Ukraine

"A major Ukrainian counteroffensive is taking place, we don't know if it will be a turning point in the war but the Ukrainians are advancing and liberating many territories," said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

Shelter availability in Kiev remains critical: at the moment, only 1/3 of the shelters have been checked and only 55% are ready for use

4 squadrons of F-16 fighter jets, 48 aircraft in total, are "exactly what we need to rid our country of the aggressor" Defence Ministry wrote on Twitter; the government hopes to soon secure US-made F-16 fighter jets, a significant upgrade to the air force

No to proposals envisaging "the loss of territories or the freezing of the conflict" is the Ukrainian position reiterated by Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at his meeting in Kiev with Chinese envoy Li Hui

"The final plans for the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have not yet been approved but we have several options, all of which are in the works," said Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov

To date "361 minors have returned to Ukraine, but still 19.390 are detained in Russia," said the first lady, appealing to the world to offer all the help it can

S-300 missiles fired by the Russian army during the night destroyed the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Kushuhum, in the Zaporizhzhia region

92% of Ukrainians favour EU membership by 2030, according to the latest poll by the International Institute of Sociology in Kiev for the National Democratic Institute; before invasion 67% said they would vote 'yes' in referendum for immediate membership

Zelensky stated that the liberation of all occupied territories is on the horizon and Ukraine will definitely succeed

President Zelensky ordered reinforcements for Bakhmut, asking the General Staff for appropriate forces to help defend it, as "no part of Ukraine can be abandoned"

"Reconciliation between Russia and Ukraine is not possible in the next 100 years", reportedly declared Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal

"Ukraine will have the fighters, it's just a matter of timing and procedures," said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference