In a video message on Monday night Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are repulsing Russian forces, and have slowed down their advances.

He added that a Russian plane has been shot down in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine's second-largest city.

The Russian Embassy to the US has been responding to reports of so-called "filtration camps" created by Russian forces in Mariupol.

It follows claims by Mariupol's Mayor Vadim Boychenko that thousands of residents had been taken to camps, where Russian forces seized their phones and documents, before forcibly deporting them to Russia.

But the embassy says Russia is only operating checkpoints "to avoid diversion operations" by the Ukrainian military and to allow Russian forces to "carefully inspect motor vehicles heading to safe regions".

"The Russian military does not create any barriers to the peaceful population, but helps them stay alive, providing food and medicine," the statement added.

Image source, Getty Images

Japan on Tuesday criticised Russia's decision to withdraw from bilateral peace treaty talks and to suspend joint economic projects related to disputed islands.

Russia and Japan have still not formally ended World War Two hostilities because of the standoff over the islands located off Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido. They are known in Russia as the Kurils and in Japan as the Northern Territories.

Moscow's decision to withdraw from the talks come in retaliation to sanctions imposed by Tokyo over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The islands were seized by the Soviet Union at the end of World War Two, and Russia claims the acquisition was as fair as any international change of boundaries after the war. Japan has disputed this.

"This entire situation has been created by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and Russia's response to push this onto Japan-Russia relations is extremely unfair and completely unacceptable," Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.

Japan has imposed tranches of sanctions on 76 Russian individuals, seven banks, and 12 other bodies, including defence officials and the state-owned arms exporter, Rosoboronexport.

Image source, Getty Images

The Ukrainian military claims its forces have retaken the town of Makariv, close to Kyiv.

In its latest update on the conflict, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine says its troops pushed Russian troops out of the town, about 60km west of the capital.

"Thanks to the heroic actions of our defenders, the state flag of Ukraine was raised over the city of Makariv, the enemy was rejected," it wrote on its Facebook page.

The BBC has not been able to verify the Ukrainian claim.

But it comes three days after a Russian mortar attack on the town killed seven people, according to local police.

As of 21 March, at least 82,525 square kilometres of Ukraine's land area is suspected to contain explosive devices, the Association of Sappers of Ukraine, external said on Monday.

In its Facebook post, it said it now considered these swathes of land as "dangerous territories".

It did not mention how much of the land area was classified as containing explosive devices prior to the Russian invasion on 24 February.

The information was calculated using geo-information software together with the Ukrainian mine action operator Demining Solutions, the association said. It added these calculations were preliminary.

In modern warfare, sappers build major support facilities, such as airports, supply roads, and fuel depots, and are assigned tasks like the disarming and disposal of mines and unexploded bombs.

Frank Gardner
BBC Security Correspondent

The most bombarded city in Ukraine’s war with Russia is key to Moscow’s military campaign. But why?

Securing a land corridor between Crimea and Donbas: Mariupol stands obstinately in the way of Russian forces who have burst out of the Crimean peninsula. They are pushing north-east to try to link up with their comrades and Ukrainian-separatist allies in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

Strangling Ukraine's economy: In normal times, Mariupol is a key export hub for Ukraine's steel, coal and corn going to customers in the Middle East and beyond. Losing Mariupol would be a major blow to what is left of Ukraine's economy.

Propaganda opportunity: Mariupol is home to a Ukrainian militia unit called the Azov Brigade, which contains far-right extremists including neo-Nazis. Although they form only the tiniest fraction of Ukraine's fighting forces, this has given Moscow a pretext for telling Russia's population that the young men it has sent to fight in Ukraine are there to rid their neighbour of neo-Nazis.

Major morale boost: A Russian victory in Mariupol would enable the Kremlin to show its population - through state-controlled media - that Russia was achieving its aims and making progress. But to Ukrainians, the loss of Mariupol would be a major blow.

Read Frank Gardiner's report in full

Here are the latest developments from the war in Ukraine:

• US President Joe Biden believes Vladimir Putin's "back is against the wall", potentially increasing the chances that Russia might use chemical or biological weapons
• The White House has warned that Russia may also resort to cyber-attacks to respond to increasingly damaging sanctions
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his country's forces have "restrained" the enemy advance, with military analysts saying the Russian campaign has stalled amid heavy losses and logistical issues
• The US government said it is actively gathering evidence of war crimes in Ukraine
• Russian media must now label Facebook parent company Meta as an "extremist" organisation following a court order

That's it from me, Jude Sheerin and Bernd Debusmann in Washington DC. We're handing over now to our colleagues, Ayeshea Perera and Zubaidah Abdul Jalil in Singapore.

Here are some images from the war over the last 24 hours.

Image source, Getty Images

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The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces says that Russian troops have seized a "land corridor" with the Crimean peninsula, blocking Ukraine's access to the Sea of Azov.

The Ukrainian military, however, also said in its update that Russian forces had lost "offensive potential" and are being forced to call in reinforcements from across Russia for deployment in Ukraine.

Additionally, the General Staff alleged that "irreversible" losses have forced Moscow to cancel planned discharges of officers and enlisted troops from the military.

It claims that about 300 Russian soldiers were killed in combat just on Monday.

The BBC has been unable to verify these claims independently.

Image source, Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his country's forces have managed to far keep Russia's at bay.

In a video message on Monday, Zelensky said while the Russians have been trying to "slowly" advance, their efforts have so far been repulsed and their forces "restrained".

Zelensky also claimed that another Russian aircraft had been brought down by Ukrainian forces in the Kharkiv region.

Speaking of Russian warplane pilots, he said: "They definitely have emptiness instead of a heart. Instead of a soul. Instead of everything that makes people human."

Image source, Getty Images

US President Joe Biden believes Vladimir Putin's "back is against the wall" in Ukraine, increasing the possibility that he may resort to chemical or biological weapons.

At a business roundtable event in Washington DC on Monday, Biden said he believes that Russia is preparing new "false flags".

"They are also suggesting that Ukraine has biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine," Biden said. "That's a clear sign he's considering using both of those."

US and allied officials have repeatedly argued that Russia may use false chemical weapons claims as a precursor to using such weapons themselves.

Earlier in March, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned the secretary of Russia's Security Council that Moscow would face consequences if it deployed chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.

Image source, Getty Images

Russian media must now declare Facebook parent company Meta an "extremist" organisation whenever it is mentioned, following a court decision to ban the platform on Monday.

Earlier in the day, a Moscow court declared Meta to be an extremist group and banned two of its products, Facebook and Instagram. The ban does not apply to WhatsApp.

That designation must now be specified every time Meta is mentioned in the media, according to Russia's Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, also known as Roskomnadzor.

Similar rules apply to the Islamic State, or to organisations associated with Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Facebook has been blocked in Russia since 4 March.

Image source, Getty Images

Russian operations in Ukraine continue to be largely stalled and plagued by logistical issues, according to an assessment from the US-based Institute for the Study of War.

In its daily sum-up of the campaign, the institute noted that Russian forces did not conduct any offensive operations near Kyiv on Monday, and instead reinforced their defensive positions.

Similarly, Russian forces in north-eastern Ukraine remained stagnant and have been "unable to solve logistics issues", the institute said.

In Mariupol, on the other hand, the institute believes that Russian forces have made "slow but steady progress", and have shelled civilian infrastructure. The institute believes the city will fall sometime in the next few weeks.

Additionally, the institute said that Russia has been forced to deploy "low quality" reserves, including "low readiness units" from Russia's Far East, to replace losses in frontline combat units.

Russia's alleged use of its hypersonic missile is probably intended to "detract from a lack of progress" in its ground campaign, the UK Ministry of Defence has said.

Over the last several days, Russia has claimed to have fired hypersonic missiles - for the first time ever in combat - at targets in Western Ukraine.

Russian officials claim the missile - known as the Kinzhal - can hit targets up to 2,000km (1,240 miles) away at speeds over 6,000 km/h.

The UK's MoD, however, assesses that the missiles are unlikely to "materially affect the outcome" of Russia's campaign in Ukraine.

Read more about the Kinzhal missile here.

Fossil fuel rush because of war is madness - UN chiefpublished at 00:10 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2022

00:10 GMT 22 March 2022

Matt McGrath
Environment correspondent

The UN Secretary General says the rush to use fossil fuels because of the war in Ukraine is "madness" and threatens global climate targets.

The invasion of Ukraine has seen rapid rises in the prices of coal, oil and gas as countries scramble to replace Russian sources.

But Antonio Guterres warns these short-term measures might "close the window" on the Paris climate goals.

Europe and the UK and other countries are looking to cut their reliance on Russian oil and gas this year. Many are turning to coal or imports of liquefied natural gas as alternative sources.

"Countries could become so consumed by the immediate fossil fuel supply gap that they neglect or knee-cap policies to cut fossil fuel use," Guterres says.

"This is madness. Addiction to fossil fuels is mutually assured destruction."

Read more

Image source, Getty Images

Russian troops have arrested journalists of a local publication in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya region and blocked its website, the Ostro news website , externalhas reported.

According to Ostro, several journalists of the Melitopolski Vidomosti newspaper were arrested and taken to an unknown location by armed men.

"Armed people entered the houses of Melitopolski Vidomosti newspaper journalists Olha Olkhovska and Lyubov Chayka, publisher Mykhaylo Kumok and copy editor Yevheniya Boryan. They arrested them and took them in an unknown direction," the website quoted other journalists of the newspaper as saying.

Representatives of the MV media holding, which owns Melitopolski Vidomosti, have called on the Ukrainian leadership and international community to help secure the release of their colleagues.

Zelensky wants Putin meeting - what are the chances?published at 00:10 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2022

00:10 GMT 22 March 2022

Lyse Doucet
Chief International Correspondent

President Zelensky has asked repeatedly to meet Vladimir Putin - as far back as January in fact, long before the invasion began.

"I believe that without this meeting it is impossible to fully understand what they are ready for in order to stop the war," Zelensky said on Monday.

The Ukrainian president has often said that even if there's a 1% chance of ending the war, he will take it.

But Turkish and Israeli officials who have been involved in mediating between the warring sides say there appears to be no chance of a one-to-one meeting between Zelensky and Putin.

The Russian leader has insisted all along that his military campaign is going to plan and that the Russian war aims will be met.

Explosions hitting the Ukrainian capital are getting louder and closer than before, but there is still no movement of Russian troops inside Kyiv. Instead, the Russians are said to be consolidating around the capital - nearly a month since the launch of the invasion.

This is a week of intense diplomacy. US President Joe Biden travels to Europe to meet allies.

But will any of this make President Putin change his mind? It hasn't yet.

Image source, Reuters

No EU army, says foreign affairs chiefpublished at 23:45 Greenwich Mean Time 21 March 2022

23:45 GMT 21 March 2022

Jessica Parker
BBC News, Brussels

“We don’t want to create a European army,” the EU’s foreign affairs chief has said.

Josep Borrell was speaking after foreign and defence ministers approved a document known as the Strategic Compass, external.

It includes plans to develop “EU Rapid Deployment Capacity” that could allow the bloc to “swiftly deploy up to 5,000 troops” for different types of crises.

“We’ll conduct live exercises together,” he said, which has never happened before.

Borrell emphasised member states have, and will still have, their own armies but said countries must work more closely together.

He added Nato was still "the cornerstone of the territorial defence of Europe”.

White House warns of possible Russian cyber-attackspublished at 23:22 Greenwich Mean Time 21 March 2022

23:22 GMT 21 March 2022

Gordon Corera
Security correspondent, BBC News

The White House has issued a fresh warning to US businesses of possible cyber-attacks from Russia.

In a statement, President Biden said his administration was reiterating previous warnings "based on evolving intelligence that the Russian Government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks".

The White House said it was a "critical" moment to boost defences.

This is the latest in a series of warnings about possible fall-out in cyberspace from the conflict.

In particular, there have been concerns that Russia might retaliate for sanctions by hitting back at the US and Western economies through cyber-attacks.

But so far these attacks have not materialised.

But this latest warning does suggest US intelligence has seen some indications of Russian activity on computer networks that could be the prelude for some kind of attack – however, they acknowledge that this does not mean that such an attack will definitely take place.

The public warning may be designed to act as a deterrent.

US and UK cyber officials have both been briefing executives of major organisations over a period of months, especially those within critical infrastructure, to warn them of the risks and encourage them to ensure they have the best possible defences in place.