Moscow faces more Western sanctions in retaliation for civilian killings in northern Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said more dead could be found in areas seized from Russian invaders.
Ukraine says its forces have seized back all areas around Kyiv, claiming complete control of the capital region for the first time since Russia launched the invasion.
Ukraine has recaptured more territory around Kyiv from Russian soldiers who left shattered villages and their own abandoned tanks as they moved away from the capital, while a disputed cross-border strike in Russia complicated peace talks.
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian peace negotiators suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning earlier this month after a meeting in Kyiv, the Wall Street Journal and investigative website Bellingcat report, citing people familiar with the matter.
Ukraine and Russia are preparing for the first face-to-face peace talks in more than two weeks, with Kyiv insisting it will make no concessions on Ukraine's territorial integrity as battlefield momentum has shifted in its favour.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has urged the West to give Ukraine tanks, planes and missiles to fend off Russian forces as his government said Moscow's forces were targeting the country's fuel and food depots.
Western leaders meeting in Brussels will agree to strengthen their forces in Eastern Europe and increase military aid to Ukraine as the Russian assault on its neighbour entered its second month.
Ukraine has defied a Russian demand that its forces lay down arms in Mariupol, where hundreds of thousands of civilians have been trapped in a city under siege and already laid to waste by Russian bombardment.
Australia will donate military equipment and coal to Ukraine's effort to defend its country from invasion while placing additional sanctions on Russia.
