HOW RUSSIAN FORCES BESIEGED MARIUPOL

 

To the west, Russia had been attempting to push towards Odesa, with the aim of cutting off Ukraine's access to the Black Sea.

But their advances stalled at Mykolaiv, where a counter-attack by Ukrainian troops has pushed Russian forces back towards the city of Kherson.

Russian troops in the area are now concentrating on maintaining their current positions rather than taking new ground, according to the ISW.