GIVING UP ON KHARKIV: Russian forces appear to be in a tactical retreat from the suburbs of Kharkiv, where attacks from Ukrainian forces have pushed the Russian troops out of artillery range of Ukraine’s second-largest city. The failure to take Kharkiv is the most significant battlefield setback for Russia since it was forced to retreat from Kyiv in the early weeks of the war.

According to the latest British intelligence update, the Russian thrust now is aimed at achieving a breakthrough of Ukrainian lines with the goal of surrounding Ukraine’s main fighting force in the Donbas. “The primary objective on this axis is to envelop Ukrainian forces in the Joint Forces Operation area, isolating them from support or reinforcement by units in the west of the country,” the British Defense Ministry tweeted.