Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said its forces had won back some territory in a counter offensive in Kherson province, Reuters reports.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski described the fight for Severodonetsk as “probably one of the most difficult throughout the war. Residential areas are already under Russian control. Ukrainian troops have been pushed back to the industrial area and nearly 10,000 civilians remain in the city. Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai said Ukraine needed the West to send more long-range weapons to help its defenses. With those, the governor said, Ukraine could retake positions in Severodonesk “in two or three days”. The United States will send four advanced rocket systems “Himars” that can strike with precision at targets up to 80 kilometers away. President Zelensky's Adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak told the BBC that between 100 and 200 Ukrainian troops are being killed on the front line every day. Mykhaylo Podolyak said Ukraine needed hundreds of Western artillery systems to level the playing field with Russia in the eastern Donbas region. In his words, Kyiv is not ready to resume peace talks with Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russian companies will not block off their oil wells despite the West’s efforts to lessen its dependence on energy supplies from Moscow. Currently, Russia supplies 40% of the EU’s imported gas.