Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Ukraine bolsters defence of besieged Bakhmut

* Russia said it was declaring the German-based anti-corruption group Transparency International an "undesirable organisation". ECONOMY/DIPLOMACY * The Ukraine crisis seems to be driven by an invisible hand pushing for the protraction and escalation of the conflict, China's foreign minister, Qin Gang, said. * Russia's federal budget deficit widened sharply in the first two months of the year as Moscow drastically raised expenditure while revenue fell amid slumping oil and gas takings, the finance ministry said.

Ukrainian troops will keep defending the eastern city of Bakhmut and reinforcements will be sent in, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, apparently prolonging the war's bloodiest battle in a bid to break Moscow's assault force. FIGHTING

* Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the seizure of Bakhmut was critical to punching a hole in Ukrainian defences and would allow Moscow's forces to mount further offensive operations deeper inside the country. * Volodymyr Nazarenko, a Ukrainian commander in Bakhmut, said there had been no order to retreat and "the defence is holding", albeit in conditions of "utter hell".

* The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary force said he needed the regular army to supply him with more ammunition if he was to win the battle for Bakhmut. * Ukraine has opened a criminal investigation into what it said was Russia's "brutal and brazen shooting of an unarmed person" depicted in a video on social media.

Reuters could not independently verify battlefield reports. INSIDE RUSSIA

* Russia's FSB security service said it had thwarted a Ukrainian-backed car bomb attack on prominent nationalist businessman Konstantin Malofeyev. * Russia said it was declaring the German-based anti-corruption group Transparency International an "undesirable organisation".

ECONOMY/DIPLOMACY * The Ukraine crisis seems to be driven by an invisible hand pushing for the protraction and escalation of the conflict, China's foreign minister, Qin Gang, said.

* Russia's federal budget deficit widened sharply in the first two months of the year as Moscow drastically raised expenditure while revenue fell amid slumping oil and gas takings, the finance ministry said. * Ukraine's economy ministry has cut its 2023 GDP growth forecast to 1%, the Interfax Ukraine news agency quoted a deputy minister as saying. The ministry had previously projected the economy would grow 3.2% this year.

STORIES ABOUT THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY SINCE THE WAR BEGAN * 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 and the financial markets * Russian economy holds up but 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? * Life and death in Mariupol - a survivor's tale of war

* Family mourns Bucha victim who became symbol of war