Most important news at a glance:
– If the Russians kill the last Ukrainian soldiers in the port city of Mariupol, it will mean an end to the peace negotiations with Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky said.
– A total of 23,367 Ukrainian soldiers and mercenaries are now said to have been eliminated since the start of the war. Russian Defense spokesman Igor Konashenkov said 4,000 were killed in Mariupol alone, which is largely in ruins.
– Russia has gathered tens of thousands of soldiers for an early offensive in eastern Ukraine, says the governor of the eastern Luhansk region, where heavy fighting has been going on for weeks.