Ukraine news – live: Russia warns of ‘Satan 2’ missile as Odesa attacked

Russia has announced it will deploy its recently tested “Satan II” missile by the autumn, as tensions between Moscow and the west mount amid the Ukraine war.

The missile is capable of carrying 10 or more nuclear warheads and decoys, and of striking targets thousands of miles away in the United States or Europe.

The UN’s Ukraine crisis coordinator, Amin Awad, has called for an “immediate stop” to fighting in Mariupol to allow the evacuation of trapped civilians in the battered city “today”.

“The lives of tens of thousands, including women, children and older people, are at stake in Mariupol,” Mr Awad said in a statement. “We need a pause in fighting right now to save lives.

“The longer we wait the more lives will be at risk. They must be allowed to safely evacuate now, today. Tomorrow could be too late.”

His call comes after an attempted evacuation from Mariupol by Ukraine on Saturday failed, with Kyiv saying it was “thwarted” by Russian forces.

Turkey is ready to give all possible assistance during the negotiation process between Ukraine and Russia, President Erdogan told President Zelensky during a telephone call.

Mr Erdogan said the evacuation of the wounded and civilians in Mariupol must be ensured, adding that Turkey viewed the guarantor issue positively in principle.

More than 2.9 million people have fled Ukraine to Poland since the war began, said the Polish Border Guard.

The border force said that 15,100 people were cleared to enter Poland on Saturday, in comparison to 17,700 the previous day.

Yesterday 21,100 people left Poland for Ukraine.

“There were bits of corpses all over the ground,” said Ruslan, 39, who escaped the besieged city of Mariupol with his wife and daughter to Zaporizhia.

My colleague Bel Trew takes a look at how Ukraine has been changed forever by the war.

As Orthodox Christians celebrated Easter, the governor of Ukraine’s Luhansk said seven of the region’s churches had been “mutilated by Russian artillery”.

“Usually we would come to our churches with Easter baskets. But now this is impossible,” Serhiy Gaidai said.

The Independent is unable to independently verify his report.

“Do you think they are going to come and kill me?” a seven-year-old asked his British-Ukrainian father shortly after the war with Russia broke out.

My colleague Maryam Zakir-Hussain takes a look at how children in the UK have reacted to the conflict:

Speaking from the 1,000-year-old Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv on Orthodox Easter, Ukraine’s president Zelenskiy said his country would overcome the Russian invasion.

“Today, we still believe in the new victory of Ukraine and we are all convinced that we will not be destroyed by any horde or wickedness,” he said.

“We are overcoming dark times and on this day I – and most of us – are not in bright clothes, but we are fighting for a luminous idea.”

Two Ukrainian children have been killed by Russian shelling in Donetsk, the region’s governor has said.

Pavlo Kyrylenko said a 5-year-old and a 14-year-old girl had died in Ocheretynsk when their home was destroyed on Sunday.

He urged civilians to flee the fighting.