Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

– Around 50 Ukrainian civilians reached the relative safety of a temporary camp in Russian-held territory after being evacuated from a ruined steelworks in Mariupol, and the United Nations said a “safe passage operation” was in progress.

FIGHTING

* Russia’s defence ministry said it had carried out a missile strike on a military airfield near the port city of Odesa, destroying a runway and a hangar containing weapons and ammunition. On Saturday, Ukraine said Russian missiles had knocked out a newly constructed runway at Odesa’s main airport. It was unclear if the two sides were referring to the same incident.

Reuters could not immediately verify reports of battlefield developments.

DIPLOMACY, CIVILIANS

* Dozens of civilians were evacuated from Mariupol’s Azovstal steel works in a convoy with vehicles bearing United Nations symbols, signalling a deal had been struck to ease the ordeal of the most destructive siege in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

* Pelosi said she had met Zelenskiy to send the message that the United States stands firmly with Ukraine as it battles “Putin’s diabolic invasion”.

* Britain’s Foreign Office said Russia is using a troll factory to spread disinformation about the war on social media and target politicians across a number of countries including Britain and South Africa.

* Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejected criticism that Germany was not showing leadership in Western efforts to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons, saying that he’d rather be cautious than make hasty decisions.

BUSINESSANDTHEECONOMY

* The European Union is leaning towards a ban on imports of Russian oil by the end of the year, two EU diplomats said, after talks between the European Commission and EU member states this weekend.

* Russia should confiscate property owned by Westerners in response to a proposal by U.S. President Joe Biden to transfer the frozen assets of Russia’s elite to Ukraine, Russia’s most senior lawmaker said.

QUOTES

* “I suffer and cry thinking of the suffering of the Ukrainian population, in particular the weakest, the elderly, the children,” Pope Francis, speaking to thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square.

* “They must be in shock … I know how trauma affects children, I know just having somebody show how much they matter, how much their voices matter, I know how healing that is for them,” Angelina Jolie, actress and a special envoy for the U.N. refugee agency, speaking about children displaced by war during a visit on Saturday to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.