FIGHTING
* Air raid sirens sounded across several regions early on Tuesday, including Luhansk, Kharkiv and Dnipro.
* Luhansk governor Serhiy Gaidai said the region was attacked 22 times over the previous 24 hours.
* There is a high probability of missile strikes at both civilian and military infrastructure throughout Ukraine, the general staff of its armed forces said in a daily update.
* In the southern port city of Mariupol, Russian forces continued their assault on the Azovstal steel plant where the city's last defenders are holed up. An aide to the city's mayor said at least 100 civilians were still trapped there. read more
* Ukraine's emergency services said all fires resulting from Russia's strikes on the Black Sea port of Odesa had been put out.
* Russia's defence ministry said its missiles and artillery had put 53 pieces of Ukraine's military equipment out of action in the Mykolaiv region and its forces had shot down a Su-25 aircraft over the Kharkiv region during an aerial battle.
Reuters could not immediately verify those reports.
* Asked if Moscow would rule out a preemptive tactical nuclear strike on Ukraine, Russia's deputy foreign minister said the option was clearly set out in Russia's military doctrine, RIA reported. read more
DIPLOMACY AND SANCTIONS
* Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock arrived in Ukraine, the highest-ranking German government official to visit the country since Russia's invasion began on Feb. 24.
* Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the international community for immediate steps to end a Russian blockade of Ukraine's ports and allow wheat exports. read more
* Japan will decide when and how to ban Russian oil imports while considering the possible economic impact, its industry minister said.
* Russia is not planning to close embassies in Europe in response to "unfriendly measures" by the West, the RIA news agency quoted a deputy foreign minister as saying.
HUMAN TOLL
* Thousands more civilians have been killed in Ukraine than the official toll of 3,381, with thousands killed in Mariupol alone, the head of the United Nation's human rights monitoring mission said. read more
* At least 3,000 people had died in Ukraine because of lack of access to treatments for chronic diseases, the WHO said.
(Reuters)