Russia closes in on Bakhmut in the face of fierce resistance

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that the fight for Bakhmut is "only increasing". Russian troops have been trying to capture the eastern city for several months. Recently they've stepped up their assault, as they try to encircle it and cut off Ukrainian supply lines. The battle for Bakhmut has seen some of the heaviest fighting in the war, with heavy losses on both sides.

In other aspects of the political fallout of the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that his country would boycott the Paris 2024 Olympics if Russian and Belarussian athletes are allowed to compete. Dozens of Ukrainian athletes have been killed in Russia's war against Ukraine. DW's Aya Ibrahim went to the western town of Letychiv to meet a woman who lost her younger brother on the front lines.