On Friday, no Russian forces attacked northern and southern stretches of the front in eastern Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. Ukrainian military reports described heavy fighting along a line from Lyman to Kupiansk, as well as in the south to Avdiivka on the outskirts of the Russian-held city of Donetsk.
Several thousand civilians are estimated to remain in the city and spend almost the entire days in intense shelling in the shelters, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC spokesman Umar Khan.
A senior Ukrainian official said that the security situation around the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv will have to be improved before its ports can be included in a deal allowing the safe export of Ukrainian grain. The deal was extended this month, but Kyiv and Moscow differ on how long the extension will last.