At night, the State Border Guard Service reported that the 227th Battalion of the 127th Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine had entered the section of the state border with Russia in Kharkiv oblast. In Luhansk Oblast, the Ukrainian military conducted a special operation and blew up Russian-occupied railway bridges between the cities of Rubizhne and Sievierodonetsk to deter the offensive. During the day, the Air Force destroyed 2 helicopters, 7 drones, 2 cruise missiles and the occupiersʼ water crossing over the Ingulets River. Near Odesa, specialists of the subversive team of the Ukrainian Navy neutralized two naval anti-ship mines. At night, Crimean guerrillas painted the building of the Russian occupation administration in Yevpatoria in the colors of the state flag of Ukraine.
Odesa oblast was attacked by Russian strategic aircraft. Previously, three adults were injured, and a small child was seriously injured. Missiles hit a tourist infrastructure facility, destroyed buildings, and caught fire.
In the morning, Russian troops tried to break through the state border in Sumy oblast. The enemy opened fire on the border area of the Shostka district with mortars, grenade launchers, machine guns and submachine guns. Enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups tried to enter the region under cover of fire. Border guards gave battle to the Russians, the same retreat beyond the state border. Border guard, Chief Sergeant Oleksandr Popovchenko was killed in the battle.
Mariupol Mayorʼs Adviser Petro Andriushchenko denied Russian "news" that the cityʼs defenders had been captured from the Azovstal plant and "come out with a white flag." The Russians do not stop trying to enter Azovstal or block the exit from the bunkers, but no global rapprochement is taking place, which makes the shelling more and more intense.
The wives and mothers of the defenders of Mariupol, who are on the territory of the Azovstal metallurgical plant, said that the Ukrainian military is running out of water, food and medicine. They reiterated their call for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to intervene and help save the Ukrainian military from Azovstal.
Ukrainian law enforcement officers have already identified 45 Russians who, according to investigators, committed atrocities in Ukraine. Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova announced this on the telethon.
A quarter of migrants returning to Ukraine want to move to another region. After returning, 73% of respondents plan to settle in the area where they lived before the war. 26% of respondents expressed a desire to move to another region, mostly residents of eastern Ukraine. They would like to settle in the western region (15%) or in Kyiv or Kyiv oblast.
The European Union has received all Ukraineʼs answers to EU questions, and the European Commission is currently preparing an opinion for the European Council. EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Oliver Vargei met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to discuss further support for Ukraine.
Sweden has made a formal decision to join NATO, said Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson. Norway, Denmark and Iceland have pledged to provide support to Finland and Sweden "by all necessary means" if these countries are attacked before they join NATO.