The United States will ban all new investments in Russia after the emergence of troubling new evidence of war crimes in Ukraine, according to the White House.
The new penalties will include a ban on all new investment in Russia, greater sanctions on its financial institutions and state-owned enterprises, and sanctions on government officials and their family members, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
"The goal is to force them to make a choice," she said. "The biggest part of our objective here is to deplete the resources that Putin has to continue his war against Ukraine."
It comes after Liz Truss,the Foreign Secretary, said that Western sanctions are pushing the Russian economy back into “the Soviet era”, as she demanded even tougher action to stop the war in Ukraine.
The Foreign Secretary said existing sanctions were having a “crippling impact”, as she announced Britain had stopped hundreds of billions of pounds funding Vladimir Putin’s war.
Meanwhile, the French European Affairs Minister said that the EU will likely adopt a new round of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, following reports of civilian killings in northern Ukraine by Kremlin forces.
Follow the latest updates below.
12:14 AM
PM tells Russians: You deserve the facts
Boris Johnson has told Russians to download software to allow them to find out the truth about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Mason Boycott-Owen writes.
In a video message posted to social media directed at the Russian population, the Prime Minister said that they only needed a VPN connection to access independent information from around the world.
Speaking in Russian, Mr Johnson said: “The Russian people deserve the truth, you deserve the facts.
“Your president stands accused of committing war crimes. But I cannot believe he’s acting in your name.”
A Ukrainian MP has called for the "denazification of Russia" and for images of the nation's alleged war crimes to be "shown on Russian television every single day".
Inna Sovsun, the deputy leader of the Holos party, said Russia is committing genocide following the "terrifying" attack on the city of Bucha, where dead civilians have been left strewn across streets and piled into mass graves and there has been widespread evidence of rape.
Denazification is one of the supposed justifications Russian leader Vladimir Putin has given to his people for the invasion but Ms Sovsun likened the conflict to the Second World War, maintaining Ukraine is the country attempting to defend itself from a "Nazi regime".
"They're killing us, not as individual human beings, but because we're Ukrainians," Ms Sovsun, who is currently in western Ukraine, told the PA news agency.
Russia has been accused of deliberately killing civilians in Bucha - GETTY IMAGES
09:50 PM
Significant international conflict 'more likely', says US general
A top US general has warned that the potential for “significant international conflict” is increasing and said the Ukraine conflict could last for years.
Gen Mark Milley told Congress: "The Russian invasion of Ukraine is threatening to undermine not only European peace and stability but global peace and stability that my parents and a generation of Americans fought so hard to defend.”
"I do think this is a very protracted conflict, and I think it's measured in years. I don't know about decade, but at least years, for sure.”
"We are entering a world that is becoming more unstable and the potential for significant international conflict is increasing, not decreasing."
Milley, who is chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, also said he would support establishing permanent US bases in eastern Nato states like Poland and the Baltics - but with US forces rotating through.
Gen Mark Milley - AP
09:29 PM
Update: Explosions in Lviv
No casualties were reported following explosions on Tuesday in the Lviv region in western Ukraine, local officials said.
"Explosions near Radekhiv," regional governor Maksim Kositsky said on Telegram, referring to a town about 70 kilometres (40 miles) northeast of Lviv. "Everybody must remain in shelters."
A short while later he said in another post: "As of this hour, there is no information on victims."
After Russian troops withdrew from the Kyiv region in recent days, Ukrainian officials say they are bracing themselves for a Russian assault in Donbas in eastern Ukraine.
08:45 PM
In Borodyanka, rubble replaces graves and the death toll could be worse than in Bucha
The teenage boys who were pushing their bicycles along one of Borodyanka’s torn-up roads on Tuesday afternoon should have been at school, writes Danielle Sheridan.
Instead, they were wandering the streets of their "liberated" hometown in a bid to make sense of what had happened since the Russians invaded their country in late February.
Yet due to the sheer amount of shattered glass and debris that covered the roads, the boys could not mount their bikes, for fear of puncturing a wheel and having one more thing damaged by the enemy.
Read the full piece from Danielle, our Defence Correspondent, here.
08:22 PM
Explosions allegedly heard in Lviv
Explosions were allegedly heard on Tuesday in the Lviv region in western Ukraine, AFP is reporting.
Maksim Kositsky, the regional governor, said on Telegram: "Explosions near Radekhiv," referring to a town about 70 kilometres (40 miles) northeast of Lviv. "Everybody must remain in shelters."
08:19 PM
U.S. providing Ukraine with protective chemical weapons gear
The United States is providing Ukraine with life-saving protective equipment that could be deployed if Russia were to use chemical and biological weapons, a Biden administration official said on Tuesday.
The equipment and supplies, which were requested by Kyiv, are being delivered on a rolling basis and some has already been delivered, the official said.
08:15 PM
EU to sanction Vladimir Putin's daughters
Brussels plans to hit Vladimir Putin’s daughters with sanctions as it responds to alleged war crimes with punitive measures including a ban on Russian coal imports.
The Russian president’s daughters, Katerina and Maria, whose lives are shrouded in secrecy, are on a draft list of targets including politicians, propagandists, oligarchs and their family members.
The hit list, which is subject to change and will involve asset freezes and travel bans, will be put before ambassadors from the European Union (EU) on Wednesday for approval.
Home Office admits giving wrong call centre guidance to Ukrainian refugees
The Home Office has been forced to rewrite guidance for Ukrainian refugee call handlers after giving families the wrong information that stopped them flying to the UK.
Officials also admitted that “technical issues” prevented travel forms being sent to refugees to enable them to come to the UK, delaying their escape to refuge with British families under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
The admissions come after furious Britons bombarded helplines with complaints about applications from the opening of the scheme on March 18 and 19 being delayed and apparently going astray.
Read the full story from our Home Affairs Editor Charles Hymas here
07:48 PM
3,846 people were evacuated from cities, says Ukraine's Deputy PM
Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister, said that a total of 3,846 people were evacuated from Ukrainian cities through humanitarian corridors today.
This is slightly more than the 3,376 who escaped on Monday, Vereshchuk, said in an online post.
07:27 PM
Hope for Ukraine’s harvest as Russia retreats from ‘breadbasket of Europe’
Russia’s retreat from parts of northern Ukraine will allow farmers to plant corn, soybeans and sunflower oil on time, boosting the outlook for the country’s harvest.
Ukraine – often referred to as the “breadbasket of Europe” – accounts for roughly 15 per cent of global corn exports, just under a tenth of wheat and almost half of the sunflower oil.
Those markets have been thrown into turmoil following Russia’s invasion, with analysts warning that disruption to planting schedules and supply chains will have major implications for global food security – especially in Africa and the Middle East.
US to ban 'all new investment' in Russia on Wednesday
The United States, in coordination with the G7 and European Union, will ban "all" new investments in Russia on Wednesday in its latest round of sanctions, a source said.
The joint measures, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and alleged carrying out of atrocities, "will include a ban on all new investment in Russia, increased sanctions on financial institutions and state owned enterprises in Russia, and sanctions on Russian government officials and their family members," the source familiar with the sanctions told AFP Tuesday.
Sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the latest punishment of Russia's economy has been triggered by alleged evidence of executions and other atrocities committed against civilians in areas recently abandoned by Russian troops in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.
"We had already concluded that Russia committed war crimes in Ukraine, and the information from Bucha appears to show further evidence of war crimes," a source said.
The new sanctions "will impose significant costs on Russia and send it further down the road of economic, financial, and technological isolation," the source said.
06:57 PM
China providing microchips for Russian bank cards
Russia is turning to microchip manufactures in China to circumvent western sanctions which have boosted demand for bank cards linked to the Mir payment system, an executive with the domestic payment system said.
Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine have cut Moscow off the global financial system and from nearly half of its $640 billion in gold and foreign exchange reserves.
Oleg Tishakov, a board member with the National Card Payment System (NSPK), said Russia is facing a shortage of microchips as Asian manufactures suspend production amid a coronavirus pandemic and European suppliers have stopped cooperating with Moscow following sanctions.
"We are looking for new microchip suppliers and found a couple in China, with certification process ongoing," Tishakov told a conference on Tuesday, without giving further details.
Some of Russia's biggest banks no longer have access to the SWIFT global banking messaging system, and international payment cards Visa and MasterCard have stopped servicing Russian accounts abroad. Mir's connection to Apple Pay was removed last month.
06:40 PM
Why Ukraine may struggle to get Russia removed from UN Security Council
Volodymyr Zelensky has challenged the United Nations Security Council to throw out Russia or "dissolve itself altogether", arguing that its membership gives Moscow "the right to sow death".
"Today, as a result of Russia's actions in our country, in Ukraine, the most terrible war crimes we've seen since the end of World War Two are being committed," he said.
Zelensky addressing UN - BBC/BBC
"The massacre in our city of Bucha is unfortunately only one of many examples of what the occupiers have been doing on our land for the past 41 days."
Read our Europe Editor James Crisp's analysis here
06:27 PM
Czech Republic becomes first Nato country to send tanks to Ukraine
The Czech Republic has sent tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine, becoming the first Nato country to provide the heavy armour Kyiv has been calling for.
More than a dozen T-72 tanks as well as a number of BVP-1 infantry fighting vehicles have been loaded onto trains destined for Ukraine.
The vehicles will provide much needed firepower for the Ukrainian army as battles continue to rage across the country.
Ukraine's Deputy PM says people can still only flee Mariupol by car or on foot
People are still only able to flee the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol on foot or by private car as efforts to organise mass evacuations by bus to safer parts of Ukraine have failed, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
Buses cannot reach the first part of the evacuation route from Mariupol, which is "nearly 80 km (50 miles)- people have to either walk or find a way to make this journey in a private car," she said on national television.
06:10 PM
Viktor Orban’s victory is a disaster for Brussels – and helps Vladimir Putin
As he celebrated winning his fourth consecutive term as Hungary’s prime minister on Sunday night, Viktor Orban crowed over those he had defeated.
“We never had so many opponents,” he told supporters of his right-wing Fidesz party in central Budapest. “Brussels bureaucrats ... the international mainstream media, and the Ukrainian president.”
That Orban singled out Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to how much the conflict on Europe’s eastern border has already reshaped the continent’s geopolitical dynamics.
Read the full story from Louis Ashworth and Tim Wallace here
06:03 PM
Blinken slams 'deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape' in Bucha
Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State , has said the killing of Ukrainians in Bucha was part of a deliberate campaign "to kill, to torture, to rape."
"As this Russian tide is receding from parts of Ukraine, the world is seeing the death and destruction left in its wake," he told reporters as he flew to Brussels.
"What we've seen in Bucha is not the random act of a rogue unit. It's a deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape, to commit atrocities. The reports are more than credible. The evidence is there for the world to see.
"This reinforces our determination, and the determination in countries around the world, to make sure that one way or another, one day or another, there is accountability for those who committed these acts, for those who ordered them," he added.
Blinken said the United States was working with others to gather evidence to assist the Ukrainian prosecutor general and the UN Human Rights Council in investigations.
05:40 PM
Britain to collaborate with US and Australia on hypersonic weapon innovation
The UK’s hypersonic weapons programme will be “accelerated” by information sharing with Australia and the United States, as the three countries vow to “deepen co-operation on defence innovation”.
Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, Joe Biden, the US president, and Scott Morrison, the Australian prime minister, said that their "AUKUS" pact would now go further than just nuclear-powered submarines and they will "commence new trilateral cooperation on hypersonics, counter-hypersonics, and electronic warfare capabilities”.
While still in the research and development stage, the collaboration is seen as a significant step, as Russia’s war in Ukraine rages on and tensions remain high in the Indo-Pacific.
Read the full story from Jamie Johnson and Dominic Nicholls here
05:24 PM
Lethal drone package set to give Ukraine the upper hand in tactical battles
A ‘tag-team’ of drones could soon be deployed for the first time in a battlefield to help Ukraine destroy Russian artillery, writes Dominic Nicholls.
The latest batch of lethal aid from the US could extend the range of the Switchblade “kamikaze” drone, which is already in use, by pairing it with the larger Puma drone.
The effort to seek out and destroy Russian missile and artillery units is seen as Kyiv’s next big requirement as calls for a no-fly zone have dissipated in the wake of much-reduced Russian air activity.
In a video message directed to the Russian population, he said they only needed an online VPN connection to gain access to independent information from around the world.
05:03 PM
Providing further lethal aid to Ukraine risks prolonging and escalating the conflict, warns former chief of defence staff
Providing further lethal aid to Ukraine risks prolonging and escalating the conflict, a former chief of the defence staff has warned.
Lord Houghton of Richmond, who was chief of defence staff between 2013 and 2016, said the Government faces a "difficult choice" as the House of Lords discussed the potential for the Government to provide further weapons to Ukraine.
The crossbench peer said: "The question illuminates a difficult choice for Government. The war in Ukraine by military definition remains limited. It's limited in strategic aim, in geography, and means employed. Injecting greater lethal aid into that war is unlikely to be decisive. Indeed far from it, it runs two very severe risks.
"One is the risk of prolongation, and the other is the risk of escalation. The way to eliminate those risks can only be through dialogue."
04:41 PM
Ukraine war is taking its toll on Russia’s soldiers - it could be weeks before they return to battle
The war in Ukraine is entering a “crucial phase” as Russia concentrates on the Donbas, the head of Nato has said, as defence experts suggest it could be weeks before Russia is ready to fight again.
Jens Stoltenberg appealed for allies to provide more anti-tank weapons, air-defence systems, humanitarian assistance and financial aid, before Russia is able to reconstitute forces.
Speaking ahead of a two-day meeting of Nato foreign ministers, which starts in Brussels on Wednesday and which on Thursday will be joined by Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister, Mr Stoltenberg said Russia had been forced to change its war plans due to the fierce Ukrainian resistance.
Read the full report from our Defence and Security Editor Dominic Nicholls here
04:16 PM
Listen to our latest Ukraine podcast: Russian retreat and Bucha
04:04 PM
Israel's foreign minister accuses Russia of committing war crimes in Bucha
Israel's foreign minister has accused Russia of committing war crimes in Bucha, the first senior minister to do so, writes James Rothwell.
“The images and testimony from Ukraine are horrific. Russian forces committed war crimes against a defenseless civilian population. I strongly condemn these war crimes,” Yair Lapid said in a statement alongside his Greek and Cypriot counterparts.
Israel has until now avoided placing the blame for the massacre explicitly on Moscow.
The Jewish state has an uneasy relationship with Russia as they coordinate on security in Syria, while Russia is also a player in the Iran nuclear deal talks.
Naftali Bennett, the Israeli prime minister, has in recent weeks tried to act as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia, a role that requires neutrality.
04:02 PM
Ukraine conflict in pictures
A man walks past a fire after a shelling in Kharkiv - STRINGER/REUTERS Ira Gavriluk (L), grieves the dead of her husband and her brother who were killed in the backyard of her house in the town of Bucha, - Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency The town of Boradyanka in the Kyiv region which was recently liberated from the Russians - Paul Grover/Paul Grover
03:45 PM
Ukraine’s health crisis: ‘I don’t know what will kill me first – HIV or bombs’
In early February, 29-year-old Anastaysia, from the town of Nemishaieve, west of Kyiv, was diagnosed with HIV.
She was terrified, she told The Telegraph, and unsure what the diagnosis meant for her future.
Two weeks later, Russia invaded Ukraine.
“I don’t know what will kill me first – HIV or bombs,” she said from her temporary shelter in Vinnytsia.
Russia preparing 'large-scale provocation' in Mariupol, security services warn
Russia is preparing a "large-scale provocation" in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol and plans to blame it on Ukrainian troops, security services have warned, writes Ewan Somerville.
The SBU, Ukraine's security agency, said data showed Russian forces "plan to gather bodies of Mariupol residents killed by the Russians themselves in one place and present them as mass victims of Ukrainian troops". "The atro cities... in Bucha came as a shock to the whole world," the SBU wrote in a post on the social media site Telegram. "Ruthless concentrated evil cynically covers its actions with clumsy fables about the Nazis."
Following the international outcry at mass civilian deaths in the town, "t he main task of Russian propaganda today is to divert the attention of the audience, both international and domestic, as much as possible," the agency added.
"Scenarios for new fakes have already been developed, and Russian propagandists are preparing the groundwork. In particular, lies about alleged crimes of Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol are actively being 'thrown' into the information field."
03:23 PM
UN ambassador pays tribute to Zelensky
Dame Barbara Woodward, Britain's UN ambassador, paid tribute to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following his address to the UN Security Council.
Dame Barbara, who was sitting as President of the Security Council but speaking in her national capacity, said: "May I express appreciation to the president for his leadership in wartime and for the extraordinary fortitude and bravery of the Ukrainian people under this unprovoked and illegal invasion."
03:13 PM
Zelensky: UN must be reformed to deal with Russian aggression
The United Nations must be reformed to deal with Russian aggression, Volodymr Zelensky has said.
As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia has a veto with which it is able to block attempts to censure the Kremlin.
"This undermines the whole architecture of global security, it allows them to go unpunished so they are destroying everything that they can," he said.
Ukrainian president Mr Zelensky said: "Russia's leadership feels like colonisers in ancient times, they need our wealth, our people - Russia has already deported hundreds of thousands of our citizens to their country, they abducted more than 2,000 children."
He told the United Nations that Russia's forces were engaged in "widescale looting" from food to gold earrings "pulled out and covered with blood".
03:05 PM
Zelensky: Bucha is one of 'many examples' of atrocities
Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the massacre in the city of Bucha was one of "many examples" of atrocities allegedly committed by Russian forces.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks via remote feed during a meeting of the UN Security Council, - John Minchillo/ AP
The Ukrainian president said: "The massacre in our city of Bucha is unfortunately only one of many examples of what the occupiers have been doing on our land for the past 41 days, and there are many similar cities, similar places, where the world has yet to learnt he full truth... dozens of other Ukrainians communities, each of them similar to Bucha."
03:03 PM
Zelensky questions safety provided by Security Council
Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested that the safety which was supposed to be guaranteed by the existence of the UN Security Council had not materialised.
The Ukrainian president said: "So where is the security that the Security Council needs to guarantee? It's not there.
"Although there is a Security Council and so where is the peace?"
Speaking via videolink, Mr Zelensky said: "It is obvious that the key institution of the world which must ensure the coercion of any aggressor to peace simply cannot work effectively."
03:01 PM
Zelensky: Russia wants to turn Ukraine into silent slaves
Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia wants to turn Ukraine into silent slaves.
"The Russian military are looting openly the cities and villages they have captured. They are stealing everything starting with food ending with gold earrings that are pulled out and covered in blood."
He warned: "They are destroying everything that they can".
He also accused the West of having "watched and did not want to see" the occupation of Crimea and the Georgian war.
"The Russian military and those who gave them orders must be brought to justice immediately for war crimes in Ukraine," he said.
"Anyone who has given criminal orders and carried out them by killing our people will be brought before the tribunal, which should be similar to the Nuremberg tribunals."
02:51 PM
Zelensky: 'The most terrible war crimes since World War Two being committed in Ukraine'
Volodymyr Zelensky has alleged that the most terrible war crimes since World War Two are being committed in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president compared the atrocities to those committed by the terrorist group Daesh (more commonly known as IS).
He told the meeting: "Women were raped and killed in front of their children" with "their tongues pulled out", adding that, "this is no different from Daesh" but it is "done by a member of the UN Security Council".
He added: "They support hatred at the level of the state and seek to export it to other countries through their system of propaganda and political corruption."
Mr Zelesnky said he had visited the "recently liberated" city of Bucha and he said there was "not a single crime that they [Russian forces] would not commit".
Mr Zelensky said the Russian troops had killed entire families and tried to burn their bodies, and that people were shot in the street or thrown into wells.
02:46 PM
Zelensky: There is not a single crime that Russian troops would not commit in Bucha
Volodymyr Zelensky has alleged that there is not a single crime that Russian troops would not commit in Bucha.
Addressing the United Nations Security Council meeting, he said: "They killed entire families, adults and children and they tried to burn the bodies. I am addressing you on behalf of the people who honour the memory of the deceased every single day".
02:32 PM
Russian artist recreates photos of Bucha dead in protest outside Kremlin
The unknown man posed in a brown jacket lying in the street with his face down and hands tied behind his back on Tuesday morning in four locations around central Moscow, Russia’s media outlet Holod reported.
In one of the photos, he is on the steps of a park with the Kremlin Palace, the seat of the Russian government, just behind him.
Liz Truss: Sanctions pushing Russian economy 'back to the Soviet era'
Western sanctions are pushing the Russian economy back into “the Soviet era”, Liz Truss said as she demanded even tougher action to stop the war in Ukraine.
EU governments will be asked to back a ban on imports of Russian coal on Wednesday, which will be the first time the bloc has hit Kremlin-controlled energy imports with sanctions.
The Foreign Secretary said existing sanctions were having a “crippling impact”, as she announced Britain had stopped hundreds of billions of pounds funding Vladimir Putin’s war.
'The war in Ukraine must stop now', says UN Secretary General
Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary General, is addressing the Security Council meeting.
He said: "The war in Ukraine must stop now".
He added: "The war in Ukraine is one of the greatest challenges ever to the international order and the global peace architecture founded on the United Nations Charter because of its nature, intensity and consequences."
Mr Guterres called for urgent action from the G20 and international financial institutions.
01:52 PM
Labour calls for further action against Russia
David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, today urged the Government to expel the Russian ambassador to the UK.
He said: "The sickening actions committed by Vladimir Putin and his cronies in Ukraine undoubtedly amount to war crimes.
"There should be no place for Russia’s ambassador to parrot the regime’s lies or intelligence agents to continue their hostile activity in the UK.
"Alongside expelling Russia from the United Nations Human Rights Council, we should set up a special tribunal to personally prosecute Putin and his gangster regime."
01:30 PM
Tory MP backs expansion of UK support for Ukraine
Tom Tugendhat, the Tory chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, has agreed that all weapons, not just so-called “defensive weapons”, should be made available to Ukraine.
Asked on Times Radio if all “reasonable battlefield weaponry” should be provided to Ukrainian forces, the Conservative MP said: “Yes. I mean, I don’t think there’s any really great doubt in this.”
Mr Tugendhat added: “Well, that’s a decision for various member states, right. And that’s a decision for countries like Poland or countries like the United States.
“I mean, you could retrain a Ukrainian pilot to fly various US-type aircraft in the weeks that have gone by so, you know, I mean there’s various options that we could have.”
01:24 PM
Ukrainian armed forces need weapons, says MP
Oleksiy Goncharenko, a Ukrainian MP representing Odesa, said his country's armed forces need weapons that can help defend against Russian air and battleship attacks.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's World At One programme, he said: "We need air defence, aircraft - that is the most important.
"We also need anti-ship missiles - we are thankful of the UK Government for Harpoons, but we need more."
The MP said he thought it was Moscow's mission to take the south of the country and cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea.
He added: "They still want to attack Odesa, to take Odesa, to cut Ukraine from the sea and to go to the border of the European Union, because Romania is already there - and (there are) Russians in Transnistria, an occupied part of the Moldovan republic.
"That is their strategic aim to go there. For the moment, they are unsuccessful but they will try again."
01:10 PM
Finland and Sweden would be welcomed by Nato, says Stoltenberg
Nato countries would welcome Finland and Sweden into the alliance if they decided to join, but any such move is up to the two nations, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.
"It's for them to decide of course but if they apply, I expect that 30 allies will welcome them," Stoltenberg told a news conference.
He said Nato would likely find ways "to address the concerns they may have about this interim period between having applied and until the last ratification (by allies) has taken place" - referring to possible Russian retaliation before the two countries were properly under Nato protection, as seen in Ukraine.
01:00 PM
France opens three investigations into potential war crimes
French prosecutors have opened three new inquiries over potential war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.
The country’s anti-terrorist prosecutor said it would investigate attacks carried out in the cities of Mariupol, Gostomel and Chernihiv, related to acts against French citizens resident in Ukraine, that occurred in February and March.
The prosecutors had previously opened a war crime probe on March 16 into the death of French-Irish Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, who was shot near Kyiv while reporting on the war.
12:52 PM
UN says evidence suggests civilians were 'directly targeted' in Bucha
The UN human rights office spokesperson, Liz Throssell, said signs from the Ukrainian town of Bucha suggested civilians had been directly targeted and killed by Russian forces.
Throssell told reporters in Geneva: "What we’re talking about here appears to be the direct killing and targeting of civilians in Bucha".
She said images of corpses with their hands tied behind their backs and partially naked women were "extremely disturbing" and suggests "they were directly targeted as individuals".
She added: "What we must stress is that under international humanitarian law, the deliberate killing of civilians is a war crime."
12:43 PM
US blocks Russia from paying debt with dollars held in US banks
The US will bar Russia from making debt payments using funds held at American banks from Tuesday, the Treasury said.
"Today is the deadline for Russia to make another debt payment. Beginning today, the US Treasury will not permit any dollar debt payments to be made from Russian government accounts at US financial institutions," a Treasury spokesperson told AFP.
"Russia must choose between draining remaining valuable dollar reserves or new revenue coming in, or default."
Debt payments had previously been exempt from sanctions that isolated Russia from the global financial system, with the country having made several payments to foreign creditors through major American banks.
The US's latest move "will further deplete the resources Putin is using to continue his war against Ukraine and will cause more uncertainty and challenges for their financial system," the Treasury official said in a statement, noting that Russia "is facing a recession, skyrocketing inflation, (and) shortages in essential goods".
12:34 PM
More than seven million people displaced by war in Ukraine
More than 7.1 million people have been displaced by the war in Ukraine, a report by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.
The figure represents a 10 per cent increase in the number of internally displaced persons in Ukraine since the first survey was conducted on March 16, the body said.
People arrive at Lviv's main train station from Zaporizhzhia on April 5, 2022 in Lviv, Ukraine. - Joe Raedle/Getty Images Europe
12:09 PM
Russian embassy in Ireland pleads for government help over fuel shortages
The Russian Embassy in Ireland has urged the Irish government to intervene as it faces fuel shortages that could leave it without hot water or heating.
The Irish Mirror reports that the Bank of Ireland have also decided to suspend their accounts with the embassy.
A letter from the embassy to Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney asks the department to intervene "into this clearly discriminatory case".
A source told the newspaper: “The embassy is struggling because no one wants to do business with them as a result of what’s happening in Ukraine. It’s not only some oil companies they’re having issues with, it’s banks too and many more businesses".
11:54 AM
Kremlin: Widespread expulsions of Russian diplomats a 'short-sighted move'
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that mass expulsions of Russian diplomats by a number of European countries - including Denmark, France, Italy, Germany and Spain - is a "short-sighted move" that will only complicate communication.
"Narrowing down opportunities for diplomatic communication in such an unprecedentedly difficult crisis environment is a short-sighted move that will further complicate our communication, which is necessary to find a solution," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Peskov added that although Russia does not reject the possibility of a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, it can only happen once a document has been agreed.
He declined to comment on the progress of current peace talks that are taking place via video link.
11:51 AM
Kremlin: Biden's suggestion that Putin be tried for war crimes is unacceptable
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that a remark made by US President Joe Biden that Vladimir Putin should be tried for war crimes was unacceptable and unworthy of his office.
Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia expected the US to impose further sanctions, which he called the country's "favourite practice".
Reports of war crimes committed in Bucha by Russian forces, meanwhile, are a "monstrous forgery" intended to denigrate the country's military, he said.
11:36 AM
Pro-Russian party stages fake mayoral election in Mariupol
By Ewan Somerville
A pro-Russian political party has staged fake mayoral elections in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, local media reports.
Kostyantyn Ivashchenko, a local council member from Opposition Platform - For Life, a pro-Russian party in Ukraine, was reportedly declared “mayor” of Mariupol on April 4.
That is according to the Kyiv Independent, an English-language Ukrainian media outlet, which reported that the mock ceremony followed a meeting of party members.
The outlet cited Petro Andryushchenko, an advisor to the real mayor of Mariupol, saying that the Russian military assisted Ivashchenko's staged ceremony, which was not legally binding.
It comes as Russian troops, who occupy part of the ruined city on the Sea of Azov, step up their encirclement as Vladimir Putin redeploys troops to take eastern and southern regions after heavy losses near the capital Kyiv forced a retreat.
Vadym Boichenko, the real mayor of Mariupol, said on Monday that the city was now “90 per cent” destroyed after relentless bombardment.
11:24 AM
Civilian ship sinking in Mariupol after being hit by Russian shelling
A civilian ship is sinking in the port of Mariupol after it was struck by “shelling from the sea” by Russian forces,Ukraine’s interior ministry said, with the shelling having also caused a fire in the engine room.
The ship, which was flying the flag of the Dominican Republic, was moored in the port when it was hit, the ministry said in a post on Telegram.
It is now "gradually going under water", the ministry said, with it now being "impossible to conduct a rescue operation under constant fire".
11:06 AM
Pictured: Solitary Bucha protest takes place in Moscow
A person lies in the street with their hands tied behind their back, echoing the position numerous dead bodies have been found in in the Ukrainian city of Bucha, as part of a protest in Moscow. - NEXTA/NEXTA A person lies in the street with their hands tied behind their back, echoing the position numerous dead bodies have been found in in the Ukrainian city of Bucha, as part of a protest in Moscow. - NEXTA/NEXTA A person lies in the street with their hands tied behind their back, echoing the position numerous dead bodies have been found in in the Ukrainian city of Bucha, as part of a protest in Moscow. - NEXTA/NEXTA
10:52 AM
Germany reports rise in attacks against Russian and Ukrainian migrants
Attacks against Russian and Ukrainian migrants in Germany have risen since the start of the war, the country's Interior Minister said on Tuesday.
Nancy Faeser said that 308 anti-Russian offences were recorded by police, including 15 acts of violence, since the end of February when the invasion began.
"Offences against Russians and Russian facilities are on the rise," she said. "This conflict should not be allowed to creep into our society. We have to remind people that this is Putin's criminal war. It is not the war of people with Russian roots who live here in Germany."
Attacks against Ukrainians have also increased, Faeser said, with 109 offences recorded since the end of February, including 13 acts of violence. Most offences were property damage, insults and verbal threats.
10:32 AM
Sweden to expel three Russian diplomats
Sweden has announced it will expel three Russian diplomats, following similar moves from countries including Denmark, Italy, France and Germany.
"Today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has... decided to deport three Russian diplomats whose work in Sweden is not in accordance with the Vienna Convention," Foreign Minister Ann Linde said.
10:12 AM
Russian troops spark chemical cloud in Rubezhnoye
Russian troops hit a cistern with nitric acid in Rubezhnoye, causing a large chemical cloud, the region's military head said on Facebook.
Sergey Gaidai, the head of the Luhansk regional military administration, said on the social media site: "Urgent!!! Don't leave the shelters! If you're indoors - close the doors and windows!"
Nitric acid can have an extremely dangerous effect on humans if inhaled, swallowed, or brought into contact with skin and mucous membranes.
Russian troops hit a cistern with nitric acid in Rubezhnoye.
09:58 AM
Kyiv mayor urges Europe to cut all commercial ties with Moscow
The mayor of Kyiv has urged European politicians to cut off all commercial ties with Moscow, saying any payments it gives to Russia is used as "bloody money" to fuel its army.
“Every Euro, every cent that you receive from Russia or that you send to Russia has blood, it is bloody money and the blood of this money is Ukrainian blood, the blood of Ukrainian people,” Vitali Klitschko said via video link to a mayors’ conference in Geneva.
Mr Klitschko also described the "genocide of Ukrainians" in towns like Bucha, where dead civilians cover the streets.
He also claimed that almost 20,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine. The claim has not been independently verified.
Italy has expelled 30 Russian diplomats "for reasons of national security", the country's Foreign Minister said on Tuesday.
"On my instruction, Ambassador Ettore Sequi, the Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry, this morning summoned the Russian Federation's Ambassador to Italy Sergey Razov to the foreign ministry to notify him of the Italian government's decision to expel 30 Russian diplomats in service at the embassy as they are 'personae non gratae'," Luigi Di Maio said.
"This decision, taken in agreement with the other European and Atlantic partners, was made necessary by reasons linked to our national security within the context of the current crisis situation caused by the unjustified attack on Ukraine by the Russian Federation".
It comes as Denmark, Germany and France also expelled a number of Russian diplomats due to suspicions about spying.
09:27 AM
EU's von der Leyen to travel to Kyiv to meet with Zelensky
European Commission President Ursula van der Leyen will travel to Kyiv this week to meet the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Her spokesperson said she will be accompanied by Josep Borrell, the EU's highest ranking diplomat.
The pair will visit Kyiv ahead of an event in Warsaw, Poland on Saturday.
09:23 AM
Situation in Mariupol remains 'very difficult', says Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Ukraine’s efforts to push back Russian troops from the besieged port city of Mariupol were facing difficulties.
In a televised interview, Mr Zelensky said the military situation in the city was “very difficult".
He also said that Turkey had proposed a plan to help evacuate civilians and dead bodies from the city, but warned that the evacuation depended on the cooperation of Vladimir Putin.
A local resident pushes a cart with humanitarian aid past an apartment building damaged during the war in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine on April 4, 2022. - Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
09:10 AM
50 former world leaders back petition to try Putin for war crimes
50 former world leaders, including Sir John Major and Gordon Brown, have signed a proposal to create an international tribunal that will try Vladimir Putin and others responsible for the war in Ukraine for the 'crime of aggression'.
Former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the world must "set a clear path that brings Putin to justice" after the war crimes revealed at Bucha and Mariupol.
He said: “What started off as a European project has now won support from every continent, with backing for a special tribunal from former heads of state and Prime Ministers in Australia, Canada and across Latin America. It reflects the widespread global revulsion at the war crimes committed against Ukraine by Russian forces.
“I welcome the fact that the British Justice Minister Dominic Raab has offered support for the ICC’s investigation into war crimes by Russia. At the request of Ukraine, our petition proposes that in addition to this the ICC also sets up a special tribunal to probe the crime of aggression by Putin and his associates.
"Doing so will show that the international community is prepared to do whatever it takes to hold him to account for his actions.”
The proposal has been formulated by leading international human rights lawyers around the world. The trial, similar to the Nuremberg trials, would act in addition to the current investigations into war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
08:50 AM
Denmark expels 15 Russian diplomats accused of spying
Denmark has expelled 15 Russian diplomats identified as "intelligence officers", the country's foreign minister said on Tuesday, following similar moves by France and Germany.
"We have established that the 15 expelled intelligence officers have conducted spying on Danish soil," Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod told reporters, adding that the government wished to send a "clear signal" that spying in Denmark was "unacceptable".
The Russian foreign ministry has said it will retaliate.
08:40 AM
Russia threatens to fine Wikipedia if it doesn't delete 'false information'
Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor said on Tuesday that Wikipedia could face fines if it did not remove "material with inaccurate information of public interest" about the war in Ukraine.
The regulator accused Wikipedia of hosting false information on Russia's "special operation" in Ukraine and the actions of its military.
Russian law states that the owner of an Internet site that does not delete illegal information when asked to do so by Roskomnadzor can face fines of up to four million roubles (around $48,000 dollars).
08:19 AM
Kramatorsk hit with strikes as Russia focuses on east Ukraine
The eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk was hit by Russian strikes early on Tuesday, after Moscow's forces said they were shifting their military aims to target the east of the country.
Reports from the city suggest there was a strike at around 3:00am local time that destroyed a central school, located near a police station, and left a crater about 10 metres wide next to the damaged building.
There was no official confirmation of deaths or injuries but residents nearby said the school was empty at the time and no-one had been hurt in the attack.
Ukrainian authorities warned recently that they expected fighting in eastern Ukraine to intensify after Moscow pulled forces from around the capital Kyiv to focus on the "liberation" of the eastern Donbas region.
08:01 AM
Watch: Telegraph dispatch in Bucha
Danielle Sheridan, The Telegraph's Political and Defence Correspondent, reports from Russian troops' abandoned site at Bucha, near to mass graves. Watch below:
07:47 AM
Zelensky says it's possible there will be no meeting with Putin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said it is possible there will be no meeting between him and Vladimir Putin.
Speaking on Ukrainian TV on Tuesday, Mr Zelensky said holding negotiations with Russia was the only option for his country, although the possibility of having such talks was now a "challenge".
He also said that Ukraine would search for possible war criminals and refer them to prosecutors in other countries.
The killings in Bucha show that Russia's alleged mission to 'De-Nazify' Ukraine applies more to Russia's own government and forces, he added.
07:32 AM
Satellite images show dead bodies in Bucha from weeks ago
By Ewan Somerville
New satellite images show dead bodies have been strewn across streets in Bucha for weeks, undermining Russian denials of civilian killings in the town.
Satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies, provided to The New York Times, shows the bodies were on streets since at least March 18, when Bucha was occupied by the Russians.
A handout satellite image made available by Maxar Technologies shows what appears to be the bodies of several civilians along Yablonska Street in Bucha, Ukraine, 19 March 2022 (issued 5 April 2022). - Maxar Technologies Handout/Shutterstock
The aerial images also show that of the bodies littering Yablonska Street in Bucha in a video from a local council member, published on April 1, at least 11 had been on the street since March 11 when it was under Russian control.
The New York Times analysis of the April 1 video compared satellite images before and after, which showed dark objects of human size appear on Yablonska Street between March 9 and March 11, in the exact locations shown in the video, and remained there for three weeks.
A second video taken on Yablonska Street showed three more bodies alongside a bicycle and an abandoned car, which the satellite imagery shows appeared between March 20 and 21. Russia held the town until between March 30 and March 31.
07:25 AM
Red Cross team released after being held on way to Mariupol
A team from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been released after being stopped during an attempt to reach the besieged port city of Mariupol.
The team were held in nearby Manhush, a senior government Ukrainian government official said.
"After negotiations, they were released during the night and sent to Zaporizhzhia," said Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.
07:22 AM
Pictured: Devastation in Ukraine as war continues
A Ukrainian serviceman walk across a destroyed bridge in the town of Borodyanka, northwest of Kyiv on April 4, 2022. - Sergei Supinsky/AFP A woman crosses herself at the place of a mass grave in the town of Borodyanka, northwest of Kyiv, on April 4, 2022. - Sergei Supinsky/AFP Close relatives of journalist Maks Levin cry at his coffin during his funeral on April 4, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Levin, who was a contributor to LB.ua and Reuters, among others, went missing on March 13 and was found dead on April 1 near the village of Huta Mezhyhirska, north of Kyiv. - Alexey Furman/Getty Images Europe
07:04 AM
Japanese government flies 20 Ukrainian refugees to Tokyo
The Japanese government flew 20 Ukrainian refugees into Tokyo on Tuesday, in a heightened show of support for Ukraine that differs from the country's usual reluctance to admit foreigners.
The 20 people, aged from 6 to 66, are not the first Ukrainians to arrive in Japan since the Russian invasion but are the first to travel via a special government plane, organised by Japan's foreign minister.
"The government of Japan is committed to provide the maximum support to these 20 Ukrainians to help them live with a sense of peace in Japan," Yoshimasa Hayashi said.
The 20 join about 400 other Ukrainian refugees already in Japan. Officials have not said if Japan will organise more special flights or how many refugees could be accepted.
Ukrainian refugees walk next to a Japanese official, as they arrive at Haneda airport, in Tokyo, Japan, April 5, 2022. - Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
06:51 AM
EU will probably adopt new Russian sanctions on Wednesday, says France
The EU will likely adopt a new round of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, following reports of civilian killings in northern Ukraine by Kremlin forces, said the French European Affairs Minister.
Clement Beaune told RFI radio on Tuesday that "the new sanctions will probably be adopted tomorrow" and added that the EU should move quickly on decreasing gas and coal imports from Russia.
06:40 AM
Russian lawmaker says West staged Bucha atrocities to 'discredit' Kremlin
Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, the Duma, said on Tuesday that civilian killings in the Ukrainian town of Bucha were plotted by the West to discredit the Kremlin.
He said: "The situation in Bucha is a provocation aimed at discrediting Russia.
"Washington and Brussels are the screenwriters and directors and Kyiv are the actors. There are no facts - just lies."
Some civilian corpses were seen to have their hands tied behind their backs, a mark of execution-style killings.
06:24 AM
Zelensky to address UN Security Council for first time later today
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address the UN Security Council for the first time on Tuesday.
Zelensky will address the UN's most powerful body virtually after it receives briefings from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, political chief Rosemary DiCarlo, and humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths.
Mr Griffiths is trying to arrange an immediate humanitarian cease-fire and met with senior Russian officials in Moscow on Monday and will shortly be heading to Ukraine.
Videos and photos of streets in the town of Bucha strewn with corpses of what appeared to be civilians, some with their hands tied behind their back, have led to global outcry, with countries calling for tougher sanctions on Russia and its suspension from the UN Human Rights Council.
According to Ukraine's prosecutor-general, Iryna Venediktova, the bodies of 410 civilians have been removed from Bucha and other towns in the Kyiv area that were recently retaken from Russian troops.
The UK's ambassador to the UN, Barbara Woodward, called the images from Bucha "harrowing, appalling, probable evidence of war crimes and possibly a genocide," and she said the Security Council needs "to think about how we deal with that".
06:14 AM
Tolstoy's great-granddaughter hosts Ukrainian refugees in Switzerland
Leo Tolstoy's great-granddaughter is hosting Ukrainian refugees in her apartment in Switzerland, saying the urge to help those fleeing the war was "instinctive".
Marta Albertini, 84, said: "We are against the horrors that are being perpetrated now, the invasion of an innocent country.
"Europe, the world, will not be the same after this war."
Leo Tolstoy's great-granddaughter Marta Albertini (R) speaks with Anastasia Sheludko, a Ukrainian refugee. - Fabrice Coffrini/AFP
24-year-old Anastasia Sheludko and her mother have taken refuge in the apartment in the small village of Lens, near the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, after fleeing the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv.
She recalled the moment her "peaceful and normal life changed", saying: "Just one morning you wake up because your airport got bombed at 5:00am... and your life is never the same anymore".
Ms Albertini is the great-granddaughter of literary hero Tolstoy, widely considered to be Russia's greatest novelist, who wrote War and Peace and Anna Karenina.
She said Tolstoy, who lived through the Crimean War and the siege of Sevastopol in the 1850s, would have been "completely devastated" by the war in Ukraine.
05:40 AM
MoD: Ukraine has retaken the north
Ukrainian forces have retaken key northern terrain, forcing Russian forces to retreat from areas around the city of Chernihiv and north of Kyiv, the Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday.
Low-level fighting is likely to continue in some of the recaptured areas, but reduce this week as the remainder of the Russian forces withdraw, the MoD said.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 5 April 2022
Russian troops are preparing for a big attack in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine, officials warned on Monday night, urging a mass evacuation, James Kilner writes.
"We see that equipment is coming from different directions, they are bringing manpower, they are bringing fuel," the local governor Sergiy Gaida said in a video statement.
"We understand that they are preparing for a full-scale big breakthrough," he added.
The White House said on Monday night that Russia was likely to "deploy tens of thousands of soldiers" in eastern regions with the next phase of war lasting "months or longer".
Angela Merkel on Monday rejected the criticism of what Volodymyr Zelensky called her 14 years of “the policy of concessions” to Russia
Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, has accused Germany of being the "main roadblock" in imposing an EU ban on Russian gas imports
A mass grave containing the tortured bodies of a mayor, her husband and her son has been discovered in woodland near Kyiv. Her body showed "signs of torture", according to the mayor of the neighbouring village of Kopyliv, who added that her arms and fingers had been broken
Volodymyr Zelensky was sceptical when he picked up the phone. At the other end of the line was Kim Jong-un telling him he was sending Vladmir Putin to help him get out of Kyiv.
Sort of.
A Kim impersonator has revealed the incredible story of how he turned to a pretend Putin to help a lookalike Zelensky escape war-ravaged Ukraine.
Howard X, an Australian who makes a living impersonating the North Korean dictator, has told ABC how he led something of an international effort to rescue Umid Isabaev, a Zelensky impersonator.
Mr Isabaev, who is originally from Uzbekistan, had been living in Ukraine after a photograph of him sleeping on a Russian train went viral. He was spotted by producers of Servant of the People, which starred the Ukrainian president, and appeared in the show as Mr Zelensky's double.
Mr X, who lives in Hong Kong, said he became aware of Mr Isabaev when the pair appeared together in a Russian documentary on impersonators around the world. The pretend Mr Kim said that when Russia invaded Ukraine he called Mr Isabaev to check on him.
"I rang up and he happened to be in Kyiv. I said, 'What the hell are you doing? You need to get the f--- out of there'," Mr X said.
Mr X then turned to an impersonator peer for help: a Polish man, Steve Poland, who is the spitting image of Vladimir Putin.
Howard X makes a living as a Kim impersonator - REUTERS
With friends acting as translators between the trio, Mr Isabaev was sceptical at first when his phone rang.
"[Mr Isabaev] didn't know who we were. He was kind of mistrusting when I called him up," Mr X said.
"I had to really convince him: 'Look, we're not working for the Russians, we're not working for the Ukrainians. We are just impersonators.'
"I told him, 'Look, you can see me on video, you know what I look like. And you can see the guy who plays Putin. We just want to save you because we consider you a colleague' … [and] because the Russians were actually after him."
Putin impersonator Steve Poland helped Umid Isabaev to flee Ukraine - FACEBOOK
Mr X said Mr Poland had contacts within the Ukrainian resistance and found "somebody to go all the way into Kyiv and get [Mr Isabaev] out".
"It took a lot of effort [but] we got him out of there."
03:09 AM
Spanish police seize Russian superyacht
Spanish police on Monday seized a $99 million (£75 million) superyacht belonging to an oligarch on behalf of American authorities, a first for the US’s “KleptoCapture” taskforce launched to punish Vladimir Putin’s billionaire cronies over his war on Ukraine.
The 255ft Tango belongs to Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian-Cypriot billionaire who is the head of the Renova Group and deemed “very close” to Putin, according to Spanish Guardia Civil officers.
It was impounded at a shipyard in Mallorca over violations of US bank fraud, money laundering and sanction statutes, the US Department of Justice confirmed. Documents and data storage devices were also seized from the ship.
The Tango is 255 feet long and worth about £75 million - AP
01:50 AM
Russia nears default as US stops bond payments
Russia's latest sovereign bond coupon payments have been stopped, a spokeswoman for the US Treasury said, putting it closer to a historic default.
The latest sovereign bond coupon payments have not received authorisation by the US Treasury to be processed by correspondent bank JPMorgan, Reuters reported.
The payments were due on bonds due in 2022 and 2042. The correspondent bank processes the coupon payments from Russia, sending them to the payment agent to distribute to overseas bondholders.
A US Treasury spokeswoman said: "Today is the deadline for Russia to make another debt payment. Beginning today, the US Treasury will not permit any dollar debt payments to be made from Russian government accounts at US financial institutions. Russia must choose between draining remaining valuable dollar reserves or new revenue coming in, or default."
01:22 AM
Russia promises to expel diplomats
Russia will respond proportionately to the expulsion of its diplomats from a number of Western countries, Russian ex-president and deputy head of the security council Dmitry Medvedev said late on Monday.
"Everyone knows the answer: it will be symmetrical and destructive for bilateral relations," Mr Medvedev said in a posting on his Telegram channel.
"Who have they punished? First of all, themselves."
On Monday, France said it would expel 35 Russian diplomats over Moscow's actions in Ukraine and Germany declared "significant number" of Russian diplomats as undesirable.
"If this continues, it will be fitting, as I wrote back on 26th February - to slam shut the door on Western embassies," Medvedev said. "It will be cheaper for everyone. And then we will end up just looking at each other in no other way than through gunsights."
12:40 AM
Biden calls for Putin to face war crimes trial
President Biden on Monday called for a "war crimes trial" over alleged atrocities in Bucha and vowed tougher sanctions against Moscow, as Ukraine's leader urged the world to acknowledge a "genocide" by Russian troops near Kyiv.
Western leaders have united in outrage after dozens of bodies were found on the streets and in mass graves when Russian troops retreated from the devastated town near the capital, laying bare the horrors of a 40-day war that has killed thousands.
The Telegraph on Monday witnessed mass graves filled with bodies so badly decomposed residents were unable to identify them, and bullet-riddled cars that were carrying families fleeing Bucha.
Satellite images rebut Russian claims of staged killings
Satellite photographs released on Monday appear to rebut Russian assertions that dead bodies in civilian clothing found in Bucha had appeared there after Russian forces retreated from the devastated Ukrainian town.
Mid-March satellite imagery of a Bucha street, below, appears to show several bodies of civilians lying dead in or just off the roadway where Ukrainian officials recently said they found multiple corpses after Russian troops withdrew.
"High-resolution Maxar satellite imagery collected over Bucha, Ukraine (northwest of Kyiv) verifies and corroborates recent social media videos and photos that reveal bodies lying in the streets and left out in the open for weeks," Maxar Technologies spokesman Stephen Wood said Monday in a statement.
A satellite image shows an overview of Yablonska Street, in Bucha - REUTERS
Angela Merkel on Monday rejected the criticism of what Volodymyr Zelensky called her 14 years of “the policy of concessions” to Russia
Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, accused Germany of being the "main roadblock" in imposing an EU ban on Russian gas imports
A mass grave containing the tortured bodies of a mayor, her husband and her son has been discovered in woodland near Kyiv. Her body showed "signs of torture", according to the mayor of the neighbouring village of Kopyliv, who added that her arms and fingers had been broken
Dan Wetzel, Ross Dellenger & SI’s Pat Forde react to the huge performance this weekend by Texas QB Arch Manning, Michigan and Notre Dame's spring games, Jaden Rashada entering the transfer portal, and more
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