Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Battle rages in Bakhmut

FIGHTING * The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Kyiv's position means Russia's goals in Ukraine can only be achieved by military force , Russian state news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.

Ukraine's future hinges on the outcome of battles in the east, including in and around Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, with both sides describing brutal fighting as Russia intensifies a winter campaign to capture the small city. GRAIN AND GAS

* A Russian official said a landmark deal allowing Ukraine to export grain

through its Black Sea ports has been extended for 60 days, though Kyiv said it would stick to a 120-day extension and Turkey said talks were ongoing. * Informal dialogue between the

United Nations and parties to the Black Sea grains deal continue, a U.N. spokesperson said on Tuesday, adding that the in-person talks with Russia had already ended.

* Russia has not been informed about the progress of an investigation into last year's Nord Stream pipeline blasts and has handed in a report to prove this to the United Nations, a senior diplomat said. FIGHTING

* The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Kyiv's position means Russia's goals in Ukraine can only be achieved by military force

, Russian state news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. "We have to achieve our goals. Right now this is only possible by military means due to the current position of the Kyiv regime," Peskov said. * Russia does not recognise the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the TASS news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Tuesday when asked about reports the ICC was expected to seek its first arrest warrants against Russian individuals.

* Ukraine has accused two Russian soldiers

of sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl and gang raping her mother at gunpoint in front of her father, as part of widespread allegations of abuse during the more than one-year-long invasion. Russia's Defence Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Russia has strongly denied its forces have committed war crimes.

DIPLOMACY * The Biden administration will allow Ukrainians who entered the United States last year over the Mexican border to renew their humanitarian status, giving them continued access to government benefits like health insurance and food stamps

* Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Tuesday that the likelihood that Finland joins the NATO military alliance before Sweden had increased, though it was only a matter of time before Swedish became a member.