The U.S. European Command said that 2 Russian fighter jets ‘conducted an unsafe and unprofessional intercept’ of a U.S. drone that was operating within international airspace.

On the front lines in Ukraine, the eastern city of Bakhmut remained the site of fierce fighting, with Ukrainian forces denying Russian forces the prize of its capture after six months of attrition.

Ukrainian authorities say Russian forces are attacking Kostiantinivka with cluster bombs and missiles.

Ukrainian authorities scrambled to counter the consequences of the latest bombardment, part of a recurring cycle of urban smash-and-repair that has brought little change in the course of the war.

Overall, Russia launched 81 missiles and eight exploding Iranian-made Shahed drones Thursday, according to Ukraine’s chief commander of the armed forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

The battle for Bakhmut has lasted 6 months and reduced the city with a prewar population of more than 70,000 to a smoldering wasteland.