That's our Ukraine live blog coming to a close for Monday evening. 

We're back on Tuesday morning with all the latest developments. 

French anti-terrorism prosecutor opens war crimes investigation into death of journalist 

The French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) announced on Monday that it was opening a war crimes investigation into the death of Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff, a BFMTV journalist who was killed in eastern Ukraine while accompanying civilians on a humanitarian bus near Sievierodonetsk.

The investigation entrusted to the Central Office for the Fight against Crimes against Humanity, Genocide and War Crimes (OCLCH) also concerns "the injuries suffered by his colleague Maxime Brandstaetter", who was present with him during the report, the office stated.

At least five other investigations for acts committed against French nationals in Ukraine have been opened by the PNAT since the beginning of the war.  

Belarusian army to hold military exercises 'near Ukrainian border' in June 

Belarusian Ministry of Defence said it has ordered its troops stationed in the Gomel region to hold exercises on 22 June in order to test their "military readiness", ministry official Andrey Krivonosov said on Monday.

According to the pro-government outlet BelTA, the purpose of the drills is to "increase the level of combat and mobilisation readiness (...) improve military knowledge and practical skills" of its conscripts.

"Fire training drills are planned at shooting ranges" and other facilities, Krivonosov said.

Although Belarus has served as a staging area for Russia's February invasion, the country led by President Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Vladimir Putin, has not had its troops actively participate in the war.

Putin using food security as 'blackmail' to ease sanctions, Zelenskyy told French FM

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked France not to succumb to Russian “blackmail” over food supplies at a meeting with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna.

Zelenskyy’s office says in its summary of the Monday talks that Russia is using food security issues in an attempt to have international sanctions eased. Ukraine has accused Russia of looting grain and farm equipment from regions its troops hold in Ukraine and of obstructing Ukraine’s exports of grain.

Zelenskyy’s office says he and Colonna discussed sanctions, weapons supplies and Ukrainian aspirations to join the European Union.

Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says it's important Colonna also visited Bucha, the sight of Russian atrocities.

Moscow has pressed the West to lift sanctions against it over the war in Ukraine, seeking to shift the blame for a growing food crisis worsened by Kyiv’s inability to ship grain while under attack. Britain has accused Russia of “trying to hold the world to ransom,” insisting there would be no sanctions relief.

Ukraine says it's grateful to France for supporting strong sanctions.

Russia could work with Turkey to open up Black Sea

Russia is ready to work with Turkey on the free movement of goods in the Black Sea, including grain from Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin told his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday.

In a telephone conversation, Putin "stressed that the Russian side is ready to facilitate the unimpeded maritime transit of goods in coordination with Turkish partners. This also applies to the export of grain from Ukrainian ports," the Kremlin said in a statement.

Maritime traffic in the Black Sea has been disrupted since the start of the Russian invasion at the end of February.

The export of Ukrainian grain, in particular, has been severely hampered, and this has contributed to increased global food insecurity, as Kyiv is a major agricultural exporter.

Ukraine and Western countries accuse Moscow of blocking Ukrainian Black Sea ports, a charge Russian officials deny. Last month, Ukraine began exporting grain from neighbouring Romania instead.

Ukrainian forces have also mined the waters near their ports to counter any attempt to approach them by sea. Some sea mines have drifted into Turkish waters.

Russia has repeatedly said in recent days that it could help overcome concerns about a food crisis in exchange for the lifting of sanctions triggered by its offensive in Ukraine.

During his call with Erdogan, Putin reaffirmed that Russia could "export large quantities of fertiliser and agricultural products if anti-Russian sanctions were cancelled", according to the Kremlin.

Turkey, which shares the Black Sea with Russia, has tried to maintain good relations with Moscow, while selling military drones to Ukraine.

(AFP)

Gazprom to cut supplies to Dutch GasTerra company

Russian gas company Gazprom will suspend supplies to partly state-owned Dutch energy supplier GasTerra from Tuesday because it refused to pay in roubles, the Dutch firm announced on Monday.

 
"Gazprom has announced that it will discontinue supplies as of May 31, 2022," GasTerra said in a statement, while stressing that it had "anticipated this by buying elsewhere".

In a statement, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Change said "This decision has no consequences for the physical delivery of gas to Dutch households."

(Euronews / AFP) 

Biden rules out sending long-range rockets to Ukraine

US President Joe Biden said Monday he would not deliver long-range rocket launcher systems to Ukraine that could reach Russia, despite Kyiv's repeated requests for such weapons.

"We are not going to send Ukraine rocket systems that can strike inside Russia," Joe Biden told reporters Monday morning.

US media had claimed in recent days that Washington was preparing to deliver long-range multiple rocket launcher systems to Kyiv, after Congress approved an additional $40 billion (€37 billion) in aid to Ukraine.

But Pentagon spokesman John Kirby had not confirmed the shipment of the M270 long-range rocket launcher systems  - modern, highly mobile vehicles with a 300km range. 

A second type of system had been mentioned: the Himars with a range of 70 to 150km - far superior to the M777 howitzer batteries, which are currently delivered to Kyiv and have an effective range of only 40km.

Ukrainian forces are currently struggling in Donbas region, where the Russian offensive has intensified around key towns. Russian forces have advanced towards the centre of Severodonetsk, which has been under fire for weeks.

Against this backdrop, Ukrainian officials have called for more weapons from the West: "Some partners are avoiding giving the necessary weapons for fear of escalation. Escalation, really? Russia is already using the heaviest non-nuclear weapons, burning people alive. Maybe it's time (...) to give us [multiple rocket launchers]," tweeted Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency.

(AFP)

Emmanuel Macron confirms death of French journalist in Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron has confirmed the death of a French journalist in Ukraine.

Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, a journalist with BFMTV channel, was accompanying civilians on a bus as they fled from fighting near the eastern city of Severodonetsk. 

Macron said he was there "to show the reality of the war," adding that he was "fatally wounded" in a bomb blast. 

"I share the grief of Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff's family, friends and colleagues, to whom I send my condolences. I would like to reiterate France's unconditional support for those who carry out the difficult task of providing information in theatres of operation," the president wrote on Twitter. 

Local journalists have reported that Leclerc-Imhoff was killed when he was hit by shell fragments from a bomb blast.

Meanwhile France's new foreign minister Catherine Colonna "demanded" a "transparent investigation" into the death of Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff. Colonna is visiting Ukraine today, and described his death as "deeply shocking." 

In a press release the minister called for "a transparent investigation as soon as possible to shed full light on the circumstances of this tragedy".

(Euronews / AFP) 

Scholz: Agreement around EU embargo on Russian oil to happen 'sooner or later'

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he’s confident that a “good solution” to a standoff over a proposed European Union embargo on Russian oil will be found “sooner or later”.

Scholz said as he arrived at an EU summit Monday that Europe’s unity so far in the face of Russia’s attack on Ukraine sends a good signal “and I am very confident that we will do so in the future too.”

Divisions have emerged over whether to target Russian oil in a new series of sanctions, with Hungary leading objections. But Scholz said he saw talks being conducted “with a will to reach an agreement”.

He didn’t address details of a possible solution but said the EU’s strength lies in solving problems together and he is “firmly convinced that we can continue discussing a good solution with each other today and tomorrow.”

Scholz said: “No one can predict whether this will actually be the case, but everything I hear sounds as though there could be a consensus, and sooner or later there will be one.”

French journalist killed in Ukraine

A French journalist has been killed near Sievierodonetsk in Ukraine after the vehicle he was in came under fire, according to Luhansk’s regional governor Serhiy Haidai.

In a statement posted on Telegram on Monday, Haidai said that: 

“Today our armoured evacuation vehicle was going to pick up 10 people from the area and came under enemy fire. Shrapnel from shells pierced the armour of the car, a fatal wound to the neck was received by an accredited French journalist who was making material about the evacuation, a patrol policeman was rescued by a helmet.”

Photos that accompanied the post showed a truck with a smashed out window, a blood-covered front seat, and the journalist’s body laid out on the pavement. The truck has the words 'Humanitarian Aid' written on the front.

The journalist was not named. However, a Politico reporter, quoting Haidai, and others said on Twitter that the deceased was Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff.

EU leaders meet in Brussels in the midst of impasse on Russian oil ban

EU leaders are flying to Brussels to meet in a two-day extraordinary summit centred on the Ukraine war, energy dependency and defence investments.

The agenda’s meeting, however, is set to be overshadowed by the protracted negotiations around a proposed EU-wide ban on Russian oil imports, with the latest proposal on the table suggesting imports from Russian oil pipelines could be exempted from the embargo.

Read more below:

EU leaders meet in Brussels in the midst of impasse on Russian oil ban

Ukraine's ex-president Poroshenko leaves country for political meeting

Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who is under investigation for possible treason, has been allowed to leave Ukraine at a border crossing with Poland to attend a political meeting, local media and his allies said on Monday.

Poroshenko is being probed in connection with the financing of Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country through illegal coal sales in 2014-15. He denies any wrongdoing.

In January, a Ukrainian judge rejected a prosecutor's request to have Poroshenko arrested in connection with the case, which the latter says has been cooked up by his political opponents.

Poroshenko, who was previously stopped from leaving the country twice, was heading to a meeting of the European People's Party in Rotterdam, the newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda said, citing sources at law enforcement agencies.

Viktoria Siumar, a lawyer from Poroshenko's European Solidarity party, also confirmed in her Facebook post that the former president had left for the meeting abroad.

(Reuters)

Germany to make it easier for critics of Russian government to come and live

Germany will make it faster and easier for critics of the Russian government to come and live in the country based on newly agreed criteria, an interior ministry spokesperson said.

Human rights activists, employees of NGOs and civil society groups with a connection to Germany, journalists and researchers who have taken a stance against the war in Ukraine are among those who qualify to stay in the longer term, said the spokesperson on Monday at a regular government news conference.

The spokesperson added that there was no reliable way to predict how many people this measure would affect.

The move aims to remove some of the red tape involved in Germany's visa process and guarantee a longer stay than the 90 days allowed under the Schengen tourist visa.

(Reuters)

Russia floats new foreign debt payment system

Russia says it may use an arrangement similar to that used for payments for its gas supplies to pay its dollar-denominated foreign debts.

The Vedomosti business daily on Monday quoted Finance Minister Anton Siluanov as saying that Russia will offer the holders of its Eurobond obligations a payment system bypassing Western financial infrastructure.

Russia previously has offered natural gas customers to establish an account in dollars or euros at Gazprombank, then a second account in rubles. The importer would pay the gas bill in euros or dollars and direct the bank to exchange the money for rubles.

The system aims to avoid a risk of payments for gas being frozen as part of Western sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine.

Siluanov told Vedomosti that a similar mechanism will be set for Eurobond holders, with an offer to open foreign currency and ruble accounts at a Russian bank.

“In payments for gas, we are credited with foreign currency and it’s converted into rubles,” Siluanov was quoted as saying. “The Eurobond settlement mechanism will work in the same way, just in the other direction.”

(AP)

Separatist authorities say five killed in Ukrainian shelling

Authorities in a Russia-backed separatist region in eastern Ukraine say at least five civilians have been killed in new Ukrainian shelling.

The separatist authorities said those killed during the shelling of the city of Donetsk included a 13-year old boy. They said another 13 civilians have been wounded in shelling Monday that damaged three schools in the city.

Donetsk Mayor Alexei Kulemzin said that the Ukrainian forces apparently used US-supplied artillery systems in the attack.

(AP)

Car bomb kills two in Melitopol

A car bomb exploded in the Melitopol on Monday morning, injuring two people.

The pro-Russian administration of the southern Ukrainian city, which is occupied by Russian forces, accused Kyiv of being behind the attack.

"At around 8am a car bomb exploded in the centre of the city," the administration said, adding that two people were injured, "volunteers bringing humanitarian aid" aged 25 and 28.

An investigation is underway, according to this source.

"This is a cynical terrorist act by the Kyiv regime, an act intended to frighten the inhabitants of our city, an act directed against civilians," Galina Daniltchenko, the new mayor of the city installed by Russian forces, was quoted by the Russian agency Ria Novosti as saying.

"This is a horrible situation, and the Kyiv regime cannot get used to the idea that the people of Melitopol do not want to have anything to do with this Kyiv power, we want to live a new life, another life, a peaceful life," she added.

Melitopol was conquered by Russian forces in the early days of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine. On 11 March, its mayor, Ivan Fedorov, was abducted by the Russians, only to be released a few days later. A pro-Russian administration was then installed in the city.

On 23 May, Andrei Shevchik, the Moscow-installed mayor of Energodar, another southern Ukrainian city hosting Europe's largest nuclear power plant, was injured in an explosion with two of his bodyguards. 

According to the Russian Investigative Committee, a "homemade bomb" had been placed in an electrical cabinet in the entrance of a residential building.

(AFP)

New French foreign minister visits Ukraine

The new French Foreign Minister, Catherine Colonna, is visiting Ukraine on Monday.

She went to the town of Bucha where Russian troops are accused of massacring civilians and said "This should not happen, this must not happen."

"France is at their side, with its friends, its allies, and will do everything possible to ensure that peace returns," she said.

Madame Colonna also spoke of France's contribution to the investigation into the alleged war crimes, with French gendarmes having been sent to the scene to set up a procedure for examining and identifying the bodies alongside Ukrainian investigators.

"We were the first to respond (...) They stayed for a few weeks, they gave you something to work with and then a second team arrived," she said, saying she hoped "the legal procedures can be completed as soon as possible so that families can see their loved ones laid to rest in graves."

Only "the outcome of the investigation" carried out by the Ukrainian authorities will make it possible to establish the identity of those responsible for these abuses, in particular "on the basis of the facts that our team has helped to establish", Ms Colonna said.

(AFP)

Spanish PM says NATO support for Ukraine 'unbreakable'

NATO's support for Ukraine is unbreakable and Russian President Vladimir Putin will not reach his objectives in the country that Russia invaded on 24 February, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday.

"Supporting Ukraine with determination is the only way to ensure that the Europe and the world we have built has a certain future," he told an event marking Spain's 40th anniversary as part of the military alliance.

(Reuters)

Russia hits shipbuilding factory in southern Ukraine

The Russian military says it has struck a shipbuilding factory in Ukraine’s south.

Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said Monday that a Russian artillery strike on the shipyard in the port of Mykolaiv destroyed Ukrainian armoured vehicles parked on its territory.

Konashenkov said that Russian artillery hit 593 areas of concentration of Ukrainian troops and equipment and 55 artillery batteries over the last 24 hours.

He added that the Russian air force hit three command posts and 67 troop locations.

(AP)

Eurovision trophy sells for €836,000, with money going to Ukraine's military 

Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra, which won the Eurovision Song Contest earlier this month, has raised $900,000 (€836,000) for their country's military by selling off the trophy they were awarded in Turin, Italy.

The group rode a wave of public support to claim an emotional victory with its song ‘Stefania’, which fuses rap with traditional Ukrainian folk music.

The trophy, a large crystal microphone with the Eurovision logo on it, ended up being bought by Whitebit, a company that specialises in trading Bitcoins, during a Facebook live auction.

“You guys are amazing!” the band wrote after the auction had concluded. 

The group said on Instagram that the money will be donated to the Prytula Foundation, which assists the Ukrainian army, with the funds set to be used to purchase a PD-2 unmanned aerial system, including three drones and a ground control station.

German parties agree on big increase in defence spending

Germany’s governing parties and the main opposition party have reached a deal to move ahead with a big increase in defence spending that Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced three months ago.

Scholz told German lawmakers three days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine started that the country would commit €100 billion to a special fund for its military and raise its defence spending above 2% of GDP -- a measure on which it had long lagged.

Scholz wanted to anchor the special fund in the constitution, which requires a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament, meaning that the chancellor needed support from the centre-right opposition Union bloc.

Talks on the issue became mired in details, but the two sides reached an agreement Sunday night that clears the way to bring the fund to parliament.

Among other things, funding for cyber-defence and support for partner countries will come from Germany’s regular budget, not the special fund.

(AP)

Russian-controlled region of Kherson begins exporting grain to Russia

The Russian-controlled Ukrainian region of Kherson has begun exporting grain that was harvested last year to Russia, the TASS news agency cited a senior local official as saying on Monday.

"We have space to store (the new crop) although we have a lot of grain here. People are now partially taking it out, having agreed with those who buy it from the Russian side," said Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Military-Civilian Administration.

Stremousov was also cited as saying the administration was working on the supplies of sunflower seeds to local and Russian processing plants.

Ukraine has previously accused Russia of stealing its grain from the territories Moscow has occupied since launching what it calls a special military operation in February.

(Reuters)

Russian forces advance towards centre of Severodonetsk

Russian forces have advanced towards the centre of Severodonetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine that has been shelled for weeks and where street fighting is now taking place, the governor of the region announced on Monday.

"The Russians are advancing towards the middle of Severodonetsk. The fighting is continuing, the situation is very difficult," Sergei Gaidai, head of the Lugansk region, said on Telegram.

According to Gaidai, two people were injured on Monday when their car was hit, but are now safe. Three doctors are missing, he added.

"Severodonetsk's critical infrastructure is destroyed, 60% of the housing stock cannot be restored," he continued.

Gaidai added that the road linking Severodonetsk to its twin town of Lyssychansk, and then onto Bakhmout further south, was too "dangerous" to allow the evacuation of civilians and the transport of humanitarian aid.

Severodonetsk and Lysychank are located more than 80 kilometres east of Kramatorsk, which has become the administrative centre of Ukraine's Donbas since Moscow-backed separatists seized much of the area in 2014.

(AFP)

Danes to vote on abandoning opt-out from EU defence and security policy

Voters in Denmark will decide on Wednesday whether to abandon their country’s opt-out from the EU’s defence and security policy, in the latest potentially huge policy change in northern Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, writes the Financial Times. 

Denmark has a history of voting against the EU in referendums, but the country's centre-left government is optimistic that now is the time to end the country's status as the only EU member state not to take part in the bloc’s defence co-operation. 

“NATO will still be the main tool for our defence and security, and the EU is an addition to that,” Mogens Jensen, defence spokesman for the ruling Social Democrats, told the FT. “If we are outside the EU co-operation, we cannot be part of that discussion.” 

The referendum comes just weeks after Sweden and Finland submitted their formal applications to join NATO, and is a further sign of how Russia's invasion of Ukraine has increased military ties in the West. 

EU leaders meet today, overshadowed by lack of progress on new sanctions

European Union leaders will meet on Monday to declare continued support for Ukraine to help it fend off Russia's assault, but the talks will be overshadowed by their failure to agree on a new sanctions package against Moscow.

Over two days, leaders of the 27-nation bloc are to discuss how best to aid Ukraine four months into Russia's invasion and how to deal with the conflict's impacts: high energy prices, an impending food shortage and the EU's defence needs.

But draft conclusions of the meeting, seen by Reuters, showed that while the EU will be generous with verbal support for the government in Kyiv, there will be little in terms of new decisions on any of the main topics.

"After Russia's attack on Ukraine, we saw what can happen when Europe stands united. With a view to the summit tomorrow, let's hope it continues like this. But it is already starting to crumble and crumble again," German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Sunday.

Despite efforts since the start of May, EU governments cannot agree on the sixth package of sanctions against Moscow because one of the elements - an embargo on buying Russian oil - is not acceptable to Hungary and a big problem for Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Other elements, such as disconnecting Russia's biggest Sberbank from the SWIFT messaging system, banning Russian broadcasters from the EU and adding more people to a list whose assets are frozen and who cannot enter the EU, are all being held up by the lack of agreement on the oil ban.

(Reuters)

Russia suffering major losses among mid and junior officers, says British MoD

Russia has likely suffered devastating losses among its mid and junior ranking officers in the conflict in Ukraine, according to the latest defence intelligence update published by the British Ministry of Defence. 

The MoD said that brigade and battalion commanders are likely deploying forwards into harm’s way, because they are held to an uncompromising level of responsibility for their units’ performance.

At the same time, junior officers have had to lead the lowest level tactical actions, with the Russian army lacking the cadre of highly trained and empowered non-commissioned officers (NCOs) who fulfil that role in Western forces.

“The loss of large proportions of the younger generation of professional officers will likely exacerbate its ongoing problems in modernising its approach to command and control,” the ministry said.

“More immediately, battalion tactical groups (BTGs) which are being reconstituted in Ukraine from survivors of multiple units are likely to be less effective due to a lack of junior leaders.”

Ukrainian official claims Russia piled up Mariupol dead in supermarket

In Mariupol on Sunday, an aide to its Ukrainian mayor alleged that after Russia's forces gained complete control of the city they piled the bodies of dead people inside a supermarket. The aide, Petro Andryushchenko, posted a photo on the Telegram messaging app of what he described as a “corpse dump” in the occupied city. It showed bodies stacked alongside closed supermarket counters.

“Here, the Russians bring the bodies of the dead, which were washed out of their graves during attempts to restore the water supply, and partially exhumed. They just dump them like garbage,” he wrote.

It was not immediately possible to verify his claim.

(AP)

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy visits eastern Ukraine

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined officials in Kharkiv on Sunday for his first visit to the eastern frontline since Russia's assault on the country began.

"I feel boundless pride in our defenders. Every day, risking their lives, they fight for Ukraine’s freedom,” Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app after the visit.

Russia has kept up its bombardment of the northeastern city from afar, and explosions could be heard shortly after Zelenskyy's visit. 

Shelling and airstrikes have destroyed more than 2,000 apartment buildings in the city since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, according to the regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov.

In a video address later Sunday, Zelenskyy praised Kharkiv regional officials but said he had fired the regional head of the country’s top security agency, the SBU, for his poor performance. In the wider Kharkiv region, Russian troops still held about one-third of the territory, Zelenskyy said.

After failing to seize Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, Russia is now focused on occupying parts of Donbas not already controlled by pro-Moscow separatists.

(Euronews / AP)

Russian forces storm Sievierodonetsk after trying to encircle city

Russian and Ukrainian troops traded blows in fierce close-quarter combat Sunday in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk as Moscow’s soldiers, supported by intense shelling, attempted to gain a strategic foothold to conquer the region. 

Russian forces stormed Sievierodonetsk after trying unsuccessfully to encircle the strategic city, Ukrainian officials said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the situation there as “indescribably difficult,” with a relentless Russian artillery barrage destroying critical infrastructure and damaging 90% of the buildings.

“Capturing Sievierodonetsk is a principal task for the occupation force,” Zelenskyy said, adding that the Russians don’t care about casualties.

The city's mayor said the fighting had knocked out power and cellphone service and forced a humanitarian relief centre to shut down because of the dangers.

The deteriorating conditions raised fears that Sieverodonetsk could become the next Mariupol, a city on the Sea of Azov that spent nearly three months under Russian siege before the last Ukrainian fighters surrendered.

Russia also stepped up its efforts to capture the nearby city of Lysychansk, where civilians rushed to escape persistent shelling.

The two eastern cities span the strategically important Siverskiy Donetsk River. They are the last major areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk province, which makes up the Donbas together with the adjacent Donetsk region.

(Euronews / AP)

'Liberation' of Donbas an unconditional priority for Moscow, says Russian foreign minister

The "liberation" of Ukraine's Donbas region is an "unconditional priority" for Moscow, while other Ukrainian territories should decide their future on their own, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday.

Lavrov, speaking in an interview with France's TF1 television channel, reiterated Moscow's claims that its "special military operation" in Ukraine is to demilitarise its neighbour after waves of NATO's eastward expansion and cleanse it of what it sees as "Nazi"-inspired nationalism. Kyiv and Western countries see those claims as baseless pretexts for a land grab.

"The liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, recognised by the Russian Federation as independent states, is an unconditional priority," Lavrov said, according to a text released by Russia's Foreign Ministry.

For the rest of the territories in Ukraine, he said: "I do not believe that they will be happy to return to the authority of a neo-Nazi regime that has proven it is Russophobic in essence. These people must decide for themselves."

Russia's incursion, he said, became "inevitable" after Western countries failed to heed what he described as warnings about Ukraine's disregard for, and military attacks on, its Russian-speaking citizens. 

"Yes, people are being killed," Lavrov said. "But the operation is taking so much time primarily because Russian soldiers taking part are under strict orders categorically to avoid attacks and strikes on civilian infrastructure."

The invasion, now in its fourth month, has killed thousands of people in Ukraine and displaced millions. There are some 14,388 cases of Russian alleged war crimes being probed by Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office and several Russian soldiers have pleaded guilty in cases of shelling Ukraine and killing civilians.

(Reuters)