Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has marked 500 days of Russia’s invasion with a video filmed on Snake Island, which became an early symbol of Ukrainians’ resistance. “I want to thank – from here, from this place of victory – each of our soldiers for these 500 days,” he said. As for the current fighting, UK intelligence says Ukrainian forces are encircling Bakhmut, the not particularly strategic city Russia captured in May after a drawn-out battle. Meanwhile, the US has raised eyebrows with President Joe Biden making the “very difficult decision” to send cluster bombs – a particularly dangerous weapon banned by many countries – to Ukraine. The UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Spain have opposed the move. Biden said he did it because Ukraine is “running out of ammunition”. Meanwhile, PM Albanese is in Europe today for NATO talks and has already inked a deal to sell 100 ‘Boxer’ military vehicles to Germany’s army (paywall).