Kremlin fury over Biden 'war criminal' comment

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In his nightly video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says: "The world must officially recognise that Russia has become a terrorist state."

Zelensky reiterated his calls for more sanctions against Russia, more weapons for Ukraine and a no-fly zone.

The Ukrainian leader also said "real protection" for his country was a prerequisite for any negotiations with Russia to succeed.

"My priorities in the negotiations are absolutely clear: the end of the war, security guarantees, sovereignty, restoration of territorial integrity, real guarantees for our country, real protection for our country," he said.

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The US says it has warned Russia of "consequences and implications of any possible Russian decision to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine".

Joe Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke over the phone on Wednesday with the secretary of the Russian Security Council, General Nikolay Patrushev.

The White House said it had requested the call, its highest-level diplomatic engagement with Moscow since a February call between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

Both countries have accused the other of housing and preparing to use biological weapons inside Ukraine.

General Patrushev is one of three Putin loyalists who have served with him since the 1970s.

Here's more on the general and other members of Putin's inner circle.

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Russian prima ballerina Olga Smirnova has left the Bolshoi Ballet, Russia's internationally renowned company, after saying she is "against war with all the fibres of my soul".

She joins the Dutch National Ballet, which describes her as one of the Bolshoi's leading stars, and that it had become "untenable" for her to continue working in Russia after she condemned the invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier this month, she said on Telegram: "I never thought I would be ashamed of Russia, I have always been proud of talented Russian people, of our cultural and athletic achievements. But now I feel that a line has been drawn that separates the before and the after.

"It hurts that people are dying, that people are losing the roofs over their heads or are forced to abandon their homes."

You can read more about Smirnova's move here.

The UK's Ministry of Defence has released its latest update on Russia's military, saying that it has probably had to resort to using older and less precise weapons, which are more likely to result in civilian casualties.

It adds that Russia probably resorted to using these weapons as a result of failing to achieve its military objectives.

So far the UN has confirmed the deaths of 729 civilians in Ukraine, though the actual number is expected to be far higher.

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The mayor of Melitopol, who was reportedly kidnapped by Russian forces five days ago, was freed after Ukraine agreed to exchange nine captured Russian soldiers for him, according to a senior Ukrainian presidential aide.

The capture of Ivan Federov - the leader of one of the first cities captured by Russia - led President Zelensky to accuse Russia of starting a "new stage of terror".

The Russian soldiers exchanged had all been born between 2002-03, making them "actually children", Zelensky press aide Darya Zarivnaya said in a televised address.

Earlier on Wednesday, Ukrainian presidential aides said that Federov had been released after an "operation", but did not provide further details.

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The number of people who were reportedly killed while waiting in a queue for bread in the northern city of Chernihiv has now risen to 13, according to a senior official.

Police Chief Vladimir Nidzelsky said the victims died after shells hit a high-rise building, before falling to the ground below.

Officials had previously confirmed 10 deaths as a result of the bombing, which happened around 10:00 local time on Wednesday.

Dozens more were injured, according to Nidzelsky.

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Some more reaction now to reports that Russian forces have bombed a theatre in the besieged city of Mariupol, which authorities claim was housing over 1,000 civilians.

Speaking to the BBC, Ukrainian MP Vadym Halaichuk said the building was being used as a shelter by residents who had lost homes in the fighting.

"The place has a special shelter in the basement that was specifically designed to provide shelter during bombings," he said.

Halaichuk accused Russian forces of knowing this.

He said that information was "provided to the commanding officers of the occupying troops. So they perfectly knew that a lot of people had come there for refuge".

"We are very hopeful that most people survive since this it is a special bomb shelter that should provide for protection under such circumstances," he added.

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Lions and bears are among the animals being left uncared for in Ukrainian homes as people flee Russian forces, animal welfare campaigners say.

They estimate there are thousands of captive animals in private homes in Ukraine, including lions, tigers, bears, wolves, crocodiles and pythons. It's legal for people to buy these animals as long as they are bred in captivity.

One animal that's been left to fend for itself is two-year-old lioness, Rura.

Asya Serpinska, 78, runs one of the biggest dog shelters in Ukraine.

When her neighbour's barn in Hostomel, near Kyiv, caught fire after a Russian shell attack on 2 March, Asya ran inside to release birds, rabbits and foxes from the cages she knew they were trapped in.

But she knew her neighbour also had a lioness, Rura - and eventually found her in a basement.

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"She had no-one to feed her and she looked quite restless and disturbed. So we started giving her dog food and water," Asya said.

Heavy shelling stopped Asya from leaving home for the nine days after that, by which time the area around Rura's cage had been mined.

"What is going to happen to these thousands of wild animals in private captivity during this war is a huge issue," says Iryna Korobko, an activist with the Ukrainian Association for Animal Advocates.

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Ukraine has now killed a fourth senior Russian military general, President Volodymyr Zelensky says.

He didn't identify the target, but another government adviser named the officer as Maj Gen Oleg Mityaev and said he'd been killed by Ukraine's far-right Azov Battalion.

If confirmed to be true - it would mean one-fifth of the roughly 20 Russian generals believed to be leading Moscow's invasion have been killed in combat so far.

It's a high number, and we've been reporting on how it's leading some experts to believe that Ukraine may be deliberately targeting high-level Russian officers with lethal force.

The Ukrainian retired tennis player Alexandr Dolgopolov - who once ranked world number 13 - has arrived in Kyiv to help defend the country.

In a message shared on Instagram, Dolgopolov said he had been practising shooting and undergoing weapons training with an ex-soldier before travelling to Ukraine.

"I'm not Rambo in a week, but quite comfortable with the weapons," he wrote. "This is my home, and we will defend it! With all the people that stayed!"

Dolgopolov, 33, who won three ATP titles before retiring last year, also posted a picture of a gun and military gear on Twitter with the caption: "Used to be rackets and strings, now this."

Other famous sports professionals have also headed to Ukraine to fight - including fellow tennis star Sergiy Stakhovsky and boxers Oleksandr Usyk and Vasiliy Lomachenko.

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If you're just joining our live coverage, or want a recap, here are the latest headlines:

• With the war in Ukraine entering its third week, the war of words between world leaders has escalated significantly
• US President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "war criminal" in brief remarks to reporters at a domestic event on Wednesday
• Russia swiftly condemned the comments, denouncing Biden's "unacceptable and unforgivable rhetoric" and accusing the US of killing "hundreds of thousands of people around the world"
• Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky spoke to the US Congress in a virtual address in which he invoked Pearl Harbor and 9/11 and called for more Western support
• The US pledged an additional $1bn (£764m) in weapons to Ukraine - including tactical drones, rocket and grenade launchers, rifles, machine guns, body armour and ammo
• A theatre sheltering some 1,200 civilians in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol was reportedly hit with a large Russian bomb
• In the northern city of Chernihiv, 10 people waiting in a queue for bread were reportedly killed by Russian shelling

• More than three million people have now fled Ukraine, according to the United Nations

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We've had a new update from a US senior defence official about the latest on how the Russian invasion is going.

According to the official, the Russian advances continue to be generally stalled - and there are indications that Russia is deliberating the degree to which it needs to bring in replacement troops from outside Ukraine to join the fight.

The official added:

• The Russians have launched more than 980 missiles
• Russia's military has devoted 75% of its total battalion tactical groups to this invasion
• In the south of Ukraine, Russian warships are shelling areas around Odesa and there is increased naval activity in the northern Black Sea. Mariupol is isolated and the long-range fires are having a deadly effect
• In the north, Russian advances are generally stalled near Kyiv

• The US is talking to allies who have air defence systems that Ukrainians know how to operate - and we can expect air defence systems to be discussed during US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin's trip to Slovakia and Bulgaria

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As we reported earlier, the US is releasing $1bn (£764m) in weapons to Ukraine.

The package consists of $800m in newly approved security assistance and $200 million committed last weekend.

The new military aid includes 800 Stinger missiles to help Ukrainian ground forces deal with low-flying helicopters and airplanes, and 2,000 Javelins with which to engage enemy tanks. The Ukrainian government has asked for both.

For the first time, the US will also send Ukraine 100 "cutting edge" tactical drones to use as guided missiles against enemy tanks or artillery positions.

Other weapons listed in the package are rifles, pistols, machine guns, shotguns and grenade launchers.

The administration is also sending body armour, helmets and more than 20 million rounds of ammunition to Kyiv.

The White House says its current levels of military aid to Ukraine are "more than we had ever provided before".

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One by one, diplomatic bridges between the United States and Russia are being set ablaze.

The latest bit of rhetorical demolition came when Joe Biden labelled Vladimir Putin a war criminal, a move Russia said was "unforgivable".

Mr Biden’s statement was an odd one, albeit not out of keeping for a politician who has a history of making monumental policy shifts in seemingly off-the-cuff remarks (see, for instance, his comments on gay marriage in 2012).

After initially telling a reporter he did not think Mr Putin was a criminal, he came back and reversed himself. If there had been an internal debate at the White House over how to handle the growing calls in Congress and the press to condemn Mr Putin in this way, the president settled it in an aside, not a set-piece speech.

This, of course, will make it harder for Mr Biden and his administration to work with the Russians going forward. Every concession or negotiated agreement, on whatever topic, will invite the rejoinder: How can you associate with a criminal?

Perhaps Mr Biden, in his comments, was simply acknowledging the new reality - that the world's political order has irrevocably shifted, and there’s no going back to the way things were.

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"The best way to stop the threat of another Mariupol is more far-reaching political conversations on peace and ceasefire negotiations," the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer told the BBC on a visit to Kyiv.

Asked about the ICRC’s description of conditions in the besieged southern port city as "apocalyptic", Maurer said it was "important to recognise this wasn't only the ICRC's voice, but the voice of so many civilians trapped in the city".

He said the lack of trust between the warring sides was "the biggest problem" in rescuing civilians stuck between front lines.

Maurer, who has been in close contact with senior Ukrainian and Russian officials, said more people were now escaping through agreed humanitarian corridors.

But he said Mariupol, a key target for Russian forces advancing on Ukraine’s southern coast, was more difficult "in military strategy and political significance". However, even there, he said some civilians were now managing to get out.

Maurer also pointed to another major worry which has brought the head of the ICRC, the guardian of the rules governing war, to Ukraine: "Respect for international humanitarian law and the obligations under the Geneva Conventions with regards to prisoners of war, dead soldiers, missing and detained civilians."

The ICRC’s special role is founded on confidential dialogue with warring sides.

Asked about accusations that Russia was targeting civilian infrastructure, Maurer replied that "basic principles of proportionality and precaution which inform the conduct of hostilities, and the Geneva Conventions, are interpreted in very different ways which is why we try to establish minimal agreement on what we mean by these words".

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A satellite image, taken by Maxar two days ago, shows the word "children" written in large white letters in Russian at the front and the rear of the Mariupol theatre.

As we've been reporting, local officials said the theatre was being used by hundreds of civilians for shelter before it was bombed by Russian forces today.

They said it was deliberately and cynically targeted by a Russian warplane, but the details have not been independently verified. Russia's defence ministry denied attacking the theatre.

In an interview with BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says "in one important sense, Putin has already failed".

The prime minister says the Russian president "did not understand what he would encounter when he sent his troops in to Ukraine" and the "strength of their resistance".

He accused Putin of "committing a series of war crimes" on a level which has not been since in Europe "since the Third Reich, not since the Second World War".

Johnson says the UK wants to do more and feels "the agony of Ukrainians".

"Putin needs to realise that he cannot now succeed," he says.

"He won't be able to crush and conquer Ukraine, because they've shown fundamentally that they have an indomitable spirit. So... he's got to withdraw. He's got to close this thing down. He's got to take back his his tanks and his armour.

"And there's got to be as a solution that respects the will of the Ukrainian people. And that's what the UK will support."

The mayor of Melitopol, who was reportedly kidnapped by Russia forces five days ago, has been freed, according to advisers to the Ukrainian president.

President Volodymyr Zelensky had accused Russia of moving to a "new stage of terror" after Ukraine showed footage of what it said was the mayor, Ivan Fedorov, being led away blindfolded.

Melitopol was one of the first cities to fall to Russian forces, and a new mayor was installed. Ukraine's government also accused Russia of abducting the mayor of the town of Dniprorudne.

After announcing Fedorov's release, Ukrainian officials posted a video on social media of Zelensky calling the mayor and telling him he was "glad to hear the voice of a living man".

Fedorov is heard thanking the president for "not abandoning me" and to say he will need "one or two days to recover, and then I will be at your command to contribute to our victory".