Zelenskyy: Ukrainian forces liberate 26 villages during offensive on Oleksandrivka front

Ukrainian forces have liberated 745 square km (288 square miles) of Russian-occupied land this year across a swathe of the southeastern front, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday, hailing an operation he said went "exactly as planned."

Two years ago almost to the day, a cohort of Ukrainian soldiers launched a daring mission: to give Vladimir Putin a taste of his own medicine and seize some Russian territory.

The developments underscore a growing battle at sea: Ukraine is hitting one of Russia’s most important Black Sea naval and export hubs, while Moscow is warning it could seize European vessels and flexing its naval power in the Pacific.

Kyiv and Moscow are trading heavier and heavier blows.