Senior US officials are laying the groundwork for a different global security order and a potential protracted conflict in Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told US lawmakers the world had changed dramatically since the Feb. 24 invasion and declared Washington’s support for Finland and Sweden joining NATO. On the same day, President Biden asked Congress for an additional $33 billion to help Ukraine. US officials have said they want to not only help Ukraine survive, but also weaken Russia.

Russian forces in eastern Ukraine are advancing at a rate of just a few miles a day and remain hampered by logistical problems, the Pentagon said. Russian shelling continued in other parts of Donbass, which includes Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, where fighting was “particularly fierce” around the towns of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk, according to Britain. Moscow has also moved significant numbers of troops from Mariupol to other combat zones, according to the Pentagon, although some Ukrainian forces are still holding out in the Black Sea port city despite weeks of shelling.