Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov called for additional weapons and tighter sanctions on Russia as the Kremlin’s war approaches its sixth month, a somber milestone that coincides with Ukraine’s Independence Day.

“Sanctions should be tightened and loopholes closed. Russian citizens should face a Schengen Zone tourist visa ban, with only humanitarian cases permitted to enter the EU,” Reznikov wrote for the Atlantic Council.

Reznikov also called on Western governments to support Ukraine with more weapons and humanitarian aid.

“The current war is not just about Ukraine. It is a struggle to determine who gets to set the rules the whole world will live by,” he wrote.

“It is also a wake-up call for the many Europeans still in denial over the threat facing the continent from a hostile Russia,” he added.

— Amanda Macias

The United Nations has confirmed 5,587 civilian deaths and 7,890 injuries in Ukraine since Russia invaded on Feb. 24.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said the death toll in Ukraine is likely higher, because the armed conflict can delay fatality reports.

The international organization said most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, as well as missiles and airstrikes.

— Amanda Macias

Russia’s war in Ukraine has left about 17.7 million people in serious need of humanitarian aid, according to United Nations estimates.

The U.N. also warned that the crisis will affect more people as the harsh winter season approaches.

The United Nations estimates that humanitarian organizations have scaled up operations in order to reach 11.7 million people since Russia’s war in Ukraine began six months ago.

— Amanda Macias

Ukraine told the International Atomic Energy Agency that Russia renewed shelling over the weekend at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Ukraine reported damage to a laboratory and chemical facilities at the nuclear facility from Russian shelling, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in a statement. Grossi said that there were Ukrainian reports that some of the transformers were also damaged.

“These incidents show why the IAEA must be able to send a mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant very soon. I’m continuing to consult very actively and intensively with all parties so that this vital IAEA mission can take place without further delay,” Grossi said.

He added that a site visit by IAEA inspectors is expected to take place within the next few days provided that ongoing negotiations succeed.

— Amanda Macias

The British government said that it would provide nearly $47 million in humanitarian funding across Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Nigeria and Niger as Russia’s war in Ukraine further exacerbates food shortages.

“Growing instability and violent extremism across the region and the war on Ukraine have exacerbated existing issues with food insecurity and malnutrition,” the British government wrote in a statement.

“As things stand, there will be close to 20 million people across the region in need of humanitarian aid by the end of the year,” the statement added.

The U.K. said that a significant portion of the money will focus on feeding malnourished women and children in the region.

— Amanda Macias

Russian forces are building an improvised bridge across the Dnipro River in Ukraine, the U.K. Ministry of Intelligence said.

“Over the weekend, Russia probably started moving barges into position to construct a substantial floating bridge over the Dnipro river, immediately beside the damaged Antonivsky road bridge,” the U.K. Ministry of Intelligence wrote in a tweet.

The bridge will help link Russian-occupied Kherson and Ukraine’s eastern regions.

“If Russia completes the improvised bridge, it will almost certainly increase the capacity of the crossing point compared to the ferry. A floating bridge would likely still be vulnerable to Ukrainian offensive action,” the British intelligence added.

— Amanda Macias

U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan spoke with Portuguese Foreign Minister Joao Gomes Cravinho about additional ways to back Ukraine, according to a White House readout of the call.

“They discussed their shared commitment to supporting Ukraine as it defends its democracy against Russian aggression, as well as the importance of efforts to alleviate the impacts of Russia’s war in Ukraine on global food security,” the readout said.

Portugal has provided financial support, military training and temporary status for Ukrainian citizens fleeing the Kremlin’s war.

The two officials also discussed U.S. and Portuguese cooperation.

— Amanda Macias

Ukraine’s state nuclear generating company said one of its employees at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was killed by Russian shelling in the nearby town of Energodar.

“As a result of the shelling of a taxi car in Energodar, an employee of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, Vladyslav Mitin, born in 1996, a mechanic at the thermal automation and measurement shop, was injured,” Energoaton wrote in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

 “He was treated, but he died in intensive care in a few hours from his severe injuries. Sincere condolences to the relatives and friends of the deceased,” the company added.

— Amanda Macias

Outgoing U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Russia’s annexations in Ukraine must never be recognized and called on the international community to prevent Russian leader Vladimir Putin from taking more Ukrainian land as he did with Crimea in 2014.

The U.K. will continue to support Ukraine with military and financial aid until the Kremlin “ends this hideous war and withdraws its forces from the entirety of Ukraine,” Johnson said, speaking via video call to the Crimea Platform conference.

“Putin is planning to do to other parts of Ukraine — indeed all of Ukraine — what he has done to Crimea,” Johnson said. He added that Putin had more annexations and more sham referendums planned. Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia is planning a “sham referendum” in the southern Ukrainian-occupied city of Kherson in an effort to legitimize Russian rule there.

Moscow says it will be following the will of the people. Russia’s referendum held in Crimea in 2014 that helped seal its authority there was widely viewed by Ukrainian and Western leaders as illegitimate.

— Natasha Turak

Polish President Andrzej Duda arrived in Kyiv to hold bilateral discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“During the visit, there will be bilateral talks between the presidents and delegations devoted to the situation on Ukraine, support in the military, economic and humanitarian dimension and bilateral cooperation,” wrote the Polish president’s office on Twitter.

Poland has received the lion’s share of Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war.

— Amanda Macias

A supply of weapons costing as much as or less than a Russian oligarch’s yacht could enable Ukraine to have firepower parity with Russia, Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said in a tweet.

The weapons in question are 50 U.S.-supplied Himars, each of which cost $4 million, Podolyak wrote.

“50 systems — $200 million + ammunition. The price of achieving fire parity and destroying army logistics is less than…ru-oligarch’s yacht. It is not an enormous amount of money, but something that would completely change the course of this war,” the Ukrainian advisor said.

Himar stands for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, and is a multiple rocket launcher originally designed for the U.S. military by Lockheed Martin and mounted onto trucks. The powerful system has been described as a “game changer” by U.S. officials, particularly for its long range and ability to inflict serious damage on enemy targets.

— Natasha Turak

Moscow has made a request for a U.N. Security Council meeting today to discuss what is going on at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has been under Russian occupation and surrounded by shelling and fighting since March.

The request was made by Russia’s ambassador to the U.N., Dmitry Polyanskyy, Russian state news agency RIA reported. It has not yet been confirmed as to whether the meeting will happen today.

International leaders have for months sounded the alarm over the potential for a nuclear disaster at the plant, which is Europe’s largest of its kind. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres has pleaded for the demilitarization of the area and warned the situation has created a moment of “maximum danger for our world.”

— Natasha Turak

Monthly government payments to British households hosting Ukrainian refugees should be doubled to keep up with soaring inflation and enable them to continue hosting for longer than six months, the minister in charge of the program said.

“The costs … they’re paying maybe a big chunk of rent themselves, the mortgage payments have gone up and everything, and I think it’s perfectly reasonable, in my view, to increase the amount that we’re paying them,” Richard Harrington said in an interview with local media.

Currently the British government pays sponsors who host refugees a £350-monthly ($412) “thank you” payment. The minimum sponsorship period is six months, and Harrington wants to see that payment doubled for hosts who house refugees for longer than that. He said he has been pushing the government “very hard” to achieve that aim.

Some 25,000 households in the U.K. are hosting refugees under the Homes for Ukraine initiative, with each sponsor hosting an average of three refugees, Harrington said. More than 115,000 Ukrainians have come to the U.K. via its visa programs since Russia launched its invasion in February, with an additional 4,000 to 5,000 new arrivals weekly, he added.

— Natasha Turak

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an end to “nuclear saber-rattling,” warning that the world is facing an extremely dangerous precipice as fighting continues around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, Europe’s largest plant of its kind.

“Nuclear saber-rattling must stop … come to the negotiating table to ease tensions and end the nuclear arms race, once and for all,” Guterres said in a statement after a meeting with ambassadors at the U.N. Security Council.

This is a moment of “maximum danger for our world,” the U.N. chief said, stressing that “humanity’s future is in our hands” and that conflict must be placed with diplomacy and dialogue to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.”

Russian forces have occupied the plant since March, and its many employees still continue to work but describe having to operate in an atmosphere of terror.

— Natasha Turak

The U.S. State Department issued a security alert over increased Russian strikes on Ukraine and urged U.S. citizens to leave the country.

“The Department of State has information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days,” the embassy said in an alert on its website. Russia has already positioned more of its missile-bearing warships in the Black Sea, government officials have said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also warned his citizens of increased Russian attacks this week ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day on Aug. 24, which will commemorate its 31st year of independence. Kyiv has banned large gatherings for most of the week.

— Natasha Turak

Russia could be planning to attack Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities soon, Reuters reported, citing a U.S. official.

“We have information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days,” the official said, according to Reuters.

“Given Russia’s track record in Ukraine, we are concerned about the continued threat that Russian strikes pose to civilians and civilian infrastructure,” the official added.

Reuters reported that the official’s statement was based on U.S. intelligence that has been downgraded.

— Abigail Ng

The organization overseeing the export of agricultural products from Ukraine said that so far a total of 721,449 metric tons of grains and other foodstuffs have departed through the humanitarian sea corridor under the Black Sea Grain Initiative. 

The Joint Coordination Center, or JCC, said that more than 25 ships carrying grains and other crops have left Ukrainian ports.

The JCC also said that it authorized the movement of one outbound merchant vessel named Kafkam Etler to depart tomorrow from the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk. The vessel was approved to carry 2,437 metric tons of corn to Turkey.

— Amanda Macias