Ukraine retakes key Kyiv suburb; battle for Mariupol rages: Report

Ukraine said it retook a strategically important suburb of Kyiv on Tuesday, while its forces battled Russian attempts to occupy the encircled southern port city of Mariupol.

Civilians fleeing Mariupol said the city was under relentless bombardment, with block after block of destroyed buildings and corpses in the streets. But the Kremlin’s ground offensive in other parts of the country advanced slowly or not at all, knocked back by lethal Ukrainian hit-and-run attacks.

Explosions and bursts of gunfire shook Kyiv, and heavy artillery fire could be heard from the northwest, where Russia has sought to encircle and capture several suburban areas of the capital, a crucial target.

“There is nothing left there,” Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address to the Italian parliament on Tuesday.

US says no indications of imminent Russian chemical weapons after Biden’s warning

The United States has not yet seen any concrete indications of an imminent Russian chemical or biological weapons attack in Ukraine but is closely monitoring intelligence, a senior US defense official said on Tuesday.

President Joe Biden said on Monday that Russia's false accusations that Kyiv has biological and chemical weapons illustrate that Russian President Vladimir Putin is considering using them himself in the war against Ukraine.

The US official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, shared Biden's assessment but added: “There's no indication that there's something imminent in that regard right now.”

Traders warn of diesel and gas shortages 

Energy and commodity markets are in shock after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the world's top trading firms said on Tuesday, warning of gas and diesel shortages in Europe and economic recession if Russian flows fall further.

Kremlin critic sentenced to 9 yrs in prison

A Russian court on Tuesday sentenced jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to nine years in prison on fraud charges, in a ruling that will keep President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponent out of active politics for years ahead. Navalny (pictured), who was also found guilty of contempt of court, is already serving a two-and-a-half year sentence at a prison camp east of Moscow for parole violations related to charges he says were trumped up to thwart his political ambitions. REUTERS

More than 3.5 mn have fled Ukraine

The number of Ukrainians fleeing abroad is now 3,556,924, the United Nations' Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday, with more than 2 million crossing the border into Poland. REUTERS

EU firms hit by curbs can get Euro 40,00,00 aid

EU companies affected by sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine can get up to 400,000 euros ($441,320) in state aid, according to a European Commission document seen by Reuters. Companies with liquidity issues can also apply for subsidised loans. REUTERS