Russia has advanced further in and around Bohdanivka, and is close to squeezing the Ukrainian defenders out of the village. Also west of Bakhmut, Russian forces are pushing towards Ivanivske and Hryhorivka. All of these settlements sits on the eastern side of the the Siverskyi Donets-Donbas canal, which very well may end up being Ukraine's fallback position if they are unable to prevent Russian troops from advancing further.
Russia conducted a bombing run on Odesa, and both sides claim to have inflicted heavy casualties upon the other. Ukrainian sources claim that they knocked down two Russian warplanes, including yet another Su-34. Russian sources are making less plausible claims, such as the alleged destruction of multiple F-16s in storage and a Patriot battery.
The Russian nuclear powered container ship Sevmorput based in Murmansk (far northern Russia) suffered from a fire. The ship was already planned to be decommissioned in 2024 as it was an older vessel. The Sevmorput has ice-breaking capabilities, and as of this year is the only active nuclear powered merchant vessel on the globe. Russia's shipyard in Murmansk is already notorious for ships catching on fire, namely the Admiral Kuznetsov's, Russia's only carrier.
Moldova's pro-western president, Maia Sandu, has announced that she is running for reelection next year. In addition, she plans to hold a referendum on Moldovan accession to the EU at the same time, to gauge public opinion and to gain additional political capital with her drive to have the country continue its westward drift. With support for the EU some ways above 50% per public opinion polling, it is also a way to bolster Sandu's odds of being reelected.
Protests in Serbia, Russia's oldest ally, are escalating amid claims that the latest elections were fraudulent. Protesters have tried to storm the city hall in Belgrade, the capital city. The government has stated that Russia informed them that this was a "color revolution" attempt, and President Vučić has convened an emergency meeting of the Serbian National Security Council.