Ukrainian forces have conducted slow farm field by farm field approaches in the first two weeks of the counteroffensive and have not yet used the bulk of their forces. Ukrainian forces made some marginal advances on Monday, but no new settlements were liberated. The best achievement was pushing Russian forces another kilometer (3250 feet) back from Avdiivka. Ukraine destroyed a weapons depot in Rykove and a military hospital in Bryansk. An apartment building in Belgorod, Russia, was also hit but who targeted the building is not known.
Russia also conducted at least two offensive operations with marginal success in their attempt to retake the initiative in the war. They made progress south of Pobieda along the Donetsk Defense Line and towards Kupyansk at the top of the Luhansk Defense Line. Russia also launched a missile and drone attack against Southern Ukraine, but all four missiles and four drones were intercepted.
It has been two weeks since Russia blew up the Kakhovka Dam causing a humanitarian and ecological disaster for thousands of people. And Russia still will not allow humanitarian aid from the UN to reach Ukrainians impacted on the Russian-held side of the disaster. This is in violation of the UN charter Russia promised to uphold. It is estimated that in Oleshky alone, 500 Ukrainians died because Russia would not allow them to be rescued.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese officials in Beijing and received a promise that China would not send lethal arms to Russia.
Eleven Ukrainian POWs of Hungarian ethnic origin were turned over by Russia to Hungary. And Hungary, who is an ally of Russia, has refused to allow Ukrainian officials to have any contact with them. These Hungarian-Ukrainians are from my region of Zakarpattia that was once a part of Hungary, and a region Hungary wants returned to them.
The European Union reported that Ukraine has met two of the seven requirements to join the Union.