Geography of Ukraine

According to the BBC, U.S. officials estimate that the Russian troops are so weakened by the fight that they are only able to make slow territorial progress.

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Aftermath of the Russian strike in Eastern Ukraine

Rescuers have stopped searching for survivors of the Russian missile strike on a shopping center in the city of Kremenchuk.

Authorities say 36 people are thought to be missing.

A Russian missile strike on a crowded mall in central Ukraine killed at least 18 people in what Group of Seven leaders branded "a war crime" at a meeting in Germany where they looked to step up sanctions on Moscow.

The head of the military intelligence service of Ukraine stated that the middle of August will be the turning point of the war, when they will start liberating the eastern part of the country.

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Ukrainian forces withdraw from Sievierodonetsk

Ukrainian forces have begun withdrawing from Sievierodonetsk, the last major bastion of Ukrainian resistance in the Luhansk region. This happened four months after the beginning of the Russian invasion.

Ukrainian forces prepared on June 24 to retreat from the strategic city of Severodonetsk after weeks of fierce fighting, a setback that could pave the way for Russia to seize a larger swath of eastern Ukraine.

A Russian administration official was killed in Kherson, Ukraine.
The leaders of the European Union granted Ukraine and Moldova the announced status of official candidates for joining the European bloc, which is a brave geopolitical step that Kyiv and the EU itself welcomed as a "historic moment".

Fighting between the Ukrainian army and Russian forces continues in the east of the country.
Reports of civilian shelling victims in Kharkov and Mykolaiv were registered yesterday.
The International Energy Agency warns that Moscow could completely cut off gas supplies to Europe.

EU leaders will gather in Brussels on June 23 to discuss calls to formally grant war-torn Ukraine "candidate status" to join the bloc, as Russian forces slowly advance in the eastern Donbas region despite fierce resistance from Kyiv's military.

Senior officials in the Biden administration said that four to six weeks of fighting would determine the final direction of the war, writes the New York Times.