The Ukrainians may not only get back parts of the Donbas in Ukrainian hands but also retake land taken by Russia in 2014.

Backed into a corner, Mr Putin becomes even more dangerous, with repercussions for the world, writes Kim Sengupta:

Vladimir Putin’s mobilisation of Russia’s military reservists is a “clear admission” his invasion of Ukraine is failing, Downing Street says.

A No 10 spokeswoman said: “Putin’s speech this morning and his move to mobilise the Russian population are a clear admission that his invasion is failing.

“The UK, alongside our international partners, stand united in condemning the Russian government’s reprehensible actions.

“We will continue to support the Ukrainian government in the face of this assault on their sovereignty.”

Pope Francis has described even thinking of using nuclear weapons as “madness”.

The pontiff also said Ukrainians were being subjected to savageness, monstrosities and torture, calling them a “noble” people being martyred.

The pope, discussing his trip to Kazakhstan last week, praised the central Asian country for giving up nuclear weapons after its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

“This was courageous. At a time in this tragic war where some are thinking of nuclear weapons – which is madness – this country said ‘no’ to nuclear weapons from the start,” Francis said.

Russia’s defence ministry says a large-calibre shell damaged a technical water pipe at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, Russian state-owned news agency RIA reported.

The plant, captured by Russian forces in March, remains close to the front line, and has come under fire repeatedly in recent months, raising fears of a nuclear catastrophe. Both Ukraine and Russia blame each other for shelling it.

Google Trends data showed a spike in searches for Russia’s most popular website for purchasing flights. Report by Emily Atkinson:

Poilce in Germany have carried out raids on properties linked to Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, a former shareholder at Arsenal Football Club, who also had links to Everton.

The Munich state prosecutor said comprehensive raids had taken place at the residence of a Russian citizen and four other suspects. Media reports claimed other properties belonging to Usmanov across Germany had been raided.

Authorities searched 24 properties across four states, including Bavaria, with 250 officers involved in the operation, the prosecutor said.

German broadcasters BR and MDR reported that one of the locations targeted was Usmanov‘s villa on Tegernsee lake in the southern state.

Ukraine is beginning work to demine 12,000 square km (4,633 square miles) of territory wrested back from Russian control in the eastern Kharkiv region, an emergency service official has said.

Roman Prymush also said in a briefing that it could take several years to demine the area, which is bigger than the state of Qatar, and that the United States, Britain and Canada would help with the work.

Flight prices out of Moscow have skyrocketed as people rush to leave the country under the new partial mobilisation order.

The Independent reviewed ticket purchasing options on the Aviasales wesbite, and found that the cheapeast flight to Yerevan as of 11am would set travellers back just over 82,000 roubles (£1,200), where yesterday the same ticket cost in the ball park of 8900 roubles (£130).

The cheapest flight to Istanbul – a nine hour trip requiring a stopover in Antalya – weighed in at 100,600 roubles (equivalent to almost £1500).

Some routes with stopovers, including those from Moscow to Tbilisi, were also unavailable, while the cheapest flights from the capital to Dubai were costing more than 300,000 roubles ($5,000).

One-way flight tickets out of Russia were selling out fast after President Vladimir Putin ordered the partial mobilisation of Moscow’s reserves in a major escalation of his war on Ukraine.

The announcement raised fears that some men of fighting age would not be allowed to leave the country.

Google Trends data showed a spike in searches for Aviasales, which is Russia’s most popular website for purchasing flights.

Direct flights from Moscow to Istanbul in Turkey and Yerevan in Armenia, both destinations that allow Russians to enter without a visa, were sold out on Wednesday, according to the site data.