Russia's Aggressive Actions in Ukraine Continue to Escalate.

Heavy fighting continues in Ukraine's east as Russian forces attempt to gain full control of the partially occupied Luhansk and Donetsk regions. The Ukrainian military has launched a major counteroffensive aimed at retaking Ukrainian territory occupied by Moscow. The counteroffensive has been complicated by the bursting of the Russian-controlled Kakhovka dam on the Dnieper River, which has caused a humanitarian crisis affecting 700,000 people. The British Defense Ministry said the destruction of the dam has almost certainly severely disrupted the primary source of fresh water to Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.