Wagner Group suffers heavy losses in Bakhmut battle.

The Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary force, has claimed that its forces and equipment have been "badly damaged" in the battle for control of the strategically important city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Ukraine, despite China's clear alliance with Russia. The Kremlin has said that Russia's belligerence toward Western countries will continue for a long time, while Sweden has summoned Russia's ambassador to Stockholm after he released a statement claiming Sweden and Finland would become "legitimate targets for Russian retaliatory measures" if they joined NATO. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has arrived at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine, which is under Russian control, while Ukrainian forces have shelled the Russian-controlled city of Melitopol, disrupting the Russian resupply chain.