Russia's war on Ukraine latest: The call for German-made Leopard tanks

* A senior adviser to Zelenskiy urged Kyiv's allies on Saturday to "think faster" about stepping up their military support, a day after they failed to agree on sending battle tanks coveted by Kyiv. * Germany's new defence minister, Boris Pistorius, plans to visit Ukraine soon, he told a German newspaper, as Berlin faces pressure to allow the shipment of German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that Germany would continue to support Ukraine, speaking days after Western allies dampened Ukraine's hopes for a rapid shipment of battle tanks. American lawmakers pushed the U.S. government to export M1 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine, saying that even sending a symbolic number would be enough to push European allies to do the same. WEAPONS

* Britain still wants an international deal to provide Ukraine with the German-made tanks that Kyiv says it needs in its fight against Russia but whose transfer needs Germany's consent, British foreign minister James Cleverly said. * The Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania made a joint call to Germany on Saturday to step up its leadership and send its main battle tanks to Ukraine, putting further pressure on Berlin to move faster on aiding Kyiv.

* Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Kyiv on a surprise trip, meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and pledging that Britain would "stick by Ukraine as long as it takes". * A senior adviser to Zelenskiy urged Kyiv's allies on Saturday to "think faster" about stepping up their military support, a day after they failed to agree on sending battle tanks coveted by Kyiv.

* Germany's new defence minister, Boris Pistorius, plans to visit Ukraine soon, he told a German newspaper, as Berlin faces pressure to allow the shipment of German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine. * Senior U.S. officials are advising Ukraine to hold off on launching a major offensive against Russian forces until the latest supply of U.S. weaponry is in place and training has been provided, a senior Biden administration official said on Friday.

* A close ally of President Vladimir Putin said that deliveries of offensive weapons to Kyiv that threaten Russia's territories will lead to a global catastrophe and make arguments against using weapons of mass destruction untenable. FIGHTING

* Russia increased shelling of Ukraine's eastern regions outside the main front line in the Donbas industrial area, officials from the Zaporizhzhia and Sumy regions said on Saturday. * Russia's defence ministry said for the second straight day on Sunday that its forces were improving their positions in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region.

* Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports. ECONOMY

* Western countries are working to structure price caps on Russian refined petroleum products to ensure continued flow of Russian diesel, but the markets are complicated and there is a chance things do not go to plan, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. WAGNER GROUP

* The United States will impose additional sanctions next week against Russian private military company the Wagner Group, which U.S. officials say has been helping Russia's military in the Ukraine war, the White House said on Friday. * The head of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, published a short letter to the White House on Saturday asking what crime his company was accused of, after Washington announced the new sanctions. (Compiled by Frances Kerry, William Maclean)

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