– Russia seeks ‘substantial’ talks –
Russia says it would like its peace talks with Ukraine to be “more substantial” after several rounds of inconclusive negotiations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky renews his offer of direct talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Zelensky says he is prepared to put the status of Russian-occupied Crimea and two breakaway Moscow-backed regions in eastern Ukraine on the table.
– New Mariupol rescue bid –
Ukrainian authorities announce a new bid to rescue civilians from the war-ravaged southern port city of Mariupol.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says authorities will try to get all remaining inhabitants out of the city, which Human Rights Watch describes as a “freezing hellscape riddled with dead bodies and destroyed buildings”.
– The ‘unwinnable’ war –
UN chief Antonio Guterres describes the war as “unwinnable” for Russia.
“For more than two weeks, Mariupol has been encircled by the Russian army and relentlessly bombed, shelled and attacked. For what?” he tells reporters in New York.
“Even if Mariupol falls, Ukraine cannot be conquered city by city, street by street, house by house.”
– Science institute hit –
A Ukrainian serviceman is killed in drone strikes on a scientific institute in northwest Kyiv, AFP journalists at the scene say.
The attack on the Institute for Superhard Materials comes a day after at least eight people were killed in the bombing of a shopping centre. Kyiv is under curfew until Wednesday morning.
– Trust fund for Ukraine –
EU leaders intend to set up a “trust fund” for Ukraine to help it rebuild after the war, according to a draft document seen by AFP ahead of an EU summit Thursday that US President Joe Biden is set to attend.
The document commits to helping “the reconstruction of a democratic Ukraine”.
– ‘Freeze their yachts’ –
In his latest video address to Western lawmakers, Zelensky tells Italian lawmakers to stop letting their country be a playground for Russia’s elite.
“We must freeze them all: freeze their properties, their accounts, their yachts, from Scheherazade to the smallest,” he says referring to a mega-yacht docked in Italy which is suspected of Russian links.
– Bioweapons warning –
Biden warns Russia will pay a “severe price” if it uses chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.
He says Moscow’s claim that the US helped Ukraine develop biological weapons is “a clear sign” Putin is himself considering biological or chemical warfare.
– Israelis freed –
A journalist with Israeli citizenship who was detained by Russian troops in the southeastern city of Melitopol, along with his wife and daughter, was freed after being held for several hours and interrogated on Monday, the head of the Ukrainian journalists’ union announces.
Melitopol’s mayor was abducted by Russian forces and held for several days before his release last week.
– Russian toll –
Kremlin-allied tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda reports 9,861 Russian troops have been killed and 16,153 injured in the nearly month-old war, 20 times the official tally. The figures are quickly removed from its website.
– Over 3.5 million flee –
Over 3.5 million Ukrainians have now fled the country following Russia’s invasion, the United Nations says. More than 10 million have been displaced from their homes.
