By BBC

THE Ukrainian capital Kyiv has been under Russian missile fire but remains in the hands of the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky says Ukrainians had been fighting Russian troops in Kyiv, as well as Odesa in the south and Kharkiv in the north-east.

“The occupiers wanted to block the centre of our state,” the president said. “We broke their plan.”

As Russians close in, though, Kyiv residents have been asked to stay indoors until Monday morning.

The invasion has killed at least 198 Ukrainians so far and the UN says more than 120 000 have fled the country in the past 48 hours.

Ukraine said 137 people – civilians and soldiers – have been killed, while Russia has not admitted any deaths on its side.

New financial sanctions have been levelled against Russia – the most severe so far – after the EU, US and their allies agreed to cut off a number of Russian banks from the main international payment system, Swift.

Russia is heavily reliant on the Swift system for its oil and gas exports, and analysts say its economy will be hit hard.

The assets of Russia’s central bank will also be frozen, limiting the Kremlin’s ability to access its overseas reserves.

This will stop it using its currency to limit the impact of sanctions.

The measures will “further isolate Russia from the international financial system”, a joint statement said.