Friday is the 23rd day of war in Ukraine, after the invasion launched by Moscow at the end of February.
The fighting has forced more than three million Ukrainians to flee their homes, with thousands of people killed or wounded and widespread damage in the wake of shelling and aerial bombardments.
Here are the latest key developments to know:
- Rescue workers are still trying to reach hundreds of people they think may have survived a Russian attack on a Mariupol theatre being used as a shelter.
- Reports say around 130 people have been rescued so far but more than a thousand were thought to be inside at the time.
- Italy’s culture minister says his country will rebuild the badly damaged theatre.
- Air raid sirens sounded in the western city of Lviv just before dawn with reports the airport was attacked.
- Russia’s will not ask for a UN vote on its resolution about the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, which was criticised by Western countries for not mentioning Russia’s responsibility for invading Ukraine.
- US President Joe Biden will speak to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at 2pm CET to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Italy ready to rebuild bombed Mariupol theatre
Italy’s culture minister said his country will rebuild Mariupol theatre, which was badly damaged in a Russian bombing earlier this week.
Writing on Twitter, Dario Franceschini said that a proposal he made to the cabinet was approved, to offer Ukraine the “resources and means to rebuild it as soon as possible.”
“Theatres of all countries belong to the whole humanity” he added.
