TOP HEADLINES

· Russian President Vladimir Putin told a group of mothers whose sons are fighting in Ukraine that he shares the pain of those who have lost their loved ones in the conflict. "I want you to know: I personally and the entire leadership of the country share this pain," Putin told the group ahead of Mother's Day, which Russia will mark on Sunday. "We understand that nothing can replace the loss of a son, a child," Putin said in his opening remarks. READ MORE BELOW

· The governor of Ukraine's southern Kherson region said Friday that hospital patients in the region's recently recaptured main city of Kherson were being evacuated due to constant attacks from Moscow's forces. "Due to constant Russian shelling, we are evacuating hospital patients from Kherson," Yaroslav Yanushevich said on social media, noting that children at one regional hospital were being transported to the neighboring Mykolaiv region.

· Nearly half of Kyiv residents were still without electricity, the Ukrainian capital's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. "A third of houses in Kyiv already have heating and specialists continue to restore it. Half of consumers are still without electricity," according to Klitschko. Viewed from space, Ukraine has become a dark patch on the globe at night, NASA satellite images showed. READ MORE BELOW

· Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska has told the BBC that Ukraine will endure this coming winter despite the cold and the blackouts caused by Russian missiles "We've had so many terrible challenges, seen so many victims, so much destruction, that blackouts are not the worst thing to happen to us." She cited a recent poll where 90 percent of Ukrainians said they were ready to live with electricity shortages for two to three years if they could see the prospect of joining the European Union.

· Russian bombardment of Kherson killed at least four people and wounded 10, the region's governor said. "The Russian invaders opened fire on a residential area with multiple rocket launchers. A large building caught fire," Yaroslav Yanushevych, Head of the Kherson military administration, said on Telegram.

· NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said there would be no lasting peace in Ukraine if Russia won the war, adding that the Western military alliance would not back down in its support for Kyiv. 

· Poland's Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak has asked Germany to ship a Patriot surface-to-air missile defense system intended for Poland to Ukraine instead, to help its defense against Russia's offensive. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said it was up to Germany to decide if it wants to supply Patriot missile defenses to Ukraine.

· Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Western plans to introduce oil price caps could have "grave consequences" for energy markets, speaking during a telephone conversation with Iraq's prime minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. "Vladimir Putin stressed that such actions are contrary to the principles of market relations and are highly likely to lead to grave consequences for global energy markets," the Kremlin said in a readout of the call.

· Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Europeans to remain united against Russia's offensive and to severely limit the price for Russian oil. "There is no split, there is no schism among Europeans and we have to preserve this. This is our mission number one this year," Zelenskyy said in an address via a live video link to a conference in Lithuania.

· More than 15,000 people have gone missing during the conflict in Ukraine, an official at the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) said.

· UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced new aid for Ukraine on a visit to Kyiv, including 24 ambulances, six armored vehicles and support for victims of sexual violence by Russian soldiers. After meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Cleverly tweeted: "President @ZelenskyyUa, the UK is supporting you with action - not just words. I made you that promise today. The UK intends to keep it." 

IN DETAIL

Putin: 'We share your pain'

President Vladimir Putin met with more than a dozen mothers of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, telling those who had lost sons that he and the entire leadership shared their suffering.

The conflict in Ukraine has killed or wounded tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides, according to the United States, and the Russian offensive has triggered the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile crisis.

Hundreds of thousands of Russians have been sent to fight in Ukraine - including some of the more than 300,000 who were called up as part of a mobilization announced by Putin in September.

Meeting with 17 women at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow to mark Sunday's Russian Mother's Day, Putin was shown in a short pre-recorded clip sitting with them around a table. 

Putin said he understood the anxiety and concern of soldiers' mothers - and the pain of those who had lost sons in Ukraine.

"I would like you to know that, that I personally, and the whole leadership of the country - we share your pain," Putin said.

"We understand that nothing can replace the loss of a son - especially for a mother," he added. "We share this pain."

The mothers listened to what appeared to be Putin's introductory remarks but their comments to him were not immediately shown.

Putin has said he has no regrets about launching what he calls Russia's "special military operation" against Ukraine.

'The situation with electricity remains difficult in almost all regions'

Ukraine battled to get water and power to millions of people cut off after Russia launched dozens of cruise missiles that battered the country's already crippled electricity grid.

The energy system in Ukraine is on the brink of collapse and millions have endured emergency blackouts over recent weeks.

The World Health Organization has warned of "life-threatening" consequences and estimated that millions could leave their homes as a result.

"The situation with electricity remains difficult in almost all regions," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. "However, we are gradually moving away from blackouts - every hour we return power to new consumers."

More than 24 hours after Russian strikes smashed Kyiv, mayor Vitali Klitschko said that 60 percent of homes in the capital were still suffering emergency outages. Water services had been fully restored however, said city officials.

The latest attacks on the power grid come with winter setting in and temperatures in the capital hovering just above freezing.

The western region of Khmelnytsky was one of the worst affected by power outages, with just 35 percent of its normal capacity, but that was enough to connect critical infrastructure, according to Serhii Hamaliy, the head of the regional administration.

About 300,000 residents in the eastern Kharkiv region, near the border with Russia, were still without power, but electricity supply had been restored for nearly 70 percent of consumers, said Oleh Synehubov of the regional military administration.