A travel ban forbidding Russian tourists from entering Poland and the three Baltic states took effect, restricting one of Russians’ main avenues to travel to the European Union in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal sought UK support for war-crimes investigations against Russia during a trip to London for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.

Key developments

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• Modi urges peace in Ukraine, joining Xi in questioning Putin
• Why increasing Russia-China ties worries democracies: QuickTake
• Zelensky says Russia responsible for graves found in Izyum 

On the ground

Russia fired more than 90 shells from multiple rocket launchers into Ukraine, with more than 30 settlements sustaining damage, the country’s general staff wrote on Facebook. Ukrainian forces remain likely to regain much, if not all, of the western Kherson Oblast in the coming weeks, according to the latest report by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War. In the Kharkiv region, Ukrainian forces continued to consolidate positions on the east bank of the Oskil River despite Russian efforts to contain them.

Germany to send more howitzers to Ukraine

Germany will send four more self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine. The 22 that Germany and the Netherlands have sent so far “have proved to be more than effective” on the battlefield, Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said in an emailed statement.

Germany will fulfil Kyiv’s call for more howitzers by sending them directly from the manufacturers because the German army no longer has any left, Lambrecht said.

Russia still outnumbers Ukraine in troops, weapons

Ukraine is in the process of stabilising security in the estimated 8,500km² of territory it liberated from Russia this month, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said on TV.

There is still active fighting along the 1,300km front line, particularly in the eastern Donetsk region and in southern Ukraine, and the military’s main focus is to prevent Russians from advancing, she said. Russia still outnumbers Ukraine in terms of troops and weapons.

“We shouldn’t underestimate the enemy”, she said. “The fact that the enemy isn’t advancing into the depths of Ukraine is already a victory.”

EU pulls Russian tycoon’s sister from sanctions list

The EU removed the sister of Russia’s sixth-richest man and the ex-wife of another billionaire from its list of sanctions that it imposed in response to the invasion, following legal challenges to their inclusion.

Saodat Narzieva, a sister of metals tycoon Alisher Usmanov, and Olga Ayziman, the ex-wife of billionaire investor Mikhail Fridman, were deleted from the list of 548 people sanctioned by the EU, according to the bloc’s Official Journal. Deceased Russian populist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky was also removed.

Russian tourist ban takes effect in Poland and Baltics 

Monday marked the start of a travel ban that forbids Russian tourists from entering Poland and the three Baltic countries, which have been one of the main entry points into Europe since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.

Border authorities in Lithuania, which shares a border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, said it turned away 11 Russian citizens in the first nine hours after the visa restrictions took effect.

Political leaders in the Baltics, who have so far not persuaded peers to enact an EU-wide ban, have also called for expanding the measures to Belarusian nationals.

McDonald’s to reopen three restaurants in Kyiv 

McDonald’s will open three restaurants this week for delivery service, and will open food halls and express windows next month, Alesia Mudzhyri, the head of corporate communications, said on Facebook. Within two months, McDonald’s will resume work in Kyiv and in western Ukraine. Another seven restaurants are planned for re-opening in Kyiv in about a week.

The world’s biggest fast-food chain announced an exit from Russia in May with a complete sale of its portfolio following the Russian invasion.

Russia shells another nuclear power plant in Ukraine’s south  

A Russian missile fell 300m from a nuclear power plant north of Mykolayiv, operator Energoatom said on Telegram. All three generators continued operating as usual. The explosion broke windows in administrative buildings at the station, according to the message. Three high-voltage power lines were shut off as well as a generator at a hydropower plant on the Pivdennyi Buh river. DM