomiuri Shimbun via AFP
By Alexis Moran
The US says it's preparing further sanctions on Russia
The United States and its allies are pushing ahead with sanctions aimed at forcing Vladimir Putin to spend Russia's money propping up its economy rather than sustaining its "war machine" for the fight in Ukraine, a top US Treasury Department official says.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, one of the main US coordinators on the Russian sanctions strategy, said in an interview with The Associated Press that the goal was to make Russia "less able to project power in the future".
Mr Adeyemo says the US and its allies will next target the supply chains that contribute to the construction of Russia's war machine, with the plan including "everything from looking at ways to go after the military devices that have been built to use not only in Ukraine but to project power elsewhere."
AP
