President Vladimir Putin was flown into Mariupol by helicopter in what is thought to be his first trip to Ukrainian territory that Moscow annexed in September.
Russian State TV showed Mr Putin driving a car in the early hours of Sunday as he took a tour of the city that was destroyed by one of the most violent sieges of the war.
He visited several sites, was presented with a report on the reconstruction work of the city and appeared to speak with residents in what is likely to be a carefully choreographed trip.
On Saturday, Mr Putin traveled to Crimea, a short distance southwest of Mariupol, to mark the ninth anniversary of the Black Sea peninsula’s annexation from Ukraine.
The visits came days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader accusing him of war crimes.
09:39 AM
Pictured: Emergency service workers extinguish a fire in a house after a Russian shelling in Kostiantynivka
09:20 AM
Russian teachers and parents resisting Kremlin’s attempts to brainwash children
When Maria, an English teacher at a prestigious private school outside Moscow, first heard that the Education Ministry was introducing a new weekly class to promote the Kremlin’s world view, she was “appalled”.
The “Talking about What’s Important” sessions were initially intended to extol the virtues of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine among other things when they were launched last year.
However, they have since been watered down to revolve around more innocuous subjects such as Russia’s greatest scientists or national holidays, according to lesson plans seen by The Telegraph.
Read the full story from Nataliya Vasilyeva here
09:18 AM
Two killed and 10 wounded in eastern Ukraine
Russian strikes killed two people and wounded 10 in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on Saturday, a regional governor said, accusing Moscow of using cluster bombs in the attack.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of Donetsk region – where Kramatorsk is located – said on his official Telegram channel that Russian forces had targeted a park and damaged “a dozen residential buildings”, and fired “cluster munitions”.
“They purposefully hit the city, trying to kill as many of its civilians as possible,” Kyrylenko said.
09:16 AM
Good morning
Good morning and welcome to today’s Ukraine liveblog.
We will be guiding you through all the latest developments on Ukraine.