Russian rockets hit Ukraine’s second biggest city

Russian forces are targeting Ukraine’s second largest city of Kharkiv, with rockets killing at least 15 people

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is hailing the EU’s offer of candidate status for his war-torn nation.

European leaders will officially begin Ukraine’s membership process at a summit in Brussels on Thursday.

The move is seen as largely symbolic, but it’s hoped it will lift morale for the country’s millions of residents during this difficult time.

The four-month conflict led by Russia’s Vladimir Putin has seen whole cities destroyed, thousands of lives taken too early and displaced hundreds of thousands.

On a global scale, the economy is at breaking point and Europe is in the midst of an energy crisis.

Zelensky is also calling for a seventh package of European Union sanctions “as soon as possible”.

The president says Russia needs to feel a constant increase in pressure for the war and its aggressive “anti-Europe” policy.