Russia says it controls Ukraine's Kherson, Mariupol under heavy shelling

What you need to know right now-

• A week after launching its invasion of Ukraine, Russia said its forces took control the first sizable city on Wednesday, seizing Kherson, in the south, as fighting raged around the country and Western nations tightened an economic noose around Russia.
• US President Joe Biden assailed Russian President Vladimir Putin, barred Russian flights from American airspace and led Democratic and Republican lawmakers in a rare display of unity on Tuesday in a State of the Union speech dominated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said nearly 6,000 Russians had been killed in the first six days of Moscow's invasion, and that the Kremlin would not be able to take his country with bombs and air strikes.
• A US official said a miles-long armoured column bearing down on the capital Kyiv had not made any advances in the past 24 hours, frozen in place by logistics problems, short on fuel and food, and perhaps pausing to reassess tactics.
• Russia's defence ministry urged Kyiv residents to flee and said it would strike unspecified areas used by Ukraine's security services and communications. Russia describes its assault on Ukraine as a special operation, not an invasion seeking territory.
• More than half a million Ukrainians have fled the fighting since the invasion began, most crossing into Poland and Romania. The European Commission proposed granting temporary residence to Ukrainian refugees.
• At least 21 people were killed and 112 wounded in shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second biggest city, in the last 24 hours, regional official said. The authorities have said missile attacks hit the centre of the city, including residential areas and the regional administration building.
• Kyiv's mayor published a video showing the moment when a tall TV antennae in the city was engulfed in flames, apparently hit by a rocket.
• France declared an "all-out economic and financial war" against Russia, saying it would collapse the Russian economy as punishment for the invasion of Ukraine.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Reuters Russia must stop bombing Ukrainian cities before meaningful talks on a ceasefire could start, as a first round of negotiations this week had yielded scant progress.
• Russia's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov, said his government sees "no desire on the part of Ukraine" to try to find a legitimate and balanced solution.

Markets, sanctions and other reactions:

• The United States and other member states of the International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil reserves to compensate for supply disruptions.
• The Group of Seven major economies will convene a task force to focus on freezing and seizing assets of key Russian elites, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said after a meeting of finance chiefs.
• Some of America's best-known companies including Apple, Boeing, Google, Ford and Exxon Mobil rebuked and rejected Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, under steady pressure from investors and consumers decrying the violence.
• Russia said it was placing temporary restrictions on foreigners seeking to exit Russia assets. Russian assets went into freefall on Tuesday with London-listed ishares MSCI Russia ETF plunging 33% to hit a fresh record low.
• European Union countries are considering a ban on Russian ships entering their ports, after similar moves by Canada and the United Kingdom. The world's biggest shipping lines MSC and Maersk suspended container shipping to and from Russia.

A week after launching its invasion of Ukraine, Russia said its forces took control of the first sizable city on Wednesday, seizing Kherson, in the south, as fighting raged around the country and Western nations tightened an economic noose around Russia.

"Russian forces have taken control of Kherson, a city of nearly a quarter million people just north of Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014," a Russian defence ministry spokesperson said. 

Strategically located on the Dniepr river, the provincial capital was the biggest city to fall to Russian forces so far.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's south-eastern port of Mariupol was under constant shelling from Russia and unable to evacuate the injured.

The invaders' advances have been met with fierce resistance by Ukrainian forces and a miles-long Russian military convoy north of Kyiv has made little progress towards the capital.

"We are fighting, we are not ceasing to defend our motherland," Mariupol mayor Vadym Boichenko said live on Ukrainian TV.

In a video address on Wednesday, Zelenskiy said nearly 6,000 Russians had been killed in the first six days of Moscow's invasion, and that the Kremlin would not be able to take his country with bombs and air strikes.

More than half a million Ukrainians have fled the fighting since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of his southern neighbour nearly a week ago.

Russian bombardments of Ukrainian cities continued, with a video posted on social media showing heavily damaged buildings around the second city of Kharkiv.