Overview
- Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces took the Donetsk town of Bizimianove and inflicted heavy Ukrainian losses, assertions that remain unverified and disputed.
- Ukraine’s Air Force reported 653 drones and 51 missiles launched overnight, with air defenses downing 585 drones and intercepting 29 missiles as strikes hit energy sites in eight regions and a rail facility near Kyiv.
- A New York Times assessment and battlefield maps described Russian advances on multiple fronts, with Pokrovsk still contested and the pace of territorial gains increasing in recent weeks.
- Reports citing Western and South Korean intelligence estimate North Korea has sent roughly 14,000 to 15,000 troops and supplied more than 12 million artillery shells and other weapons to Russia since 2023.
- Parallel crises intensify regionally, with U.S. condemnation of repeated attacks on aid operations in Sudan and pro‑government and southern Yemeni forces reorganizing for an offensive that seeks to cut Houthi smuggling routes.