Ukraine war latest: Russia claims it has seized more villages - as Ukraine faces 'extremely dangerous' moment

We're seeing images from the Russian city of Belgorod, where part of a multi-storey apartment building has collapsed.

Russian media has reported at least seven people have died and 15 more are injured after a whole section of the 10-storey building fell.

Local officials have blamed the incident on "massive shelling by the armed forces of Ukraine" - but these claims have not been verified and Ukrainian officials have not commented.

Just before Russia claimed its troops had seized another four villages in Kharkiv, Ukraine's military chief had given an update on Telegram.

Oleksandr Syrskyi insisted his forces were doing all they could to contain the Russian threat, but admitted it was proving a challenge.

"Units of the Defence Forces are fighting fierce defensive battles, the attempts of the Russian invaders to break through our defences have been stopped," he said.

"The situation is difficult, but the Defence Forces of Ukraine are doing everything to hold defensive lines and positions, inflict damage on the enemy."

Ukrainian officials have not commented on reports from Russia claiming it has captured the villages of Hatyshche, Krasne, Morokhovets and Oliinykove.

The Russian defence ministry claims troops have seized four more villages in the Kharkiv region - which would bring the total to nine.

The ministry yesterday declared they had taken the Ukrainian villages of Borysivka, Ohirtseve, Pylna and Strilecha, all of which are directly on the border with Russia's Belgorod region.

Russian officials said they had also captured another village, Pletenivka.

Now they've claimed four more: Hatyshche, Krasne, Morokhovets and Oliinykove.

Kyiv has not commented on the latest claims, but Ukrainian officials have remained adamant up until now that the country's troops are continuing to fight and prevent Russians from claiming more ground.

At least seven people have died after the partial collapse of an apartment building in the Russian city of Belgorod, Russia's Mash Telegram news channel has reported.

The revised number is up from earlier reports, which said three people had died.

Mash reported at least another 15 people had been injured.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, the regional governor, blamed the incident on "massive shelling by the armed forces of Ukraine".

The claims have not been independently verified and there has been no comment from Ukrainian officials.

A witness at the scene told Reuters news agency there were many ambulances and fire engines at the site.

"A whole section of a 10-storey building collapsed," the witness told Reuters on condition of anonymity. 

"I see several victims. Firefighters are sorting through the rubble."

Our defence editor Deborah Haynes says there are real fears the key city of Kharkiv could come under threat of a Russian takeover.

As it stands, fighting is ongoing near the northeastern border of the Kharkiv region.

The Russian defence ministry has already claimed its troops have taken five border villages and Ukrainian officials have said they are trying to claim more ground.

Ukraine officials and military analysts have been adamant Russia would struggle to seize Kharkiv - Ukraine's second largest city - having already failed to do so earlier in the war.

But Haynes says Russia's "ferocious assault" that started on Friday will stretch Ukraine's "already outgunned and undermanned" forces.

"There are real fears that if Ukraine is not able to repel this offensive... Russia could once again threaten this key city of Kharkiv," she says.

By Deborah Haynes, security and defence editor

Russia has reopened a major front in its war with Ukraine in a move that will stretch Kyiv's already undermanned and outgunned forces as they wait for Western weapons.

The Russian military unleashed a ferocious barrage of artillery and airstrikes in the early hours of Friday morning as ground troops attempted the most significant incursion into northeastern Ukraine - territory that shares a long border with Russia - in two years.

Fierce fighting raged into the weekend in different locations along a 45-mile strip of the frontier in the Kharkiv region.

Moscow claimed to have seized five villages, while Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, said battles were taking place around seven villages.

In a sign of the seriousness of the challenge, Ukraine is deploying reserve forces to help repel the Russian assault and a senior commander has been appointed to lead the effort.

The timing of the attack could not be worse for Kyiv - which presumably is why Russia decided to act.

Read more here...

More news from the Russian city of Belgorod now, where state-run media says the partial collapse of an apartment building has led to at least three deaths.

Footage from the scene posted by governor of the region Vyacheslav Gladkov on Telegram showed the building with a gaping hole in its centre.

In his post, Mr Gladkov claimed the collapse was due to "massive shelling by the armed forces of Ukraine".

He didn't comment on casualties, but initial Russian reports said at least three people had been killed and that 20 people might be in the rubble of the apartment block.

The reports have not been independently verified and there has been no comment from Ukrainian officials.

They come after Mr Gladkov's earlier claims one woman was killed and 29 other people wounded by continuous attacks by Ukraine over the weekend.

These claims have also not been verified.

We've been reporting on Vovchansk, where more than a third of the town's civilians have been evacuated due to devastating Russian attacks.

The Sky News team on the ground there have been sending us images and footage from the Ukrainian town bordering Russia.

They say it's essentially being "flattened".

Lord Cameron has spoken to Trevor Phillips this morning on Sky News.

Asked about Russia's surprise offensive in Kharkiv, the UK's foreign secretary says this is an "extremely dangerous" moment.

"This only underlines that this is an unjustified, illegal invasion by Putin into an independent, sovereign country," he says.

"And he's now, as it were, invaded it again from the north of Kharkiv. We must do everything we can to help the Ukrainians.

"That's why it's so essential we've given our £3bn a year package, and we've said that that's going to go on year after year. We're encouraging others to do the same. 

"And, crucially, the work we've done to encourage the Americans to come forward with their package. I mean, it's sad that it's taken long to come, but it will make a difference."

So has the American input - a $61bn package - come too late?

"It would have been better if it came earlier, because there's no doubt that Ukraine was suffering in the land war, as it were," he says.

"We all need to do more, that is what the UK is doing, we're leading once again. First to do tanks, first to do anti-tank weapons, first to do long-range artillery.

"Now the first to say here is a package that isn't just this year, it's next year and the year after. But the American money will make a difference - so we've got to get in there, give the Ukrainians the support they need.

"They have no problems - I was there the other day - their morale is still strong, they are still inflicting appalling casualty rates on the Russians.

"If only the Russians could see how many people they are losing.

"If other countries did all the things the UK is doing in terms of long-range weapons, in terms of the training and support. We've just basically got to make our strength count."

By Deborah Haynes, security and defence editor

Flames and black smoke chugged from the windows of a two-storey apartment block in a frontline Ukrainian town.

Residents said a Russian missile or bomb had punched a large crater into the soil in front of the building, devastating their homes.

The attack had only happened a short while ago and the scene on Saturday morning was still chaotic, with people worried the fire would spread to a row of apartments next door.

"There are pensioners inside," said one man. "If the fire gets in, they will be burnt."

Firefighters had yet to arrive, but the town of Vovchansk, barely three miles from the Russian border, has become a warzone since Russia launched a surprise new offensive in the northeast of Ukraine in the early hours of Friday morning.

Shocked and crying, a lady, who gave her name as Valentyna, swept up broken glass on the ground.

"Everyone is suffering," the 59-year-old said.

Read more here...