The Russian invasion.

The Russian invasion. The outside world's response
Fresh survey: Russian oil exports reach one-year high

Russian oil exports are skyrocketing, reports Bloomberg, which has done a recent survey of ship traffic in the region. Last week, the country exported 3.95 million barrels per day, after a storm created delays in the supply chain.

The country's oil exports increased by 560,000 barrels per day compared to the previous week, which is a new one-year high.

Russian oil exports are an important channel for financing Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine.
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Argument over aid package shakes the Republicans: "They're screwed"

Conservative Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene's ambition to oust Speaker Mike Johnson is supported by a party colleague, several media reports.

Taylor Greene has come down hard on Johnson, also a Republican, who announced on Monday that he wants to move on to a vote on US aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. That is not appreciated by Thomas Massie, a member of the House of Representatives, who has now joined Taylor Greene.

The anger is, among other things, about the aid being separated from proposals for the own border policy. Massie is said to have called on Johnson to resign during a party meeting, which caused the majority of party colleagues to boo.

- We are driven, says a source who participated to Axios.

Johnson has no plans whatsoever to resign, he told the Wall Street Journal.

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Analysis: Russians target Ukraine's 'backbone'

That the Russian forces are keen to take control of the Ukrainian city of Tjasiv Yar has several explanations, writes Reuters' Andrew Osborn in an analysis.

The city, located in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, has long served as an artillery base and regrouping point for Ukrainian soldiers. But above all, it would give the Russians the opportunity to launch direct offensives against the important Ukrainian "fortified cities" of Slovjansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka and Kostiantjnivka.

The US-based think tank Institute for War Studies (IWS) describes the cities as the "backbone" of the Ukrainian army's defense in the east. Losing Druzhkivka and Kostiantnivka in particular would mean an operational setback for Ukraine that would be difficult to reverse, according to ISW:

"Taking Tjasiv Yar offers Russian forces the most immediate prospects for operationally significant progress," writes the think tank.