For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.

The latest developments in Russia's war on Ukraine. All times EDT.

8:00 p.m.: As Ukraine marks its Independence Day on Wednesday amid the six-month mark of the war with Russia, the Kyiv Independent takes a look at "some of Ukraine's major political and military victories and cultural achievements starting from the founding of the proto-Ukrainian state - Kyivan Rus, in the mid-9th century - to the successful counteroffensive near Kyiv in March-April 2022."

5:30 p.m.: Economists say although Russia is feeling the effects of sanctions, and they will exact a heavier toll on Russia's economy in the longer term, it's a "mixed" picture for now, The Washington Post reports.

3:30 p.m.: There are deep concerns in Ukraine over warnings Russia might disrupt the nation's Independence Day holiday Wednesday and punctuate the war's six-month mark with major attacks.

2 p.m.: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Germany has a shipment of weaponry and ammunition to Ukraine worth more than $499 million, according to government officials, Bloomberg reports.

1:15 p.m.: The Associated Press reports the United States is set to announce a roughly $3 billion package of new long-term military aid to Ukraine.

U.S. officials who spoke to AP said the package would be announced Wednesday. The officials said the money will fund contracts for drones, weapons "and other equipment that may not see the battlefront for a year or two."

Besides further bolstering Ukraine's long-term capabilities, "the new package is intended to reassure Ukrainian officials that the United States intends to keep up its support, regardless of the day-to-day back and forth of the conflict," says the report.

12:20 p.m.: In pre-recorded remarks released Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated the U.S. position on the Crimea region - and called for increased pressure on Russia to make it withdraw all troops from Ukraine.

10:55 a.m. Germany's natural gas storage facilities are now more than 80 percent full in spite of a drastic reduction in deliveries from Russia, reports the Associated Press.

Natural gas is a key energy source for heating homes and powering industry. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the German government has been attempting to build up gas reserves to avoid rationing during the coming winter months.

Russia has said the reduction in gas supply is due to technical issues, but Germany says the Kremlin is trying to exert economic pressure on European countries who have backed the Ukrainian government in the war.

9:35 a.m.: Just under 1 million war refugees from Ukraine have come to Germany since Russia invaded its neighbor six months ago, according to the German interior ministry.

The ministry said in a statement Tuesday that 967,546 refugees from Ukraine have been recorded in Germany's Central Register of Foreigners. It said over a third, about 351,000, are under the age of 18. Women make up the large majority of the adults.

The ministry noted that many other war refugees who entered Germany may have traveled to other European Union countries or returned to Ukraine.

The flow of refugees has slowed but not stopped. "The federal police assume that around 700 refugees from Ukraine are currently entering Germany every day," the ministry said

8:30 a.m.: Western sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine are hurting but not crushing the Russian economy, according to a new Washington Post report.

The newspaper says the sanctions have impaired Russian manufacturing, reduced international flights to near zero and caused shortages of imported goods. At the same time, it says, unemployment hasn't noticeably surged, and Russia continues to earn the equivalent of billions of dollars every month from its oil and gas exports.

One economist tells the Post that sanctions "are working, definitely, but unfortunately much slower than everybody was expecting six months ago."

8:05 a.m.: Bloomberg reports that authorities in Latvia have begun work to remove a huge Soviet-era monument, in a rebuke to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

The 80-meter-high spire in Riga commemorates the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. But many Latvians see it as a symbol of past Soviet occupation and calls for its removal have intensified since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February.

Last week, authorities in neighboring Estonia also took down a prominent Soviet WWII monument. The removal was followed by cyberattacks on Estonia's government, blamed on Russian hackers.

7:08 am: European Union members Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Finland, which all share a border with Russia, may stop Russian tourists from entering their countries if the EU does not enact a union-wide ban, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing Lithuania's Foreign Minister.

"I have talked to ministers from all these countries... I don't see many differences politically," Gabrielius Landsbergis told reporters in Vilnius.

"Russian tourists shouldn't be in the European Union... Their country is undertaking genocide," he added.

6 a.m.: Ukraine's military said Tuesday that Russian forces carried out fresh artillery and airstrikes in the Zaporizhzhia region where fighting has raised concerns about safety near Europe's largest nuclear power plant.

5:30 a.m.: The U.N. rights office on Tuesday voiced concerns about plans by Russian-backed authorities to try Ukrainian prisoners of war in Mariupol, possibly within days, saying that such a process could itself amount to a war crime, Reuters reported.

"We are very concerned about the manner in which this is being done. There are pictures in the media of cages being built in Mariupol's philharmonic hall, really massive cages and apparently the idea is to restrain the prisoners," Ravina Shamdasani told a U.N. briefing. "This is not acceptable, this is humiliating," she said.

Willfully depriving a prisoner of war to the right to a fair trial amounts to a war crime by Russia, she added.

We are concerned by reports regarding plans to try Ukrainian prisoners of war in #Donetsk. Under international law, individuals entitled to prisoner-of-war status have combatant immunity and cannot be prosecuted for having participated in hostilities.👉 https://t.co/TLQjKNkyhJ pic.twitter.com/Hpau0VKgKk

5 a.m.: On Wednesday, it will have been six months since Russia invaded Ukraine in what Russian President Vladimir Putin calls a "special military operation." VOA shares this timeline of Ukraine's history.

4:54 a.m.:

4:20 a.m.: The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, warning of an increased possibility of Russian military strikes on Ukraine in the coming days around Ukrainian independence day, has again urged U.S. citizens to leave if they can.

"The Department of State has information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine's civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days," the embassy said in an alert on its website.

"The U.S. Embassy urges U.S. citizens to depart Ukraine now using privately available ground transportation options if it is safe to do so," the alert said, repeating the advice of previous security warnings.

Kyiv has banned public celebrations in the capital on the anniversary of independence from Soviet rule on Wednesday, citing a heightened threat of attack.

4 a.m.: Polish President Andrzej Duda arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday, Reuters reported, to discuss further support for Ukraine, including military aid, his office said, as Russia's invasion of the country approaches the six-month milestone.

Warsaw is one of Kyiv's strongest supporters and nearly six million Ukrainian refugees have crossed the border into Poland since Russia invaded their country on February 24. Poland, a NATO and European Union member, has often criticized some other EU nations for not doing more to help Ukraine.

"The visit will include a meeting with President (Volodymyr) Zelenskiyy and talks on military support and defense of Ukraine in the economic, humanitarian and political sense," Pawel Szrot told reporters.

"The presidents will discuss the political support Poland could offer to convince other countries to keep helping Ukraine," Szrot said.

Duda has met Zelenskiyy five times this year, including on three visits he has made to Ukraine since the start of the invasion, which Russia calls a "special military operation."

The Polish leader will participate on this trip in a summit of the Crimea Platform, a forum that seeks to restore Ukraine's territorial integrity and an end to Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

3:30 a.m.: A total of 33 cargo ships carrying around 719,549 tons of foodstuffs have left Ukraine under a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to unblock Ukrainian sea ports, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing the Ukrainian agriculture ministry.

The Joint Coordination Centre in Turkey that monitors implementation of the agreement put the total amount of grain and foodstuffs exported from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports since the deal was reached at 721,449 tons.

Ukraine's grain exports slumped after Russia invaded the country on February 24 and blockaded its Black Sea ports, driving up global food prices and prompting fears of shortages in Africa and the Middle East.

Three Black Sea ports were unblocked under the deal signed on July 22 by Moscow and Kyiv.

In addition to the vessels that have already left Ukraine, the agriculture ministry said a further 18 were now loading or waiting for permission to leave Ukrainian ports.

The ministry said Ukrainian grain exports could reach 4 million tons in August, compared with 3 million tons in July.

In a separate statement, the ministry said exports of key Ukrainian agricultural commodities had fallen by almost half since the start of the Russian invasion compared to the same period in 2021.

3:15 a.m.: Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom said late on Monday that it has begun legal proceedings seeking $3 billion in damages from Finland's Fennovoima consortium for cancelling a planned nuclear power plant in Finland, Reuters reported.

The Fennovoima consortium, in which Rosatom has a 34% minority holding, in May terminated a contract for Rosatom to build a nuclear power plant in the cape of Hanhikivi in northwest Finland, citing delays and increased risks resulting from the war in Ukraine.

"To date, six lawsuits have been filed by the state corporation for a total of $3 billion," Rosatom said on its Telegram account, adding that specifics of the proceedings are confidential.

The Hanhikivi project was commissioned by Fennovoima, a consortium in which Finnish stakeholders including Outokumpu, Fortum and SSAB own two thirds. Rosatom's subsidiary RAOS Voima holds the rest.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the Finnish government said it would not grant a construction permit for the plant because it considered the project no longer viable.

2:50 a.m.: Polish President Andrzej Duda arrived in Kyiv to discuss further support for Ukraine including military aid for the country invaded by Russia, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing the head of his office Pawel Szrot.

"The visit will include a meeting with president Zelenskiyy and talks on military support and defense of Ukraine in the economic, humanitarian and political sense," Szrot told reporters.

2:15 a.m.:

1:50 a.m.: Netherlands officials announced Monday that the nation will provide Ukraine with at least 65 million euros for aid, construction and investment, according to The Kyiv Independent.

The funds will go toward rebuilding infrastructure destroyed by the war, demining, and initial design plans for rebuilding the cities of Kherson, Odesa and Mykolaiv.

1 a.m.:

12:01 a.m.: The Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) authorized the movement of one outbound merchant vessel Kafkam Etler to depart Tuesday from Chornomorsk carrying 2,437 metric tons of corn to Turkey, under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the JCC said in a statement shared by VOA U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer.

As of Monday, the total tonnage of grain and foodstuffs exported from the three Ukrainian ports is 721,449 metric tons, according to the JCC statement.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.

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