Following 100 days of war, Ukraine is fighting for time, as it tries to hold out against overwhelming Russian fire on its eastern front long enough for Western weapons to arrive and give it a badly needed edge.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian forces have had some success fighting Russians in the city of Severodonetsk but the overall military situation in the Donbas region has not changed.
He continues to call on the West to step up its weapons supplies.
In eastern Ukraine, Russian forces are attempting to advance south towards the key Ukrainian-held cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, the Donetsk region governor said.
Meanwhile, Washington plans to sell Ukraine four drones that can be armed with Hellfire missiles, according to sources.
The Kremlin said they would have no impact on its military operation.
Fresh sanctions
Elsewhere, the US has now issued fresh sanctions, with targets
including several yachts linked to Russian President Vladimir
Putin and an oligarch who heads a major steel producer.
The European Union also gave its final approval to new sanctions on Russian oil and top bank Sberbank, following much wrangling with Hungary.
Meeting with Putin and Zelenskyy?
Russia has not ruled out a meeting between Mr Putin and Mr Zelenskyy.
Ukraine is working with international partners to create a UN-backed mission to restore Black Sea shipping routes, its foreign ministry said.
The Kremlin said Russia has no plan to close “the window” to Europe that Tsar Peter the Great tried to open some 300 years ago despite heavy sanctions.
