Russian invasion of Ukraine: Moscow sounds 'nuclear' alert, Kyiv agrees for talks | Top Points

Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv is now under siege, four days since Russian forces began their assault. Here are top developments from the Ukraine crisis.

Russian and Ukrainian troops continued to engage for a fourth consecutive day, leaving behind a trail of destruction across Ukraine. Ukrainian leaders are now preparing to discuss "peace" with their Russian counterparts at Ukraine's border with Belarus.

The conflict has already claimed 68 civilian lives, the United Nations said Sunday. Its refugee agency says an estimated 368,000 Ukrainians have fled to neighbouring countries since the beginning of the Russian invasion.

After denying any plans to invade Ukraine for weeks, Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24 ordered his troops to enter the country for a "special military operation". By this time, Russia had already amassed nearly 200,000 boots on Ukraine's borders.

READ: Ukraine forms 'international brigade' to fight Russia, Zelenskyy urges foreigners to sign up

While Putin is yet to disclose his plans for Ukraine, Western officials believe he wants to overthrow the elected government in Kyiv and install a puppet government in its place. This is being viewed in the context of Russia's efforts to redraw the map of Europe and revive Moscow's Cold War-era influence.

Responding to Russian aggression in Ukraine, Belgium, Finland and Canada have joined the list of countries that have shut down their airspace to Russian planes. Similar restrictions have already been announced by France, Germany, Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Luxembourg.

Now, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is set to vote to convene a rare emergency special session of the 193-member UN General Assembly (UNGA) to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine.