Ukrainian army says immediate clashes have broken out on the streets of Ukraine’s second city after landing of Russian paratroopers.

The Ukrainian military says immediate clashes have erupted after Russian paratroopers landed in Ukraine’s second largest city of Kharkiv on the seventh day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

“Russian airborne troops landed in Kharkiv … and attacked a local hospital,” the army said on Wednesday, in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. “There is an ongoing fight between the invaders and the Ukrainians.” According to Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister, a fire broke out on Wednesday in the barracks of a flight school in the city following an air raid. “Practically there are no areas left in Kharkiv where an artillery shell has not yet hit,” he said in a statement posted on Telegram.

The city’s governor, Oleg Synegubov, also said on Telegram that seven people were killed in an attack on a government building and that 24 people were wounded. The reports could be independently confirmed. Russia says it is only targeting Ukraine’s military infrastructure, air defence and air forces with high-precision weapons.

Russia claims control of southern Ukrainian city of Kherson

Defence ministry says talks are under way between Russian army and local authorities on maintaining order. The Russian army has claimed it has taken control of the strategically important city of Kherson in southern Ukraine as Moscow’s invasion of the country entered its seventh day. “The Russian divisions of the armed forces have taken the regional centre of Kherson under full control,” defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in televised remarks on Wednesday.

He claimed that public services and transport were operating as usual. “The city is not experiencing shortages of food and essential goods,” he said. He added that talks were under way between the Russian army and local authorities on maintaining order, protecting the population and keeping public services functioning.

Kherson’s Mayor Igor Nikolayev, however, said in a post on Facebook: “We are still Ukraine. Still firm.”

Apparently contradicting the Russian army’s claims, he said he needed to find a way to “collect the [bodies of the] dead” and “restore electricity, gas, water and heating where they are damaged”. “But I warn you right away: To complete these tasks today means to perform a miracle,” he added.

A Russian invasion of Ukraine could happen at any moment, a defence minister has warned.

Armed Forces Minister James Heappey has described the massing of roughly 130,000 Russian troops along the Ukrainian border as a "credible force set to do something imminently".  It comes after Defence Secretary Ben Wallace compared diplomatic efforts to prevent a Russian invasion of Ukraine to appeasement as he said it is "highly likely" Vladimir Putin will order an attack despite the concerted talks to avert war.

China has joined Russia in opposing further Nato expansion as the two countries move closer together in the face of Western pressure.

Moscow and Beijing issued a statement showcasing their agreement on a raft of issues during a visit by Russia's Vladimir Putin for the Winter Olympics. Mr Putin claims Western powers are using the Nato defence alliance to undermine Russia.

It comes amid tensions over Ukraine, which he denies planning to invade. Some 100,000 Russian troops remain at the border with Ukraine, which is a former Soviet republic. Mr Putin, who has written that Russians and Ukrainians are "one nation", has demanded that Ukraine be barred from joining Nato. While the lengthy joint statement did not refer directly to Ukraine, the two countries accused Nato of espousing a Cold War ideology.

The talks, which the Kremlin said were "very warm", were held ahead of the Games opening ceremony. It was the first time the leaders have met face-to-face since the start of the pandemic. "Friendship between [Russia and China] has no limits, there are no 'forbidden' areas of cooperation,"

Hostilities have simmered for years but tensions are now escalating amid fears of a Russian invasion.

Kyiv, Ukraine – According to Washington, Russia has amassed more than 100,000 Russian soldiers on the border with Ukraine and in annexed Crimea in recent weeks.

This has stoked fears in Kyiv and the West that the Kremlin may start a new war with its neighbour and former province that chose to break away from Moscow’s political orbit.

Earlier this month, a top Ukrainian military expert told Al Jazeera that Russia could invade Ukraine as early as January, unleashing a “brief and victorious” war. But Russia denies it is planning an invasion. Moscow says it can move Russian troops wherever it wants and that any of its acts are defensive. Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have for their part warned NATO against expanding eastwards. So, what is at the heart of the conflict that has been going on for more than seven years?

What is now Ukraine, Russia and neighbouring Belarus were born on the banks of the Dnieper River, almost 1,200 years ago in Kievan Rus, a medieval superpower that included a huge chunk of Eastern Europe. But Russians and Ukrainians parted ways linguistically, historically and, most importantly, politically.

Putin has, however, claimed repeatedly that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people”, part of the “Russian civilisation” that also includes neighbouring Belarus. Ukrainians reject his claims. Ukraine went through two revolutions in 2005 and 2014, both times rejecting Russia’s supremacy and seeking a path to join the European Union and NATO. Putin is particularly enraged by the prospect of NATO bases next to his borders and says Ukraine joining the US-led transatlantic alliance would mark the crossing of a red line.

US President Joe Biden has said he thinks his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will "move in" on Ukraine but does not want "full-blown war".

He told a news conference Mr Putin would pay a "serious and dear price" for invading, but indicated a minor incursion might be treated differently. The White House later stressed any Russian military move would be met with a swift, severe response from the West.

Russia has some 100,000 troops near the border but denies planning an invasion. President Putin has made a series of demands to the West, insisting Ukraine is never allowed to join Nato and that the defensive alliance abandons military activity in Eastern Europe.

Talks between the West and Russia have so far failed to reach a breakthrough, with some of Moscow's demands rejected as non-starters. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to meet the Russian foreign minister in Geneva on Friday, having warned that Russia could attack Ukraine "on very short notice". However, at his news conference on Wednesday, Mr Biden said: "There are differences in Nato as to what countries are willing to do, depending on what happens. "If there's Russian forces crossing the border… I think that changes everything.

"What you're going to see is that Russia will be held accountable if it invades and it depends on what it does," he said. "It's one thing if it's a minor incursion, and then we end up having to fight about what to do and not do etc."

White House officials rushed to clarify the US position after Mr Biden's comments. "If any Russian military forces move across the Ukrainian border, that's a renewed invasion, and it will be met with a swift, severe, and united response from the United States and our Allies," press secretary Jen Psaki said. Hours earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron told the European Parliament that Europeans had to conduct their own dialogue with Moscow.