Russia moves thousands of troops to eastern Ukraine after Kyiv 'retreat', US says

US to impose more sanctions on Moscow this week, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says

In the courtyard of their house, Vlad Tanyuk, 6, stands near the grave of his mother Ira Tanyuk, who died because of starvation and stress due to the war, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP

A Ukrainian soldier walks with children passing destroyed cars due to the war against Russia, in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy surveys the destruction in Bucha. AFP

Residential buildings damaged during fighting in the southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters

A bridge damaged by shelling in Bucha. EPA

A soldier stationed in Bucha, after the city was the recaptured by the Ukrainian army. EPA

Chervona Voloshin kisses Varvara Statenova goodbye as she heads home to Kyiv after being housed at a shelter for displaced people in Lviv, Ukraine. Getty Images

Parts of a destroyed aircraft at the Antonov airport in Hostomel, outskirts of Kyiv. AP

A Ukrainian territorial defence serviceman walks past a destroyed Russian armoured personnel carrier in the town of Borodianka, north-west of Kyiv. AFP

Tanya Nedashkivska recounts how her husband Vasyl Ivanovych, who served in Ukraine’s navy, was killed by Russian soldiers, in Bucha, Ukraine. He was arrested by Russian soldiers. Tanya looked for him for days and found him in a building's basement where two bodies were lying. She recognised him by his shoes and trousers. AP

Damaged residential buildings in the southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters

Families arrive to board a train at Kramatorsk central station as they flee the eastern city, in the Donbas region. AFP

Romanian politicians listen to President Zelenskyy’s speech by video link, on a screen in the parliament in Bucharest. AP

The remains of a Russian Su-35 aircraft that was hit by the Ukrainian armed forces in Kharkiv. Reuters

A damaged monument to Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko in the besieged city of Mariupol, southern Ukraine. Reuters

A man removes a door covering the opening to an underground concrete enclosure in which bodies of civilians killed by Russian forces, residents say, were dumped as people were unable to transport them to a cemetery in Bucha, Ukraine. AP

A Ukrainian soldier tries to convince a puppy to drink milk as residents wait for distribution of food products in Motyzhyn, Ukraine, which was until recently under the control of the Russian military. AP

The pain of war is evident as women wait for food aid in the village of Motyzhyn. AP

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears on screen during the 64th Grammy Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. AFP

The gutted interior of a theatre in central Mariupol, destroyed in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict. Reuters

Desolation in Mariupol which has suffered intense bombardment. Reuters

A Ukrainian soldier walks in front of the remains of an Antonov An-225 Mriya cargo plane, the world's biggest aircraft, destroyed by Russian troops at an airfield in the city of Hostomel, in the Kyiv region. Reuters

A local woman salutes Ukrainian soldiers in the Chernihiv region. Reuters

A woman hugs a Ukrainian soldier after a convoy of military and aid vehicles arrived in the formerly Russian-occupied town of Bucha, near Kyiv. AP

Smoke rises after an attack by Russian forces in Odesa. AFP

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presents an award to an injured Ukrainian service member at a military hospital in Kyiv. Reuters

A destroyed building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. AFP

People, mainly women and children, pass through the Medyka border crossing on their journey out of Ukraine and into Poland. Getty

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Tens of thousands of Russian troops are probably being sent to eastern Ukraine to surround and overwhelm Ukrainian forces, the US said.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the US anticipated that Russian commanders were now moving troops from northern Ukraine to the region around the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

Mr Sullivan said that Moscow was also refocusing operations on parts of southern Ukraine.

"Russian forces are already well on their way of retreating from Kyiv to Belarus, as Russia likely prepares to deploy dozens of additional battalion tactical groups constituting tens of thousands of soldiers to the frontline in Ukraine's east," he said.

Despite the troop movement after Russia's "retreat" from Kyiv, Moscow will continue to launch air strikes against the capital, and in Odesa, Kharkiv and other cities across Ukraine, to "frankly, cause terror", Mr Sullivan said.

"We should be under no illusions that Russia will adjust its tactics, which have included and will likely continue to include wanton and brazen attacks on civilian targets," he said.

Mr Sullivan said the US would impose more sanctions against Russia this week.

On Monday, US President Joe Biden insisted on his claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a "war criminal" and called for a war crimes trial after the civilian killings in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

The US and more than 40 other countries are working together to investigate possible breaches and abuses after the passage of a resolution by the UN refugee agency to establish a commission of inquiry.

The International Criminal Court, an independent body in the Netherlands to which the US is not a signatory, is also conducting an investigation.

Mr Sullivan said he had yet to see evidence that Russian atrocities had risen to the level of genocide. He said consultations might take place at the ICC or another venue.

The US Senate unanimously approved a resolution last month seeking investigations of Mr Putin and elements of his government for war crimes over the invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the US was seeking Russia's suspension from the Human Rights Council.

"We cannot let a member state that is subverting every principle we hold dear to continue to participate," Ms Thomas-Greenfield said in a tweet.

Mr Biden finds it "ludicrous" that Russia is a member of the council, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

AP contributed to this report.