TOP HEADLINES 

• European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has called for talks with Moscow on unlocking wheat exports trapped in Ukraine as a result of a Russian sea blockade. READ MORE BELOW

• France's new foreign minister Catherine Colonna said a new European Union sanctions package that would lead to the end of Russian oil imports to the bloc must happen quickly.

• Hungary's government declared a state of emergency due to the war in Ukraine from Wednesday, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a Facebook video. Orban said his cabinet needed room to manoeuver to respond to challenges quickly.

• The Russian ruble strengthened to levels not seen since March 2018 against the dollar on Tuesday, boosted by export-focused companies selling foreign currency to pay taxes and shrugging off a slight easing of capital controls. READ MORE BELOW

• In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told business and political leaders that Russian President Vladimir Putin had wanted less NATO on his border and fewer NATO members but had got more of both. READ MORE HERE

• Eighty-two percent of Ukrainians believe that Ukraine should not sign away any of its territories as part of a peace deal with Russia under any circumstances, according to a new survey by one of the country's top pollsters.

• Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow was deliberately slowing its offensive in Ukraine in order to allow civilians to evacuate, RIA news agency reported. 

• The leader of the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine said on Tuesday that foreign, including Western, representatives would be invited to a trial of Ukrainian fighters there, Interfax news agency reported.

• Russia's military campaign in Ukraine has entered its most active phase, Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said on Tuesday.

• It is unacceptable that some countries side with Russia over the Ukraine war, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday at a Pretoria news conference. South Africa abstained in March from a U.N. resolution condemning Russia over its "special operations" in Ukraine. 

• Russian forces have completed removing mines in the Azov Sea port of Mariupol, the defense ministry said on Tuesday.

• Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny lambasted Putin in a live court hearing, casting him as a madman who had started a "stupid war" in Ukraine based on lies. The court upheld his nine-year sentence.

• As the Russian food blockade deepens, analyst APK-Inform has raised its forecasts for Ukraine's 2022/23 grain crop and exports because of a better-than-expected winter harvest. It said that Ukraine could harvest 48.3 million tonnes of grain in 2022, including almost 17.1 million tonnes of wheat and 25.2 million tonnes of corn.

• Copenhagen's pledge of Harpoon anti-ship missiles and a launcher to Ukraine, announced by the United States on Monday, is the first sign since the Russian campaign started in February that Kyiv will receive U.S.-made weapons that significantly extend its striking range.

IN DETAIL

'End sea blockade' demands EU chief

Speaking in Davos, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called on Russia to end its sea blockade that has trapped wheat exports in Ukraine, putting a serious strain on world food supplies.

"The most important (thing) is to deblock the Black Sea. This is a call on Russia," Von der Leyen said in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

Von der Leyen, president of the European Union's executive, said a food crisis was approaching at full speed and some sort of dialogue with Moscow was needed to unlock 20 million tonnes of wheat stuck in Ukraine.

"It cannot be in Russia's interest that, because of Russia, people are dying of hunger in the world," she said, adding that a solution to create food corridors needed to be found.

"We should first of all look at the dialogue with Russia, whether there is not an agreement that this wheat gets out of Ukraine," Von der Leyen added.

Russia and Ukraine together account for nearly a third of global wheat supplies, while Ukraine is also a major exporter of corn, barley, sunflower oil and rapeseed oil.

Von der Leyen said the European Union should also step up its own production, making it easier for farmers to have a second crop or to increase wheat production.

Ruble now the world's best-performing currency

The ruble has strengthened about 30 percent against the dollar this year despite a full-scale economic crisis in Russia, making it the world's best-performing currency.

Russia's currency is steered by capital controls imposed in late February to shield Russia's financial sector after Moscow's decision to send tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine prompted unprecedented Western sanctions.

Its strength has raised concerns about the negative impact on Russia's budget revenue from exports. On Monday, Russia cut the proportion of foreign currency revenue that exporters must convert into rubles to 50 percent from 80 percent. 

The rouble was 0.7 percent stronger against the dollar at 57.44 after firming to 56.61 on the Moscow Exchange for the first time in more than four years.

Against the euro, the rouble gained 0.9 percent to 59.57, hovering near seven-year highs.

It may return to levels of 60-65 against the dollar in June, Sinara Investment Bank said in a note.

EU oil embargo likely 'within days'

Germany's economy minister said the European Union will likely agree an embargo on Russian oil imports "within days," Germany's economy minister said on Monday.

"We will reach a breakthrough within days," Robert Habeck told German broadcaster ZDF when asked about an EU oil embargo in retaliation for Russia's attack on Ukraine.

Habeck warned, however, that an embargo would not automatically weaken the Kremlin. Rising global oil prices after the United States announced an embargo on Russian oil enabled it to rake in more income while selling lower volumes.

Therefore, the European Commission and United States were working on a proposal to no longer pay "any price" for oil, but to cap global prices, he said.

"It is obviously an unusual measure, but these are unusual times," he said. "This path only works if many countries get on board... and that's proving to be the sticking point."