Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

(Reuters) – Russian President Putin raised the idea of adding limits to a U.N.-brokered deal for Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea and threatened to halt all energy supplies to Europe if Brussels caps the price of Russian gas.

Energy

* The European Union’s proposed price cap on Russian gas raises the risk of rationing in some of the world’s richest countries this winter.

* Ukraine said on Wednesday it might have to shut down the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to avoid a disaster and called on residents in areas nearby to evacuate.

Grain

* Senior U.N. and Russian officials met to discuss Russian complaints that Western sanctions were impeding its grain and fertilizer exports despite a U.N.-brokered deal to boost Russian and Ukrainian shipments of the commodities.

* Putin said he would discuss “limiting the destinations for grain and other food exports” with Turkish President Erdogan, who helped broker the deal.

* A Ukrainian presidential adviser said Russia had no grounds to review the deal and that its terms were being strictly observed.

Fighting

* Ukrainian forces are making “slow but meaningful progress” on the battlefield and are doing better in the south than Russia, a senior Pentagon official said.

* Ukrainian President Zelenskiy said there was “good news” from the Kharkiv region east of Kyiv, with some settlements recaptured from Russian forces.

* Shelling damaged a backup power line at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has already lost all four of its regular power lines, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said.

* In rare public comments Ukraine’s military chief warned of the threat of Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, which would create the risk of a “limited” nuclear conflict with other powers.

Moscow has in the past denied speculation of potential nuclear or chemical weapons use.

U.n.

* At the United Nations, the U.S. ambassador accused Moscow of committing a war crime by forcibly deporting Ukrainians to Russia and said it has information that Russian officials are overseeing so-called filtration operations.

Economy

* Zelenskiy said next year’s budget would be a war budget, devoting more than a trillion hryvnias ($27.40 billion) to defence and security spending.

(Compiled by Grant McCool)