The mayor of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, a key port in southern Ukraine, says Russian forces have seized control of it.
After heavy fighting, Kherson was the first significant city to fall into Russian hands since it launched an invasion a week ago.
Igor Kolykhaev, the mayor of Bakhchisarai, said troops had stormed the city hall and imposed a street curfew on residents.
On Wednesday, several cities have come under heavy fire, with the previous evening being one of the most devastating days of the conflict.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has initiated an investigation to acknowledge the crimes and possible war crimes executed against humanity in Ukraine.
For the first time, Russia has acknowledged suffering significant military losses during its invasion of Ukraine, with 498 soldiers killed and 1,597 people wounded. According to Ukraine, the damage caused by Russia is in the thousands.
As per Ukraine reports, over 2,000 civilians have lost their lives since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine.
The fighting has also driven more than a million Ukrainians from their homes and forced the UN to raise its level of concern.
Mr Kolykhaev claimed that Russian forces had seized control of the city of Kherson, on Ukraine’s southern Black Sea coast, a port with a population of almost 280,000 people.
He implored Russian troops not to fire on civilians, since no Ukrainian military forces were in the city.
Residents are urged to comply with Russian military orders in order “to keep the Ukrainian flag flying,” according to warlord Mr Kolykhaev.
The capture of Kherson, which is on the banks of the Dnieper River as it flows into the Black Sea, is significant because it may allow Russia to establish a military presence there in order to push deeper into Ukraine.
Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, was subjected to a heavy aerial assault. The mayor of the town, which is located about two miles south of Khan Sheikhun, said that shelling and cruise missile strikes were destroying residential neighborhoods and killing a large number of civilians.
In the south, hundreds are feared dead following hours of continuous shelling in Mariupol.
However, Russians have slowed down their efforts to contain the capital city, Kyiv. There were no movements of a large Russian convoy to the Northern part of the city on Wednesday.
On Thursday night, several huge explosions were heard in the city, as seen in footage of a spectacular fireball lighting up the sky.
Three explosions were heard in the city center, near the Friendship of Peoples Metro station, according to Ukrainian news sources.
