A former Ukrainian presidential candidate and current backer of the pro-Russian separatist movement said Thursday he planned to ship food, medicine and money to the nation's war-ravaged east.

Oleg Tsarev, also previously a member of Ukraine's parliament, said while on a visit to the east Ukranian city of Donetsk that his People's Front movement had opened an office in Moscow and was preparing the first shipments of aid.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that the spectacular seizure of Iraqi cities by advancing jihadist fighters was a clear sign of the "total failure" of the U.S.-led invasion.

"The events in Iraq illustrate the total failure of the adventure involving the United States and Britain," Russian news agencies quoted Lavrov as saying, referring to the 2003 invasion that led to the toppling of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Russia said on Thursday it would submit a new draft resolution on Ukraine at the U.N. Security Council, saying it saw no progress in Kiev's efforts to defuse the crisis in the separatist east.

"In this resolution we would like to draw attention to the need for Ukraine to start implementing the OSCE chairman's 'road map' prepared on the basis of the April 17 Geneva agreement," Russian news agencies quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying.

Russia accused Ukraine on Thursday of using "prohibited weapons" during its attempts to seize back control of the separatist stronghold city of Slavyansk, charges denied by Kiev.

The Russian foreign ministry's human rights ombudsman's comments came shortly after Moscow state media reported the use of incendiary bombs by Kiev's forces in the blockaded eastern city.

A July 20 deadline for Iran and world powers to strike a nuclear deal looks increasingly likely to be extended given the seemingly huge gap that remains between the two sides, experts say.

Though the aim is still to reach agreement by the stated deadline, officials familiar with the talks admit a delay is looking more and more possible.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Ukraine not to reject a reduced gas price offer but Kiev rebuffed the proposal as key EU-mediated talks to resolve the dispute ended in deadlock on Wednesday.

Moscow and Kiev exchanged barbs after nearly five hours of haggling in Brussels failed to yield a deal.

Russia is sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine's conflict-hit east with the help of pro-Kremlin rebels, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday, the first time Moscow has explicitly acknowledged links to the militants.

"In late May we applied to the (Ukraine) authorities with an official request to get permission to deliver such aid," Lavrov told OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier in Moscow, reported the Interfax news agency.

Russia and Ukraine began fresh EU-brokered gas supply talks Wednesday, with Moscow extending a cut-off deadline to next week in the latest signs the worst East-West crisis in years may be easing.

The negotiations are being closely watched to see if they confirm recent signs that both sides want to bring some sort of closure to a crisis that began with pro-EU protests in Kiev six months ago.

Syrian President Bashar Assad has described Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun as an “honest man,” saying he would welcome his election as a president.

In an interview with al-Akhbar daily published on Wednesday, Assad said: “Aoun is an honorable and honest man who fought with dignity and reconciled with dignity.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin met recently with Saudi Arabian foreign minister Saud al-Faisal, a Kremlin spokesman said on Tuesday, as both countries appeared to step up dialogue over the war in Syria.

Putin and Saudi Arabia's top diplomat met "one or two weeks ago", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Agence France Presse, refusing to say where the encounter took place or what was discussed.