Russia said Monday it had dramatically increased production of ammunition and military equipment, as its offensive in Ukraine enters its eighteenth month.

Russia expected to quickly overpower Ukraine’s military when it launched full-scale hostilities last February but instead has faced down a grinding conflict and sanctions that have hindered its ability to refill inventories.

“Since the beginning of this year, many types of weapons and military equipments are being produced in quantities far above last year,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said.

“In terms of munitions, we are reaching a level where deliveries in a month exceed last year’s total orders,” Manturov said.

Limited stockpiles of ammunition have been a challenge for both sides in the Ukraine conflict, where the frontline is dominated by long-range artillery duels.

Russian Defence minister Sergei Shoigu said in May that his forces were dependent on the “timely replenishment” of ammo and hardware inventories, and urged a boost in production.

Western sanctions have sought to hinder Moscow’s ability to restock by banning exports of machine parts and electronic components that could be used on the battlefield.

But analysts say Russia has circumvented some sanctions by importing through third countries.

Last week, Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said Ukraine was using from 5,000 to 10,000 of one type of shell daily.

In July, the European Union sealed a plan to boost ammunition production in the bloc, as part of a push to arm Ukraine and restock depleted arsenals.

A day after at least 33 people died when a building collapsed in Cameroon’s business hub Douala, neighbours recalled Monday the structure’s “failings” and “cracks”, fearing more bodies lie under the ruins.

The four-storey block of flats collapsed onto another residential building in the north of the city overnight Saturday to Sunday.

One of the worst such tragedies in the country’s history, it left 33 people dead and 21 injured, five in critical condition,  a senior fire officer and the regional governor told AFP on Monday, warning that the toll could rise.

Rescuers were still trying to clear the rubble with a digger after seeking survivors throughout Sunday and into Monday, a resident told AFP.

“The situation is under control and firefighters are working to ensure no one remains under the rubble,” Littoral region governor Samuel Dieudonne Ivaha Diboua said Sunday during a visit to the site.

Douala’s Laquintinie hospital on Sunday said it had taken in 13 patients, two of whom — a three-year-old girl and a woman aged 19 — had died.

“The toll could still go up,” said computer scientist Prosper Tchinda, who was one of the first on the scene on Sunday.

“There was one survivor who got out with just scratches and we found a baby safe and sound,” he told AFP by telephone.

The 42-year-old lives a few minutes walk from the block and said there had been “some sort of event with music going on when it happened”.

Nathalie, who also lives in the area but did not want to give her full name, described the building as in a poor state with “failings”.

“There were cracks in the wall and we felt it could collapse at any time,” she said.

“It was not the sort of place you would want to live in.”

Natalie said she went to the site immediately after hearing “a big noise”, and confirmed that a party had been going on.

Tchinda said he was “very worried”.

“There are so many buildings that don’t meet the standards. Each one goes up built any how without any checks.

“You have the impression that the appropriate services at city hall are not doing their job,” he added.

Five people died in similar circumstances in Douala in 2016 when authorities blamed the poor state of repairs and apparent violations of building regulations.

In June that year, local authorities identified 500 buildings in danger of collapse.

Israel’s parliament on Monday ratified the first bill of a judicial overhaul sought by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after last-gasp compromise efforts collapsed and failed to ease a constitutional crisis convulsing the country for months.

The amendment limiting the Supreme Court’s powers to void some government decisions if it deemed them “unreasonable” passed by a 64-to-0 vote after opposition lawmakers abandoned the session in protest, some of them shouting: “For shame!”

Demonstrations against the amendment began early in the day with police dragging away protesters who had chained themselves to posts and blocked the road outside parliament. By evening, thousands had taken to the streets across the country, blocking highways and scuffling with police. Israeli police said at least 19 people had been arrested on Monday.

But the government held firm. Justice Minister Yariv Levin, an architect of the legislative package cast by Netanyahu as needed to create more balance among branches of government, called Monday’s vote a “first step”.

The amendment is part of broader judicial changes the government announced in January, soon after it was sworn in, which it says are needed to push back against what it describes as overreach by a Supreme Court that it says has become too politically interventionist.

Critics say the changes will open the door to abuses of power by removing effective checks on the executive’s authority. The planned changes have caused months of unprecedented nationwide protests and stirred concern among allies abroad for Israel’s democratic health.

Within minutes of the vote, a political watchdog group and the centrist opposition leader said they would appeal against the law at the Supreme Court.

Netanyahu, in televised remarks after sundown as the protests raged, said he would seek dialogue with the opposition with the aim of reaching an all-inclusive agreement by the end of November.

“We all agree that Israel must remain a strong democracy, that it must continue protecting individual rights for everyone, that it will not become a state of (Jewish law), that the courts will remain independent,” said Netanyahu, who had been discharged from hospital in the morning fitted with a pacemaker.

The crisis has caused a deep divide in Israeli society and has seeped into the military, with protest leaders saying thousands of volunteer reservists would not report for duty if the government continues with the plans and former top brass warning that Israel’s war-readiness could be at risk.

Protesters who had converged on Jerusalem blocked a highway near parliament and were cleared by police dragging them across the asphalt and using water cannons, including one that sprayed a foul-smelling substance.

“It’s a sad day for Israeli democracy… We’re going to fight back,” said Inbar Orpaz, 36, speaking among the crowd outside parliament.

In Tel Aviv, horse-mounted police tried to disperse a crowd on the main highway, where protesters lit small fires.

Outside the city, a driver rammed into a small crowd that was blocking a road, lightly wounding three people, police said, adding that the car’s owner was later arrested.

After the law passed, the White House repeated its call for Israel’s leaders to work toward “as broad a consensus as possible” through political dialogue.

Tel Aviv’s main share indices tumbled as much as 2.5% after the vote in Knesset and the shekel slid 1% against the dollar.

Opposition leaders pledged to challenge the change.

The head of the Histadrut labour federation, after failing to mediate a compromise between the religious-nationalist coalition and opposition parties, threatened to declare a general strike if the government pursued “unilateral” measures.

A senior member of the opposition, Benny Gantz, promised to roll back the legislation while opposition leader Yair Lapid said: “This government can win the battle, but not the war.”