EU agrees on 'one of its strongest' Russia sanctions packages after Slovakia lifts veto * UK sanctions Russian intelligence units involved in cyberattacks * Ukrainian drones reportedly attack Moscow for second night in a row * Ukrainian hackers wipe databases at Russia's Gazprom in major cyberattack,

Putin’s refusal to compromise on Ukraine, say analysts, is a colossal error costing Russia regional influence, lucrative energy markets and its place in the world.

Russia now controls more than two-thirds of Ukraine’s Donetsk region — the main theater of the ground war. Russian forces have carved out a 10-mile-deep pocket around the Ukrainian troops defending the crucial city of Kostiantynivka, partly surrounding them from the east, south and west.

Australia's government said on Saturday it had delivered M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine as part of a A$245 million ($160 million) package to help the country defend itself against Russia in their ongoing war.

Andrii, who lives about 70 kilometers (44 miles) from the front line in eastern Ukraine, had served two years in combat and described his injuries — a concussion and taking shrapnel in his right leg from an exploding land mine — as “minor.” Like so many other Ukrainians, he’s lost friends and loved ones.

The Ukraine conflict has starkly illuminated the role of drones in modern warfare: both sides exchange hundreds of aerial strikes daily. Some of the most notable drone operations, such as Ukraine’s destruction of dozens of Russian strategic bombers in “Operation Spider’s Web,” might rewrite the future of warfare.

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged more bodies of their war dead, a Kremlin aide said on Thursday, part of an agreement struck at the second round of peace talks in Istanbul in June.

Europe will not back down in its support for Ukraine. The EU will keep raising the pressure until Russia ends its war,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement.

On July 14 U.S. President Donald Trump announced a significant shift in U.S. policy toward ending the war in Ukraine, unveiling a new plan to boost military support for Kyiv while increasing pressure on Moscow.

"Strengthening air defense capabilities is clearly an urgent priority for Iran at the moment," expert Hongda Fan told Newsweek.