Nick Thorpe
BBC East and Central Europe Correspondent

Image source, Reuters

A massive exodus has begun from Ukraine towards multiple western borders - from Poland in the north, to Moldova in the south.

Most of the thousands who manage to cross the borders are women and children.

Since midnight on Thursday, men of military age, meaning between 18 and 60, are being told they should stay and fight. Those on the road say they were running for their lives.

One destination for Ukraine’s fleeing civilians is the border with Hungary at Beregsurany, where most of those crossing are on foot, mostly women and children, and mostly ethnic Hungarians who are also Ukrainian citizens - the Transcarpathian region of western Ukraine has a 150,000 Hungarian-strong community.

Eva, 44, got a ride to the border from her village of Borzova, 12 km away, then walked into Hungary with her children Eniko, 11, and Richi, 14. Her husband works in Budapest. They wait in a little huddle at the roadside for him to drive out and pick them up.

"There's a mood of panic in our village. People gather in streets and set out for Hungary. There was also panic buying in the shops.

"We're afraid the Russians will occupy the whole country. That’s one fear. The other, is that we are afraid our men will be conscripted."

By a buffet at the roadside, a group of six or seven young men, all ethnic Hungarians, stand around looking lost.

They crossed on Thursday. Did you think about staying and fighting? I ask.

"It's a war between Ukraine and Russia," one shrugged. "It’s not our war."

As fighting continues across Ukraine, residents are fleeing Kyiv in response to the approach of Russian forces.

Here are a selection of images taken by photojournalists covering the crisis on the ground.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has just posted this, after speaking to the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Earlier, China's President Xi Jinping told Vladimir Putin that China supports Russia in efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis "via dialogue".

China and Russia have a close diplomatic relationship and earlier, the Chinese foreign ministry declined to call the Russian offensive an "invasion" (see 10:09 GMT post).

Here's more from Vladimir Putin, who is addressing the Russian Security Council - and, indirectly, the Ukrainian military.

He says Banderites - a reference to World War Two anti-Soviet fighter Stepan Bandera - and so-called neo-Nazis "have put up heavy armaments including multiple rocket launch systems" in cities, including Kyiv and Kharkiv.

"Neo-Nazis" is regularly used by President Putin to deride the Ukrainian government. Ukraine's President Zelensky, who is Jewish, has dismissed the term.

Putin says: "They are acting like terrorists across the world, shielding behind people in order to accuse Russia of causing casualties among the peaceful population.

"It is known for sure that all this is happening on recommendations from foreign consultants, American advisers above all."

He then addresses Ukrainian forces.

"I am addressing Ukrainian armed forces servicemen once again: do not allow neo-Nazis and Banderites to use your children, your wives and the elderly as a human shield.

"Take power into your own hands. It looks like you and us will find it easier to reach an agreement than with that gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis in Kyiv."

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

A lot has been happening in Ukraine. Here are some of the latest developments:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin calls on the Ukrainian military to seize power from their own government
• The Russian Defence Ministry says its forces have taken control of the key Hostomel airfield near Kyiv. It claims 200 troops from Ukraine's special units were killed and there were no Russian casualties - as with other claims about casualty figures, we can't verify this
• Ukrainian military vehicles have entered Kyiv to defend the city against approaching Russian troops
• And the interior ministry says 18,000 guns have been given to volunteers, alongside instructions to make Molotov cocktails
• Some 450 Russian soldiers and 194 Ukrainians, including 57 civilians, have been killed since the invasion began, the UK's armed forces minister tells MPs
• Ukraine says more than 1,000 Russians have died since the invasion - again, we can't verify this

• The Kremlin says Russia is ready for talks with Ukraine in Minsk
• The focus on the talks would be on Ukraine declaring a "neutral status", which would include "demilitarisation", but there is no evidence Ukraine would agree to talks on this basis
• Poland is preparing to close its airspace to Russian airlines, its PM says
• The UN refugee agency estimates about 100,000 people are already displaced, but believes up to five million could try to flee abroad as the conflict escalates

The Russian president is now speaking, and appears to be calling on Ukrainian servicemen to turn on their government.

We'll bring you more as it comes in.

Image source, Getty Images

Ireland's foreign minister condemns comments by Russia's foreign minister attempting to justify the Russian invasion of Ukraine by likening the experience of the Russian-speaking minority there to Ireland's history of colonialism under the British Empire.

During a press conference in Moscow earlier today, Sergei Lavrov said "if in Ireland they prohibited the English language, what would the UK think about it?".

The comments have prompted Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney to hit back in an angry Twitter post.

"Don’t bring Ireland into an argument trying to justify an unjustifiable war," he writes.

"Ireland/UK are an example of how two countries, with a difficult past, found a way to shape and sustain a peace process, guaranteeing an absence of violence," he goes on.

Ireland was first occupied by Anglo-Norman invaders in 1169, finally gaining home rule from the British Empire in 1922. Over centuries, the native Irish language was slowly replaced by English.

The BBC's James White took these images from the centre of Kyiv.

Black smoke was seen rising on the eastern side of the Dnieper river in the Ukraine capital.

Image source, Yevhen Havrylov

We've been hearing from Yevhen Havrylov, who lives in Kyiv and spent the night in a bomb shelter.

"We were woken up about 3am, by yet another missiles attack. I took my family down to the bomb shelter immediately, it's under a nearby school," he says.

Havrylov says he can hear a "constant barrage of shelling" in the distance. But last night the explosions were huge, much more intense than the previous night.

"You won't sleep, you won't eat, can barely drink because you are nervous."

He says the shelters are well organised by the authorities, with drinking water, and guarded by Ukrainian soldiers.

Victoria Gill
Science correspondent, BBC News

Image source, SaveEcoBot

A radiation spike has been recorded around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Data from monitoring stations suggests the levels of radiation, external increased about 20-fold on Thursday.

“Around the reactor you would normally receive a dose of around 3 units (called microsieverts) every hour - that’s jumped to 65,” explains Sheffield University nuclear materials expert Prof Claire Corkhill.

“That’s about five times more than you would get on a transatlantic flight.”

The most likely explanation, she says, is increased movement of people and vehicles in the 4,000 square km Chernobyl exclusion zone has kicked up radioactive dust that is usually undisturbed on the ground.

Unrest around the now defunct nuclear power plant is alarming, but a repeat of the 1986 nuclear disaster, experts say, is extremely unlikely.

“The radioactivity has decayed significantly since then and the thing that released the radioactivity then was a huge fire,” explains Prof Corkhill.

Of much more concern is any fighting close to Ukraine’s other working nuclear reactors.

Nuclear policy expert James Acton wrote on Thursday that “Chernobyl is inside a large uninhabited space. Ukraine’s other reactors are not similarly isolated".

"Moreover, much of the fuel in these other reactors is substantially more radioactive than the fuel at Chernobyl,” he added.

Ukrainian military vehicles are entering Kyiv to defend it against approaching Russian troops, Ukraine's interior ministry says.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said earlier the city had "entered into a defensive phase".

The government is calling on the people of Kyiv to do everything it can to resist Russian troops, including making Molotov cocktails and taking up arms.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

As Russian forces advance on the Ukrainian capital, the authorities are calling on the population to do everything they can to resist the invading troops.

Both the Ministry of Defence and the Interior Ministry are appealing to Kyiv residents to "inform us of troop movements, to make Molotov cocktails and neutralise the enemy".

A leaflet with step-by step instructions of how to make petrol bombs has been posted on the Ministry of the Interior's social media.

Interior Ministry adviser Vadym Denysenko says 18,000 machine guns "have been handed out in Kyiv to all volunteers, all those who want to defend our capital with weapons in their arms".

"Ukrainian military equipment is entering Kyiv now to defend it. I am asking all residents of Kyiv - please do not film it, do not film its movements. This is necessary to protect our city."

Nick Beake
BBC News in Kyiv

As we head out on to the streets of Kyiv we find Ukrainian civilians now bearing arms to protect their country.

Men in trainers and jeans with rifles slung across their backs man checkpoints, and hidden in the trees on the side of the road are other young volunteers lying on the ground behind anti-tank weapons.

As we push on further we find professional soldiers braced for a last stand. They are accompanied by Ukrainian artillery and tanks facing the Russian position, less than 30km from the heart of the capital.

And we soon find signs of the battle drawing even nearer with a truck ablaze in the middle of the road.

Around the corner, my colleague Abdujalil Abdurasulov and I find Olena's family, a group of five.

They’ve got a flat tyre at the worst possible time. They frantically try to change it as they bundle a baby into the back seat.

“We’re really afraid", Olena's mother tells us, before another loud bang silences everyone.

As I ask her what she thinks of President Putin’s attack on her country, an even louder blast pierces the air. She lifts her arms up and says “you hear that, that was him”.

As we drive on, we spot soldiers lined along wide ridges crossing the river Dnipro. Some Ukrainian snipers are lying on their fronts, looking down their sights. Other colleagues behind them have adopted a similar defensive stance.

We see the faces of young men understandably anxious. There is an undoubted fear it could be just a matter of hours before the Russians confront them face to face and try to seize their capital.

Image source, Reuters

In a telephone call with Vladimir Putin on Friday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad praised his Russia counterpart's invasion of Ukraine as a "correction of history", a statement from the Syrian presidency says.

And Assad condemned "the US and Nato's destabilising policy, which led to a serious degradation of the situation in the Middle East", a statement posted on the Kremlin's official website says.

For context - Putin crucially backed pro-Assad government forces during Syria's civil war.

Marta Shokalo
Editor BBC Ukrainian Service, Kyiv

I woke at 3am and checked the news, and realised my son and I had to leave Kyiv.

Tanks were bearing down on the city from the north, and from other directions. It was clear the Russian military was attempting to encircle the city and would soon be in it.

Air raid warnings had told us there was a danger of attacks until 08:00. And 30 minutes after checking the news I heard distant explosions.

On Thursday many people were driving out of Kyiv to the west - towards the western city of Lviv and the Polish border.

I called my husband, who is away from home at present, and made a plan to drive east, to his parents' village in the depths of the Ukrainian countryside. We made this decision partly for our 10-year-old son, who spent Thursday shaking with fear.

The roads were empty in the direction I was travelling. Outside the city we passed Ukrainian tanks, heading in the opposite direction, towards Kyiv.

I didn't know whether I would meet Russian forces, or run into a roadblock. I was really focused, thinking to myself, "We need to get there. We need to get there."

I stopped periodically to check my phone and learned that street fighting was reported in Obolon, a northern suburb of Kyiv. Colleagues living there were going to attempt to leave.

These terrible things were happening, yet it was a beautiful sunny morning, with the first signs of spring in the countryside. It was completely surreal.

After a couple of hours we reached the village. I drove past the mulberry tree where last summer we were so happy gathering fruit.

Today I was happy again but in a completely different way. Happy to have got out of Kyiv, happy to be alive, happy to have arrived with my son in a place of safety.

Image source, Ukrayinska Pravda

More on the story we brought you earlier today of the 13 Ukrainian soldiers killed while defending a tiny island in the Black Sea.

The group refused to surrender to a Russian warship and held their ground before being killed in a bombardment of Snake Island.

Audio of the guards’ defiant final words has since gone viral on Twitter, TikTok and across wider social media.

The Russian ship messaged the Ukrainians: “I suggest you surrender your weapons and capitulate, otherwise I will open fire, do you copy?”

The Ukrainian guards can then be heard responding with “this is it”, before insulting the Russians with an expletive.

Ukrainian President Zelensky praised the guards' bravery, saying they would all be posthumously awarded war hero honours.

“On our island Zmiiny [Snake Island], defending it to the last, all the border guards died heroically. But did not give up,” Mr Zelensky said.

Footballer Igor Plastun also paid tribute to the soldiers.

The Ukraine international said: “Heroes! You will never be forgotten” and “glory to the heroes of Ukraine” in a post on his Instagram account.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a very fast-moving picture as Putin's troops reach northern districts near the capital, Kyiv.

We've had a number of figures on the scale of the casualties from all sides. It's important for us to say we can't independently verify what either side is saying.

Here's what we've got so far:

• Ukraine's defence ministry said , externalthat more than 1,000 Russian troops had been killed
• UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey told MPs 450 Russian soldiers and at least 194 Ukrainians, including 57 civilians, have been killed
• That was after the UN said at least 25 civilians have been killed and 102 injured in airstrikes across the country
• Russia said it had "eliminated" 200 Ukrainian forces while capturing the key Hostomel airfield near Kyiv - and 13 Ukrainians were killed while defending the tiny Snake Island
• On Thursday, Ukraine said more than 40 of its troops had been killed, with dozens more injured

Earlier today, we reported news of Russian armoured vehicles driving through Obolon, an area just north of Kyiv's city centre.

This photo shows the aftermath of that incident - a flattened civilian car that was crushed by one of the military vehicles.

Remarkably, the elderly driver was pulled alive from the wreckage.

Image source, Getty Images

Russia's defence ministry says its forces have surrounded the city of Chernihiv, which is about 150 km north of the capital Kyiv (see map below).

"The blocking of the city of Chernihiv has been completed," spokesman Igor Konashenkov said, in comments reported by the Russian news agency Interfax.

He also said that in taking control of the key Hostomel airfield near Kyiv - which we reported earlier - Russian forces "destroyed" 200 of Ukraine's special forces.

As we said earlier, we have not heard the Ukrainian military's account of the Hostomel airfield fighting.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says that Russia is ready for talks with Ukraine in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, official Russian news agency RIA Novosti reports.

But he said this would have to be about Ukraine declaring a "neutral status" - which would include "demilitarisation". Russia has all along wanted Ukraine to rule out ever joining Nato.

Ukraine's president has called for talks with Vladimir Putin but there is no indication that he will agree to talks on this basis.

Minsk is significant because it's where agreements were signed to try and bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine's east that broke out in 2014.

By invading Ukraine, Russia's leader is seen as having torn up those agreements.

Earlier Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said no talks could be held until the Ukrainian military lays down its arms.