Longtime Russian pop singer and celebrity Alla Pugacheva spoke out against the Ukraine war on an Instagram post to her 3.4 million followers, which received more than 600,000 likes and scores of supportive comments. Acts of public dissent are rare since Russia imposed a law threatening up to 15 years' imprisonment for spreading "fake news" about what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.
Russian troops struck a nuclear power plant in the country's southern Mykolaiv region, but while its buildings sustained damage, its reactors are functioning normally, Ukrainian state energy officials said.
The war "isn't going too well" for Russia, U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley said from Poland, adding that this could make Moscow's reactions less certain and that U.S. forces in Europe need to maintain alertness.
Meanwhile, reports show Russian President Vladimir Putin relying increasingly on ad hoc volunteer forces for its Ukraine combat operations, sidestepping his country's military high command after a series of setbacks in recent weeks.