RUSSIAN-UKRAINE KEY POINTS
• Ukraine capital Kyiv under attack
• Military claims 3500 Russians killed
• Ukrainian President refuses to leave despite US urging him to evacuate
• Germany agrees to send weapons to help Ukraine
• Allies agree to cut Russia off Swift, heavier sanctions in the works

Kyiv residents braced for another night sheltering underground, as Russian troops closed in on Ukraine's capital and skirmishes were reported on the outskirts. Ukraine's leader, meanwhile, vowed to continue fighting the Russian assault as he appealed for more outside help. 

"The real fighting for Kyiv is ongoing," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video message in which he accused Russia of hitting infrastructure and civilian targets. 

"We will win," he said. 

Australia's vow to help Ukraine

Australian PM Scott Morrison has left the door open to providing lethal aid to Ukraine to assist in its fight against Russia.

Morrison attended a church service at St Andrew's Ukrainian Catholic church in Lidcombe in Sydney on Sunday.

He told reporters after the service Australia will be providing the support through its Nato partners.

"I've just spoken to the Defence Minister and we'll be seeking to provide whatever support we can for lethal aid through our NATO partners, particularly the US and the UK," he said.

"We'll be working through those channels because that's the most effective way to do it."

Royals issue rare political statement 

Prince William and Kate Middleton today issued a rare joint political statement, showing their support for Ukraine and its leader. 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stated that they "stand" with the people of the war-torn nation, as they "bravely fight" for their future. 

The couple went on to recall the "privilege" of meeting President Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska, when they came to visit London in 2020. 

In the personal tweet signed by the couple, they shared: "In October 2020 we had the privilege to meet President Zelenskyy and the First Lady to learn of their hope and optimism for Ukraine's future. 

"Today we stand with the President and all of Ukraine's people as they bravely fight for that future." 

Ukraine contractors removing road signs 

A Ukrainian road maintenance company said it was removing all road signs that could be used by invading Russian forces to find their way around the country. 

The company, Ukravtodor, said in a Facebook update: "The enemy has poor communications, they cannot navigate the terrain. Let us help them get straight to hell." 

It posted an edited photo of a standard road sign in which directions to nearby cities have been replaced with profanities that could be translated as "Go f*** yourself", "Go f*** yourself again" and "Go f*** yourself back in Russia". 

New Zealand offers to take Ukrainian refugees 

New Zealand will work with the United Nations if there is a need to take in Ukrainian refugees. 

Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson told Newstalk ZB the Russian attack is unjustified and the Government "detests it wholeheartedly". 

He said initially countries geographically close to Ukraine will meet any refugee uptake. 

'These people are unbreakable': Crowds of civilians gather to make molotov cocktails

Snake Island defenders may still be alive – Ukraine govt says 

The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine says the 13 soldiers who were declared dead on Snake Island may still be alive. 

The attack on the island made headlines two days ago when a Russian warship asked them to surrender, only for the defenders to respond with: "Russian warship, go f*** yourself". 

The 13 border guards were reported dead but, in a statement today, the State Border Guard Service says it is possible that they are still alive on the island. 

"We [have a] strong belief that all Ukrainian defenders of Zmiinyi (Snake) Island may be alive," they said. 

"After receiving information about their possible location, the DPSU together with the Armed Forces of Ukraine are conducting work on identifying our soldiers." 

Ukraine sets up hotline for relatives of Russian soldiers 

In a move that has been described as both compassionate and incredibly smart, Ukraine has set up a hotline so that Russian families can check on their soldiers fighting in Russia. 

According to the Kyiv Independent, the hotline, named "Come back alive from Ukraine", was set up yesterday, February 26, and has already received hundreds of calls from relatives of Russian soldiers looking for their loved ones. 

Russian troops blow up gas pipeline 

The Kyiv Independent reports that Russian troops have blown up a gas pipeline in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine. 

Footage posted online shows a massive explosion in the sky over the city. 

Sky TV drops Russian news channel 

Sky TV says it has dropped Russia Today (RT), a Russian government-funded 24-hour news channel. 

The move followed a number of viewer complaints to the Broadcasting Standards Authority, Sky corporate affairs chief Chris Major said. 

Mum and son's emotional reunion at the border 

Footage showing a Ukrainian mother crying as she hugs her son and the stranger who reunited her with her kids across the border in Hungary is doing the rounds online. The woman's husband reportedly had to stay behind in Ukraine to fight the Russian troops. 

Oil depot on fire south of Kyiv, battle for the capital intensifies 

An oil depot has reportedly been set on fire in Vasylkiv, 40 kilometres south of Kyiv. The structure was reportedly hit by a ballistic missile.

According to Vasylkiv mayor Natalia Balasynovych, the city and the airfield sustained heavy shelling from ballistic missiles. 

"The enemy wants to destroy everything around, but he will not succeed. Hold on," she said, quoted by the Kyiv Independent. 

New Zealanders protest against the Ukraine war in Auckland 

People gathered this morning in Aotea Square, Auckland, to protest the Russian invasion of Ukraine and call on Putin to stop the war. 

Anti-war protesters in Auckland. Photo / Alex Burton 

People gathered at Aotea Square in Auckland this morning to protest against the war in Ukraine. Photo / Alex Burton 

Elon Musk responds to Ukraine request 

Elon Musk says the Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. This means Ukrainian people can access satellite internet and makes it harder for Russia to disconnect Ukraine from the world. 

'Act now, in one hour it is too late' – Boxing legend Wladimir Klitschko to the world 

Boxing legend Wladimir Klitschko has sent a message to the whole world asking people to act now to stop the war before it becomes a "humanitarian catastrophe". 

His brother Vitali Klitschko is the mayor of Kyiv, where people are expecting an imminent Russian assault. 

Ukrainians asked to turn off geolocation on their phones 

The Russian military is reportedly using geolocation to find gatherings of people in Ukraine. Civilians are being told to turn geolocation off on their phones. 

Western allies agree to cut selected Russian banks off Swift 

Huge news coming in that western allies have agreed to cut selected Russian banks off Swift (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication). 

This has been a request made by the Ukrainian government multiple times that had, until now, gone unanswered. 

The BBC reports that the EU, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Canada, and the US have just released a coordinated statement condemning the Russian invasion. 

"As Russian forces unleash their assault on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, we are resolved to continue imposing costs on Russia that will further isolate Russia from the international financial system and our economies," the statement reads. 

Measures to be implemented in the coming days include removing "selected Russian banks from the Swift messaging system". 

"This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally." 

Swift is the main global secure messaging system that banks use to make rapid and secure payments across borders, allowing international trade to flow smoothly. 

Germany to close airspace to Russian planes 

Germany officials said Saturday that the country is preparing to close its airspace to Russian planes. 

Transport Minister Volker Wissing backs such a measure and has ordered all preparations for this to be undertaken, his ministry said on Twitter. 

Hours earlier, a German-registered DHL cargo plane made a sharp turn back out of Russian airspace, according to air traffic monitoring website FlightAware.com. 

Kyiv braces for heavy air raid 

Kyiv is expected to be hit by a heavy air raid shortly. 

It's 11:40pm and Ukrainians are going into the third night at war and about to endure the strongest attack to their capital. 

People in Kyiv are urged to seek shelter. 

Wellington shows support 

The Michael Fowler Centre building in Wellington will tonight be lit up in support of Ukraine. 

Football fields in the UK and Europe were the set of anti-war protests and shows of support for Ukraine today 

Speaking of football, Chelsea's Russian owner Roman Abramovich has sensationally given up control of the football club amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

Russian troops strike children's cancer hospital 

Horrific news that Russian artillery fire has struck the children's cancer hospital Okhmadyt, in Kyiv. 

Reports state one child has died and two have been wounded, as well as two adults. 

Map shows the extent of Russian gains in Ukraine so far 

Zelenskyy asks UN to strip Russia of its security council vote 

The Ukrainian president has asked the United Nations to strip Russia of its security council vote, as punishment for invading Ukraine. 

"To deprive the aggressor country of the right to vote in the UN Security Council, to qualify Russian actions and statements as genocide of the Ukrainian people, to help with the delivery of corpses of Russian soldiers. Talked about it in a conversation with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres," he posted. 

Russian TV hacked to play Ukraine national anthem – reports 

A hack has left Russian TV channels broadcasting the Ukrainian national anthem, according to online reports. 

This is one of several instances of hacking targeting Russia, including more serious ones on banking and government websites. 

Ukraine calls on Elon Musk for help 

Ukraine's Minister for Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, has asked Elon Musk to help the country in its war against Russia. 

"@elonmusk, while you try to colonize Mars — Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space — Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand," he wrote on Twitter. 

Brewery switches production to make molotov cocktails 

Pravda brewery, in the Ukrainian city of Lviv, has switched to making Molotov cocktails. 

According to The Kyiv Independent, the brewery announced the plans after Ukraine's Defense Ministry instructed civilians to make Molotov cocktails to resist invading Russian forces. 

Anti-war protests continue around the world 

Incredible scenes below from Georgia where thousands protest the war in Ukraine. 

Germany to supply Ukraine with anti-tank weapons and stinger missiles 

In what is considered a major shift in German policy, the country has agreed to supply Ukraine with 1000 anti-tank weapons and 500 stinger missiles, to help the country in its battle against Russia's invasion. 

The weapons, which will come from the Bundeswehr's own stocks, "will be delivered as quickly as possible to Ukraine", the German government said in a statement. 

All rail links to Russia destroyed

After another intense day of fighting in Ukraine, all rail links between the country and Russia have been destroyed. 

According to the state rail service, Ukraine armed forces blew up all railway tracks from Russia to Ukraine. 

Meanwhile, in Kyiv, intense gunfire continues to echo across the capital. 

Earlier updates continue below: 

Central Kyiv appeared quiet on Saturday, though sporadic gunfire could be heard. And fighting on the city's outskirts suggested that small Russian units were trying to clear a path for the main forces. Britain and the U.S. said the bulk of Russian forces were 19 miles (30 kilometres) from the centre of the city. 

As Russian troops pressed their offensive with small groups of troops reported inside Kyiv, the city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, extended an overnight curfew to run from 5 p.m. Saturday until 8 a.m. on Monday, saying any civilians out past curfew "will be considered members of the enemy's sabotage and reconnaissance groups." 

Russia claims its assault on Ukraine is aimed only at military targets, but bridges, schools and residential neighbourhoods have been hit since the invasion began Thursday with air and missile strikes and Russian troops entering Ukraine from the north, east and south. 

Ukraine's health minister reported Saturday that 198 people, including three children, had been killed and more than 1,000 others had been wounded during Europe's largest land war since World War II. It was unclear whether those figures included both military and civilian casualties. 

In Kyiv, a missile struck a high-rise apartment building in the southwestern outskirts near one of the city's two passenger airports, leaving a jagged hole of ravaged apartments over several floors. A rescue worker said six civilians were injured. 

The conflict has driven thousands of Ukrainians from their homes in search of safety. U.N. officials said more than 120,000 Ukrainians had left the country for Poland, Moldova and other neighbouring nations. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine after he spent weeks denying that's what he intended, all the while building up a force of almost 200,000 troops along the countries' borders. He claims the West has failed to take seriously Russia's security concerns about NATO, the Western military alliance that Ukraine aspires to join. But he has also expressed scorn about Ukraine's right to exist as an independent state. 

A child colouring inside a bomb shelter in Kyiv. Photo / AP 

Putin has not disclosed his ultimate plans for Ukraine but Western officials believe he is determined to overthrow Ukraine's government and replace it with a regime of his own, redrawing the map of Europe and reviving Moscow's Cold War-era influence. 

It was unclear in the fog of war how much territory Russian forces have seized. Britain's Ministry of Defense said, "the speed of the Russian advance has temporarily slowed likely as a result of acute logistical difficulties and strong Ukrainian resistance." 

A senior U.S. defense official said Saturday that more than half of the Russian combat power that was massed along Ukraine's borders had entered Ukraine, and that Russia has had to commit more fuel supply and other support units inside Ukraine than originally anticipated. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal U.S. assessments, did not provide further details. 

Ukraine's Infrastructure Ministry said a Russian missile was shot down before dawn Saturday as it headed for the dam of the sprawling water reservoir that serves Kyiv, and Ukraine said a Russian military convoy was destroyed near the city early Saturday. Footage showed soldiers inspecting burned-out vehicles after Ukraine's 101st brigade reported destroying a column of two light vehicles, two trucks and a tank. The claim could not be verified. 

Ukrainian soldiers take positions outside a military facility as two cars burn, in a street in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photo / AP 

Highways into Kyiv from the east were dotted with checkpoints manned by uniformed Ukrainian troops and young men in civilian clothes carrying automatic rifles. Low-flying planes patrolled the skies, though it was unclear if they were Russian or Ukrainian. 

In addition to Kyiv, the Russian assault appeared to focus on Ukraine's coastline, which stretches from near the Black Sea port of Odesa in the west to beyond the Azov Sea port of Mariupol in the east. 

If the Russian troops succeed, Ukraine would be cut off from access to all of its sea ports, which are vital for its economy. In Mariupol, Ukrainian soldiers guarded bridges and blocked people from the shoreline amid concerns the Russian navy could launch an assault from the sea. 

Fighting also raged in two territories in eastern Ukraine that are controlled by pro-Russian separatists. Authorities in the city of Donetsk said hot water supplies to the city of about 900,000 were suspended because of damage to the system by Ukrainian shelling. 

The U.S. government urged Zelenskyy early Saturday to evacuate Kyiv but he turned down the offer, according to a senior American intelligence official with direct knowledge of the conversation. Zelenskyy issued a defiant video recorded on a downtown Kyiv street early Saturday, saying he remained in the city. 

"We aren't going to lay down weapons. We will protect the country," the Ukrainian president said. "Our weapon is our truth, and our truth is that it's our land, our country, our children. And we will defend all of that." 

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have been on the move, seeking safety in the west of the country or beyond. The U.N. estimates that up to 4 million could flee if the fighting escalates. 

Refugees arriving in the Hungarian border town of Zahony said men between 18 and 60 were not being allowed to leave Ukraine. 

"My son was not allowed to come. My heart is so sore, I'm shaking," said Vilma Sugar, 68. 

Hungary and Poland both opened their borders to Ukrainians. At Poland's Medyka crossing, some said they had walked for 15 miles (35 kilometres) to reach the border. 

"They didn't have food, no tea, they were standing in the middle of a field, on the road, kids were freezing," said Iryna Wiklenko as she waited on the Polish side for her grandchildren and her daughter-in-law to make it across. 

Officials in Kyiv urged residents to seek shelter, to stay away from windows and to take precautions to avoid flying debris or bullets. Many spent Friday night in basements, underground parking garages and subway stations, and prepared to do the same on Saturday. 

Shelves wore thin at some Kyiv grocery stores and pharmacies, and some worried how long stockpiles of food and medicine might last. 

The United States and other NATO allies have sent weapons and other aid to Ukraine and beefed up their troops on NATO's eastern flank, but ruled out deploying troops to fight Russia. 

People run to take cover in bomb shelters in Kyiv. Photo / AP 

Instead, the U.S., the European Union and other countries have slapped wide-ranging sanctions on Russia, freezing the assets of Russian businesses and individuals including Putin and his foreign minister. 

Zelenskyy appealed for tougher sanctions, urging holdout countries in Europe to agree to cut Russia out of the SWIFT international payments system. 

A senior Russian official on Saturday shrugged off the sanctions as a reflection of Western "political impotence." 

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia's Security Council, warned that Moscow could react to the sanctions by opting out of the last remaining nuclear arms pact, freezing Western assets and cutting diplomatic ties with nations in the West. 

"There is no particular need in maintaining diplomatic relations," Medvedev said. "We may look at each other in binoculars and gunsights." 

Diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed appeared to have faltered. Zelenskyy offered Friday to negotiate a key Russian demand: that Ukraine declares itself neutral and abandon its ambition of joining NATO. 

The Kremlin said it accepted Kyiv's offer to hold talks, but it appeared to be an effort to squeeze concessions out of the embattled Zelenskyy instead of a gesture toward a diplomatic solution. 

- Additional reporting by AP