Ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's UN address, the country's security service, the SBU, has claimed Russia is planning a large-scale provocation in the southern city of Mariupol with the intention of blaming it on Ukrainian troops.

In a telegram post, the SBU said that data shows Russian forces "plan to gather bodies of Mariupol residents killed by the Russians themselves in one place and present them as mass victims of Ukrainian troops".

"The atrocities... in Bucha came as a shock to the whole world," the SBU said.

"So the main task of Russian propaganda today is to divert the attention of the audience, both international and domestic, as much as possible."

Russia denies any involvement in civilian killings in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv, claiming that the visual evidence has been faked - but its denials in the face of mounting evidence have been met with outrage.

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More from Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg's press conference in Brussels.

The alliance's secretary general has been giving his reaction to evidence of mass civilian killings by Russian forces in Bucha, near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

"I'm afraid we'll see more atrocities," he says.

He also said he'd welcome Finland and Sweden into Nato's alliance if they decided to join but any such move is up to the two nations.

"If they apply, I expect that 30 allies will welcome them."

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Nick Beake
BBC News, Brussels

Across Europe, more Russian diplomats are packing their bags after being told they’re being kicked out of their host countries.

It’s part of an intensified EU response to eyewitness accounts and images that have been coming from the town of Bucha, near Kyiv, following Russia's withdrawal.

European diplomats say they’ve been sickened by what they’ve seen but also revulsed by Moscow’s absurd claims that allegations of war crimes levelled against them have been concocted by Ukraine and the West.

On Tuesday the EU announced that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will travel to the Ukrainian capital this week.

Image source, Getty Images

Other senior European politicians visited last month when the situation was much less stable around the capital.

Brussels is trying to secure a fifth package of sanctions on Putin’s Russia.

But this round of measures is proving harder to nail down because of divisions within the EU27 on how to tackle Russian oil and gas exports.

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Germany and Austria – so dependent on Russian fossil fuels – argue that sanctions that will harm Europe as much as Moscow are totally counter-productive.

But we’re now hearing Russian coal could be targeted, something Berlin is less reliant upon than oil or gas.

But these measures need to be agreed by all EU member states, so the likes of Hungary’s Viktor Orban – re-elected at the weekend having defeated Brussels bureaucrats and President Zelensky, as he put it – could yet derail the implementation of further sanctions.

Image source, EPA/STEPHANIE LECOCQ

Nato's secretary general Jens Stoltenberg says Russia is not giving up on its invasion of Ukraine but will try to refocus on completely taking the Donbas region in the coming weeks.

"We now see a significant movement of [Russian] troops away from Kyiv to regroup, re-arm and re-supply and shift their focus to the east," Stoltenberg told a Brussels news conference.

"In the coming weeks, we expect a further Russian push in eastern and southern Ukraine to try to take the entire Donbas and to create a land bridge to occupied Crimea," he said before a meeting of Nato foreign ministers.

Russian troops seized Ukraine's southern region of Crimea eight years ago.

Stoltenberg also says Nato allies are determined to deliver further weapons to support Ukraine.

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Spain has become the latest EU nation to kick out Russian diplomats, amid a global outcry over alleged civilian killings by the Kremlin's troops in Ukraine.

Madrid's decision to expel 25 diplomats and embassy staff follows similar moves by Germany, France, Italy, Sweden and Denmark.

Spain's foreign minister says he expects Russia to respond with its own expulsions. Moscow continues to deny its troops committed atrocities in the Ukrainian city of Bucha and elsewhere.

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The Ukrainian president will make a virtual appearance at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council at around 14:00 GMT (15.00 BST) – his first since Russia launched its invasion.

Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to call on countries to hit Moscow with tougher sanctions, following his visit yesterday to Bucha - the site of alleged civilian killings by Russian soldiers.

He’s accused his enemy of genocide, and warned there could be worse discoveries yet to come after invading troops withdrew from areas near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

Western countries including the US, UK, and France are also expected to blame Moscow for carrying out war crimes.

But Russia denies targeting civilians in Bucha and elsewhere in northern Ukraine, and has promised to present the UN with evidence that its forces were not involved.

If you're just joining us, here are the latest developments in Ukraine:

• Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to address the United Nations Security Council at about 15:00 BST and is expected to give more evidence of alleged Russian war crimes
• He says Russian forces are trying to hide the traces of their "war crimes" and alleges more than 300 people were killed and tortured in Bucha, near Kyiv, which Russia denies
• The European Union looks likely to toughen sanctions against Russia tomorrow as it responds to images from towns around Kyiv showing bodies in streets
• The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, has urged European governments to cut off all business ties to Moscow, saying payments that continue to Russia are covered in blood
• Several European countries, including Germany, are dependent on Russian gas and are continuing to make large payments - money which Ukraine says is contributing to the war
• Italy, Denmark and Sweden are the latest countries to expel Russian diplomats after reports of atrocities in Bucha, mirroring moves by France and Germany

The Kremlin has responded to US President Joe Biden's suggestion that Russian President Vladimir Putin should be tried for war crimes.

Biden's comments follow mounting international anger over the alleged killing of civilians in Bucha, a town near the capital Kyiv.

On Tuesday, the Kremlin said the remarks were "unacceptable" and "unworthy" of a US president.

Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said the US was likely to impose further sanctions on Russia.

Image source, Reuters

Reports of atrocities near Kyiv prompted France and Germany to expel Russian diplomats on Monday and Reuters news agency reports that Italy, Denmark and Sweden have now done the same.

Italy has expelled 30 Russian diplomats because of security concerns, it quotes a spokesman for Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio as saying.

And it says Denmark has expelled 15 of Russia's diplomats following emerging evidence of civilian killings in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, near Kyiv.

Sweden also says it will expel three Russian diplomats who aren't acting in line with the Vienna Convention's international rules, foreign minister Ann Linde is reported as saying.

Russia's former president and deputy security council chairman Dmitry Medvedev has responded by saying it will retaliate and "slam shut the door on Western embassies", Reuters adds.

Image source, Getty Images

Some 18,500 members of the Russian forces have been killed in combat since the invasion began, Ukrainian officials say.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a Facebook post, external that other Russian losses since the invasion on 24 February include 676 tanks, 1,858 armoured vehicles, 150 war planes and 134 helicopters.

The Russian defence ministry hasn't released its own figures since 25 March, when it said a total of 1,351 Russian servicemen had been killed and 3,825 wounded.

The BBC can't independently verify these figures.

On 21 March the staunchly pro-Kremlin newspaper, Komsomolskaya Pravda, published an article quoting the ministry as saying 9,861 Russian servicemen had died - a figure that exceeds even US intelligence estimates of Russian fatalities.

The post was swiftly deleted and the editor told the BBC the numbers had been published as a result of a hack.

We've been reporting on the Kyiv mayor's call for European countries to cut off all business ties to Russia as evidence of civilian killings around the Ukrainian capital continues to grow.

Right now, most European countries are continuing to pay Russian energy companies large amounts of money - money which Ukraine says is contributing to the war, and which Mayor Klitschko says is "bloody money".

Russian gas accounts for about 40% of the EU's natural gas imports but the bloc says it is working to reduce its dependence. If this supply was halted, Italy and Germany would be especially vulnerable.

Europe could turn to existing gas exporters such Qatar, Algeria or Nigeria, but there are practical obstacles to quickly expanding production.

Russia provides about 5% of the UK's gas supplies, and the US - which has declared a complete ban on Russian energy imports - doesn't import any gas from the country.

A protester in Moscow has been pictured lying face down on the ground with his hands bound in tribute to the way the bodies of some Ukrainians have been found in cities near Kyiv that had, until recently, been occupied by Russian forces.

Shocking images of bodies in the streets of Bucha - some with their hands tied - have provoked an outpouring of international condemnation of Russia in recent days.

The photos of the protest have been shared by the Russian independent site, Holod.media. The site's staff have fled Russia and have frequently been targeted by the Russian authorities - but have not yet been blocked, unlike other publications.

The protester is pictured in various parts of the Russian capital including on a bridge near the city's Christ the Saviour cathedral.

Although protests in Russia have become increasingly restricted in recent years, numerous rallies and smaller-scale demonstrations have taken place since President Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Image source, Getty Images

As we’ve been reporting, the European Union looks likely to toughen sanctions against Russia tomorrow - as a penalty for alleged civilian killings in northern Ukraine.

Here's a snapshot of just some of the measures previously introduced by Western countries following the invasion, in an effort to hurt the Russian economy.

Oil and gas

• The US has banned all imports of Russian oil and gas, and the UK says it will phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year
• The EU has pledged to switch to alternative supplies and make Europe independent from Russian energy well before 2030

Targeting individuals

• The US, EU and UK have together sanctioned more than 1,000 Russian individuals and businesses seen as being close to the Kremlin
• Assets belonging to President Putin himself, and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, have also been frozen in a number of countries

Other measures

• Western nations have also frozen the assets of Russia's central bank, to stop it using its $630bn (£470bn) of foreign currency reserves
• And they’ve stopped the export of dual-use goods - meaning items with both a civilian and military purpose, such as vehicle parts

In response, Putin has told "unfriendly" nations to pay for their imports of Russian gas in roubles, which would push up the value of the currency.

Moscow denies accusations that its forces were involved in civilian killings in Bucha and elsewhere.

You can read more detail on the existing sanctions in our explainer here.

Image source, Reuters

The mayor of Ukraine's capital Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, has asked European politicians to cut off all commercial ties with Moscow, saying payments to Russia are covered in "blood" and help to fund its army.

“Every euro, every cent you receive from or send to Russia has blood; it is bloody money and the blood of this money is Ukrainian blood. The blood of Ukrainian people.”

Klitschko also described the “genocide of Ukrainians” following a visit to Kyiv's satellite towns like Bucha this week.

He says he saw dead civilians, including an old woman, and a car with a white flag and the letters "children" on the outside that had been shot at and had blood inside.

Klitschko was speaking via video link to a mayors' conference in Geneva.

Imogen Foulkes
BBC News correspondent

Image source, Reuters

A team from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been released after being detained by police in the Ukrainian town of Manhush - which is now reportedly in Russian hands.

The ICRC said this was a "great relief". The team had been trying for several days to reach the besieged city of Mariupol, to deliver aid and evacuate those who wish to leave.

For now, it is reported that the team has returned to Zaporizhzhia. It remains unclear if or when they will continue the mission to Mariupol.

The aid organisation said: "The team is focused now on continuing the humanitarian evacuation operation.

"This incident yesterday shows how volatile and complex the operation to facilitate safe passage around Mariupol has been for our team, who have been trying to reach the city since Friday."

Image source, Reuters

As many as 165 children have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency has reported, citing the prosecutor-general's office (PGO).

It also says 266 children have been wounded.

The UK's Ministry of Defence has tweeted its latest daily intelligence update, external on the situation in Ukraine. The main points from it are:

• Ukrainian forces have retaken key terrain in the north of Ukraine, after denying Russia the ability to secure its objectives and forcing Russian forces to retreat from the areas around Chernihiv and north of Kyiv
• Low-level fighting is likely to continue in some parts of the newly recaptured regions, but diminish significantly over this week as the remainder of Russian forces withdraw
• Many Russian units withdrawing from northern Ukraine are likely to require significant re-equipping and refurbishment before being available to redeploy for operations in eastern Ukraine

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Image source, EPA

The European Union will most likely adopt a new round of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday after reports of killings of civilians in northern Ukraine by Russian forces, says France's European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune.

"The new sanctions will probably be adopted tomorrow", he told RFI radio on Tuesday, adding the EU should also quickly act on gas and coal imports from Russia.

Russia denied any accusations related to the murder of civilians, including in Bucha.

Its envoy to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, says Russia will present "empirical evidence" to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday showing its forces were not involved in atrocities.

The BBC's Reality Check and Monitoring have debunked several Russian claims relating to the killings.

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The southern Ukrainian city Mykolaiv continues to be bombarded by Russians, the mayor of the Black Sea port city has told the BBC's Newsday.

Oleksandr Senkevych says cluster munitions are now being used on civilian areas in his city that have no military value, in order to create panic and prepare for a Russian ground operation.

Senkevych has called on all women and children to leave Mykolaiv to limit civilian casualties.

“We are under bombardment every day. Yesterday we had two bombardments."

"As for yesterday’s bombardment they bombarded us with cluster bombs, with cluster missiles that fell into the neighbourhoods, all those were just houses where people come to sleep and in the morning go to work.”

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Image source, Getty Images

Ukrainian Alex Dayrabekov escaped Bucha when the war began, but has remained in touch with people there.

He has been documenting what is happening in the town on social media, in hopes that it can be used as evidence in later criminal trials.

"My neighbours - and there are at least 10 of them - lost their closest relatives in their attempt to evacuate from Bucha and Irpin around a month ago," he says in an interview with the BBC.

When asked why he tweets images from Bucha, he replied: “The entire world has to see them. If the world doesn’t know what is happening here, the world does business as usual. Thousands of people died here... because they were deliberately killed."

In one account, he describes a harrowing encounter between Ukrainian civilians and Russian forces.

"Two cars in Bucha were shot at by an armoured vehicle with machine guns. In one car, an entire family, a man, a woman and two kids. The woman and both kids were shot (at) and died on the spot. In another car, a husband was killed on the spot.

"These are real people, this is not fake.

"The entire world has to see these pictures and know this is not a war, this is a massacre against our nation, just like Hitler did in World War Two. Putin does this to us, against Ukrainians."