Kyiv residents are under a 35-hour curfew from Tuesday evening until Thursday morning after Russian air strikes and shelling killed dozens of people in the city.
Vitali Klitschko, the capital of Ukraine’s mayor, announced that civilians will have to stay home from Tuesday 8pm local time (6pm GMT).
The curfew will last until 7am local time (5am GMT) on Thursday.
Russia’s invading troops have tightened their grip on Kyiv and escalated their attacks in their attempts to seize it.
“Today is a difficult and dangerous moment,” Mr Klitschko said as he announced the curfew.
Recommended Zelensky says Ukraine must accept it will never join Nato – live Why has Russia invaded Ukraine? The conflict explained Sign The Independent’s petition to help the people of Ukraine
“The capital is the heart of Ukraine, and it will be defended. Kyiv, which is currently the symbol and forward operating base of Europe’s freedom and security, will not be given up by us.”
Firefighters battling a blaze in a Kyiv tower block
(Vadim Ghirda/AP)
A 15-storey residential tower block in west Kyiv caught fire after it was hit by an artillery strike.
Images showed a body in a bag on the ground, and firefighters tackled the blaze, helping evacuate residents trapped in the building.
Dozens of people were killed when four multi-storey buildings were also bombarded, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The body of a victim on the ground after Russian forces struck the tower
(Vadim Ghirda/AP)
One blast sent shockwaves that tore through the entrance of a subway station in central Kyiv that was being used as a bomb shelter.
The Artem weapons factory in central Kyiv was also hit, with footage taken by a local resident showing smoke rising from the roof.
On Monday, Russia had urged workers of weapons factories – and residents in those areas – to stay away and warned it planned to attack the compounds to retaliate against a strike on the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk, that Ukraine has denied launching.
An evacuated resident being comforted outside a burning apartment building
(Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images)
Mr Klitschko called for more men – who took their partners and children to western Ukraine so that they could flee the country – to return to the capital to defend it.
As Russia stepped up its assault on Kyiv, the leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia travelled to the city to show support for Ukraine.
On Monday, Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski was killed in Kyiv after the vehicle in which he was traveling was struck by incoming fire.
His colleague Benjamin Hall has remained in hospital, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott said in a message to staff.
Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski (left) pictured in Kyiv
(Fox News)
Mr Zakrzewski was the second journalist killed while covering the Ukraine conflict.
Brent Renaud, an American filmmaker and journalist, was shot dead by Russian forces in the town of Irpin, a regional police chief said on Sunday.
Recommended Three EU leaders in surprise journey to Kyiv to show solidarity with Ukraine Flames engulf building in Kyiv after it was hit by Russian strike ‘This is the house of God’: Russian Orthodox church near Kyiv bombed by Russian forces Man strolling through park in Kyiv narrowly avoids intercepted missile exploding in front of him Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall hospitalised after being injured in Kyiv
The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015.
Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered.
To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.