A bipartisan sanctions package against Russia with over 80 Senate co-sponsors stalls as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., dispute legislative procedures.

Russian occupation forces are attempting to cross the railway line in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, in an effort to expand the area of the city under their control, but these attempts are being blocked by Ukraine's defence forces.

Russia has announced significant advancement in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, capturing two settlements as part of their strategic military push. Ukrainian forces face challenges in maintaining defence across this front.

In the video, which Reuters was able to verify as having been shot in south Pokrovsk, Russian troops are shown walking unchallenged along the empty streets, one pushing a stretcher on wheels. The footage does not show them coming under any attack.

Russian troops are urgently transferring reinforcements to the Pokrovsk direction due to a lack of reserves, according to Atesh. Every day, military equipment and personnel, presumably withdrawn from the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia directions,

Resistance groups near Vologda and in Sterlitamak (Bashkortostan) set fire to a railway relay cabinet and equipment on three communication towers. — Ukrinform.

Russia said its forces had pushed deeper into the eastern Ukrainian cities of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk on Tuesday, with one video showing Russian soldiers rolling into Pokrovsk on motorbikes and even on the roofs of battered cars and vans.

The EU is confronting red tape and infrastructure bottlenecks that could slow the movement of tanks and heavy equipment across Europe, prompting new efforts to streamline permits and strengthen military mobility.

Europe is racing to build its defences since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Russia's ban from the Olympic movement was lifted on Wednesday despite two failed doping tests by its athletes at the Pyeongchang winter games. President Vladimir Putin hailed the move during a Kremlin award ceremony for Olympic athletes, saying "we must ...