The Russian ministry of defence has claimed that it destroyed 2 unmanned Ukrainian boats that were engaged in an attack on one of its Black Sea fleet patrol ships: “In the course of repulsing the attack, both enemy remote-controlled boats were destroyed by fire from the standard weapons of the Russian ship at a distance of 1,000m and 800m. There were no casualties”.

The Ukrainian military reported making small advances against Russian forces in parts of southern Ukraine. Andriy Kovaliov, spokesperson for the armed forces general staff, said Ukrainian troops had moved forward in the direction of the south-eastern village of Staromayorske, near settlements recaptured by Ukraine last month in the Donetsk region.

Ukraine’s state broadcaster reports that Ukraine is also claiming a territorial gain near Bakhmut, having “knocked out the Russian military from positions near Andriivka in the Bakhmut direction”.

The UN human rights chief called for accountability for the deaths of at least 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war in an explosion in a Donetsk region detention facility, rejecting Moscow’s claim that they were killed by a rocket. “The prisoners of war who were injured or died at Olenivka, their family members, deserve the truth to be known, and for those responsible for breaches of international law to be held accountable”, - the high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, said.

Volodymyr Zelensky has posted to social media to say that he has spoken to Rishi Sunak, the UK’s prime minister, about “Russia’s daily attempts to destroy Odesa’s historic centre and port infrastructure”. Ukraine’s president said “Ukraine urgently needs to strengthen its air defence to protect its historical heritage and continue the Black Sea grain initiative”.

The UK Ministry of Defence has claimed in its daily operational briefing that Russia is targeting Odesa because “it believes Ukraine is storing military assets in these areas”, but claims that “since the start of the war, Russia’s strike campaign has been characterised by poor intelligence and a dysfunctional targeting process.”

The Biden administration is sending up to USD 400m in additional military aid to Ukraine, including a variety of munitions for advanced air defence systems and a number of small, surveillance Hornet drones.

A child was killed and 7 people wounded in a Russian strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka, according to the region’s governor. Pavlo Kyrylenko, Ukraine’s governor of Donetsk, wrote on Telegram that Russian forces had fired Smerch rockets at “a local pond, where people were resting”.