Ukraine is slowly pushing closer to Verbove, with infantry able to make it well within a kilometer of the town's western edges now. However, there are still no signs of Ukrainian vehicles operating in the area, and it is costly for Ukraine to sustain operations here; Russia is pummeling the area with drone and artillery strikes. There haven't been any other developments along this part of the front, though it is worth noting that Russia is continuing to build additional defenses with every day. However, two separate images over the past couple of days has made me wonder if Russian logistics are too strained to effectively supply the construction materials necessary. One showed a fence being erected around Kopani, a far cry from the other defenses that Russia has established. It's better than nothing, but in the grand scheme of things, is fairly worthless. Any armored vehicles could simply plow through it, while any special forces or sappers would have the tools handy to cut through such a fence within a couple of minutes. The other was a picture that emerged today of a Russian position protected by... a pile of mattresses. I can only imagine that they were looted from nearby settlements, but given how soft a mattress is compared to just about any building material, it strongly suggests some issues with getting either construction equipment or materials to the front are ongoing.
Russia has apparently accidentally bombed Nova Kakhovka, a city in Kherson oblast under Russian control. This comes as the situation along the Dnipro river is reportedly heating up. Russian milblogger Rybar has said that Ukraine is putting together additional units along the river, and is looking to launch a major crossing if possible in the future. Mutual shelling sling the river also has stepped up of late. While strictly militarily speaking it is foolish to do so, it's also possible Ukraine is hoping to open up a new front in the coming days ahead of Zelenskyy's visit to the United States and United Nations, so that his requests for continued aid are easier to sell to sceptical lawmakers and delegations. If this is indeed the plan, crossing the Dnipro river successfully would certainly create the exact sort of headlines that Ukraine would be looking for.
Yesterday's back and forth with Ukrainian claims and counter-claims about liberating Andriivka continued today, with it finally being settled that Ukraine is now in control of the flattened village. The exact same scenario played out again with Klishchiivka today, with various Ukrainian units and officials either claiming the town to be liberated or asserting that it was not yet. However, footage has shown Russian troops fleeing at the northern entrance to the town. It's possible that there are still some holdouts, and it's probable that Ukraine hasn't yet combed through every single building. But it is pretty clear that the battle here is just about over, and I expect a formal declaration of the liberation of Klishchiivka to take place this weekend.
A new high quality image of Sevastopol has helpfully been shared by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense. It further confirms that the Minsk is basically toast, but it also showed what looked like a direct hit on the front of the Kilo class submarine, where the torpedos are stored. I don't think it was loaded as the vessel was in drydock at the time and it still is mostly in one piece, but a crunched nose means the submarine will require extensive repairs if it is to ever be seaworthy again. I would estimate that around the front thirty percent of the vessel will need to be replaced, and that's just from what is visible on the outside. It's probable that the missile that hit it punched through the hull and then detonated inside, dealing further damage to the interior. In short, the ship is likely out of commission for a couple of years at least, assuming it is even recoverable.
In the aftermath of a series of attacks against Russia's Black Sea Fleet, a merchant vessel has left Ukrainian waters, the fifth to have done so since Russia withdrew from the Black Sea grain deal. Ukraine conducted another attack against a Russian ship today, the Askold, which is capable of launching missiles against Ukrainian territory. According to Russia, the Askold fended off the attack. However, it has been revealed that Ukraine now has a new model of naval drone, one which can be partially submerged, meaning it can somewhat hide among the waves.
Ukraine has arrested lawmaker Nestor Shufrych, who is facing accusations of treason. He belonged to the now banned Opposition Party - For Life, and is known to have ties with people who have worked as Russian intelligence operatives. Shufrych has also been accused of spreading propaganda, such as that Ukraine is allegedly an artificial state, or that Russia and Ukraine are the same nation, both of which are narratives that Russia has tried to push.
Kadyrov, perhaps the biggest name among those involved in the war against Ukraine left standing besides for Putin and Shoigu, has reportedly fallen into a coma. He has been dogged by rumors of poor health for a very, very long time now, rumors which his penchant for fatalism hasn't helped. There have also been persistent yet never proven claims that he was poisoned. Even so, he showed a (brief) video of him running on a treadmill just a couple of weeks ago. In the aftermath of the shoot down of Prigozhin's plane and subsequent crackdown on many top figures in Russia, Kadyrov offered his full fledged support for Putin, cryptically stating he would even be willing to die for Putin. It's entirely possible that Putin decided to test that assumption at his convenience. Kadyrov's children are all teenagers, so there's no super natural succession in Chechnya if he dies or remains comatose for a lengthy period of time. Chechnya of course has witnessed two brutal wars against Moscow in relatively recent history, and its an open question if the province has been subjugated enough and has tired enough of war that it would remain at peace and loyal to Moscow even without Kadyrov and his strongman ways ruling over Chechnya. On a related note, Surovikin popped up in Algeria in an official capacity but in civilian clothes. Evidently, he is truly out of house arrest but has been removed entirely from the military.
In a major economic victory for Ukraine, the EU has dropped their partial ban on Ukrainian agricultural products almost immediately after Bulgaria announced that they were dropping out of the collection of countries which had imposed restrictions on these products. However, Poland is openly defying the EU on the matter yet again, insisting that they will maintain their own ban despite it violating EU rules. Slovakia and Hungary have followed suit, a partial repeat of the previous stand off which forced the EU to come up with a compromise solution. Ukraine has been pleading with Poland to lift their ban, but they seem deadset on leaving it in place. There haven't been any signs yet that the EU might reverse course and agree to a similar compromise as before, or that Poland will cave under diplomatic pressure.
Finland is joining the Baltic states with banning Russian registered cars. They are also reportedly planning on expelling all Russian registered cars within the country some time over the next week or so. This means that no EU member that mainland (meaning, not Kaliningrad) borders will allow Russian cars to enter their territory.