Putin drawing up 'kill list' of gay and ethnic minority Ukrainians ahead of possible invasion, US claims

Russia is drawing up a kill list, with gay and ethnic minority Ukrainians among it, if it were to invade the country, according to the US.

America's ambassador to the UN has issued a warning over a possible "human rights catastrophe" as 200,000 Russian troops and 500 warships are gathered on the border.

Heavy shelling in Ukraine continued on Monday in the heightened tension between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatist rebels in the Donbas region.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has warned that a Russian invasion of Ukraine appears “highly likely” despite US President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin tentatively agreeing to hold a crisis summit.

In a warning, Bathsheba Nell Crocker said the US has “credible information that indicates Russian forces are creating lists of identified Ukrainians to be killed or sent to camps following a military occupation”.

In a letter to the UN’s human rights chief she said “in the past Russian operations have included targeted killings, kidnappings/forced disappearances, unjust detentions, and the use of torture".

Should Russia invade, she says forces "would likely target those who oppose Russian actions".

These would include “Russian and Belarusian dissidents in exile in Ukraine, journalists and anti-corruption activists, and vulnerable populations such as religious and ethnic minorities and LGBTQI+ persons".

The ambassador also claims there is "credible information" to suggest the Russians "will likely use lethal measures to disperse peaceful protests or otherwise counter peaceful exercises of perceived resistance from civilian populations".

Putin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, has denied the claim, made to UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet.

"That is a lie. This is absolute fiction, there is no such list, it is fake,” he said.

Peskov also criticised Western governments for making predictions as to when a Russian invasion would come.

“You see, the president himself doesn't pay attention to this, but in general, such statements are clearly a certain element of provocative nature,” he said.

"The point is that this directly leads to higher tension.

"So all this can have harmful effects, I mean this daily practice of announcing the date of Russian invasion of Ukraine."