Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi says his troops have taken up new positions west of Berdychi, Semenivka and Novomykhailivka in order to conserve their forces while armed forces minister Leo Docherty tells the UK Defence Journal tens of thousands have deserted Russian's military since February 2022.
Sunday 28 April 2024 22:34, UK
That's all from our live coverage for tonight. For a reminder of today's updates, you can scroll back through this live blog.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is still waiting for promised supplies from its allies, urging the international community to hurry up.
In his nightly video address today, he said: "We are expecting those volumes and scope that can change the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine's interests."
He also said he had spoken with US House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, and had thanked Congress for passing the long-awaited aid package for Ukraine.
"In my conversation with Mr Jeffries, I underscored that Patriot systems are needed, and as soon as possible," he said.
Ukrainian forces are facing a worsening position in the east and are still awaiting the delivery of US weapons.
Mr Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for more air defence systems to protect its citizens and infrastructure, particularly the Patriot systems.
Russia will start restricting those called up for military service from leaving the country, according to news site Meduza.
Electronic summonses will reportedly be sent out from 1 November.
Those who are called up will not be allowed to leave Russia, and they will face further restrictions if they do not go to a military registration and enlistment office within 20 days.
In that case, they will not be allowed to register to run a business, drive a car, take out loans, or conduct real estate transactions, Meduza said.
New satellite imagery appears to show damage at Russia's Kushchyovskaya military airbase in the Krasnodar region.
Planet Labs shared images comparing how the base looked on 19 March compared with today.
A source in Ukraine's security and defence forces earlier told Ukrainian media that Kyiv had launched drone strikes against the airbase and two oil refineries overnight.
They told the Kyiv Independent the SBU and Ukraine's Defence Forces hit the airbase where "dozens of military aircraft, radars, and electronic warfare devices were stationed".
Earlier we brought you news of a Russian drone strike on the Black Sea city of Mykolaiv.
The attack set a hotel ablaze and damaged energy infrastructure, Ukrainian officials said.
Vitaliy Kim, the governor of the southern Mykolaiv region, said in an update the attack had "seriously damaged" the hotel.
The strike also damaged heat-generating infrastructure in the city.
There were no casualties, he said.
A priest sprinkles holy water on believers holding willow branches during an Orthodox Palm Sunday service.
The service is being held in Donetsk, in an area occupied by Russian forces.
Russia gained full control of the city of Donetsk in October 2022, but the area has been a major site of fighting since 2014.
The majority of people in Ukraine are Orthodox Christian, although they follow different branches.
As we've been reporting, Russia has been pushing forward in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.
Ukrainian military officials say their troops are falling back to new positions in at least three places along the frontlines.
But they are facing public criticism about the transparency of their military updates.
Ukrainian military blogger Myroshnykov and Ukraine's DeepState monitoring group, which updates daily changes in frontline positions, both say the updates have been unrealistic.
DeepState shared a video on social media of a Russian soldier being killed in a drone strike in the village of Soloviove, arguing such footage was being used to mask a bigger picture.
"You can watch with pleasure forever the video of a Russian [soldier] being torn to pieces, but nearby there is another location that requires attention: Muscovites calmly moving around the village, keeping it under control.
"The [Ukrainian] Defence Forces inflict fire damage on them, and one can repeat at least a billion times that two-thirds of the village is under the control of the Ukrainian military, but the picture of reality is completely different."
It appeared to be referring to a statement from Nazar Voloshyn, a spokesperson for Ukraine's military in the east, who also said the nearby village of Ocheretyne was still two-thirds controlled by Ukraine.
However, DeepState says it believes Russian troops have been in control of the centre of Ocheretyne for at least three days.
The site accused some military spokespersons of incompetence last week.
Police have arrested a 57-year-old Russian on suspicion of murder following the killings yesterday evening, German news agency dpa reported.
The two Ukrainians were 23 and 36 years old, and lived in the southern German county of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
They were killed at a shopping centre in the village of Murnau in Upper Bavaria.
The names of the victims and suspect have not been released due to German privacy rules.
It is not clear if the men knew each other.
More than one million Ukrainian refugees fled to Germany following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Donald Trump's stance on Ukraine is "not as black and white as some people think", the Polish foreign minister has said.
The former US president, who is running for election again this year, has said he will not commit to providing Ukraine with defence assistance.
Republicans aligned with Mr Trump were also the reason behind a six-month delay to aid for Ukraine.
But foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in an interview with the Axel Springer media company that Mr Trump had sent Ukraine anti-tank missiles before Russia's invasion "when others were not doing it".
He was referring to Javelin anti-tank missiles supplied by the US in 2018.
Mr Sikorski also said Mr Trump was "right in urging us all in Europe to spend more on defence".
He said he "did not hear any protests from Trump" once the $61bn aid package for Ukraine was approved.
"So, I hope that candidate Trump has seen that this opposition to helping Ukraine is not actually popular in the United States, that it is harming his chances [to be re-elected]," he added.
Earlier we reported that a top Ukrainian general said troops had fallen back from three villages in the east of the country.
We can now bring you more from Oleksandr Syrskyi, the chief of Ukraine's armed forces, about the situation on the ground.
Mr Syrskyi said the Donetsk region (in the east) remains one of the hottest sectors of the frontline as Russia continues its offensive.
He described the situation in the eastern cities of Pokrovsk and Kurakhove as "the most difficult one" now.
Russia is reportedly using up to four brigades (anywhere from an estimated 8,000 to 32,000 personnel) to conduct assault operations in the direction of both the cities, which lie west of Avdiivka, which was captured earlier this year.
Mr Syrskyi said the situation is changing "dynamically" on the frontline as a result.
Meanwhile, Mr Syrskyi said the situation in the south also remains "intense" as Russia tries to advance near the village of Krynky in Kherson.
It also wants to advance towards the villages of Robotyne and Verbove villages in Zaporizhzhia.
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