Latest developments:

Britain’s defense ministry said Tuesday that during the previous 48 hours “there has been a substantial increase in fighting along numerous sectors of the front, including those which have been relatively quiet for several months.”
Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican said he hopes a visit from Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the pope’s peace envoy, will help in “finding appropriate answers” in the name of “just peace.”

Ukraine and Russia accused each other of blowing up a major dam Tuesday near Kherson in southern Ukraine.

The destruction of the Kakhovka dam in an area of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces prompted evacuation warnings for people living along the Dnipro River.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called an emergency meeting of his National Security and Defense Council to discuss the situation.

“The destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam only confirms for the whole world that they must be expelled from every corner of Ukrainian land,” Zelenskyy tweeted. “Not a single meter should be left to them, because they use every meter for terror. It’s only Ukraine’s victory that will return security. And this victory will come. The terrorists will not be able to stop Ukraine with water, missiles or anything else.”

The head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, Andriy Yermak, wrote on Telegram that Russia’s destruction of the dam was “ecocide” and a war crime.

Russian officials said Ukrainian strikes damaged the dam.

Ukraine’s military also said Tuesday it destroyed all 35 cruise missiles that Russia launched in an early morning attack. The Ukrainian defense ministry said most of the missiles were directed at Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.

On Monday, there was heavy fighting in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Reuters that Ukraine is weapon-ready for its much-anticipated counteroffensive against Russia but remained mum as to whether it already has — or when it will — begin.

Kuleba expressed confidence that Ukraine’s planned assault against Russia will turn the tide of the war and will allow Ukraine to reclaim its territories from Russia. He said such a victory will usher Ukraine into NATO.

Membership in the military alliance would “probably” only be possible for Ukraine after the end of active hostilities, he said.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said last month that Ukraine joining NATO with the war ongoing was “not on the agenda.”

Some information in this article came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Reuters that Ukraine is weapon-ready for its much-anticipated counteroffensive against Russia but remained mum as to whether it already has — or when it will — begin.
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