French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on Monday called for an investigation into the death of a French journalist while he was covering an evacuation mission in eastern Ukraine. Colonna was on a visit to Ukraine, where she met with President Volodymyr Zelensky. Read our liveblog to see how all the day's events unfolded.
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1:30am: EU to exclude Russia's biggest bank from SWIFT
EU leaders agreed Monday that their sixth sanctions package targeting Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine will include a measure to exclude Russia's Sberbank from the SWIFT financial messaging system.
Sberbank is Russia's biggest lender, and adding it to the sanctions list will further isolate the country's financial system as sanctions begin to bite, more than three months after its forces invaded Ukraine.
12:40am: Relatives of Ukraine's evacuated Azovstal fighters seek news
Relatives of Ukrainian fighters who remained for weeks under the besieged Azovstal steel works said on Monday they had received no news of the whereabouts of their loved ones since they were evacuated to Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine.
Uncertainty surrounds the fate of hundreds of fighters, most from the Azov battalion, taken into Russian custody in mid-May after essentially being ordered to give themselves up as Russian forces pounded the plant and the city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine.
The relatives, all women, said they had formed a Council of Wives and Mothers, to ensure the fighters were treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention on prisoners of war.
"We were asked to stay silent in order not to make things worse," Tetyana Horko, sister of marine commander Serhiy Horko, told a news conference.
"But one mustn't think that the story of Azovstal heroes is over. They need support, they need to be brought back home."
Sandra Krotevich, sister of the Azov regiment's first deputy commander, Bohdan Krotevich, said relatives had no idea what was happening to the detained fighters.
"Where they are, what's happening to them, in what condition they are, we do not know," Krotevich said.
12:05am: EU leaders agree to ban 'more than two thirds' of Russian oil imports
EU leaders agreed on Monday to ban 'more than two thirds' of Russian oil imports into the 27-nation bloc, EU Council President Charles Michel said.
"This immediately covers more than two thirds of oil imports from Russia, cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine," Michel wrote on Twitter.
The leaders also agreed to cut off the largest Russian bank Sberbank from the SWIFT system and to ban three more Russian state-owned broadcasters, he added.
9:08pm: Gazprom to halt gas sales to Dutch supplier
Russian state gas giant Gazprom confirmed it will halt gas supplies to a Dutch gas trader starting Tuesday due to its refusal to pay for deliveries in roubles, a requirement President Vladimir Putin put forward earlier this year.
GasTerra, based in the northern Dutch city of Groningen, announced the shutoff Monday. It said the move means Gazprom will not deliver some 2 billion cubic metres of gas through October 1, the date the supply contract ends.
In its statement cited by the Russian state news agency TASS, Gazprom said that GasTerra has not paid for the gas supplied in April.
The Dutch trader said it has bought gas from other providers in anticipation of a possible Gazprom shutoff and Dutch Climate and Energy Minister Rob Jetten said in a statement that the government understands the cutoff will “have no effect on the physical delivery of gas to Dutch households”.
GasTerra is a private company that is owned by the Dutch arms of energy giants Shell and Esso and the Dutch government.
8:01pm: Zelensky urges EU to end 'quarrels', adopt sanctions
President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the EU to end internal "quarrels" that he said serves Moscow's interests as he urged the bloc to adopt more sanctions against Russia.
"All quarrels in Europe must end, internal disputes that only encourage Russia to put more and more pressure on you," Zelensky told an EU summit in Brussels via video-link. "It is time for you to be not separate, not fragments, but one whole."
EU divisions have slowed the adoption of another sanctions package against Russia, with Hungary saying it will not back an oil embargo against Moscow.
Zelensky also said he hoped that those EU countries that oppose fast tracking Kyiv's EU candidacy status will "change their minds".
"We have met all the necessary criteria for this status," the Ukrainian leader said.
5:08pm: French journalist killed near Severodonetsk: foreign ministry
More details are coming in from the French foreign ministry on the death of journalist Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff.
The French journalist was working for BFM TV and was covering an evacuation operation near the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, according to a French foreign ministry statement posted on Twitter.
The French foreign ministry has called for a "transparent inquiry" into the circumstances of his death. Later on Monday, French anti-terrorism prosecutors said they would open an investigation into possible war crimes in relation to the incident.
Leclerc-Imhoff was 32 years old and on his second Ukraine reporting trip since the war began on February 24, according to BFM TV.
Leclerc-Imhoff’s death has come as French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna is on a visit to Ukraine.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, an international media advocacy group, says over a dozen journalists have been killed while reporting on the Ukraine conflict.
4:38pm: France calls for investigation into death of journalist
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna has called for an investigation into the death of journalist Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff.
"France demands that a probe is carried out as soon as possible and in transparency on the circumstances of this tragedy," Colonna said in a statement.
4:28pm: French journalist killed in Ukraine while covering ‘reality of the war’: Macron
French journalist Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff was killed in Ukraine while covering the war, said President Emmanuel Macron.
“As a journalist, Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff was in Ukraine to show the reality of the war,” said Macron in a statement posted on Twitter. "On board a humanitarian bus with civilians forced to flee to escape Russian bombings, he was mortally wounded," he added.
Macron extended his condolences to Leclerc-Imhoff’s “family, friends and colleagues”.
3:56pm: Biden rules out sending Ukraine rocket systems 'that can strike Russia'
The US will not send Ukraine rocket systems "that can strike into Russia", said President Joe Biden. The comments followed media reports that Washington was preparing to send Kyiv advanced Multiple Launch Rocket System, or MLRS.
"We're not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems,” Biden told reporters at the White House.
The Ukrainian government is urging the West to provide it with more longer-range weapons – including the MLRS that can fire a barrage of rockets hundreds of miles away – in order to turn the tide in the war.
2:41pm: Two main Ukrainian objectives during French foreign minister’s visit
Reporting from outside the Ukrainian foreign ministry in Kyiv, where visiting French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna was meeting with her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, FRANCE 24’s Gulliver Cragg explained that Kyiv has two main goals. They include convincing France to send more heavy weapons and to push their bid for EU membership.
1:52pm: French foreign minister condemns killings of civilians in visit to Bucha
France's Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna condemned killings of civilians outside Kyiv during a visit to Ukraine on Monday in a show of support as Russian forces advance in the east.
"This should never have happened. It must never happen again," Colonna told reporters after visiting an Orthodox church in the town of Bucha outside the capital Kyiv, where Russian forces have been accused of killing civilians.
She said France stood with victims of alleged Russian atrocities and that France would "do everything in its power to restore peace".
Hundreds of Ukrainians were killed during Russia's occupation of the town in the early stages of Moscow's invasion, prompting allegations of war crimes by Kyiv and European capitals.
Colonna said during the visit to Bucha that France had been "the first one to respond", referring to the dispatch of French gendarmes to Bucha to investigate potential war crimes alongside Ukrainian investigators.
The foreign minister added she hoped "legal proceedings are completed as quickly as possible, so that families can see their loved ones laid to rest in proper graves".
The French foreign ministry said Colonna will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and her counterpart Dmytro Kuleba to discuss Russia's blockage of Ukrainian ports and the impact on global food security.
11:59am: On the ground in Lysychansk with the residents staying put amid Russian bombardment
Fighting for control of the Donbas region continues to devastate eastern Ukraine, with Russian forces pressing into Severodonetsk, the largest city still held by Ukrainian forces. The nearby city of Lysychansk is under constant bombardment. FRANCE 24's Jonathan Walsh and Amar Al-Hameedawi filed this report from Lysychansk, where they spoke with some of the few residents who have chosen not to leave.
8:13am: EU's foreign policy chief hopeful of deal on Russian oil ban as leaders set to meet
European Union leaders will meet on Monday and Tuesday to discuss a new sanctions package against Russia including an oil embargo.
EU governments have been unable to agree on a sixth package of sanctions against Moscow because the proposed embargo on Russian oil is not acceptable to Hungary and a big problem for Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck expressed fears ahead of the summit that EU unity was "starting to crumble" and draft conclusions of the meeting, seen by Reuters, indicated there will be little in terms of new decisions.
But EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said there would be an agreement, with a deal on the next sanctions package by Monday afternoon.
"We need to decide unanimously. There were tough talks yesterday afternoon, as well as this morning," Borrell told broadcaster France Info on Monday morning, adding: "I think that this afternoon, we will be able to offer to the heads of the member states an agreement."
Asked if plans to include a ban to import Russian oil could fail over the resistance from Hungary and other eastern European states, Borrell said: "No, I don't think so ... there will be an agreement in the end."
7:41am: French foreign minister to meet Zelensky Monday
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv later on Monday to express France's solidarity with Ukraine and offer more support for the country, the French foreign ministry said.
Colonna's trip to Ukraine comes amid criticism from some diplomats and political analysts that France is not doing enough to support Ukraine in its fight with Russia.
European Union leaders will also meet on Monday to reiterate support for Ukraine as Russian forces intensified attacks to capture Severodonetsk, a key city in the eastern Donbas region that Moscow has prioritised taking full control over.
6:05am: Russian forces storm city of Severodonetsk
Russian and Ukrainian troops traded blows in fierce close-quarter combat Sunday in an eastern Ukrainian city as Moscow’s soldiers, supported by intense shelling, attempted to gain a strategic foothold to conquer the region.
Russian forces stormed Severodonetsk after trying unsuccessfully to encircle the strategic city, Ukrainian officials said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the situation there as “indescribably difficult”, with a relentless Russian artillery barrage destroying critical infrastructure and damaging 90 percent of the buildings.
“Capturing Severodonetsk is a principal task for the occupation force,” Zelensky 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 center to shut down because of the dangers.
The deteriorating conditions raised fears that Severodonetsk could become the next Mariupol, the port city on the Sea of Azov that spent nearly three months under Russian siege before the last Ukrainian fighters surrendered.
Severodonetsk, located 143 kilometres south of the Russian border, has emerged in recent days as the epicentre of Moscow's quest to capture all of Ukraine's eastern industrial Donbas region.
5:48am: Ukraine pushes back Russian troops in Kherson, military says
Ukrainian forces have counterattacked in the country's south, claiming to have pushed back Russian troops near three villages in the Kherson region.
Ukrainian forces over the weekend forced Russian troops into "unfavourable positions" around the villages of Andriyivka, Lozovo and Bilohorka in Kherson, the country's military leadership said in a statement.
"Kherson, hold on. We're close!" Ukraine's general staff tweeted Sunday as their forces counterattacked in the only region of the country fully controlled by Russian troops.
Kherson, which borders Crimea, was taken by Russian forces in March and Moscow-backed officials in the region have recently pushed for annexation.
While limited in nature, the counterattack could have the effect of stretching Russian forces, with the general staff claiming the move had forced Moscow to send reserves to the area.
4:00am: Germany agrees €100 billion fund to modernise military in face of Russia threat
Germany's government and conservative opposition have agreed a deal that will release €100 billion to modernise the army amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
An agreement was reached late Sunday to create a special fund for military procurement that will also allow Berlin to achieve NATO's target of spending 2 percent of GDP on defence.
The deal, which involves amending budgetary rules in the national constitution, was struck after weeks of difficult negotiations between the parties in the governing coalition and the conservatives of former chancellor Angela Merkel, representatives of these groups told AFP.
Three days after Russian invaded Ukraine on February 24, Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged a special budget of €100 billion to rearm the German military and modernise its outdated equipment over the next few years.
But critics have since accused Scholz of timidity in his support for Kyiv and failing to take enough concrete action in terms of arms deliveries.
10:56pm: 'Very bad' situation in Donbas, French general says
"It's very important for the head of state, which is commanding the armies, to be present in Kharkiv," said General Dominique Trinquand, a former head of the French military mission to the United Nations. "The situation is very bad [in the] Donbas, where the Russian forces are advancing and the Ukrainian forces are in difficulty."
9:22pm: Donbas 'unconditional priority' for Russia, Lavrov says
The "liberation" of Ukraine's Donbas is an "unconditional priority" for Moscow, while other Ukrainian territories should decide their future on their own, RIA news agency cited Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Sunday.
"The liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, recognised by the Russian Federation as independent states, is an unconditional priority," Lavrov said in an interview with French TV channel TF1, according to RIA.
For the rest of the territories in Ukraine, "the people should decide their future in these areas", he said.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)
