Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

* A Ukrainian state prosecutor asked a court on Thursday to sentence a Russian soldier to life in prison for killing an unarmed civilian in the first war crimes trial arising from Russia's Feb. 24 invasion. * The White House is working to put advanced anti-ship missiles in the hands of Ukrainian fighters to help defeat Russia's naval blockade, officials said, amid concerns more powerful weapons that could sink Russian warships would intensify the conflict.

Moscow said that 1,730 Ukrainian fighters had surrendered in Mariupol over three days, including 771 in the past 24 hours, claiming a surrender on a far bigger scale than Kyiv has acknowledged since ordering its garrison to stand down. FIGHTING

* Ukraine's territorial defence force said its fighters had blown up an armoured train carrying Russian troops, but an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelinskiy later said the attack had been confined to rails near the train. * More than half the Ukrainian fighters in the bunkers below the Azovstal steel plant have surrendered, the leader of the Russian-backed rebel Donetsk region said, and the International Committee of the Red Cross said it was registering them.

* The head of the World Health Organization urged Russia to ensure safe access to places in Ukraine that its troops control or are besieging to allow healthcare to be delivered. * A Ukrainian state prosecutor asked a court on Thursday to sentence a Russian soldier to life in prison for killing an unarmed civilian in the first war crimes trial arising from Russia's Feb. 24 invasion.

* The White House is working to put advanced anti-ship missiles in the hands of Ukrainian fighters to help defeat Russia's naval blockade, officials said, amid concerns more powerful weapons that could sink Russian warships would intensify the conflict. DIPLOMACY

* Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said he and the finance ministers of the Group of Seven rich nations had discussed "practical steps" to help Ukraine recover from the war with Russia. * Group of Seven financial leaders are likely to agree on Thursday and Friday on around $15 billion to help Ukraine pay its bills in coming months.

* U.S. President Joe Biden met the leaders of Sweden and Finland on Thursday to advance their applications to join the NATO military alliance in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as Turkey repeated its opposition to the move. * Russia's Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov and U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley held a phone call, RIA news agency reported on Thursday, citing the Russian defence ministry.

* The European Parliament urged that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder be blacklisted if he does not quit the board of Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft in a move also meant to dissuade him from taking a top job at Gazprom. ECONOMY

* Ukraine has exported 643,000 tonnes of grain since the start of May, considerably less than during the same period of last year when it sold 1.8 million tonnes abroad, the agriculture ministry said. * U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he is in "intense contact" with Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the United States and the European Union in a bid to restore Ukrainian grain exports as a global food crisis worsens. (Compiled by Hugh Lawson)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)