Russian troop build-up threatens city seen as key to seizing Ukraine's Donbas Russian troops have infiltrated the strategic city of Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine and are now trying to surround it. The entire city is now effectively in a grey zone, no longer controlled by anyone, Ukrainian soldiers have told the BBC. They get into areas behind our backs and in urban conditions it's extremely difficult to push them out, says a Ukrainian drone pilot who operates in that area and prefers to remain anonymous. Kostyantynivka is a gateway to the rest of the Donbas region. If it falls, Russian forces would be able push towards Ukraine's last remaining strongholds in the east, the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, and move closer to seizing Donbas completely, one of the Kremlin's key objectives in this war.

Is the war entering a new phase? Russian forces have attacked the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia with glide bombs, killing five people, Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said. In a post on Telegram on Saturday, Fedorov said that Russian air strikes had injured 11 people, and the number was rising after the attack destroyed and damaged residential and non-residential buildings. In recent weeks, Russia and Ukraine have escalated attacks as talks to end the conflict remain at a standstill. On Saturday morning, an aerial attack killed one person and wounded nine others in the city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says he has returned Poland's highest honour after his Polish counterpart Karol Nawrocki said he was stripping him of the award. The Polish Order of the White Eagle was bestowed on Zelensky in 2023 by then-President Andrzej Duda. But Kyiv caused outrage last month after renaming a Ukrainian army unit after a group of controversial World War Two fighters called the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). Three senior Ukrainian officials have also said they are returning awards bestowed by Poland, to show solidarity with their president. Many in Ukraine regard the UPA, which existed in the 1940s and 1950s, as heroes who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Soviet Red Army, Nazi Germany and Polish authorities.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky has been stripped of Poland's highest state honour, the Order of the White Eagle, over Kyiv's decision to name a military unit after controversial World War Two fighters. Polish President Karol Nawrocki branded Ukraine's decision late last month to name the unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) outrageous, incomprehensible and deeply disappointing. Nawrocki stressed the diplomatic row would not impact Poland's support for Ukraine against Russia. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha denounced Warsaw's move, calling it a strategic mistake and disrespectful. Many in Ukraine regard the UPA, which existed in the 1940s and 1950s, as heroes who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Soviet Red Army as well as Nazi Germany and Polish authorities.

Is the war entering a new phase? Russia has renewed its strikes on Ukraine, killing three people including an eight-year-old girl, Ukrainian officials said. The Russian strikes on Friday come a day after Ukraine launched its biggest-ever drone attack on Moscow, killing a different eight-year-old girl and sparking an inferno at a major oil refinery, according to Russian officials. Between late Thursday and early Friday, Russia launched 90 drones at Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian air force. "An eight-year-old girl was killed. These are the consequences of this morning's enemy attack on Pavlohrad," Oleksandr Ganzha, the governor of Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region, said.

Trump's shift toward supporting Ukraine is promising, but Pentagon moves to reduce NATO forces risk undermining deterrence against Russia.

Is Vladimir Putin Finally Feeling Pressure? The Russian President is facing growing domestic discontent after a series of successful attacks by the Ukrainian Army, including a major attack on Moscow. The war in Ukraine, which not long ago seemed to be turning in favor of Vladimir Putin's invading Russian Army, appears to have undergone another reversal. Thanks in part to its drone campaign, the Ukrainians have, according to some analysts, " turned the tide," putting pressure on Putin to potentially accept a ceasefire in the coming months. At the same time, there have been bubbles of discontent forming within Russia, over the cost of the war and government crackdowns on internet access. To understand what might be happening in Russia, and how the Putin regime might respond, I recently e-mailed several rounds of questions to Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, and the founder of the political analysis organization R.Politik. Our conversation, edited for length and clarity, is below.

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Ukraine launched one of its largest drone attacks on Moscow, striking a major oil refinery and sending thick black smoke over the capital, according to Russian officials.

Moscow hit by largest Ukrainian attack since start of Russia's full-scale war Moscow has come under the largest Ukrainian attack since the start of the full-scale war, with close to 200 drones hitting targets around the Russian capital and setting columns of thick smoke billowing high into the sky. Seventeen people were wounded in the Moscow region, according to local governor Andrei Vorobyov. Almost 1,000 drones and four Ukrainian cruise missiles were intercepted and destroyed across the country in 24 hours, Russia's defence ministry was quoted as saying. An oil depot was struck in the southern Rostov region, where one person was killed. Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had once again hit the Moscow region with long-range sanctions - a euphemism for Ukrainian long-distance strikes on Russia.