Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine
US President Joe Biden and European allies discussed Russia's “brutal tactics” in Ukraine on Monday, kicking off a crucial week in the western standoff with Moscow, with Mr Biden visiting Poland after attending Nato and EU summits.
Mr Biden hosted the call, lasting a little under an hour, with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson “to discuss their co-ordinated responses”, the White House said.
“The leaders discussed their serious concerns about Russia’s brutal tactics in Ukraine, including its attacks on civilians,” the White House said in a readout of the call.
“They underscored their continued support for Ukraine, including by providing security assistance to the brave Ukrainians who are defending their country from Russian aggression, and humanitarian assistance to the millions of Ukrainians who have fled the violence.
“The leaders also reviewed recent diplomatic efforts in support of Ukraine’s effort to reach a ceasefire.”
Mr Johnson meanwhile “underlined his horror” at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s use of “increasingly brutal tactics in Ukraine, such as siege warfare and the targeting of civilians”, a Downing Street statement read.
“He welcomed the unity of allies standing steadfastly against Russia’s reprehensible behaviour, noting how effective collective action has been in undermining Putin’s war machine.”
Mr Biden is set to meet Polish President Andrzej Duda on Friday.
US Vice President Kamala Harris also met Mr Duda in Warsaw earlier this month, with both condemning Russia's military action, especially against civilians.
Poland, which shares a 500-kilometre border with Ukraine and is now host to about two million refugees, has been a key ally of Washington throughout the conflict.
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Firefighters put out a major blaze caused by Russian shelling at a food warehouse in Severodonetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine's Luhansk region. AFP -
Irina Zubchenko walks her dog Max amid the destruction caused by the shelling of a shopping center in Kyiv. AP -
Ukrainian refugee Masha, 6, plays at the border crossing in Budomierz, Poland. Reuters -
A charred Russian armoured personnel carrier on the front line in the Kyiv region. Reuters -
A volunteer takes position at a checkpoint in a district of Kyiv as Russian forces try to encircle the Ukrainian capital. AFP -
Residents of Kyiv retrieve belongings from their homes in a five-storey residential building that partially collapsed after shelling by Russian artillery. AFP -
Police officers in Moscow detain a woman as she protests against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. AFP -
A resident of the village of Krasylivka after Russian bombardment, part of Moscow's effort to move on Kyiv. AFP -
Tetiana Chornovol, a former Ukrainian MP, prepares to take position with an anti-tank missile on the front line in the Kyiv region. Reuters -
A rescue worker at a shopping mall in Kyiv after a Russian air strike. Reuters -
Ukrainian firefighters rescue a person buried beneath rubble after an explosion at a shopping centre in Kyiv. Reuters -
Ukrainian police officers stand near a warehouse that was hit by the debris of a downed rocket in Kyiv. AFP -
Graves are dug in a street in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters -
Pro-Russia militia fighters travel by tank to the outskirts of Mariupol. Reuters -
Milana, 6, who is recovering from leg wounds sustained when a Russian rocket hit her house on February 28, killing her mother, watches volunteers dressed as clowns at a children's hospital in Kyiv. Getty -
Tetyana and other residents wait in Kyiv, after being relocated from Irpin town. EPA -
Rescuers carry a Ukrainian soldier saved after 30 hours trapped in the wreckage of a military school hit by Russian rockets, in Mykolaiv. AFP -
A Ukrainian refugee arrives with her dog at the reception centre about three kilometres from the Moldova-Ukraine border. EPA -
Volunteers in Kyiv prepare packages with food and other goods for Ukrainian soldiers and civilians in cities across the country. EPA -
Residents walk between damaged residential buildings in Mariupol. Reuters -
Participants illuminate the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna with the lights of their smartphones, during the charity concert We Stand with Ukraine. AFP -
Yana Hladiychuk of Ukraine with a "Stop War" message on her face after the women's pole vault, on the second day of the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade. Getty -
An Ukrainian girl in tears after crossing the border in Siret, northern Romania. AFP -
A satellite image shows the aftermath of the Russian air strike on the Mariupol Drama Theatre. EPA/Maxar Technologies -
A woman takes cover in a military trench as a Russian jet fighter flies overhead, near the military school hit by Russian rockets the day before, in Mykolaiv. AFP -
A man walks amid debris in front of a Kyiv residential apartment complex that was heavily damaged by a Russian attack on March 18. Getty -
Residents carry water from a food warehouse, which is under the control of the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic, on the outskirts of Mariupol. AP -
Rescuers work at the site of the National Academy of State Administration building damaged by shelling in Kharkiv. AP -
A satellite image shows artillery strikes and burning fields in Chernihiv. AP / Maxar Technologies -
A resident assesses her damaged flat in Mariupol. Reuters -
Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko keeps people away from a five-storey residential building that partially collapsed after shelling on March 18. AFP -
Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses crowds at a concert in Moscow to mark the eighth anniversary of the annexation of Crimea. AP -
Ukrainian policemen secure a residential area in Kyiv. Sergei Supinsky -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. AP -
A cloud of smoke rises after an explosion in Lviv, western Ukraine, on March 18. AP -
Zinaida Pivtsova, 75, who fled the war in Ukraine, takes shelter in a sports stadium in Przemysl, south-east Poland. AP -
A police officer at abandoned residential buildings in Kyiv. AP -
Inside a shell-damaged school in Kyiv. AP -
A woman cries before starting to clean the site where a bomb damaged residential buildings in Kyiv. AP Photo / Rodrigo Abd -
A woman from Ukraine sits in a car with her children as a volunteer takes them to a hostel in Budapest, Hungary. AP -
An abandoned flat in Kyiv. AP -
A man removes a curtain inside a school in Kyiv. AP -
A worker sets up a billboard with the colours of the Ukrainian flag in Novoiavorisk, near Lviv. AP -
Olga plays with her daughter Vedeneya in an empty park in Kyiv. AP
Poland has joined other Nato countries in sending more than 20,000 shoulder-launched anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine, rushed into the country after Russia invaded on February 24.
Warsaw has also been in stalled talks with the US to supply MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, but analysts say the Polish proposal is fraught with complexity and Washington has rejected initial proposals.
Russia is now subject to stringent international sanctions that could result in its economy contracting by at least 7 per cent.
The Institute of International Finance predicted an even worse contraction of 15 per cent earlier this month, but western allies are still discussing ways to enact even tighter trade restrictions.
“The president will discuss how the United States, alongside our allies and partners, is responding to the humanitarian and human rights crisis that Russia's unjustified and unprovoked war on Ukraine has created,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.
“The trip will be focused on continuing to rally the world in support of the Ukrainian people and against President Putin's invasion of Ukraine.”
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, along with the Czech and Slovenian prime ministers, travelled to Kyiv to visit the besieged capital last week.
The UN has estimated about 10 million Ukrainians have fled their homes, with about one third of them going abroad, mostly to Poland.
