In a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Mr Guterres said he was “concerned” about the repeated reports of violations of human rights laws.

He said it was not within his remit to hold an investigation, but that he wanted to see an independent investigation into “possible war crimes”.

In his meeting with Mr Guterres, Russian president Vladimir Putin claimed the West has been "deceived and misled" over the evacuation of Mariupol.

António Guterres, secretary general of the United Nations, pictured here at COP26 in Glasgow, called for independent investigations into potential Russian war crimes. Picture: Getty Images

More than 1,000 civilians, as well as the last remaining Ukrainian troops defending the city are still in the Azovstal steel plant. However Russia has declared that it has taken the city.

Mr Putin said: "There are no military actions being conducted in the Azovstal steel factory, We heard from the Ukrainian government that there are civilians inside the compound. In that case, Ukrainian military personnel are obliged to let them go.

"The simple thing is, with regards to evacuating those people, Mr Secretary General, you have been deceived and misled. Over 100,000 people have left Mariupol. They can go anywhere they want. People want to go to Russia, some to Ukraine."

The pair also discussed peace negotiations and although Mr Putin acknowledged that they had come to a stalemate at the moment, he was optimistic there would eventually be a resolution.

Mr Guterres said: “I am concerned about the repeated reports of violations of international humanitarian and human rights law and possible war crimes. And they require independent investigation for effective accountability.”

The UN secretary general added he had suggested the creation of a group involving Russia, Ukraine and the UN to open safe corridors for the evacuation of civilians.

"We urgently need humanitarian corridors that are truly safe and effective," he said.

"To that end I have proposed the establishment of a humanitarian contact group bringing together the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the United Nations to look for opportunities for the opening of safe corridors.”

Mr Guterres said while he understood Russia had "many grievances", there were “many mechanisms” by which grievances could be resolved.

He said there was "one thing that is true and obvious and that no arguments can change".

Mr Guterres said: "We have no Ukrainian troops in the territory of the Russian Federation, but we have Russian troops in the territory of the Ukrainian Federation."Mr Lavrov said he would co-operate with Mr Guterres’ proposals over humanitarian corridors."Our goals are primarily to protect the civilian population and here we are ready to co-operate with our colleagues from the UN to alleviate the plight of the civilian population," Mr Lavrov said.However, he said he would not continue negotiations while the West continued to supply weapons to Ukraine.

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said more help was on the way, as he convened a meeting of officials from around 40 countries at the United States' Ramstein Air Base in Germany to pledge more weapons. Meanwhile, Germany announced it had cleared the way for delivery of Gepard anti-aircraft guns to Ukraine.

“There are individuals in the West who provide weapons to Ukraine,” Mr Lavrov said. “If this goes on, negotiations will not continue.”

The Russian foreign minister said his country was still awaiting an answer to its latest proposals, which he says Russia sent to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky ten days ago.

Asked about the prospect of discussions, he warned of a "theatrical gesture" from Ukraine and said they "probably wanted another heart-rending scene".

"If we talk about serious attitudes to work as part of the talks, they better answer our proposals as soon as possible," he said.

The talks came as Russia continued to pound eastern and southern Ukraine.

Russian missile fire knocked out a strategic rail bridge along a route that links the southern Odesa port region to neighbouring Romania, a Nato member, Ukrainian authorities said.

The attack on the bridge, along with a series of strikes on key rail stations a day earlier, appeared to mark a major shift in Russia's approach.

Up to now, Moscow has spared strategic bridges, perhaps in the hopes of keeping them for its own use in seizing Ukraine. However, now it seems to be trying to thwart Ukraine's efforts to move troops and supplies.

After unexpectedly fierce resistance by Ukrainian forces thwarted Russia's attempt to take Ukraine's capital early in the war, Moscow now says its focus is Donbas – the mostly Russian-speaking industrial region in eastern Ukraine.

That move is already having a devastating effect on civilians trapped in the conflict.

In the small city of Toretsk, residents are struggling to survive, collecting rainwater for cleaning and washing up and fervently hoping for an end to the fighting.

"It's bad, very bad, hopeless," said Andriy Cheromushkin.

"You feel so helpless that you don't know what you should do or shouldn't do. Because if you want to do something, you need some money and there is no money now."

Russian president Vladimir Putin has cited Nato's expansion and the risk that Kyiv could join the alliance as reasons for his invasion.

Mr Lavrov said on Russian TV that Western weapons were “legitimate targets” as he claimed Russia was essentially at war with Nato due to the alliance’s support for Ukraine.

UK armed forces minister James Heappey rejected Mr Lavrov's accusations of Nato aggression as "utter nonsense".

He said: "The reason there is a war in Ukraine right now is because Russia rolled over the borders of a sovereign country and started to invade their territory.”

Mr Heappey also said Russia was making "unsound" military decisions and giving away tactical advantages because of Mr Putin's desire to secure some kind of victory by May 9, when Russia marks its victory in the Second World War.

In Mariupol, the besieged city seen as crucial to the fight for the east, authorities said on Tuesday that Russian forces hit the Azovstal steel plant with 35 air strikes over the past 24 hours.

The plant is the last known redoubt of Ukrainian fighters in the city, and some of the civilians sheltering there were wounded in the strikes, officials said.

"Russia has drastically intensified strikes over the past 24 hours and is using heavy bunker bombs," Petro Andryushchenko, adviser to Mariupol's mayor, said.

Ukraine-Russia: UN secretary general calls for ‘independent investigation’ into possible Russian war crimes

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