Rockets kill 70 Ukrainian soldiers, huge Russian column approaches Kyiv

Ukraine says 70 servicemen killed by artillery in Okhtyrka; Washington offers more weapons, rules out 'no fly zone'; Turkey seals straits to warring countries warships

More than 70 Ukrainian servicemen were killed by a Russian rocket attack and dozens of civilians have died in "barbaric" shelling, Ukrainian authorities said on Tuesday, as a huge Russian military convoy approached the capital Kyiv.

Fierce resistance on the ground has so far denied Russian President Vladimir Putin decisive early gains after he last week launched the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two.

Staging a push for the capital, Russia has massed a convoy of armoured vehicles, tanks and other military equipment that stretches about 40 miles (64 km), U.S. satellite company Maxar said late on Monday.

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