AGENCIES

Russian forces said they had captured a port on the Black Sea yesterday as Russian and Ukrainian troops battled for another city and US President Joe Biden vowed to make his Russian counterpart “pay a price” for the invasion.

The Russian army said it had taken control of Kherson, as its troops advanced and pounded cities across northern, southern and eastern Ukraine, defying sanctions and international isolation.

Russian paratroopers also landed in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city, triggering clashes in the streets, Ukrainian forces said.

The emergency services said four people were killed in the city and there was now “mass shelling and bombing” in the centre.

In a video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces wanted to “erase our country, erase us all”.

Ukraine said more than 350 civilians, including 14 children, have been killed in the conflict and the International Criminal Court has opened a war crimes investigation against Russia.

The UN said 836,000 people have fled since the conflict began seven days ago, including many students and migrant workers from Africa and the Middle East who had been living in Ukraine.