Putin’s Naval Strategy; Grain Magnate Killed

With the invasion now well into its sixth month, Russia continues to launch air and missile strikes against military and civilian targets. Shelling continued overnight in the Donestsk, Dnipro and Kharkiv regions. Heavy shelling in Mykolaiv in Ukraine’s south killed at least one person, governor Vitaliy Kim said. In the Donbas ground campaign, Russian forces are likely prioritizing offensive operations toward Bakhmut and around Donetsk City, at the expense of efforts to take Siversk and Slovyansk, the Institute for the Study of War said. Ukrainian forces disrupted a Russian ground assault in Kherson Oblast with preemptive artillery strikes.