Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said his troops were continuing to inflict losses on Russian forces in a “very fierce battle” over the city of Sievierodonetsk, which he called the center for the fight for Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.

“In many ways, the fate of our Donbas is being decided there,” the Ukrainian leader said in his nightly address on Wednesday.

The British Defense Ministry said on Thursday in its latest intelligence assessment that Moscow’s troops were trying to renew a push into Donbas from the occupied city of Izium, and warned that progress there could “put further pressure on Sievierodonetsk.”

In other developments:
- The European Parliament recommended that Ukraine be granted candidate status for membership in the E.U., according to Ukraine’s prime minister. The E.U.’s decision on Ukraine’s candidacy is expected in late June.

- American citizens and companies are now prohibited from buying Russian stocks. Read more

@nytimes