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Ukraine invasion: Kharkiv fighting 'like Star Wars above your head'

Ukrainian forces say they have repelled an attack on the country's second city Kharkiv after fierce clashes with Russian forces.

Regional governor Oleh Synehubov said the city was now rid of Russian troops - after street-to-street fighting overnight.

Residents described intense shelling, with one woman saying it was "something like Star Wars above your head".

A nine-storey residential tower was hit, emergency services said.

The building was severely damaged and an elderly woman was killed, according to emergency services. Rescuers said about 60 people were spared injury as they had taken refuge in the basement.

"I can't describe the sounds that woke us up," one Kharkiv resident said about the fighting overnight.

Another resident, university professor Dmitry Shabanov, said his family was fortunate to still have running water.

"We called our friend to join us - she has a newborn and a toddler. But she can't take a risk to try and get to us through the whole town," he said.

Russian troops also blew up a natural gas pipeline nearby, according to a Ukrainian state communications agency.

The fighting across Ukraine has resulted in at least 240 civilian casualties, including 64 deaths, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

It added that damage to homes and critical infrastructure has left hundreds of people without access to water and electricity.

Map showing whole country. Updated 27 Feb

The BBC has verified a video on the Telegram messaging platform which shows Russian trucks driving into Kharkiv.

Another video verified by the BBC showed a group of Ukrainian soldiers taking cover behind a wall, while one launched a shoulder-fired missile.

It comes after an oil terminal outside the capital Kyiv was attacked by missile, prompting toxic air warnings.

The massive explosion in Vasylkiv, 18 miles (30km) south of Kyiv, saw flames light up the night sky.

Those nearby were warned to close their windows - though many in Kyiv are already sheltering underground.

A strict curfew in the capital is in place until Monday.

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First real street fighting as Russia changes tactics

Analysis box by Pauli Adams, diplomatic correspondent

The big concern for Ukraine's government today is Russian troops attacking the country's second-largest city, Kharkiv.

Sitting so close to the border with Russia, it was always likely to be one of the first major cities to be in jeopardy. This appears to be the first real street fighting so far.

Some of the images emerging from the city show Ukrainian troops firing rocket propelled grenades on street corners and Russian troops, on foot, moving behind armoured vehicles.

Urban warfare is messy and unpredictable. This will be a test for defenders and attackers alike.

Russia's strategy so far seems to have been to bypass large cities, so this is a change of tactic - pointing to a desire not just to aim for the capital and replace the government, but to take over and hold major population centres.

Or, at least, to neutralise cities from which effective resistance can be organised against Russia's gradually extending supply lines.

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BBC producer Kathy Long said Sunday dawned cold and quiet in Kyiv, with police, the military and armed volunteers the only people visible on the streets.

But the blue and yellow national flag still flies on many of the ornate buildings that make up Kyiv's skyline, as the country enters its fourth day under Russian invasion.

Meanwhile in the north-eastern city of Okhtyrka, the local governor said at least six Ukrainians - including a seven-year-old girl - had died as a result of a Russian attack on Friday.

A kindergarten and an orphanage were among the buildings reportedly hit, which Russia has denied.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has alleged war crimes and called for an investigation by the International Criminal Court.

In Koryukivka, in Chernihiv region, residents were seen stopping advancing Russian tanks by walking them back en masse.

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Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have travelled towards neighbouring countries to escape the war. "The current total is now 368,000 and continues to rise," United Nations High Commission for Refugees said in an update on Sunday.

More than 115,000 have crossed into Poland alone - some travelling for more than two days, and others joining queues 10 miles (15km) long at border points.

Those fleeing are mostly women and children, as all Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 are being told to stay and fight.

Media caption,
Watch: A woman can be heard screaming as crowds try to force themselves onto a train bound for Poland

Despite the Russian onslaught, Ukraine's defences held for another night into Sunday.

According to a US-based war monitor, Russia has "failed to encircle and isolate Kyiv with mechanised and airborne attacks as it had clearly planned to do".

The Study of War's latest assessment said Russian attacks on other cities in the north-east and east have failed because they were "poorly designed and executed", and they faced "more determined and effective resistance than expected" from Ukrainian forces.

The monitor added that Russia's successes in the south of Ukraine posed the most danger.

Sanctions

In a move to prevent the Kremlin from financing its war, the EU, US and their allies announced the harshest financial measures imposed on Russia to date on Saturday.

The sanctions agreed by the US, UK, Europe and Canada include banishing some Russian banks from Swift, the main international payment system.

Russia is heavily reliant on Swift for its oil and gas exports, which form a major part of its economy.

Some of the assets of Russia's central bank will also be frozen, limiting Russia's ability to access its overseas reserves. This will stop it using its currency to limit the impact of sanctions.

Meanwhile, Russian airlines face a near-total airspace blockade to the country's west after an EU official said most European countries are set to impose flight bans.

 

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