Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

Russian forces sought to encircle Ukrainian troops in twin eastern cities straddling a river, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned Moscow was seeking to destroy the eastern Donbas region where it has focused its attacks. DIPLOMACY

* The EU hopes to be able to agree on sanctions on Russian oil before the next meeting of the European Council, President Charles Michel said on Wednesday. * The European Commission proposed on Wednesday to make breaking European Union sanctions against Russia a crime, a move that would allow EU governments to confiscate assets of companies and individuals that evade EU restrictions against Moscow.

FIGHTING * Russian forces intensified their assault on two key towns in Ukraine's industrial Donbas region on Wednesday, with constant mortar bombardment destroying houses, killing civilians, and threatening the last escape route, Ukrainian officials said.

ECONOMY * Recent payments for Russian gas made in euros or dollars have worked, German government sources said on Wednesday, adding that the payments were in line with European Union rules.

* The insurance industry threatens to throw a spanner in the works of Russia's oil trade unless Moscow and its customers can plug a gap left by Western underwriters. * Russia is using food supplies as a weapon with global repercussions, just like it does in the energy sector, EU's von der Leyen said.

QUOTES * "This is a stupid war which your Putin started," jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny told an appeals court in Moscow via video link from a corrective penal colony. "This war was built on lies."

* "The invasion may have been the beginning of the Third World War and our civilization may not survive it," billionaire financier George Soros told the gathering in Davos. "The best and perhaps the only way to preserve our civilization is to defeat Putin as soon as possible. That's the bottom line." 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)