The Kremlin has warned Finland and Sweden against joining Nato.
"We have repeatedly said that the alliance remains a tool geared towards confrontation and its further expansion will not bring stability to the European continent," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
It comes as public support for joining the military alliance almost doubled in the two countries since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.
Opinion polls suggest that around 50 per cent of Swedes and 60 per cent of Finns support joining Nato.
The Swedish government has started debating the accession, while Finland is expected to reach a decision within weeks.
？？Follow the latest updates in Tuesday's live blog
Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr, who was twice taken ill in incidents he suspected were poisonings, has been detained in Moscow by police, a prominent opposition figure said on Monday.
Ilya Yashin said on Twitter that Mr Kara-Murza was detained near his Moscow residence. It was unclear whether he had been charged.
Mr Kara-Murza, pictured below, was hospitalised with poisoning symptoms twice, in 2015 and 2017. A journalist and associate of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was shot and killed in 2015, and oligarch-turned-dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Mr Kara-Murza nearly died from kidney failure in the first incident. He suspects he was poisoned but no cause has been determined.
He was taken to a hospital with a sudden, similar illness in 2017 and put into a medically induced coma. His wife said doctors confirmed that he was poisoned.
Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily video address on Monday night that Russia forces could use chemical weapons in Ukraine – but he did not say that chemical weapons have been already used.
It comes amid unconfirmed reports on Monday which have suggested that chemical weapons were used in the besieged southern Ukrainian port of Mariupol.
Manuel Fontaine, Unicef's director of emergency programmes, has warned the UN's Security Council that more than a million Ukrainian children are at risk of not having enough to eat.
"The situation is even worse in cities like Mariupol and Kherson, where children and their families have now gone weeks without running water and sanitation services, a regular supply of food, and medical care," she said.
The Azov regiment said on Monday that Russian forces appeared to have used chemical weapons in Mariupol.
The regiment said: "Russian occupation forces used a poisonous substance of unknown origin against Ukrainian military and civilians in the city of Mariupol, which was dropped from an enemy drone.
"The victims have respiratory failure... the effects of the unknown substance are being clarified."
The claim could not immediately be verified but it came after Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, told Russian state television that the Kremlin's forces might resort to chemical weapons to finish the job.
Three people were killed and eight civilians were wounded on Monday by Russian strikes on the eastern Ukrainian Donetsk region, the region’s governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said in a post on Telegram.
The number has not been independently verified.
UN officials have called for an investigation into violence against women during the war in Ukraine and urged countries to offer women and children in the country more protection.
Sima Bahous, director of the UN women’s agency, said during a meeting with the Security Council on Monday: "This war must stop. Now... We are increasingly hearing of rape and sexual violence. These allegations must be independently investigated to ensure justice and accountability".
She added: “Mass displacement with the large presence of conscripts and mercenaries, and the brutality displayed against Ukrainian civilians, has raised all red flags".
The bodies of seven people have been found in the rubble of two destroyed high-rise apartment blocks in the town of Borodianka, near Kyiv, Ukrainian state emergency services have said.
More than 200 emergency service workers have been searching to find missing residents since Ukraine regained control of the town, after Russian forces began retreating from the region last month.
The seven dead pushed the total death toll at the buildings to 19 people.
A total of 4,354 people were evacuated from Ukrainian cities through humanitarian corridors on Monday, including 556 from Mariupol, Ukraine's deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a post on Telegram.
France will expel six Russian diplomats suspected of working as spies, the foreign ministry said on Monday.
"Six Russian agents operating under diplomatic cover whose activities were found to be contrary to our national interests have been declared persona non grata," the ministry said in a statement.
It said the DGSI domestic intelligence service had revealed on April 10 after a long investigation "a clandestine operation carried out by the Russian intelligence services on our territory".
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Twitter that the DGSI "had thwarted a network of Russian clandestine agents who worked against our interests".
A Russian teenage karting star was sacked by his team for appearing to give a Nazi salute after winning a race.
An investigation was also launched into the “unacceptable conduct” of Artem Severiukhin, 15, who burst out laughing after beating his chest twice and thrusting an open palm into the air following the opening round of Karting European Championship in Portugal on Sunday.
The incident took place on the podium during a rendition of the Italian national anthem, with Severiukhin having competed under that country’s flag after Russia’s own flag and anthem were banned from world sport over its invasion of Ukraine.
After footage of the ceremony was posted online, his Swedish team, Ward Racing, said: “Ward Racing is deeply in shame of the pilot’s behaviour which it condemns in the strongest possible terms...
“Ward Racing sees no possibility for continued cooperation with Artem Severiukhin and will proceed with terminating his racing contract.”
Read the full story here
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said he has repeatedly urged Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky to meet directly to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.
During a video call with US President with Joe Biden, Modi said the war is "worrying" and condemned the killing of civilians.
"We hope that the ongoing discussions between Russia and Ukraine will lead to peace," he said. "We have also emphasised the security of civilians in Ukraine and unhindered humanitarian supply and assistance to them."
President Biden previously called India's response to Russia's invasion "shaky", as it has so far refused to strongly criticise the Kremlin at the UN and is yet to impose economic sanctions.
Ukrainian marines are preparing for their “last battle” in the besieged city of Mariupol as Russian forces close in after 47 days of intense fighting.
“Today will probably be the last battle, as the ammunition is running out,” the 36th marine brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces said on Facebook.
"The mountain of wounded makes up almost half of the brigade. Those whose limbs are not torn off return to battle.
"The infantry was all killed and the shooting battles are now conducted by artillerymen, anti-aircraft gunners, radio operators, drivers and cooks. Even the orchestra."
The brigade added that it was bracing for “death for us, and captivity for the rest” after doing "everything possible and impossible” to regain control of the port city.
More than 1,000 civilians and over 700 soldiers are being held in prisons in Russia or by pro-Russian separatists, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said.
In an interview with Reuters, Vereshchuk said she was particularly concerned about more than 500 women prisoners, who were facing regular humiliation and abuse such as having their heads shaved or being made to stand and undress.
She said she was also aware of cases of rape.
"They want us to be scared. They want us to cry and to be victims. But we aren't. Our girls and women... ask us to continue fighting for our victory," Vereshchuk added.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that he was prepared to travel to Kyiv or any other city in Ukraine only if he felt his visit was "useful".
"I am ready to go anywhere and even to Kyiv if it could be useful, if it would help start a dialogue," Macron told the BFM television network.
Vladimir Putin has thrown a top spy chief in prison amidst concern over apparent leaks to the US about Russia’s plans in Ukraine, according to reports.
A report on Monday suggested that Colonel General Sergei Beseda, the head of the FSB’s foreign intelligence unit, has been sent to Moscow’s high-security Lefortovo prison, which is typically used for those suspected of treason.
In the weeks preceding the invasion, US media repeatedly quoted intelligence sources that seemed to have a unique insight into the Kremlin’s preparations for the upcoming war against Ukraine.
Andrei Soldatov, a well-respected journalist and author known for his work covering Russian intelligence, quoted several unnamed sources who said that Col Gen Beseda, 68, had been transferred to Lefortovo after he was detained and placed under house arrest last month on suspicion of embezzlement.
Read the full story here
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) told the EU on Monday that current and future sanctions imposed on Russia could create a devastating oil supply shock that would be impossible to replace.
"We could potentially see the loss of more than 7 million barrels per day of Russian oil and other liquids exports, resulting from current and future sanctions or other voluntary actions," OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said, according to a copy of his speech seen by Reuters.
"Considering the current demand outlook, it would be nearly impossible to replace a loss in volumes of this magnitude."
Russia's defence ministry said Ukraine's government was being instructed by the US and Britain to create false evidence of Russian violence against civilians.
"The United States, which has many years of experience in organising provocations with human victims, continues its campaign to create and promote false 'evidence'," the ministry said.
It added: "New false staged provocations accusing the armed forces of the Russian Federation of allegedly cruel treatment of the population of Ukraine are being prepared by the Kyiv regime under the leadership of British special services on the territory of the Sumy region."
Images and reports from Ukrainian towns like Bucha and Mariupol - that show mass graves, targeting and killings of civilians and destroyed civilian infrastructure - are increasingly being viewed as proof that Russia has committed war crimes in the country.
Kharkiv came under heavy shelling on Monday, causing multiple casualties including one child, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a televised interview.
Terekhov added that Ukrainian forces were focused and ready to defend the city.
"There is no panic in the city," Terekhov said.
The regional governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region has said 92 people were wounded in the attack on Kramatorsk railway station in Donetsk on Friday, including 17 children.
57 people were killed in the attack.
Writing on Telegram, the governor said that four adults and two children had also been discharged from hospital in the region and sent to a hospital in the Dnipropetrovsk region for further treatment.
Three Russian regions bordering Ukraine announced they were stepping up security measures on Monday over concerns about "possible provocations" from Ukrainian forces.
The authorities in the Belgorod, Voronezh and Bryansk regions announced they were increasing security and urged citizens to be more vigilant.
"During the special operation by Russian forces on the territory of Ukraine, the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic, issues pertaining to anti-terrorist security have become more pressing due to possible provocations from Ukrainian nationalists," said Alexander Gusev, the governor of Voronezh, which borders Ukraine's Luhansk region.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod, said it would implement additional security measures until April 25 to counter terrorist threats.
The Russian journalist who defied Vladimir Putin by denouncing the Ukraine invasion live on television has been hired by a German newspaper.
The German newspaper Welt announced that it had hired Marina Ovsyannikova as a “freelance correspondent” covering Russia and Ukraine on Monday.
Ms Ovsyannikova, a trusted and senior producer for Russian state television, stunned authorities when she interrupted a live broadcast to protest against the war last month.
She shouted “Stop the war” and held up a placard that read: “No war. Don’t believe the propaganda. You are being lied to.”
“At a crucial moment, Marina Ovsyannikova had the courage to confront Russian viewers with an unembellished view of reality,” Ulf Poschardt, editor-in-chief of Welt, said.
“In doing so, she defended the most important journalistic ethics – despite the threat of state repression. I am excited to be working with her.”
Read the full story here
Russia is responsible for a growing global food crisis because its war in Ukraine has destroyed wheat stocks and prevented ships from carrying grain abroad, the EU's top diplomat said on Monday.
"They are causing scarcity. They are bombing Ukrainian cities and provoking hunger in the world. They are provoking hunger in our world," Josep Borrell told a media conference after chairing a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has said his in-person meeting with Vladimir Putin on Monday was "not friendly" and "tough".
In a statement released by his office, Nehammer said: "This is not a friendly meeting.
"The conversation with President Putin was very direct, open and tough".
He added that he hoped to help bring an end to the war or improve conditions for civilians still in the country.
Nehammer is the first EU leader to meet with Putin face-to-face since the start of the invasion of Ukraine.
The US believes that Russia has started reinforcing and resupplying its troops in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, a senior defense official said on Monday.
However, the official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the US did not believe that this meant the start of a new offensive in the region.
Denmark will purchase 2 million iodine tablets to protect people in the event of a nuclear accident close to the country, the country's Health Agency said on Monday.
"The developments of Covid-19 over the past two years has shown us that it is important to be prepared. The war in Ukraine has shown us that the world is unpredictable," the agency said.
Health minister Magnus Heunicke said that Denmark is more than 900km from the nearest nuclear plants in Ukraine and is currently at no concrete risk.
Iodine is believed to protect the body against conditions such as thyroid cancer that have been caused by radioactive exposure, with concerns about the war in Ukraine having resulted in stockpiling of the drug across Europe.
The 2m tablets would be provided to high-risk groups, such as children, pregnant and breastfeeding women and emergency workers up to the age of 40.
Volodymyr Zelensky has said he believes "tens of thousands" of people have been killed in the besieged city of Mariupol.
Speaking to South Korea's National Assembly by video link, the Ukrainian President said Russia had "completely destroyed" the southern port city which has witnessed some of the fiercest fighting of the war.
"The Russians completely destroyed Mariupol and burned it to ashes. At least tens of thousands of Mariupol citizens must have been killed.”
The estimate has not yet been independently verified.
Russia will not pause its military operation in Ukraine ahead of peace talks, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
Kremlin officials have said that peace talks with Ukraine are not progressing as quickly as they wanted, and have accused the West of stoking further tensions – and hindering negotiations – by accusing Vladimir Putin of committing war crimes.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he expected peace talks with Kyiv to continue, but warned that Moscow did not plan on halting its assault while they were being carried out.
He said: "After we became convinced that the Ukrainians were not planning to reciprocate, a decision was made that during the next rounds of talks, there would be no pause [in military action] so long as a final agreement is not reached.”
North Korea has criticised the UN's decision to suspend Russia from its Human Rights Council over the war in Ukraine.
A government statement said: "What the US is after... is to isolate the independent countries, and forces challenging them at the international arena, so as to maintain its illegal and inhumane US-led hegemonic order".
The statement added that international organisations should not be "abused" as a way for the US to exert political pressure on other countries.
North Korea was among 24 countries that voted against the suspension.
The US has said reports of a Russian general nicknamed the 'Butcher of Syria' being enlisted to oversee the war in Ukraine is "consistent" with its military policy.
General Alexander Dvornikov, 60, previously led Russian military operations in Syria, where its forces have been accused of purposefully targeting civilians.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said he believes Dvornikov's appointment in Ukraine shows that Russia is planning to continue with a "scorched earth" policy approach.
"We've seen atrocities and war crimes and mass killing and horrifying and shocking images from towns like Bucha and rocket attacks on Kramatorsk," he said. "I think this is an indication that we will see more of that."
General David Petraeus, a former director of the CIA, said: "The Russians were known in Syria, basically for...'depopulating' areas. That's what they did to Aleppo. That’s what they did to other areas. And I think we can expect that".
A major river crossing outside Kyiv which was destroyed early in the war with Russia has been restored, Ukrainian officials have said.
The Romanivka bridge over the River Irpin was one of several bridges destroyed by Ukrainian forces to hinder the Russian advance on the capital.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, an aide to the presidential office, said on Telegram that the temporary bridge took five days to rebuild.
The bridge connects the towns of Bucha, Irpin, Hostomel and others with Kyiv.
Ukraine is expecting Russia to launch a major offensive in the east of the country "soon", Ukrainian defence ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said at a briefing today.
The Archbishop of York has condemned his Russian Orthodox counterpart, accusing him of not speaking "in the name of Christ" by supporting the war in Ukraine, reports Gabriella Swerling.
Hungary plans to pay for Russian gas in euros through Gazprombank, which will then convert the payment into roubles to meet a new requirement set by Vladimir Putin, the Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said today.
Putin has warned Europe it risks having gas supplies cut unless it pays in roubles as he seeks retaliation over Western sanctions for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Under the scheme, Hungarian energy group MVM's subsidiary, CEE Energy, would pay an upcoming bill in euros, which Gazprombank would convert into roubles and then transfer to Russia's Gazprom Export, Mr Szijjarto told a news conference.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said last week that Hungary was prepared to pay roubles for Russian gas, breaking ranks with the EU which has sought a united front in opposing Moscow's demand for payment in the currency.
"As for paying in roubles, we have a solution that does not violate any sanctions but at the same time it secures Hungary's gas supply," Mr Szijjarto said.
Croatia has told 24 Russian embassy staff to leave over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and "brutal aggression", the foreign ministry said in a statement, following similar moves by other EU countries.
The 24 included 18 diplomats, it said.
Russia will not pause its military operation in Ukraine for subsequent rounds of peace talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today
Russian officials say peace talks with Ukraine are not progressing as rapidly as they would like, and have accused the West of trying to derail negotiations by raising war crimes allegations against Russian troops in Ukraine, which Moscow denies.
Speaking in an interview with Russian state television, Mr Lavrov said he saw no reason not to continue talks with Ukraine but insisted Moscow would not halt its military operation when the sides convene again.
Mr Lavrov said that Vladimir Putin had ordered a suspension of military action during the first round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in late February but that Moscow's position had changed since.
"After we became convinced that the Ukrainians were not planning to reciprocate, a decision was made that during the next rounds of talks, there would be no pause (in military action) so long as a final agreement is not reached," Mr Lavrov said.
Nearly 45,000 more Ukrainian refugees have fled in the last 24 hours, the UN said today, although many were trapped in their regions or were staying put hoping the war will end soon.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR said 4,547,735 Ukrainians had fled the country since the Russian invasion on February 24 - a figure up 44,781 on Sunday's update.
The Prime Minister was in Kyiv for around five hours during his visit on Saturday, Downing Street has said.
He started by meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky for an hour, followed by a 30-minute walk to Independence Square, according to a No 10 spokeswoman.
"On arrival in Kyiv, the PM and President Zelensky met for an hour - this was a meeting just with the two of them. They then went on a 30 minute walk together to Independence Square," she said.
Upon return, they held a further full bilateral meeting over dinner, the spokeswoman added. The pair had a starter of goats cheese salad and chicken soup, followed by a main of roast beef and cherry dumplings for dessert.
Asked who accompanied the PM on the visit, the spokeswoman said: "It was a very small delegation. I believe it was one member of his private office and then security."
She said Boris Johnson was in Kyiv for "around five hours".
Lithuania wants the Nato battalions in the Baltic countries to be expanded into brigades, the country's defence ministry said in a statement on Monday.
A brigade consists of several battalions of troops.
A visit by Austria's chancellor to Moscow today is aimed at mitigating "the humanitarian hell in Ukraine", notably by pleading for "humanitarian corridors", his foreign minister said.
Chancellor Karl Nehammer is to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, becoming the first European leader to visit Moscow since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
While "this is not an EU-mandated trip", Mr Nehammer did inform key EU leaders beforehand, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told reporters in Luxembourg.
Mr Nehammer believed it was necessary to "leave no stone unturned" in trying to alleviate the brutal conditions faced by Ukrainians, Mr Schallenberg said.
Ukrainian forces are preparing for a "last battle" to control the southern port of Mariupol, besieged by Russians since the invasion, marines in the city said today.
"Today will probably be the last battle, as the ammunition is running out," the 36th marine brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces said on Facebook.
"It's death for some of us, and captivity for the rest," it added, saying it had been "pushed back" and "surrounded" by the Russian army.
It said it had been defending the port for 47 days and "did everything possible and impossible" to retain control of the city.
French police officers have arrived in Ukraine to help the country investigate alleged Russian war crimes after hundreds of civilian bodies were discovered in towns around Kyiv, the French ambassador to Ukraine said.
"Proud to welcome to Lviv the detachment of technical and scientific gendarmes who came to assist their comrades in investigations of war crimes committed near Kyiv," Etienne de Poncins said on Twitter.
"France is the first to provide such help. They will start work tomorrow."
He posted a photo of around 20 uniformed investigators standing by a mobile laboratory van in the western city of Lviv.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomes the meeting of his Austrian counterpart Karl Nehammer and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and supports any diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine, a government spokesperson said today.
Mr Nehammer said he will meet Putin on Monday, adding that he hoped to help build bridges between Russia and Ukraine and stop the "war of aggression".
The Kremlin claimed that the possible accession of Sweden and Finland to the Nato military alliance would not bring stability to Europe.
Russian-backed separatists in Donetsk will intensify their battle against Ukrainian forces, the head of the Donetsk rebel region said today.
"Now the operation will be intensified," Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, was quoted as saying by the Russian news agency RIA.
"The more we delay, the more the civilian population simply suffers, being held hostage by the situation. We have identified areas where certain steps need to be accelerated," Mr Pushilin said.
North Korean state media have again hurled colourful insults at US President Joe Biden, calling him “an old man in his senility” after he accused Russia’s leader of war crimes in Ukraine, reports Simina Mistreanu.
Russian former reporter Ivan Safronov said ahead of the resumption of his treason trial on Monday that he plans to vigorously fight the charges against him and does not fear the prospect of being jailed.
Mr Safronov, who covered military affairs for the Vedomosti and Kommersant newspapers before becoming an aide to the head of Russia's space agency two months before his arrest in July 2020, faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
He denies accusations of passing military secrets about Russian arms sales in the Middle East and Africa to the Czech Republic, a Nato member, while he worked as a reporter in 2017, calling them "a complete travesty of justice and common sense".
His detention sent a chill through Russia's media landscape, where controls were already tight and have been tightened further since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
His trial resumes behind closed doors later today.
The Kremlin said that Russia had the resources to pay its debt so there was no objective reason for a default.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer's visit to meet Vladimir Putin today is meant to tell the Russian president the truth about the war in Ukraine, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said.
German newspaper Die Welt said it has hired Marina Ovsyannikova, the Russian journalist who protested against Moscow's military action in Ukraine during a prime-time news broadcast on state TV.
Ms Ovsyannikova, 43, "is now a freelance correspondent for Die Welt, reporting from Ukraine and Russia, among other places", the newspaper said in a statement.
She will write for the newspaper as well as being a regular contributor to its TV news channel, it said.
Ms Ovsyannikova, an editor at Russia's Channel One television, barged onto the set of its flagship Vremya evening news in March holding a poster reading "No War" in English.
The MoD claims Moscow is seeking to ‘bolster troop numbers with personnel discharged from military service since 2012’, reports James Kilner.
Read the full story here.
Tens of thousands of people have likely been killed in Russia's assault on the southeastern city of Mariupol, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday.
"Mariupol has been destroyed, there are tens of thousands of dead, but even despite this, the Russians are not stopping their offensive," the Ukrainian President said in a video address to South Korean lawmakers.
The figure has not been independently verified.
Norway will extend its current Nato enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) troop deployment in Lithuania meaning all of its 200 troops will remain until August following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Norwegian defence ministry said today.
The deployment was increased in February by around 50 troops on a three-month basis, and this deployment has been extended by three more months.
Norway said it also plans to contribute troops to the eFP beyond August, but did not say how many would be deployed.
Germany sees "massive indications of war crimes" in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said today.
The scale of the job is enormous, as 1,200 civilians have been killed in towns around Kyiv, with Ukraine accusing Russia of murdering many of them, reports Campbell MacDiarmid from Bucha.
Read the full story here.
Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said that the European Commission was working on details of an oil embargo on Russia as part of a possible next sanctions package, but that nothing has been decided.
He said he hoped it could be agreed by the EU's 27 states as soon as possible but gave no further details.
Russia has destroyed S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems which had been supplied to Ukraine by a European country, Russia's defence ministry said on Monday.
The ministry said that Russian sea-launched Kalibr missiles on Sunday destroyed four S-300 launchers which were concealed in a hangar on the outskirts of the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
Russia said 25 Ukrainian troops were hit in the attack. It not say which European country had supplied the S-300 systems.
Nine humanitarian corridors to evacuate people from Ukraine's besieged eastern regions have been agreed for Monday between Kyiv and Moscow, including five in the Luhansk region, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
The planned corridors include one for people evacuating by private transport from the city of Mariupol, Ms Vereshchuk added.
George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, said the UK "would be making available more defensive military equipment to the Ukrainians" following Boris Johnson's surprise visit to Kyiv on Saturday.
French bank Societe Generale has agreed to sell its stake in Rosbank and the Russian lender’s insurance subsidiaries to Interros Capital, a firm linked to the billionaire Vladimir Potanin.
The move addresses mounting pressure on SocGen to cut ties with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine and ends its more than 15-year investment in Rosbank.
"With this agreement ... the group would exit in an effective and orderly manner from Russia, ensuring continuity for its employees and clients", the French bank said on Monday.
The deal, pending regulatory approval, would result in a write-off of about 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) and an exceptional non-cash item with no impact on SocGen's capital ratio, it said.
Rosbank will be transferred back to the empire of Mr Potanin, who is the biggest shareholder in Norilsk Nickel, the world's largest producer of palladium and refined nickel.
More European Union sanctions on Russia are an option, the bloc's top diplomat Josep Borrell said today when asked if the EU was ready to consider a Russian oil embargo in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
"Sanctions are always on the table," Mr Borrell told reporters as he arrived for a meeting with EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
"Ministers will discuss which are the further steps," he added.
Russian state-owned gas producer Gazprom continued to supply natural gas to Europe via Ukraine on Monday in line with requests from European consumers, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.
Requests stood at 95 million cubic metres for April 11, Interfax reported, citing Ukraine's gas pipeline operator.
The symbolic trampling of Ukrainian identity came as locals tell the Telegraph of an increasing level of repression and criminality, report Verity Bowman and James Kilner.
Read the full story here.
Russian shelling has continued in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, with Ukrainian forces repelling several assaults, resulting in the destruction of Russian tanks, vehicles and artillery equipment, the UK's Ministry of Defence tweeted this morning.
Russian forces' use of phosphorous munitions in the Donetsk region also raises the possibility of their future employment in Mariupol as fighting for the city intensifies, British military intelligence said.
The MoD report said that Russia's continued reliance on unguided bombs decreased their ability to discriminate when targeting and conducting strikes. This greatly increased the risk of further civilian casualties.
The 2022 spring crop sowing area in Ukraine can reach 80pc of the pre-war acreage if the country manages to clear mines in northern regions, deputy agriculture minister Taras Vysotsky said today.
Ukrainian agriculture officials said in February that the sowing area could fall 50pc due to the invasion, but later revised the sowing area forecast to around 70pc as Russia failed to occupy most of the country.
Parts of the territory of Chernihiv and Sumy regions were occupied. After the withdrawal of Russian forces, they were heavily mined.
Mr Vysotsky said that even if the areas under spring crops were reduced, Ukraine would be able to provide itself with food.
Japan will begin online talks with Russia on Monday to negotiate the quota of salmon and trout Japan can catch this year, the Government said, after ties soured over the Ukraine crisis and delayed the annual exercise.
A decades-old pact provides for the talks on the amount of Russian-born salmon and trout that Japan can catch each year within its own exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Usually held in March and wrapping up by the April 10 start of the fishing season, their fate had been uncertain until just a few days ago.
One person close to the fishing industry told Reuters he expected talks to be tough this year, given the state of ties.
"The negotiations will start but the outcome is highly unpredictable," he said.
New Zealand said on Monday it will deploy a C-130 Hercules and 58 personnel to Europe to further support Ukraine against Russia's invasion.
The team would travel throughout Europe transporting equipment and supplies to distribution centres, but would not enter Ukraine, Defence Minister Peeni Henare said.
The Government also said it would donate an extra NZ$13.1 million (￡6.8 million) towards military, legal and human rights support.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said New Zealand's support was to help Ukraine repel the Russian invasion because peace in the region of Europe was essential for global stability.
"Such a blatant attack on a country's sovereignty is a threat to all of us and that's why we too have a role to play," Ms Ardern said.
Ukraine's economic output will likely contract by a staggering 45.1pc this year as Russia's invasion has shuttered businesses, slashed exports and rendered economic activity impossible in large swaths of the country, the World Bank said.
The World Bank also forecast Russia's 2022 GDP output to fall 11.2pc due to punishing financial sanctions imposed by the United States and its Western allies on Russia's banks, state-owned enterprises and other institutions.
The World Bank's "War in the Region" economic update stated that the Eastern Europe region - comprising Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova - is forecast to show a GDP contraction of 30.7pc this year, due to shocks from the war and disruption of trade.
Growth in 2022 in the Central Europe region - comprising Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Poland and Romania - will be cut to 3.5pc from 4.7pc previously due to the influx of refugees, higher commodity prices and deteriorating confidence hurting demand.
For Ukraine, the World Bank report estimates that over half of the country's businesses are closed, while others are operating at well under normal capacity. The closure of Black Sea shipping from Ukraine has cut off some 90pc of the country's grain exports and half its total exports.
The World Bank said the war has rendered economic activity impossible in many areas, and is disrupting agricultural planting and harvest operations.
Estimates of infrastructure damage exceeding $100 billion by early March - about two-thirds of Ukraine's 2019 GDP - are well out of date "as the war has raged on and caused further damage".
Austria's leader is planning to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin and call for an end to the Ukrainian conflict.
Chancellor Karl Nehammer said he would meet Putin on Monday in Moscow for the Russian leader's first face-to-face meeting with a European Union counterpart since Russia's invasion began on February 24.
"We are militarily neutral, but (have) a clear position on the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine," Mr Nehammer wrote of Austria on Twitter.
"It must stop! It needs humanitarian corridors, ceasefire and full investigation of war crimes."
Ukraine's armed forces are bracing today for a new Russian offensive as powerful explosions rocked cities in the south and east, while Austria's leader planned to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and call for an end to the conflict.
Volodymyr Zelensky kept up his tireless campaign to generate international support and rally his countrymen, warning the coming week would be important and tense.
"Russia will be even more afraid. It will be afraid to lose. It will fear that the truth will have to be acknowledged," the Ukrainian president said in a late-night video address.
"Russian troops will move to even larger operations in the east of our state. They may use even more missiles against us, even more air bombs. But we are preparing for their actions. We will answer."
Ukraine has found more than 1,200 bodies in the Kyiv region, the scene of atrocities allegedly committed by Russian troops, as residents in the country's east braced - or fled - ahead of an expected massive offensive.
Regional governor Oleg Synegubov said: "The Russian army continues to wage war on civilians due to a lack of victories at the front."
In Dnipro, an industrial city of around one million inhabitants, a rain of Russian missiles nearly destroyed the local airport, causing an uncertain number of casualties, local authorities said.
Black smoke was visible in the sky above the facility, but a plane also took off later on Sunday, suggesting its runway was still functioning.
After Russia tapped a decorated general to take centralised control of the war in Ukraine, the United States' national security adviser played down the significance of the appointment.
Jake Sullivan told CNN's State of the Union TV programme: "What we have learned in the first several weeks of this war is that Ukraine will never be subjected to Russia.
"It doesn't matter which general President Putin tries to appoint."
READ MORE: Russian general taking over Ukraine campaign is the man who flattened Syria’s cities
Experts have said that the next phase of the battle in Ukraine may begin with a full-scale offensive - and the outcome could determine the course of the conflict.
As Ukrainian soldiers dug in on Sunday, Russia lined up more firepower ahead of a potentially decisive showdown in eastern Ukraine that could start within days.
Questions remain about the ability of Russia's depleted and demoralised forces to conquer much ground after their advance on the capital, Kyiv, was repelled by determined Ukrainian defenders.
Britain's Defence Ministry reported that Russian forces were trying to compensate for mounting casualties by recalling veterans discharged in the past decade.
READ MORE: Russia calls up dad’s army of retired soldiers to cover ‘mounting losses’
The Russian military is preparing for what is expected to be a large, focused push to expand control in Ukraine's east.
Russia-backed separatists have fought Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donbas region since 2014 and declared some territory there as independent.
British families taking part in the Homes for Ukraine scheme say they fear refugees will die in the Russian bombing or overcrowded camps before the Home Office approves their applications.
Nine in 10 applicants for the scheme are still waiting for Home Office approval for their refugees, some of whom have remained in their country despite the Russian bombardment, according to the survey of 150 British host families.
Families who offer their second homes to Ukrainian refugees will get a 50 per cent council tax discount worth as much as ￡1,000 under new laws to be laid before Parliament on Monday.
Councils will also be barred from removing the discounts of lone householders who take in refugees under the legal changes to be unveiled by Lord Harrington, the refugees minister.
The moves are designed to ensure that no household is financially penalised if they take part in the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Read the full story here.
Need help?
Visit our adblocking instructions page.