As Russian forces prepare for what Ukrainian officials say could be an "even bigger" offensive in the east, shelling continues to impact those living in the Donetsk region.
Re-cap the day's developments with our blog.
Key events
- What's happening around Kharkiv?
- 'Everything is destroyed': Shockwave from missile strike in Donetsk
- Zelenskyy speaks in Russian, urges Russia's troops not to fight
- Catch up with yesterday's blog here
- Russia's forces preparing for what could be 'even bigger' offensive
- Russia continues Mariupol strikes, but some civilians have been evacuated
Live updates
By Peta Fuller
That's all for the blog today
We're going to leave it here — you can stay up-to-date with the latest news online or on the ABC News app.
By Peta Fuller
'You are the guardians of the truth': Biden's comments at White House Correspondents' dinner
US President Joe Biden has praised journalists covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine in his speech at the White House Correspondents dinner in Washington.
While the majority of the speech was filled with cutting jabs, as is tradition, Mr Biden did make note of the important role journalism plays in American democracy, especially in the last decade.
"I mean this from the bottom of my heart, that you, the free press, matter more than you ever did in the last century," he said.
"You are the guardians of the truth."
By Peta Fuller
'Was it worth it?... It was worth it': The village that was flooded to stop Russians
Residents of the Ukrainian village of Demydiv revealed water damage to their homes after the country released water from a hydroelectric dam to block the Russian military's advance.
The Ukrainians took the decision to flood the village and the surrounding area, which is just north of Kyiv, to delay Russia's assault.
The military hoped it would buy them more time to build up a defence.
Nina Tsymbal's basement flooded, but the 62-year-old local (below) said it was the right decision as it helped to prevent an occupation of Ukrainian territory.
"Was it worth it? They were not here (Russian military). It was worth it," she said.
Another resident Oleksandr Glemba said the action stopped more advances.
"I don't know how to call them, these people or these creatures who came here. Still, it slowed them down here. They were trapped here."
AP
By Peta Fuller
By Peta Fuller
Russia's Defence Ministry claims Ukrainian forces shelled Kherson region
Russia says shelling by Ukraine of villages in the Russian-occupied Kherson region has killed and injured civilians.
The Russian Defence Ministry claims Ukrainian forces shelled a school, a kindergarten and a cemetery, but gave no information on how many people were killed or injured, nor when the shelling took place.
There's no immediate response from Ukraine, and news agency Reuters says it cannot independently verify the report.
Earlier today, Ukraine’s defence ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk also accused Russian occupation troops of taking "illegal action" on the seized territories in Kherson region.
"In particular, residents of the city of Kupyansk (Kharkiv region) and neighbouring settlements are being forcibly taken to the Russian Federation.
"And the occupiers are also spreading fake information about the alleged takeover of Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Zaporizhzhia."
By Peta Fuller
Future of 'entire continent' depends on Ukraine war: Moldova's Foreign Minister
Moldova's Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu told British broadcaster Sky News how much Europe depends on the way the war ends.
"I think the future of the entire continent rests on the capacity of Ukraine to maintain its political system, its country, its resilience," Mr Popescu said.
Moldova has been watching the conflict in Ukraine closely, particularly after a senior Russian military official said that Russian forces aim to take full control of southern Ukraine, saying such a move would also open a land corridor to the separatist region of Transnistria, where Russia has stationed troops.
Transnistria, a strip of land with about 470,000 people between Moldova and Ukraine, has been under the control of separatist authorities since a 1992 war with Moldova.
When asked if Moldova was prepared to ask for weapons from other nations if the conflict spilled into the country, Mr Popescu said the nation was "not in a position of prejudging how things will evolve", but that preparations were being made for "all possible contingencies".
By Peta Fuller
White House Correspondents' dinner remembered those killed covering the war
The major annual event in the US took time to highlight those who had died reporting on the conflict:
- Maksim Levin, Reuters photographer
- Roman Nezhborets, Ukrainian video technician
- Vira Hyrych, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist
- Brent Renaud, Filmmaker
- Oksana Baulina, Russian journalist
- Yevhenii Sakun, Ukrainian cameraman
- Zoreslav Zamoysky, Ukrainian journalist
- Pierre Zakrzewski, Fox News cameraman
- Oleksandra Kuvshynova, Fox News producer
By Peta Fuller
Russian-controlled Kherson has lost internet, mobile access
Reports from the Kherson region in southern Ukraine say mobile phone signals and mobile internet access have disappeared.
It's not clear why, but reports quoted one operator as saying it was not an accident.
The Russian rouble will also be used in Kherson from today, according to Russia-backed forces that have occupied the city for the past two months.
The Ukrainian government has warned that Russia is preparing to hold a sham referendum in the region, intending to turn it into a "people's republic".
By Peta Fuller
What's happening around Kharkiv?
Ukrainian authorities say they've re-gained control of four settlements in the eastern Kharkiv region.
In a Facebook post, the General Staff of the armed forces said the Ukrainian military now had the villages of Verkhnya Rohanka, Ruska Lozova, Slobidske and Prilesne.
Ukraine has reportedly had success with several counter-attacks in the area, and they are pushing Russian forces back.
The Institute for the Study of War's latest report said Ukraine's counteroffensive would reduce pressure on parts of Kharkiv itself that have suffered the most pain from Russian shelling.
Yesterday Kharkiv's Mayor Ihor Terekhov said about 20 per cent of the city's residential buildings have been so badly damaged that it will be impossible to restore them.
The ISW's report also said Ukrainian resistance might force Russian troops from elsewhere to head to the city, so the Russians could maintain their partial encirclement of Kharkiv.
By Peta Fuller
By Peta Fuller
Vladimir Putin calls them 'scum' and 'traitors': Life for Russia's new exiles
At least 300,000 Russians have left for political reasons since the war began — and 15,000 of those have ended up in Sri Lanka.
The ABC's South Asia correspondent Avani Dias and Som Patidar spoke to expatriots such as Oleg Yakovlev.
He was an anti-Putin activist in Russia before the war (pictured right).
By Peta Fuller
'Everything is destroyed': Shockwave from missile strike in Donetsk
In the town of Dobropillia in Donetsk, the shockwave from a strike blew in the windows of an apartment building and left a large crater in the yard.
One resident, who gave only his first name of Andriy, said his partner was in a room facing the yard at the time of the attack and was knocked unconscious.
"Thank God the four children were in the kitchen," he said, standing in the destroyed living room.
Residents sifted through their belongings to see what could be salvaged.
"At around 9:20am this happiness flew to our house," another resident, Oleh, said sarcastically.
"Everything is destroyed."
Russia also reported more Ukrainian strikes on its territory.
Officials in Russia's Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine and Belarus, said air defences had prevented a Ukrainian aircraft from entering. The resulting shelling had hit parts of a Russian oil terminal, they said.
South of Bryansk, in Russia's Kursk region, which is also on the Ukrainian border, several shells were fired from Ukraine toward a Russian checkpoint, Kursk Governor Roman Starovoit said.
There were no casualties nor damage, he added.
Ukraine has not directly claimed responsibility for a spate of such incidents on Russian territory. But it described a series of blasts in Russia's south on Wednesday as payback and "karma" for Moscow's invasion.
Reuters
By Peta Fuller
By Peta Fuller
Sweden says Russian military plane made 'unacceptable' violation of its airspace
The Swedish Air Force scrambled fighter jets that photographed a Russian plane.
And the Swedish Defence Minister called the violation "unacceptable" and "unprofessional."
It follows a similar incident in early March when four Russian warplanes violated Swedish airspace over the Baltic Sea.
Sweden and neighbouring Finland are both considering NATO membership following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
By Peta Fuller
In pictures: Destruction in Chernihiv
Reuters journalist Zohra Bensemra took these images inside the city of Chernihiv, north-east of Ukraine's capital Kyiv and near the Belarusian border.
This is 77-year-old Hanna Selivon in what remains of her house, which she says was destroyed by Russian shelling.
By Peta Fuller
Zelenskyy speaks in Russian, urges Russia's troops not to fight
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy switched into Russian in his nightly video address, saying Russia's generals expected thousands of troops would die.
He said Russia has been recruiting new troops “with little motivation and little combat experience” for the units that were gutted during the early weeks of the war so these units can be thrown back into battle.
"The Russian commanders are lying to their soldiers when they tell them they can expect to be held seriously responsible for refusing to fight and then also don’t tell them, for example, that the Russian army is preparing additional refrigerator trucks for storing the bodies. They don’t tell them about the new losses the generals expect,” Mr Zelenskyy said.
“Every Russian soldier can still save his own life. It’s better for you to survive in Russia than to perish on our land."
By Peta Fuller
More from the ABC's Nick Dole in Zaporizhzhia
Some buses have already left the city, to evacuate people from nearby Mariupol, but have been stopped at a Russian checkpoint.
He met one woman and her three-year-old daughter who managed to make it out in her smashed-up car after two weeks underground.
"It was terrifying, everything was absolutely destroyed. There were dead people lying on the ground," she said.
"Mariupol was a beautiful city. I could never have imagined things would get this bad."
You can watch his report in the post below.
By Peta Fuller
By Peta Fuller
Ghost of Kyiv 'not real', Ukrainian military says
Several outlets have credited pilot Stepan Tarabalka as being the mythical "Ghost of Kyiv", who reportedly shot down 40 planes before he was killed in March.
Sources told London's The Times late last week that his helmet and goggles would be auctioned in London.
But Ukraine's General Staff has said the Major didn't shoot down the planes and the so-called Ghost of Kyiv isn't one person and refers generally to the work of their pilots.
This is a translated Facebook post from this morning:
By Peta Fuller
On the ground in the evacuation zone near Mariupol
The ABC's Europe Correspondent, Nick Dole, is in Zaporizhzhia. This is his latest report from the city:
"In Zaporizhzhia, volunteers are massing and aid agencies are preparing for a potential convoy of evacuees from Russian-controlled territory.
"Buses are lining up to get into Mariupol and take thousands of stranded people to Zaporizhzhia but Ukraine says there have been more Russian strikes on the besieged Azovstal steel plant."
Ukrainian officials say the UN and Red Cross are involved in negotiating a humanitarian corridor.
