Ukraine and Russia continue to prepare for the great battle expected in Donbas, the main objective of the Russian forces after they had to withdraw from around Kyiv. Ukraine continues to call for deliveries of heavy weapons from the West, which it sees as vital as this stage of the conflict. The United States for the first time decided to deliver such weapons as part of a military support package announced by president Joe Biden worth 800 million dollars. The European Union also announced plans to provide further 500 million euros in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, on top of the 1 billion provided earlier. In another development, the Russian defence ministry announced that its Moska guided missile cruiser was seriously damaged after a fire caused a munitions explosion, but that its crew had been evacuated. The Russian authorities did not state the location and cause of the incident, but the governor of the Odessa region said the ship was hit by two Ukrainian missiles.
