The essential
Fighting continues in Soledar, a town in eastern Ukraine that the two sides have been fighting over since Monday.
The Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister confirmed that "the situation was difficult" for the forces of kyiv, opposed to the Wagner militia.
Evgueni Prigojine, Putin's éminence grise and leader of the paramilitary group, hopes to obtain his first victory there.
Moscow on Wednesday appointed a new chief of staff to lead operations in Ukraine.
kyiv still urges Germany to deliver heavy "Leopards" tanks.
Berlin has not responded yet.
06:47
No new prisoner swap deal between Russia and Ukraine
Russia and Ukraine have not signed a new prisoner swap deal with Turkey, the Moscow human rights ombudsman has claimed.
Ukrainian and Russian human rights officers Dmytro Loubinets and Tatiana Moskalkova held talks earlier this week in Ankara.
The Turkish state news agency Anadolu had announced an agreement for the exchange of more than 40 prisoners from both sides.
06:44
A meeting of the Security Council in the evening
The UN Security Council is due to meet at 8 p.m. GMT on Friday to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
06:39
Zelensky promises to provide "everything necessary" to his men deployed in Soledar and Bakhmout
"I want to emphasize that the units defending these cities will be supplied with ammunition and all the necessary in a quick and uninterrupted way," the Ukrainian president said on Facebook Thursday after a meeting with his general staff.
06:39
Hello and welcome to this live.
We will follow the situation in Ukraine together.