Residents of Kyiv were out in their droves on Saturday to make the most of 34 degree temperatures, with hundreds enjoying the sunshine on the city's central beach - just weeks after Ukraine's capital came under siege from Russia's invading armies and rocket strikes levelled buildings and killed civilians.

Pictures from the banks of the Dnieper river that courses through Kyiv showed people lounging in the sun, swimming in the water and playing games of volleyball, with the city's skyline seen across the river.