Ukraine latest: Volodymyr Zelensky addresses G7 leaders, PM says cost of Ukraine support is price worth paying

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has called for a ceasefire in Ukraine at his meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

Mr Guterres is visiting Moscow and is then scheduled to visit the Ukrainian capital Kyiv this week.

“We are extremely interested in finding ways in order to create the conditions for effective dialogue, create the conditions for a ceasefire as soon as possible, create the conditions for a peaceful solution,” Mr Guterres said, speaking in televised comments at the start of the meeting.

Mr Guterres also said he wanted to reduce the impact of fighting in Ukraine on food security in other parts of the world.

Mr Lavrov said they would discuss “the situation around Ukraine that acts as a catalyst for a great number of problems which had piled up over recent decades in the Euro-Atlantic region”.

A new mass grave has been found in the city of Mariupol, Ukrainian officers have said.

Bodies have been found around six miles north of the city, which has been a key location for fighting in recent weeks.

Mayor Vadym Boychenko has said that authorities are currently working to figure out how many bvodies have been buried in the grave.

It comes after satallite images appeared to show mass grave around the region.

Donald Trump has said that while he was in power he “threatened” Russian president Vladimir Putin over the threat of invading Ukraine.

The former US president spoke about his conversations with the Russian leader duing an interview with Piers Morgan.

He said: “I told him what our response would be, and he said, ‘Really?’ And I said, ‘Really,’”

“I threatened him like he’s never been threatened before.”

Mr Trump also criticised Germany’s relationship with Russia, revealing that he clashed with former German Chancellor Angela Merkel over the country’s reliance on Russian energy.

At least five people have been killed after Russian rockets struck two towns in Ukraine's central Vinnytsia region, officials have said.

According to local officials, 18 were wounded in the strikes on transport infrastructure in Zhmerynka and Kozyatyn.

"The enemy is attempting to hit critical infrastructure," the regional governor is quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace gave his view on what “success” might look like in Ukraine, and he said that Putin must be forced into a total retreat from the country.

Commons Defence Select Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood asked: “What does success in Ukraine look like? Are we doing enough to prevent Ukraine from losing but not enough to make sure that they win? What is our strategy?

“Is it to push Russia back from the pre-February lines or indeed liberate the entire Donbas region? If it is in Europe’s wider security interest to see Putin humiliated in Ukraine then the entire mainland must be liberated, that must be our strategic end.”

Mr Wallace replied: “Our strategic aim is twofold. One is that Putin must fail in Ukraine, he must fail in his invasion and I think he is on course to do that actually. He must fail in his occupation of Ukraine and I think he has definitely failed in achieving that.

“To the fine tuning of that, that is as much a matter of Ukraine’s choice as it is of anybody else – that Ukraine gets to choose where it wishes to settle for peace. We will do everything we can to support them.

“For my part, I want Putin not only beyond the pre-February boundaries. He invaded Crimea illegally, he invaded Donetsk illegally and he should comply with international law and in the long run leave Ukraine.”

As reported last week, the UK is sending a number of Stormer armoured vehicles to support Ukraine’s defense against Russian air strikes.

In a statement to parliament, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the armoured vehicles will give Ukrainian forces “enhanced, short-range anti-air capabilities both day and night”.

Mr Wallace told the Commons that “as we can see from Ukrainians’ requests, more still needs to be done”.

He added: “So, for that reason I can now announce to the House that we shall be gifting a small number of armoured vehicles fitted with launchers for those anti-air missiles.

“The Stormer vehicles will give Ukrainian forces enhanced, short-range anti-air capabilities both day and night.”

What are Stormers? Here’s everything you need to know.

Five railway stations have come under attack in central and western Ukraine, Ukrainian officials have said.

They are important targets for the Russians, given their use in supplying the Ukrainian resistance and also transporting civilians away from the conflict.

Writing on Telegram, Vitalii Koval, the head of Rivne Regional Military Administration, said: "The enemy launched two missile strikes on the railway infrastructure.

"The damage is being established, there are no casualties. We strongly recommend that you be in shelters during air alerts.”

Russia has only made “minor advances” in its campaign to take the Donbas region, according to the latest Ministry of Defence update.

It reads: “Russia has made minor advances in some areas since shifting its focus to fully occupying the Donbas. Without sufficient logistical and combat support enablers in place, Russia has yet to achieve a significant breakthrough.

“Russia’s decision to besiege rather than attack Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant means many Russian units remain fixed in the city and cannot be redeployed. Ukraine’s defence of Mariupol has also exhausted many Russian units and reduced their combat effectiveness.

“Russia’s Ministry of Defence has proposed compensation payments for the families of deceased service personnel be overseen by military rather than civilian officials. This likely reflects a desire to hide the true scale of Russia’s losses from the domestic population.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said Russia is failing in its war aims and “Ukraine is succeeding”.

His secretive visit to Kyiv along with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin was the highest-level American visit to the capital since Russia invaded in late February.

They told Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky and his advisers that the US will provide more than 300 million dollars (£234 million) in foreign military financing and had approved a 165 million dollar (£128 million) sale of ammunition.

In footage later released by the Ukrainian presidency of the meeting, Mr Blinken praised the “extraordinary courage and leadership and success that you’ve had in pushing back this horrific Russian aggression”.

“We got used to seeing you on video around the world, but it’s great, it’s good to see you in person,” he said with a smile.

Two fires broke out early this morning in the Russian city of Bryansk, close to the Ukrainian border, according to Russian media, citing emergency services.

No reason has been given for the incidents and there was no immediate indication that they were related to the war, although Russia has previously accused Ukraine of an air strike on the same region.