Britain says Russian column inches towards Kyiv, Ukrainian refugees top 1 million

Russia's advance on Kyiv has made scant progress and Ukrainian forces still held Kharkiv and several other cities under attack, British military intelligence said on Thursday, a day after Moscow claimed to have captured the Black Sea port of Kherson.

Russian forces have yet to overthrow the government in Kyiv but thousands are reported to have died or been injured and more than a million people have fled Ukraine in the week since President Vladimir Putin ordered the biggest attack on a European state since 1945.

"The main body of the large Russian column advancing on Kyiv remains over 30 km (19 miles) from the centre of the city having been delayed by staunch Ukrainian resistance, mechanical breakdown and congestion," Britain's defence ministry said in an intelligence update.

"The column has made little discernible progress in over three days," it said. "Despite heavy Russian shelling, the cities of Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol remain in Ukrainian hands."

At Borodyanka, a town 58 km (36 miles) northwest of Kyiv, a resident gave a breathless account of their encounter with the enemy, as Reuters Television footage showed shell damaged buildings, fires burning in the streets and destroyed military vehicles.

"They (Russian military) started shooting from their BMP (military vehicle), towards the park in front of the post office in the centre of Borodyanka," said a Ukrainian man, who did not give his name.

"Then those bastards started the tank and started shooting into the Fora (supermarket) which was already burned. It caught fire again." (Reuters)