US President Joe Biden has warned that Vladimir Putin is considering the use of chemical and biological weapons. Mr Biden said the Russian president's "back is against the wall", which increases the likelihood he will resort to such measures.
Speaking at a business roundtable event in Washington DC, Mr Biden said Russia's false claims that Ukraine has biological and chemical weapons suggests Putin is thinking about using them himself. Referring to the Russian president, Mr Biden said: "Now he’s talking about new false flags he’s setting up including, asserting that we in America have biological as well as chemical weapons in Europe, simply not true."
He continued: "They are also suggesting that Ukraine has biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine. That's a clear sign he's considering using both of those."
The US president also warned that Russia could be preparing to launch cyber attacks against critical infrastructure. He told American business leaders they have a “patriotic obligation” to harden their systems against such attacks.
Mr Biden said his administration has issued “new warnings that, based on evolving intelligence, Russia may be planning a cyber attack against us… The magnitude of Russia’s cyber capacity is fairly consequential, and it’s coming.”
The US federal government has warned US companies about Russian state hackers since long before the country invaded Ukraine. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has launched a “Shields Up” campaign aimed at helping companies strengthen their defences and has urged companies to back up their data, turn on multifactor authentication and take other steps to improve cyber hygiene.
Fate of key Russian target Mariupol hangs in the balance
As Russia intensifies its effort to pound Mariupol into submission, the number of bodies in the rubble of the Ukrainian city remains uncertain. The fate of those inside an art school flattened on Sunday and a theatre that was blown apart four days earlier remains unclear. More than 1,300 people were believed to be sheltering in the theatre, and 400 were estimated to have been in the art school.
Mariupol has been a key target that has been relentlessly pounded for more than three weeks. The fall of the southern port city would help Russia establish a land bridge to Crimea, which was seized from Ukraine in 2014.
Over the weekend, Moscow had offered safe passage out of Mariupol — one corridor leading east to Russia, another going west to other parts of Ukraine — in return for the city's surrender before daybreak Monday. Ukraine flatly rejected the offer well before the deadline.
Mariupol officials said on March 15 that at least 2,300 people had died in the siege, with some buried in mass graves. There has been no official estimate since then, but the number is feared to be far higher after six more days of bombardment. The Ukrainian government said that about 3,000 people from Mariupol were evacuated on Monday.
Ukrainian forces 'slowing down Russian onslaught'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the Ukrainian Armed Forces have slowed down the advances of Russia. He also said that a Russian plane had been shot down in Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv.
In a video message on Monday night he said: "There is no need to organize resistance. Resistance for Ukrainians is part of their soul."
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian army said it had forced Russian troops out of Makariv, a strategically important Kyiv suburb, after a fierce battle. That prevents Russian forces from encircling the capital from the northwest, the Defence Ministry said.
Russian forces shelled along a humanitarian corridor on Monday, wounding four children who were among the civilians being evacuated, Mr Zelensky said in his night time video address to the nation.
He said the shelling took place in the Zaporizhzhia region, the initial destination of those fleeing Mariupol.
Ukraine prepared to ‘compromise’ on Nato in exchange for Russian ceasefire
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is prepared to hold talks over a commitment from Ukraine to not seek membership of Nato. However, he says Russia would have to agree to a ceasefire, withdraw its troops and guarantee Ukraine's security in return.
Mr Zelensky told Ukrainian reporters: “It’s a compromise for everyone: for the West, which doesn’t know what to do with us with regard to NATO, for Ukraine, which wants security guarantees, and for Russia, which doesn’t want further NATO expansion."
He also repeated his call for direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Unless he meets with Mr Putin, it is impossible to understand whether Russia even wants to stop the war, Mr Zelensky said.
Mr Zelensky said that Kyiv will be ready to discuss the status of Crimea and the eastern Donbas region held by Russian-backed separatists after a cease-fire and steps toward providing security guarantees.
Eight reported dead after shelling in Kyiv
The Russian military says it will keep using state-of-the-art hypersonic Kinzhal missiles to hit particularly important targets in Ukraine. Russian shelling on Sunday near the city centre of the capital, Kyiv, killed eight people, according to emergency officials.
The attack damaged a nearby high-rise building and devastated a shopping centre, which Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said had been targeted because it was used to store rockets. The claim couldn’t be independently verified.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general said a Russian shell struck a chemical plant outside the city of Sumy, causing a leak in a 50-tonne tank of ammonia that took hours to contain. Russia’s defence spokesperson also said an overnight cruise missile hit a Ukrainian military training centre in the Rivne region, killing 80 foreign and Ukrainian troops.
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