The Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had shot down a plane carrying a large shipment of Western weapons near Odessa, and said that the Mariupol metropolitan area had been completely cleared of Azov fighters, foreign mercenaries and the Ukrainian armed forces.
On the other hand, Ukraine's National Security Council denied Russia's control of Mariupol.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also warned Russia against the liquidation of Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol, and said that their liquidation would end negotiations with Moscow and might put an end to all peaceful solutions proposed to end the war.
With the Russian war on Ukraine entering its 52nd day, the Ukrainian president revealed the size of the losses in the ranks of his forces, telling CNN that between 2,500 and 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and about 10,000 others were wounded during the ongoing war.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) said that the Chief of Staff, General Mark Milley, discussed by phone with the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces assessments of the "Russian invasion".
For its part, NBC quoted US military officials as expecting the next phase of the Russian military campaign in Ukraine to begin within the next few days.
Officials told the network that the Russian military may start moving some of its forces to Ukraine as soon as the end of this week or the beginning of next week.
Here are the latest developments on the 52nd day of this war:
two hours ago
Reuters from local media: Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
6 hours ago
The American "CNN" about a White House official: The shipments of the latest US security assistance package have begun to arrive in Ukraine.
7 hours ago
TASS: Russia requires combat forces in Mariupol to lay down their weapons before 3 a.m. UTC in order to preserve their lives.
8 hours ago
Ukrainian National Security Council:
Russian reports on the purification of Azov fighters from Mariupol are fake.
Ukrainian fighters continue to defend Mariupol.