The UN's nuclear watchdog believes Russia has taken control of the nuclear power plant site at Zaporizhzhia, in Ukraine's south-east.
Ukrainian authorities say Russian missiles have hit the centre of Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv, killing at least 21 people and injuring more than 100.
Catch up on everything that happened on Wednesday here.
Key events
- Sanctions being felt in Russia
- More than 2,000 civilians killed since invasion began
- Nuclear watchdog believes Russia in control of power plant site
- Russian paratroopers land in Kharkiv
- Four people killed after Russian strikes hit Kharkiv
- Russia ready for more talks today, but unclear if Ukraine will join
- Ukraine's Mariupol under heavy shelling, Kherson surrounded say officials
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia is trying to 'erase' Ukraine
- 21 dead and 112 wounded after shelling in Kharkiv, says the Governor
- Queues stretching kilometres of Ukrainians fleeing to neighbouring countries
- US will close its airspace to all Russian flights
- Biden: Putin miscalculated
- Fears Belarusian troops are preparing to invade
- Russian airstrike kills at least two people west of Kyiv
- Zelenskyy: Russia needs to stop attacking Ukraine before going into peace talks
- What's the latest on the Russian advance?
- US warns Russia 'will regroup'
- Ukraine calls for Russia to be booted off the internet
- Zelenskyy to the EU: Prove you're with us
- Where to find yesterday's blog
- Australians told to get out of Belarus
Live updates
By Paul Johnson
Closing this blog
And that's a wrap on this news day from me and the rest of the team.
One of the major things to watch in the next 24 hours aside from the fighting will be whether a fresh round of talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations yield any solutions.
My colleague Dannielle Maguire will start our new live blog in the next hour or two.
Thanks for joining our coverage.
By Paul Johnson
UN to demand Russia withdraws from Ukraine
The UN General Assembly has voted to demand that Russia stop its offensive in Ukraine and withdraw all troops, with nations from world powers to tiny island states condemning Moscow.
The vote Wednesday was 141 to 5, with 35 abstentions. It came after the 193-member assembly convened its first emergency session since 1997.
Assembly resolutions aren’t legally binding, but they do have clout in reflecting international opinion.
The resolution deplored Russia’s "aggression" against Ukraine in the strongest terms and demanded an immediate and complete withdrawal of all Moscow's forces.
Countries that spoke up for Russia included Belarus, Cuba, North Korea and Syria.
AP
By Paul Johnson
Ukrainian speech to UN Human Rights Council draws standing ovation
Ukraine's deputy foreign minister drew a standing ovation at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday, in contrast to a walk-out a day earlier by more than 100 diplomats during an address by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Emine Dzhaparova called for support for Ukraine's draft resolution to set up a UN investigation into alleged crimes committed by Russia during its week-old invasion.
The 47-member state forum is to consider the text on Thursday.
"We are under inhumane attack. But this not time to cry our tears, we will for sure will do after our victory," Ms Dzhaparova said.
Dzhaparova said that 352 Ukrainians, including 16 children, had been killed in the conflict, the youngest 18 months old.
By Paul Johnson
WHO concerned by reported attacks on healthcare venues
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that it is "deeply concerned" by reports of attacks on healthcare facilities in Ukraine and that it was working to verify them.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference that the organisation was "deeply concerned about reports of attacks on health facilities and health workers."
"The sanctity and neutrality of healthcare, including of health workers, patient supplies, transport and facilities, and the right to safe access to care must be respected and protected," he said.
Reporting by AFP
By Paul Johnson
Sanctions being felt in Russia
A leading Russian economist, Konstantin Sonin, has told the ABC Russians are already feeling the pain of sanctions imposed by the West.
Professor Sonin is one of nearly 300 economists who have signed a petition calling on Russian troops to be withdrawn from Ukraine. He says the sanctions are "unprecedented".
"Never have such large sanctions [been] imposed on such a huge country with such a developed and advanced financial system," he says.
He estimates they will have a broad impact on working Russians — the middle and upper classes and the oligarchs — resulting in higher prices, shortages of certain goods and restrictions on overseas travel.
"Only about 20 per cent of Russians travel abroad. But these are still dozens of millions of people, everyone knows that if you travel abroad and [you have] Russian cards, they wouldn't work there," he says.
Yet even if the sanctions lead to Russians protesting against President Vladimir Putin, Professor Sonin says it's unlikely to cause his downfall on its own.
"Historically most of authoritarian regimes are toppled by internal coups," he said.
"They might be driven by discontent, by popular anxiety and things like this. But it's typically about the coup, not a mass revolution."
Reporting by Europe bureau chief Steve Cannane
By Paul Johnson
Thousands still trying to flee Kyiv
Ukrainians crowded Kyiv's train station on Wednesday as Russia's assault on Ukraine continued for a seventh day.
People gathered in front of the departures board inside the railway station to find a way out of the city and country.
On Day 7, Russia continued its attacks on crowded Ukrainian cities and a lengthy convoy of Russian tanks and other vehicles advanced slowly toward the capital of Kyiv.
By Paul Johnson
EU bans Russian state media
The European Union has banned Russian state-controlled media outlets from sharing their content in member countries.
The 27 country bloc says outlets, including R-T and Sputnik, have been systemically sharing disinformation over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Companies like Facebook's owner Meta, Google, and YouTube are already blocking access to Russia's state media in most of Europe.
Twitter says it will comply with the EU's ban.
By Kate Ainsworth
Mass casualties, water outage reported in Mariupol
In a live broadcast on Ukrainian TV, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said the port city is suffering mass casualties and a water outage as it defends itself from a nonstop onslaught by Russian forces.
"The enemy occupying forces of the Russian Federation have done everything to block the exit of civilians from the city of half a million people," he said.
Boichenko didn't say exactly how many people had been killed in Mariupol.
Reuters
By Kate Ainsworth
Residents return to inspect damage in Horlivka, in the Donetsk region
By Kate Ainsworth
More than 2,000 civilians killed since invasion began
Ukraine's emergency service says more than 2,000 people have been killed since Russia's invasion of the country began on February 24.
By Kate Ainsworth
UN nuclear watchdog working with 'all sides'
The UN nuclear watchdog says it's working with "all sides" to provide assistance requested by Ukraine's nuclear regulator to ensure the safety of its facilities after Russia's invasion.
"I am in contact with all sides to ascertain in which effective way we could be providing this assistance," said the agency's chief, Rafael Grossi.
"Since these consultations are ongoing I would not be in a position to tell you right now what kind or when this assistance is going to be delivered."
But Grossi said he was following developments in Ukraine "very closely and with grave concern".
"It is extremely important that the nuclear power plants are not put at risk in any way," he said.
"An accident involving the nuclear facilities in Ukraine could have severe consequences for public health and the environment."
Reuters/AFP
By Kate Ainsworth
Nuclear watchdog believes Russia in control of power plant site
The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) believes Russia has taken control of Ukraine's largest power plant, but says that doesn't necessarily mean they control the facility.
The IAEA's chief Rafael Grossi says the group has received a letter from Russia saying personnel at the Zaporizhzhia plant continued their "work on providing nuclear safety and monitoring radiation in normal mode of operation."
The letter added: "The radiation levels remain normal."
Zaporizhzhia in south-eastern Ukraine is the largest of the country's nuclear sites, with six out of the country's 15 reactors.
Already, Russia has seized control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986.
The IAEA says that it has received a request from Ukraine to "provide immediate assistance in coordinating activities in relation to the safety" of Chernobyl and other sites.
Reuters/AP
By Kate Ainsworth
Ukraine police inspect damage in Mariupol
Ukrainian police have shared these images of shelling aftermath in a residential area of Mariupol, Ukraine's south-eastern port.
Police say the shelling has damaged a school and a house, but no-one has been killed.
By Kate Ainsworth
IPC: Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete at Winter Paralympics
The International Paralympic Committee says Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete as neutrals at the upcoming Winter Paralympics in Beijing, in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"They will compete under the Paralympic flag and not be included in the medal table," the IPC said in a statement.
But Nadine Dorries, Britain's secretary for sport, said she was "extremely disappointed" by the IPC's decision.
"This is the wrong decision and I call on them to urgently reconsider," she said in a statement.
"They must join the rest of the world in condemning this barbaric invasion by banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing."
Dorries said she would consult with British sports bodies on the best way to protest the IPC's decision.
Reuters
By Kate Ainsworth
British PM: Putin's actions qualify as a war crime
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told parliament that he believed the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin towards Ukraine already qualified as a war crime.
"What we have seen already from Vladimir Putin's regime in the use of the munitions that they have already been dropping on innocent civilians ... in my view already fully qualifies as a war crime," Johnson said.
Reuters
By Kate Ainsworth
China rules out imposing sanctions on Russia
China will not join Western countries in imposing heavy financial sanctions against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
China is one of the only global powers that has not condemned the invasion, and remains a major buyer of Russian oil and gas.
Head of China's Banking Regulator, Guo Shuqing, says it's in the country's best interest to maintain economic ties with Russia.
"We will not join such sanctions and we will keep normal economic, trade and financial exchanges with all the relevant parties," he said.
"We disapprove of the financial sanctions [against Russia], particularly those launched unilaterally, because they don't have much legal basis and will not have good effects."
By Kate Ainsworth
Local newspapers keeping spirits high
The ABC's Europe Correspondent Isabella Higgins is in Lviv and shared this tweet of one of the local papers.
By Kate Ainsworth
Former foreign minister: Putin 'will not rest' until Ukraine is under Russian control
Australia's former foreign minister Julie Bishop spoke to the ABC's international affairs analyst Stan Grant earlier tonight, saying Putin is determined for Ukraine to not join NATO.
"He's in breach of the UN Charter, and of course Russia as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has a responsibility to uphold that charter, uphold international peace and security, he's factored all that into account," she said.
"But his determination to ensure that NATO does not encroach on a Russian border is absolutely paramount.
"He doesn't believe that Ukraine is a state, he doesn't believe that it's a sovereign state.
"He believes it's an artificial state, a de facto part of the Russian territory, and he will not rest until he ensures that Ukraine remains a buffer to serve Russia's security imperatives."
By Kate Ainsworth
Russian paratroopers land in Kharkiv
The Ukrainian military says Russian paratroopers have landed in Kharkiv, with the BBC reporting there were immediate clashes as the troops attacked a hospital.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of state terrorism because of what's happening in Kharkiv, which is roughly 40 kilometres from the Russian border.
