Stepping up an energy war between Russia and the West, Moscow has announced it will keep its main gas pipeline to Germany shut and G7 countries said they planned a price cap on Russian oil exports.

ENERGY

* Russia kept one of its main gas supply routes to Europe shut, stoking fears of winter fuel shortages and spotlighting differences between Gazprom and Germany's Siemens Energy over repair work on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

* Germany's gas supply situation is currently guaranteed but the situation is tense and further deterioration cannot be ruled out, the country's network regulator said after Gazprom extended the Nord Stream 1 outage.

* The European Union expects Russia to respect existing energy contracts but is prepared to meet the challenge if it fails to do so, Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said.

* G7 finance ministers agreed on Friday to impose a price cap on Russian oil aimed at slashing revenues for Moscow's war in Ukraine while keeping crude flowing to avoid price spikes, but their statement left out key details.

NUCLEAR PLANT

* Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant again lost connection to the last remaining main external power line but continues to supply electricity to the grid through a reserve line, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

* Ukrainian forces attempted to capture the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in an attack on the facility on Friday night, Russia's defence ministry said in its daily briefing.

* Russia said its forces foiled the attack with strikes from military helicopters and fighter jets, destroying 20 Ukrainian vessels and causing others to scatter and call off the attack.

* Reuters was unable to verify the report.

* Kyiv and Moscow have traded accusations about attacks on the power plant, Europe's largest nuclear energy station, in recent months.

* Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call that his country can play a facilitator role regarding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, his office said.

Reuters