???? Live: Detained US journalist ‘violated Russian law’, says the Kremlin

1:30pm: Denmark says decision on fighter jets for Ukraine likely ‘before summer’

Denmark’s defence minister says he expects the Danes and their allies to decide on whether to donate Western fighter jets to Ukraine “before the summer”, as deliveries of Polish and Slovak MiG-29s begin.

Discussions are taking time because countries have to act together, acting defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen said during a visit to Ukraine.

“Denmark will not do it alone,” Lund Poulsen told several Danish media outlets, adding that a decision was still achievable “in the near future”.

“We need to do this together with several countries. We will also have a dialogue with the Americans about this,” the minister said.

Slovakia and Poland began deliveries of Soviet-designed MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in late March and early April.

1:18pm: UN tally of confirmed civilian deaths approaches 8,500

Nearly 8,500 civilians are confirmed to have been killed in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), with several thousand more unverified deaths still feared.

The OHCHR said it had recorded 8,490 people killed and 14,244 injured between the launch of the invasion on February 24, 2022, and April 9, 2023.

The body has long described its figures as “the tip of the iceberg” because of its limited access to battle zones.

The majority of the deaths were recorded in territory controlled by the Ukrainian government and under attack by Russian forces, including 3,927 people in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which have witnessed intense fighting.

“OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration,” it said in a statement.

1:10pm: Romania aims to buy F-25 fighters jets to boost air defences

Romania aims to buy the latest generation US F-35 fighter planes to boost its air defences, the country’s supreme defence council (CSAT) has said in a statement.

The European Union and NATO state has raised defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product this year from 2%, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The country, which shares a 650-km (400 mile) border with Ukraine, is host to a US ballistic missile defence system and, as of last year, has a permanent alliance battlegroup stationed on its territory.

“Having robust, credible, interoperable, flexible and efficient air defence operational capabilities (…) as part of our commitments as a NATO and EU state is key to Romania meeting its defence policy objectives,” the statement said. “The air force’s modernisation process will continue through the acquisition of last generation F-35 jets.”

11:57am: US reporter ‘violated Russian law’, says Kremlin

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich had “violated Russian law”, after the US State Department said he had been wrongfully detained by Russia.

Gershkovich has been detained on March 29 in Moscow, Russia.

>> Read more: US urges Russia to release ‘wrongfully detained’ journalist Evan Gershkovich

10:05am: Russia to issue electronic call-up papers to new conscripts

Russia will soon draft men into the army by sending them electronic call-up papers via an online portal in addition to traditional letters, according to draft legislation due to be debated on Tuesday that aims to facilitate mobilisation.

More than 300,000 former soldiers and ex-conscripts are believed to have been called up since President Vladimir Putin announced an emergency draft last year to support Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.

7:15am: Russian soldiers in occupied Melitopol are ‘panicking’, exiled mayor says

Ukraine’s armed forces are gearing up for a counter-offensive to take back territory currently occupied by Russia. But it is not just the military that is preparing – civilian administrations in exile are also making plans for their return.

FRANCE 24’s correspondent Gulliver Cragg met with the exiled mayor of Melitopol, a city that is currently acting as the capital of the Russian-occupied part of Zaporizhzhia region. But, he says, not for much longer.

Click on the player below to watch the interview.

01:50

5:05am: G7 to discuss Ukraine support at financial leaders’ meeting in Washington

Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Tuesday that Japan would chair a Group of Seven (G7) financial leaders’ meeting on Wednesday in Washington to discuss the global economy and financial markets, the strengthening of supply chains and the Ukraine crisis.

The G7, which includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United States and Japan, is expected to reaffirm its solidarity in providing financial support for  and sanctions against Russia, Japanese officials have said.

• Key developments from Monday, April 10

Russia and Ukraine carried out a major prisoner swap on Monday, with 106 Russian prisoners of war being freed in exchange for 100 Ukrainians, including some defenders of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.

The exchange came as the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces said Russian troops had switched to “scorched earth” tactics in the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut, destroying buildings and positions with air strikes and artillery.

At the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said France could not be a mediator between Moscow and Kyiv as “it is both indirectly and directly involved in this conflict on the side of Ukraine”. 

>> Read our live blog for all of yesterday’s developments as they unfolded

 (FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP and Reuters)