Russian forces advanced deep into the ruined eastern factory city of Sievierodonetsk, but Ukrainian troops were still holding out as Russia's assault on its neighbour entered its 100th day
FIGHTING
- After 100 days of war, Ukraine is fighting for time, trying to hold out against overwhelming Russian fire on its eastern front long enough for Western weapons to arrive and give it a badly needed edge.
- Ukrainian forces have had some success fighting Russians in the city of Sievierodonetsk but the overall military situation in the Donbas region has not changed, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
- Prosecutors investigating war crimes cases in Ukraine are examining allegations of the forcible deportation of children to Russia since the invasion as they seek to build a genocide indictment, the country’s top prosecutor said.
- Ukraine does not plan to use multiple-launch rocket systems it receives from the United States to attack facilities in Russia, a Ukrainian presidential adviser said.
ECONOMY AND SANCTIONS
- Turkey expects progress on a plan to unlock grains exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports when Russia's foreign minister visits next week, a senior Turkish official said.
- U.N. aid chief "had frank and constructive discussions" with Russian officials in Moscow on facilitating Ukraine grain exports, a U.N. spokesman said.
- United Nations officials warned a protracted war in Ukraine threatened a hunger crisis there and around the world. Crisis coordinator Amin Awad said at least 15.7 million people in Ukraine were now in urgent need of assistance and protection.
- President Vladimir Putin met the head of the African Union, who said Putin had expressed a willingness to ease exports of Ukrainian cereals. Earlier, the Kremlin said "no one on the Russian side is blocking the ports".
- The European Union blacklisted Russian military commanders who it said led troops involved in atrocities in Ukraine, describing them as the "butchers" of Bucha and Mariupol.
DIPLOMACY
Russia accused Germany of throwing European security into imbalance by "remilitarizing", as Berlin shores up its military spending.
NATO should consider granting Ukraine "de facto" rather than "de jure" membership of the alliance when its summit discusses its strategy for the next 10 years in June, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said.