Ukraine, Briefly

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• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that Russian forces control roughly one-fifth of Ukraine, as fighting in the Donbas region continued, the Evening Standard reported. His remarks came as Russian soldiers were consolidating control of the industrial city of Sievierodonetsk following days of escalated fighting. According to Kyiv, the Ukrainian military made a strategic choice to evacuate from the city.

• The White House imposed fresh sanctions on Russia Thursday in response to its invasion of Ukraine, targeting Russian government leaders and elites with a series of new financial and diplomatic measures, according to CNN. The latest sanctions target some prominent Russian elites’ luxury assets, as well as levies to limit Russia’s capacity to acquire military technologies.

• Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said Thursday that he expects Denmark to join the European Union’s shared military strategy after a referendum in which two-thirds of voters favored repealing a 30-year-old waiver that excluded the EU nation, the Associated Press wrote.

• The western Ukrainian city of Lviv observed International Children’s Day this week by conducting a memorial for the children slain during the Russian invasion, the Guardian noted. The memorial consisted of an empty school bus with stuffed toys strapped into seats to symbolize each of the 243 children believed to have died in the conflict. President Zelenskyy said in an address that 446 children have been wounded and nearly 140 are missing. He added that 200,000 children have been forcibly taken to Russia.