TOP HEADLINES

• A fuel tank was ablaze in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol in what appeared to be a drone strike, the Moscow-installed governor said on Saturday.

• The European Commission said on Friday it had reached a deal in principle to allow the transit of Ukrainian grain to resume through five European Union countries that had imposed restrictions.

• Ukraine's foreign ministry said on Saturday it passed notes to Polish and European Union representatives in Ukraine on Friday describing the limiting of Ukrainian grain imports into EU countries as "categorically unacceptable."

• Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree giving people in parts of Ukraine under Moscow's control a path to Russian citizenship. He also increased the maximum sentence for treason in Russia to life in jail.

• Putin said on Friday Russia must act quickly to counter the West's "economic aggression" and will expand ties with countries in Eurasia, Africa and Latin America.

* South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Friday it was necessary to ensure Russia's attack on Ukraine does not succeed and that Seoul was considering its options when it came to lethal aid to Kyiv.

IN DEPTH

Putin wants Russia to expand ties with 'friendly countries'

Russia's economy has faced multiple challenges this year, including a weaker rouble, lower energy revenues and further isolation as Western countries continue to impose sanctions over its actions in Ukraine.

"Today, in the face of the West's economic aggression, the parliament, the government, all regional and local authorities need to act clearly and quickly work as one cohesive team," Putin told a meeting of Russian lawmakers.

"We are not going to leave Russia to isolate itself. On the contrary, we are going to expand pragmatic, equal, mutually beneficial, exclusively cooperative relations with friendly countries in Eurasia, Africa and Latin America," he said.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Friday that Moscow's forecast of a 2023 budget deficit not exceeding 2 percent of gross domestic product still stood, but achieving this would depend on oil and gas revenues, Russian news agencies reported.

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