Kyiv readies for counterattack in Ukraine conflict.

Ukrainian troops are preparing for a counterattack against Russia's ongoing campaign to capture the eastern town of Bakhmut. Russia has been struggling to capture the town for months, stressing the move would be strategic while Western analysts downplay its importance. A Russian airstrike on the city of Kostyantynivka in the eastern Donetsk region hit a homeless shelter, killing three women and injuring two other individuals. The Kremlin welcomed Denmark's decision to invite Russian energy giant Gazprom to help salvage an object discovered next to one of the Nord Stream pipelines, which were sabotaged last September. Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and confidante of President Vladimir Putin, said Russian forces may need to advance as far as Kyiv or Lviv. A Russian national escaped house arrest in Milan, Italy, before he was due to be extradited to the US on charges of violating sanctions.