It has been 96 days since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. The focus of the Russian attack continues to be on Severodonetsk, in the oblast from Luhansk. The governor of that region says that this Monday two civilians were killed and five were injured.

Russia has lost 39 soldiers in the Sumy region of eastern Ukraine, where fighting continues. According to the Ukrainian forces, the kyiv missile units managed to destroy five Russian drones, two cruise missiles and a Russian ammunition depot.

This Monday, the leaders of the European Union meet in Brussels to try to overcome the impasse due to the Russian oil embargo. But the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, has already said that he hopes an agreement will be reached “this afternoon”.

What happened during sunrise and early morning?

• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied rumors about a possible illness of President Vladimir putin
• “The liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, recognized by the Russian Federation as independent states, is an unconditional priority” for Moscow, Lavrov assured.
• Russia lost two more high-ranking military ranks in Ukraine.
• Overnight, Sumy and Okhtyrka regions reported several explosions following Russian shelling. Also in yesterday’s attacks, Russia destroyed 59 residential buildings in Donbass.
• French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in kyiv to express solidarity with Ukraine and offer more support to the country.
• Zelensky visited troops in Kharkiv to see the damage caused by Russian forces. It was the first time since the beginning of the war that Ukraine’s president had appeared outside the kyiv region, The Guardian reports.
• Some 31% of the Kharkiv region’s territory is occupied by Russian forces, while 5% has been liberated by Ukrainian defenders, according to kyiv forces.
• Zelensky fired the security chief in Kharkiv for “only thinking about himself”.
• The UK Ministry of Defence, in the latest update on the conflict, speaks of Russian losses on the ground and states that “Brigade and battalion commanders will be positioned in danger, because they are held at an uncompromising level of responsibility for the performance of the units”.