Image source, Getty Images

In a rare move, the United Nations' Security Council has voted to hold an emergency special session of the General Assembly to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The meeting, scheduled for Monday, will give all 193 members the floor to provide their views on the attack.

Russia voted against the meeting, but under a particular UN resolution it was unable to veto the move.

The resolution, called "Uniting for Peace", allows members of the Security Council to call a special session with the General Assembly if the five permanent members (Russia, US, UK, France and China) cannot agree how to act together to maintain peace.

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Boris Johnson has accused Russian news channel RT of "peddling" material that is "doing a lot of damage to the truth".

The UK prime minister's comments come after the EU today banned RT, formerly known as Russia Today, and Sputnik.

Johnson called for Ofcom to look at whether it is "infringing the rules of this country".

But the prime minister made it clear that the decision should be left to the independent body to decide.

When it was put to him that it sounded like he would ban it if he had the power to do so, Johnson said: "Yes but the difference between us and Russia is that the power is not with me, and that's the right thing.

"And that, you know, is partly what we're fighting for."

An Ofcom spokesman said: "Given the seriousness of the Ukraine crisis, we will examine complaints about any broadcaster's news coverage of this issue as a priority."

Nick Thorpe
BBC News, Hungary border

Daryna is 31 and has just spent three days making the 800km (497 miles) journey from Kyiv. Her husband Oleg drove her to the Hungary border-crossing. Then he set off, all the way back to Kyiv, to fight for his country.

Now she’s waiting in a Red Cross tent in Hungary. She waited 10 hours to cross this border, on foot. She’s exhausted, and tries hard not to cry as we speak.

"There is no life in Kyiv, there is just a lot of Russian occupiers, they come with tanks and rockets, everything is on fire. It is terrible now," Daryna says.

"The road is packed with people from the other side of the country, from Kyiv, from Kharkiv. A lot of people don’t have a place to leave to.

"We were in a hotel beside the road, and there were people with little children, they sleep on the…" she bursts into tears.

Here at the border, everything happens at a snail’s pace. The border guards only allow one car across each hour. A long tailback snakes kilometres back to the next village.

Daryna's husband sends a text to say he’s made it as far as Lviv - 270km in 10 hours. The roads are choked with traffic. And there’s not enough fuel.

Image source, Getty Images

During his evening programme tonight, Russian state TV presenter Dmitry Kiselyov delivered a monologue in which he posed the question: "why do we need a world if Russia's not in it?"

He was considering President Putin’s announcement today that he is putting Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert.

"In total our submarines are capable of launching over 500 nuclear warheads, which guarantees the destruction of the US and all Nato countries to boot," he said on his Vesti Nedeli show.

"That's according to the principle 'why do we need a world if Russia's not in it?'

"Russia's nuclear weapons are also delivered by the fastest strategic bombers in the world," he said, adding that "we won't even talk about our Strategic Rocket Forces".

"In total, Russia's nuclear capability is the most powerful in the world," he said.

"Now Russia's entire nuclear triad has been placed on special alert. Putin warned them. Don't try to frighten Russia."

Image source, Getty Images

Boris Johnson says Vladimir Putin putting Russia's nuclear deterrent forces on high alert is "a distraction from the reality of what's going on in Ukraine".

The UK prime minister praised Ukrainians for "fighting back... with more resistance than the Kremlin had bargained for".

"What's happening on the on the European continent is an absolute catastrophe," he said.

Johnson cast doubt on possible negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations to try to resolve the crisis.

President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed the two sides could meet on the Ukraine-Belarus border having initially rejected an offer of talks in Belarus.

But Johnson said he had seen nothing to suggest that Putin was genuine in his offer.

France has "strongly recommended" that any of its citizens currently in Russia leave "without delay".

It comes after the European Union announced that it was closing its entire airspace to Russian aircraft.

A statement on the website of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs reads: "Due to the increasing restrictions on air traffic between Russia and Europe, it is strongly recommended that French people passing through Russia (tourists, visitors, students, professionals on mission) make arrangements to leave the country without delay by existing air links."

It also advised citizens to postpone any upcoming trip to Russia.

Image source, Getty Images

Not long ago, we reported that Kyiv's mayor had told Associated Press that his city was "encircled" by Russian forces.

Now Vitali Klitschko is saying that is not the case, and it is in fact "disinformation".

Writing on the Telegram messaging app, he said: "Russian internet publications spread information with reference to me that Kyiv is allegedly surrounded and evacuation of people is impossible.

"Do not believe lies! Trust information only from official sources", he said.

As ever, the situation remains fluid.

A curfew remains in place in the capital, with many residents taking cover in basements and underground stations.

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Sticking with football, and the trustees of Chelsea's charitable foundation have not yet agreed to take control of the club owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovic, BBC Sport has learned.

On Saturday, he announced he was handing them "the stewardship and care" of the club.

The billionaire, who is believed to be close to Vladimir Putin, made the move amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He would still be the club's owner.

Members of the charitable foundation met on Sunday to discuss the situation.

But some have concerns over whether Charity Commission rules would allow them to run the club, and the foundation's lawyers are now exploring what can be done.

There are also understood to be some members of the foundation concerned about their legal liability if they agree to take on responsibility for running the club.

Read the full story here

Fifa, the world's football governing body, has announced a number of measures affecting Russia's participation in international games, but stopped short of imposing an outright ban.

It said that no international competition would be played on Russian territory, the country would compete under the name “Football Union of Russia (RFU)”, and that no Russian flag or anthem would be used in RFU matches.

It said any "home" matches would be played on neutral territory - without spectators, and that the measures would be "applicable until further notice".

Poland has reacted angrily, saying they will not play against Russia, "no matter what the name of the team is."

Fifa's statement also condemned Russia's use of force in Ukraine and said it would "continue its ongoing dialogue with the IOC, UEFA and other sport organisations to determine any additional measures or sanctions".

The organisation had come under pressure to act in recent days as football associations across Europe announced that their teams would refuse to play in any games against Russia.

In the UK, the FA also announced this evening that the England team wouldn't play any matches against Russia "for the foreseeable future".

Here's the latest of what we're hearing from civilians on the ground in the city of Kharkiv.

Daria Samoilyk, who with others has been forced to hide in the basement of her apartment building, told us she has barely slept for three days.

"It’s maximum one, two hours a night. There’s shooting all day long and all night long, without any pauses."

She said the fighting had left parts of the city badly damaged.

"I have lots of friends who lost their homes yesterday.

"I’m not sure if I feel safe, because a missile can fall anywhere and destroy any building. It’s like roulette."

Photos from the basement showed camping chairs and makeshift beds on a dusty floor, surrounded by piping from the building's heating system.

"All shops are empty now. We have water from our taps but it’s not good for drinking."

"We still have food but it’s going to finish one day and we can’t buy new food now. We’re trying to support each other and share."

Daria said some people have spoken to relatives in Russia who are getting information about the invasion from the country's state-controlled media.

"They say - all of them watching the news - that Putin is saving us, rescuing us. From whom? From what? We can’t understand.

"We are happy in our country. We didn’t ask anybody to save us."

Image source, Daria Samoilyk

Katya Adler
Europe Editor

The EU has agreed unanimously amongst all member countries to take in Ukrainian refugees for up to three years without asking them to first apply for asylum, the German interior minister says.

Around 18 million Ukrainians are expected to be affected by the conflict in humanitarian terms, and about four million to flee the country, Janez Lenarcic, commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management, said earlier today.

The UN’s refugee agency says the number of people fleeing Ukraine has now reached 368,000, with many in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Moldova and Slovakia.

Moldovan PM Natalia Gavrilita visited the border crossing of Palanca on Saturday, where a tent village and medical facilities have been set up.

"In these dark days for Ukraine, we stand by its citizens," she tweeted. "Moldova will assist those in need of safe transit or shelter. We are with you Ukraine!"

Image source, Getty Images

Turkey has said it will apply the terms of an international agreement that could see it block access to the Black Sea for the Russian Navy.

Under the 1936 Montreux Convention, Turkey has control over the two straits that connect the Black Sea, which sits on Ukraine’s southern coast, to the Mediterranean.

The convention guarantees the free passage of vessels belonging to Black Sea countries - like Russia - in peacetime, but allows Turkey to close the straits to all foreign warships in a time of war or if Turkey itself is threatened.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said earlier: “We have decided that the situation in Ukraine has turned into a war. We will be transparently applying the provisions of Montreaux.”

Turkey, which is a Nato ally but is also dependent on Russia for energy and tourism, had previously called Russia’s attack unacceptable but stopped short of calling the situation a war.

Image source, Reuters

The EU has warned that Europe is facing a major humanitarian crisis, and the number of people internally displaced by Russia’s invasion could be higher than seven million.

"We are witnessing what could become the largest humanitarian crisis on our European continent in many, many years," Janez Lenarcic, commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management, told a news conference.

"Currently, the expected number of displaced Ukrainians is over seven million people,” he said, citing UN estimates.

He said around 18 million Ukrainians are expected to be affected by the conflict in humanitarian terms, and about four million to flee the country.

"Even though these are very rough estimates, the figures are huge, and we have to prepare for this kind of emergency, which is of historical proportions," he added.

As we reported earlier, the UN’s refugee agency says the number of people fleeing Ukraine has now reached 368,000, with many in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Moldova and Slovakia.

Kyiv’s mayor has been speaking to the Associated Press and says the city is now "encircled" by Russian forces.

Vitali Klitschko was asked , external whether there were plans to evacuate civilians should Russian troops seize the capital.

“We can’t do that, because all ways are blocked,” he said. “Right now we are encircled.”

Air raids have been sounding in the city as residents face another night under the threat of air strikes.

Update: The mayor later said this was "disinformation" - see our post at 8.41 GMT

Image source, Reuters

An update on what we know about battles across Ukraine now.

There have been more air attacks on Ukraine. Officials says Russian ballistic missiles have been launched from sites in neighbouring Belarus.

For the first time since Russia invaded, air raid warnings were heard in the eastern city of Dnipro.

Sirens have also been sounding in the capital, Kyiv.

And after four days of downplaying its losses, Russia has now admitted its soldiers have been killed in the fighting, but it refused to give any numbers.

An official would only say the figure was lower than that of - as he put it - exterminated nationalists.

Jane O'Brien
BBC News, Washington DC

President Putin’s announcement that he is putting Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert has been condemned in the strongest terms by the US.

Pentagon officials say it is an unnecessary step and a dangerous escalation that raises the stakes of a miscalculation.

They are still assessing how President Putin’s order will be implemented and declined to say whether the stance of America’s own nuclear arsenal has been changed in response.

The White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the move followed President Putin’s pattern of “manufacturing threats that don’t exist in order to justify further aggression.”

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas Greenfield, said efforts at the UN would be ramped up to hold President Putin accountable for continuing to escalate the war in a manner that is totally unacceptable.

She will be attending an emergency UN Security Council meeting later today.

Katie Prescott, Business reporter, BBC News

BP’s share in Russian state oil giant Rosneft has long felt uncomfortable. This week, under heavy political pressure, it became untenable.

The Chair of Rosneft, Igor Sechin, is a close ally of President Putin. Rosneft supplies fuel to the Russian army.

Immediately offloading the stake to a potentially inappropriate buyer was not an option.

The company has decided to "divest", meaning it will sever its financial ties with Rosneft, stop taking a dividend and step back from its two seats on the board.

Company officials say it's too soon to say exactly how this stake will be disposed of.

It will mean a significant financial hit, but it's a price BP had little choice but to pay.

Sweden has announced it will send military equipment and other aid to Ukraine.

Announcing the move, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said it would be the first time Sweden had sent weapons to a country in conflict since the Soviet invasion of Finland in 1939.

She said the shipments would include 5,000 single-use anti-tank launchers, 5,000 pieces of body armour, and 5,000 helmets as well as 135,000 ration packs.

"My conclusion is now that our security is best served by us supporting Ukraine's ability to defend itself against Russia," Andersson said.

It comes after the European Union announced it would buy weapons and deliver them to Ukraine, the first time in its history it has taken such a step.

Image source, EPA

By Marc Weller, Professor of International Law, University of Cambridge

A no-fly zone over Ukraine to protect civilians from air attacks is not possible. It would not be blessed by the UN Security Council, because of Russia’s veto, and it would pit Nato F-35s against Russian MiGs, which would mean a wider war involving Nato.

On the other hand, the idea of humanitarian corridors might gain traction. These would seek to provide a safe avenue for Ukrainian women and children moving west, and for much needed humanitarian supplies to move east towards cities at risk of encirclement.

The corridors would not involve the military. They could be administered by the Ukrainian Red Cross Society and might also include courageous civilian international volunteers. Humanitarian law should protect them. But given past Russian practice, they would in fact be deliberately placing themselves in the path of significant danger.

The corridors could start with Lviv in Western Ukraine and could potentially extend to Kyiv or possibly even further. The zones would be lawful if invited by the Ukrainian government. The UN General Assembly, which will now take over from the Security Council, could encourage this step in its forthcoming resolution.

Russian police have arrested about 2,000 people at nearly 50 anti-war protests around the country, according to an independent Russian monitoring organisation.

OVD-Info says more than 5,000 Russian protesters have now been arrested since the invasion of Ukraine.