The US on Tuesday hosts a gathering of more than 40 countries at Ramstein Air Base for talks focused on bolstering Ukraine’s defence capabilities against a potentially decisive Russian onslaught in the east. All times are in Paris time [GMT + 2].

12:06 pm: UN chief in Moscow calls for Ukraine ceasefire 'as soon as possible'

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has arrived in Moscow for the highest profile diplomatic mission to Russia since the start of the Ukraine invasion.

His schedule in Moscow includes meetings with President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov before the UN chief heads to Kyiv.

Speaking at the start of talks with Lavrov, Guterres called for a ceasefire "as soon as possible" and stressed the need to do everything possible to end the war in Ukraine.

Minimising human suffering in Ukraine was the top priority, Guterres added.

11:31 am: UN expects 8.3 million refugees from Ukraine this year

UN refugee agency (UNHCR) is expecting around 8.3 million people to flee Ukraine this year, revising up its previous projection, according to a spokesperson.

More than 12.7 million people have fled their homes in the past two months, including 7.7 million people displaced internally and more than 5 million who have fled over borders, UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo told a UN news briefing.

UNHCR had previously planned for some 4 million refugees in the immediate aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 but this was surpassed last month.

"The scale of the crisis, definitely the rapidity of people fleeing, we have not seen in recent times," said Mantoo.

Syria remains the biggest current refugee crisis in the world, with 6.8 million people having fled, she added.

10:57 am: France determined to ‘deepen support’ for Ukraine: foreign minister

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has stressed France’s “determination to continue and deepen” its “support to Ukraine in all areas”.

In a statement released after his meeting Monday with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Le Drian said the two ministers discussed the situation in the besieged port city of Mariupol. Le Drian “reiterated France's request for the free movement of civilians and free access for humanitarian aid in Mariupol, as in the rest of Ukraine”, the statement noted.

France is delivering Caesar cannons with a range of 40 kilometres (25 miles) to Ukraine and is among 40 countries attending the Ukraine Defence Consultative Group meeting hosted by the US at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.  

10:32 am: ‘Putin never imagined that the world would rally behind Ukraine’: US defence chief Austin

Opening the gathering of representatives of more than 40 countries at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin called on members of the Ukraine Defence Consultative Group to arrive at “a common and transparent understanding of Ukraine’s near-term security requirements because we’re going to move heaven and earth so that we can meet them”.

Austin, who is chairing the meeting at the US air base, said Kyiv had done “an impressive job defending its sovereignty against Russia’s unprovoked invasion”, adding: "“Ukraine’s valor and skill will go down in military history.”

“Ukraine has now beaten back the Russian military for 62 days. Your resistance has brought inspiration to the free world and even greater resolve for NATO,” said Austin. "Ukraine clearly believes that it can win, and so does everyone here," he said, calling on participants to step up efforts to help Ukraine defend itself.

Here’s a clip of Austin’s opening remarks at the meeting:

10:02 am: Russian shelling in Kharkiv, rocket attacks in Zaporizhzhia

Russian forces are shelling Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city, as they fought to take full control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, according to Ukraine's General Staff.

Russia’s defence ministry on Tuesday said its forces struck two ammunition depots in Kharkiv.

In the area of Velyka Oleksandrivka, a village in the Kherson region largely controlled by Russians, Ukrainian forces destroyed an ammunition depot and “eliminated" more than 70 Russian troops, the General Staff said.

The governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Haidai, said on the messaging app Telegram that the Russians had shelled civilians 17 times over the previous 24 hours, with the cities of Popasna, Lysychansk and Girske suffering the most.

Four people died and nine more were wounded on Monday in the Russian shelling of the Donetsk region, its governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram. He said a 9-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy were among those killed.

In the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, two rockets hit commercial premises on Tuesday, killing one person, according to local authorities.

Russia is attempting to take full control of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which comprise the Donbas in Ukraine's industrial heartland, and establish a land corridor to Crimea.

The US meanwhile has been rushing more weaponry to Ukraine and said the assistance from Western allies is making a difference in the 2-month-old war.

09:07 am: UN’s Guterres to meet Putin in Moscow

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow later today for talks expected to focus on the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has urged Guterres to press Russia for an evacuation from Mariupol, where an estimated 100,000 people are trapped in the port city while a contingent of Ukrainian fighters hold out against Russian forces at the Azovstal steel plant along with hundreds of civilians.

Kuleba on Monday told The Associated Press that he was concerned that by visiting Moscow, Guterres could be vulnerable to falling into a Kremlin “trap” in the war.

The Moscow trip comes a day after Guterres met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, where the UN chief joined the Turkish leader in stressing the urgent need for “effective access through humanitarian corridors” to evacuate Ukrainian civilians and deliver aid to communities impacted by the war.

Guterres and Erdogan “reaffirmed that their common objective is to end the war as soon as possible and to create conditions to end the suffering of civilians,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

During the meeting, Erdogan also said Turkey would continue to work closely with the UN to end the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. 

08:44 am: Donor community, not NATO, supplying arms to Ukraine: UK 

The wider international community, not NATO, is providing military support to Ukraine, said British armed forces minister James Heappey, responding to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's assertions that the Western alliance was "in essence" engaged in a proxy war with Russia.

"The donor community is, not NATO," Heappey told Sky News when asked about Lavrov's comments.

"The donor effort is something that has been brought together by countries that are yes, many of them are from NATO, but others are from beyond ... it is not NATO that is doing the military aid,"  said Heappey, adding that he did not think there was an "imminent threat" of escalation in Ukraine.

Earlier Lavrov said the risks of nuclear conflict should not be underestimated, but Heappey dismissed the warning as "bravado".

"Lavrov's trademark over the course of 15 years or so that he has been the Russian foreign secretary has been that sort of bravado," Heappey told the BBC. "What the West is doing to support its allies in Ukraine is very well calibrated ... Everything we do is calibrated to avoid direct confrontation with Russia."

08:31am: Germany to supply Gepard anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine: media

Germany will pledge to supply Gepard anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine, German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported, without citing its sources.

The paper said German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht was set to offer the weapons at the US-hosted meeting at Ramstein Air Base. 

The Gepard anti-aircraft system is considered the cornerstone of the German military's air defence capability.

08:19am: Russian offensive continues 'without much progress on the ground'

Reporting from Kyiv, FRANCE 24’s Gulliver Cragg says the Russian offensive continues in the Donbas region and in southern Ukraine, but without much progress on the ground. Russian forces are targeting railways, noted Cragg, “because they think this is how weapons are being supplied to Ukrainian forces”. The targeting comes as the US hosts a key meeting at Germany’s Ramstein Air Base aimed at getting European partners to offer more military assistance to Ukraine.

07:17am: Russia trying to encircle Ukrainian positions in east: UK military

Russia is probably attempting to encircle heavily fortified Ukrainian positions in the country's east, according to the latest British military update.

In an intelligence update posted on Twitter, Britain’s Defence Ministry said the Ukrainian city of Kreminna has “probably fallen” and there was heavy fighting south of the city of Izium, as Russian forces try to advance towards the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk from the north and east.

"Ukrainian forces have been preparing defences in Zaporizhzhia in preparation for a potential Russian attack from the south," said the defence ministry in its regular military intelligence bulletin.

07:10am: US hosts talks at Ramstein Air Base

Following a weekend trip to Kyiv, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is holding talks focused on arming Ukraine.

US Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a key goal of the talks was to synchronise and coordinate mounting security assistance to Kyiv that includes heavy weaponry, like howitzer artillery, as well armed drones and ammunition.

"The next several weeks will be very, very critical," Milley told reporters en route to Germany. "They need continued support in order to be successful on the battlefield. And that's really the purpose of this conference."

06:12am: Russia’s Lavrov warns of ‘real threat’ of World War III

Russia has warned of the “real” threat of World War III breaking out, ahead of a Tuesday meeting between the United States and allies over sending further arms to war-torn Ukraine.

Moscow’s invasion of its neighbour has triggered an outburst of support from Western nations that has seen weapons pour into the country to help it wage war against Russian troops.

But Western powers have been reluctant to deepen their involvement, for fear of sparking a conflict against nuclear-armed Russia.

Speaking to Russian news agencies, Moscow’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the risk of a World War III “is serious” and criticised Kyiv’s approach to floundering peace talks.

“It is real, you can’t underestimate it,” Lavrov said.

04:36am: Pressure mounts on Germany’s Schroeder over Russia ties

Pressure was growing Monday inside Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) to expel their former leader and ex-chancellor Gerhard Schroeder over his apparent refusal to renounce his business ties with Russia.

Schroeder, who is a lobbyist for Russian gas and has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, sparked fresh outrage following remarks in an interview with the New York Times published this weekend.

Unrepentant over his business links with Russia, he told the newspaper: “I don’t do mea culpa. It’s not my thing.”

SPD co-president Saskia Esken was asked in an interview with state radio whether Schroeder should quit the party.

“I think he should,” she replied. The party was currently examining 14 motions to have its former leader expelled, she told journalists later, adding that the final decision would come down to the party’s arbitration body.

But she also told journalists: “He makes his money working for Russian state businesses … Gerhard Schroeder has for many years been a businessman, and we should stop seeing him as a former honourable leader, a former chancellor.”

Thomas Kutschaty, another senior party figure, was equally scathing.

“He has to choose,” he told Welt TV. “Either he keeps supporting Putin, or he is a member of the Social Democrats, but the two are not compatible.

03:10am: Britain to lift all tariffs on Ukrainian imports

All tariffs on goods coming to Britain from Ukraine under an existing free trade deal will be axed to help the Ukrainian economy, the British government announced on Monday.

London said tariffs would be reduced to zero and all quotas removed following a direct request from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying the move would provide a boost for Ukrainian businesses involved in key exports such as barley, honey, tinned tomatoes and poultry.

“We stand unwaveringly with Ukraine in this ongoing fight and will work to ensure Ukraine survives and thrives as a free and sovereign nation,” said British International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan.

Britain said currently the average tariff on Ukrainian imports was about 22 percent. It said the planned change had been offered on a non-reciprocal basis, but Kyiv was likely to match the British action.

Additionally, the British government said it would also impose further export bans on products to Russia, including cash, maritime goods and technology, and energy-related goods. Last week, it ramped up sanctions on luxury goods including caviar, silver and diamonds.

01:59am: US hosts Ukraine talks in Germany as war enters critical phase

The United States will host an expected gathering of more than 40 countries on Tuesday for Ukraine-related defence talks that will focus on arming Kyiv so it can defend against an unfolding and potentially decisive Russian onslaught in the east, US officials said.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is holding the event at Ramstein Air Base in Germany following a weekend trip to Kyiv where he pledged additional support to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s war effort.

US Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a key goal of the talks was to synchronize and coordinate mounting security assistance to Kyiv that includes heavy weaponry, like howitzer artillery, as well armed drones and ammunition.

“The next several weeks will be very, very critical,” Milley told reporters travelling with him. “They need continued support in order to be successful on the battlefield. And that’s really the purpose of this conference.”

12:17am: Russia says NATO engaging in ‘proxy’ war in Ukraine, arms shipments legitimate targets

Deliveries of Western weaponry to Ukraine mean that the NATO alliance is “in essence engaged in war with Russia” and Moscow views these weapons as legitimate targets, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview aired on Monday.

“These weapons will be a legitimate target for Russia’s military acting within the context of the special operation,” Lavrov told state television in an interview posted on the foreign ministry’s website.

“Storage facilities in western Ukraine have been targeted more than once (by Russian forces). How can it be otherwise?” Lavrov said. “NATO, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy. War means war.”

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)