In a daring act against Moscow, Ukrainian forces flew their flag on a retaken Black Sea island on Thursday, but Kyiv lost a critical foreign ally when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation.

Additionally, the Russian military bombarded prospective victories in eastern Ukraine before an anticipated fresh onslaught.

Moscow did not conceal its glee at Johnson's political demise, a leader it had long chastised for arming Kyiv so vigorously.

Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated, "The moral of the story is: do not seek to destroy Russia," "Russia cannot be annihilated. You can break your teeth on it - and then choke on them."

Johnson stated that Britain's support for Ukraine would continue regardless. Still, his resignation comes at a time of political unrest in several other European countries that support Kyiv, amid worries about their ability to sustain support for a conflict that has proven lengthy.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an assistant to the Ukrainian president, congratulated Johnson, stating that he was someone who "began to call a spade a spade from the beginning."

Moscow reacted swiftly to Ukraine's bold flag-raising ceremony on Snake Island, located approximately 140 kilometers (90 miles) south of the Ukrainian port of Odesa.

It alleged that shortly after that, its airplanes attacked the strategic island and killed a portion of the Ukrainian garrison there.

Russia abandoned Snake Island at the end of June in what it described as a gesture of goodwill - a triumph for Ukraine that Kyiv thought would result in an easing of the blockade of Ukrainian ports by Moscow.

Images released by Ukraine on Thursday depicted three Ukrainian soldiers hoisting the blue-and-yellow national flag next to the ruins of a destroyed structure.

Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff for the Ukrainian president, warned that this moment would be replicated throughout the country in the following months.

"The Ukrainian flag is on Snake Island. There are many more films of this nature from Ukrainian cities currently under temporary occupation "He communicated via Telegram.

Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesman for the regional government of Odessa, stated that Russia's missile attack on the island's new inhabitants had inflicted severe damage to its port.

The Russian military ministry in Moscow said that numerous Ukrainian forces landed on the island before morning.

Igor Konashenkov, a ministry spokesman, stated, "An aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces immediately launched a strike with high-precision missiles,"

Snake Island became a symbol of Ukraine's resistance to bend to Russia's will early in the conflict when Ukrainian forces stationed there responded with a savage retort when the commander of a Russian ship ordered to surrender.

Burning fields

In the meantime, Russian soldiers in eastern Ukraine maintained pressure on Ukrainian troops attempting to defend the line along the northern border of the Donetsk area in preparation for an expected broader operation against it.

After capturing Lysychansk on Sunday and consolidating its absolute control of Ukraine's Luhansk area, Moscow has made it apparent that it intends to grab parts of the adjacent Donetsk region that it has not yet captured. Kyiv still dominates some significant cities.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, the regional governor of Donetsk, who has recently complained of intense Russian shelling, stated that Russia had killed seven civilians in the region over the past day.

The mayor of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk stated that Russian forces launched an airstrike against the city center on Thursday, resulting in deaths.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has stated that it does not target people and uses high-precision weapons to neutralize military threats.

According to the Ukrainian military, Russian forces are deploying additional units to the Luhansk region to strengthen their authority there.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said that battle was taking place along the northern border between the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, where Russian forces attempted to gain new footholds.

However, a complete onslaught has failed to materialize after Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that he wanted troops involved in taking the Luhansk region to relax.

Since the takeover of Lysychansk on Sunday, Russia does not appear to have acquired any new land, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

It was determined that "Russian forces are conducting an operational pause while still engaging in limited ground attacks to set conditions for more significant offensive operations."

In the city of Bakhmut on the front lines, smoke emerged from nearby hills where Ukrainian forces had fired artillery rounds, provoking Russian volleys.

People rushed between market stands but scarcely responded to the frequent loud explosions.

After the collapse of Lysychansk, Olena Kandeluk, 53, reported that shelling has escalated in recent days as the battle has drawn closer.

"We must harvest crops. Some crops have burned, "She explained why she had remained.

She stated that some fields had been scorched by Ukrainian rocket fire and others by incoming Russian fire.

Putin launched his invasion on February 24 under the guise of a "special military operation" to demilitarize Ukraine, weed out what he saw as dangerous nationalists, and defend Russian speakers in that nation.

According to Ukraine and its supporters, Russia initiated the most significant conflict in Europe since World War II by seizing territory imperialistically.