A four-man squad assembled a firebase in the blasted remains of a kindergarten in a village near here, about 18 miles south of Bakhmut, while another reconnoitered nearby.

The Moscow-appointed governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said the interception of the missile by Russian air defenses didn’t result in any damage or casualties.

Russian forces took control of Snake Island the day Moscow launched its invasion, in the hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Ukraine’s biggest port and the headquarters of its navy.

Conventional artillery stocks of the controversial munitions are dwindling.

The Biden administration has agreed to provide controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine that it says could help its forces penetrate Russia’s defensive lines, but that many nations have pledged not to use again due to risks to civilians.

U.S. officials said Thursday that the cluster munitions would be part of about $800 million in new military assistance to Ukraine.