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Germany may be the country most vulnerable to Russia’s moves, but others face high prices and restricted supplies, at least. Towns and cities are finding ways to conserve energy.

The deal, which values Spirit at $3.8 billion, comes a day after Frontier’s bid for Spirit fell apart. It is likely to face antitrust scrutiny.

Russian troops around the southern city of Kherson are increasingly isolated after Ukrainian strikes disrupted key resupply routes. On the diplomatic front, the U.S. offered to trade an imprisoned Russian arms dealer for Brittney Griner and another detained American.

Gross domestic product fell by 0.2 percent in the second quarter, after a 0.4 percent decline in the first, fueling fears that a recession may have already begun.

Ukraine continued to target the main roads in and out of Kherson, the first and most important city captured by Russia. Ukraine hit a key bridge overnight, and Moscow moved to reinforce its defensive positions as Kyiv sets the stage for a broad counteroffensive.

The deal to reduce natural gas consumption carved out exemptions for some of the bloc’s nations, but was still a significant show of solidarity as the Kremlin seeks to exploit European dependence on Russian energy.

The Ukrainian government said workers are taking “technical” steps to resume grain shipments even after Russia attacked the port city of Odesa. The Kremlin claimed it had hit a military target.

Russia’s top diplomat will visit four countries in Africa after a grain deal was brokered that could ease a global food shortage. But Russian strikes in Ukraine raised questions about the agreement’s viability.

The area around Kherson, where a counteroffensive looms, is bisected by a river, leaving Russian forces vulnerable in some of the territory they hold.

There was no confirmation of an accord from Russia or Ukraine, though officials from both countries said they were closer to an agreement on the millions of tons of grain trapped in Ukrainian Black Sea ports.