Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia has sent troops to Ukraine to "help protect Russia," its leader said on Saturday, as Moscow's military campaign in the neighboring country entered its 31st day.

"Our guys are going to fulfill their military duty with a proudly raised banner," the leader of South Ossetia, Anatoly Bibilov, said on Telegram.

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Joe Biden on Saturday met in Warsaw with two Ukrainian ministers in the first face-to-face talks between the U.S. president and top Kyiv officials since Russia's invasion began.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov made a rare trip out of Ukraine in a possible sign of growing confidence in the fightback against

Russia's defence minister Sergei Shoigu reappeared on television images broadcast Saturday, after his two-week absence from view prompted questions from journalists.

The defence ministry published a video showing Shoigu, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, chairing a meeting on Russia's weapons budget.

No dates accompany the images on state

Russia has signalled it may dial back its war aims to focus on eastern Ukraine after failing to break the nation's resistance in a month of fighting and attacks on civilians, including up to 300 feared killed in the bombing of a theatre.

The possible shift came ahead of a planned meeting by U.S. President Joe Biden with Ukrainian refugees in Poland