Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky claimed early today that 9,000 Russian troops had been killed by his forces since the invasion began last month. 

In the town of Bucha on the outskirts of Kyiv, well-equipped and fiercely determined Ukrainian soldiers used anti-tank weapons to stop the invaders in their tracks 20 miles from the centre of the capital. 

In this 2,500-word reconstruction, Associate Editor Gordon Rayner investigates Ukraine’s wall of resistance. In other developments:

Putin’s commanders ‘will be hunted for war crimes’

Russian commanders who follow Vladimir Putin’s illegal orders will be hunted down for war crimes, Dominic Raab has insisted. The Justice Secretary said the UK was drawing up plans to help identify and track down fugitives suspected of war crimes. In an interview with Home Affairs Editor Charles Hymas, Mr Raab said Britain had expertise from previous conflicts in garnering intelligence that could provide evidence to put war criminals on trial. It came as Prime Minister Boris Johnson explicitly accused Mr Putin of committing war crimes in Ukraine for the first time. The International Criminal Court said an investigation into possible war crimes “will immediately proceed” after it received the backing of 39 countries. Read an article for us by Nadine Dorries, the Culture Secretary, on how the UK can cause Mr Putin real pain.

British mother rescues friends’ children from Ukraine

The text arrived at 4am on Friday: “If anything bad happens, can you come and take the children?” While many would still have been wrestling with the question of what to do, the decision was simple for Jo Cope. The mother of three from Chelmsford booked herself on the first flight from Luton to the Polish city of Lublin, close to the Ukrainian border. She tells Helen Brown what happened on her rescue mission…

Daily dose of Matt

View Matt‘s latest cartoon as he sees the funny side of Roman Abramovich’s sale of Chelsea FC.

Comment: Ukraine invasion analysis

Dispatch: Russian missiles defile Holocaust memorial

The Kremlin claimed it was a strike on an enemy communications post, avoiding civilian casualties. But when Russian missiles slammed into the 1,200ft high Kyiv TV tower, the collateral damage did not only involve loss of life. The attack on the tower killed five civilians including Yevhenii Sakun, a TV cameraman. It also defiled another landmark in Ukraine – one where blood was once spilled in far greater quantities. Colin Freeman reports from the site of the Babyn Yar massacre, which honours 34,000 Jews killed by Nazi death squads in just two days in 1941.