AGENCIES

KHARKIV FIGHTING

Russian paratroopers land in Ukraine’s second city amid heavy fighting. Ukrainian officials say a hospital has been attacked and the barracks of a flight school is on fire after an air strike. “There are practically no areas left in Kharkiv where an artillery shell has not yet hit,” says Interior Minister official Anton Gerashchenko.

BIDEN BRANDS PUTIN ‘DICTATOR’

US President Joe Biden brands Vladimir Putin a “dictator” in his annual State of the Union address as he bans Russian aircraft from US airspace with Moscow facing economic and diplomatic isolation.

CONVOY CONTINUES ITS ADVANCE

Russia steps up its bombing campaign and missile strikes as miles-long Russian military convoy continues its advance on Kyiv.

KHERSON: RUSSIA INSIDE CITY

Russian forces claim to have taken the besieged Black Sea city of Kherson in the south after its mayor admits the port and railway station are in Russian hands.

MARIUPOL WITHOUT POWER

Russian attacks leave Mariupol, another Black Sea port further to the west without electricity.

CIVILIANS FLEE

More than 836,000 people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion, the UN’s refugee agency says, with the number rising rapidly.

UN COURT TO HOLD WAR HEARINGS

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 as the General Assembly votes on whether to order Russia to withdraw its troops.

INDEPENDENT MEDIA BLOCKED

Russia blocks an independent television channel and a liberal radio station, tightening a virtual media blackout on news of the war.

COMPANIES EXIT RUSSIA

A string of Western companies announce they are freezing or scaling back business with Russia, including Apple, three of the world’s largest shipping companies and energy firms Eni, ExxonMobil and Boeing.

RACE FOR CASH

Russians race to withdraw cash after the introduction of capital controls and as the ruble hovers around record lows against the dollar.