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Russian troops entered the outskirts of Kyiv on the second day of their offensive in Ukraine. Russian tanks are less than 20 kilometres from the Ukrainian President's office. Palki Sharma tells you more about Kyiv's last stand.

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Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko speaks to CNN from the streets of Ukraine as the Russian military closes in on Kyiv.

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A HERO Ukrainian soldier blew himself up to destroy a bridge and stop Russian forces from storming in from Crimea.

Generals hailed the sacrifice of Vitaly Skakun Volodymyrovych for halting a column of Russian tanks at Henichesk, in the southern Kherson region.

The brave engineer had volunteered for the dangerous mission to rig the bridge with mines, an Armed Forces official said.

It is a key strategic pinch point linking annexed Russian-occupied Crimea and mainland Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday said he remained in Kyiv, even as Russia pounded the capital and other cities with airstrikes for a second day.

Russian troops bore down on Ukraine’s capital Friday, with gunfire and explosions resonating ever closer to the government quarter, in an invasion of a democratic country  that has fueled fears of wider war in Europe and triggered worldwide efforts to make Russia stop.

With reports of hundreds of casualties - including shelling that sliced through a Kyiv apartment building and pummeled bridges and schools - there also were growing signs that Vladimir Putin’s Russia may be seeking to overthrow Ukraine’s government.

It would be his boldest effort yet to redraw the world map and revive Moscow’s Cold War-era influence.

In the fog of war, it was unclear how much of Ukraine remains under Ukrainian control and how much or little Russian forces have seized.

The Kremlin accepted Kyiv's offer to hold talks, but it appeared to be an effort to squeeze concessions out of Ukraine's embattled president instead of a gesture toward a diplomatic solution.

The prospect of talks between Russia and Ukraine was cast into doubt as the Kremlin said Kyiv had stopped responding after rejecting Moscow’s initial offer of a meeting in Minsk, the capital of Belarus.

Ukraine wanted a meeting instead in the Polish capital, Warsaw, the Kremlin said, adding it had heard nothing further. There was no immediate word from Ukraine on the Russian comments.

The diplomatic to and fro comes as fighting continues on the ground with Russian forces moving toward the capital.

Any talks would likely struggle to find common ground on the question of “neutrality” for Ukraine, which has sought to join NATO and draw closer to Europe. Russia has also accused Kyiv of wanting to forcibly retake two breakaway areas in Ukraine’s east, something the government has repeatedly denied.

Ukrainian soldiers have started taking up positions around Kyiv after Russian troops were seen in northern suburbs and gunfire was heard near government buildings.

The Russian forces who have reportedly entered the city are believed to be centred around the northern district of Obolon, a heavily residential area just 9km north of Kyiv's parliament and city centre.

Ukrainian officials have told civilians in the capital to prepare Molotov cocktails to fight back. City residents were also urged to proceed to shelters due to an air raid alarm.

MSNBC’s Ali Velshi speaks with Oleksandr Tkachenko, Ukrainian Minister of Culture and Information Policy, who shared what he is seeing near Kyiv and says that the spirit and values of the Ukrainian military will help defeat the larger Russian forces.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was quizzed about Russia's invasion of Ukraine by journalists in Moscow, including NBC News' Keir Simmons