The deputy chief of the Russian Navy has been killed by Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk region, Oleg Kozhemyako, the governor of the Primorsky region in Russia’s far east, said Thursday.

Maj. Gen. Mikhail Gudkov is one of the highest-ranking Russian commanders killed in the war. His death comes as the U.S. seeks to pause military aid to Ukraine.

A Russian attack on the city of Poltava in central Ukraine killed two people and damaged a military recruitment centre, the Ukrainian military and regional officials said on Thursday. Regional governor Volodymyr Kohut said 11 people were also wounded,

An emboldened Russia has ramped up military offensives on two fronts in Ukraine. That is scattering Kyiv’s precious reserve troops and threatening to expand the fighting to a new Ukrainian region as each side seeks an advantage before the fighting season wanes in the autumn.

Moscow's forces made gains in the Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

An emboldened Russia has ramped up military offensives on two fronts in Ukraine. That is scattering Kyiv’s precious reserve troops and threatening to expand the fighting to a new Ukrainian