FIGHTING

* Russia's defence ministry said its forces destroyed a Ukrainian unit of US-produced M777 howitzers, a type of artillery weapon, RIA news agency reported on Monday.

* Russian soldiers cleared mines and debris on the industrial grounds of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol after hundreds of Ukrainian forces holed up in the vast plant for weeks were ordered to stand down.

*Reuters could not independently verify those battlefield reports.

DIPLOMACY

* Ukraine and Poland agreed to establish a joint border customs control and work on a shared railway company to ease the movement of people and increase Ukraine's export potential.

* Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson discussed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy Russia's blockade of Ukraine's shipping port Odesa, a Downing Street spokesman said. Johnson resolved to redouble efforts to provide vital food and humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine and ensure the country was able to export to the rest of the world, the spokesperson added.

ECONOMY

* Ukraine's grain exports could reach 1.5 million tonnes in May compared with about one million tonnes in April, Roman Slaston, Director General of the Ukrainian Agrarian Business Club Association, said on Monday.

* Poland decided to terminate an intergovernmental agreement with Russia on the Yamal gas pipeline, Polish Climate Minister Anna Moskwa said. "Russia's aggression against Ukraine has confirmed the accuracy of the Polish government's determination to become completely independent from Russian gas. We always knew that Gazprom was not a reliable partner," Moskwa said.

* Russia would normally have its own "house" at the World Economic Forum in Davos as a showcase for business leaders and investors. This year the space on the dressed-up main street has been transformed by Ukrainian artists into a "Russian War Crimes House", portraying images of misery and devastation. Russia has denied allegations of war crimes in the conflict.

Australian Associated Press