Ukraine-Russia war enters day 59: Here's what you need to know right now

A Russian triumph in the Donbas region has strip Ukraine of its industrial assets, such as mines, metals plants, and heavy-equipment manufacturing facilities.

File Photo (Reuters)

Kyiv: Zelenskiy said he would meet U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in Kyiv on Sunday and that he hoped to secure heavy weapons he said were vital for Ukraine to eventually retake Russian-occupied territory.

FIGHTING

• Russia resumed its assault on the last defenders in giant steelworks in Mariupol, a Ukrainian official said, days after Moscow declared victory in the southern port city and said its forces did not need to take the factory.
• At least five people were killed and 18 injured in a missile strike on Odesa, Ukraine said.
• An artillery strike on the frontline town of Zolote in the eastern Luhansk region killed two civilians and wounded two others, the regional governor said.
• Russia said it shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jet and destroyed three MI-8 helicopters at an airfield in Ukraine`s Kharkiv region.

DIPLOMACY, CIVILIANS

The International Atomic Energy Agency said Ukraine had asked for "a comprehensive list of equipment" to operate its nuclear power plants, including radiation measurement devices, protective material, computer-related assistance, power supply systems and diesel generators.

A new attempt to evacuate Ukrainian civilians from war-torn Mariupol failed, an aide to the city`s mayor said, blaming Russian forces. The official said 200 residents of Mariupol had gathered to be evacuated but the Russian military told them to disperse and warned of possible shelling.

Germany must do everything in its power to help Ukraine win the war against Russia but without endangering its security and NATO`s defence capability, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said.

QUOTES

 "I want to see the sun because in there it`s dim, not like outside. When our houses are rebuilt we can live in peace. Let Ukraine win because Ukraine is our native home," said an unnamed boy speaking on a video released by the Azov battalion showing civilians holed up in a steelworks in Mariupol.