UKRAINE: Heavy fighting raged in the Kharkiv region today forcing at least 4,000 civilians to evacuate towns and villages, officials said.

The intense battles have forced at least one Ukrainian unit to withdraw in the region, giving up more land as Russian forces continued their major advances.

POLAND: A fire broke out this morning in a vast shopping centre housing 1,400 shops and service outlets in the Bialoleka district in Poland’s capital.