Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine’s success in the battle for the Black Sea “will go down in history books”, as he rallied troops in his nightly video address. “Ukraine’s success in the battle for the Black Sea will go down in history books, although it’s not being discussed much today,” he added. Mr Zelensky also warned against expecting instant success in Ukraine’s counter-offensive campaign as Russian forces showed signs of amping up fresh attacks on different sections of the frontline. “We live in a world that gets used to success too quickly. When the full-scale invasion began, many people around the world did not believe that Ukraine would survive," the war-time president said in his nightly video address. He added: "Glory to all those who do not retreat, who do not burn out, who believe in Ukraine just as they did on February 24, and who have been fighting unwaveringly." The war frontline along Ukraine’s east and south has seen little along the 1,000 km span this year despite Kyiv’s counter-offensive push which Russia has resisted by mining vast swathes and throwing in battalions of men in the siege. Mr Zelensky lauded his troops for diminishing Russian military strength in the Black Sea, adding that if there’s greater support from Ukraine’s allies, they could inch closer to victory over Russian forces. "When we ensure even more security to the Black Sea, Russia will lose any ability to dominate in this area and expand its malign influence to other countries," Mr Zelensky said. The full extent of the damage that Ukraine has done in recent months to the Russian Black Sea Fleet remains unclear. Even claims made by the Russian defence ministry of success in destroying the weapons comes with little evidence. The losses on both sides, of personnel and equipment, have been guarded as a state secret. On the battlefield front, signs of struggle have persisted. The Ukrainian president said his meeting with senior commanders considered sectors engulfed by the fiercest fighting in the east and northeast, including the key areas of Avdiivka and Kupiansk, where Russia has been on the offensive in recent weeks. Russia has concentrated its military might on Avdiivka, an eastern Ukrainian town in Donetsk, which officials said is bracing for a new wave of attacks after witnessing steady assaults since mid-October. "The enemy is bringing in forces and equipment. Our boys are preparing for a new wave," Vitaliy Barabash, head of the military administration in Avdiivka, told national television. The town with its vast coking plant was briefly captured in 2014 when Russian-backed separatists seized chunks of land in the east, but Ukrainian forces have since put up fortifications. Ukraine’s ground forces said on Tuesday that Russian forces were also focused on Kupiansk - a city in the northeast overrun by Russia in the early days of the invasion, but recaptured by Ukrainian forces last year. Alongside, Russia claimed that its forces had conducted successful attacks near the town of Bakhmut - a largely destroyed town captured by Russian forces in May. Read More If Putin dies, this is what would happen in Russia Ukrainian troops advance as Putin air defences ‘struck in Crimea’ - latest Hungary bans teenagers from visiting World Press Photo exhibition over display of LGBTQ+ images AI Safety Summit: Five key questions More than 40% of Ukrainians need humanitarian help under horrendous war conditions, UN says Watch: Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin testify on Biden’s $106 billion request

Apple is planning to stop selling some of its leather products, and offer alternatives instead, according to multiple reports. In recent weeks, numerous reports have suggested that Apple is planning on swapping its leather cases for new woven materials, with the upcoming release of the iPhone 15. Various leaks from within the supply chain have suggested that it has developed a new material that will take its place. Now one of those examples appears to have leaked on Twitter. It is impossible to know whether the case is a legitimate Apple one – and, even it is, whether it will go on sale – but it appears to show one of the cases with an iPhone inside. Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman, who has a strong track record of leaks from within Apple, appeared to suggest the case was legitimate. On Twitter, he said it was a “sample/replica of the new leather-free iPhone 15 case”. He then went on to suggest that Apple would also start “moving away from leather on its Apple Watch bands as well”. Apple offers a range of different leather Watch bands. It says they are made from “Roux Granada leather made in France”. It also sells leather straps as part of a collaboration with Hermès that has been ongoing for years. Mr Gurman initially suggested that partnership would be likely to continue, even if Apple stopped selling bands of its own – but then he suggested that could come to an end, too. Apple employees have been offered steep discounts on the Hermès accessories, he said, with staff being offered up to 90 per cent off. That suggests the company could be getting rid of stock it intends to stop selling, and so the Hermès leather Watch straps could come to an end too. Apple will hold a live streamed event on September 12, where it is expected to unveil a new line-up of four versions of the iPhone 15, updated Apple Watches, and more. It also usually refreshes its accessories line, adding new colours to both the iPhone cases and Watch straps, even when it does not make significant changes like the introduction or removal of certain materials. Read More Apple is about to make a huge change to the iPhone that it never wanted to do Here’s when you will actually be able to get the new iPhone Apple is about to reveal the new iPhone – and a lot more

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Jimmy Lippert Thyden says he always knew he was adopted. He also knew that he had been born not in the United States, but in Chile. Raised in Virginia by very loving and committed adoptive parents, he says he never lacked anything. The 42-year-old who served in the US Marines is now an attorney who is married and has two young daughters.

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A mother has been defended after she explained why she called her daughter’s father “creepy” over the name he gave to his newborn child. In a recent post shared to the popular “Am I the A**hole?” Reddit forum, the woman – who goes by the username u/Aggressive_Buy4075 – asked if she was in the wrong for criticising the name choice. She started off her post by providing context about the situation, explaining that she got pregnant with her now 10-year-old daughter after “a drunken hook-up with a friend in her mid twenties”. While noting that the pregnancy wasn’t “the most glamorous or flattering truth,” she and her friend still “decided to keep the child and co-parent”. She also acknowledged that she and her pal were “never a couple” and “didn’t want to be one either”. The woman continued her post by explaining that when her friend and his longtime girlfriend were expecting baby, she’d “been supportive to them both” as much as possible, “without crossing any lines”. She then explained how she wanted her 10-year-old to get to know her soon-to-be half-sibling. “I’ve encouraged my daughter to help out whenever she’s staying with them during the pregnancy and to behave. I’ve also made it clear that I want the children to have a close relationship, despite having different mothers,” she wrote. “I’ve even said that if they were comfortable with it, on nights I have my daughter [and] if they ever want time alone, I’ll babysit once they have the baby. So my daughter can spend time with her sibling.” She added that while she “thought everything was great” and was excited for her “daughter to have a sibling,” that ultimately changed when her friend and his partner had their baby - and she learned the newborn’s name. “They’d named [her] using my daughter’s name,” the Reddit user continued. “[My friend’s girlfriend] didn’t seem to have any issue with this when she introduced the baby bold as brass. My friend seemed uncomfortable and wouldn’t look at me directly. I asked them what they were playing at, at which point my friend’s father said he’d take my daughter down to the cafeteria to get something to eat and left with her.” The Reddit poster noted that during the conversation, her friend told her to “calm down and not overreact”, while “his girlfriend told [her] she didn’t see the issue and it was a pretty name”. She continued to explain how she still asked the couple why they chose a name that was the same as her daughter’s. “I asked them if they’d named the baby for my daughter, trying to understand the logic here, but his girlfriend said that no it was just a pretty name she liked,” she continued. “I then asked if they planned to use a nickname or a middle name when addressing her on a daily basis and her response was that she didn’t see a need for that.” She went on to detail how she criticised the couple for their baby name choice, specifying that she told them it was a “creepy” decision to use the name. “I told them they were being ridiculous and that they couldn’t do this, I then told his girlfriend that I found this frankly creepy and told my friend he was being spineless if he was happy to go along with this,” she continued. While her friend claimed to her that their daughter “could use a nickname or something,” the woman shut that idea down by asking: “Why was it more reasonable for a girl who has used that name for a decade, to [be shamed] for her name, compared to a baby who had no concept of what a name was?” She concluded her post by noting that her friend’s girlfriend call her a “b****” for talking to her like that, after “she just gave birth”. The woman added that the new mother “asked the nurses to remove [her], saying that [the Reddit poster] was being disruptive”. “Maybe my temper is running a little too hot though and I was too harsh on her when she just gave birth. It’s just so f***ing weird,” the woman continued. She later made an edit to her post, reiterating that, although it wasn’t her decision to name the newborn, her daughter’s name shouldn’t have been an option. “I know that what they want to name their child is their choice, they could have called her Dinosaur for all I care but this is one name that should be off limits or adjusted, they even have the same surname as they have the same father,” she wrote. She claimed that she questioned her friend’s girlfriend’s intentions in the situation, adding: “Something about it just felt malicious and deliberate, as if she’s trying to replace my daughter and for them both to spring it on us like that at the first meeting? No, that was weird.” The Reddit post has since amassed more than 23,800 upvotes. In the comments, readers went on to defend the woman and question the couple for using the same name as her daughter. They also described what potential issues could arise when two half-siblings have the same first and last name. “From the outside it sure reads like she wants to replace her partner’s affection for his first daughter with his new baby. Of course it’s creepy,” one wrote, while another added: “And the suggestion that the 10 year old should use a nickname? Wow. Talk about audacity.” “Imagine two girls, same name, same city, possibly close enough to attend the same high school eventually, same parent. Imagine one has a warrant, or something that comes up on a background check for employment,” a third wrote. “Or can call and access accounts that just need an ID with the name on it and don’t verify SSN or biometrics.” Other people continued to claim that the couple’s name choice was “manipulative”, while encouraging the original poster to take legal action against her daughter’s father. “Worse than creepy. Calculated and manipulative. She wants to get rid of OP and choose the nuclear option by attacking her daughter,” one user claimed. “While no name can be claimed, this is a move full of hate and spite,” another wrote. “I would tell your daughter’s father that you will be going for full custody of your daughter and taking him for child support because you can no longer trust him to do the right thing by your daughter, how can you trust that he wouldn’t allow his gf to treat your daughter poorly based on this behaviour.” The Independent has contacted u/Aggressive_Buy4075 for comment. Read More Barbie? Ken? Venezuela?: Why baby names won’t be boring for much longer Adele says she wants to have a baby with boyfriend Rich Paul ‘soon’ TikTok theory on why there are so many girls named Bella at Bama Rush goes viral Khloe Kardashian officially changes son Tatum’s last name Grandmother and grandson who had sepsis at same time ‘lucky to be alive’ Cancer-hit dad who planned own funeral outlives three-week prognosis

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Logan Paul has confessed that him seemingly 'saving' Rey Mysterio's life during their recent WWE match was actually because he was at fault for the incident in the first place. Coming clean on Impaulsive, Paul admitted that his own mistake caused the fall which saw Mysterio almost land on his neck, so he had no choice but to step in. "I think I was too far back for the move and I think he didn’t clear enough ground for the move," he said. "So like truthfully while I like the headlines and I like being gassed up like this, I was just doing my job.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Transgender minors and some adults soon will be banned from accessing puberty blockers, hormones and gender-affirming surgeries under a bill signed by Missouri’s Republican governor