Russia talks to resume on Wednesday

Russia said it had taken Kherson, the biggest city it has yet seized in Ukraine on Wednesday, while stepping up its lethal bombardment of the main cities that its invasion force has so far failed to capture in the face of strong Ukrainian resistance.

TASS said the adviser, Oleksiy Arestovych, was speaking on Ukraine-24 TV.

Russia's Lavrov says a third World War would be nuclear and destructive - RIA

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that if a third World War were to take place, it would involve nuclear weapons and be destructive, the RIA news agency reported.

Lavrov has said that Russia, which launched what it calls a special military operation against Ukraine last week, would face a "real danger" if Kyiv acquired nuclear weapons.

Kyiv mayor says Russia is massing troops closer to the capital

Russia is gathering troops closer and closer to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital's mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote in an online post on Wednesday.

"We are preparing and will defend Kyiv!," he added. "Kyiv stands and will stand."