Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

Ukraine said on Thursday it had repelled multiple Russian assaults on a strategic stronghold in the east of the country, and the head of the NATO military alliance said Moscow must not be allowed to win the war.

Ukraine said on Thursday it had repelled multiple Russian assaults on a strategic stronghold in the east of the country, and the head of the NATO military alliance said Moscow must not be allowed to win the war. DIPLOMACY/ECONOMY

* The U.S. Senate and the Italian parliament both approved Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO. * Zelenskiy is seeking "direct talks" with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to help end the war with Russia, the South China Morning Post reported.

* The first grain ship to leave a Ukrainian port in wartime passed through the Bosphorus Strait en route to Lebanon for a delivery that foreign powers hope will be the first of many to help ease a global food crisis. * The European Union intends to put together another financing package for Ukraine by September that will amount to about 8 billion euros ($8.15 billion), a German government source said.

FIGHTING * The governor of the Donetsk region said three civilians had been killed in Bakhmut, Maryinka and Shevchenko and five wounded in the past 24 hours.

* Governors of Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk reported that their regions had been shelled overnight and civilian infrastructure and houses had been damaged. * Reuters was not able to verify battlefield reports.