Oleksandr Pivnenko, the commander of Ukraine's National Guard, said Russia was preparing "unpleasant surprises" and could try to advance on the northeastern city of Kharkiv, the second-biggest in the country, in the coming months. Pivnenko said Kyiv's forces were prepared to thwart any assault. Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow would "increase the intensity of attacks on logistics centres and storage bases for Western weapons" in Ukraine, as he claimed advances on the front line in Pervomaiske, Bohdanivka and Novomykhailivka this month. At least nine people were injured after a Russian drone attack on the Black Sea port of Odesa, which damaged more than a dozen residential apartments. Four children, including two babies, were among the injured and were taken to hospital.

The region's governor, Veniamin Kondratyev, said it was caused by two Ukrainian drones: "There is some damage to buildings, but critical infrastructure was not damaged. And most importantly, there were no casualties."