Britain says Russia is recruiting fighters from disputed Transnistria

Kremlin also said to be calling up retired personnel as losses mount in Ukraine

Ukrainian refugees and Moldovan citizens protest against the war in Ukraine outside the Russian embassy in Chisinau, Moldova. EPA

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Russia’s depleted armed forces are turning to a disputed region of Moldova to recruit troops as they plan a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine, western governments believe.

The Kremlin is also said to be turning to retired personnel as Russia’s losses mount after more than six weeks of war - with Ukraine claiming on Monday that 19,500 invading troops had been killed and 725 tanks destroyed.

After failing to capture Kyiv, Russia has repositioned forces to the south and east of Ukraine in what the government in Kyiv and its allies fear is a prelude to a new onslaught on the Donbas region.

"We have to assume that the brutality of the war in Ukraine will increase," said Austria's Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, who said Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to be "throwing his entire military might into the east".

To the west, French police officers arrived in Ukraine on Monday to investigate the alleged atrocities uncovered when Russia abandoned towns it had occupied near Kyiv.

The European Union's 27 foreign ministers meanwhile held talks with the top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court as they prepare possible war crimes charges against the Russian leadership.

In the village of Buzova outside Kyiv, local officials said bodies showing “evidence of execution” had been discovered following the Russian withdrawal.

Buzova is near Bucha, another town where atrocities were discovered and where satellite images undermined Russia's claims that the massacre was staged. Ukraine's prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova says 1,222 bodies have been discovered in areas from which the Russian army retreated.

Britain's defence ministry said in a regular intelligence update that Russia's reliance on unguided bombs increased the risk to civilians and that Moscow's forces could use phosphorous munitions in their battle for the port city of Mariupol.

White phosphorus is used for illumination at night or to create a smokescreen, but when it is deployed as a weapon it causes horrific burns.

The ministry separately said that Russia was trying to recruit from the unrecognised Transnistria region of Moldova, which borders of Ukraine, and that personnel discharged from military service since 2012 were also being used to bolster troop numbers.

It said Ukraine has beaten back several assaults by Kremlin forces in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, resulting in the destruction of Russian tanks, vehicles and artillery.

Western powers also believe Russia has turned to the Wagner mercenary group, a private army widely believed to be close to the Kremlin, to supplement its forces in eastern Ukraine.

Russian troops have long been stationed in Transnistria, whose status has been unresolved since a war in the early 1990s that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The majority Russian-speaking area is outside the control of the Moldovan authorities and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has compared the Kremlin’s intervention there with its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Oleksandr Shputun, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military, expressed concern on Monday that Russian troops could stage “provocative actions” in Transnistria.

A false-flag operation such as this could be used “to accuse Ukraine of aggression against a neighbouring state”, he said.

Britain also blamed Russia for encouraging unrest in Bosnia and Herzegovina as it announced sanctions against two politicians there for advocating the break-up of the country, the first such measures affecting the Balkan country.

The UK's Foreign Office said Milorad Dodik and Zeljka Cvijanovic had been "emboldened by Russia’s undermining of the international rules-based system" to push for the secession of the Russia-friendly Republika Srpska.

"Encouraged by Putin, their reckless behaviour threatens stability and security across the Western Balkans," said Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

A young woman looks out the window as her train arrives from Pokrovsk, in the east of Ukraine, to Lviv in the country's centre. Getty

A truck carries black bags containing bodies exhumed from a mass grave for investigations in Bucha, in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

A child uses an air rifle to shoot at a target with the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Lviv, Ukraine. Getty

Firefighters try to contain a blaze at a factory after Russian shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Reuters

A woman reads as residents shelter from Russian shelling in a Kharkiv metro station. Reuters

Ukrainian rescuers try to put out the fire at a private building after shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine. EPA

A couple of residents walk past burning shops after a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP Photo

A destroyed Russian tank on the outskirts of Buzova village in Kyiv draws crowds of curious residents. AFP

The Russian offensive in the Kyiv region has left a huge crater on a bridge in Makariv. AFP

Workers put an Ukrainian flag on a pole in the centre of Makariv. AFP

A Ukrainian mother is comforted by relatives after the body of her son was discovered in a manhole in Buzova village, west of Kyiv. AFP

An injured Ukrainian on a medical evacuation train bound for the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. AFP

A Doctors Without Borders team at work on medical evacuation train. AFP

A damaged building in the southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters

Graves of the victims of the Ukraine-Russia conflict in Mariupol. Reuters

Emergency workers sift through debris of a damaged building in Mariupol. Reuters

The conflict has forced Mariupol residents to wait in line for drinking water. Reuters

A Russian military vehicle in Mariupol. Reuters

Food distribution at a church in the town of Borodyanka, north-west of Kyiv. AP

A visitor is in shock after returning to her church, which had come under Russian attack, in the Kyiv town of Makaro. AP

Mourners gather at the funeral of Ukrainian soldier Andriy Zagornyakon in Kamianka-Buzka. Getty Images

A resident returns with his dog to survey his damaged building in Kharkiv. EPA

A woman and a child are forced to sit on the corridor of a building in Kharkiv that is used as a bomb shelter. EPA

A Ukrainian guard in the eastern town of Barvinkove, during Russia's invasion of its neighbouring country. AFP

Ukrainian guards strengthen their position in the eastern town of Barvinkove. AFP

Emotional farewell at the train station in the eastern Ukrainian city Kramatorsk, which has come under Russian attack. AFP

A Ukrainian serviceman surveys the damaged cultural centre, in the town of Rubizhne, Luhansk region. AFP

A participant at the pro-Ukrainian demonstration outside Downing Street in London. Reuters

Colleagues bid farewell to Yuriy Dadak-Ruf and Taras Kryt, the Ukrainian soldiers killed in Russian shelling of the Luhansk region. Reuters

A villager warms himself in the yard of his house in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP

Vlad, the six-year old Ukrainian who lost his mother during their confinement in a Bucha basement amid the Russian invasion, plays with a friend inside his house. AP

A group of women wait to receive free food in Bucha. AP

Shakhtar Donetsk players carry the Ukrainian flag before their football match against Olympiakos in Piraeus, near Athens. AP

Rescue workers clear the rubble of an apartment building in Borodianka. Getty Images

A man repairs the roof of a house while standing on a ladder, in Andriivka, Ukraine. Getty Images

Valerii, 65, rides by his destroyed apartment building in Borodianka. Getty Images

A Ukrainian woman in Borodianka waits as rescue workers search for her daughter, her son-in-law and her granddaughter among the rubble. Getty Images

Family photos are scattered among the debris of a destroyed apartment tower in Borodianka. Getty Images

A distraught survivor of the attack on Borodianka. Getty Images

Debris of an apartment building in Borodianka. Getty Images

A writing on the gate of a destroyed building in Andriivka - 'Shells, mines?' - points to the threat faced by Ukrainians. Getty Images

Another writing on the fence of a destroyed building, in Andriivka, reads 'People children live here'. Getty Images

A bullet-riddled car near Ozera. Getty Images