Day 135 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Putin challenges the West to Defeat Russia

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Russia continues its slow push in Ukraine

Russia continues its slow push against the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk. Moscow turned its attention to the region after capturing the last city in neighboring Luhansk Oblast. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his country's gratitude to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his support since the beginning of the conflict.

Three people were killed and five wounded in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, the regional governor announced. Russian forces fired rockets into the center of the eastern city of Kramatorsk in an airstrike. The strike left at least one person dead and six wounded, the city's mayor said. Ukraine expects Kramatorsk to be among the main targets of Russian forces after the capture of the city of Lysychansk. Russia's Defense Ministry said a Russian warplane struck and killed an unspecified number of Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island in the Black Sea after they arrived there to raise the Ukrainian flag.

Lavrov to attend G20 meeting

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will face his country's fiercest critics after the invasion of Ukraine at a G20 meeting in Indonesia. The war is expected to dominate the discussions. Meanwhile, Kyiv lost one of its main international backers after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would resign. Moscow did not hide its joy at the news, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the British Prime Minister for his support in his traditional statement that night.

"In the afternoon I spoke to him and thanked him for the support we have received since the first...

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