Russian airborne troops land in Ukraines second city Kharkiv, Kherson surrounded

Russian airborne troops landed in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Wednesday and claimed to have surrounded the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson as the war entered its seventh day. President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the Kremlin on Tuesday of “war crimes” as the civilian toll mounted. Follow our live blog for the latest developments.

• Russian troops have landed in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, sparking immediate and “ongoing” fighting. 
• The strategic southern port city of Mariupol is under heavy shelling. The Black Sea city of Kherson is surrounded.
• US President Joe Biden branded Russian President Vladimir Putin a “dictator” in his State of the Union address Tuesday. “Putin is now isolated from the world,” he added.
• Russia stepped up its bombing campaign Tuesday, hitting Kyiv’s main television tower, two residential buildings in a town north west of the city, and local government headquarters in Kharkiv.
• More than 830,000 people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion, the UN’s refugee agency says, with the number rising sharply.
• The UN’s International Court of Justice says it will hold public hearings on March 7 and 8 over Ukraine’s allegations of “genocide” by Russia.

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