(Reuters) - The situation on the front lines in&nbsp;eastern&nbsp;Ukraine&nbsp;"has become&nbsp;tougher" as Russian forces push for gains that they could show on the first anniversary of their invasion, on Feb. 24, President Volodymyr&nbsp;Zelenskiy&nbsp;said in a sombre assessment.
CONFLICT
* A Russian missile destroyed an apartment building in the&nbsp;eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk late on Wednesday and at least&nbsp;two people were killed and seven wounded injured, the regional governor said.* Russian forces were manoeuvring to try to surround the&nbsp;eastern city of Bakhmut, where troops were fighting building to building for gains of barely 100 metres (yards) a night amid constant Russian shelling, a soldier in a Ukrainian unit of Belarusian volunteers told Reuters from inside the city. * Reuters could not independently verify&nbsp;battlefield reports.* A former commander of&nbsp;Russia's&nbsp;Wagner mercenary group who fled to Norway told Reuters he wanted to apologise for fighting in&nbsp;Ukraine&nbsp;and was speaking out to bring the perpetrators of atrocities in the conflict to justice.
* President Vladimir Putin said&nbsp;Russia's&nbsp;military must stop Russian regions being shelled from Ukrainian territory, which he said had left many people homeless or without power.
CORRUPTION CRACKDOWN* Ukrainian authorities raided an influential billionaire's home, part of what&nbsp;Zelenskiy&nbsp;said was a drive to root out corruption. Separate raids were carried out at the Tax Office and on the home of a former interior minister, two days before Kyiv hosts a summit with the European Union where it wants to show it is cracking down after years of corruption.
ARMS AND DIPLOMACY
* Germany needs to order new Leopard tanks quickly to replace those going to&nbsp;Ukraine, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said, adding that he did not care where the money came from.
* EU countries will seek a deal on Friday on a European Commission proposal to set price caps on Russian oil products amid divisions between member states, diplomats said.
* Olympic officials are working behind the scenes to contain growing opposition to plans for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at the Paris Olympics as the&nbsp;Ukraine&nbsp;war&nbsp;threatens to rekindle Cold&nbsp;War-era sporting friction.
* Russia said it wanted to preserve its last remaining nuclear treaty with the United States despite what it called a destructive U.S. approach to arms control. Washington on Tuesday accused Moscow of violating the New START treaty by refusing to allow inspections on its territory.
&nbsp;
(Compiled by Cynthia Osterman)

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Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Zelenskiy says battle gets tougher in east