UN chief Antonio Guterres to hold talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow

Mr Guterres will also meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv

Antonio Guterres called for a ceasefire in front of the bronze sculpture called 'The Knotted Gun' last week outside the UN headquarters in New York. EPA

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UN chief Antonio Guterres will visit Moscow on Tuesday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in an effort to ease the suffering of civilians and end the escalating war in Ukraine, before heading to Kyiv to meet the Ukrainian president.

Mr Putin will host a reception for the secretary general in Moscow, said UN spokeswoman Eri Kaneko. Mr Guterres will also have a “working meeting and lunch” with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to “further discussions” on halting Europe's worst war in decades.

He will discuss “what steps can be taken right now in order to silence the guns, in order to help the people and in order to allow the people who need to get out to get out and have safe passage”, Ms Kaneko told reporters in New York.

Details of the meeting were confirmed by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Mr Guterres will then visit Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on April 28, his spokesman announced.

The UN has been largely sidelined from the crisis since Mr Putin sent troops to Ukraine on February 24. The Russian leader has not taken Mr Guterres's phone calls since the UN chief said the unprovoked invasion violated the UN charter.

Earlier this week, Mr Guterres delivered a statement in front of a UN peace sculpture, calling for the rival armies to lay down their guns over the Orthodox faith’s Easter holiday for a four-day truce beginning on Thursday.

His request gained little traction. Russian officials within hours proclaimed they had fully conquered the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and later said they planned to seize much of southern and eastern Ukraine.

A Russian diplomat at the UN said he was “sceptical” about the UN's call for a truce.

UN efforts to open humanitarian corridors and to help civilians leave bombed-out Ukrainian cities have made little progress. UN officials say Moscow has not prioritised their overtures towards peace.

Russia says it has been conducting a “special military operation” to disarm and “denazify” its smaller neighbour.

Russia-Ukraine latest - in pictures

Pro-Russian troops, including fighters of the Chechen special forces unit, survey the destroyed administration building of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol, Ukraine. Reuters

A young Ukrainian refugee, one of 71 to board a flight from Moldova, sits on a suitcase after arriving in Bordeaux, France. AFP

A member of a demining team of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine carries an unexploded projectile during mine clearing near Brovary, north-east of Kyiv. AFP

An armoured convoy of pro-Russian troops presses on in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Reuters

A worker cleans a statue of the founder of the Soviet Union Vladimir Lenin at Moscow Square in Saint Petersburg, Russia. AFP

Firefighters battle flames at a warehouse after a Russian bombardment in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP Photo

People walk along a street past a missile that stuck in the ground, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Rubizhne, Luhansk region, Ukraine. Reuters

A man rides his bicycle next to a destroyed Russian tank in Chernihiv, Ukraine. AP Photo

A man walks next to a fire after a Russian bombardment in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP Photo

A Ukrainian refugee from Mariupol area, is greeted after arriving in a small convoy that crossed through a territory held by Russian forces, after the opening of a humanitarian corridor, at a registration center for internally displaced people, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Reuters

A Ukrainian soldier stands during the funeral of his father in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP

Ukrainian soldiers walk on a destroyed bridge in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP

Ukrainians receive humanitarian aid organised by local volunteers in Irpin. AP

Volodymyr Lukyanovych, 63, cuts wood to make a fire outside his house in Irpin. His home was destroyed by Russian shelling. AP

Vova, 10, and his father, Ivan Drahun, look at the grave of his mother, Maryna, during her funeral in Bucha. AP

Sergei, 11, waits his turn to receive donated food during an aid humanitarian distribution in Bucha. AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and European Council President Charles Michel attend a news conference after their meeting in Kyiv. AP

People pay their respects during the funeral in Kyiv for Ukrainian serviceman Volodymyr Karas, who died fighting Russian troops. AP

Alexandra Kusminova pets her cat, named Mouse, in a restaurant in Dnipro, Ukraine, that was transformed into a shelter for those fleeing the war. AP

A woman reads a book as she lays on a bed in the shelter. AP

City workers repair a war-damaged road in Bucha. Getty Images

The village council and police department buildings destroyed by Russian shelling in Lymany, just outside Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Getty Images

Local residents receive bottled water from a truck, since there has been no running water for more than a week in Mykolaiv. Getty Images

A destroyed car on the road between Kyiv and Chernihiv. EPA

A man looks at a burned APC in Yahidne, Chernihiv. EPA

A man holds part of a missile in Yahidne. EPA

A resident clears up a house that was occupied by Russian soldiers in Yahidne. EPA

Local youth Vladyslav, 17, inspects the basement of the school building in Yahidne. EPA

A local resident walks on the street in Yahidne. EPA

Local residents speak on the street next to war ruins. EPA

A destroyed garage in Ivanivka. EPA

A man looks at bombs that litter a field in Ivanivka. EPA

Natalia and her daughter climb a ladder, passing over a destroyed bridge in Kyiv. EPA