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Western allies have announced sweeping new sanctions against Moscow as a defiant President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces were repelling Russian troops advancing on Kyiv.

Seeking to ratchet up economic punishment for Russian President Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine, the US and its European partners said they would kick key Russian banks off the main global payments system.

As fighting continues across Ukraine, the Western nations also said they would impose restrictions on Russia's central bank to limit its ability to support the rouble and finance Putin's war effort.

Meanwhile huge explosions lit up the predawn sky south of Kyiv early on Sunday.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office said one of the blasts was near the Zhuliany airport, and the mayor of Vasylkiv, about 40km south of the capital, said an oil depot there was hit.

"We have withstood and are successfully repelling enemy attacks. The fighting goes on," Zelenskiy said in a video message from the streets of Kyiv posted on his social media.

The capital and other cities have been pounded by Russian artillery and cruise missiles.

The United Nations says it has confirmed at least 240 civilian casualties, including at least 64 people killed, in the fighting.

Terrified men, women and children sought safety inside and underground, and the government maintained a 39-hour curfew to keep people off the streets.

Putin launched what he called a special military operation on Thursday, ignoring weeks of Western warnings and saying the "neo-Nazis" ruling Ukraine threatened Russia's security - a charge Kyiv and Western governments say is baseless propaganda.

A US defence official said Ukraine's forces were putting up "very determined resistance" to the three-pronged Russian advance that has sent hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing westwards, clogging major highways and railway lines.

"As Russian forces unleash their assault on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, we are resolved to continue imposing costs on Russia that will further isolate Russia from the international financial system and our economies," the Western allies said as they escalated their punitive response.

"We will implement these measures within the coming days," a joint statement from the United States, France, Canada, Italy, Great Britain and the European Commission said.

The move - which the French finance minister had earlier called a "financial nuclear weapon" because of the damage it would inflict on the Russian economy - deals a blow to Russia's trade and makes it harder for its companies to do business.

SWIFT, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, is a secure messaging network that facilitates rapid cross-border payments, making it a crucial mechanism for international trade.

The Kremlin said its troops were advancing again "in all directions" after Putin ordered a pause on Friday. Ukraine's government said there had been no pause.

While NATO has said it will not deploy troops to Ukraine, a string of countries are sending military aid.

US President Joe Biden approved the release of up to $US350 million ($A484 million) worth of weapons from US stocks, while Germany, in a shift from its long-standing policy of not exporting weapons to war zones, said it would send anti-tank weapons and surface-to-air missiles.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc's foreign ministers would meet on Sunday evening to discuss emergency assistance for Ukraine's armed forces.

Amid a barrage of cyberattacks blamed on Moscow, Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said his government will create an "IT army" to fight back.

Fedorov also called on Saturday on SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk to provide Ukraine with the company's Starlink satellite broadband service.

Musk responded on Twitter: "Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route."

A Ukrainian presidential adviser said about 3500 Russian soldiers had been killed or wounded and that Russian troops had not made serious gains on the third day of fighting.

Western officials have also said intelligence showed Russia suffering higher casualties than expected and its advance slowing.

Russia has not released casualty figures and it was impossible to verify tolls or the precise picture on the ground.

With additional reporting from AP

© DPA 2022

Poland and Sweden say they won't play their soccer World Cup qualifiers against Russia in March, following the invasion of Ukraine.

The play-off matches are set to be held in March to fill a slot for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and several Poland players including captain Robert Lewandowski backed the decision on Saturday with statements on social media.

"In light of the escalation of the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine, the Polish national team is not going to play a match against Russian Republic," Poland's Football Association chief Cezary Kulesza wrote on Twitter.

Russia are scheduled to host Poland in the semi-finals of the World Cup play-offs on March 24 and, if the team advances, will host either Sweden or the Czech Republic on March 29 in the Path B final.

The Swedish FA later said that its team wouldn't play the Russians regardless of where the match is played.

"The illegal and deeply unjust invasion of Ukraine currently makes all football exchanges with Russia impossible," Swedish Football Association chairman Karl-Erik Nilsson said.

Earlier, Polish national team players took to social media to express their support for the move.

"It is not an easy decision, but there are more important things in life than football," Kamil Glik, Mateusz Klich, Matty Cash and others wrote on Twitter.

"Our thoughts are with the Ukrainian nation and our friend from the national team, Tomasz Kedziora, who is still in Kiev with his family."

National team captain Lewandowski tweeted: "I can't imagine playing a match with the Russian National Team in a situation when armed aggression in Ukraine continues."

"Russian footballers and fans are not responsible for this, but we can't pretend that nothing is happening."

Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, whose wife was born in Ukraine, didn't mince his words on Instagram.

"I refuse to play against players who choose to represent the values and principles of Russia," he said.

"I refuse to take part in a sporting event that legitimates the actions of the Russian government."

Meanwhile, the Norwegian Ski Federation says it does not want Russian athletes competing at upcoming World Cup races and world championships in Norway.

"Russia's violations of international law and attacks on the Ukrainian people demand international condemnation and sanctions," Norway's federation said in a statement.

"The Norwegian Ski Federation's message to Russia and Russian athletes is crystal clear - we do not want your participation."

Ukraine's former world boxing heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has appealed to the world to stop the conflict and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.

Wladimir and his brother Vitali, also a former world heavyweight champion and now mayor of Kiev, have vowed to take up arms against invading Russian forces.

"I'm addressing the entire world to stop this war that Russia has started," Klitschko said in a video posted online.

"There's no time to wait because it's going to lead into a humanitarian catastrophe. You need to act now to stop Russian aggression with anything you can have now. In an hour, or by tomorrow it's going to be too late."

Wladimir enlisted in Ukraine's reserve army earlier this month, saying at the time that his love for his country compelled him to defend it.

© RAW 2022

A defiant President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Kyiv remains under Ukrainian control as Russian forces renewed their assault, pounding the capital and other cities with artillery and cruise missiles.

A US defence official said Ukraine's forces were putting up "very determined resistance" to the three-pronged Russian advance that has sent hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing westwards, clogging major highways and railway lines.

"We have withstood and are successfully repelling enemy attacks. The fighting goes on," Zelenskiy said in a video message from the streets of Kyiv posted on his social media.

But he is also welcomed efforts to open talks with Russia.

In the video, Zelenskiy said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had offered to help organise talks and that "we can only welcome that".

Diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed have so far faltered.

Zelenskiy offered on Friday to negotiate a key Russian demand: that Ukraine declare itself neutral and abandon its ambition of joining the NATO military alliance.

But movement to actually advance any diplomacy has appeared to sputter.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched what he called a special military operation before dawn on Thursday, ignoring warnings from the US and its allies and saying the "neo-Nazis" ruling Ukraine threatened Russia's security.

The Kremlin said its troops were advancing again after Putin ordered a pause on Friday for anticipated talks that never happened.

An adviser to Zelenskiy denied that Ukraine had refused negotiations but said Russia had attached unacceptable conditions.

He also said it was untrue that Russia had paused troop movements.

The crisis has galvanised NATO, which has announced a series of moves to reinforce its eastern flank.

While NATO has said it will not deploy troops to Ukraine, a string of countries are sending military aid.

US President Joe Biden approved the release of up to $US350 million ($A484 million) worth of weapons from US stocks, while Germany - in a shift from its long-standing policy of not exporting weapons to war zones - said it would send anti-tank weapons and surface-to-air missiles.

The United States has observed more than 250 launches of Russian missiles, mostly short-range, at Ukrainian targets, the US defence official said.

"We know that (Russian forces) have not made the progress that they wanted to make, particularly in the north. They have been frustrated by what they have seen is a very determined resistance," the official said, without providing evidence.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a close Putin ally, said on Saturday his fighters were also deployed in Ukraine.

He said Russian forces could easily take Kyiv and other large cities but their task was to avoid loss of life.

Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko said there was no major Russian military presence in the capital but that saboteur groups were active.

Klitschko, a former world heavyweight boxing champion, said 35 people including two children had been wounded overnight and that he was imposing a curfew from Saturday evening until Monday morning.

Ukrainians faced lengthy queues for money at cash machines and for fuel at petrol stations, where individual sales are mostly limited to 20 litres.

Many shops in the city centre were closed and the streets were largely empty on Saturday afternoon.

"I was smart enough to stock up food for at least a month," said Serhiy, out for a walk before the curfew.

"I did not trust the politicians that this would end peacefully."

At least 198 Ukrainians, including three children, have been killed and 1115 people wounded so far in Russia's invasion, Interfax quoted Ukraine's Health Ministry as saying.

It was unclear whether the numbers comprised only civilian casualties.

Interfax later cited the regional administration in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, saying 17 civilians had been killed and 73 wounded by Russian shelling.

Russia says it is taking care not to hit civilian sites.

A Ukrainian presidential adviser said about 3500 Russian soldiers had been killed or wounded.

Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had captured Melitopol, a city of 150,000.

Ukrainian officials did not comment and the UK cast doubt on the report.

If confirmed, it would be the first significant population centre the Russians have seized.

The city of Mariupol, a key port on the Sea of Azov in southeast Ukraine, remained under relentless shelling on Saturday, its mayor Vadim Boychenko said in a televised address.

"They are shelling schools, apartment blocks," he said.

About 100,000 people have crossed into Poland from Ukraine since Thursday, including 9000 who have entered since 7am on Saturday, Polish Deputy Interior Minister Pawel Szefernaker said.

Ukrainians were also crossing the borders into Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.

The US and European Union have also announced new sanctions on Russia, including blacklisting its banks and banning technology exports.

They have stopped short of forcing Russia out of the SWIFT system for international bank payments, although Germany's foreign and economy ministers and a French presidential official indicated on Saturday that such a move may come soon.

Several European countries, including Russia's Baltic neighbours Lithuania and Latvia, said they were closing their airspace to Russian airliners.

In one of the first visible signs of sanctions being enforced over the invasion, France seized a car cargo ship in the Channel on Saturday that has been linked to the son of a former Russian spy chief.

with reporting from AP

© DPA 2022