Russia's war on Ukraine latest news: Russia presses Ukraine in east, south

* NATO foreign ministers sought to reassure fragile countries in Russia's neighbourhood that fear being destabilised by Russia as the conflict in Ukraine drags on. * Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it was vital to avoid any military confrontation between nuclear powers, even if it only involved conventional weapons, the TASS news agency reported.

Russian forces tried to advance in eastern Ukraine and trained tank, mortar and artillery fire on Kherson in the south, the Ukrainian military said, as Western allies sought to buttress Ukraine and its neighbours against Moscow. DIPLOMACY, FOREIGN RESPONSE

* The U.S. Army awarded a $1.2 billion contract to Raytheon Technologies Co for six National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) for Ukraine on Wednesday, the Pentagon said. * NATO foreign ministers sought to reassure fragile countries in Russia's neighbourhood that fear being destabilised by Russia as the conflict in Ukraine drags on.

* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it was vital to avoid any military confrontation between nuclear powers, even if it only involved conventional weapons, the TASS news agency reported. Lavrov also said the West was pushing Ukraine to continue fighting against Russia. * Russian President Vladimir Putin has focused his "fire and ire" on Ukraine's civilian population, bombing more than a third of Ukraine's water and electricity supply in a strategy that will not work, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

* The European Union will try to set up a specialised court, backed by the United Nations, to investigate and prosecute possible war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine. * The European Commission proposed a plan to compensate Ukraine for damage from Russia's invasion with proceeds from investing Russian funds frozen under sanctions.

NUCLEAR * Russia said it had promoted the chief engineer of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to become its director, after Kyiv said the plant's previous boss was abducted by occupying Russian authorities.

* Russia must withdraw its heavy weapons and military personnel from the Zaporizhzhia plant if the U.N. atomic watchdog's efforts to create a protection zone are to succeed, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. ENERGY CRISIS

* In a grim sign of the energy crisis caused by Russian attacks on Ukraine's electricity grid, nine people have been killed in fires

over the past 24 hours as Ukrainians resorted to emergency generators, candles and gas cylinders in violation of safety rules to try to heat their homes after power outages. (Compiled by Cynthia Osterman)

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