Russia and Ukraine will sign today in Istanbul a UN backed agreement to free up grain exports from Ukraine's besieged Black Sea ports, the Turkish presidency announced. With the finalization of the deal, the crisis related to the export of 25 million tons of grain will be resolved, the Turkish newspaper "Karar" points out. In addition to unblocking grain exports, the agreement will also include permission for the export of grain and fertilizers from Russia. UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced that he would attend the event together with Turkish President Recep Erdogan and the representatives of Russia and Ukraine.

Russian forces seem to be closing in on Ukraine's second-largest power plant, the Uglegorsk TPP, 50km northeast of Donetsk, with the aim of seizing critical infrastructure and the cities of Kramatorsk and Slavyansk, British intelligence said. One of the most densely populated areas of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv came under fire yesterday, the city mayor Igor Terekhov said, urging civilians not to leave their shelters. There were reports of serious shelling in Mykolaiv.

The European Union has tightened restrictions on sanctioned individuals who have close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. They will have to declare their assets in the EU which will be frozen and if they refused, they could face criminal charges and confiscation. 48 individuals and 9 companies are targeted, including the largest Russian bank "Sberbank", actors Vladimir Mashkov and Sergey Bezrukov, members of the bike gang "Night Wolves", the Guardian writes. The EU also decided to provide 50 million euros in military aid to Ukraine.

Britain would send a large number of artillery launchers and more than 1,600 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, British Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace said. The UK has already supplied the country with a wide range of military equipment, including nearly 7,000 anti-tank weapons, thousands of missiles and armored military vehicles.