Ukraine war latest news: US-Russia ties at ‘breaking point’, as Putin’s troops ‘open fire on peaceful protesters’

The Russian foreign ministry has reportedly warned the US ambassador that the Kremlin is on the verge of severing ties between the nations.

Reuters reported the warning to US Ambassador John Sullivan on Monday morning as Russia continues its assault on Ukraine amid harsh sanctions by the US.

The foreign ministry said it told Mr Sullivan that “unacceptable statements” by US President Joe Biden about Russian President Vladimir Putin had pushed relations between the two countries to a “breaking point”.

The Russian ministry of defence has continued to post on Instagram despite a Moscow court earlier ruling that all Meta platforms are banned from operating in the country.

The post below was shared by @mil_ru – the verified account of the Kremlin’s defence ministry – just five hours ago.

A seven-year-old Ukrainian girl who went viral for singing Let It Go in a Kyiv bomb shelter has performed a moving rendition of the national anthem at a charity concert.

Amelia Anisovych, who was recorded singing the famous Disney song while sheltering from Russian attacks, is now in Poland after fleeing across the border with her family.

On Sunday evening she opened a charity concert at the Atlas Arena in Lodz, singing in front of thousands of people.

Amelia performed alongside some of the biggest names in Ukraine and Poland at the event, named “Together with Ukraine”.

Watch the full video here.

The Pentagon have today accused Putin’s forces of committing war crimes in Ukraine and pledged to help gather evidence of them.

It also accused Moscow of carrying out indiscriminate attacks as part of an intentional strategy in the conflict.

“We certainly see clear evidence that Russian forces are committing war crimes and we are helping with the collecting of evidence of that,” its spokesman John Kirby told a news briefing.

“But there’s investigative processes that are going to go on, and we’re going to let that happen. We’re going to contribute to that investigative process. As for what would come out of that, that’s not a decision that the Pentagon leadership would make.”

The UN’s nuclear watchdog has said the remaining technical staff that had been on duty at Chernobyl’s radioactive waste facilities since Russian forces captured the site last month have been relieved.

“Ukraine’s regulatory authority said about half of the outgoing shift of technical staff left (Chernobyl) yesterday and the rest followed today, with the exception of thirteen staff members who declined to rotate,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement, adding most of the Ukrainian guards who have also been there since it was seized remained.

A meeting between US ambassador John Sullivan and the Kremlin has been confirmed by the state department to have taken places today.

State department spokesperson Ned Price said it is “completely unacceptable” that the United States has been denied consular access to detained American citizens in Russia.

He said there has been no change to the case of WNBA All-Star player Brittney Griner, whom Russia said it had detained last month for possession of vape cartridges containing hash oil. The U.S. has still not been allowed consular access to Griner, Price said.

Russia‘s foreign ministry said on Monday it had summoned Sullivan to tell him that President Joe Biden’s calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” had pushed bilateral ties to the brink of collapse.

“It is awfully rich to hear a country speak about ‘inappropriate comments’ when that same country is engaged in mass slaughter, including strikes and attacks that have resulted in civilian lives,” Price told reporters.

In a now deleted article, a pro-Kremlin tabloid – Komsomolskaya Pravda – earlier reported that 9,861 Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine and 16,153 were injured in Ukraine, according to a screenshot shared online by a Wall Street Journal correspondent.

Joe Biden discussed Moscow’s “brutal” tactics with European leaders in a call today, the White House said in read-out of the meeting.

Biden held a call with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and the UK to discuss a coordinated response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

. The call comes ahead of Biden’s trip to Europe later this week, where he will meet with NATO allies, G7 leaders and European Union leaders.