Globalsecurity.org

Intense fighting was being reported on Ukraine's front lines Friday, but independent media weren't able to assess whether this was the beginning of the much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive or whether Ukraine was penetrating Russian defenses.

The humanitarian situation following the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine is still a "moving target", immediate needs are "huge", and concerns are rising for what the future holds, according to the UN's top official in the country, Denise Brown.

Plans to help the people of Ukraine following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam are centred on saving people "right now", UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths told UN News in an interview on Friday.

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The Kremlin saw reports about the situation with a drone in the city of Voronezh, the special services are verifying the information, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that the much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive has been launched.

The Ukrainian forces have attempted six times to break through the Russian defense lines over the past 24 hours and failed, Vladimir Rogov, a senior official of the Zaporozhye regional administration, said on Friday.

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have been struggling to get drinking water after major flooding in southern Ukraine following the destruction earlier this week of the Kakhovka dam on the Dnieper River, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, as rescuers continued efforts to bring as many people as possible to safety.

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) says it intercepted telephone communications between Russian military personnel that "confirm" Russia's involvement in the destruction of the Kakhovka dam as Norway's seismological institute said it had detected a possible "explosion" around the time of the dam's breaching.

Armed with Western tanks and trained by NATO troops, Ukrainian forces have kicked their offensive operations into high gear, attacking Russian units on at least three fronts as part of a multipronged assault that Kyiv hopes will turn the tide of the war more than 15 months after Russia's full-scale invasion.

Fighting has intensified between Ukrainian and Russian forces in the southern Zaporizhzhia region amid speculations that it is a possible prelude to the expected offensive by Kiev.

The Defense Department today announced an additional security assistance package for Ukraine containing more air defense and ammunition capabilities to arm against Russia's unprovoked war of aggression.

The United States has announced that it will provide an additional $2.1 billion in weapons aid for Ukraine, deepening its involvement in the war in defiance of repeated warnings by Russia.

Today, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced a new security assistance package, underscoring the unwavering U.S. support for Ukraine. This package, which totals up to $2.1 billion and includes critical air defense and ammunition capabilities, is being provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).

Russia has said that Ukraine has waged an unsuccessful attack against Europe's largest nuclear power plant, which is under Moscow's control.

The dam breach, coupled with the collapse of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, will lead to devastating economic and ecological consequences, a Ukrainian expert has said.

On Friday, President Gitanas Nausėda met with Bärbel Bas, the President of the German Bundestag. The meeting focused on Russia's war in Ukraine, the security situation in the region, preparations for the NATO Summit in Vilnius, and bilateral defense cooperation.