Russia says it is focusing its offensive on Ukraine's east but it continues to strike cities elsewhere in a fight – now in its 40th day – that has left thousands dead and forced more than four million to flee.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an independent investigation into the killing of over 400 civilians in a Ukrainian city following the withdrawal of Russian troops there.
“I am deeply shocked by the images of civilians killed in Bucha, Ukraine,” Guterres said on Twitter.
“It is essential that an independent investigation leads to effective accountability.” On Sunday, the bodies of at least 410 civilians were recovered in the city of Bucha near the Ukrainian capital Kiev.
Outrage at Bucha killings
Britain, France, Germany, the United States, NATO and the United Nations have all voiced horror at the reports of civilians being murdered in Bucha, northwest of the Ukrainian capital.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called it a "deliberate massacre" while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces are committing "genocide ".
Zelenskyy appeals for support in Grammy video appearance
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appeared in a video aired at the Grammy Awards in the United States and appealed to viewers to support Ukrainians "in any way you can."
"What is more opposite to music? The silence of ruined cities and killed people," said Zelenskyy in the video that aired ahead of a performance by John Legend and Ukranian poet Lyuba Yakimchuck.
"Fill the silence with your music. Fill it today, to tell our story. Support us in any way you can. Any, but not silence," he said.
Ukraine: Region cut off from aid to reopen
The Ukrainian military has said that its forces have retaken some towns in the Chernihiv region and that humanitarian aid is being delivered.
The news agency RBK Ukraina said the road between Chernihiv and the capital of Kiev is to reopen to some traffic later on Monday.
Chernihiv is a city 80 miles north of Kiev and it had been cut off from shipments of food and other supplies for weeks. The mayor said on Sunday that relentless Russian shelling had destroyed 70 percent of the city.
