United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres said there was "no sign of a peace deal in Ukraine at the moment", but promised that the UN "will never give up and must do everything they can to end the war".
In Austria, where he spoke with the president of that country, Alexander Van der Bellen, Guterres said that the UN is doing everything it can to save people's lives and enable evacuation and the delivery of humanitarian aid.
"The war will not last forever. There will come a time for peace negotiations. There will come a time, I hope, when a solution to this problem will be found, in accordance with the UN Charter and international law," Guterres said.
Ukrainian officials said the military had made progress in pushing Russian troops out of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, which has been under attack since Russia launched its invasion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced "good news", saying that "the occupiers are gradually being pushed back".
"But I also want to appeal to all people... not to react excessively emotionally. We should not create an atmosphere of excessive moral pressure, where victories are expected every Sunday, and even every day," said the Ukrainian president.
The Ukrainian leader expressed his gratitude on Twitter to the House of Representatives of the US Congress, which approved another 40 billion dollars in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
This measure has yet to be approved by the Senate, and it includes seven billion dollars more than US President Joseph Biden requested.
Biden said his administration has "almost exhausted" its existing authority to send weapons and other military equipment from Pentagon stockpiles.
"The additional resources included in this bill will allow us to send more weapons, such as artillery, armored vehicles and ammunition," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.
The British Ministry of Defense said that Ukrainian forces managed to hit Russian air defenses with a drone and equip ships, while Russia tries to reinforce the garrison on the island of Zminy.
Odesa was attacked on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said, adding that at least one person was killed in rocket attacks on a shopping center and a warehouse.
Fighting has intensified in eastern and southern Ukraine in recent weeks, after Moscow withdrew troops from other parts of the country.
However, Avril Haynes, the US director of National Intelligence, said that intelligence officials estimate that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be happy with the seizure of eastern Ukraine, if it comes at all.
"We estimate that President Putin is preparing for a protracted conflict in Ukraine, during which he intends to achieve objectives beyond the Donbass," Haynes said.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
