Russian troops continue to face sustained Ukrainian counterattacks and mounting casualties as they attempt to encircle and cut off the capital Kyiv.
Here are the latest developments on day 19 of the invasion:
- Russian troops have shelled a block of flats and a factory in the capital, Kyiv.
- Ukraine will try to evacuate trapped civilians through “humanitarian corridors” from towns near Kyiv and in the eastern region of Luhansk.
- Almost 2.8 million people have now been forced to flee the fighting in Ukraine.
Russia launched its attack in the early hours of 24 February from three main directions: north, south and east.
Targets all over the country have been attacked from land, sea and air.
Russian naval forces have also cut Ukraine off from maritime trade by controlling its Black Sea coast, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The fight for Kyiv
Russian forces are attempting to encircle and cut off the Ukrainian capital, with troops now moving towards the city from multiple positions.
At least two people were killed in an air strike on a block of flats in the city’s residential Obolon district early on Monday.
Russian missiles also targeted a factory which makes Antonov aircraft at Sviatoshyn Airfield, about six miles (10km) from Kyiv city centre.
On Sunday, fighting continued in the western suburb of Irpin – where Russian forces killed American journalist Brent Renaud and injured two others.
A 40-mile Russian armoured column has now dispersed into the area west of Kyiv, moving more artillery and rocket launchers to within range of the capital.
The city is bracing itself for a ground assault, with Ukrainian forces and volunteers building new defences and creating barricades on major routes to slow any Russian attack.
Russian forces again held off attacking north-eastern Kyiv on Sunday, instead focused on reinforcing their lines of communication and logistics routes, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Slow Russian progress in the north
Although Russian troops have pushed forward towards the outskirts of Kyiv, their progress in the north has been slower than in the south.
The main advance towards the capital initially came from Belarus down the west side of the Dnieper River via Chernobyl.
Russian forces have faced serious logistical problems, with many vehicles running out of fuel, and strong Ukrainian resistance. Hostomel airport has changed hands several times.
Russian troops have surrounded the city of Sumy, bombed vital infrastructure and cut off supply routes, a local journalist has told the BBC.
Andriy Kramchenkov said they were enduring nightly attacks and food supplies in the city were dwindling. He said there were no Ukrainian forces in the city, only volunteer territorial defence forces.
Artillery attacks on residential areas of Kharkiv are being investigated by United Nations (UN) prosecutors for possible war crimes.
Big Russian gains in the south
Russian forces have made rapid gains across the south of the country, advancing east and west from Crimea.
In the south-east, there is growing concern for tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the port city of Mariupol, which is encircled by Russian forces.
Russian troops have now taken part of the east side of Mariupol, but the west of the city remains under Ukrainian control.
People are trapped without food, running water or electricity and bodies have been buried in mass graves.
Russian forces have been heading north in the direction of Zaporizhzhia, but may struggle to take the city whilst large numbers of Russian troops remain committed to the fight in Mariupol, according to the ISW.
They have also been reinforcing positions around Mykolaiv. An air strike in the city killed nine people on Sunday.
The BBC’s Security Correspondent Frank Gardner says the prize for Russia is the strategic port city of Odesa to the southwest: “The city has had plenty of time to build its defences but if and when Russia does attack it will likely be a multi-pronged assault using amphibious forces in the Black Sea combined with air mobile units deployed inland.”
The MoD says Russian naval forces have already cut Ukraine off from maritime trade by controlling its Black Sea coast.
Russian advances in the east
Fighting continues in the Donetsk region. Russian forces are reported to have captured the towns of Staromlynivka, Yevhenivka, Pavlivka, and Yegorivka, while Ukrainian troops have pushed back attacks on Volnovakha, between Donetsk and Mariupol.
The Donetsk regional governor said barely anything was left of the city. “In general, Volnovakha with its infrastructure as such no longer exists,” he said.
In neighbouring Luhansk, Russian forces are said to be gathering reserves for a renewed offensive on Severodonetsk.
Dnipro has come under attack in recent days and is strategically important as a point of convergence for Russian troops coming from the south and east.
Thousands flee across borders
Since the invasion began, 2.8 million people have fled Ukraine, according to the UN.
It is the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War Two.
Unicef, the UN children’s agency, believes around half of them are children and young people.
About these maps
To indicate which parts of Ukraine are under control by Russian troops we are using daily assessments published by the Institute for the Study of War with the American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project.
From 2 March this daily assessment differentiated between “Assessed Russian-controlled Ukrainian territory” and “Assessed Russian advances in Ukraine”, the latter indicating areas where Russians are believed to have launched attacks from but which they do not control.
To show key areas where advances are taking place we are also using daily updates from the UK Ministry of Defence and BBC research. To show locations where there have been attacks or explosions we are using reports that have been verified by the BBC.
The situation in Ukraine is fast moving and it is likely there will be times when there have been changes not reflected in the maps.
