Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

(Reuters) – Ukraine is ready for a tough battle with Russian forces amassing in the east of the country, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, a day after a missile attack in the east that officials said killed more than 50 civilians trying to evacuate.

SUPPORT

*Zelenskiy met Prime Minister Boris Johnson, one of his staunchest backers, in Kyiv on Saturday, with the British leader using the visit to set out a new financial and military aid package for Ukraine.

* Johnson was the latest foreign leader to visit Kyiv after Russian forces pulled back from the outskirts of the capital last week.

* Donors including the Canadian government and the European Commission pledged a combined 9.1 billion euros in donations, loans and grants to support refugees fleeing the war.

FIGHTING

* British military intelligence said Russian operations continue to focus on the Donbas region, Mariupol and Mykolaiv, supported by continued cruise missile launches by Russian naval forces.

* Russian forces have destroyed an ammunition depot at the Myrhorod Air Base in central-eastern Ukraine, Interfax news agency reported, quoting Russia’s Defence Ministry.

CIVILIANS

* More people need to evacuate from the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine as shelling has increased in recent days and more Russian forces have been arriving, Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai said.

* European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Russian forces appeared to have committed war crimes by targeting civilians in Ukraine, but she said lawyers must investigate the alleged incidents.

ECONOMY

* S&P lowered Russia’s foreign currency ratings to “selective default” on increased risks that Moscow will not be able and willing to honor its commitments to foreign debtholders.

* The United States on Friday broadened its export curbs against Russia and Belarus, restricting access to imports of items such as fertilizer and pipe valves as it seeks to ratchet up pressure on Moscow and Minsk.

QUOTES

* “We will never forget everything we saw here, this will stay with us for our whole lives,” Bohdan Zubchuk, a community police officer in Bucha.

(Compiled by Frances Kerry)