Even as the Russia-Ukraine war entered its 42nd day on Wednesday, the US passed a fresh set of sanctions against Moscow, including President Vladimir Putin’s daughters Mariya Putina and Katerina Tikhonova. The European Union (EU) is also looking to pass similar sanctions in wake of the Bucha massacre in Ukraine in which at least 20 bodies in civilian clothes were found. Ukraine has accused the retreating Russian troops of having committed war crimes, but Kremlin has categorically declined the accusations, calling them “fake propaganda”.

The fresh wave of sanctions proposed by the European Union (EU), which will be passed once unanimously approved by the 27 member states, are also aimed at Russian coal imports and blocking the country’s ships from all European ports.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has slammed the bloc over its hesitancy to stop Russian energy supplies, alleging that some leaders were more concerned with business losses than with war crimes.

Germany, Italy and Austria – countries that are heavily dependent on Russian energy imports, have so far staved off requests for such sanctions against Putin’s side.

Here are the top updates from the Russian-Ukraine war:

1. Kremlin on Wednesday said that Russia is “interested in ending military operations” in Ukraine if Zelenskyy agrees to conditions laid down by Moscow at the talks with Kyiv. Recognition of Crime (annexed by Russia in 2014), legal guarantees to never join the North Atlantic Treaty Association (NATO), and independence of the separatist-controlled Donbas region are three of the key demands by Moscow.

2. Addressing the Irish Parliament earlier in the day, Zelenskyy said that he cannot “tolerate any indecisiveness after everything” they have gone through in the ongoing war and “everything Russia has done to us”. The Ukrainian president further claimed that Russia was using hunger as a weapon in the war and an instrument of domination.

3. Apart from Putin’s daughters, the fresh set of US sanctions also targeted Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov’s wife and daughter, and members of the country’s security council. The sanctions also include banning any US citizen from investing in Russia, including via mergers or capital.

4. Heavy fighting and shelling continued in Ukraine’s besieged city of Mariupol, British intelligence said. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that authorities would make an attempt to evacuate trapped civilians via as many as 11 humanitarian corridors, though those trying to escape the Russian invasion need to use their own vehicles.

5. European Council president Charles Michel said earlier in the day that EU countries should think about solutions to provide asylum to Russian troops willing to give up the war and defy orders. Addressing the European Parliament, Michel said that if Russian soldiers do not want to take part in “killing” their Ukrainian “brothers and sisters” and don’t want to be a criminal, they can “drop their arms, stop fighting, [and] leave the battlefield”.