Ukraine latest: Nato allies to prepare next steps after ‘horrific’ rocket strikes in Kyiv

Latest developments:

Ukrainian capital Kyiv hit by “horrific rocket strikes” and fighting reaches the outskirts of the capital overnight
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded tougher sanctions and support fending off the Russian invasion as Kyiv was hit by air strikes.
UEFA announces the final of the 2021-22 Champions League, which will take place on Saturday, May 28, is to be moved from St Petersburg to the Stade de France in Paris.
Urgent question on the military situation in Ukraine is taking place in the House of Commons. The House of Lords is also debating Ukraine and Russia.
Defence secretary Ben Wallace says Britain has been asked to provide more support to defend Ukrainian airspace.
Kremlin retaliates to ban on Aeroflot planes touching down in Britain by banning UK flights to and over Russia.
UK charities urging the UK Government to open its borders to the thousands of refugees fleeing Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded tougher sanctions and support fending off the Russian invasion as Kyiv was hit by air strikes.

Zelensky also called for allies to provide “effective counteraction” against Moscow’s advances after holding talks with Boris Johnson on Friday morning.

Downing Street said the Prime Minister pledged further support “in the coming days” after the president updated him on the “terrible developments” in the Ukrainian capital.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said more than 450 Russian troops had been killed, as a fierce resistance meant Moscow “failed” on the main objective on the first day of fighting.

Johnson and Zelensky spoke after Kyiv was hit by “horrific rocket strikes” and fighting reached the outskirts of the capital overnight.

After the call, the president said Ukraine “needs the support of partners more than ever”.

“We demand effective counteraction to the Russian Federation. Sanctions must be further strengthened,” Mr Zelensky added.

Johnson unveiled the “largest and most severe” package of sanctions Russia has faced to punish Vladimir Putin, hitting further oligarchs and freezing Russian bank assets.

The Kremlin retaliated to the ban on Aeroflot planes touching down in Britain by banning UK flights to and over Russia on Friday.

Johnson assured Zelensky that “the world is united in its horror at what Putin is doing” and praised the “bravery and heroism of the Ukrainian people”, No 10 said.

“The Prime Minister committed to provide further UK support to Ukraine in the coming days as the people of Ukraine and the world continue to demonstrate that Putin cannot act with impunity,” a statement added.

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said just before 4am on Friday that “horrific rocket strikes” had hit Kyiv in an attack he compared to the city’s 1941 shelling by Nazi Germany.

Zelensky said “subversive groups” were encroaching on Kyiv, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Kyiv “could well be under siege”.

US officials believe the action is an attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to dismantle Ukraine’s government and replace it with his own puppet regime.

Leaders of the Nato defence alliance, of which Ukraine is not a member, will hold an extraordinary virtual summit on Friday afternoon to discuss the crisis.

The Kremlin’s long-feared assault began in the early hours of Thursday, but the British Ministry of Defence said a “fierce resistance” was holding up the Russian advance.

Wallace told Sky News: “Our assessment as of this morning is that Russia has not taken any of its major objectives, in fact it is behind its hoped-for timetable.

“They’ve lost over 450 personnel. One of the significant airports they were trying to capture with their elite Spetsnaz has failed to be taken. In fact, the Ukrainians have taken it back.

“So, I think contrary to great Russian claims and indeed President Putin’s sort of vision that somehow the Ukrainians would be liberated and would be flocking to his cause – he’s got that completely wrong. The Russian army has failed to deliver on day one its main objective.”

Wallace ruled out Britain helping enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine because the RAF fighting Russian jets would trigger a “war across Europe”.

“He is trying to invade Ukraine. He won’t stop after Ukraine. He will use everything in the Baltic states. He doesn’t believe the Baltic states are really countries,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“And we will have to stand up to it. Now, I cannot trigger a European war and I won’t trigger a European war but what I will do is help Ukraine fight every street with every piece of equipment we can get to them, and we will support them, and that is the reality.”

Britain, the US and the EU have hit Moscow with a concerted package of economic sanctions, but are facing calls to go further to exclude Russia from the Swift international payment system, a move backed by Johnson but facing resistance in Europe.

Among the new UK sanctions introduced were measures to hit five further oligarchs, including the Russian president’s former son-in-law, and to target more than 100 businesses and individuals.

In the US, President Joe Biden was targeting Russian banks, oligarchs and high-tech sectors, while deploying more troops to Germany to bolster Nato.

Zelensky said in an address early on Friday sanctions alone were not doing enough to deter Russia.

“This morning we are defending our state alone. Like yesterday, the world’s most powerful forces are watching from afar,” he said.

“Was Russia convinced by yesterday’s sanctions? We hear in our sky and see on our earth that this was not enough.”

Meanwhile, UK charities have urged the Government to open its borders to the thousands of refugees fleeing Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s incursion.

In an open letter to The Times, charities including Amnesty International and the Refugee Council called on the Government to echo the humanitarian effort seen following the fall of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

They wrote: “A generation ago, the UK saved the lives of thousands of families from the Balkans through an evacuation and resettlement programme.

“The government should now respond with a well-resourced initiative, working with councils across the country, to welcome Ukrainians who need sanctuary.”