(Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin reappeared after a rare public silence to say the invasion of Ukraine was a "noble" cause and that peace talks had reached a dead end.
FIGHTING
* Fighting in eastern Ukraine will intensify in coming weeks as Russia continues to refocus there, Britain said.
* Russian-backed separatist forces did not use chemical weapons in Mariupol despite Ukrainian allegations, Eduard Basurin, a separatist commander, told Interfax.
DIPLOMACY
* Putin warned the West that attempts to isolate Moscow would fail, citing the success of the Soviet space programme as evidence of achievement in adversity.
* Putin said Russia's main aims of its "special military operation" were to protect the Russian-speaking people of Donbas in eastern Ukraine and to end Ukraine's position as a centre of nationalistic anti-Russian feeling.
CIVILIAN TOLL
* The mayor of Mariupol city said the latest estimate was that about 21,000 civilian residents had been killed.
ECONOMY AND BUSINESS
* Russia's economy is on track to contract by more than 10{5ad0cd663e4180c32b8049fbde12201ec3855e324a84c95f0595f875746ae8b3} in 2022, the biggest fall since after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, a former finance minister said.
Russia is facing soaring inflation and capital flight while grappling with possible debt default after the West imposed crippling sanctions.
* President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the European Union to impose sanctions on all Russian banks and Russian oil and to set a deadline for ending imports of Russian gas.
* Russian state-owned gas producer Gazprom continued to supply natural gas to Europe via Ukraine on Tuesday at the pace of 74.6 million cubic metres per day, the company said.
* The World Bank is preparing a $1.5 billion support package for Ukraine.
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 Zelenskiy.
* "We are seriously concerned about the possibility of the use of nuclear weapons during Russia's invasion of Ukraine," said Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno.
(Compiled by Nick Macfie and Andrew Cawthore)
