Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

Street fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops raged in the battle for the industrial city of Sievierodonetsk as Moscow's forces pushed to conquer Ukraine's eastern Donbas, seeking a decisive win more than 100 days into the invasion.

Street fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops raged in the battle for the industrial city of Sievierodonetsk as Moscow's forces pushed to conquer Ukraine's eastern Donbas, seeking a decisive win more than 100 days into the invasion. FIGHTING

* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed for more weapons to arrive faster, saying things could become very difficult for Ukraine if Russian forces broke through front lines in Donbas, the eastern region where Sievierodonetsk is the main city not in Russian hands. * Zelenskiy said Russia had more troops in the city but that Ukraine's forces had "every chance" of fighting back.

* Ukraine's defence ministry accused Russia of firing on civilian infrastructure around Sievierodonetsk, further north in the Kharkiv region and to the west around Sloviansk, where it said Russia was pushing forward. Moscow denies targeting civilians. * Reuters could not independently verify battlefield reports.

DIPLOMACY AND WEAPONS * Russia imposed sanctions on 61 U.S. officials including U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, in retaliation for "constantly expanding U.S. sanctions", the foreign ministry said.

* Russia should not close the U.S. embassy in Moscow because the world's two biggest nuclear powers must continue to talk, the U.S. ambassador was quoted as saying on Monday. The Kremlin said it was interested in bilateral nuclear arms talks though they were unlikely to take place at this time. * Britain said it would supply Ukraine with multiple-launch rocket systems that can strike targets up to 80 km (50 miles) away. Zelenskiy expressed gratitude.

* Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that Russia would strike new targets if the West supplied longer-range missiles to Ukraine. His foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said it would also respond by pushing back Ukrainian forces further from Russia's border. ECONOMY

* Zelenskiy said up to 75 million tonnes of grain could be stuck in Ukraine by this autumn, and that Kyiv wanted anti-ship weapons that could secure safe passage for its exports. * Russian aluminium producer Rusal has filed a lawsuit against global miner Rio Tinto, seeking to win back access to its 20% share of alumina produced at a jointly owned refiner in Queensland.

QUOTE * "Sorry, that was the last bottle of Czech beer we had" - a waiter at a central Moscow restaurant, a sign that once ample Russian reserves of foreign alcohol are dwindling.

($1 = 0.9326 euros)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)