The flagship, Moskva, was allegedly struck with at least two rockets, Odesa authorities claim. The Kremlin said it sustained damage after a fire broke out.
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It is day 50 of the war in Ukraine, as Russian forces are expected to begin a new big offensive in the east of the country after their retreat from the Kyiv region and other parts of the country revealed growing evidence of human rights atrocities.
Despite Moscow's blanket denials, horrific discoveries of civilian murders, torture and other barbaric acts continue coming to light, with Ukrainian authorities claiming tens of thousands of civilian casualties in Mariupol alone.
Kyiv forces continue to prepare for the renewed assault, while Western nations keep tightening sanctions against Moscow and NATO and condemnations of Vladimir Putin's actions continue to grow.
Follow Thursday's events as they unfold in our blog below, or watch TV coverage in the video player above.
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Live ended
Thursday's key points:
The flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet has sunk after it was badly damaged and its crew evacuated due to a possible Ukrainian missile hit on Thursday. The Kremlin claims it was a fire not an attack.
Russia has threatened a military build-up, should Finland or Sweden join NATO.
Kyiv said it's reached agreement to reopen humanitarian corridors to resume in Mariupol.
Mariupol's mayor claims Russian planes dropped chemical agent on the outskirts of the southern port city on 11 April.
Europe is "still not united enough to make Ukraine much stronger and Russia much weaker," Slovenian Prime Miniter Janez Janša told Euronews on Thursday.
Joe Biden accused Vladimir Putin of 'genocide', although Macron stopped short of repeating the term arguing against an 'escalation of words'.
Vladimir Putin vows Russia's goals in Ukraine will be achieved as they press on with military action. He said the negotiations were now in a deadlock.
Russia claims Ukraine has struck its territory with airstrikes. This cannot be independently verified.
New mass graves were unearthed in Bucha on Wednesday, as Ukrainian authorities state that at least 720 civilians were killed in this and other Kyiv suburbs.
More than 4.6 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russia's invasion, with millions being displaced internally, mostly in the western parts of the country.
Additionally, 4.8 million of Ukraine’s 7.5 million children have been displaced since 24 February, said UNICEF.
This is the end of today's live blog. Euronews is signing off.
Russia's flagship now lies on the seabed
The flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, the Moskva, has sunk, the Russian Defence Ministry has announced.
The Moskva, which has a crew of 500 and carries 16 cruise missiles, was badly damaged in a possible Ukrainian missile strike earlier today, although Russia claimed there was a fire on board, not an attack.
"During the towing of the cruiser Moskva to the port of destination, the ship lost its stability due to hull damage sustained in the fire from the detonation of ammunition. In rough sea conditions, the ship sank," said the ministry, as quoted by the state agency TASS.
Jewel of Russia's fleet in tatters
Russia's navy sustained a devastating blow on Thursday when the flagship of the country's Black Sea fleet was purportedly struck by a Ukrainian missile.
The warship, sailing off the south of Odesa, was badly damaged and its 500 strong crew were evacuated after fire broke out, although Russia maintains there was no attack.
If confirmed, the loss of the ship would be a major blow for Russia, both symbolically and militarily, as the country tries to launch its renewed offensive in the east of Ukraine.
The Moskva, which can carry 16 long-range cruise missiles, was still battling flames hours later while heading east, according to a Pentagon official.
Its removal from combat would significantly dampen Russia's firepower in the Black Sea.
French Embassy returns to Kyiv
France is moving its Ukrainian embassy back to Kyiv from the western city of Lviv, since Russian troops have withdrawn from the area around the capital.
A moving date has not yet been confirmed.
France maintained its embassy in Kyiv at the outbreak of war, but relocated to safer Lviv in March.
Europe 'still not united enough' on Ukraine, Slovenian PM tells Euronews
Europe is "still not united enough to make Ukraine much stronger and Russia much weaker," Slovenian Prime Miniter Janez Janša told Euronews correspondent Anelise Borges on Thursday, stating that the EU needed to send "military aid".
"I think that the European reaction on the Russian aggression was much more united and much stronger than it was expected in the Kremlin," Janša said but added that it was "not strong enough".
"We have to concentrate on military aid to Ukraine because otherwise, this war will go on," Janša added.
Read the full story here.
Ukrainian parliament votes to call Russian actions 'genocide'
The Ukrainian Parliament voted on Thursday to recognise the actions of the Russian army in Ukraine as "genocide", according to its Telegram channel.
"Russia's actions aim to systematically and coherently destroy the Ukrainian people, to deprive them of the right to self-determination and independent development," states the text voted by a majority of 363 votes.
Macron declines to use the term 'genocide' to describe Russia's Ukraine war
French President Emmanuel Macron declined to use the term "genocide" to describe Russia's war in Ukraine, arguing against an "escalation of words."
“The word genocide must be spelt out by jurists, not by politicians,” he said when asked about US President Joe Biden's use of the term earlier in the week.
Macron added he will do “everything to end this war and stay by the Ukrainians’ side.”
(AP)
Russia accuses Ukraine of border airstrikes
Authorities in Russia have accused Ukrainian forces of launching airstrikes on the Russin region of Bryansk, which borders Ukraine.
Russia’s Investigative Committee alleged that at least six houses in the village of Klimovo were damaged and seven people, including a toddler, sustained injuries in the attack.
It claimed two Ukrainian military helicopters entered Russia’s air space on Thursday and, “moving at low altitude, acting deliberately, carried out at least six airstrikes on residential buildings in the village of Klimovo,” about 11 kilometres away from the Russian border.
Russia's report could not be independently verified.
This strike is the latest in a string of allegations of cross-border Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
Earlier in April, Ukraine's top security officials denied that Kyiv was behind an airstrike on an oil depot in the Russian city of Belgorod, 35 miles from the border.
(AP)
Putin claims phasing out Russian gas will be 'painful'
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that attempts to phase out Russian gas will be "quite painful for the initiators of such policies."
Speaking on Thursday, he warned Western countries that shifting away from Russian gas would negatively impact their economies.
“There is simply no reasonable replacement for it [Russian gas] in Europe now,” he argued.
Putin said “supplies from other countries that could be sent to Europe, primarily from the United States, would cost consumers many times more.”
This, he added, would “affect people’s standard of living and the competitiveness of the European economy.”
40% of the EU's natural gas currently comes from Russia.
(AP)
Ukrainian prisoners freed in swap with Russia.
Thirty Ukrainian prisoners have been released in a prisoner exchange with Russia, Kyiv announced on Thursday.
"On the orders of President Volodymyr Zelensky, a fourth prisoner exchange took place today," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Verechtchuk wrote on Telegram. "Five officers and 17 soldiers were exchanged, as well as eight civilians including a woman."
Our citizens are going home today," she added.
Five days ago 12 Ukrainian soldiers and 14 civilians were freed by Russian forces in a separate prison exchange.
(AP)
France freezes Russian-owned properties
The French government says it will freeze 33 properties on the French Riviera, Paris and elsewhere, belonging to sanctioned Russian oligarchs over the war in Ukraine.
Combined, the properties are estimated to be worth more than half a billion euros.
An opulent chateau overlooking the Mediterranean on the Cap d’Antibes, reportedly belonging to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, is one of the properties.
Frozen properties still belong to their owners and they can continue living in them. But they cannot be sold or rented out.
Nearly 24 billion euros worth of Russian assets has been frozen or seized in France, including three yachts, four transport ships, six helicopters and three artworks, alongside financial assets and properties.
(AP)
Russia warns of nuclear deployment if Sweden and Finland join NATO
Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that if Finland or Sweden joined NATO, Russia would strengthen its military assets, including nuclear, in the region.
It comes after Finland yesterday said a decision on whether to apply for NATO membership would be made in a matter of "weeks not months", while Sweden is debating the prospect.
Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said in the event of membership, "the borders of the Alliance with Russia would more than double. And these borders, they will have to be defended".
"In this case, there can be no question of a non-nuclear Baltic", he added, also referring to the deployments of infantry and anti-aircraft systems in the northwest of Russia and ships in the Gulf of Finland.
Referring to Finns and Swedes, he said "no one of sane mind (...) can wish for an increase in tensions on his border and to have Iskander (missiles) next to his house, (missiles) hypersonic and ships with nuclear weapons".
Moskva 'has not sunk'
Moskva, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, has not sunk and explosions on board have stopped, Russia's defence ministry has said.
Earlier Moscow admitted the ship had been "severely damaged".
Ukraine claims it hit Moskva -- made infamous during the Snake Island incident earlier in the war -- with two missiles causing it "serious damage".
Moscow concedes the ship was damaged without clarifying whether it was hit by Ukrainian missiles. Russia's defence ministry said "due to a fire, ammunition exploded on board" and that its crew were safely evacuated from the vessel. It added a probe would try to establish the cause of the fire.
Superyacht seized in Hamburg
German authorities say they have seized a superyacht in Hamburg after determining that it belongs to the sister of Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov.
The Federal Criminal Police Office said Wednesday that, after “extensive investigations” and despite “offshore concealment”, it had been able to determine that the owner is Gulbakhor Ismailova, Usmanov’s sister.
Superyacht Dilbar is flagged in the Cayman Islands and registered to a holding company in Malta, two banking havens where the global ultra-rich often park their wealth. It was launched in 2016 at a reported cost of more than $648 million.
The German police office said German authorities worked in Brussels to ensure that European Union sanctions applied to the owner. It says the yacht can no longer be sold, rented, or loaded.
The United States and EU last month announced economic sanctions against Usmanov, a metals magnate, over his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.
(AP)
Poland and Baltic leaders visit Kyiv
The presidents of four countries on Russia's doorstep visited Ukraine on Wednesday and underscored their support for the country, demanding accountability for what they called war crimes carried out by Russian forces.
The visit by the presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia was a strong show of solidarity from the countries on NATO's eastern flank, three of them like Ukraine once part of the Soviet Union.
The leaders travelled by train to Kyiv to meet with their counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy and visited Borodianka, one of the nearby towns where evidence of atrocities was found after Russian troops withdrew to focus on the country's east.
Read more on their visit here.
'Humanitarian corridors to resume in Mariupol'
It's hoped more civilians will be able to be evacuated from the besieged city of Mariupol after Kyiv announced the reopening of so-called humanitarian corridors.
Iryna Verechtchuk, Ukraine's deputy prime minister, said on Thursday that Mariupol was one of nine places where corridors will resume.
The other places include Berdyansk, Tokmak and Energodar.
Zelenskyy expresses gratitude to Western allies who 'helped us from first day'
In his late-night address to the nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude for the visit by the presidents of Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.
He said the leaders “have helped us from the first day, those who did not hesitate to give us weapons, those who did not doubt whether to impose sanctions.”
Zelenskyy also said he’s “sincerely thankful” to the US for the new round of $800 million (€732.8m) in military assistance.
In his telephone conversation with US President Joe Biden, Zelenskyy said they discussed the new weapons shipment, even tougher sanctions against Russia and efforts to bring to justice those Russian soldiers who committed war crimes in Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities deny Moscow's claim of Mariupol troops surrender
A Ukrainian official has rejected Russia’s claims that more than 1,000 Ukrainian troops have surrendered in the besieged southeastern port of Mariupol.
Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said Wednesday that 1,026 troops from the Ukrainian 36th Marine Brigade surrendered at a metals plant in the city.
But Vadym Denysenko, advisor to Ukraine’s Interior Minister, denied the claim in comments to the Current Time TV channel, saying that they haven’t heard anything like that and the battle over the seaport is ongoing.
“According to official data of [Ukraine’s] Defense Ministry and the General Staff, we haven’t heard anything like that,” Denysenko said. “Moreover, I will say [...] that the battle over the seaport is still ongoing today.”
UN report: Moscow's invasion of Ukraine could destroy economies of developing countries
A UN task force is warning in a new report that Russia’s war against Ukraine threatens to devastate the economies of many developing countries that are now facing even higher food and energy costs and increasingly difficult financial conditions.
Rebeca Grynspan, secretary-general of the UN agency promoting trade and development who coordinated the task force, said 107 countries have “severe exposure” to at least one dimension of the food, energy and finance crisis.
Another 69 countries are severely exposed to all three and face “very difficult financial conditions with no fiscal space, and with no external financing to cushion the blow,” she stated.
The report urges countries to ensure a steady flow of food and energy through open markets, and it calls on international financial institutions to do everything possible to ensure more liquidity immediately.
Russia admits its flagship 'seriously damaged'
Ukrainian forces in the Odesa region have struck the Russian guided-missile cruiser Moskva with two missiles and caused “serious damage,” governor Maksym Marchenko said on Wednesday night.
Moskva is the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, made infamous during the capture of Ukraine's Snake Island early on in the war.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the ship was damaged on early Thursday, but not that it was hit by Ukraine.
The Ministry says ammunition on board detonated as a result of a fire — whose causes “were being established” — and the Moskva’s entire crew was evacuated.
Child casualties 'almost certainly' much higher than reported, humanitarian org claims
Although reports claim that at least 153 children were killed in the war in Ukraine so far, Save the Children fears the number could be much higher, the international humanitarian organisation said in a statement on Thursday.
The UN has been able to verify the deaths of 153 children and recorded 246 injured so far, although the real number is almost certainly much higher.
“All children in Ukraine are in imminent danger as an increasing number of hospitals and schools come under attack,” Save the Children said.
The latest data from the UN estimates that 2.8 million children are now displaced within Ukraine and another two million have fled to neighbouring countries. This means 64% of Ukraine’s children, or 4.8 million, are now on the move.