· Some of the first civilians evacuated from a giant steel plant in Mariupol reportedly arrived in the town of Zaporizhia on Monday. More than 100 civilians - mostly women, children and the elderly - were evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant, Ukraine's military police said in a statement. Hundreds of people are believed to still be trapped in the city.
· The UN Office of Human Rights has said that the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian occupation has exceeded 3,000.
Russia is planning to annex Donetsk and Luhansk after failing to take control of Kiev and overthrow the government there, the US ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe told reporters. Russia could also consider doing the same in Kherson, where it has already forced the use of its currency, the ruble.
· Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was asked to explain how Russia could say it was trying to "denazify" Ukraine when its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is Jewish, in an interview with Mediaset. Lavrov responded that Adolf Hitler "had Jewish blood" and defended Russia's policy of "denazification" of Ukraine, the Kremlin's term for a sweeping purge that Ukraine says is a pretext for "mass murder."
· Germany said it was ready to support an immediate EU embargo on Russian oil. "We have reached a situation where Germany is able to withstand an oil embargo," German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in Brussels on Monday, where he met with EU counterparts.
· The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has banned the participation of Russian football clubs in the 2022-2023 seasons in the Champions League, Europa League and League of Nations. Russia's offer to host Euro 2028 and Euro 2032 tours is also no longer acceptable.
Sources: Guardian, Reuters
