Heavy fighting around Kyiv amid Russian assault

It’s nearing 07:00 in Ukraine this morning- the third day of Russia’s invasion of the country.

It will have been a long sleepness night for many in their homes or underground shelters as air raid sirens blared warnings across the night.

Overnight, we’ve been hearing reports of heavy fighting and explosions across the capital Kyiv.

Here’s what else you need to know to bring you quickly up to speed:

• Ukrainian troops have been trying to push back Russian attacks. An army unit in Kyiv reportedly repelled Russian forces on a major city avenue, the military said in a Facebook post

• Earlier this morning, the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in another Facebook post that there were “heavy battles ongoing” in one part of the city, adding that “active combat” was taking place in some streets. This came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia would try to “storm” Kyiv
• More than 50 explosions and heavy machine gun fire have been reported in the capital, according to Kyiv Independent
• However, the Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council Oleksiy Danilov said the army was in “control” of the situation in Kyiv, saying “we are stopping the horde using all means available”, according to a report by Ukrainian news site Lb.ua
• The US administration has asked Congress for $6.4bn worth of aid to help Ukraine
• UN aid agencies predict that up to five million Ukranians could flee to surrounding countries