Ukraine Battlefield Brief: Find out what's been happening on the frontline in conflict with Russia

Russia's offensive in eastern Ukraine appears to be intensifying, with Moscow pressing hard across several areas at once.

Some of the heaviest fighting remains around Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region, where Russian troops are making slow and costly advances.

The pressure there is aimed at Ukraine's defensive lines and supply routes deeper into the Donbas.

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Russian forces are still relying heavily on infantry assaults, often using small groups of soldiers thrown forward repeatedly.

The tactic has produced gains in some areas, but at a high cost.

Further south, Ukraine is still carrying out counterattacks in parts of Zaporizhzhia and towards the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region.

The aim appears to be less about a major breakthrough and more about disrupting Russia's wider summer offensive plans by forcing Moscow to move troops and resources rather than concentrate everything in Donetsk.

Drone wars

Ukraine has stepped up strikes on Russian logistics hubs, radar systems and air defence sites, in some cases up to 150 kilometres behind the frontline.

Those attacks are intended to make it harder for Russia to move supplies and coordinate operations.

There are also growing concerns in the north, with Ukrainian officials saying defences are being reinforced near the Belarus border.

Kyiv fears Russia could try to put pressure again towards Chernihiv or even Kyiv, although there is currently no sign of the kind of major troop build-up usually expected before a large offensive.

Nuclear drills

Analysts assess the nuclear drills are mainly designed to intimidate Nato and keep Western governments nervous, as Vladimir Putin continues to use nuclear rhetoric when the Kremlin feels strategically boxed in.

The overall picture remains one of attrition, with both sides locked in a grinding and exhausting fight.

Russia's dwindling prison population 

Ukrainian intelligence says Russia's prison population has almost halved in recent years, falling from around 465,000 inmates in 2021 to roughly 280,000 now.

Kyiv says thousands of those prisoners have been recruited to fight in Ukraine, and many have died there.