Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

Russia said the crew of its Moskva warship were evacuated on Thursday after an explosion of ammunition aboard that Ukraine said was caused by a missile strike, and a U.S. defence official said the stricken vessel was still trying to put out a fire. FIGHTING

* The governor of Kharkiv region said four civilians had been killed and 10 wounded in Russian shelling of Kharkiv city on Thursday. Reuters could not verify his remarks. * A second village in Russia's Belgorod region has come under fire from Ukraine, the regional governor said on Thursday, the latest in what Russian authorities say have been a series of cross-border attacks.

* Russian officials on Thursday said Ukrainian helicopters had hit residential buildings and injured seven people in the Bryansk region, the latest of a series of cross-border attacks that Moscow has said may trigger a retaliatory attack on Kyiv. * Russian aviation has destroyed seven military facilities in Ukraine in the past 24 hours, including an artillery missile depot, Interfax news agency quoted Russian defence ministry as saying on Thursday.

* Ukraine says nine humanitarian corridors have been agreed for Thursday to evacuate civilians from eastern cities including Mariupol, while a new prisoner swap meant 30 Ukrainians would be going home the same day. * A U.N. committee said on Thursday that the lives of some 2.7 million people with disabilities are at risk in Ukraine, citing reports that many are trapped or abandoned in their homes, care centres and orphanages without basic supplies or medicines.

DIPLOMACY * One of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest allies warned NATO on Thursday that if Sweden and Finland joined the U.S.-led military alliance then Russia would deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in an exclave in the heart of Europe.

* Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on Germany to make a quick decision on weapons delivery to Ukraine, saying Kyiv was counting on Berlin's leading role in Europe. * The threat of Russia potentially using tactical or low-yield nuclear weapons in Ukraine cannot be taken lightly, but the CIA has not seen a lot of practical evidence reinforcing that concern, CIA Director William Burns said on Thursday.

* President Joe Biden said on Thursday that top U.S. officials are deciding soon whether to send a senior official to Kyiv in a show of support for Ukraine. * Britain on Thursday sanctioned two close associates of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying the men had been subjected to the largest asset freeze ever imposed by the government.

* France will "very soon" transfer back its embassy in Ukraine to Kyiv from Lviv, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in a phone call. ECONOMY AND BUSINESS

* Putin said on Thursday that Moscow would work to redirect its energy exports eastward as Europe tries to reduce its reliance on them, adding that European nations would not be able to ditch Russian gas immediately. * Payment for Russian gas in roubles by European Union buyers as demanded by Putin would break the EU's sanctions regime against Moscow, an internal European Commission note said.

* G20 host Indonesia said on Thursday Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov had confirmed he plans to attend virtually next week's meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 major economies. * The IMF will cut its global growth estimates for 2022 and 2023 as Russia's war in Ukraine drives food and energy prices higher, piling pressure on already fragile economies, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday, warning the world was in "a very dangerous time".

QUOTES "We are finding terrible things: buried and hidden bodies of people who were tortured and shot, and who died as a result of mortar and artillery fire," Andriy Nyebytov, head of Kyiv region police, says in televised comments that could not immediately be verified. (Compiled by Nick Macfie)