UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the west is “ready for a prolonged crisis,” as Ukrainian troops dig in against Russia’s forces.
Moscow has now deployed up to 75% of its invasion force amid intense fighting across the country. Ukrainian soldiers are putting up a stubborn defence and claim to have killed or wounded around 5,710 Russian troops, although the BBC cannot independently verify this figure. Here is a quick summary of where the fighting is at its thickest:
- Some Russian forces have managed to enter the southern city of Kherson, where they are involved in intense street-to-street fighting with Ukrainian troops. The BBC has verified social media footage showing explosions on the northern periphery of the city
- In the east, officials in Ukraine’s second city of Kharkiv say at least 10 people have been killed in deliberate shelling of residential areas. President Volodymyr Zelensky says Moscow’s attacks against civilians amount to war crimes
- Mariupol, a port city in south-eastern Ukraine, has had its power cut and Russian forces are shelling it relentlessly in an effort to take the city and create a land-bridge between their armies in separatist held regions in the east and the annexed Crimean peninsula
- A massive Russian armoured convoy is bearing down on the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv, where a staunch defence has held the Russian position about 30km (19) miles outside the city centre for several days
- On Tuesday afternoon, Russia warned it will carry out strikes on the headquarters of the security services and the psychological warfare centre in Kyiv and urged locals to evacuate
- In the north-eastern city of Okhtyrka, up to 70 Ukrainian soldiers have reportedly been killed in a Russian artillery strike
