Cluster munitions are among them. New US-European backing for Kyiv is perceived by Moscow as an escalation of the conflict.

 While Moscow viewed Western positions as an escalation of the conflict, the US plans to reveal a fresh aid package for Ukraine, and the EU has agreed on a new strategy to support Kyiv.

The Pentagon aims to give Ukraine a sufficient number of cluster bombs, according to media reports that the US administration is planning to reveal a new military aid package for Ukraine.

Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, a spokesman for the Pentagon, stated that if it were decided to give Ukraine cluster bombs, the Pentagon would be eager to give it low failure rate varieties, stressing that cluster munitions would be valuable in any kind of offensive action.

On the other hand, Vassily Nebenzia, Russia's envoy to the UN, was quoted by the Russian Sputnik agency as saying that supplying cluster munitions to Ukraine would be a further step towards escalation.

Human Rights Watch accused Russia of employing cluster munitions in Ukraine and pleaded with Washington to forgo providing cluster munitions to Kyiv two days ago.

An international treaty that outlaws these weapons, which typically disperse lots of little bombs across a vast region and can kill or injure populations they are unaware of for months or years, has been signed by more than 120 nations. The deal has been rejected by the US, Russia, and Ukraine.

In the meantime, a €500 million plan to increase weapons manufacturing in support of Ukraine was accepted by EU negotiators.

According to the German news agency DPA, EU negotiators reached an agreement on the strategy to increase ammunition and long-range missile shipments to Ukraine.

According to the news source, the European Union's Spanish presidency announced early on Friday that it and the European Parliament had agreed on a strategy to give financial incentives to the European defense industry to increase production capacity quickly. The project will be paid for from the bloc's shared budget.

In a statement, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said, "This is further evidence of the European Union's unwavering commitment to supporting Ukraine." She added that this would also strengthen the defense industry and technology of the European Union, ultimately ensuring the long-term security and defense of the bloc's citizens.

In a comparable vein, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged NATO chiefs to take decisive action at their summit the following week to admit Kyiv to the alliance.

Zelensky added that Kyiv needs honesty in its relations with the alliance and that the time has come to demonstrate "the courage of this alliance." and "his strength." Zelensky stated that his country needs much more than just the general declaration it obtained more than 10 years ago that the door of the alliance is "open" to it.

Kyiv is looking for a clear indication from NATO during the summit, which will take place on July 11 and 12 in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, that it can achieve membership when its war with Russia ends.

Ukraine wants to join NATO as soon as possible, but opinions among NATO members on how swiftly to do so differ. Some nations are wary of actions that would push the organization closer to a de facto conflict with Russia.

According to field reports, the Russian military website Ribar reported that the Russian forces had retaken control of the Berkhovka Dam and had repulsed attempts by the Ukrainian army to attack locations in the town of Berkhovka, which is located north of Bakhmut.

The website further stated that the Russian army thwarted Ukrainian attacks close to the Zaporizhian town of Arikhov.

For their part, the pro-Russian authorities in Donetsk said that the Ukrainian bombing of Russian-controlled regions had injured at least 5 civilians.

It further stated that around 120 rounds had been fired by Ukrainian forces in the previous 24 hours, bombing areas of Donetsk, Horlivka, Makievka, and neighboring towns.

On the other hand, the Ukrainian Air Force said that 12 out of 18 nighttime marches made by Russian forces against Ukrainian territory had been intercepted by Ukrainian air defenses.

Russian artillery and missile raids on various towns in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson were confirmed by the Ukrainian General Staff.

The Ukrainian General Staff, for its part, declared that over the previous day, its forces had launched several raids against Russian locations, using artillery to hit more than 10 military installations.

Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, announced on Friday that the organization is "making progress" in gaining access to the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia after Kyiv raised concerns about the potential presence of explosives there.

Grossi claimed in Tokyo that although officials had investigated various locations, including the cooling basins, they still lacked authorization to access the roof, where Ukraine claims explosive devices may have been put.

Russia and Ukraine both claimed the other had sabotaged the Zaporizhzhia plant.