The war has entered its 658th day, and here are the main developments in the conflict. The Russian-installed head of the occupied Zaporizhia region in Ukraine reported that Russian forces have made significant advances northeast of Novopokrovka, while Ukrainian forces repelled multiple attacks in the region. The Ukrainian Air Force shot down nine Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia. One person was killed and four others injured during Russian bombardment of the Kherson region. Ukraine also claimed to have captured a strategically important hill in eastern Donetsk.
A major cyberattack on Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest mobile network, left 24.3 million people without mobile coverage and potential air raid alerts. A declassified US intelligence report assessed that 315,000 Russian troops had been killed and injured in the conflict, setting back Moscow’s military modernization by 18 years.
United States President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met to discuss the importance of continued US assistance for Ukraine, which was blocked by US Republicans. Zelenskyy appealed directly to the US Congress over new funding and rejected suggestions that Ukraine should give up territory to secure a peace deal with Russia.
Poland’s newly-elected prime minister, Donald Tusk, demanded the “full mobilization” of the West to help Ukraine. The US announced new sanctions targeting over 250 individuals and entities in countries including Turkey, China, and the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, the US announced a new $200 million military aid package for Ukraine, separate from the stalled package in Congress.