Ukrainian and Russian forces were locked in heavy fighting in different parts of Ukraine on Tuesday as Russian-organised referendums in four regions Moscow hopes to annex drew to a close.
Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now
Referendums
President Vladimir Putin is preparing to formally annex around 15% of Ukrainian territory after referendums on joining Russia in areas controlled by Russian forces or Russian-backed separatists.
Britain announced a new package of sanctions linked to what it described as Moscow’s “sham” referendums.
Russian mobilisation
Ukrainians in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol fear they will be called up by Moscow after some residents said they were forced to vote in referendums at gunpoint, its exiled mayor said.
The Kremlin acknowledged that some military call-ups had been issued in error. * Russian men are fleeing into neighbouring Georgia to avoid being called-up to fight in Ukraine.
Economy
Negotiators in the US Congress agreed to include about $12 billion in new aid to Ukraine, a source familiar with the talks said on Monday.
Ukraine on Monday urged the European Union to support its plans to make the emergency paths for grain exports through the bloc permanent.
Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban sharply criticised European Union sanctions imposed on Russia, which he said have “backfired”, driving up energy prices.
The Russian economy is taking a “huge” hit from sanctions, a senior OECD official said.
Fighting
Ukraine’s president and security chiefs met to plan ways to counteract Russia’s use of “new types of weapons” after Moscow stepped up attacks in the Odesa region using Iranian combat drones.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described the military situation in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region as difficult and said it was the country’s “No. 1 goal” because it was also Russia’s No. 1 goal.
Ukrainian forces continued their campaign to put out of action bridges and other river crossings to disrupt supply lines to Russian forces in the south.
Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin said he had founded the Wagner Group private military company in 2014, the first public confirmation of a link he has previously denied and sued journalists for reporting.
UN atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said he is ready to hold talks in Ukraine and Russia this week on setting up a protection zone at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine that he often says is needed urgently.