An injured Ukrainian soldier able to walk takes cover underground while sirens are heard outside a military hospital in Lviv. (Daniel LEAL / AFP)
A Russian missile strike on the Kyiv television tower, an iconic structure in the city, has been symbolic of a day of heavy shelling in Ukraine.
Russia's defence ministry had earlier urged civilians to leave the capital and said it was preparing to strike specific targets in the city, including those involved in "informational attacks against Russia".
"We urge Ukrainian citizens involved by Ukrainian nationalists in provocations against Russia, as well as Kyiv residents living near relay stations, to leave their homes."
Reports in Ukraine also suggest more than 70 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in a Russian artillery attack on a base in Okhtyrka, a city between Kyiv and Kharkiv.
A missile strike also hit the Kharkiv regional administration building in the centre of Ukraine's second-largest city.
Meanwhile, the UNHCR believes that over 600,000 refugees have already fled Ukraine.
The agency said it could be "Europe’s largest refugee crisis this century."
The second round of talks in Belarus has been scheduled between Ukraine and Russia for tomorrow, according to reports in Russia.
Smoke and flames are seen inside a damaged gym following shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine on Wednesday. (AP: Efrem Lukatsky) A woman walks past a destroyed military vehicle in the town of Bucha in the Kyiv region. (Reuters: Serhii Nuzhnenko) A man walks past destroyed military vehicles on a street in the town of Bucha in the Kyiv region. (Reuters: Serhii Nuzhnenko) A burned car sits among the ruins following Russian attacks in Zhytomyr, Ukraine. (Getty/State Emergency Service of Ukraine) Russian attacks have destroyed building in Zhytomyr, Ukraine. (Getty/State Emergency Service of Ukraine) A reception centre inside Suchodolski Palace, attached to the Dorohusk border crossing between Ukraine and Poland, is welcoming Ukrainians and helping them on their way. Among those being cared for are Christina Gorieva, 4, and her brother Kyrylo, 17. Their father stayed in Ukraine to fight. (ABC News: Brad Esposito) Ukrainians who have fled their country wait outside a reception centre attached to the Dorohusk border crossing between Ukraine and Poland. (ABC News: Brendan Esposito) A man shows a portrait of singer-songwriter John Lennon inside the damaged local city hall of Kharkiv, which was hit by a Russian missile strike. (Sergey BOBOK / AFP) Emergency crew near a television tower in Kyiv, after a Russian strike hit the area. (Ukrainian State Emergency Service/Handout via REUTERS) Hospital staff take cover underground while sirens are heard outside, in a military hospital in Lviv. (Daniel LEAL / AFP) A soldier pushes a wheelchair with an injured Ukrainian soldier in a military hospital in Lviv. (Daniel LEAL / AFP) At the Dorohusk border crossing, buses of Ukrainians make their way into Poland and to safety. (ABC News: Brendan Esposito) An armed man stands near a barricade during an air raid alarm in Maidan Square, in Kyiv. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) People look at the gutted remains of Russian military vehicles on a road in the town of Bucha, close to the capital Kyiv. (AP Photo/Serhii Nuzhnenko) Olha Kotovska, a Ukrainian school administrator overseeing children who have fled fighting, during their stay in Lviv. (ABC News: Tom Joyner) Pro-Russian troops in uniforms without insignia gather in the separatist-controlled settlement of Mykolaivka (Nikolaevka), in the Donetsk region. (REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko)
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