Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of deporting hundreds of thousands of people from occupied Ukrainian regions into what he calls "filtration camps".
Take a look back at Tuesday's events in our blog.
Key events
- Russia using mobile crematoriums in Mariupol, Mayor says
- Death toll in Mariupol 'could surpass 20,000' Mayor says
- Ukrainian forces surrounded in Mariupol says government official
- Zelenskyy accuses Russia of deporting thousands into 'filtration camps'
- Caritas staff killed in Mariupol after office shot by Russian tank
- Nine humanitarian corridors to open in Ukraine, including from Mariupol
- Fighting to intensify in eastern Ukraine in two to three weeks, UK says
- UNICEF boss pleads for help for Ukrainian children
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian forces could use chemical weapons in Mariupol
- Austrian Chancellor not optimistic after meeting with Vladimir Putin
- Tens of thousands killed in Mariupol, says Zelenskyy
Live updates
By Caitlyn Davey
That's all for today
We'll wrap it up there, but we'll be back with another blog tomorrow.
By Caitlyn Davey
Conflict hits Azovstal industrial district of Mariupol
By Caitlyn Davey
Zelenskyy thanks Lithuania for giving up Russian energy
Moscow's military action in Ukraine nears its seventh week, with Russia turning its sights towards the eastern Donbas region, after suffering heavy losses.
In a speech to the Lithuanian parliament, Mr Zelenskyy praised the former soviet state for giving up Russian energy and arming Ukraine.
He says the European Union as a whole is still too hesitant in sanctioning Moscow.
"Even after those mass killings in Bucha, watching the planned destroy of Ukrainian cities with the Russian missiles, some of the European countries can't decide whether it will limit the purchase of Russian energy," he said.
By Caitlyn Davey
War crimes investigation: man killed by mine in Krasne
Ukrainian police say they have launched a war crimes investigation after a 64-year-old man was killed by a mine left behind in an area from which Russian forces recently retreated.
Police said the unidentified local man was driving Monday near the village of Krasne in northern Ukraine and had pulled over his car to greet acquaintances when he struck an anti-tank mine left at the side of the road.
Ukrainian authorities have issued repeated warnings of mines and explosive traps left in areas where Russian troops have been operating.
By Caitlyn Davey
NATO says up to Finland and Sweden to decide on joining
NATO says it's up to Finland and Sweden to decide if they want to be part of the military alliance, after the nations' indicated they may consider joining.
The Nordic countries have previously abstained from being part of NATO, but now say Russia's invasion has changed the security situation in Europe.
Russia says the possible accession of Sweden and Finland to the alliance would not bring stability.
Director of Research at the Lowy Institute Herve Lemahieu says Russia's military action may have worsened Moscow's perceived threat from NATO.
"If Finland now takes the plunge in coming weeks and joins NATO suddenly the common border between Russia and NATO will more than double at a stroke which is which is hugely I think alarming, must be, for Moscow."
By Caitlyn Davey
Russian President Putin and Belarusian President Lukashenko meet in far east
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met in the Russian Far East and held a press conference, Reuters reports.
Speaking at an awards ceremony at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East, Putin was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies that said Moscow had no other choice but to launch a military operation to protect Russia and that a clash with Ukraine's anti-Russian forces had been inevitable.
Lukashenko, who has a track record of sometimes saying things that appear to jar with his closest ally's stated positions on a range of issues, has insisted that Belarus must be involved in negotiations to resolve the conflict in Ukraine and has said that Belarus had been unfairly labelled "an accomplice of the aggressor".
By Caitlyn Davey
Russia using mobile crematoriums in Mariupol, Mayor says
The Mayor of Mariupol also gave new details of allegations by Ukrainian officials that Russian forces had brought mobile cremation equipment to Mariupol to dispose of the corpses of victims of the siege.
Vadym Boychenko said Russian forces had taken many bodies to a huge shopping centre where there were storage facilities and refrigerators.
“Mobile crematoriums have arrived in the form of trucks," he said.
"You open it and there is a pipe inside and these bodies are burned."
Boychenko spoke via phone to AP from Ukrainian-controlled territory outside Mariupol.
The Mayor said he had several sources for his description of the alleged methodical burning of bodies by Russian forces in the city, but did not detail the sources.
By Caitlyn Davey
Death toll in Mariupol 'could surpass 20,000' Mayor says
The Mayor of Mariupol says more than 10,000 civilians have died in the city, but that figure could double.
Speaking to AP, he said corpses "carpeted through the streets”.
He also accused Russian forces of preventing humanitarian convoys from reaching the city for weeks in part to conceal the carnage.
By Caitlyn Davey
Putin warns West attempts to isolate Russia will fail
President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Tuesday that attempts to isolate Moscow would fail, citing the success of the Soviet space program as evidence Russia could achieve spectacular leaps forward in tough conditions.
Russia says it will never again depend on the West after many nations imposed crippling sanctions on it to punish Putin for his February 24 order to launch what he called a "special military operation" in Ukraine.
"The sanctions were total, the isolation was complete, but the Soviet Union was still first in space," Putin said, according to Russian state television.
"We don't intend to be isolated," Putin said.
"It is impossible to severely isolate anyone in the modern world especially such a vast country as Russia."
By Caitlyn Davey
By Caitlyn Davey
Zelenskyy pushes for more economic sanctions, addresses Lithuanian parliament
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the European Union to step up economic sanctions against Russia, arguing the Russian political and military leadership feels it can continue the invasion of Ukraine because of signals from some European nations.
Zelenskyy told politicians in Lithuania, a former Soviet republic that is now an EU and NATO member, that “they know they will go unpunished as Europe still prefers continued cooperation, trade, business as usual,” AP reported.
Using an intepreter, Zelenskyy called for sanctions on all Russian banks and for Europe to "get rid of their oil".
In the latest of a series of addresses by video link to parliaments in Europe and beyond, Zelenskyy said: “Europe must win this war. And we will win it together.”
The 141-seat Seimas assembly was decorated with the blue and yellow Ukrainian and the yellow green and red Lithuanian flags.
By Caitlyn Davey
Putin says Russia can't be isolated
Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country can’t be isolated.
Speaking on a visit to the Vostochny space launch facility in Russia’s far east on Tuesday, Putin said Russia had no intention of isolating itself and he added foreign powers wouldn’t succeed in isolating it either.
He said: “It’s certainly impossible to isolate anyone in the world of today, especially such a huge country as Russia.”
Putin added: “We will work with those of our partners who want to cooperate.”
Putin’s visit to Vostochny marked his first known trip outside of Moscow since Russia launched military action in Ukraine.
Putin toured space facilities together with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Reuters
By Caitlyn Davey
Ukrainian forces surrounded in Mariupol says government official
Ukrainian forces are "surrounded and blocked" in Mariupol as Russian forces push to take the city, Myhaylo Podolyak, an official from President Volodymyr Zelensky's office has tweeted.
The Ukrainian army insists that "the defence of Mariupol continues".
By Caitlyn Davey
Czechs provide free shooting training for local Ukrainians
At least 130 Ukrainians living in the Czech Republic have been given free training to help them fight Russian forces.
Ukrainians from all parts of the country and elsewhere have been arriving in the Czech Republic's second-largest city, Brno, attracted by courses designed to teach them the skills needed to safely handle lethal rifles and also inflict damage on their enemy.
Besides learning to shoot, the courses give them the basics about guns, movement around the battlefield, and also a lesson in providing first aid — something that can save lives if they‘re mobilised by their embattled country or decide to return home as volunteers to join the Ukrainian army.
AP
By Caitlyn Davey
What is phosphorus munitions?
Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister says Russia may have used phosphorous munitions, sparking condemnation from world leaders. But what is it?
Phosphorus is a fast-burning substance more typically used in war as an incendiary device or to create smoke screens.
Phosphorus munitions cause severe burns and agonising deaths. The chemical seeps into the bloodstream and causes respiratory problems and other ailments.
Investigations are underway as to whether the phosphorus muntions were used in Mariupol.
By Caitlyn Davey
Russians overpower 100 Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol
Russian forces say they have thwarted an attempt by the Ukrainian military to break out of the siege in Mariupol.
Russia's Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said a group of up to 100 Ukrainian servicemen using tanks and armoured vehicles attempted to fight their way out of the besieged IIyich iron and steel works plant and leave the city in a northerly direction.
"Yesterday, on April 11th, in Mariupol, during the night, besieged on the territory of the Ilyich plant, remnants of Ukrainian troops made an unsuccessful attempt to escape from the city.
"А group of Ukrainian servicemen of up to 100 people on armoured vehicles tried to fight their way out of the territory of the plant and leave the city in a northerly direction.
"By air and artillery strikes, this breakout attempt was thwarted. Three Ukrainian tanks, five infantry fighting vehicles, seven cars and up to 50 personnel were destroyed. Another 42 Ukrainian servicemen voluntarily laid down their arms and surrendered."
The battle for Mariupol was reaching a decisive phase, with Ukrainian marines holed up in the Azovstal industrial district.
Should the Russians seize Azovstal, they would be in full control of Mariupol, the lynchpin between Russian-held areas to the west and east, according to Reuters.
By Caitlyn Davey
Zelenskyy accuses Russia of deporting thousands into 'filtration camps'
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of deporting hundreds of thousands of people from occupied Ukrainian regions into what he calls "filtration camps". He made the remarks while speaking to Lithuanian Parliament.
By Caitlyn Davey
Investigations of rape taken to United Nations
Ukrainian authorities say they're investigating cases of women being raped by Russian forces.
A BBC correspondent has heard first-hand testimony and found evidence of Ukrainian women being raped by invading soldiers.
The Kremlin has denied the allegations.
A human rights group spokesperson, Kateryna Cherepakha, has told the United Nations her organisation had received many calls to its helpline accusing Russian soldiers of rape.
"A number of facts and cases [have] already [been] revealed and reported but, unfortunately, this is just the tip of the iceberg that we'll see," she says.
"Many survivors remain in the situation of life threat. They are staying on the occupied territory. They're cut off from help, connection, from everything."
