(Reuters) - Russian forces advanced deep into the ruined eastern factory city of Sievierodonetsk, but Ukrainian troops were still holding out on Friday as Russia's assault on its neighbour entered its 100th day.
FIGHTING AND WEAPONS
* After 100 days of war, Ukraine is fighting for time, trying to hold out against overwhelming Russian fire on its eastern front long enough for Western weapons to arrive and give it a badly needed edge.
* Ukrainian forces have had some success fighting Russians in the city of Sievierodonetsk but the overall military situation in the Donbas region has not changed, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
* Russia will continue its military operation in Ukraine until all its goals have been achieved, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
* Prosecutors investigating war crimes cases in Ukraine are examining allegations of the forcible deportation of children to Russia since the invasion as they seek to build a genocide indictment, the country’s top prosecutor said.
* Ukraine does not plan to use multiple-launch rocket systems it receives from the United States to attack facilities in Russia, a Ukrainian presidential adviser said on Friday.
ECONOMY
* Turkey expects progress on a plan to unlock grains exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports when Russia's foreign minister visits next week and both Moscow and Kyiv want a solution, a senior Turkish official said.
* United Nations officials warned on Friday that a protracted war in Ukraine threatened a hunger crisis in the country and around the world. Crisis coordinator Amin Awad said at least 15.7 million people in Ukraine were now in urgent need of assistance and protection.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin met African Union leaders on Friday and the Kremlin said he would tell them that Moscow was not to blame for the growing food crisis affecting their continent.
* Slovakia expects solidarity from the European Union to mitigate impact of the bloc's sanctions on Russian crude oil, Slovak Economy Ministry said on Friday.
DIPLOMACY
* Russia accused Germany of throwing European security into imbalance by "remilitarizing", as Berlin moves to boost its military spending in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
* NATO should consider granting Ukraine "de facto" rather than "de jure" membership of the alliance when it discusses its strategy for the next 10 years at a summit in June, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Friday.
QUOTES
"The entire temporarily occupied territory of our state is now a complete disaster zone, for which Russia bears full responsibility," Zelenskiy said in an overnight address.