Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his armed forces were undeterred in their efforts to "break" Moscow's will to pursue the nearly five-month war. * During a brief televised meeting with his defence minister, President Vladimir Putin congratulated Russian forces on their "victories in the Luhansk direction".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his armed forces were undeterred in their efforts to "break" Moscow's will to pursue the nearly five-month war. Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed his military's victory in the battle of Luhansk. FIGHTING

* Zelenskiy, in his nightly video message, said there had been no significant changes on the battlefield in the past 24 hours and that Ukrainian forces were repelling and destroying Russia's offensive capabilities on a daily basis. "We need to break them. It is a difficult task. It requires time and superhuman efforts. But we have no alternative". * During a brief televised meeting with his defence minister, President Vladimir Putin congratulated Russian forces on their "victories in the Luhansk direction". Those who participated in the combat should "absolutely rest and recover their military preparedness", while other units continue fighting in other areas, he said.

* Vadym Lyakh, the mayor of Sloviansk, said Russian forces were already shelling the eastern city with artillery. "It's now important to evacuate as many people as possible," he told Ukraine's Espreso TV. * Russia's Defence Ministry said it had carried out attacks on Ukrainian command posts and munitions depots in several locations in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.

* The Ukrainian flag has been delivered by helicopter to Snake Island in the Black Sea after Russian forces withdrew from the strategic outpost last week, and it will be raised as soon as Ukrainian troops arrive, Ukraine's military said. * Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield accounts.

DIPLOMACY AND ECONOMY * Russian gas producer Gazprom has proposed expanding its rouble-for-gas scheme for pipeline gas to include liquefied natural gas, the Interfax news agency quoted a senior manager as saying on Monday.

* Britain said it would on Tuesday introduce new economic, trade and transport sanctions on Belarus over its support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and also sanctioned six Russians it said were spreading disinformation. * Ukraine needs $750 billion for a recovery plan, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told a Ukraine Recovery Conference hosted by Switzerland.

* Putin will not congratulate his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden on Monday's Independence Day because of Washington's "unfriendly" actions towards Moscow, the Kremlin said. * France's Schneider Electric SE has agreed to sell its Russian unit to the local leadership team, it said on Monday, joining a wave of companies divesting their Russian businesses.

QUOTES * We believe that the key source of recovery should be the confiscated assets of Russia and Russian oligarchs. The Russian authorities unleashed this bloody war. They caused this massive destruction and they should be held accountable for it," - Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal. (Compiled by Catherine Evans, Simon Cameron-Moore, Alison Williams and Paul Simao)