Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:
– Mariupol troops surrender: Moscow –
Russia says more than a thousand Ukrainian soldiers have surrendered in the besieged southeastern city of Mariupol after a ferocious six-week battle for the strategic port.
“In the city of Mariupol… 1,026 Ukrainian servicemen of the 36th Marine Brigade voluntarily laid down their arms and surrendered,” the Russian defence ministry says. Ukraine has yet to confirm the report.
– Biden accuses Russia of ‘genocide’ –
US President Joe Biden accuses Russian forces for the first time of committing genocide in Ukraine.
“Yes, I called it genocide,” he tells reporters when asked about his use of the term.
“It’s become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of even being able to be a Ukrainian.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has also accused Russia of genocide, hails Biden as a “true leader.”
– ‘Credible information’ on chemical weapons –
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Washington has “credible information” that Russia “may use… chemical agents” in its offensive in Mariupol.
He tells reporters he is not able to confirm reports that Moscow has already used chemical weapons there.
The world’s chemical weapons watchdog, the OPCW, says it is “concerned” over the reports.
– Polish, Baltic leaders to Kyiv –
The leaders of Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania travel to Kyiv together by train to show support for Zelensky.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier says he had planned to join them but was told by Kyiv he was “not wanted”. He has been criticised for his past advocacy of warmer ties with Russia.
– Residents flee east –
Residents stream out of east Ukraine’s Kramatorsk and Sloviansk as fears grow the cities will be key targets of a major new Russian offensive.
The Pentagon says Russia is building up its forces in the eastern Donbas region, as it switches its focus to a region where pro-Russian rebels have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014.
– Invasion going ‘calmly’: Putin –
Putin says Russia’s offensive is proceeding “calmly” and according to plan, with the goal of “minimising losses”.
During a televised press conference with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, he dismisses reports of the discovery of hundreds of bodies of civilians in Bucha as “fake”.
– Over 400 bodies in Bucha –
The mayor of the town of Bucha, where dozens of bodies were found after Russia’s withdrawal from northern Ukraine, says more than 400 people have been found dead so far and 25 women have reported being raped.
Zelensky says investigators have received reports of “hundreds” of rapes in areas previously occupied by Russian troops, including sexual assaults of very small children.
– Tycoon swap offer –
Zelensky offers to swap pro-Kremlin tycoon Viktor Medvedchuk, who has been close to Putin for years and who was arrested after escaping from house arrest, for Ukrainians captured by Russia.
– Over 870,000 returnees –
More than 870,000 Ukrainians who fled abroad since the start of the war have returned to the country, Ukraine’s border force says.
In total, more than 4.6 million Ukrainians have fled their country, the United Nations says.
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