Russian military

Ukrainian defenders of a steel plant in Mariupol say Russian forces have started to storm the last pocket of resistance.

The move comes almost two weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military not to storm the plant, but rather block it off.

The ruble will be introduced in the Russian-controlled Kherson region of Ukraine on May 1, a spokesman for the region's pro-Russian military-civil administration said.

Nuclear threat and World War III, new attacks and casualties, more aid to Kyiv. Here are the highlights of events in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Five victims of attacks on railway stations

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that he will suspend peace talks with Russia if the last defenders of Mariupol are killed. The strategically important city has been under siege by Russian forces for weeks, and planned evacuations have been canceled due to heavy shelling.

Bulgarian Consul Sergei Zhelev has not been abducted but is safe in his home. This was announced by the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Earlier today the mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov announced that the Russian military had kidnapped the honorary consul of Bulgaria Sergei Zhelev in the city.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that the Russian invasion of his country was just the beginning and that Moscow had plans to invade other countries, Reuters reported.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said peace talks on Ukraine are likely to fail. He added: "Dealing with Putin is like a crocodile biting your leg." He argues that it is vital that the West continue to supply Ukraine with weapons.

These types of internationally banned weapons have been repeatedly used by the Russian military since it invaded Ukraine in February

The Russian embassy in Bulgaria, headed by the infamous Eleonora Mitrofanova, posted a comment on Facebook, claiming that Ukraine was planning a provocation in the Odessa region. The embassy said in a statement that "in the near future it is planned to disguise one of the SBU units in the form of the Russian military and to carry out a demonstrative shooting of civilians."

Russian troops who had occupied the Chernobyl nuclear power plant have looted items with very high radiation backgrounds.