Ukraine: What happened today, Wednesday, May 4?

'Putin must pay a price, a high price, for his brutal aggression,' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament in Strasbourg this morning. 

Anna Shevchenko, 35, stands next to her destroyed home in Irpin, near Kyiv. The house, built by Shevchenko's grandparents, was nearly completely levelled by bombing in late March during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In her beloved flowerbed, some roses, lilies, peonies and daffodils survived. 'It is new life. So I tried to save my flowers,; she said. Picture: AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti

The European Union proposed its toughest sanctions yet against Russia today, including a phased oil embargo, as Kyiv said Moscow was intensifying its offensive in eastern Ukraine and close Russian ally Belarus announced large-scale army drills.

Nearly 10 weeks into a war that has killed thousands, uprooted millions and flattened cities and towns in eastern and southern Ukraine, Ukraine's defence ministry said Moscow had carried out nearly 50 air strikes on Tuesday alone.