Margaryta Husakova, her broken arm secured in a metal orthopedic fixation device, smoked nervously as she sat on the staircase of a refugee shelter in Sumy, a city in northern Ukraine, contemplating what the future holds.

The Russia Day holiday marks the country's 1990 declaration of sovereignty, more than a year before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

It is designed to make the West think a Kremlin victory is inevitable.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday that Ukrainian forces were gradually pushing Russian forces out of the border Sumy region, where Moscow has established a foothold in recent weeks.

The preeminent body tracking alleged Russian war crimes in the war with Ukraine, including the abduction of Ukrainian children, has transferred its data to Ukraine’s government and the US State Department as it prepares to shut down in the coming weeks after the Trump administration terminated its funding.

Russian forces have advanced into Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions, in fresh bid for Ukrainian land beyond what Moscow's already annexed.

Trump administration in talks with Capitol Hill to amend the Graham-Blumenthal legislation imposing sweeping sanctions on Russia, including 500% tariffs on countries doing business with Moscow.

ODESA, Ukraine (Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday Russia was determined to sow chaos in and destroy the south of his country as well as nearby Moldova and Romania, and called for increased pressure on Moscow to prevent further military threats.