Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine “nauseating” during a conversation with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres before he travels to Moscow.
Mr Johnson, in his phone call with Mr Guterres on Sunday afternoon, “made clear the importance of global solidarity with Ukraine” in the face of “blatant aggression” by the Kremlin, Downing Street said.
The UNs chief has been criticised by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for choosing to visit Russia before he travels to Kyiv.
Mr Guterres is due to travel to Turkey on Monday and then Moscow and Kyiv, but Mr Zelenskyy said it was a mistake for the Portuguese diplomat to arrange his trip in that order.
“Why? To hand over signals from Russia? What should we look for?” Mr Zelenskyy said on Saturday.
“There are no corpses scattered on the Kutuzovsky Prospekt,” he said, referring to one of Moscow’s main avenues.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The Prime Minister described Putin’s actions in Ukraine as nauseating and blatant aggression, which is having devastating consequences for Ukraine’s people.
“They discussed their shared concerns on attacks in areas besieged by Russian forces, such as Mariupol and Kherson, and the need to secure a ceasefire, facilitate humanitarian efforts and allow civilians to leave.
“The prime minister made clear the importance of global solidarity with Ukraine, with the UK continuing to work closely with international partners to support Ukraine to defend itself.”
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UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres visits Borodyanka, near Kyiv, where Russian forces are accused of killing civilians. AFP -
Children play in the wreckage of a Russian armoured vehicle in Lukashivka, Chernihiv region, northern Ukraine. The village has been retaken by Ukrainian forces. EPA -
A cyclist passes a destroyed building in Derhachi village, near besieged city Kharkiv, in north-eastern Ukraine. AFP -
Burnt-out wreckage of a tank in Kolychivka village, Chernihiv region, northern Ukraine. EPA -
A Ukrainian flag flies in a park in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine. A rocket attack on the city railway station earlier in April killed at least 50 people. AFP -
Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses a meeting of MPs in St Petersburg. EPA -
Youngsters Faddei and Oleksandr play in front of a church damaged during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in the Chernihiv region. Reuters -
A demonstrator turns emotional as she attends a rally in Kyiv demanding a humanitarian corridor to rescue civilians from Mariupol. Reuters -
A Ukrainian Sukhoi Su-25 releases decoy flares as it provides air support to Ukrainian ground forces near central city of Yampil. AFP -
An officer from National Guard of Ukraine surveys weapons left behind by Russian troops in Chernobyl. AFP -
Mr Putin attends a meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Moscow. Reuters -
Members of a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency carry equipment as they arrive at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in Chernobyl, Ukraine. AP -
Ukrainian troops fire rockets from the city of Popasna, near Luhansk. EPA -
Lithuanian musician Darius Mazintas plays a piano in front of the Central House of Culture destroyed during Russia's invasion, in the town of Irpin, outside Kyiv. Reuters -
Ukrainian refugees Julia, second left, 32, and Miroslava, left, 11, walk away with relatives who received them after they crossed into Poland from Ukraine at the Dorohusk border. AFP -
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meets Mr Guterres in Moscow. AFP -
US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Mark Milley, left, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, second left, and Ukrainian Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov, right, attend the Ukraine Security Consultative Group meeting at Ramstein airbase in Ramstein-Miesenbach, Germany. Getty Images -
Smoke rises from an oil terminal hit by fire in Bryansk, Russia. AP -
People take pictures by the wreckage of a Russian military vehicle, in the village of Rusaniv, Kyiv region. Reuters -
Smoke rises above the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works plant amid fighting in Mariupol, Ukraine. Reuters -
People carry a large Ukrainian flag as they attend a rally to mark the 77th anniversary of Liberation Day in Milan, Italy. The day remembers Italians who fought against the Nazis and Mussolini's troops during the Second World War. EPA -
A Ukrainian soldier looks at a Russian ballistic missile's booster stage that fell in a field in Bohodarove, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
People watch as a residential building burns after Russian bombardment in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP -
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. Reuters -
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Orthodox Easter service at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. EPA -
A young girl in front of people carrying a huge Ukrainian flag during a peaceful demonstration entitled 'Solidarity with Ukraine' in Krakow, Poland. Reuters -
A boy stands next to a wrecked vehicle in front of an apartment damaged during the conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters -
This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows damage at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, Ukraine. AP -
A Ukrainian man rides in front of a destroyed building in Kharkiv which had been shelled by the Russians. EPA -
A Ukrainian Territorial Defence fighter in a shelter with an Easter Cake near Kharkiv. Ukrainians mark Orthodox Easter today. EPA -
Residents receive Easter cakes and apples handed out by pro-Russian troops on Easter Day at the Svyato-Troitsky Church in the southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters -
A woman photographs the scene of yesterday's shelling in the southern Ukraine city of Odesa. Eight people were killed, including a three-month child, and about 20 were wounded. EPA -
A military chaplain blesses Ukrainian soldiers on the occasion of Orthodox Easter not far from the city of Izyum in Kharkiv. EPA -
An internally displaced man walks with dogs in the Palace of Culture, which was damaged by shelling in Rubizhne, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
Tulips grow next to a building destroyed by shelling in Rubizhne. AFP -
Internally displaced people wait to receive food inside a factory that has been turned into a shelter, in Severodonetsk. AFP -
Members of the Ukrainian Red Cross carry a woman, 92, to an ambulance from a bunker at a factory in Severodonetsk. AFP -
Ambulance workers move an injured Ukrainian serviceman to a hospital in Donetsk. AP -
A woman sits inside a subway station that has been turned into a shelter, on the outskirts of second largest Ukrainian city, Kharkiv. AFP -
Residents shelter in a subway station in Kharkiv. AFP -
Anastasiya Kryvoho attends a candlelight vigil for Ukraine on the Orthodox Holy Saturday, in Toronto, Canada. Reuters -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses a press conference with international media in an underground metro station in Kyiv. AFP -
Firefighters work at the scene of a fire after shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine. EPA -
A family from Myrne, a town occupied by Russian forces, wait to register with police at an evacuation point for people fleeing from Mariupol, Melitopol and surrounding towns. Getty Images -
Oleksandr, 25, meets his parents Olga, 49, and Oleksandr, 50, who fled from the Russian-occupied village of Lyubimivka, at the evacuation point in Zaporizhzhia. EPA -
Residents walk near a damaged military vehicle in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol. AP -
A heavily damaged apartment building in Horenka. Getty Images -
Residents wrapped in blankets stand near their houses damaged by Russian shelling in Odesa. AP -
A Ukrainian flag is installed on top of a gob pile in Lysychans, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
A Ukrainian soldier rests at a checkpoint in Severodonetsk. AFP
Britain has positioned itself as one of Kyiv’s closest allies in the run-up to and during the invasion by Russia.
As a result, London has been keen to push for the West to do more to back Ukraine’s military as it tries to hold back the onslaught from Russian president Vladimir Putin’s forces.
Conservative Party chairman Oliver Dowden urged France and Germany to increase their efforts as he warned that Mr Putin would “keep on going and going” as he seeks to capture Ukrainian soil in the east and the south.
Calling for more support from Nato allies, the Cabinet minister told Sky News: “I think we’ve had very positive noises from France and Germany but I would like to see further action from them.”
He said Mr Johnson’s call last week with world leaders, including US President Joe Biden and French leader Emmanuel Macron was part of a lobby for more military backing.
While the West has funnelled military equipment to Ukraine, Mr Zelenskyy has stressed repeatedly that the country needs more heavy weapons, including long-range air defence systems, and warplanes.
It was a message he was expected to impart on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin during their trip to Kyiv on Sunday – the first visit by senior Washington officials since Russia invaded Ukraine 60 days ago.
Bill Browder, a financier and critic of Mr Putin, said Russia’s war machine was unlikely to slow down until Europe seriously addressed its dependence on the Kremlin’s energy exports.
“Every day Europe – Germany, France, Italy, Austria and various other places that are totally dependent on Russian gas – send Vladimir Putin $1 billion, every day,” Mr Browder said.
“To put it in really simple terms, this war costs Vladimir Putin $1 billion a day and every day he gets $1 billion from Europe, and so that’s kind of a wash.
“If we really do want to stop this war and we want to stop it from spreading … then we have to stop giving him the money, and to stop giving him the money means that Germany is going to have to tighten their belt significantly.
“They are going to have to experience some economic pain.”
Most of Sunday’s fighting focused on the Donbas region in the east, where Ukrainian forces are concentrated and where Moscow-backed separatists controlled some territory before the war.
Since failing to capture Kyiv, the Russians are aiming to gain full control over the eastern industrial heartland.
The Russian military reported hitting 423 Ukrainian targets overnight, including fortified positions and troops, while its warplanes destroyed 26 Ukrainian military sites, including an explosives factory and artillery depots.
In the south, Russian troops launched more air strikes on a Mariupol steel plant where an estimated 1,000 civilians are sheltering along with about 2,000 Ukrainian fighters.
The Azovstal steel mill where the defenders are holed up is the last corner of resistance in the city.
