Ukraine

• Ukraine began simultaneous artillery and ground operations at multiple points along the front lines in Donetsk on Sunday, and this appears to be the start of its long-awaited counteroffensive.
• We likely won't get clear confirmation that this is indeed the beginning of the counteroffensive: Ukrainian officials have said there won't be a formal announcement and have asked troops to keep their plans quiet ("plans love silence").
• Analysts think the counteroffensive will focus on southern regions like Donetsk and seek to cut occupied Crimea off from Russian supply lines.
• Meanwhile, Ukraine says it was Russia that blew up the Nova Kakhovka dam in Kherson to "create obstacles" for Ukrainian operations downstream. The pro-Russian mayor of Nova Kakhovka initially said the dam was still intact, but later blamed a "serious terrorist attack" for destroying it.

• A car bomb killed the acting governor of Badakhshan and his driver today. Islamic State was probably responsible: it has been targeting Taliban officials in response to Taliban raids on its cells.

• DRC's minister of mines suspended Eurasian Resources Group's (ERG's) Boss cobalt and copper mine over concerns that its waste is polluting local rivers. Recent flooding probably aggravated waste leakage.
• Boss was supposed to produce 21,600 tons of copper and 3,600 tons of cobalt hydroxide this year; instead, it'll remain shuttered for at least three months.

• Saudi said it would cut its oil output by about 10% to nine million barrels per day to prop up oil prices. It worked - Brent crude prices rose 2.4% to around $77 per barrel - but it wasn't enough to push prices over Saudi's target of $80 per barrel to keep its budget balanced and finance Vision 2030.
• The rest of OPEC Plus won't join Saudi in cutting production.

• The U.S. SEC is suing the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, and its founder for misusing investor funds and running an unregistered exchange. News of the suit led to a run on the virtual bank.

• Haiti was soaked by heavy rainfall over the weekend and is now inundated with flooding that has already killed at least 42 people and displaced tens of thousands.