"British Defense Ministry: Russia's Marginal Gains in North Ukraine"

The British Defense Ministry reports that Russia has made marginal gains in northern Ukraine, while facing pressure in the southern Zaporizhzhia sector. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked NATO to convene the NATO-Ukraine Council to discuss security in the Black Sea, particularly the operation of a corridor for Ukrainian grain exports. Since the expiration of a U.N.-brokered grain deal, Russia has targeted Ukrainian ports, leading to a decrease in grain shipments. Shipping insurance companies have suspended coverage for shipments from Ukraine, and alternate routes through Poland and the Danube River are being used. In Crimea, Ukraine claims to have destroyed an oil depot and Russian army warehouses, causing an explosion and prompting an evacuation in the area.