Ukrainian reporter sees footage of destroyed flat on live TV: ‘This building is my home’

Watch: Ukrainian journalist sees footage of her destroyed home live on BBC News

This is the moment a Ukrainian journalist sees pictures of her home in Kyiv after it was hit by Russian missiles on live TV.

Olga Malchevska, a correspondent for the BBC's Ukraine news service, was appearing on BBC World News in London on Friday to discuss the Ukraine crisis when she was shown footage of her ruined apartment building.

Sharing a clip of the moment on Twitter, presenter Karin Giannone said Malchevska wasn't aware until the moment the footage was played that it was her exact building.

It comes after Kyiv was pounded by overnight air strikes, with fighting closing in on the capital, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Families were forced to hide in bomb shelters and subway stations as troops continued their assault in a bid to seize the city.

Tens of thousands of people have fled Ukraine's major cities to try and escape the fighting, with the UN warning on Friday that millions could be displaced.

Armed forces minister James Heappey told MPs that 194 Ukrainians, including 57 civilians, are confirmed to have died.

Malchevska received messages from her mother - who was not in the building - while on air, informing her it had been bombed.

She said: "When we agreed yesterday about coming to your studio in the morning, I could not imagine that actually at 3am London time, I would find out my home is bombed.

"Those pictures, the footage, that everybody saw, is literally my home. People were evacuated... thank god my family is safe."

The footage then panned to a destroyed building, and Malchevska said: "This actual building is my home.

"I can't [believe] that what I'm seeing is somewhere where I used to be."

Watch: Volodymyr Zelensky announces death toll from first day of Russian invasion of Ukraine

Following the air strikes, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded tougher sanctions and support for fending off the Russian invasion.

After holding talks with Boris Johnson on Friday morning, Zelenskyy also called for allies to provide “effective counteraction” against Moscow’s advances.

Downing Street said the prime minister pledged further support “in the coming days” after the president updated him on the “terrible developments” in the Ukrainian capital.

Johnson will use an extraordinary summit of leaders of the Nato defence alliance on Friday afternoon to press for Russia to be excluded from the Swift international payment system amid opposition to the move in the EU.

Defence secretary Ben Wallace said more than 450 Russian troops had been killed, as a fierce resistance meant Moscow “failed” on the main objective on the first day of fighting.

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Johnson and Zelensky spoke after Kyiv was hit by “horrific rocket strikes” and fighting reached the outskirts of the capital overnight, before gunfire was reported in the city centre.

After the call, the president said Ukraine “needs the support of partners more than ever”.

“We demand effective counteraction to the Russian Federation. Sanctions must be further strengthened,” Zelensky added.