Ukrainian officials

said they were bolstering forces around Bakhmut in the eastern Donbas region, as Russia's mercenary Wagner group made constant attacks with an aim to capture the area's underground mines. Ukraine's military said Russia "threw the most professional units of the Wagnerites into battle," with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy adding that Bakhmur and the nearby town Soledar were holding on despite attacks.

^{via Reuters}

• Meanwhile: Officials at a school in the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine dismissed Russia's claims that around 600 Ukrainian troops were killed in a missile strike, saying that a rocket only blew out windows and damaged property.
• In other news: The UK is considering sending Challenger 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, Bloomberg reported, a move that would mark the first time a Western country has provided modern main battle tanks for Kyiv to fight Moscow.