Ukraine warned on Wednesday that Russia was ramping up efforts in the South and East as it seeks full control of Mariupol, in what would be the first major city to fall, while Western governments committed more military help to bolster Kyiv.

The Kremlin’s nearly seven-week-long incursion, the biggest attack on a European state since 1945, has not gone to plan.

Russia has been forced to pull back from some northern areas even as attacks across the country have turned Ukrainian cities to rubble and caused more than 4.6 million people to flee abroad.

Russia’s defence ministry on Wednesday said 1,026 soldiers from Ukraine’s 36th Marine Brigade, including 162 officers, had surrendered in Mariupol, which has been besieged for weeks, and that the port was fully under its control.

Wisconsin’s Supreme Court was scheduled to hear arguments Wednesday in a case that will likely determine how extensively absentee ballot drop boxes can be used in the upcoming midterm election where the battleground state’s Democratic governor and Republican U.S. senator are on the ballot.

The court in February barred the use of drop boxes outside of election clerk offices for the April spring election where local offices such as mayor, city council and school board were decided. But the larger question the court has yet to address is whether to allow the secure ballot boxes going forward in places such as libraries, grocery stores and other locations.

The fight is being closely watched as Republicans push to limit access to absentee ballots following President Joe Biden’s narrow win in Wisconsin over Donald Trump in 2020 by just under 21,000 votes. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson are on the ballot in November.

State law is silent on drop boxes, but the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission has told local election officials they can be placed at multiple locations.

When Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, his goals were clear. He wanted to bring his neighbor to heel, assert Russian authority in Eastern Europe and make the West think twice about expanding militarily and politically toward Russia’s borders.

But in one important respect, Putin’s plan appears to have failed: The war has united the West against Moscow in ways that seemed unimaginable in January.

Now, Finland and Sweden – nations that are officially non-aligned – are edging ever closer toward joining NATO, the US-led military alliance.

Finland is expected to produce a report on the country’s security policy this week, a key step on the road to the nation potentially applying for NATO.