(Reuters) – Last-ditch talks were under way to renew the Black Sea grain deal that has allowed wartime exports of Ukrainian grain, before it expires on Thursday with Russia demanding more support for its own sales of fertiliser and food.
GRAIN DEAL
* A Turkish source saw a high probability that the grain deal would be extended.
* The last ship carrying grain under the deal before its scheduled expiry left a Ukrainian port.
* The Kremlin said it would not enter “hypothetical discussions” about what would happen if the grain deal collapses.
FIGHTING
* Russia says its forces were fighting in the eastern city of Bakhmut.
* Moscow said it had struck an ammunition storage dump in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region.
* Ukraine said on Tuesday it had shot down six Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missiles in a single night, thwarting a weapon Moscow has touted as a next-generation hypersonic missile that was all but unstoppable. Russia said it had destroyed a Ukrainian Patriot missile defence battery, which Kyiv denied.
DIPLOMACY AND ECONOMY
* Leaders of the Group of Seven nations plan to tighten sanctions on Russia at their summit in Japan this week, officials with direct knowledge of the discussions said.
IN-DEPTH STORIES
* ‘Losing our best’: activists killed in war seen as blow to Ukraine’s future
* INSIGHT-Communities torn as Ukraine turns its back on Moscow-linked church.
* INSIGHT-Ukraine farms lose workers to war, complicating a tough harvest
* EXPLAINER-Why the EU is restricting grain imports from Ukraine
(Compiled by Reuters editors)
