Ukraine

 1440 - Russian troops captured two villages in eastern Ukraine over the weekend. The news marks Russia’s biggest gains since capturing the industrial city of Avdiivka in February. Russia’s advances in the eastern Donetsk region (see map) come days after the US passed a $61B aid package to Ukraine, including bullets, missiles, anti-aircraft weaponry, and tank parts. Much of the weaponry is expected to take up to two months to reach the front lines, with ammunition expected in the coming days. In the meantime, Ukraine is reportedly rationing manpower and bullets, with one-sixth of the ammunition Russian troops have available. Soviet-era anti-aircraft missiles were said to have run out months ago, leaving Ukraine without defense against Russian warplanes operating along the front lines. Russian airstrikes have increasingly targeted Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, where 1.3 million people live. Analysts say Russia’s advances point to an effort to ramp up offensives before Ukraine is restocked. See war updates here.