Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

FIGHTING * Luhansk regional Governor Serhiy Gaidai told Ukrainian TV "all Russian claims that they control (Sievierodonetsk) are a lie. * In Ukraine's second largest city Kharkiv, northwest of Luhansk, Russia's defence ministry said its Iskander missiles had destroyed weaponry recently supplied by Western countries.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy predicted Russia will escalate attacks this week as European Union leaders consider whether to back his country's bid to join the bloc and Russia presses its campaign to win control of eastern Ukraine. FIGHTING * Luhansk regional Governor Serhiy Gaidai told Ukrainian TV "all Russian claims that they control (Sievierodonetsk) are a lie. They control the main part of the town, but not the whole town". Fighting made evacuations from the city impossible, he said. * Britain's Ministry of Defence said both Russia and Ukraine have continued heavy bombardment around Sievierodonestk "with little change to the front line". * Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War think tank in Washington wrote that "Russian forces will likely be able to seize Sievierodonetsk in the coming weeks but at the cost of concentrating most of their available forces in this small area". * Russian-backed separatist forces in Ukraine said they had taken the village of Toshkivka beside the main southern road toward Sievierodonetsk. Regional Ukrainian governor Gaidai said pro-Russian forces were trying to break through the lines of Toshkivka. * In southern Ukraine, Western weaponry had helped Ukrainian forces advance 10 km (6 miles) towards Russian-occupied Melitopol, its mayor said in a video posted on Telegram from outside the city. * In Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv, northwest of Luhansk, Russia's defense ministry said its Iskander missiles had destroyed weaponry recently supplied by Western countries. * The governor of Russia's Bryansk region said the border village of Suzemka had been shelled from northern Ukraine, one person was wounded and a power station was damaged. * Reuters could not independently verify battlefield reports.

DIPLOMACY * NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the war in Ukraine "could take years" and the West must continue its support, Germany's Bild is Sonntag newspaper reported. ECONOMY * European Union foreign ministers will discuss ways to free millions of tonnes of grain stuck in Ukraine due to Russia's Black Sea port blockade at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday.

* Germany announced its latest steps to boost gas storage levels to prepare for the next winter season when it fears Russia, which has cut deliveries in recent days, could reduce or even completely halt supplies.