As Volodymyr Zelensky and his European allies prepare for their meeting in Washington, Russian attacks on continue unabated.
Overnight in Ukraine, regions around the country, including Kyiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa, were hit by wave of air strikes.
According to an update from Ukraine’s air force, Russia’s latest barrage of attacks included four missiles and 140 drones – 88 of which were intercepted.
On the front lines in eastern Ukraine, Russia has been churning mile by mile through the wide open fields of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions – also known as the Donbas.
Donetsk has been the focus of most of the battles – and incremental Russian gains – in recent months, as the Russia military aims to surround and overwhelm villages and towns defended by Ukraine.
It has been trying to gain full control of the area along with two more nearby regions, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, but there has been little movement on these fronts recently.
Shortly after the invasion, Russia held referendums to try to annexe all these regions – in the same way it had annexed Crimea in 2014 – but it has never had them under full control.
Ukrainian forces have faced superior Russian manpower on the front lines throughout the war, but reported shortages in the east have left the key settlements increasingly vulnerable.
