The official civilian death toll from the Russian invasion of Ukraine has risen to nearly 6,900, with civilian injuries topping 10,000, the United Nations said.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said fierce battles are continuing along the front line, with the most intense in Donetsk, but wintry weather is prompting a change in Russia's tactics.
While the number of ground offensives has declined as the weather worsens, "the number of Russian shelling occasions remains, unfortunately, extremely high," Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Sunday.
In Luhansk, the region next to Donetsk, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces are advancing "little by little," but added there have been almost 400 instances of shelling in the eastern region on Sunday alone. Britain's Ministry of Defense said Monday it believes an area of Luhansk "is likely now a more vulnerable operational flank of the Russian force."
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Monday that Ukraine is in a good position to keep fighting Russia's invading forces through winter — and in a better state than Russia's forces.
"We've done a lot to try to prepare the Ukrainians to be prepared for a fight in the winter, and enable them to continue to keep pressure on our adversaries throughout the winter months," he told a press conference as he prepared to meet his Indonesian counterpart, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto.