RESIDENTS from Ukraine and Russia gathered in Bournemouth town centre to protest Putin's invasion.

A number of Bournemouth residents from Ukraine and Russia came together in the town centre on Sunday afternoon to protest the invasion of Ukraine.

Western allies sought to stage a show of unity as Russian forces close in on Kyiv amid fears a European capital is about to be engulfed in a devastating conflict.

One resident from Ukraine said: "I am originally from Ukraine from Kyiv which is being bombed right now. A few days ago the rockets targeted the building by the maternity hospital where my son was born, just 10 minutes away from my dad's house.

"My dad is 81 years old when I called him I was able to hear the sirens, the rockets and the bombing. We are here to say please stop the war, please stop Putin, please stop this madness because we are here worrying about our relatives. It's just the beginning, this is just the first steps of Putin's madness.

"If we do not stop him now he will not stop for anyone, everybody will suffer. This is not a war against Ukraine, it's a war against humanity and it’s a war against democracy and we would like to stop it now. We would like people in Bournemouth to express their protest because worldwide, human beings are speaking out against the war."

The UK, US and the European Union have announced plans to impose personal sanctions on President Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in response to the Kremlin assault on Ukraine.