Morning catch-up

Good morning. Middle East Eye will be live blogging developments in Ukraine today, with a focus on fallout across Middle East.

We awake up to a report that Russian forces have captured the southeastern Ukrainian city of Melitopol, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency, as Moscow launches coordinated cruise missile and artillery strikes on several cities, including the capital Kyiv.

Ukrainian officials were not immediately available for comment on the fate of Melitopol, a city of about 150,000 people.

If the Interfax report citing the Russian defence ministry is confirmed, it would be the first significant population centre the Russians have seized since their invasion began on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the numbers of casualties on the ground are rising. Dozens of people were wounded in overnight fighting in Kyiv. As of 6 am local time (0400 GMT), 35 people, including two children, had been wounded, city mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Saturday morning.

According to the head of the Ukrainian Health Ministry, at least 198 Ukrainians, including three children, have now been killed as a result of the Russian invasion. The official was quoted by Interfax on Saturday saying that 1,115 people were also wounded, including 33 children.

It is unclear whether the officials were referring only to civilians.