Russian troops are now just 25km away from Ukraine capital city of Kyiv, according to the latest intelligence from the UK's Ministry of Defence.
It comes as Russia stepped up its attack on the neighbouring country, moving into new cities and continuing airstrikes in Kharkiv, Mariupol, Chernihiv and Sumy, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the mayor of the southern port city of Melitopol had been kidnapped by soldiers.
President Zelensky said Vladimir Putin's men had "transitioned into a new stage of terror" after reports emerged that CCTV footage had captured the mayor being taken away with a bag over his head.
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Satellite images reportedly show artillery firing on residential areas close to Kyiv. Craters and burning homes could be seen in images taken by Maxar Technologies in the town of Moschun.
In its latest intelligence update, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said: "Fighting north-west of Kyiv continues with the bulk of Russian ground forces now around 25 kilometres from the centre of the city."
It warned that the large column of Russian tanks seen in recent days to the north of Kyiv appears to have dispersed in parts. This could be a sign of "an attempt by the aggressors to encircle the city", the MoD said.
In Mariupol, Russian forces shelled a mosque sheltering more than 80 people, according to Ukrainian officials, while attempts to bring in food and water and to evacuate trapped civilians have been thwarted by the continued attacks.
Ukraine’s military said Russian forces have now captured the eastern outskirts of the besieged city.
In a Facebook update, the military said the capture of Mariupol, which has a population of 430,000, and Severodonetsk in the east were a priority for Russian forces.
It is understood that at least 1,500 have died in the city since the invasion began. Earlier this week, a strike on a maternity hospital that left pregnant women and children trapped under rubble killed three people.
The mayor's office said bodies were being buried in mass graves due to the huge number of casualties in the city. Russian Major General Andrei Kolesnikov was killed in the city, the third Russian major to die in the fighting, according to Ukraine's military.
Mr Zelensky has been giving daily video updates to his country, and has been encouraging citizens to keep on fighting in one of his latest rallying speeches.
“It’s impossible to say how many days we will still need to free our land, but it is possible to say that we will do it,” he said from Kyiv.
Authorities are working to establish 12 humanitarian corridors, he said, and trying to ensure food, medicine and other urgently needed basics are available. Previous attempts to establish safe passages for citizens have been derailed by continued air strikes, according to Ukraine officials.
The US has claimed that Russia has launched nearly 810 missiles into Ukraine. The conflict is so far believed to have led to 2.5 million people leaving Ukraine to seek safety.
Brits will be asked to house Ukrainian refugees under the government's new sponsorship scheme. However, reports suggest that those keen to do so will need to agree to a stay of at least six months.
The current visa route for people fleeing the war in Ukraine is restricted to family members of people settled in the UK. Another promised route, allowing individuals and companies to sponsor Ukrainians with no ties to the UK to come to the country, is expected to be launched on Monday.
Meanwhile, the UK government is intending to further ramp up pressure on the Kremlin with plans to ban exports of luxury goods to Russia in the latest move to isolate President Putin. Details of the plans will be set out in the coming days, Downing Street said.
Boris Johnson previously expressed fears Russia is spreading a “fake story” that the US or the Ukrainians have chemical weapons in Ukraine as a pretext for an atrocity.
Russia has blocked access to social media sites including Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram over restrictions on Russian state-backed media.
It comes as Russian emails are being bombarded with links to a website outlining details about the war in Ukraine that are being hidden by the Russian government.
Millions of messages are being posted in the campaign started by a Norwegian computer expert stating: "Ya vam ne vrag," translated to 'I am not your enemy'. The email begs Russian people to reject the invasion of Ukraine and seek the truth from non-state news services, the BBC reports.
It's one of a growing number of methods used by activists around the world to reach Russian people and avoid state censorship about the conflict. Hacker groups have also claimed to have defaced Russian news websites with messages to Russian people to "stop Putin".
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