Ukraine Gets Its First Western Heavy Tanks. Here’s What To Know

Last fall, when the Ukrainian counteroffensive existed mostly on the maps and in the minds of its commanders, President Volodymyr Zelensky understood that its greatest obstacle could be the Dnipro River, especially as it flows through the southern city of Kherson and, about 50 miles upstream, fills the reservoir of a massive hydroelectric dam. “For us the Dnipro is the hardest story,” Zelensky told TIME during his visit to Kherson in November.

For months, observers have wondered when and where Ukraine might finally launch its long-anticipated spring counteroffensive to wrest back control of territory captured by Russia. “We are ready,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Wall Street Journal in a Jun. 3 interview, without specifying a start date. But he indicated that the campaign would be imminent.

Haiti was hit by an earthquake Tuesday morning after heavy rains and winds that have left 42 people dead and even more injured this past weekend.       

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian residents have been evacuated from their homes over concerns of flooding due to damage sustained to a Ukrainian dam.       

The collapse of a huge dam in a Russian-occupied region of southern Ukraine has triggered flooding, with both Russia and Ukraine blaming each other for its strategic destruction. The Nova Kakhovka dam, built in 1956 on the Dnieper River—30 km east of the city of Kherson—was breached as the result of an explosion Tuesday morning.

President Emmanuel Macron recently forced through a plan to raise the retirement age in France from 62 to 64.