Russia-Ukraine war news: Counteroffensive making ‘small advances’; Blinken visits China

Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.

Russia aims to defeat counteroffensive with mines, artillery and aviation: The initial days of Ukraine’s counteroffensive may have yielded minor gains, but Russia has used the past seven months, Mary Ilyushina reports, to shore up its reserves and ammunition and gather more drones. Its forces have fortified the 900-mile front line, stretching from Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine’s southeast to Russia’s Belgorod region, just over the border.

While Russia’s defense has weaknesses, military experts said, it is likely to slow down and impede Ukraine’s plans. “They’ve had months to create a defensive plan, they’ve dug in and used the terrain, they’ve been sitting there for six months laying little traps and mines,” said Dara Massicot, an expert on the Russian military at Rand Corp. “They feel as confident as they are probably going to feel that they understand their defensive lines.”