The recently liberated city of Kherson in southern Ukraine has come under what one official described as “massive fire” on Monday. Meanwhile significant parts of Ukraine continue to struggle with power shortages after more Russian attacks on energy infrastructure at the weekend. A drone strike on Odesa left 1.5 million people without power.
Fighting in eastern and southern Ukraine remains intense. One Ukrainian official claimed over the weekend that Russian mercenaries belonging to the shady “Wagner Group,” a Russian state-sanctioned private military group fighting in Ukraine, suffered heavy losses after the hotel they were using as their headquarters was hit by Ukrainian forces.
Leaders of the Group of Seven nations are meeting virtually on Monday to discuss the possibility of tougher sanctions against Russia and more assistance for Ukraine.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told CNBC Monday that the West had tried to build bridges with Russia since the end of the Cold War but any trust that was established in recent years has been destroyed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
