Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Wagner mercenaries claim control of Bakhmut's east

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?

The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group said on Wednesday his forces had taken full control of the eastern part of the Ukrainian

city of Bakhmut , scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the year-long war.

FIGHTING * German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius on Wednesday warned against reaching premature conclusions on who was responsible for blowing up the

Nord Stream pipelines , suggesting the attack could have been a "false flag" operation to blame Ukraine.

* Russian forces made more than 30 unsuccessful attacks over the past day near Orikhovo-Vasylivka alone, 20 km (12 miles) northwest of Bakhmut, the General Staff of the Ukraine's Armed Forces said on Wednesday. * Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the seizure of Bakhmut would allow Moscow's forces to mount further offensive operations deeper inside Ukraine. Kyiv has vowed to keep defending the town.

Reuters could not independently verify battlefield reports. ECONOMY/DIPLOMACY

* A concert cellist linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin moved millions of francs through Swiss bank accounts without any proper checks, Swiss prosecutors will allege on Wednesday at the opening of a trial of four bankers accused of helping him. * U.S.-led international sanctions on Russia have begun to erode the dollar's decades-old dominance of international oil trade as most deals with India - Russia's top outlet for seaborne crude - have been settled in other currencies.

* Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov urged his European Union counterparts on Wednesday to support a plan to buy 1 million artillery shells

to help Kyiv fight Russia's invasion and replenish their own stocks. * Ukraine has broadened a request for controversial cluster bombs from the United States to include a weapon that it wants to cannibalize to drop the anti-armour bomblets it contains on Russian forces from drones, according to two U.S. lawmakers.

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