Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine
More than seven million people have fled Ukraine since war broke out, the UN refugee agency has said.
The number of people who have crossed the country's borders stood at 7,252,542 since the Russian invasion began on February 24, the UNHCR’s tally showed on Wednesday.
There were 4,793,216 refugees from Ukraine recorded across Europe, with Poland, Russia and Moldova the top host countries, it said.
The war in Ukraine has sent refugees fleeing from all parts of the country as fighting exploded in the capital, Kyiv — where Ukrainian fighters forced Russia’s military to withdraw — and in the east where Russia wants control of the Donbas region.
Ukrainian refugees arrive in Europe - in pictures
Few will be returning to the industrial city of Severodonetsk in the near future after Ukrainian forces pulled back from the city following a fierce Russian assault, the regional governor said on Wednesday.
Russia has concentrated its troops and firepower on the small eastern city in the Donbas as it tries to secure the surrounding province.
Ukraine has vowed to fight there for as long as possible, saying the battle could help shape the war's course.
“ … Our [forces] now again control only the outskirts of the city. But the fighting is still going on, our [forces] are defending Severodonetsk, it is impossible to say the Russians completely control the city,” governor Serhiy Gaidai said.
He said earlier that Russian forces would step up their bombardment of both Severodonetsk and its smaller twin city of Lysychansk on the west bank of the Siverskyi Donets River.
Ukrainian police released footage showing the evacuation of elderly people from Lysychansk. Removals had been stopped for about a week by shelling of the main road.
Russian forces have 10 times more equipment than Ukrainian troops in some areas of Severodonetsk, said Ukraine's defence ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk.
Two provinces, Luhansk and Donetsk, form the Donbas, which is claimed by Russia for its separatist proxies who have held eastern parts of the region since 2014.
Russian forces have been attacking the Ukrainian-held part of the Donbas from the north, east and south in an effort to encircle Ukrainian forces in the area.
In Sloviansk, one of the main Donbas cities still held by Ukraine, women with small children lined up to collect aid while other residents carried buckets of water across the city.
Most residents have fled but authorities say about 24,000 remain in the city, in the path of an expected assault by Russian forces regrouping to the north.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office said two people were killed and two others wounded in the Luhansk region in the 24-hour period, while five civilians were wounded in Donetsk, and four were killed and 11 wounded in the Kharkiv region.
In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, residents cleaned up rubble from shelling carried out the previous day.
Ukraine pushed Russian forces back last month from the city's outskirts, but Russia still strikes it sporadically.
Russia-Ukraine conflict - in pictures
Five films to watch
Castle in the Sky (1986)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Only Yesterday (1991)
Pom Poki (1994)
The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
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NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 290hp
Torque: 340Nm
Price: Dh155,800
On sale: now
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
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Fixtures (all in UAE time)
Friday
Everton v Burnley 11pm
Saturday
Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur 3.30pm
West Ham United v Southampton 6pm
Wolves v Fulham 6pm
Cardiff City v Crystal Palace 8.30pm
Newcastle United v Liverpool 10.45pm
Sunday
Chelsea v Watford 5pm
Huddersfield v Manchester United 5pm
Arsenal v Brighton 7.30pm
Monday
Manchester City v Leicester City 11pm
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets