Russian forces laying siege to Kyiv and Kharkiv, says Ukrainian official

Ukrainian presidential advisor Oleksiy Arestovych said Russian forces were trying to lay siege to Kyiv and the northeastern city Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest.

Russian troops fired artillery at Kyiv, Kharkiv and the southern port city of Mariupol overnight while the Ukrainian side shot down Russian military planes around the capital, Arestovych said in a televised briefing.

He described the current situation as under control.