[EN DIRECT] 61st day of war in Ukraine: here are all the latest developments

Fighting and shelling continued for a 61^and day in Ukraine. On Monday, Russia reported the burning of a major fuel depot in a town 150 km from the border.

Here are the latest developments, minute by minute

7:46 am | Mariupol: “no agreement” for a humanitarian corridor from Azovstal, according to Kyiv

7:31 am | Sanctions: Russian airline group Aeroflot lost 20% of passengers in March

The first Russian airline group, Aeroflot, announced on Monday a 20.4% drop in the number of passengers carried in March compared to the same period in 2021, a drop largely due to Western sanctions in connection with Ukraine.

6:54 am | More than 5.2 million Ukrainian refugees

The number of Ukrainian refugees who have fled their country under attack by Russian troops since February 24 has exceeded 5.2 million, according to figures from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees released on Monday.

5:49 | Mariupol: Moscow announces ceasefire on Monday to allow civilians to leave Azovstal

Russia announced its intention to cease hostilities on Monday to allow the evacuation of civilians holed up with Ukrainian fighters at the besieged Azovstal metallurgical complex in Mariupol, southeastern Ukraine.

WAR NOTEBOOK | Putin’s sad goal

“Putin’s goal remains the destruction of Ukraine as a state. Make Ukraine economically unviable. In the east of the country, Russia wants to seize its industrial heart. To the south, Moscow wants to cut off its access to the Black Sea, depriving Ukraine of its ability to export its agricultural production, a major source of income for Kyiv.

– Read Normand Lester’s column

3h55 | Ukraine can win the war, says Washington

Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said on Monday that Ukraine could win the war, adopting a resolutely offensive tone the day after the first visit to Kyiv by American leaders since the Russian invasion.

3h50 | Russia says it shot down two Ukrainian drones near the border

Russia on Monday shot down two Ukrainian drones near the border with Ukraine, where Moscow has been waging a military offensive for more than two months, local authorities said.

3h40 | Russia: a burning fuel depot near the Ukrainian border

A large fuel depot was on fire in a Russian town near the Ukrainian border on Monday, Russian authorities said, without specifying the reasons for the fire..