Ukraine-Russia live updates: US secretary of state Blinken speaks to EAM Jaishankar; discuss Ukraine war

The thrill of a precise artillery strike was fading as the Ukrainian defenders of the last village before the invading Russians cowered for safety in the shattered remains of a school. Puffs of smoke revealed where the Russians had suffered their latest losses along the flat and almost completely lifeless terrain of Ukraine's southern front. A drone gliding somewhere above the darkening horizon beamed back images suggesting that two Russians had been killed in one of the artillery strikes.