Russian troops stormed toward Ukraine's capital Kyiv, and street fighting broke out as city officials urged residents to take shelter.<br />''The southwest area of Kyiv has been struck this morning by two missiles, according to reports. The mayor of the Ukrainian capital, Vitali Klitschko says, a missile hit an apartment building but no casualties were immediately reported.<br />''The Russian military says, it has launched a barrage of cruise missiles at Ukrainian military facilities.<br />''Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said today that the military struck a range of Ukrainian military installations with long-range Kalibr cruise missiles.<br />''Russia's defence ministry has also claimed that they have captured the city of Melitopol in what has been described by media reports.<br />''Melitopol is a mid-size city located near the key Ukrainian port of Mariupol, in Ukraine's southern region of Zaporizhzhya.<br />'' Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has posted a self-shot video of himself on Twitter walking around the streets of Kyiv in an apparent effort to combat rumours that he has called on the army to surrender to Russian troops.<br />''According to media reports, frequent artillery blasts could be heard in Kyiv, coming from an unspecified location some distance from the city centre.<br />''This comes as the Ukrainian military said, fighting was taking place near a military unit to the west of the city center.<br />''The officials in Kyiv have urged residents to protect their own safety.<br />''Reports are also coming in that missiles are being launched at Ukraine from the Black Sea.<br />''Air strikes are also being reported across a number of areas, in an apparent escalation of violence.<br />''The Ukrainian military in a Facebook post has said that Russian troops attacked an army base in the Kyiv meanwhile the assault was repelled.<br />''Separately, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency said, Russian soldiers were trying to capture one of the city's electricity generating stations.<br />''Meanwhile, US media outlets reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky turned down an offer by Washington to help evacuate him from Ukraine.<br />''US news paper Washington Post had also quoted US and Ukrainian officials who said that the US government was prepared to help Mr. Zelensky.<br />''On the other hand, Japan is considering imposing economic sanctions on Belarus, in line with the United States.<br />''Meanwhile, it was not immediately clear which individuals or entities would be targeted by such sanctions. According to media reports, the officials said, Tokyo will coordinate with other members of the G7 industrial powers.<br />''<br />