‘Paramount’ task for the West is to provide weaponry to help Ukraine defend itself from Russian rocket fire pounding civilians, president says.

By David Child, Hamza Mohamed and Sasha Petrova

• President Vladimir Putin says Russia has weathered sweeping Western sanctions in a speech at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.
• The European Union’s executive arm backs Ukraine’s bid for EU candidacy status, a move President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hopes will bring Ukraine closer to victory.
• An international expert helping Ukraine investigate alleged war crimes says there are “all the hallmarks of a chain of command” linking alleged atrocities to “Putin himself”.
• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes surprise visit to Kyiv for talks with Zelenskyy, his second such trip since the war started.