As it happened: Kyiv under heavy missile attack as Vladimir Putin declares war; over 100 Ukrainian civilians, military personnel killed; Australia extends sanctions to Belarus

We’re seeing some early reports come through now from Russian state media, citing the Kremlin, saying that a high-level delegation could be sent to Minsk, Belarus for talks.

The reports say that the Kremlin considers the “demilitarisation” of Ukraine as critical to Ukraine being “neutral”. Of course, critics will view that as Putin achieving his goal of bringing Ukraine back under Russian control, in effect making it a satellite state like Belarus.

We’ll keep you updated as we hear more on what would be an extremely significant development.

We’re going to wrap up this blog now and continue our coverage at our new blog which will keep you abreast of developments all Saturday.

Please come across and join me: Russia-Ukraine war LIVE updates: Kyiv under heavy missile attack as Russian troops move towards Ukraine’s capital; Refugees flee to Romania

Bringing you these pictures of the city under Russian assault.

Earlier we brought you news that UEFA was stripping Russia of hosting the Champions League final.

Formula One, motorsport’s governing body Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile and the teams have held talks and decided that the Russian Grand Prix will no longer go ahead.

“On Thursday evening Formula One, the FIA, and the teams discussed the position of our sport, and the conclusion is, including the view of all relevant stakeholders, that it is impossible to hold the Russian Grand Prix in the current circumstances,” Formula One said in a statement.

There is speculation that the race could be held in Istanbul, Turkey.

Photographs released by Ukraine’s state emergency services show the aftermath of heavy shelling in the town of Starobilsk, in the self-proclaimed republic of Luhansk.

The images show the smouldering ruins of heavily shelled homes as firefighters attempt to put out the flames. The cratered roads are littered with debris.

Fighting in Starobilsk and Sumy, near the border with Russia, intensified overnight with Ukrainian forces reportedly striking Millerovo airfield in Russia.

UEFA has moved this year’s Champions League final from St Petersburg to Paris in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European soccer’s governing body said in a statement on Friday.

UEFA also said the home games of Ukrainian and Russian club and national teams competing in UEFA competitions would be played at neutral venues “until further notice”.

The governing body thanked French President Emmanuel Macron for his “personal support and commitment” in taking on the final.

It added that it would “fully support multi-stakeholder efforts to ensure the provision of rescue for football players and their families in Ukraine who face dire human suffering, destruction and displacement”.

The Champions League final was set to be staged at Zenit St Petersburg’s stadium on May 28 with thousands of supporters from across the continent expected to attend the showcase match in European club soccer.

Reuters

Commander of the Territorial Defence Forces, Yuri Galushkin, has called on Ukrainians of any age with a passport to join the armed forces.

“Carry only your passport and identification code. There are no age restrictions,” he said in a statement.

“If you have problems on the ground, please refer to this official statement.”

The call came as Ukraine’s chiefs of staff said on Friday that Russia was using the Gomel airfield in Belarus to line up troops to assault Kyiv due to infrastructure damage to the Hostomel military airport near the Ukrainian capital.

“In order to intimidate the population of Ukraine, the enemy is increasingly choosing to destroy civilian infrastructure and housing,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a Facebook statement.

It said Russian troops were advancing on Kyiv from several directions as Ukrainian forces battled around Mariupol in the south and Kharkiv in the north-east of the country.