Russia-Ukraine War: 'Massive destruction' at Dnipro airport - live updates

Rocket strikes have caused "massive destruction" at the airport in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, regional governor Valentin Reznichenko said on Tuesday.

"During the night the enemy attacked the Dnipro airport. Two strikes. The runway was destroyed. The terminal is damaged. Massive destruction," Reznichenko said on Telegram.

"It will take a lot of time to recover. We will win!" he added.

EU adds more Russia sanctions

The European Union formally gave the green light on Tuesday to a new raft of sanctions against Russia, which include bans on investments in the Russian energy sector, luxury goods exports and imports of steel products from the country.

The sanctions, which will take effect on Tuesday, will hit Russia's major oil outlets Rosneft, Transneft and Gazprom Neft, according to Reuters.

The ban on Russian steel imports is estimated to affect €3.3 billion ($3.6 billion) worth of products, the European Commission said.

The sanctions will also freeze the assets of more business leaders who support the Kremlin, including Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club who was subjected to sanctions by the UK government last week.

A jet linked to Abramovich landed in Moscow early on Tuesday, after a brief stop in Istanbul, plane tracking data showed. Prior to that the jet was in Israel.

Polish, Czech, Slovenian PMs head for Kyiv

The prime ministers of Poland, Czech Republic and Slovenia will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kiev on Tuesday.

"The purpose of the visit is to confirm the unequivocal support of the entire European Union for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine and to present a broad package of support for the Ukrainian state and society," the Polish government said in a statement.

The visit — which was organised "in agreement with" European Council chief Charles Michel and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen — comes amid deadly Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala tweeted: "Today, we are going together with PM of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki, deputy PM Jaroslaw Kaczynski and PM of Slovenia Janez Jansa to Kiev as representatives of the European Council to meet with president Zelenskyy and PM Shmyhal."

Russian attacks on Kyiv intensify

Strikes on residential areas in Kyiv killed at least two people early on Tuesday morning, emergency services said, as Russian troops intensified their attacks on the Ukrainian capital.

The casualties came after a strike hit a 16-storey building in the Sviatoshynsky district, the emergency service said in a Facebook post, adding that 27 people had been rescued from the construction.

Another residential building in the Podilsk area also came under attack, the emergency service said, causing "a fire" that "started on the first five floors of a ten-storey residential building on Mostytska street as a result of ammunition fire."

Zelenskyy adviser: Peace agreement likely by May

The war is likely to be over by May when Russia runs out of resources to continue its onslaught, according to an adviser to the Ukrainian president's chief of staff.

"I think that no later than in May, early May, we should have a peace agreement, maybe much earlier, we will see, I am talking about the latest possible dates," Oleksiy Arestovich said.

"We are at a fork in the road now: there will either be a peace deal struck very quickly, within a week or two, with troop withdrawal and everything, or there will be an attempt to scrape together some, say, Syrians for a round two and, when we grind them too, an agreement by mid-April or late April."

Even once peace is agreed, skirmishes could continue for a year, according to Arestovich, although Kyiv insists on the complete removal of Moscow troops from Ukraine.

China denies that Russia asked for help

China has refuted claims by US officials that Russia had sought military assistance from Beijing.

"The US has repeatedly spread malicious disinformation against China on the Ukraine issue," the Chinese embassy in London told news agency Reuters in a statement.

"China has been playing a constructive role in promoting peace talks," the statement continued.

"The top priority now is to ease the situation, instead of adding fuel to the fire, and work for diplomatic settlement rather than further escalate the situation."

Russia has also denied making such a request.

Met opera holds special Ukraine benefit

The Metropolitan Opera in New York, known as the "Met," held a special benefit concert for Ukraine on Monday night.

The 90-minute program started with a rendition of Ukraine's national anthem led by Ukrainian bass-baritone Vladyslav Buialskyi.

Last week, the Met dropped Russian soprano Anna Netrebko from future performances as she declined to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Members of the Metropolitan Opera company stand in solidarity with the proud Ukrainian people, so strong in the face of such injustice, destruction and death," Met general manager Peter Gelb said while speaking from the stage.

The concert was broadcast on Ukrainian public radio.

Zelenskyy: Russia didn't expect such resistance

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address late on Monday that Russia "didn't expect such resistance" in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said that the Russian military was responsible for war crimes and vowed to hold Russian leadership accountable.

"We are working with our partners on new punitive measures against the Russian state," Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy confirmed that negotiations between Ukraine and Russia would resume on Tuesday.

UK to host Joint Expeditionary Force meeting

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will on Tuesday host leaders from a number of European countries belonging to the Joint Expeditionary Force.

Besides the United Kingdom, the force includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Leaders of the group will meet in London, where they are expected to discuss measures to be taken against Russia.

Oil prices dropping sharply again after spike

Crude oil prices dived sharply in early trading in Asia on Tuesday, with the West Texas Intermediate price dipping back below $100 per barrel.

The other major oil price indicator, Brent Crude, sank to $100.54 but remained in three-figure territory.

Oil prices have risen sharply during the conflict in Ukraine, amid concerns over shortages and supply amid sanctions against Russia. Both prices peaked above $120 per barrel, near 14-year highs.

Possible falling demand in China, as the government shuts down the tech hub of Shenzen in a bid to control COVID cases, was attributed to the reduction in price.

Continued talks between Russia and Ukraine also led to cautious optimism among some investors.

Brazil's government also said late on Monday that, after talks with the US, it was willing to increase its oil production in a bid to compensate for any missing Russian stock.

Slovakia expels three Russian diplomats

The Foreign Ministry in Bratislava said late on Monday that Slovakia had given three Russian embassy staff 72 hours to leave the country.

The ministry said they had broken diplomatic rules, without disclosing their identities or their roles at the Russian Embassy.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Jaoslav Nad told news site Pravda.sk that Slovakia had detained three of its citizens suspected of spying for Russia. He said, "This is just the beginning."

Police confirmed they were investigating suspected espionage but did not comment on domestic media reports on the individuals' identities. Reportedly, they included an officer from the Defense Ministry, an employee at domestic intelligence service SIS, and an employee for pro-Russian media. The SIS said nobody detained was a current employee at the agency.

Russia said it would take retaliatory steps in response to Slovakia's expulsions.