Russians preparing for new push as Ukraine gathers its dead

Ammunition crates left behind by retreating Russian troops are leant against a fence in the village of Andriivka, Ukraine, on Wednesday April 6 2022 (Adam Schreck/AP)

Ukraine gathered its dead and collected evidence of Russian atrocities on the ruined outskirts of Kyiv as the two sides geared up for what could become a climactic battle by Moscow’s forces to seize the country’s industrial east.

As the US and its western allies moved to impose new sanctions against the Kremlin in retaliation for what they branded war crimes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces were trying to push deep into Ukraine in the east – but that the Ukrainian army was holding them back.