Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was in the spotlight again Tuesday when he avoided directly answering a question about a possible prisoner swap for detained Americans Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich. Lavrov instead mentioned several Russian nationals who are currently being held in US prisons.
Meanwhile, Russia is focusing its forces on its assault of the eastern city of Bakhmut, the Ukraine military said. All of this while at least two people were killed and almost a dozen were injured during a Russian strike on Kupyansk, a town about 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of the concentrated fighting in Bakhmut.
Here are the top headlines you need to know:
- Missiles moratorium in question: Russia may end its self-imposed moratorium on the use of its ground-based intermediate and shorter-range missiles, according to Vladimir Ermakov, the Russian foreign ministry’s head of nuclear nonproliferation. Russia would continue to adhere to the moratorium based on the US missiles deployed, their characteristics and their ability to reach the Asia-Pacific region, Ermakov told state-owned media agency TASS.
- Cultural sites destroyed: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that “more than 60 museums and galleries in different regions of our country have also been destroyed or damaged by the occupiers” since the invasion began. Two women were killed in a Russian attack using S-300 missiles, which hit a museum in Kupyansk.
- Assault on Bakhmut: Russia is targeting its assault on the already-battered eastern city of Bakhmut, the Ukrainian military said. The situation in Bakhmut keeps changing, as “there is a positional war going on,” said Serhii Cherevatyi, a spokesman for the eastern grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
- Drone video: New video released by Ukrainian Defense Intelligence appears to show a drone strike against a Russian surveillance complex in Kherson. The video is dated as Monday, but CNN cannot confirm when the operation took place. There is growing evidence of Ukrainian strikes against Russian targets behind the front lines in the south.
- Evacuations happening: Ukrainian officials say evacuation measures are being implemented in some Russian-controlled towns in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region.
