Russia has made little progress in attempts to capture key Ukrainian cities (apart from Kherson), or in its march on capital Kyiv, over the past 72 hours, the British defence ministry said in an intelligence update this morning. Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Mariupol all remain in Ukrainian control despite significant pressure from Russian forces, the British military said. "The main body of the large Russian column advancing on Kyiv remains over 30km from the centre of the city, having been delayed by staunch Ukrainian resistance, mechanical breakdown and congestion," British intelligence was quoted by news agency AFP.
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"The column has made little discernible progress in over three days."
"...(and) despite heavy Russian shelling Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol remain in Ukrainian hands. Some Russian forces have entered Kherson but the military situation is unclear."
Earlier today Kherson's mayor, Igor Kolykhaev, claimed Russian forces had entered the city, which is in southern Ukraine and on the Black Sea coast.
Kolykhaev's statement, however, was contradicted by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, which said there was still fighting. Videos shared by a minister this week showed deadly missile strikes on a stately old building.
Kherson, a city of 300,000, is strategically located on the banks of the Dnieper River near where it flows into the Black Sea.
{{/usCountry}}Kherson, a city of 300,000, is strategically located on the banks of the Dnieper River near where it flows into the Black Sea.
{{/usCountry}}If Russian troops take the city, they could unblock a water canal and restore water supplies to the Crimean Peninsula that they annexed in 2014.
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If Kherson has fallen, it suggests Russia's attack is gaining ground in Ukraine's hard-to-defend coastal plains region, even if the advance on Kyiv has stalled.
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This - with Russia’s shift to artillery and aerial attacks on urban centers - has generated optimism over Ukraine’s ability to resist a vastly superior force.
Last week satellite images revealed a frightening scene - a 17-mile-long convoy of Russian military vehicles moving inexorably towards capital Kyiv.
The convoy consisted of armored vehicles, tanks, artillery and logistics support vehicles, news agency Reuters reported.
The convoy's advance on Kyiv has slowed, but there are reports Russia has taken control of Balakliya - a town near the city. Russia may not yet have reached Kyiv, but air raid alerts in the city have become frequent over the past few days.
Russian forces today also renewed attacks on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, with reports hospitals and residential areas have been targeted.
On Wednesday, emergency services in the city said four people had died and nine were injured. That was after Russia dropped paratroopers into the city.
Kharkiv is also where an Indian - a medical student - died this week.
Also last week Russia captured the town of Melitopol, and have surrounded and are bombing Mariupol in the breakway Donetsk region of the country.
The fighting in Ukraine is now in its seventh day and shows no sign of stopping or even slowing down, despite an array of harsh economic sanctions against Russia and a United Nations resolution passed last night.
The death tolls are unknown.
Ukraine claims it has killed thousands of Russian soldiers and that hundreds, including civilians, have died on their side. Russia, so far quiet on the subject, today indicated that 498 of their soldiers have died so far.
The fighting has also triggered a huge refugee crisis, with the United Nations estimating that over a million people have already fled, crossing the border into neighbouring countries.
Both sides met for peace talks in the Belarussian town of Gomel earlier this week. A second round was to have been held Wednesday but it failed to materialise after Ukraine demanded Russia stop bombing its cities first.
With input from AFP, Reuters