TOP HEADLINES

• Ukrainian troops were engaged in fierce street fighting with Russian soldiers in the industrial city of Severodonetsk, while other towns were under constant shelling, as Russia pushed for control of the eastern Donbas region.

• Ukrainian forces are "holding out" against Moscow's troops in the eastern city of Severodonetsk but are outnumbered by a "stronger" Russian side, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday. "We're holding out" but "there are more of them and they are stronger," he told journalists in Kyiv, adding that Severodonetsk and neighboring Lysychansk were both "dead cities now".

• Pro-Kremlin separatists in Ukraine confirmed the death of Russian Major General Roman Kutuzov "who showed by example how to serve the fatherland" during Moscow's military campaign in the country. The death of Kutuzov was reported earlier by a war correspondent for Russian state TV but has not been confirmed by officials in Moscow. 

• The bodies of some Ukrainian fighters killed while defending the city of Mariupol from Russian forces have been handed over to Kyiv, the families of Ukraine's Azov unit of the national guard said.

• The families of members of Russia's National Guard who died in Ukraine and Syria will receive a one-time payment of five million rubles ($80,000), a Kremlin decree said on Monday. The decree signed by President Vladimir Putin said the payments would also be received by families of those who were killed during a "special military operation" in Ukraine's breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

• U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken supported reports that Russia has stolen grain from Ukraine for resale, even as Moscow blocks the country from exporting its own corn. READ MORE BELOW

• Turkey is coordinating closely with Russia and Ukraine to agree a plan that would restart grain exports from Ukrainian ports even as conflict rages elsewhere in the country, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said.

• Ukraine is not ready to agree to a plan to export its grain by rail across Belarus for shipment via the Baltic Sea to bypass Russia's blockade of its Black Sea ports, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

• The U.S. and Europe urged Russia to stop alleged sexual violence by its army and proxies in Ukraine, allegations that Moscow denounced as "lies". The pleas were made during a meeting of the UN Security Council, organized by Albania, which currently holds the rotating presidency. READ MORE BELOW

• A Fiji court handed a Russian superyacht to U.S. authorities and said it can be removed from the Pacific nation, ending a contested eight-week stay. The $300 million Amadea, linked by the U.S. to billionaire Russian politician Suleiman Kerimov, a target of sanctions, was impounded on arrival in Fiji in April at Washington's request.

• The U.S. accused Russia of trying to "intimidate" American correspondents in Moscow, who were summoned by the Russian foreign ministry and threatened with reprisals because of U.S. sanctions.

IN DETAIL

Russia accused of 'stealing' Ukrainian grain

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken supported reports that Russia has stolen grain from Ukraine for resale, even as Moscow blocks the country from exporting its own corn.

"There are credible reports... that Russia is pilfering Ukraine's grain exports to sell for its own profit," Blinken said at a State Department conference on food security issues arising from the conflict in Ukraine.

"Now, Russia is hoarding its food exports as well," Blinken added, outlining the reasons for the sharp surge in global prices for wheat and other grains, and looming shortages.

The conflict "is having a devastating impact on global food security because Ukraine is one of the breadbaskets of the world," Blinken said. 

The New York Times reported on Monday that a number of freight vessels have departed Russia-controlled ports with what U.S. officials have described as "stolen Ukrainian grain."

It said that the United States has alerted 14 countries, mostly in Africa, about the shipments, as many of them are dependent on grain imports and already face severely constrained supplies. 

Blinken said the Russian navy has blocked grain carriers from leaving the Black Sea port of Odesa, in an effort to "blackmail" the world into supporting Moscow's offensive.

U.S. and EU warn Russia its 'crimes will be punished'

The United States and Europe urged Russia to stop alleged sexual violence by its army and proxies in Ukraine, allegations that Moscow denounced as "lies."

The pleas were made during a meeting of the UN Security Council, organized by Albania, which currently holds the rotating presidency. 

"It is on Russia to stop rape, violence, and atrocities from within its ranks. It is on Russia to end this unconscionable, unprovoked war on the people of Ukraine, and we call on the Russian Federation to do just that," said U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. 

European Council President Charles Michel denounced "atrocities" by Russia.

"These crimes must be and will be punished. To hold accountable those who are responsible, we need evidence and we are now helping to collect the evidence of these crimes," he said.

The accusation led Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, to leave the chamber and be replaced with a deputy. Nebenzia had earlier denied alleged sexual abuses committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.

"The accusations of sexual violence against the Russian army have become repetitive... but no proof has been provided," he said.