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Russia-Ukraine crisis LIVE: Explosions rock Kyiv as Russian assault continues | One million refugees flee Ukraine

By Stephen Mcilkenny
Published 22nd Feb 2022, 08:53 BST
Updated 3rd Mar 2022, 07:58 BST
Four major explosions have lit up the night sky in Kyiv, captured by witnesses on video – as the Russian assault on the city continues.

Boris Johnson will update MPs on his talks with allies in eastern Europe as the UK piled more pressure on Russia over its Ukraine invasion.

The Ukraine military says Russian paratroopers have landed in its second-largest city Kharkiv.

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At least 21 people were killed and 112 wounded in the shelling of Ukraine's second most populous city Kharkiv,the city’s mayor has said.

A woman cries outside houses damaged by a Russian airstrike, according to locals, in Gorenka, outside the capital Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)A woman cries outside houses damaged by a Russian airstrike, according to locals, in Gorenka, outside the capital Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
A woman cries outside houses damaged by a Russian airstrike, according to locals, in Gorenka, outside the capital Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

It comes as US President Joe Biden used his first State of the Union address to announce US airspace was closed to Russian flights, adding his administration would be joining the UK and other allies in pursuing the Russian oligarchs and “corrupt leaders who built billions of dollars off (Vladimir Putin’s) violent regime”.

Scotland will send half a million items of medical supplies to Ukraine to help those “fighting a battle for democracy and freedom” against the Russian invasion, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The First Minister visited an NHS Scotland distribution centre in North Lanarkshire on Wednesday to see the medical equipment being packed before it is flown to Ukraine.

Ms Sturgeon said the shipment will be an “initial consignment” of items requested by the Ukrainian Government from NHS Scotland’s reserve stockpile, and she pledged to continue providing the “maximum we possibly can” for the duration of the conflict.

Russian forces unleashed their attack on Ukraine last week on the orders of Vladimir Putin, who announced a “special military operation” at dawn.

There have been reports of significant shelling overnight in Chernihiv in the north of Ukraine overnight.

G7 leaders have condemned Russia’s “unprovoked and completely unjustified attack” on Ukraine as a “serious violation” of international law.

There have been called for the UK to do more to help with the refugee crisis in Ukraine.

You can follow updates in our live blog.