Kyiv announced on Sunday that Ukrainian forces have retaken three villages in the war-torn country's south as it continues military operations in Russian-occupied territories. The news comes as the Russian defence ministry said Ukraine had made an unsuccessful attempt to attack a vessel in Russia's Black Sea fleet that was protecting natural gas pipelines. Follow our blog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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2:38am: UN nuclear watchdog concerned over water levels at Ukraine plant
The UN atomic watchdog said on Sunday that it needs wider access around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to check "a significant discrepancy" in water level data at the breached Kakhovka dam used for cooling the plant's reactors.
International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi, who is to visit the plant this week, said that measurements the agency received from the inlet of the plant showed that the dam's water levels were stable for about a day over the weekend.
"However, the height is reportedly continuing to fall elsewhere in the huge reservoir, causing a possible difference of about two metres," Grossi said in a statement.
"The height of the water level is a key parameter for the continued operability of the water pumps."
1:11am: Ukraine announces gains in "first results" of counterattack against Russia
Ukraine said on Sunday its troops had made territorial advances on three villages in its southeast, the first liberated settlements it has reported since launching a counter-offensive this past week.
Kyiv's forces posted unverified videos showing soldiers hoisting the Ukrainian flag at a bombed-out building in the village of Blahodatne in Donetsk region and posing with their unit's flag in the adjacent village of Neskuchne.
"We're seeing the first results of the counter-offensive actions, localized results," Valeryi Shershen, spokesperson for Ukraine's "Tavria" military sector, said on television.
Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar later said Ukrainian forces had "deoccupied" Makarivka, the next village to the south, and advanced between 300 and 1,500 metres in two directions on the southern front.
"No positions were lost on the directions where our forces are on the defensive," Maliar added on Telegram.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that a Ukrainian military push was underway, but that it had failed to breach Russian defensive lines and taken heavy casualties.
10:08pm: Work has started on international investigation of dam breach, Zelensky says
Work has already started into an investigation by the International Criminal Court of the breach of the Kakhovka dam and the vast flood it triggered, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday.
"Representatives of the International Criminal Court have visited Kherson region in recent days," Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
"On the very first day after the disaster, the general prosecutor's office sent a corresponding request to the International Criminal Court concerning an investigation of this disaster and the work has already begun."
Zelensky said it was important that international legal experts saw the aftermath of the disaster, including incidents of shelling of flooded areas. Officials said three people were killed on Sunday in Russian shelling of boats carrying evacuees.
The president said Ukrainian rescue teams had evacuated about 4,000 residents from affected zones – including areas on the Russian-occupied east bank of the Dnipro River.
9:26pm: Ukraine announces retaking of third village in offensive
Ukraine announced on Sunday that its forces had retaken three villages in the eastern Donetsk region, the third reported gain of its offensive operations in Russian-occupied territories.
Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said that a third small town, Makarivka, near Blagodatne, had been reclaimed by Ukrainian troops.
6:49pm: Ukraine announces retaking of another village in offensive
Ukraine on Sunday announced its forces had retaken the village of Neskuchne in the eastern Donetsk region, the second reported gain of its offensive operations in Russian-occupied territories.
"Neskuchne of the Donetsk region is under Ukrainian flag again," the state border guard service said after Kyiv earlier announced its troops had retaken the village of Blagodatne, also in the Donetsk region.
6:15pm: Russia and Ukraine announce return of prisoners
Russia and Ukraine both announced on Sunday that nearly 100 soldiers from each side would be returned.
Russia's Defence Ministry, quoted by the state-owned TASS news agency, said that 94 Russians in Ukrainian captivity had been released and would be taken to a medical institution to be examined.
Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine's presidential administration, said that 95 Ukrainian service members had been returned, including some wounded.
5:52pm: Three dead in Russian shelling of evacuation boat in flooded south
Three people were killed on Sunday and 10 were wounded when Russian forces shelled a boat carrying evacuees from flooded occupied territory to the Ukrainian-controlled city of Kherson, the regional governor said.
The area has been stricken by catastrophic flooding after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, which both Kyiv and Moscow have accused the other of deliberately blowing up.
>> Read more: Kakhovka dam burst leaves roads inaccessible, villages cut off from the world
5:26pm: Russian air defence systems shot down Ukrainian missile near Berdyansk, TASS reports
Russian air defence systems shot down a Ukrainian missile near the Russian-controlled port city of Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov, the Russian state-owned news agency TASS has reported.
3:57pm: Ukraine announces retaking village in southeast
Kyiv announced on Sunday that Ukrainian forces have retaken a village in the war-torn country's south, the first reported gain of its offensive operations in Russian-occupied territories.
Ukraine's ground forces said in a statement that soldiers of the 68th separate ranger brigade had "liberated the settlement of Blagodatne" in the Donetsk region.
3:32pm: 35 people missing after Ukraine flood, minister says
Thirty-five people, including seven children, were missing in southern Ukraine on Sunday following a devastating flood prosecutors called the "worst environmental catastrophe since Chernobyl".
The Russian-controlled Kakhovka dam along the front line in the Kherson region was destroyed on June 6, forcing thousands to flee and sparking fears of humanitarian as well as environmental disasters.
Ukraine accuses Russia of blowing up the dam on the Dnipro River, while Moscow says Kyiv fired upon the structure.
Ukrainian interior minister Igor Klymenko said that 77 towns and villages had been flooded in the southern regions of Kherson and Mykolaiv. Klymenko said that 35 people were missing in the Kherson region, including seven children.
As a result of the flood, five people died in the region of Kherson and one person was dead in the region of Mykolaiv.
A total of 3,700 people have been evacuated from their homes in the two regions, the minister added in a statement.
2:46pm: Russian defence ministry says Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jet shot down in Kherson region
Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday that Russian forces had shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jet in the Kherson region, where the breach of the Kakhovka dam on Tuesday led to major flooding.
Russian forces have also repelled three attacks of Ukrainian forces in the Zaporizhzhia region, the ministry said.
Reuters was unable to immediately verify the reports.
2:40pm: Ukrainian army publishes video showing liberation of village in Donetsk region
A video has appeared on the official Facebook page of the 68th brigade of the Ukrainian army, claiming to show the liberation of a village in the Donetsk region. This is the first claimed official liberation of a village since the start of Ukraine's offensive military operations in the nation's southeast. This marks a turning point in the war, as the Ukrainians are now officially declaring that they have taken back at least one locality.
FRANCE 24's correspondent Gulliver Cragg tells us more.
1:51pm: Russia repels Ukraine attack on warship in Black Sea, says defence ministry
Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday that Ukraine had made an unsuccessful attempt to attack a vessel of Russia's Black Sea fleet that was protecting natural gas pipelines.
The ship was monitoring the situation along Turkstream and Blue Stream pipelines route in the Black Sea, the ministry said.
11:28am: No foundation for possible dialogue with Ukraine, says the Kremlin
The Kremlin said there was no foundation for any possible dialogue with Ukraine but also that there were no preconditions for potential talks.
'There is practically no precondition for an agreement at the moment. Moreover, there is no foundation, even flimsy, for any kind of dialogue', Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Rossiya state television.
10:25am: Ukraine says Russian forces blew up dam to prevent offensive
The Khakhovka dam was blown up by Russian forces to prevent Ukrainian troops from advancing in the southern Kherson region, deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said on Sunday.
Ukraine has accused Russian forces of blowing up the dam from inside its associated hydroelectric power station. The site has been under Russian occupation since the early weeks of Russia's invasion in February last year.
Moscow has blamed the destruction of the dam on Ukraine. Each side has accused the other of shelling civilians as rescue efforts are carried out.
"The explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station was apparently carried out with the intention of preventing the Ukrainian Defence Forces from launching an offensive in the Kherson sector," Maliar said on the Telegram messaging app.
Key developments from Saturday, June 10:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that counteroffensive and defensive operations were taking place in Ukraine while refusing to provide further details.
Nuclear energy agency Energoatom says it has put the last operating reactor at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, into a “cold shutdown” – a safety precaution amid catastrophic flooding from the collapse of the nearby Kakhovka dam.
Read yesterday's liveblog to see how the day's events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
