Vladimir Putin has signed a decree restricting the disclosures made by Russian refineries about energy products, amid a growing number of Ukrainian strikes on Moscow’s oil infrastructure.

The decree, which ‌aims ⁠to make Western sanctions harder to enforce, outlines a number of restrictions on the publication and use ​of ⁠particular data sets, notably concerning the nature, price, sellers, ​buyers, routes and destinations of ⁠energy exports.

Russia had ​already restricted publication of several key data ⁠points around its crude oil ​production in the wake of Western sanctions designed to hit one of Moscow’s major income streams – and thereby its war chest for the Ukraine invasion.

Ukraine has also increased direct attacks on Russian infrastructure, targeting oil refineries as well as online retailers to try to undermine revenues and support for Moscow’s war effort.

Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Ukraine had struck Russian oil facilities in the Krasnodar region and two defence plants.

Pope ​Leo has urged Russia and Ukraine to sit down and discuss how to end their four-year war, hours after he had urged ⁠European leaders seeking to end conflicts to make concessions to achieve peace.

The first US pope also decried national leaders who he said are “beginning to speak about nuclear ⁠weapons and wars that ​are becoming ⁠ever more destructive,” addressing a press conference aboard his flight to Rome after a ⁠four-day trip to France.

Leo said the 1.4-billion-member Catholic ​Church ⁠has an obligation to ‌call for peace and respect of human life.

“The Church has a responsibility to promote these ‌values, continually inviting leaders — from Russia and ‌Ukraine, as well as other countries — to come together, sit down, engage in dialogue,” he said.

He added leaders ⁠must “seek ways to solve problems without continuing these wars, which no longer make sense.”

“This is not about being political or nonpolitical, but there needs to be a voice that seeks to promote the values of human dignity, the importance of life, ‌and the possibility of perhaps spending more on ​health and education and less on weapons,.”

Earlier on Monday, ⁠the pope said Europe must be willing ⁠to sacrifice some positions to achieve peace in a speech ‌in Metz, France, ​where he laid out ‌his clearest vision yet ​for the future of the continent.

Alexus Grynkewich, Nato’s ​Supreme Allied Commander Europe, told Members of the European Parliament on ⁠Monday that the goal of Russian activity was to break the will ⁠of Ukraine’s allies.

“If there is ⁠a hybrid attack on ​your ⁠country, reinforcing the ‌will to support Ukraine will show the Russians ‌that their strategy isn’t ‌working and maybe have them back off ⁠that strategy,” he said.

As part of that policy, he said member states ought to make public the attribution of such ‌attacks when they ​are confident about who ‌is behind ⁠them so as ⁠to deter the “sponsor states”.

Russia has ​placed the local assets of German retailer Metro AG under temporary administration, according to a presidential decree published on Monday.

The assets have been transferred to ⁠Russian company UK Torg RUS, which was established on 8 September and is wholly owned, according to Russian corporate data, by Johannes Tolay, the chief executive of Metro’s Russian business.

The decree did not give a reason for the transfer ⁠of control, but it followed a rare ​weekend ⁠meeting between Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and German counterpart Johann Wadephul on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New ⁠York to discuss Ukraine.

Lavrov complained that he had learned nothing new ​from Wadephul, ⁠whose country is a staunch ‌supporter of Ukraine.

In a statement on Monday, Metro AG said it no ⁠longer had operational control over its Russian subsidiary and that it was evaluating further implications of the move.

Metro expanded into the Russian market in 2001. Today it operates 91 wholesale stores and employs 9,000 people in Russia, the company says.

In a separate ​statement, Metro’s Russian subsidiary did not comment directly on the ‌decree but said it was ⁠operating as normal and fulfilling all obligations to shoppers at its ⁠retail outlets and online stores.

Two people were killed after Russian forces allegedly carried out a strike at the National Academy of Sciences ⁠in central Kyiv on Monday.

The attack on Monday came as Russia pounded the heart of the Ukrainian capital with some of the most persistent drone strikes since the start of the war.

Emergency services said later in the evening that one of the dead had been recovered from under rubble.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has ordered an increase in the size of the country’s army to 1.55 million active servicemen, according to a presidential decree issued on Monday.

The latest expansion comes as Russia and Ukraine face mounting casualties more than four and a half years into the war.

Under the decree, the overall strength of Russia’s armed forces will rise to 2,441,630 personnel, including 1.55 million active servicemen – an increase of 15,500 troops.

The move follows a similar expansion ordered by Putin in August.

Explosions were heard across the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Tuesday as Russia continued its near-daily attacks on the country.

Missile debris fell in the courtyard of a residential building, while a non-residential building caught fire elsewhere in the city, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.

The latest attack came a day after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said nine people had been killed and more than 80 injured in Russian drone strikes across the country, including in Kyiv.