Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian cities; intense fighting in Kyiv

Russian forces launched coordinated missile and artillery attacks on Ukrainian cities on Saturday including the capital, Kyiv, where gunfire erupted. After Ukrainian forces said they had repulsed a Russian attack on Kyiv during the night, President Volodymyr Zelensky shot a selfie-style video in the city centre vowing to stay and fight on. Russia says troops captured the southeastern Ukrainian city of Melitopol, a claim disputed by the UK. Follow our liveblog for all the latest developments. 

• Ukrainian soldiers repelled a Russian attack in the capital, the military said early Saturday, hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow would attempt to take Kyiv before dawn.
• Ukraine's Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said Saturday that 198 civilians, including three children, have been killed by Russian forces attacking the pro-Western country. 
• On Friday evening, as Russian troops closed in on the capital, Zelensky released a defiant video saying he was in Kyiv and was not about to leave.
• Throughout Friday, Kyiv civilians took up arms and the government broadcast instructions on how to make petrol bombs.
• Russia, as expected, vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Friday condemning its invasion of Ukraine and demanding it immediately withdraw its troops. Eleven of the council’s 15 members voted for the motion; China, India and the UAE abstained.
• Moscow has made an offer for talks with Kyiv. A spokesman for Zelensky’s office said Russia and Ukraine were discussing a time and place for talks.
• The EU, US and UK froze foreign-held assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
• More than 50,000 Ukrainians have fled, mostly to Poland and Moldova, according to the UN.

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