Russia hits railways as US pledges extra weapons

Russia hit railway infrastructure across Ukraine on Monday with the aim of disrupting foreign weapons supplies, while the US declared it would provide more weapons despite Moscow's objections. At least five people were killed and 18 wounded in Russian strikes in the Vinnytsia region, according to Ukrainian officials.

The railways are also used by civilians moving between cities or attempting to flee conflict zones. Earlier this month some 50 civilians - many of them trying to evacuate to safer locations - were killed by a Russian rocket attack on the railway station in Kramatorsk.

Elsewhere on Monday, plans for a humanitarian corridor to let civilians leave the siege at the steelworks in Mariupol failed to come together. Moscow said there would be a ceasefire around the plant in the early afternoon but Ukraine's deputy prime minister said no agreement had been reached and that Russia was acting unilaterally.

US wants Russia 'weakened'

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said America wanted to see Russia "weakened" so it no longer posed a threat to other nations. He was speaking in Poland a day after he and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.

The US announced an additional $713m (£559m) of military aid to the Ukrainian government and 15 other allied European governments. The BBC's defence correspondent Jonathan Beale says Mr Austin's words highlight America's growing involvement in the war in Ukraine.

Russia's ambassador in Washington said Moscow had sent a diplomatic note demanding an end to the US supply of weapons to Ukraine.