Shrapnel from an artillery shell strikes a 12-storey apartment building in central Kyiv, obliterating the top floor and setting it on fire.
The city's mayor has imposed a 35-hour curfew as Russian troops edge closer to the capital city.
Look back on all of Wednesday's updates as they happened.
Key events
- More than 100 children killed since Russian invasion began, Ukrainian officials say
- At least 500 civilians killed in Kharkiv since war began: Ukrainian authorities
- UN: Three million Ukrainian refugees have fled the country
- Czech, Polish and Slovenian leaders back Ukraine's bid to join the EU
- 500 people held hostage in Mariupol hospital, Ukraine says
- US Senate condemns Putin as a war criminal
- Russia's Kharkiv advance blocked, Ukrainian officials say
- Zelenskyy to address US Congress
- Zelenskyy: We know NATO won't accept us
- Russia slaps sanctions on US and Canadian leaders
- Polish, Czech and Slovianian leaders arrive in Kyiv
Live updates
By Kate Ainsworth
That's it for the blog tonight
Thanks for following along throughout the day.
We'll be back tomorrow with the latest updates as they happen — in the meantime, you can stay up to date on the ABC News website and on our app.
By Kate Ainsworth
'We know we will win': Ukrainian musician-turned-soldier speaks from the front line in Kyiv
But the father-of-three told Stan Grant thousands like him were putting on a uniform and picking up a gun to resist the Russian invasion.
"Thousands of people ... different people are taking the weapon and defending the country in every city of Ukraine," he said from the frontline in Kyiv.
Mr Topolia, whose family has now left Ukraine, said his countrymen have been preparing for war since 2014 and people knew they had to fight for their country.
"All Ukranians in the nation became like one fist to resist Putin, to resist Russian occupation," he said.
"We know we will win and we are not fighting just for Ukraine, but for all the world, for a free world."
Mr Topolia said Russia was a terrorist state and his people would fight to the end to defend themselves against it.
By Kate Ainsworth
Kyiv resident fearful parts of the city may not withstand 'relentless' shelling
University professor Olga Polotska, who has relocated to the Kyiv's outskirts, has revealed what life is like in the capital after the latest round of Russian attacks.
She has told PM how her people were being resilient and hoped the attacks would end, but feared some parts of her city might not be able to withstand the relentless bombings.
"I wouldn't say it was the worst night we have gone through, but again that depends on the district... Kyiv is a very big city," she said.
Her countrymen were putting up a big fight, and weren't giving up easily.
"It seems to me that now literally the whole world knows how incredibly strong the defenders are," she said.
"There are loads of military people and members of this territorial defence in Kyiv... many of them. All of them are very calm, very concentrated.
"From time to time I communicate with them and they just look very reserved which makes me as a civilian, well a little bit reassured. The way they look raises trust in me."
She also said she believed Kyiv would stay standing.
"I have no doubt that Kyiv will stand, no doubt," she said.
"But at the same time the price Kyiv might pay, and has already paid, and is paying might be too high because Ukrainians are coping with this situation on land but there is sky now and that is just the problem at the moment."
The university professor admitted she feared for the many historical monuments and symbols of Slavic culture in Kyiv would be destroyed in the ongoing attacks.
She also said it was important for fighting to end, and Ukrainians could come home.
By Kate Ainsworth
Pro-Ukraine rally held outside NATO meeting in Brussels
Outside NATO's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, pro-Ukraine demonstrators have greeted arriving diplomats, with many urging them to 'close the sky'.
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy has previously urged NATO to enact a 'no-fly zone' above Ukraine to help the country defend itself from Russian forces.
NATO Defence Ministers are about to meet to discuss how to respond to Russia's attack on Ukraine.
By Kate Ainsworth
More than 100 children killed since Russian invasion began, Ukrainian officials say
Ukrainian officials say the country's death toll from Russia's invasion is rising, with 103 children killed since the war began, Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said.
Russian forces have struck more than 400 educational establishments and 59 of them have been destroyed, she said.
Earlier, Ukrainian authorities said that at least 500 residents in the city of Kharkiv have been killed since the start of the invasion on February 24.
Reuters
By Kate Ainsworth
Ukraine to launch counteroffensives against Russian forces
Ukraine's armed forces are launching counteroffensives against Russian forces "in several operational areas," Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said.
"This radically changes the parties' dispositions," he wrote on Twitter.
In an update on the war, the general staff of Ukraine's armed forces referred to the "high intensity of hostilities" but did not say where fighting was heaviest.
By Kate Ainsworth
The couple saving pets left behind in Kyiv
Anna and Dimitriy Revniuk, two filmmakers from Kyiv, decided to stay and rescue these animals despite the constant shelling by Russian forces.
"We made this decision because we believe that our hands and our help are needed here and now," they said.
The pair said they are working with 40 volunteers to respond to requests from pet owners who were forced to flee the city.
"If for some reason it is not possible to open the door, our team makes a hole in the wall to pour water or feed the animals," they said.
Rescuing animals is a way for them to "benefit the society during war" as well as a "distraction from anxious thoughts".
However, they said travelling in the city of Kyiv is now becoming "increasingly dangerous due to more frequent shelling".
They said Russian troops shelled several residential areas yesterday, damaging the facade of the Lukyanivska metro station and killing at least two people.
"We want the world to pay attention that there is a huge number of abandoned animals in Ukraine now," they said.
"We do not have the resources to ensure logistics of their transportation throughout Ukraine and to its border, and to find them new homes."
Reporting by Jenny Cai
By Kate Ainsworth
Switzerland imposes more sanctions on Belarus
Switzerland's government says the country has tightened its economic sanctions against Belarus, citing the eastern European country's support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The country has adopted the economic sanctions against Belarus already imposed by the European Union on March 2 and 9 in full.
The sanctions mainly concern trade and financial sanctions and include an export ban of dual-use items which can be used for both military or civilian purposes.
Reuters
By Kate Ainsworth
Russian hip-hop artist holds anti-war concert in Turkey
Russian hip-hop artist Oxxxymiron has held a concert for Ukraine in Istanbul overnight, with all profits being donated to a non-state Polish charity helping Ukrainian refugee children.
In a post on his Twitter, the rapper said more than $30,000 had been raised from donations and ticket sales to the Russians Against War event.
By Kate Ainsworth
Ukraine emergency services share video of destroyed apartment building in Kyiv
Ukrainian authorities have released vision of the destruction of a 12-storey apartment building in Kyiv around 6:00am local time.
Two people were injured when shrapnel from Russian shelling struck the building, destroying the top floor and starting several fires and damaging the 9-storey building next door.
The tweet says rescuers and psychologists are working at the scene to help affected residents.
By Kate Ainsworth
Putin more vulnerable since starting Ukraine war, expert says
Mark Katz — a Professor of Government and Politics at George Mason University in the United States and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council — told PM's Nick Grimm that Putin will now have to think twice before he considers any bold moves in future.
Professor Katz said Putin has made himself more vulnerable than he had prior to the war.
"I don't think they were expecting this huge war in Moscow, I think that they thought that it would be very easy, it would be over in a couple of days," he said.
"Now they're stuck with something far, far worse and I'm sure the Russian military isn't very happy about it."
Professor Katz said Putin had shown himself both domestically and internationally as someone who has miscalculated.
"He's overstepped and I think that he'll be seen as less able to act than in other spaces," he said.
He said seeing Putin overthrown or falling completely out of favour with the oligarchs was wishful thinking.
"But I think he's a shorter leash than he was before," he said.
Professor Katz said he wasn't sure if Putin could save face that didn't involve the continuing suffering of the Ukraine people, and backing down may not be an option he could take domestically.
By Kate Ainsworth
Russian forces 'struggling' to advance in Ukraine: UK Defence Ministry
In an intelligence update posted on Twitter, the UK's Ministry of Defence said Russian forces are struggling to overcome the challenges posed by Ukraine's terrain.
Security officials said Russian troops are being confined to Ukraine's roads and highways, and noted that "the destruction of bridges by Ukrainian forces has played a key role in stalling Russia's advance".
By Kate Ainsworth
At least 500 civilians killed in Kharkiv since war began: Ukrainian authorities
Ukraine's emergency service in the east of Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city, said that at least 500 residents have been killed since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Russia has denied targeting civilians in what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.
Reuters
By Kate Ainsworth
Residents evacuated from Kyiv apartment as shelling continues
Shrapnel from an artillery shell has struck a 12-storey apartment building in central Kyiv on Wednesday morning (local time), obliterating the top floor and setting it on fire.
A statement and images released by Kyiv's emergencies agency reported the neighbouring building was also damaged, with two people injured and 37 people evacuated.
Russian forces have intensified fighting in Kyiv suburbs, notably around the town of Bucha in the northwest and the highway leading west toward Zhytomyr, said the head of the Kyiv region, Oleksiy Kuleba.
He said Russian troops are trying to cut off the capital from transport arteries and destroy logistical capabilities even as they plan a wide-ranging attack.
Russia has occupied the city of Ivankiv, 80 kilometres north of Kyiv, and controls the surrounding region on the border with Belarus, Mr Kuleba said.
Across the Kyiv region, he said: “Kindergartens, museums, churches, residential blocks and engineering infrastructure are suffering from the endless firing.”
Kyiv is currently under a 35-hour curfew as Russian shelling intensifies.
Reporting by AP
By Kate Ainsworth
By Kate Ainsworth
Kyiv awakes as an empty city on its first full day of curfew
The Ukrainian capital was placed under a 35-hour curfew last night as Russian strikes intensified — this image shows the city is eerily quiet shortly before 8:00am local time.
It's currently prohibited for Kyiv residents to move around the city unless they have been granted special permission or are travelling to bomb shelters.
By Kate Ainsworth
Odesa resident prepared to defend his home if city surrounded by Russian forces
Odesa's mayor yesterday warned Russian forces could soon surround his southern Ukrainian port city on three fronts.
In the meantime, the situation remains relatively quiet in the city, according to Vasiliy Kordysh.
Mr Kordysh, who is the president of Ukraine's surfing federation, is staying alone in Odesa after his wife left for Romania.
He said most people were staying at home or doing volunteer work during the day and there was a curfew in place from 8pm to 6am.
"I'm still working from home on my business, trying to sell some goods to outside the country to make income," he said.
"When the bomb alarms [sound], [I try to] stay away from the window.
"For sure, people are scared of [possible invasion] but we believe and trust our army who are already here for defence."
He said the army was making preparations and some restaurants, grocery stores and chemists were still open.
"[We have] enough food and water," he said.
"There is no plan for me to go anywhere else. I'll stay here if I need to defend my home."
Reporting by Iris Zhao
By Kate Ainsworth
Scenes of devastation in Donetsk region
The small city of Volnovakha in the Donetsk region is unrecognisable to locals in the separatist-controlled territory.
Both Donetsk and nearby Luhansk were recognised as independent republics by Vladimir Putin before Russia's invasion of Ukraine began — but the region has not been spared from the devastating effects of war.
By Kate Ainsworth
By Kate Ainsworth
Jewish orphans from Ukraine safely moved to Romania
In the Southern Ukraine city of Odesa, staff at a Jewish orphanage have moved 270 children to safety in Romania.
The CEO of the Jewish charity Tikva, Rabbi Refael Kruskal, said the move was challenging for the children as the war escalated around them.
“The children are recovering from a very traumatic and hard two weeks… they have been travelling a lot… the first group was really dangerous and traumatic with the sirens and smoke,” he said.
Speaking to Patricia Karvelas on RN Breakfast, Rabbi Kruskal said he began preparing 16 tonnes of dry food and six tonnes of chicken and meat as well as generators and megaphones when the war was first mentioned back in December.
“I did not want to be the person who let down his community and so many kids because I wasn’t prepared … I would prefer to be crazy … than to lie back and not do anything,” he said.
Rabbi Kruskal knew it was time to leave when a bomb dropped in Odesa only half a mile away from the girls’ orphanage.
Due to the escalating situation, they travelled on Shabbat to Western Ukraine where they stayed for a week before crossing into Romania.
“We were extremely lucky to leave when we did and we saved the kids a lot of trauma," he said.
"The children should be safe, they should be mentally safe and they should be physically safe, there is nothing more important than that.”
Since then, the charity has continued evacuating people out of Odesa and into Romania and Moldova. He said they have over 800 people staying at their facilities and buses are still travelling every day.
“Whoever they are we are there to save them and we’re there to take them out of Odesa… we will do whatever we can to make sure anyone who wants to leave can leave,” he said.
Reporting by Adelaide Miller
