Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

(Reuters) – Ukraine told Russia to release prisoners of war if it wants the Kremlin’s top political ally in the country freed from detention.

FIGHTING

* The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said it is closely watching the war in Ukraine after an unconfirmed report of chemical weapons use in Mariupol.

* Fighting in eastern Ukraine will intensify in coming weeks as Russia continues to refocus there, Britain said.

* The mayor of Mariupol city said the latest estimate was that about 21,000 civilian residents had been killed.

DIPLOMACY

* U.S. President Biden said for the first time that Russia’s invasion amounts to genocide.

* Russian President Putin reappeared after a rare public silence to say the invasion was a “noble” cause and that peace talks had reached a dead end.

* Ukraine’s security services said they had arrested Putin’s closest and most influential ally in the country.

* Washington is expected to announce as soon as Wednesday another $750 million in military assistance for Ukraine.

* A planned visit to Kyiv by German President Steinmeier was not welcomed by Ukraine, he said.

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS

* Russia’s economy is on track to contract by more than 10% in 2022, the biggest fall since after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, a former finance minister said.

* Ukrainian President Zelenskiy urged the European Union to impose sanctions on all Russian banks and Russian oil and to set a deadline for ending imports of Russian gas.

* Russia’s energy minister told Izvestia newspaper that Moscow is ready to sell oil and oil products to “friendly countries in any price range”, Interfax news agency reported.

* The World Bank is preparing a $1.5 billion support package for Ukraine.

QUOTES

* “The United States is ready to fight with Russia until the last Ukrainian – that is the way it is.” – Putin

* “We’ll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies (as genocide), but it sure seems that way to me.” – Biden

(Compiled by Nick Macfie and Andrew Cawthore; Editing by Michael Perry)