Sumy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pledged more forceful retaliation against Russian attacks, following a recent escalation of hostilities in the ongoing war between the two nations. The promise comes in the wake of Russian airstrikes targeting the Ukrainian city of Sumy, resulting in damage to civil infrastructure, according to reports from the regional administration.

Day 626 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has approved the sending of "Leopard 2" tanks to Ukraine and says he will allow other countries to do the same, "Spiegel" reported.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg pointed out that the members of the Alliance should not only send defensive weapons and those that will enable Kyiv to regain lost territories.

An alert has been declared in Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv and Kharkiv regions, as well as in other regions across Ukraine. At the same time, a battle is being prepared for the Kherson region, and the population has already been told to flee.

Early this morning, explosions also resounded in the hometown of the Ukrainian president, Kryvyi Rih, and local residents were warned that "missiles are coming".
Also, air raid sirens sounded this morning in more than half of Ukraine's regions: in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Odesa regions.

The cities of Lviv, Poltava, Sumy, and Ternopil lost electricity

Ukraine announced the recapture of more than 20 settlements in Kharkiv and Donetsk regions within 24 hours.

It comes a day after Russia confirmed it was withdrawing from the area, though it explained that its actions were related to the "implementation of the special military operation" (as Moscow calls the war in Ukraine, which today entered its 201st day).

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

Zelensky does not plan negotiations with Putin

Ukraine has announced fresh gains in its counter-offensive, including the recapture of the strategic city of Izyum in the country's east, where Kiev accused Russia of carrying out reprisal strikes against electricity infrastructure.

From Kyiv, they say that they lost too many people to cede their territory, so a standstill on the battlefield is not an option.
Ukrainian soldiers fighting in Donbas are not satisfied with the orders of the military leadership.