RUSSIA-UKRAINE LIVE: Air alert in Kyiv, US sends missiles to Poland but rejects sending Polish jets to Ukraine, 12,000 Russian soldiers ‘have died’ as two million refugees escape Vladimir Putin’s war and how you can donate to help Ukrainians

By Mark Duell for MailOnline

Published: 07:27 GMT, 9 March 2022 | Updated: 07:55 GMT, 9 March 2022


An air alert was declared in and around Kyiv today, where residents in Ukraine’s besieged capital city were urged to get to bomb shelters as quickly as possible.

Nearly two weeks into the invasion, Russian troops have advanced deep along Ukraine’s coastline with soldiers having surrounded the city of Mariupol for days. 

Moscow’s forces have laid siege to Ukrainian cities, with attempts to create corridors to safely evacuate civilians stumbling amid continuing fighting.

Thousands of people are thought to have been killed, both civilians and soldiers, in nearly two weeks of fighting with the conflict now in its 14th day.

Russian forces have seen their advances stopped in certain areas – including around Kyiv, the capital – by fiercer resistance than expected from the Ukrainians.

Kremlin officials are said to have privately denounced the invasion as a ‘clusterf***’ – ‘mourning’ the death of the Russian economy and the loss of up to 12,000 troops. 

The UN says two million people have now fled Ukraine, with the West sending weapons to the country and moved to slap Vladimir Putin’s country with sanctions.

In a further effort to punish Russia, US President Joe Biden announced a ban on Russian oil imports, and Shell said it will stop buying oil and gas from Russia.

And Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will head to Washington DC today after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the UK and US for their help. 

Here, follow MailOnline’s live blog for all the updates on the crisis in Ukraine today: 

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