(Reuters] – The President Zelenskiy claimed that up to 3,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed and 10,000 injured in Russia’s conflict. Fighting continued in Mariupol as bombs struck Kyiv.

FIGHTING

* Ukraine said it was trying to break Russia’s siege of Mariupol as fighting raged around its key port and the massive Illich steel works, which Russia said was in its hands.

* The United States believes two Ukrainian missiles hit Russia’s Black Sea flagship Moskva, causing Russian casualties, a senior official said, countering Moscow’s claim that the missile cruiser sank because of an onboard explosion and more than 500 sailors were evacuated.

* Russia’s defence ministry said it had struck a military target on the edge of Kyiv overnight with cruise missiles and promised more strikes against the Ukrainian capital in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian targets.

DIPLOMACY and BUSINESS

* Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and top finance officials will attend next week’s IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington and meet G7 and other officials, sources said, the first such in-person opportunity of the war.

* Russia warned the United States of “unpredictable consequences” if the West continues its “irresponsible militarization of Ukraine,” the Washington Post said.

* Zelenskiy asked Biden to designate Russia a “state sponsor of terrorism,” along with North Korea, Cuba, Iran and Syria, the Washington Post said. According to a spokesperson for the White House, they would continue to investigate all avenues to put more pressure on Putin.

* Ukraine’s biggest steelmaker, Metinvest, told Reuters its would never operate under Russian occupation and that Ukraine had lost access to 30% to 40% of its metallurgy production capacity in Mariupol.

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The military successes on the field are historic and significant. They are not sufficient to rid our country of these occupiers. “We will defeat them more,” Zelenskiy declared.