Ukrainian officials say they have found more than 1,200 bodies in the Kyiv area, where atrocities were allegedly committed during the Russian occupation last month as residents of the eastern part of the country prepare - or flee - before the expected massive offensive.

Over the weekend, Ukraine came under heavy bombardment, which increased the death toll six weeks after the Russian invasion.

A shelling killed two people in northeastern Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, on Sunday morning, District Governor Oleg Sinegubov said, a day after authorities said 10 civilians, including a child, were killed in a bombing southeast of the city.

“The Russian army continues to wage war against the civilian population due to the lack of victories at the front,” Sinegubov posted on Telegram.

Volodymyr Zelensky again condemned the atrocities against civilians and, after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said he had agreed “that all perpetrators of war crimes should be identified and punished”.

Ukraine's chief prosecutor, Irina Venediktov, says the country is investigating the alleged guilt of 500 senior Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, for thousands of war crimes.

And White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has vowed that the United States will “work with the international community to make sure there are those responsible” for what he called “mass atrocities.”

In the Vatican, Pope Francis called for an Easter ceasefire to pave the way for peace, condemning a war in which “defenseless civilians” are subjected to “disgusting massacres and cruelty.”

The death toll also rose in eastern Ukraine, where a rocket attack on a train station in the city of Kramatorsk killed 57 people on Friday, according to a revised balance sheet released by Pavlo Kirilenko, the Donetsk region's governor.

“We are seeing preparations for important battles, some say decisive, in the east,” he told a news conference with visiting Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Saturday.

“We are ready to fight and at the same time look for a way to end this war through diplomacy.”

Launching his own diplomatic initiative, Nehammer said he would meet with Putin today, a move his spokesman insisted was coordinated with Berlin, Brussels and ... Zelensky. Austria is a member of the European Union, but not of NATO.

Nehammer will be the first European leader to visit the Kremlin since the invasion began on February 24.

On Sunday, the United Nations said 4,232 civilian casualties had been reported in Ukraine, including 1,793 killed and 2,439 wounded.

The war also has a severe impact on the region's economy. On Sunday, the World Bank released a horrific forecast that Ukraine's economy would collapse by 45.1% this year - a much bleaker outlook than it had predicted even a month ago - while Russia's GDP would shrink by 11.2%. .

On Sunday, Ukraine accused Russian-aided Kremlin propaganda of laying the groundwork for a bloody campaign.

But in an interview with NBC's “Meet the Press” program, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba said he remained open to talks with the Russians.

“If sitting down with the Russians will help me prevent at least one massacre like in Bucha or at least one more attack like in Kramatorsk, I have to take this opportunity,” he said.

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