Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Russians pound access routes to Ukraine's Bakhmut

Russian troops and mercenaries rained artillery on the last access routes to the besieged Ukrainian city of Bakhmut on Friday, bringing Moscow closer to its first major victory in half a year after the bloodiest fighting of the war.

Russian troops and mercenaries rained artillery on the last access routes to the besieged Ukrainian city of Bakhmut on Friday, bringing Moscow closer to its first major victory in half a year after the bloodiest fighting of the war. FIGHTING

* Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia's Wagner mercenary force, said in a video Bakhmut was "practically surrounded" by his forces and Kyiv's forces had only one road out left. * The commander of a Ukrainian drone unit active in Bakhmut said in a video that his unit had been ordered by the military to withdraw immediately from the city. He gave no reason for the order.

* Russia said it would take measures to prevent new border incursions and President Vladimir Putin told his Security Council to discuss additional "anti-terrorism measures" after what he called a "terrorist attack" in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine. * A network of at least 20 torture chambers in the recently liberated Kherson region was "planned and directly financed by the Russian State," war crimes investigators said, citing new evidence. The Kremlin press office did not respond to a request for comment.

DIPLOMACY * Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the United States of hypocrisy after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russia cannot be allowed to wage war in Ukraine with impunity.

* Foreign ministers of the 'Quad group' - the United States, Japan, India and Australia - have denounced Russia's threat to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war as unacceptable, according to a statement. * German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will hold confidential talks in Washington with U.S. President Joe Biden about the war in Ukraine amid growing concerns China may provide weapons to Russia.

* Russia's ruptured undersea Nord Stream gas pipelines are set to be sealed up and mothballed as there are no immediate plans to repair or reactivate them, sources say. ENERGY

* Ukraine is generating as much power as it needs despite damage caused by Russian attacks on its energy network, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said. ANNIVERSARY STORIES

* TIMELINE - Major developments since Russia's invasion * Ukraine's Zelenskiy has defied Putin against the odds

* Putin, secure in power, has set the stage for long war * A year on, Ukraine and its government have not just survived. They've fought back

* Toughened by war's scars, Kyiv presses on * Graphics of a year of war in the markets: How the dollar, energy and food prices swirled

* Russian economy holds up but the road back to prosperity may be long * Moscow's decades-old gas ties with Europe lie in ruins

* Top brands pull out of Russia, but goods easy to find * Can U.S. support for Ukraine last?

* External backers pour billions into Ukraine * How has China stood by 'no limits' partner Russia?

* A year into war, older refugees running out of hope * Life and death in Mariupol - a survivor's tale of war

* Family mourns Bucha victim who became symbol of war PODCAST

Learn more about the Ukraine war. Listen to a special episode of the Reuters World News Podcast. (Compiled by Reuters editors)