Ukrainian officials fear large numbers of people may be dead after "more than 15 hours" of shelling on a city near the Russian border. 

The Deputy Mayor of the southeastern city of Mariupol, Sergiy Orlov, has told the BBC a riverside district, normally home to 130,000 people including his father, has been "nearly totally destroyed". 

"We cannot count the number of victims there, but we believe at least hundreds of people are dead. We cannot go in to retrieve the bodies," he said. 

The Russian army is working through all their weapons here – artillery, multiple rocket launch systems, aeroplanes, tactical rockets. They are trying to destroy the city," Orlov says. 

He said Russian forces are several kilometres away on all sides. 

It comes as Russia ramps up assaults on key Ukrainian cities, sparking a bleak warning President Vladimir Putin may be planning to use banned weapons against Ukraine. 

Read on for the latest updates. 

Four countries side with Russia 

A handful of rogue nations have sensationally sided with Russia during a UN vote "deploring" Russia's "aggression against Ukraine", which also called for the immediate withdrawal of its forces. 

The only nations to vote in support of Vladimir Putin were Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea and Syria, with long-term Russian allies Cuba and Venezuela joining China and 32 others in abstaining. 

Meanwhile, 141 of the 193 member states voted in favour of the resolution. 

During the meeting, Ukraine's ambassador to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, compared Putin to Adolf Hitler in a passionate speech, calling on the world to unite against him. 

It comes amid increasing signs Belarus plans to take a more direct role in supporting Russia against Ukraine, with Ukrainian officials claiming some Belarusian troops had already crossed the border. 

Russia's sick plan to use banned weapons 

US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, has told a UN General Assembly emergency special session on Ukraine that Russia was intentionally destroying crucial infrastructure – and that she feared worse was to come. 

"We have seen videos of Russian forces moving exceptionally lethal weaponry into Ukraine, which has no place on the battlefield," she said. 

"That includes cluster munitions and vacuum bombs – which are banned under the Geneva Convention. 

"We have seen the 40-mile-long (60km) lethal convoy charging toward Kyiv. President Putin continues to escalate – putting Russia's nuclear forces on high alert, threatening to invade Finland and Sweden. At every step of the way, Russia has betrayed the United Nations. Russia's actions go against everything this body stands for." 

'No movement closer': 64km convoy failing miserably 

A massive, 64km-long convoy of Russian troops and vehicles heading to Kyiv has been hit by major logistic nightmares, with "no appreciable movement closer to the city" made over the past two days. 

That's accoring to a senior Pentagon official, who claimed Russian forces were now facing serious food and fuel shortages. 

The offiical added that Ukrainians had been strongly resisting north of the capital, and had potentially also "at places and times" targeted the convoy, according to the New York Times. 

The insider also confirmed that Russia had failed to take control of Ukrainian skies, and that "Ukrainian air and missile defense capabilities remain intact and viable." 

Ukrainian city falls to Russia 

A major city in Ukraine's south has reportedly been captured as the nation continues to be battered by fresh shelling. 

Kherson - considered to be a strategically key centre - has become the first Ukrainian city to fall to the invaders. 

The city, which has around 300,000 residents, would enable Russia to control a significant chunk of the southern coastline and allow troops to head west towards the port city of Odessa. 

According to the New York Times, mayor Igor Kolykhaev confirmed Russian troops had encircled the city with Ukrainian forces retreating to the nearby city of Mykolaiv. 

Dead Russian soldiers litter Ukraine 

Confronting pictures of dead Russian soldiers are emerging amind conflicting reports regarding the number of Russian troops have been killed during the invasion. 

According to Russia's military, the fatalities are less than 500, while Ukrainian authorities put that figure far higher, at more than 7000. 

They claim hundreds of Russian troops have also been captured and are now prisoners of war. 

China's bombshell Russia move 

A shocking Western intelligence report has revealed that China allegedly asked Russia not to invade Ukraine until after the Beijing Winter Olympics had concluded. 

According to the New York Times, the report proves Beijing has prior knowledge of the invasion, which began on February 24 - just four days after the Olympic closing ceremony. 

In fact, Vladimir Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping of China in Beijing on February 4 ahead of the opening ceremony, raising eyebrows at the time. 

It comes as China abstained from a UN vote condemning Russia's invasion. 

Russian prisoners turn on Putin 

Ukraine's Security Service has posted videos of emotional, captured Russian soldiers slamming the invasion and claiming they were being treated like "cannon fodder". 

One prisoner of war claimed troops were fighting against "peaceful people defending their territory" while others said they were "lied to" and that they did not want war with their neighbours. 

"This is not our war. Mothers and wives, collect your husbands. There is no need to be here," an injured soldier said. 

"They don't even pick up the corpses, there are no funerals," another added of the widespread devastation. 

Earlier this week, Ukrainian officials invited Russian mothers to come and pick up their wounded or captured sons in an apparent dig at Moscow. 

"A decision has been made to hand over captured Russian troops to their mothers if they come to collect them in Ukraine, in Kyiv," the defence ministry said in a statement. 

The ministry has also set up a telephone hotline for Russian parents to find out if their sons had been killed or captured. 

"You will be received and taken to Kyiv where your son will be returned to you," the ministry statement said. 

"Unlike Putin's fascists, we Ukrainians are not waging war against mothers and their captured children." 

Blast hits Kyiv train station 

Reports are emerging of a major explosion near the Vokzalna train station in the capital city of Kyiv. 

There are fears the blast has knocked out heating supply to residents. 

2000 dead in brutal invasion 

Ukrainian authorities have confirmed that more than 2000 ordinary Ukrainian citizens had been killed over the course of the invasion so far. 

"Children, women and defence forces are losing their lives every hour," Ukraine's emergency service said in a statement.