Russia-Ukraine latest news: 198 Ukrainians killed in invasion as fighting continues on streets of Kyiv | World news

Internet coverage in Ukraine has been affected by the Russian invasion, with connectivity problems reported in the south and east of the country.

Reuters reports there are fears that outages could hamper civilian defence groups set up to defend their cities. Problems with signal have been reported in Kyiv.

An alleged Belarusian cyberespionage attack targeted personal email accounts belonging to Kyiv forces.

Ukraine’s Computer Emergency Response Team said hackers were targeting not just Ukrainians but also Poles, Russians and Belarusians, as well as several Belarusian media organisations.

Poland will not play a men’s World Cup qualifier against Russia next month because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, said the president of the Polish Football Association, Cezary Kulesza.

The move was backed by players including the star striker Robert Lewandowski. The midfielder Mateusz Klich posted a statement from players on Saturday:

Kulesza said the association was in talks with the Swedish and Czech football authorities regarding playoff matches scheduled for March to fill a slot for the World Cup.

“In light of the escalation of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine, the Polish national team is not going to play a match against Russian Republic,” Kulesza tweeted.

The UK held a virtual donor conference last night to coordinate support for Ukraine, according to the Ministry of Defence.

Donations include ammunition and anti-tank weapons. The UK has offered to oversee logistics operations to support the delivery of donations.

The defence secretary, Ben Wallace, said: “We stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and are pursuing every option to support them in their defence against President Putin’s unprovoked and illegal invasion.”

Ukrainian forces have reportedly repelled an attack by 60 Russian paratroopers near Lviv, Reuters reports.

Lviv’s mayor, Andriy Sadovyi, said the Russian soldiers were reported to have retreated after clashing with the army in Brody, western Ukraine, about 65 miles from the city.

Update: There is a lot of confusion around these claims. See updated post.

Russia being locked out of the Swift financial payments network has become more likely after Cyprus agreed with the proposal.

There have been calls for Russia to be shut out of the system, which facilitates cross-border payments. It is thought that doing so will increase pressure on Russia’s businesses and its economy.

The move was announced on Twitter by the Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, who has also spoken to Italy, Germany and Belgium – where Swift is based.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had a call on Saturday morning from the Italian prime minister, Mario Draghi, to say the move had his backing.

While a smaller European nation, Cyprus’s backing is significant because it is a major destination for Russian investment.

Local media in Russia have been warned over their coverage of the invasion, with threats to block access to their websites.

The communications regulator Roskomnadzor accused 10 outlets on Saturday of falsely depicting what Russia calls a special military operation in Ukraine, and publishing false information.

It censured them for referring to it as an “attack, invasion, or a declaration of war”, and said the government would stop access if this continues. Fines of up to 5m roubles are also possible.

The death toll so far in the Russian invasion of Ukraine is at least 198, according to the Ukrainian health ministry.

Three children are among those dead. Its head was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying that 1,115 people had been injured, including 33 children.

Reuters said it was unclear whether he was referring only to civilian casualties

Fighting resumed in Sumy, in north-east Ukraine, and Kyiv on Saturday morning,

Territorial defence forces in Sumy are engaged with Russian military, according to Reuters. Loud explosions have been reported in the Ukrainian capital.

More donations have been pledged by other countries, with the Czech Republic approving the sending of $8.6m of weapons. The Netherlands has said it will supply 200 more air defence rockets.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has had a call with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

In a tweet, he said they discussed EU assistance to Ukraine and he hoped it would get their backing.

“Ukraine is fighting the invader with weapons in hands, defending its freedom and European future. Discussed with @vonderleyen effective assistance to our country from in this heroic struggle. I believe that the #EU also chooses Ukraine,” he said.

The UK’s armed forces minister said Russia had failed to achieve its initial objectives – and fighting outside Kyiv was limited to Russian special forces units.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, James Heappey said Russian aims to take key Ukrainian cities had not been successful. He said the UK did not believe Russian claims that it had taken the southeastern city of Melitopol.

“The Ukrainian resistance to the Russian advance appears extraordinary. All of Russia’s day one objectives of Kharkiv, Kherson , Mariupol, Sumy and even Melitopol, which the Russians are claiming to taken but we can’t see anything on that, are still all in Ukrainian hands.

“The fighting on the outskirts of Kyiv overnight, we understand to just be Russian spetsnaz special forces and pockets of paratroopers. The reality is the armoured columns coming down from Belarus and the north to encircle Kyiv are still way off, because they have been held off by this incredible Ukrainian resistance.”

The Ukrainian embassy in Moscow is evacuating to Latvia, according to Reuters.

The news was announced by a Latvian foreign ministry spokesperson this morning.

“It was their plea, we readily agreed. We are assisting them in the process and help with settling down,” Jānis Beķeris said.

The building had seen low-key anti-war protests in the last few days, with some Russians laying flowers outside.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has called for the full isolation of Russia, including embargoes on Russian crude oil purchases.

“I demand the world: fully isolate Russia, expel ambassadors, oil embargo, ruin its economy,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

Separately, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has called for a decision on Ukraine’s membership to the European Union.

“It is a crucial moment to close the longstanding discussion once and for all and decide on Ukraine’s membership in the #EU,” he said on Twitter a short time ago. “Discussed with @eucopresident further effective assistance and the heroic struggle of Ukrainians for their free future.”

35 people including two children have been injured in the heavy fighting overnight in Kyiv, according to the city’s mayor. No further details were available, but in a separate report from Reuters citing an interior ministry adviser, there were no deaths in the apartment block reportedly hit by a Russian missile.

This post was amended, to correct that the 35 people were injured, not killed