Russia's foreign minister says Moscow is ready for talks to end the fighting in Ukraine but will continue to press its effort to destroy Ukraine's military infrastructure.

Sergey Lavrov said the Russian delegation submitted its demands to Ukrainian negotiators earlier this week and was now waiting for Kyiv's response in talks set for Thursday afternoon, local time.

The second round of face-to-face discussions are taking place on the Belarus-Poland border after initial talks on Monday ended without agreement.

The two sides are expected to discuss a possible ceasefire to end eight days of fighting, and the establishment of a humanitarian corridor.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said while his country was ready for talks to resume, Russia's demands hadn't changed and that he wouldn't accept any ultimatums.

Russian officials said Moscow's demands include Ukraine's recognition of Russia's hold on Crimea, independence for the separatist-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as "de-militarisation" and "de-nazification".

Loading

Deaths climb as fighting continues

At least 249 Ukranian civilians have been killed and another 553 injured during Russia's military invasion that began a week ago, according to the latest figures from the UN human rights office.

Most of the casualties were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and air strikes, the UN office said.

Russia's Defence Ministry on Wednesday said 498 Russian soldiers had died and another 1,597 had been wounded since the start of the invasion, the first time Moscow put a figure on its casualties.

Ukraine said almost 9,000 Russian soldiers had been killed so far but did not report its own military losses, but said 2,000 Ukrainian civilians had so far died.

Reports that Kherson seized by Russia

Russian forces have stepped up their assaults on urban areas in recent days, with heavy shelling hitting the country's second-largest city, Kharkiv, and two strategic seaports.

The West believes Russia's advancement into Ukraine has stalled due to logistical problems, with its main assault force stuck for days on a highway north of Kyiv and other advances halted at the outskirts of cities it is bombing.

Despite an initial battle plan that Western countries said was aimed at swiftly toppling the Kyiv government, it appears Russia has captured only one Ukrainian city so far — the southern Dnipro River port of Kherson, which its tanks entered on Wednesday.

Kherson regional Governor Hennadiy Laguta said Russian forces had occupied the regional administration building in the southern Ukrainian city.

Mayor Igor Kolykhayev said he had asked the Russians who entered city hall "not to shoot people".

If Kherson has fallen to Russian troops, it will become the first major Ukrainian city to do so. 

From Kherson, Russian troops appeared to roll toward Mykolaiv, another major Black Sea port and shipbuilding centre to the west.

The regional governor, Vitaliy Kim, said that big convoys of Russian troops were advancing on the city.

Heavy fighting continued on the outskirts of another strategic port, Mariupol, on the Azov Sea, plunging it into darkness, isolation and fear.

Electricity and phone service were largely down, and homes and shops faced food and water shortages.

Cutting Ukraine’s access to its Black Sea and Azov coast would deal a crippling blow to the country’s economy and allow Russia to build a land corridor stretching from its border, across Crimea, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014, and all the way west to Romania.

The Governor of Ukraine's Chernihiv region on Thursday reported at least nine people had been killed and four wounded after a Russian air strike hit two schools and private houses.

"Rescue work is ongoing. According to the state emergency services, there are for now nine people killed and four wounded," he said.

The death toll in Chernihiv was later revised upwards to 22 people, with rescuers searching debris for more casualties. 

Loading

Meanwhile, Ukrainian media reports said Russian troops had entered the southern city of Enerhodar, a major energy hub on the Dnieper River that accounts for about one-quarter of the country’s power generation. It is the site of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the biggest in Europe.

Russian troops were trying to break through a barricade to the plant erected by local residents and territorial defence forces, Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said in an online post.

Another adviser, Vadym Denysenko, said the situation was alarming, with Russians entering Enerhodar town where the plant's workers live.

Russia has already captured the defunct Chernobyl plant, some 100 km north of Ukraine's capital Kyiv.

Ukraine's capital 'under control'

In his latest defiant videotaped address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Ukrainians to keep up the resistance.

He vowed that the invaders would have "not one quiet moment" and described Russian soldiers as "confused children who have been used".

In the capital Kyiv, thousands of residents have continued sheltering in metro stations, away from Russian missile and rocket attacks.

Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said the situation in Ukraine's capital was "difficult but under control".

He said there were no casualties overnight and that night-time explosions were Ukrainian air defences striking down incoming Russian missiles.

More than 1 million people have fled the fighting, the UN said on Thursday, which amounts to more than 2 per cent of Ukraine's population being forced out of the country in seven days.

Paralympics ban Russian and Belarusian athletes

As the international community continue to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the effect has also been felt in the world sporting community.

Russian and Belarusian athletes have been barred from the Winter Paralympics in Beijing on the eve of the Games following threats of boycotts by other teams over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said.

"Following a specially convened meeting, the IPC governing board has decided to refuse the athlete entries from the RPC and NPC Belarus for the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games," the IPC said in a statement. 

The announcement comes less than 24 hours after the IPC had initially announced it would allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals with colours, flags and other national symbols removed. 

Loading

ABC/Wires