TOP HEADLINES

· Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was "doing everything right" in its nearly eight-month 'military operation' in Ukraine despite a string of embarrassing defeats against Kyiv's forces. READ MORE BELOW

· An electric substation in the Russian city of Belgorod, near the border, was set on fire by a Ukrainian strike, Regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. It took "up to four hours" to activate a backup system and restore power Gladkov claimed.

· Russia's military campaign in Ukraine is the "single most important element" slowing economic growth and generating global instability, Spain's economy minister said. There has been a "very strong call" throughout the week for Russia to stop its war against Ukraine, said Nadia Calvino. READ MORE BELOW

· Putin said he does not plan more "massive" strikes against Ukraine "for now" and that the Kremlin's aim was not to "destroy" the pro-Western country. "There is no need now for massive strikes. There are other tasks. For now. And then it will be clear," Putin told reporters following a summit of ex-Soviet nations in Kazakhstan. "We do not set ourselves the task of destroying Ukraine."

· Ukrainian investigators have finished exhuming soldiers in one of two mass graves discovered after Russian troops retreated from the town of Lyman in Donetsk, police said.

· Saudi Arabia announced $400 million in humanitarian aid for Ukraine, the official SPA news agency said, adding that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had made a phone call to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The prince emphasized "the Kingdom's position of supporting everything that will contribute to de-escalation, and the Kingdom's readiness to continue the efforts of mediation," SPA reported.

· The U.S. will send an additional $725 million in military assistance to Ukraine, the State Department and Pentagon announced. The aid comes "in the wake of Russia's brutal missile attacks on civilians across Ukraine," and "the mounting evidence of atrocities by Russia's forces," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. 

· The G7 is still working on setting a price cap on Russian oil but enrolling more nations to the scheme is not necessary for it to succeed, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. 

· The U.S. will extend its rotation of a heavy tank battalion in Lithuania because there has been no reduction in the threat from Russia since the start of the conflict in Ukraine. Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said the battalion, in the town of Pabrade since 2019, will stay at least until the start of 2026.

· Sweden's coast guard said there were no longer any visible leaks from the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, suspected to have been damaged by sabotage. 

· Hungary published a national consultation survey asking citizens to agree or disagree with the government's opposition to European Union sanctions against Russia. "We believe that the sanctions are destroying us," reads a statement on the government's Facebook page, where the taxpayer-funded survey comprising seven questions is published.

IN DETAIL

Putin: 'We're doing everything right'

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was "doing everything right" in its nearly eight-month 'military operation' in Ukraine despite a string of embarrassing defeats against Kyiv's forces, who will receive $725 million in new U.S. military assistance.

Putin's comments came hours after Kremlin-installed officials in the southern Kherson region urged residents to leave as Kyiv said its soldiers were advancing on the oblast's main city.

Moscow also hinted at the extent of the damage dealt to the Crimea bridge - the sole land connection between its mainland and the Ukrainian peninsula - following a blast last Saturday, saying it could take many months to complete repairs.

"What is happening today is not pleasant. But all the same, (if Russia hadn't attacked in February) we would have been in the same situation, only the conditions would have been worse for us," Putin told reporters after a summit in the capital of Kazakhstan.

"So we're doing everything right," he insisted.

He did, however, acknowledge that Russia's ex-Soviet allies were "worried."

Putin said there was no need for further massive strikes against Ukraine at present and claimed the Kremlin did not intend to destroy its pro-Western neighbor.

"There is no need now for massive strikes. There are other tasks. For now," he said.

IMF: 'The war is slowing down growth'

Russia's military campaign in Ukraine is the "single most important element" slowing economic growth and generating global instability, the chair of a key IMF committee said.

Nadia Calvino's remarks came as finance ministers and central bankers gathered in Washington for the IMF and World Bank annual meetings, which focused on the conflict, soaring inflation and the climate crisis.

There has been a "very strong call" throughout the week for Russia to stop its offensive against Ukraine, said Calvino, who is also Spain's economy minister.

"The war is the single most important element slowing down growth and generating inflation, volatility, energy and food insecurity and uncertainty," she told a news conference, describing peace as a key economic policy tool.

But the committee, which Russia is involved in, failed to reach an agreement on a communique as Russia blocked a consensus, Calvino added. Instead, she issued a chair's statement recognizing that the pandemic and war were "weighing heavily on economic activity" with significant impact on livelihoods.

The statement also said countries welcomed voluntary contributions to facilitate financial assistance to Ukraine.