– Seven killed in Lviv strikes –
Five powerful Russian missiles hit the western city of Lviv, killing at least seven people and wounding eight, local officials say.
The attack comes as Russia hits targets across the country ahead of an expected campaign in the east.
– Three killed in Kharkiv –
Russian shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, kills at least three people.
One shell fell on a children’s playground, killing a man and a woman, while another shell hit an aid distribution point killing one person and wounding six others, officials say.
– Russians capture eastern town –
Russian troops capture the east Ukraine town of Kreminna in a major night-time attack, say local officials.
“The Russian army has already entered there, with a huge amount of military hardware…,” Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai says on social media. “Our defenders have retreated to new positions.”
– Tycoon seeks prisoner exchange –
Russian state television broadcasts a video of two men it says are captured Britons, asking to be exchanged for Viktor Medvedchuk, a recently captured wealthy Ukrainian tycoon close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine’s security services then put out a video of Medvedchuk asking to be exchanged for Ukrainian civilians and soldiers trapped in the strategic besieged Ukrainian port of Mariupol.
– Civilian evacuations paused –
Ukraine says it is halting civilian evacuations from the frontline towns and cities in the east of the country for a second day.
“In violation of international humanitarian law, the Russian occupiers have not stopped blocking and shelling humanitarian routes,” Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk posts on social media Monday.
– Nearly 5 mn fled Ukraine: UN –
More than 4.9 million Ukrainians have fled their country following the Russian invasion, says the UN’s refugee agency, the UNHCR.
It says 4,934,415 Ukrainians have now quit the country, up more than 65,000 on the previous day.
– ‘Russia wants to destroy Donbas’ –
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia is seeking to destroy the region of Donbas, the country’s eastern industrial heartland.
“Russian troops are preparing for an offensive operation in the east of our country in the near future. They want to literally finish off and destroy Donbas,” Zelensky says.
– Loaned Russian paintings stuck in Seoul –
Dozens of paintings by renowned Russian artists including Wassily Kandinsky are stuck in Seoul after an exhibition because of sanctions imposed on Russia over its war in Ukraine.
The exhibition at the Sejong Museum of Art wrapped up on Sunday, but the paintings are stuck in the South Korean capital as all available flight options have been shut down by the sanctions.
– Moscow job losses –
Some 200,000 employees of foreign companies in Moscow could lose their jobs due to sanctions over Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, the city’s mayor says.
Sergei Sobyanin says authorities had last week approved a $41-million programme to support employment in the Russian capital.
