TOP HEADLINES

• Moscow's ambassador to London said Russia is unlikely to withdraw from a swathe of land across Ukraine's southern coast and will defeat Ukrainian forces in the entire eastern Donbas region.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of possible "catastrophic consequences" of Western sanctions on the global energy market. "Sanctions restrictions on Russia will bring far bigger losses for the countries that impose them," Putin told a televised government meeting. 

• Kyiv said Russian gas flows through Ukraine were at a "historic low" last month and accused Moscow of fomenting political instability in Europe by squeezing supplies.

• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed what he cast as the West's "frenzied" criticism of the war in Ukraine at a G20 meeting, scolding Russia's rivals for scuppering a chance to tackle global economic issues. 

• A G20 foreign ministers meeting in Indonesia demonstrated consensus behind the demand that Russia lift a blockade of Ukrainian grain exports, a Western official who attended the meeting said.

• The U.S. and Western allies pressured Russia at G20 talks in Indonesia over its "unprovoked and unjustifiable war of choice" in Ukraine, but Moscow's envoy remained defiant. READ MORE BELOW

• The West failed to isolate Russia at the G20 summit over Moscow's military offensive in Ukraine, the Russian foreign ministry said. "The G-7's plan to boycott Russia at the G-20 has failed," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on messaging app Telegram. She also accused Germany's foreign minister of "lying" after Annalena Baerbock criticized Moscow for blocking dialogue with international partners after her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov walked out of her speech. 

• Russia's defense ministry said Russian forces had destroyed two British-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missile systems in Ukraine's Odesa region overnight. 

• President Vladimir Putin challenged the West to try to defeat Russia "on the battlefield" and said Moscow's intervention in Ukraine marked a shift to a "multi-polar world." READ MORE BELOW

• Canada unveiled more sanctions against Russia, targeting the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, and others it says are spreading disinformation. The move was quickly denounced by Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who said "sanctions against the Patriarch could only be introduced by Satanists."

• A Moscow court sentenced a city councillor to seven years in prison for denouncing President Vladimir Putin's military intervention in Ukraine. Alexei Gorinov, 60, found guilty of spreading "knowingly false information" about the Russian army, is the first elected member of the opposition to be sentenced to jail for criticizing Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine. 

• Russia warned Lithuania and the European Union that it could adopt "harsh measures" against them if the transit of some goods to and from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad did not resume.

IN DETAIL

Moscow would not 'go running' after Washington for talks

The U.S. and Western allies pressured Russia at G20 talks in Indonesia over its "unprovoked and unjustifiable war of choice" in Ukraine, but Moscow's top diplomat remained defiant.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov joined colleagues for day-long talks in their first meeting since the start of the conflict, with the host immediately telling them the conflict must end through negotiations.

Before the meeting on the resort island of Bali, Blinken met his French and German counterparts and a senior British official to discuss "Russia's unprovoked and unjustifiable war of choice" in Ukraine, the State Department said in a statement.

They "reviewed ways to address the global food security concerns that have resulted from Russia's deliberate targeting of Ukrainian agriculture", it said.

Blinken shunned a meeting with Lavrov and instead accused Russia of triggering a global food crisis, demanding Moscow allow grain shipments out of war-battered Ukraine.

"To our Russian colleagues: Ukraine is not your country. Its grain is not your grain. Why are you blocking the ports? You should let the grain out," Blinken said in the closed-door talks, according to a Western official present.

Lavrov earlier told reporters he would not "go running" after Washington for talks.

"It was not us who abandoned contact, it was the United States," he said, adding that no ministers walked out of the talks.

"Our Western partners are trying to avoid talking about global economic issues," he added. 

Putin accuses 'the collective West' of unleashing a 'war' in Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin challenged the West to try and defeat Russia "on the battlefield" and said Moscow's intervention in Ukraine marked a shift to a "multi-polar world."

Delivering one of his strongest speeches since he sent troops to Ukraine on February 24, Putin also raged against "totalitarian liberalism" that he said the West has sought to impose on the entire world.

"Today we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. Well, what can you say here? Let them try," Putin told senior lawmakers.

He accused "the collective West" of unleashing a "war" in Ukraine and said Russia's intervention in the pro-Western country marked the beginning of a shift to a "multi-polar world."

"This process cannot be stopped," he added.

He also warned Kyiv and its Western allies that Moscow has not even started its military campaign in Ukraine "in earnest."

"Everyone should know that we have not started in earnest yet," he said. 

"At the same time we are not refusing to hold peace negotiations but those who are refusing should know that it will be harder to come to an agreement with us" at a later stage.

Putin said most countries did not want to follow the Western model of "totalitarian liberalism" and "hypocritical double standards."

"People in most countries do not want such a life and such a future," he said.