Invaders ‘cannot conquer us’, Zelenskiy says, as 13,000 flee besieged cities – as it happened

In Odesa, a monument to the city’s early governor Duke de Richelieu is seen covered with sandbags for protection. Photograph: Nacho Doce/Reuters

4.59am GMT

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4.14am GMT

Moldova’s foreign minister Nicu Popescu has said his country is approaching a “breaking point” in its ability to shelter those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.

The number of refugees staying in Moldova is around 100,000 but represents a 4% increase in the national population and would be equivalent in proportion to 2.5 million refugees arriving in the UK in a fortnight, the BBC reports.

Popescu told the BBC that Moldova was “Ukraine’s most fragile neighbour” with fewer financial resources, and less resilience in security, health care and education.

A full Russian assault on Ukraine’s third largest city of Odesa, 48km from Moldova’s border, would likely trigger an “overwhelming” influx of refugees and would be a “complete catastrophe for the humanitarian situation”.