Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

(Reuters) – Ukrainian forces go on the offensive, recapturing towns on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv, while Russia could be scaling back its ambitions for the war.

REFUGEES

* About 3.7 million people have fled Ukraine.

* The United Nations is looking into allegations that civilians were forcibly moved from the besieged southern city of Mariupol to Russia.

FIGHTING

* Local officials said 300 people may have been killed in the bombing of a Mariupol theatre.

* Russia said 1,351 of its soldiers had died, while the United Stations said it had confirmed 1,081 civilian deaths in Ukraine.

* Ukrainian troops have repulsed a first attack by Russian forces on the town of Slavutych, where workers at the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant live, a presidential adviser said.

* The northern city of Chernihiv has been cut off by Russian forces, the regional governor said.

* Ukraine said Russian forces had managed partially to create a land corridor to Crimea from territory in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

DIPLOMACY

* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan about NATO and food.

* Pope prays for peace.

ENERGY/MARKETS/BUSINESS

* China’s state-run Sinopec Group suspended talks for a major petrochemical investment and a gas marketing venture in Russia, sources told Reuters, heeding a government call for caution as Western sanctions mount.

* The United States will supply Europe with more liquefied natural gas (LNG) to help curb reliance on Russia, U.S. President Joe Biden said.

* European shares fell for a third straight session.

* The war is driving commodities prices up and is likely to reduce global growth prospects, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.

QUOTES

* “I told my wife to grab the children and to hide in the basement, and I went to the drafting station and joined my unit straight away.” – Andriy, a Ukrainian soldier on the frontline northwest of Kyiv.

(Compiled by Angus MacSwan and Andrew Cawthorne)