Ukraine invasion: US President Joe Biden accuses ‘dictator’ Putin of genocide

US President Joe Biden has for the first time accused Russian President Valdimir Putin of genocide in Ukraine and calling him a dictator.

The remarks came in the wake of shocking stories that have been emerging of civilians killed and tortured in towns where Russian forces withdrew.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised Biden's remark as “true words of a true leader”. “Calling things by their names is essential to stand up to evil,” he tweeted.

Russia has been accused of war crimes in areas it occupied in the north of Ukraine. French investigators have been dispatched to Ukraine to independently confirm the accusations.

Zelensky thanked the US for assistance provided so far but renewed his call for urgent supplies of more heavy weapons.

Donbas onslaught

Ukrainian forces are anticipating a Russian onslaught in the eastern region of Donbas as Moscow shifts the focus of its offensive towards the east and south of Ukraine.

After withdrawing from the northern parts of Ukraine, where the Russian military got bogged down because of stiff resistance from Ukrainian defenders and logistical problems, Russia is now amassing its troops in the east.

The latest update from the British military intelligence shows how Russian forces have withdrawn from all the north of Ukraine as they shift focus to the east and south

The Donbas region has been an area of conflict since 2014 between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrianian military. Russia annexed Crimea in the south in 2014 and at the start of the current invasion in February used the separatist cause as a pretext to attack Ukraine.

Russia claims Ukrainian troops have surrendered

In the southern port city of Mariupol, which has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance and suffering in the face of a continued siege of the city by Russian forces, the mayor said some 21,000 civilians have been killed. Another 100,000 people were awaiting evacuation.

Russia has been accused of indiscriminate shelling of residential areas and civilian infrastructure.

Mariupol stands in the way of Russia’s attempt to create a corridor linking Crimea with Ukraine’s eastern regions and Russia.

On Wednesday, Russia claimed that some 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol had laid down their arms as the city is on the brink of capitulation. The claims have not been confirmed by the Ukrainian side.

Meanwhile, in a rare public appearance yesterday, Putin said peace talks have reached a “dead-end” and dismissed allegations of war crimes.

German president snubbed

In developments on Tuesday, Zelensky announced that Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian lawmaker with the pro-Kremlin party Opposition Platform was captured by the Security Service. Medvedchuk is accused of treason. He escaped house arrest in February.

Ukrainian security forces have captured Viktor Medvedchuk, a pro-Kremlin lawmaker who escaped from house arrest in February (Photo: Ukrainian government/Twitter)

The Ukrainian government has offered Medvedchuk to the Russians in exchange for captured Ukrainians.

Meanwhile, the presidents of Poland, Latvia and Estonia are travelling to Kyiv to meet Zelensky but Ukraine has snubbed German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier who intended to join the others leaders. Germany's president was told he is “not wanted” because of “close ties” to Russia in recent years.