Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

DIPLOMACY * Kyiv must win the war it is fighting against Moscow, making the invasion of Ukraine a strategic failure for Russia's President Vladimir Putin, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told global business leaders in Davos on Tuesday.

Russian forces were launching an all-out assault to encircle Ukrainian troops in twin cities straddling a river in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday, a battle that could determine the success or failure of Moscow's main campaign in the east. DIPLOMACY

* Kyiv must win the war it is fighting against Moscow, making the invasion of Ukraine a strategic failure for Russia's President Vladimir Putin, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told global business leaders in Davos on Tuesday. * Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Tuesday lambasted Putin in a live court hearing, casting him as a madman who had started a "stupid war" in Ukraine based on lies.

* Russia has not yet seen an Italian peace plan for Ukraine, but hopes to receive it through diplomatic channels, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. * Ukraine will eventually be part of the European Union, France's Europe minister said on Tuesday, reassuring Kyiv that an initiative to forge closer ties between the bloc and aspiring members would not replace their bids to join.

* Moldovan investigators are searching the office and home of former President Igor Dodon in his presence, but the opposition leader has not been detained, the deputy chairman of his Socialist party told Reuters on Tuesday. FIGHTING

* Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow was deliberately slowing its offensive in Ukraine to allow civilians to evacuate, the RIA news agency reported on Tuesday. * Russia's defense ministry said on Tuesday that its forces struck an arms depot in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas used to store shells for U.S.-produced M777 howitzers. Reuters was not able to independently verify the report.

* Poland intends to buy six additional Patriot missile batteries, the defense minister said on Tuesday, as the NATO member strengthens its military after Russia invades Ukraine. ECONOMY

* Western countries must not trade security for economic profit, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned on Tuesday, referring to debates over the use of Chinese technology in 5G networks and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline for Russian gas. * Russia is using food supplies as a weapon with global repercussions, acting the same way as it does in the energy sector, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday.

* Britain is in discussions with Ukraine about how to help get grain out of the country after Russia blocked its main seaports, transport minister Grant Shapps said on Tuesday. * Analyst APK-Inform on Tuesday raised its forecasts for Ukraine's 2022/23-grain crop and exports because of a better-than-expected winter harvest.

QUOTE * "This is a stupid war which your Putin started," jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny told an appeals court in Moscow via video link from a corrective penal colony. "This war was built on lies." 

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