In a sign that Russia's central bank is trying to stop people from selling their roubles, it has reportedly made it more expensive for individuals to buy foreign currencies.

It has imposed a 30% commission on such purchases on currency exchanges, Reuters reports.

The central bank did not immediately reply to the news agency for a request for comment.

Yesterday Russian President Vladimir Putin announced emergency measures to try and prop up the Russian rouble, including banning Russians from transferring money abroad, after the currency crashed to a record low.

In recent days many ordinary Russians have been racing to withdraw cash.

Many Ukrainians are sharing Time magazine's latest cover, which features a quote from President Volodymyr Zelensky atop the colours of the Ukrainian flag.

Above the headline "Volodymyr Zelensky and the heroes of Ukraine", the cover features the words - in Ukrainian - spoken by Zelensky in his speech to the EU Parliament on Tuesday: "Life will win over death, and light will win over darkness."

The American magazine's cover story also claims Zelensky "altered history" by choosing to stay in the capital Kyiv when the invasion began, which in turn roused the US and allies to take serious action against Russia.

In its latest update, Ukraine's military has claimed that Russian forces remain "unsuccessful" in the directions they are advancing, and that the southern city of Mariupol remains in Ukrainian hands.

Mariupol, which has experienced intense shelling, is seen as a key prize for the Russians as it would join up their forces in the south and east.

According to the military statement, Russian forces have continued their assault on areas close to the capital Kyiv - Vyshgorod, Fastiv and Obukhiv - with more Russian field camps observed in other areas as well.

It added that Russian paratroopers have been observed in the Black Sea region along with rocket boats, heading in the direction of the southern port city of Odesa.

The statement also warned internet users against sharing "real-time shelling information" as this "may be of interest to Russian gunners to further adjust the next enemy shot".

The BBC has not been able to independently verify such claims.

India on Wednesday abstained on a UN General Assembly resolution that deplored Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

This was the third abstention in less than a week by the country on resolutions on the escalating crisis between Moscow and Kyiv.

It was followed by calls from senior officials in Washington to India to "take a clear position".

India is having to walk a diplomatic tightrope over Ukraine as it tries to balance its ties with Moscow and the West.

But its strategy has raised questions, particularly in the West, over whether the world's largest democracy should take a clearer stand.

Read more about why India is not criticising Russia over Ukraine.

Belarusian tennis player and former world number one Victoria Azarenka has said she is "devastated" by the situation in Ukraine and called for "peace and an end to the war".

"It is heart-breaking to see how many innocent people have been affected and continue to be affected by such violence," she tweeted.

She added she had always witnessed both nations of Ukraine and Belarus, along with their citizens, being "friendly and supportive" of one another.

"It is hard to witness the violent separation that is currently taking place instead of supporting and finding compassion for each other."

Belarus, located directly north of Ukraine, is a staunch ally of Russia and has acted as a key staging area for Russian forces to launch attacks on Ukraine's northern cities.

Athletes from both Russia and Belarus have been barred from competing in international athletic competitions as a response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The US State Department called on Russian president Vladimir Putin to "immediately cease this bloodshed" and to withdraw troops from Ukraine's territory, in a statement released late on Wednesday US time.

In its statement, the US also accused Russia of launching a "full assault on media freedom and the truth" by blocking access to independent news outlets by preventing their ability to broadcast information about the invasion.

The US also pointed to Russia's "throttling" of social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, which it said allowed millions of Russians to access independent information and to connect with each other around the world.

The statement comes as Russia intensifies its attack on key Ukrainian cities, resulting in mounting numbers of civilian deaths and more than one million people fleeing the country to seek refuge elsewhere.

As dawn breaks on the eighth day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, here's an update of what's been happening if you're just joining us:

• Russian forces have seized control of the key southern port city of Kherson, local officials say. It's the first major Ukrainian city to be taken since the invasion began
• In the past few hours, loud explosions have been shaking Kyiv and other cities, with footage showing a huge fireball lighting up the night sky in the capital
• But a US defence official says a massive convoy of Russian military vehicles close to Kyiv has "stalled" due to fuel and food shortages
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has released a late-night video, praising the courage of citizens in defending their country
• An investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine has been launched by the International Criminal Court in The Hague
• More than one million people have now fled Ukraine since the start of the invasion, the UN says, with the number rising rapidly
• Russia has for the first time said it sustained heavy military casualties during its attack on Ukraine, with 498 troops killed and a further 1,597 injured. Ukraine has claimed that far more Russian troops have been killed. The BBC cannot independently verify these claims.

Image source, Getty Images

Powerful explosions were heard in the capital Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities on Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

At least four major explosions around 03:00 local time lit up the night sky in Kyiv and were captured by witnesses on video.

It is unclear what the targets of the attack were, or how many people may have been hurt or injured.

The explosions came hours after a massive blast near Kyiv's central train station shook the city. It happened very close to where hundreds of evacuees are sheltering from Russian shelling.

An adviser to Ukraine's Interior Ministry said damage to infrastructure was caused by the falling wreckage of a missile after it had been intercepted by air defense systems.

A major heating pipeline was damaged, the official added. There were no casualties, Kyiv's mayor said.

Image source, Maxar

The hundreds of Russian armoured vehicles heading for Kyiv currently "remain stalled" en route, according to US Defense Department Spokesman John Kirby.

“They haven’t from our best estimates made any appreciable progress in the last 24 to 36 hours,” Kirby said at a Pentagon briefing on Wednesday.

He said that the delay may be due to the forces “regrouping themselves and reassessing the progress that they have not made and how to make up the lost time”.

He added that “logistics and sustainment challenges” and “resistance from the Ukrainians” are also factors.

Unverified reports indicate that the soldiers are running out of fuel and food. Officials in regions that have fallen to Russia have claimed that troops are ransacking supermarkets for provisions and that the meals provided to them by the military are expired.

Defiant Russian demonstrators have once again taken to the streets of St Petersburg - the hometown of president Vladimir Putin - to protest against the invasion of Ukraine.

As in previous days, they were met with a heavy police presence - anti-riot officers violently dispersed protesters and arrested dozens of others. Hundreds of demonstrators have been arrested in the past few days.

The fresh wave of protests came as jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny called for daily rallies against the military assault, saying Russia should not be a "nation of frightened cowards."

Here are some images from the protests:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

The Indian government has denied Russian allegations that Indian students are being held hostage in Ukraine.

Russia had said that the students were being used by the Ukrainian armed forces as "a human shield" and were trying "in every possible way to prevent them from leaving for Russian territory".

However, in a statement released on Thursday, India's foreign ministry said it had not "recieved reports of any hostage situation regarding any student" in Ukraine.

The statement added that India has requested the support of Ukrainian authorities to arrange special trains to help students out of Kharkiv and neighbouring areas to the western part of the country.

Thousands of Indian students are believed to be still stranded in Kharkiv.

India has ramped up evacuation efforts but is facing logistical hurdles in getting its citizens home.

Image source, Russian Presidency

Vladimir Putin has rarely looked more isolated than he does now.

As Russia's commander in chief, ultimate responsibility for the invasion of Ukraine rests with him.

But Putin has always relied on a deeply loyal entourage.

Like him, many of his closest advisers also began their careers in Russia's security services.

The question is who has his ear, during this most fateful moment in his presidency.

Read more: Who's in Putin's inner circle and running the war?

Image source, Unian

An official in the city of Izium, two hours southeast of Kharkiv, has reported that eight civilians - including two children - have been killed in air attacks.

Deputy Mayor Volodymyr Matsokin said that the city centre sustained significant damage and that police were injured when a government building was hit.

Earlier, Matsokin wrote on his Facebook page that the residents died when a shell hit their apartment building.

Image source, Getty Images

The Babyn Yar memorial in Kyiv was not damaged by a Russian missile strike as previously claimed, according to the latest reports.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky said a Russian missile had hit the site which honours the 33,000 Jewish people murdered there by Nazis during World War 2. He called it "history repeating".

Natan Sharansky, an Israeli politician and spokesman for the memorial centre condemned Russia's leader for the bombing at the time, saying: "It is symbolic that he [Putin] starts attacking Kyiv by bombing the site of the Babyn Yar, the biggest of Nazi massacres."

But, a journalist for the Israeli publication Yediot Ahronot, external later visited the site, and reported that despite three missiles landing nearby, the memorial is "unscathed".

Speaking on Wednesday to American Jewish magazine Forward, external, Sharansky clarified that the missiles damaged a Jewish cemetery there, as well as a nearby Soviet-era sports complex that the memorial is seeking to acquire.

As we enter Day 8 of Russia's full-scale assault on Ukraine, residents across the country continue to fiercely resist invading troops.

BBC News has independently verified the footage below.

In the southern city of Enerhodar, civilians rallied en masse outside the local power plant in an effort to repel Russian forces. "We will not let them into Europe's largest power plant," the unseen camera person says.

Drone footage from the southeastern Zaporozhye region appears to show Russian forces retreating. The account claims troops "threatened to return".

Residents of Melitopol in the southeast of Ukraine protested the Russian presence for about two hours.

"These monsters fired into the air and tried to intimidate us, but they miscalculated. Melitopol is Ukraine," says the tweet.

A mother in Kyiv shares what war looks like through the eyes of her children, who make pistols of Lego to "kill the enemy".

Image source, Getty Images

Russian forces will allow Kyiv residents to leave the city in the direction of the central town of Vasylkiv, officials in Moscow have said.

Maj Gen Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the defence ministry, made the offer while giving an update on the invasion to state TV.

"There will not be any obstacles from Russian military personnel for the exit of the civilian population," Maj Gen Konashenkov said in comments shown on rolling news channel Rossiya 24.

This is the second time Russia has offered a way for civilians to evacuate Kyiv. On Monday Maj Gen Konashenkov made the same offer, telling civilians the route towards Vasylkiv was "open and safe".

But Vasylkiv itself has come under heavy Russian shelling since the invasion began almost a week ago.

Image source, Tom Littledyke

A British pub landlord has arrived in Ukraine with a minibus of aid after a 1,000-mile (1,600km) journey from the UK.

Tom Littledyke, a former Royal Marine, set off from Dorset in south-west England on Monday.

After dropping supplies in Poland, he said he made the "terrifying" drive over the border to Lviv in western Ukraine.

He is now using his 16-seater minibus to ferry people from the city's train station back to the Polish border.

Image source, Tom Littledyke

Victoria Gill
Science correspondent, BBC News

Thousands of Russian scientists and science journalists have put their names to a statement of protest against the “unfair and senseless” invasion of Ukraine.

The online statement was initially published in Russian by the news organisation TRV Science. The statement was signed by leading scientists, including about 25 members of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

They say the blame for "unleashing a new war in Europe" lies "entirely with Russia”.

“We demand an immediate halt to all military operations directed against Ukraine," they add.

They say Russia's actions - and the consequent sanctions it faces from other countries - mean it has "doomed itself to international isolation".

“This means that we, scientists, will no longer be able to do our job normally. Conducting scientific research is unthinkable without full co-operation with colleagues from other countries," the statement adds.

Image source, Getty Images

A super-yacht priced at $600m (£445m) has been seized by German authorities from its Russian billionaire owner Alisher Usmanov, according to reports.

The 512ft (156m) vessel, named Dilbar, was seized in Hamburg, according to Forbes magazine.

Usmanov, a metal tycoon, is one of 25 prominent Russians who have been sanctioned by the EU over their ties to the Russian government.

Other Russian-owned yachts have been seen flocking to the Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean that does not have an extradition treaty with the US.