INTERNATIONAL: Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have intensified after hundreds of murdered civilians were allegedly found following the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine's Bucha.

Russian military forces on Monday night destroyed a training base of Ukrainian Special Forces in Ochakov using a high-precision sea-based missile, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. The center is also used as a camp for foreign mercenaries in Ukraine.

Russian forces also destroyed four fuel depots serving the Ukrainian army with air-based missiles, according to the ministry.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday visited the town of Bucha outside Kiev, where hundreds of murdered civilians were allegedly found after Russian forces withdrew, the Ukrinform news agency reported.

At least 280 people, including children, were found dead in Bucha, some 28 km northwest of Kiev after the Ukrainian army retook control of the town from the Russian military.

Zelensky earlier called the killings of civilians in Bucha a "war crime".

The Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday refuted Kiev's accusation of alleged killing of civilians in the settlement of Bucha.

Russia will present "empirical evidence" to the United Nations Security Council that its forces have not been killing civilians in Ukraine and were not involved in events in Bucha, Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's envoy to the UN, said at a press conference on Monday.

Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine are continuing their intensive talks via video link after the latest face-to-face negotiations concluded in Turkey’s Istanbul last week.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that the possibility of a success of Russia-Ukraine talks always exists. He hopes Kiev will follow its national interests at Russia-Ukraine peace talks, but not listen to "advisers" from afar.

Zelensky said Monday that he thinks the negotiation with Russia is becoming increasingly difficult given the killing of civilians in Bucha.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for an independent investigation into the alleged killings of hundreds of civilians in Bucha.

"I am deeply shocked by the images of civilians killed in Bucha, Ukraine," Guterres wrote on his official Twitter account. "It is essential that an independent investigation leads to effective accountability."

European countries continued to pressure on Russia by expelling Russian diplomats on Monday and Tuesday.

Germany on Monday announced that 40 officials at the Russian embassy were declared undesirable, and they need to leave Germany within five days.

Italy announced on Tuesday that the country has expelled 30 Russian diplomats on "national security grounds."

Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod announced the expulsion of 15 Russian diplomatic staff members during a Foreign Policy Board meeting on Tuesday, accusing them as "intelligence officers" for espionage.

France's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said on Monday that the country has decided to expel 35 Russian diplomats.

Russia will respond proportionately to some Western countries' expulsions of Russian diplomats, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said Monday.

The expulsion of Russian diplomats from several European countries is a pre-agreed campaign that strikes at bilateral relations, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said on Tuesday.

"Obviously, this campaign is pre-agreed. A blow is being dealt to bilateral relations, through the channels of diplomatic communication," the deputy minister was quoted as saying by TASS.

So far, around 20 countries are in a diplomatic rift with Russia and Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia will give an appropriate response.

The United Kingdom on Monday called on its allies to impose tougher sanctions against Russia following the alleged killings of civilians in Bucha.

European Commission (EU) President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday announced the EU is proposing a fifth package of sanctions against Russia over Ukraine.

The sanctions include an import ban on coal from Russia worth 4 billion euros per year, a full transaction ban on four key Russian banks, among them VTB, the second largest Russian bank.

Still, the EU will ban Russian and Russian-operated vessels from accessing EU ports and Russian and Belarusian road transport operators, as well as impose further export bans in crucial areas like advanced semiconductors, machinery and transport equipment.

The EU is also seeking specific new import bans worth 5.5 billion euros and other targeted measures against Russia, von der Leyen said.

A day earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron had called for progress on further moves towards sanctions at the European Union level, which he said could target the oil and coal industries.