Here are the key events so far on Friday, July 22.

Get the latest updates here.

Fighting

• Russia’s military is likely to start an operational pause of some kind in Ukraine in the coming weeks, giving Kyiv a key opportunity to strike back, Britain’s spy chief said.
• Russian forces appear to be closing in on Ukraine’s second biggest power plant at Vuhlehirska, 50km (31 miles) northeast of Donetsk, aiming to seize critical infrastructure and the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, British intelligence said.
• One of the most densely populated areas of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second biggest city, was shelled, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram. The regional prosecutor’s office said three people had been killed and 23 wounded. Russia denies targeting civilians.
• The United States estimates some 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed and perhaps 45,000 wounded, CIA Director William Burns said, adding that Ukraine has also endured significant casualties.

Diplomacy

• Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will sign a deal on Friday to resume Ukraine’s Black Sea grain exports, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office said, adding, it is “critically important for global food security”.
• Russia’s foreign ministry said the latest round of European Union sanctions were illegitimate and would have “devastating consequences” for security and parts of the global economy.
• Hungary’s foreign minister Peter Szijjarto will meet his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak in Moscow to talk about ensuring gas supplies for his country and finding a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine.
• Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Moscow, Kyiv and the latter’s Western allies must all agree to halt the war in Ukraine to avoid the “abyss of nuclear war”.

Economy