An emotional Stuart McKenzie tells us about his decision to leave Kyiv - his home of almost 30 years - with his children.

US Senator Marco Rubio has intriguingly suggested "something is off" with Vladimir Putin.

Rubio is a member of the Senate intelligence committee and, as such, is privy to briefings from American spies.

The Florida Republican tweeted that President Putin's decision-making skills are not what they were five years ago and that "his problem now is different & significant".

Ukraine has been able to hold on to key cities despite repeated assaults from Russian military forces, says the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The statement said Russian forces were making gains from multiple fronts to try to encircle the capital city of Kyiv, but faced "strong resistance" from the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Russian forces have likely also made an amphibious landing in an area between the cities of Mariupol and Melitopol, located in southern Ukraine, says the MoD.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has divided US conservatives on how the US should respond to the unfolding crisis.

The annual Conservative Political Action Conference usually provides valuable insight into the direction of the Republican Party.

Some attendees said Russian leader Vladimir Putin would not have dared go ahead with the invasion if Donald Trump were still president.

They cited President Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan last year, arguing it had weakened the perception of US strength abroad.

An army base in Kyiv has fought off an attack by Russian troops, said the Ukrainian military in a Facebook post on Saturday.

The assault - which the BBC has not yet verified - is said to have taken place on Peremohy (Victory) Avenue.

Famous attractions in capital cities across the globe have been lit up in Ukraine's national colours to express solidarity with the embattled country.

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Image source, PA Media

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As Kyiv braces for attacks by Russia, who are the leaders tasked with defending the city? One is a former comedian, the other an ex-boxing champ.

Image source, Getty Images

When Volodymyr Zelensky first appeared on TV screens as Ukraine's president, he did so as an actor in a popular comedy series.

But then life imitated art in April 2019 and he became president for real, winning by a landslide with over 73% of the vote.

Now he leads a country of 44 million people, and says he is currently "the number one target" of Russia's forces.

Mr Zelensky has vowed to remain in Kyiv.

Image source, Getty Images

Like Ukraine’s president, Vitali Klitschko was a political novice before he was elected mayor of Ukraine’s capital in 2014.

The son of a military man stationed at Chernobyl following the nuclear disaster, Mr Klitschko rose to fame as a world heavyweight boxing champ alongside his younger brother Wladimir.

Now the siblings say they will take up arms to fight alongside their countrymen.

"I don't have another choice, I have to do that. I'll be fighting," the mayor told ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Friday.

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The US has unveiled an 86-page document detailing curbs on exports to Russia.

However, experts say a number of exceptions - or carveouts - considerably soften the blow.

"When you really parse this out, this is not a full-scale embargo by any means," Washington trade lawyer Doug Jacobson told the Reuters news agency.

"There are a lot of carveouts," he noted, such as mobile phones for Russian civilians, certain oil field equipment, and aircraft parts necessary for flight safety.

US exports to Russia are also not very significant, at less than $5bn in 2020, Reuters notes.

The restrictions are designed to hurt Russia over time, along with similar measures being adopted by other countries.

Image source, Getty Images

UN Chief Antonio Guterres has said peace must be given another chance, shortly after a Security Council meeting where Russia vetoed a draft resolution that would have deplored its invasion of Ukraine.

The resolution was doomed to fail because of Russia's veto power as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

"The @UN, external was born out of war to end war. Today, that objective was not achieved. But we must never give up. We must give peace another chance," he tweeted.

Shortly afterwards, he asked Russian troops involved in the Ukraine invasion to return to their barracks.

Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia thanked the Security Council members who did not support the draft, which he described as "anti-Russian".

"Your draft resolution is nothing other than yet another brutal, inhumane move in this Ukrainian chessboard," Mr Nebenzia said after the vote.

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We're seeing reports of explosions in Kyiv as well as fierce clashes around Ukraine.

In the capital, a large explosion has been heard near Maidan Square and multiple explosions have been reported in the Troieshchyna area of the city.

Artillery strikes on Kyiv have been loud enough to be heard miles away from the city centre, according to witnesses.

According to the Kyiv Independent, more than 50 explosions and heavy machine gun fire have been reported near the city zoo and in the Shuliavka neighbourhood.

Fox News foreign correspondent Trey Yingst said the capital was under attack "right now from multiple directions".

Fighting is ongoing near the CHP-6 power station in the Troieschyna district of the capital, according to the Ukrainian State Special Service. The attack could be an effort to deprive the city of electricity.

Vehicle wreckage and burning fires have been spotted on Kyiv's Peremohy Avenue.

Heavy fighting has been reported near an airfield in Vasylkiv, which Russian paratroopers are thought to be trying to use as a springboard for the assault on Kyiv.

Ukrainian forces also claim to have successfully repelled the Russians in the Black Sea city of Mykolaiv.

Barbara Plett Usher
State Department Correspondent, BBC News

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It is not unprecedented for Western governments to sanction a world leader, but it’s rare, and especially provocative in this case - because Vladimir Putin is the president of a nuclear power with a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

Both Washington and Brussels froze his assets and those of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The US also imposed a travel ban, but the EU did not - in order to keep diplomatic channels open.

It’s unclear how much of an impact an asset freeze will have on Mr Putin, as his money is not believed to be held in the United States.

But the direct action against the Russian president was seen as a warning that he could become an international pariah if he doesn’t end the invasion of Ukraine.

Officials in the US and Europe have already imposed severe financial sanctions on Russian banks and state-owned companies, and are considering other measures if Russia escalates its military operation.

Image source, Getty Images

The Biden administration asked Congress on Friday to approve $6.4bn (£4.8bn) in aid for Ukraine.

According to US officials, the request includes $2.9bn in humanitarian, economic and security assistance for Ukraine and its neighbours.

The money would be released on an emergency basis through the US Department of State and the US Agency for International Development (USAid), a federal agency.

The funding request also calls for $3.5bn to help the US Department of Defense respond to the crisis.

Bloomberg reports the aid could be rolled into a large government spending package that is currently being considered by Congress.

The new funding is expected to supplement money the US has already committed to Ukraine over the past year.

Those measures have included $650m in security aid, $52m in humanitarian aid and a $1bn sovereign loan guarantee.

Michelle Fleury
BBC News

The US Treasury has now officially sanctioned Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov - who it described as Putin's "chief propagandist".

It is rare for the US to sanction a foreign head of state, and this follows the EU, UK and Canada’s decision to do so.

Unveiling the new sanctions, the US Department of the Treasury said: "President Putin joins a very small group that includes despots such as Kim Jong Un, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, and Bashar al-Assad."

Sanctions have also been imposed on other members of Russia's Security Council.

Image source, US Treasury

Watch key moments from the second day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine - from early morning explosions over Kyiv to a defiant message from Ukraine's president.

As Ukraine faces a third long night of a full-scale assault by Russia, let's take a look at some of the latest major developments:

• Ukrainian officials say Russian forces will attempt overnight to storm the capital Kyiv and depose its leadership.
• President Volodymyr Zelensky vows to fight on in Kyiv, warning Ukrainians they "can't afford to lose" the city and must prepare for a "very hard" night.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Ukraine's military to surrender, attacking Zelensky's government as a "gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis".
• Explosions have just been reported across Kyiv, and fighting has been raging around major Ukrainian cities in the south, east and north

• The US, UK, Canada and EU have for the first time directly sanctioned Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
• Russia vetoed a draft United Nations resolution condemning its invasion
• Russian air traffic, including both commercial airlines and private jets, has been banned by a number of countries.

Image source, EPA

UN aid agencies are projecting that up to five million Ukrainians could flee to surrounding countries.

At least 100,000 people have already been displaced by the Russian invasion, the UN refugee agency says. Around half of them left in the last 48 hours.

Poland, Moldova, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia have all reported Ukrainians crossing their borders.

Polish authorities say 35,000 people entered Poland since Thursday as long queues have built up near the border crossings.

Poland has said that it is willing to take up to a million Ukrainian refugees. The UN has warned that nearly three times that number could be headed just to Poland in the coming days.

Ukraine has shot down a Russian Ilyushin Il-76 aeroplane with paratroopers aboard, according to the commander in chief of Ukraine's armed forces.

The BBC cannot independently verify the claim. The Il-76 is a large multipurpose four-engine aircraft.

A statement posted on Facebook said Ukrainian air defence forces had brought the plane down near Vasylkiv, close to Kyiv.

The statement called it revenge for when a plane with Ukrainian paratroopers was shot down at Luhansk airport in 2014.

Image source, Ukrainian commander in chief / Facebook

Amid the aerial assaults on Kyiv, residents have been sheltering in the city's underground metro stations.

Trains have remained open and at their platforms to accommodate people. They have been using the Telegram app to communicate with the outside world.

A few hours ago an open group on Telegram reported that a woman had delivered her baby in the metro.

Image source, Kievmap on Telegram

Lyse Doucet
Chief International Correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

A roar of explosions rolls across Kyiv tonight.

Air raid sirens blare warnings to residents to take to their shelters.

It is set to be another long, anxious night underground as the sounds of war grow ever louder and closer in a capital now in Russia’s sights.

Missiles slam into the edges of this beleaguered capital. The rattle of gunfire pierces the sky. Explosions are still distant from the centre; they're now about 10 miles away.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko, a former boxing champion now armed and in uniform, said Kyiv had entered a difficult night, a defensive phase.

He reported five blasts within three and five minutes near a power station in the north of the city.

Just before nightfall, we drove through eerily deserted streets. War has pulled life from what was once prized as a vibrant European capital. Soldiers check cars, take up positions outside key buildings, and along strategic junctions.

In one northern neighbourhood, we saw two new rhythms of life filling the same street.

A gaggle of residents nervously rushed past, suitcase wheels screeching as they made haste to reach somewhere safer.

Heading in the other direction, a crowd of men floods a yard where volunteers gathered to sign up for a territorial defence force.

“You really believe in the might of the Russian army?” a bespectacled young man asks me with a patriotic swagger.

“We had a lot of clashes today, in Obolon area,” he said, referring to an area just north of the city.

“Our planning is now in hours, not days,” he pointed out, as he hurried away to pick up his gun.

Image source, Reuters

A Western official has said that Putin could resort to "any means necessary" in order to win the conflict with Ukraine.