POKROVSK REGION, Ukraine (AP) — A dire shortage of infantry troops and supply routes coming under Russian drone attacks are conspiring against Ukrainian forces in Pokrovsk, where decisive battles in the nearly three-year war are playing out — and time is running short.

Meanwhile, in Washington, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the war is setting Ukraine back 100 years. Zelenskyy responded by inviting him to visit — to witness firsthand the destruction, but also see Ukraine's technological advancements, particularly in drone warfare, where he says Ukraine remains decades ahead of the world.

The founder of a pro-Russian militia group in eastern Ukraine, described by authorities in Kyiv as a “criminal mastermind”, has died following a bombing in central Moscow, according to Russian state media.

At least four other people were injured in the blast, which blew off one of the dead military leader’s legs and left his face so mangled that it was difficult at first to identify him,