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• Mykolaiv's mayor said the city was rocked by "powerful explosions" from airstrikes early on Wednesday. The strategic southern port has come under heavy attack by Russia in recent weeks.
• Ukrainian authorities welcomed the arrival in Turkey of the first grain shipment to leave Ukraine since Russia began its invasion. President Volodymyr Zelensky said it must be the first of many deliveries to ensure food security in Ukraine and the world.
• Ukrainian officials said the first train has departed under a mandatory evacuation of Donetsk. The eastern region has witnessed intense fighting for months as Ukrainian forces repel Russian attempts to move the front line forward.
• The US Treasury has sanctioned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reputed girlfriend as part of measures targeting Russian elites to punish the Kremlin for its war in Ukraine.
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Russia reacts to Pelosi's Taiwan trip: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan reflects Washington's desire to prove their "impunity and display their lawlessness." Lavrov added he did not see any other "reason to create such an irritant literally out of nowhere, fully aware what it means for the People’s Republic of China."

First grain shipment arrives in Turkey: Ukrainian authorities welcomed the arrival in Turkey of the first grain shipment to leave the Black Sea port of Odesa since the war began. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this shipment must be the first of many to ensure food security internally and across the world. The shipment subsequently passed the inspection of the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in Istanbul on Wednesday, according to Ukrainian and Turkish officials.

US sanctions Putin's reputed girlfriend: The US Treasury Department on Tuesday sanctioned Russian President Vladimir Putin's reputed girlfriend, Alina Maratovna Kabaeva. This is part of a series of measures targeting Russian elites in the Biden administration's latest attempt to punish the Kremlin for its ongoing war in Ukraine. Kabaeva was previously sanctioned by the European Union and the United Kingdom.

Russia fails to break through Donetsk: Russian forces pushing toward the Donetsk city of Bakhmut have yet to make significant gains, according to the Ukrainian military. In its daily update, the military’s General Staff said Russian troops had made an advance from the northwest toward Bakhmut but were "unsuccessful, and retreated." The news came as Ukrainian officials said the mandatory evacuation of the eastern Donetsk region had begun.