IN BRIEF: Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

Ukraine pleaded for more weapons from the West to help it end the siege of Mariupol and fend off an expected Russian offensive in the east, as more reports emerged of rape and brutality against Ukrainian civilians by Russian forces.

FIGHTING
Russia has nearly completed its buildup for a renewed assault on Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Ukraine’s defence ministry said. The governor of Luhansk said Russia was moving military vehicles closer to the front lines in the region.

DIPLOMACY
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow did not leave him optimistic. “The offensive is evidently being prepared on a massive scale,” he said.

Putin will meet Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenkoon Tuesday to discuss the situation in Ukraine and Western sanctions, news agencies in Russia and Belarus reported.

EU foreign ministers plan to intensify the delivery of weapons to Ukraine, Germany’s foreign minister said.

Russia will not pause its military operation for subsequent rounds of negotiations, its foreign minister said.

CIVILIAN TOLL
Tens of thousands of people have likely been killed in Russia’s assault on Mariupol, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told South Korea’s parliament.

Seven bodies were found buried in the rubble of two destroyed high-rise housing blocks in the town of Borodyanka near Kyiv, the state emergencies service said, bringing the total civilian toll there to 19 so far.

Dialogue, negotiations only way to end Russia-Ukraine conflict: Pandor

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS
The European Union’s executive is drafting proposals for an EU oil embargo on Russia, several EU foreign ministers said on Monday, although there was no agreement yet.

French bank Societe Generale said it would quit Russia and take a $3.3 billion hit from selling its Rosbank unit to a firm linked to a Russian oligarch.

Origin Energy said the Australian government has confirmed the company is not breaching sanctions against Russiaat a gas project in the Northern Territory, where its partner has a Russian oligarch shareholder.

QUOTES

“I would like to remind world leaders that the possible use of chemical weapons by the Russian military has already been discussed. And already at that time, it meant that it was necessary to react to the Russian aggression much harsher and faster,” said Zelenskyy.

“(Telling Putin) once will not be enough. Ten times will not be enough. It might have to be done 100 times but I think it is necessary to do everything to ensure there is peace again and people in Ukraine can live in safety,” Nehammer said.

Zelenskyy warns Russia will send more soldiers to intensify battle in Ukraine: