Sergei Shoigu

Russia drew closer to its goal of fully capturing Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland of coal mines and factories as the Kremlin claimed to have taken control of 97% of one of the two provinces that make up the Donbas region.

"Partial camouflage for smaller groups and equipment can be provided by settlements and yards, which are within our zone of responsibility," reads the second paragraph at the top of the third page of the secret operational plan of the "Azov" battalion number 1/16 with the code name "Storm".

Russian troops are advancing in eastern Ukraine, pounding key cities and aiming "to destroy everything there", President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, as Moscow signaled it was digging in for a long war against its neighbor.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered an end to attempts to take over the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. Instead, he demanded that the siege continue and that the people inside remain blocked.

Mariupol is barely holding on, Russia is testing a ballistic missile, Wimbledon has divided the world. Here are the highlights of events in Ukraine over the past 24 hours.

Mariupol called Shoigu the capital of the nationalist "Azov", the city itself was liberated, but the militants remain in Azovstal, it is emphasized in the announcement of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.
He said that during the meeting in the Kremlin. According to Shoigu, Mariupol is the capital of nationalist Azov.

Russia has tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile "Sarmat". Russia's President Vladimir Putin said that this really unique weapons will reliably guarantee Russia's safety from external threats.
Ramzan Ahmatovi Kadyrov, the leader of the Russian Republic of Chechnya, stated that Russian forces will gain complete control over the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol today.

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday hailed Russia's "liberation" of Mariupol after Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told him Moscow controlled the Ukrainian port city apart from the Azovstal steel plant.

"The most important thing is to get rid of those nationalist battalions in Ukraine. The operation continues and the tasks that have been set are well known. They must be realized and they will be. There is no doubt," Peskov told reporters, Kommersant reports.

During a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Vladimir Putin ordered the nuclear deterrent forces to be put on special alert, Reuters and RIA Novosti reported.

The troops of the Russian Eastern Military District are deployed at a distance of up to 10.000 kilometers as part of the inspection of the response troops, said the Russian Minister of Defense.
Sergei Shoigu said that the first stage of the inspection was underway and that aviation and air defense units had been relocated, RIA Novosti reports.