Kharkiv: Ukraine’s military has confirmed earlier reports that Russian paratroopers had landed in Kharkiv in an effort to take the besieged city.
According to the Ukrainian military, the aerial assault began just as air raid sirens were starting to sound in Kharkiv and the surrounding region.
The statement adds that the Russian troops attacked a regional military hospital, and that fighting is ongoing.
It is currently just after 06:00 in the mostly Russian-speaking city.
Kharkiv has been the epicentre of much of the violence seen in Ukraine in recent days.