Explosions and gunfire in Kyiv as Russian invasion heads towards Ukraine capital

Ukrainian firefighters look at fragments of a downed aircraft in Kyiv (Oleksandr Ratushniak/AP)

Russia has pressed its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital after unleashing air strikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order.

Explosions sounded before dawn on Friday in Kyiv and gunfire was later heard near the government quarter as Western leaders scheduled an emergency meeting and Ukraine’s president pleaded for international help to fend off an attack that could topple his democratically elected government and cause massive casualties.