Battle | Zelensky wants to freeze Russian assets

Georgia accuses Ukraine of claiming power. Russian airstrikes hit Kiev and other cities. All information on news blog.

10:11 PM: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for all frozen Russian assets to be transferred to the embattled country. “Everything should be confiscated and used to fight terrorism,” Zelensky said in his evening video address on Wednesday. Ukraine is actively working with its partners to ensure that a decision is made on Russian assets.

The president also discussed the issue with EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell, who visited Kiev on Wednesday. “We really need a unified and strong decision,” Zelensky said. “A decision to demonstrate that we respect international law together and show no concern for a terrorist state.”

11:22 am: Russia has wreaked havoc in Ukraine with new massive airstrikes. A flight alert was in place in the capital Kiev on Wednesday morning, a German press agency reporter told the site. Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said Wednesday that there have been four deaths so far. More than 30 people were injured. President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Russia's “terrorist attack” against six regions of the country and vowed to retaliate. He said there were reports of two deaths in Kiev; People can also be buried.

In the city of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, Russian missile strikes resulted in destroyed buildings and injuries, officials said. Mayor Olexander Senkewytsch announced in a telegram that one of the injured had died of his injuries in hospital.

Water pipes and gas networks were damaged by enemy attacks, said Senkewytsch, who also posted pictures of the destruction. 20 residential buildings are roofless.

6:35 am: According to Ukrainian military sources, Russian armed forces have attacked Kiev and other cities in Ukraine with missiles. Ukraine's air force said several explosions were heard during the morning rush hour in the capital as it was on air defense operations. Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko confirmed this on Telegram news service. It is not yet clear whether the attack resulted in casualties or damage.

Reuters reports that loud explosions were heard shortly before 7am local time. Sirens blared across the country from 6am to warn of air raids. Oleh Sinehupov, the governor of Kharkiv province in northeastern Ukraine, said buildings in the city of the same name had been hit by Russian missiles. These are not residential buildings.

6:29 am: Russia appears to have removed half of its available artillery from storage facilities since the invasion of Ukraine began. This is what satellite images from open source intelligence researchers suggest. According to analysts' observations, Russia reportedly lost 666 self-propelled tanks and 340 towed artillery by Tuesday.

Military bloggers evaluate photos and videos for their analysis. However, the amount of equipment destroyed may be significantly higher than their estimates. Since the beginning of the war of occupation, the number of self-propelled tanks at the most important sites has reportedly decreased from 4,450 to 2,961, and the number of towed artillery from 14,631 to 7,845. The type of tanks used also means high losses: Russia now often uses tank models already used in World War II. According to analysts, satellite images show Russia cannibalizing remaining tanks, for example acquiring replacement tanks.

3:10 am: Parts of the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka are in a “critical” position to defend themselves against Russian shelling and attacks, a local official said on Tuesday, the Moscow Times reported. Russia has been attacking the city since October. “We have been saying for weeks that the situation is very difficult, but under control, and now the situation is very difficult and in some places critical,” said Vitaly Barabash, head of the city's military administration. “This does not mean that everything is lost, that everything is so bad. But the enemy is moving a large number of forces towards our city,” he told a Ukrainian TV channel.