Eastern front

A widely viewed update on the Ukraine war claims Russia is losing territory along the entire eastern front and that Vladimir Putin is reacting angrily to the setbacks. The report offers no independently verified details beyond the headline claim, but it reflects continued intense interest in battlefield developments in Ukraine's east, where fighting has remained heavy in recent months.

A senior Ukrainian commander says its forces are advancing on a key eastern battlefield, according to Reuters. The claim comes as fighting remains intense along the front in Ukraine's east, where both sides have sought gains. Details on the location and scale of the advance were not provided, and Russia has not commented on the reported movement.

Russian forces struck a UAV launch position of Ukraine's 13th National Guard Brigade in Slobozhanske, in the Kharkiv region, using two Kh-39 missiles, according to war-monitoring reports. The strike is part of ongoing Russian attacks on military targets in eastern Ukraine as fighting continues along the front.

A top NATO commander has warned that the alliance's front line now extends across the whole of Europe, reflecting the changed security situation since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The remarks underline how the alliance is increasingly viewing its entire eastern flank, from the Baltic states to the Black Sea, as a potential line of confrontation with Moscow.

The New York Times is reporting on daily life in Ukraine's so-called fortress cities — heavily fortified urban strongholds in the east that Russia has spent months trying to capture. The report describes how residents survive under constant shelling and dwindling services while Ukrainian defenders hold the lines. Readers are sharing and discussing the piece as fighting continues around cities such as Pokrovsk and others in the Donbas region.

Fighters from Ukraine's 23rd Assault Regiment say they overran Russian positions south of Zapadne, taking one occupier prisoner and advancing their line. The regiment released footage of the assault, which circulated alongside coverage of continuing fighting on the eastern front.

President Putin has ordered a fourth expansion of Russia's military this year, raising its authorised strength to 1.55 million troops. The move comes as Ukraine says its forces have recaptured 176 square kilometres of territory in the Donetsk region. The twin developments underline the intensifying war, with Russia pursuing a mass mobilisation of its armed forces while Kyiv claims continued progress on the eastern front.