Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

DIPLOMACY/ECONOMY * U.S. Secretary of State Blinken addressed Russia directly at the G20 foreign ministers meeting and called on Moscow to let Ukrainian grain out to the world, a Western official said.

Ukraine's Western allies urged Russia to allow Kyiv to ship grain out to the world as the four-month-old war threatened to bring hunger to countries far away from the battlefields. FIGHTING

* Moscow's ambassador to London told Reuters Russia is unlikely to withdraw from a swathe of land across Ukraine's southern coast and will defeat Ukrainian forces in the entire eastern Donbas region. * Russia is likely concentrating its equipment in the direction of Siversk, about 8 km (4.9 miles) west of the current Russian front line, Britain's defence ministry said. Russian forces are likely pausing to replenish before undertaking new offensive operations in the Donetsk region.

* More young Russian men are looking to avoid the country’s mandatory military service since the conflict with Ukraine began in late February, some lawyers and rights advocates say. DIPLOMACY/ECONOMY

* U.S. Secretary of State Blinken addressed Russia directly at the G20 foreign ministers meeting and called on Moscow to let Ukrainian grain out to the world, a Western official said. * Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed the what he cast as the West's "frenzied" criticism of the war in Ukraine at a G20 meeting, scolding Russia's rivals for scuppering a chance to tackle global economic issues.

* President Vladimir Putin said that continued sanctions against Russia could lead to "catastrophic" energy price rises for European consumers. [nL8N2YP41R * On Thursday, in a hawkish speech to parliamentary leaders, Putin said Russia had barely got started and the prospects for negotiation would diminish the longer the conflict dragged on.

* Zelenskiy, in his nightly video message responded with defiance, saying the two-month operation to retake Snake Island was a warning to all Russian forces that Ukraine will not be broken. * Ninety minutes after resigning as British prime minister on Thursday, Boris Johnson called Zelenskiy to say his people had the UK's unwavering support, and Britain would continue to supply vital defensive aid for as long as needed.

QUOTES * "We have heard many times that the West wants to fight us to the last Ukrainian. This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it seems that everything is heading towards this," said Putin.

* "It's their (Russians') fantasy to occupy these cities, but they don't expect the level of resistance. It's not just the Ukrainian government, it's the people who refuse to accept them," said mechanic-turned-soldier Artchk in Kramatorsk. (Compiled by Frank Jack Daniel and Tomasz Janowski)