Lyse Doucet
Chief International Correspondent in Kyiv

Hundreds of thousands of people spent the last two days in the darkness underground. The curfew was lifted and they could finally leave their shelter. But half an hour later the air raid sirens sound and they have to rush back.

These were the moments they hoped they could run to get food, water, to breathe fresh air and to see how the city has been changed in the fighting.

This continues to be a volatile, unpredictable and, as President Zelensky has said, an absolutely crucial time.

This morning we heard from military officials that Ukraine had repelled several attacks by Russian troops to storm the outside of the capital. There were air raid sirens just before first light, there were explosions around the city throughout the night.

So it does seem that even on a day when talks are set to begin between Russia and Ukraine that Russia has not abandoned its efforts to push ever closer to the heart of this capital.

The president of Belarus promised the president of Ukraine in a telephone call that he would ensure that there was safety for the delegations to travel close to the border for peace talks.

But right after that phonecall missiles were fired from Belarus territory into Ukraine so it made a mockery of that promise.

President Zelensky said he was sceptical but he wanted to show Ukrainians he was doing everything possible to end the war which is now in its fifth day.

The UK's Ministry of Defence has tweeted an intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine.

It says:, external "The bulk of Putin's ground forces remain more than 30km to the north of Kyiv their advance having been slowed by Ukrainian forces defending Hostomel airfield, a key Russian objective for day one of the conflict.

"Heavy fighting continues around Chernihiv and Kharkiv however both cities remain under Ukrainian control.

"Logistical failures and staunch Ukrainian resistance continue to frustrate the Russian advance.

"Despite continued attempts to supress details of the conflict from the Russian population, the Russian Armed Forces has for the first time been forced to acknowledge suffering casualties."

Russia's central bank has announced it is hiking its key interest rate to 20%, up from 9.5%, to counter risks of rouble depreciation and higher inflation, as officials race to contain the fallout from western sanctions.

Moscow has also ordered companies to sell 80% of their foreign currency revenues, the central bank and the finance ministry said.

"External conditions for the Russian economy have drastically changed," the central bank said in a statement.

Image source, Belarus Foreign Ministry

Belarus says that it has prepared a venue to host talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations, as Moscow's invasion of its western neighbour enters a fifth day.

Ukraine has agreed to send diplomats to a location near the Ukrainian-Belorussian border, despite reports that the country's dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, is poised to send troops to join invasion.

"The venue for talks between Russia and Ukraine in Belarus has been prepared, the arrival of delegations is expected," the Belorussian foreign ministry said on social media, releasing a picture of a long table with Russian and Ukrainian flags.

Anatoly Glaz, a spokesperson for the country's foreign ministry, said: "The talks will start as soon as all the delegations arrive at the meeting point."

Ukraine has vowed not to give any ground at the meeting, and its President Volodymyr Zelensky, has said he doesn't expect the talks to yield any results.

"As always: I do not really believe in the outcome of this meeting, but let them try," he said.

James Waterhouse
Kyiv correspondent, BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

It's been relatively calm here in Kyiv overnight.

There have been regular clashes between Ukrainian forces and so-called Russian saboteurs in almost every district, but a two-day curfew has been lifted in the past hour allowing grocery shops to open, which, if you've been spending much of the past two days underground, is seen as a significant freedom.

It is very hard for those of us here originally from the UK to see what this war has done to people's lives, which have been upended. But locals have also got used to this to a certain extent. People are getting used to rationing food and water and they have fallen into a kind of routine.

But residents are gathering around television screens and phones, and they are concerned by some of the news emerging, especially reports that a referendum in Belarus has passed that may allow Russia to place nuclear weapons on Belarussian soil.

Elsewhere, there has been significant shelling overnight in Chernihiv in the north of Ukraine overnight. A nursery was targeted, along with a residential building, but there has only been one reported injury, presumably because people are following the advice and sheltering underground.

There is also a naval base in the south at Berdyansk which the local officials say the Russians have taken, so its very much that southern advance that is causing problems.

But the government in Kyiv is defiant and defence minister Oleksii Reznikov has said that over 100,000 Ukrainians have signed up to the armed forces. He has also been calling this a European war, saying that there are no borders between Ukraine and Europe now.

In the last hour, as day five of the invasion dawns, air raid sirens have gone off in multiple cities across the country.

The BBC's James Waterhouse in Kyiv has this summary:

Local news outlet Kyiv Independent has listed more places:

It is now just past 8am in Kyiv, and residents of the Ukrainian capital are now free to leave the underground shelters they have been staying in, as a weekend-long curfew is lifted.

Grocery stores will be allowed to open and public transport will start running, although subway trains will run much less often than usual.

The weekend saw repeated blasts, those appeared to be mostly contained on the outskirts of central Kyiv. A feared onslaught of Russian missiles on the city centre did not materialise, and the capital remains in Ukraine's hands.

However, Kyiv officials have warned the war is far from over, as street fighting continues in almost every district of the city. State officials say that those in Kyiv will wake up to see a cityscape that is vastly different from what they are used to.

"When you leave the city after 8am, you will see fortifications, anti-tank hedgehogs and other fortifications that have appeared on the streets of Kyiv," the Kyiv City State Administration said.

The curfew will kick in again at 10pm and last till 7am tomorrow. But residents have been advised not to leave their homes and shelters in the daytime unless absolutely necessary.

Image source, Getty Images

Russia's central bank says it has ordered brokers to suspend the execution of all orders by foreign legal entities and persons who want to sell off their Russian investments, such as stocks and shares.

The Bank of Russia also said it had yet to decide whether to open the Moscow Exchange, other than the forex and money market, on Monday. The opening time has already been pushed a few times in the last few hours.

It comes as the rouble plunged to a new record low after Western nations announced new sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Read more about the plunging Russian currency here.

The US embassy in Kyiv is urging US citizens in Ukraine to depart by "private options", if it is deemed safe to do so.

It called the situation "unpredictable," and urged "careful consideration" with regards to the routes taken as many of them were congested, exposed to combat operations, and others had infrastructure such as bridges and roads destroyed.

It also warned that most border crossings into Poland - which lies directly west of Ukraine - and Moldova were severely backed up and experiencing extremely long wait times, sometimes of up to 30 hours.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says an estimated 368,000 people have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries to escape the Russian invasion. Approximately 150,000 of those have made their way to Poland.

In recent months, the US State Department has estimated that approximately 6,600 US citizens live in Ukraine, although it is not clear how many of that number still remain in the country.

In a news conference on Sunday, Brazil's far-right president Jair Bolsonaro mocked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky - saying his counterpart's people had placed their hopes in the hands of a comedian.

Bolsonaro has refused to condemn Russia's invasion and on Sunday said Brazil would stay "neutral" in the conflict, adding that Brazil and Russia are "practically brother nations".

"We will not take sides, we will continue being neutral, and help with whatever is possible," Bolsonaro said. "A big part of Ukraine's population speaks Russian."

He claimed he also held a two hour discussion with Putin on Sunday, but the country's foreign ministry later clarified that he was referring to his visit to Moscow earlier this month.

Image source, Reuters

Shells fell in Chernihiv all night, although only one injury has so far been reported in the city.

The artillery assault began around 02:00, according to the Ukrainian State Emergency Service.

According to the agency, rockets struck a building housing a kindergarten, causing a fire.

A shop in a central market was also struck, as well as a five-storey residential apartment building. One woman was slightly injured.

It's now past 6.30am in Ukraine, and the sun is rising as air sirens are sounding in Kyiv, on day five of the invasion. Many of the city's residents have continued to take shelter underground.

More explosions were reported overnight in the Ukrainian capital and other cities around the country.

Ukraine claims that its troops managed to repel several attacks by Russian troops trying to storm the outskirts of the capital. "We showed that we can protect our home from uninvited guests," said Commander of the Armed Forces Colonel General Alexander Syrsky in a statement released about an hour ago.

Meanwhile video footage posted overnight showed a fire in a residential building in Chernihiv, which broke out after being struck by a Russian missile, according to reports.

Explosions were also reported in Kharkiv in the east, which was the scene of fierce conflict on Sunday after Ukrainian forces recaptured the country's second-largest city from Russian forces.

Here's a quick recap of major cities across Ukraine that have reported blasts in the conflict so far:

Image source, Getty Images

Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has controversially suggested his country should consider allowing the US to base nuclear weapons in his country, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

He made the remarks while discussing the impact of the Ukraine crisis during a television interview.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has drawn immediate parallels in Japan with a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan or takeover of Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea.

The BBC's Tokyo correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes says that politically this is one of Japan’s biggest taboos. Since World War Two, Japan has committed to never possessing, producing or deploying nuclear weapons on its territory.

Mr Abe also said he believes the US should make it clear to China that it will defend Taiwan if Beijing attacks the island.

Image source, Getty Images

There are reports that Belarus - which has acted as a springboard for Russian troops - is now preparing to send its own soldiers into Ukraine to assist in the Russian invasion.

The Washington Post, , externalciting an unnamed US official, said that Belarus was preparing for a troop deployment that could begin as soon as today.

The BBC has emailed the White House and Pentagon for confirmation.

Meanwhile, the Kyiv Independent, external has cited multiple sources as saying Belarusian paratroopers may be deployed.

Belarus, a longtime Russian ally, borders Ukraine on its north. Its autocratic government voted on Sunday to renounce its non-nuclear status - paving the way for Russia to potentially stage nuclear weapons there.

On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Belarus' authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko had pledged to him in a phone call that Belarussian troops would not be sent into Ukraine.

A Russian commercial plane has flown into Canadian airspace, despite prohibitions placed by Canada preventing any Russian airplanes from entering its territory.

Canada's transport ministry said it would review the conduct of Aeroflot Flight 111 and would "not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action".

The plane was flying to Moscow after departing Miami, Florida on Sunday, according to flight tracking website Flight Aware.

Canada, along with several Western nations, moved to shut its airspace to Russia on Sunday in an unprecedented move targeted towards levying pressure on Moscow to halt its invasion of Ukraine.

The US said it was also considering a similar action, but has yet to make an final decision, US officials have said.

Image source, FlightRadar24.com

Image source, Getty Images

Ukraine belongs in the European Union and the bloc would like to see the country join it in time, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Euronews on Sunday.

"Indeed over time, they belong to us. They are one of us and we want them in," she said.

The comments follow a historic ballot by the 27-nation EU - a vote to supply weapons to Ukraine.

A Russian missile has struck a residential building in Chernihiv, according to the National News Agency of Ukraine (Ukrinform).

One report says that the lower two floors of the building are currently on fire. No casualties have yet been reported.

Image source, Volodymyr Bondarenko/Facebook

The number of civilians killed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine is rising by the day.

By Sunday, Ukraine's human rights commissioner put the number of civilian casualties at 210, including several children.

Among the dead was a girl called Polina, who was in her final year of primary school in the capital Kyiv.

According to Kyiv's local authority, she and her parents were shot dead by a Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group on a street in the north-west of the capital.

Polina's brother and sister were taken to hospital. Her sister was in intensive care and her brother was taken to a separate children's hospital.

Several other civilians have died.

A seven-year-old girl died in an attack on a kindergarten and 10 members of Ukraine's ethnic Greek community were killed when their villages came under fire in the south.

Read more on civilian lives lost

Shelling has resumed in Kyiv and Kharkiv, according to The National News Agency of Ukraine (Ukrinform).

After several hours of quiet in the Ukrainian capital, explosions were heard once again in Kyiv and Kharviv on Monday morning, Ukrinform said, citing the Ukrainian Special Service.

Meanwhile, an air alarm has been sounded in Chernihiv, in the country's north.

The southern Ukrainian coastal city of Berdyansk is now in Russian control, according to its mayor.

Russian troops entered the city around 15:50 local time on Sunday, and were seen roaming the city's centre shortly after, Mayor Alexander Svidlo said in a Facebook video.

The soldiers entered city hall at 20:00.

The Russians, he said, "informed us that all administrative buildings were under their control and that they were taking control of the executive committee building".

"But under the control of armed men, I consider this proposal unacceptable. So we, as all members of the operational headquarters, left the building of the executive committee," he said.

The city on the Black Sea contains a small naval base and is home to about 100,000 Ukrainians.