Ukrainian troops have launched a counter-offensive in a bid to regain control of the southern port of Kherson, the first major city captured by Russia in the early days of the invasion.
This counterattack comes as Moscow's troops entered the disputed city of Severodonetsk, in the eastern Donbas region.
Ukrainian forces began their push against Moscow’s hold on Kherson, which Russia had considered to be securely under its remit, amid news of destruction in Severodonetsk, where the governor said nine tenths of the town was destroyed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military rolled into Kherson — which sits on the Black Sea and Dnieper river, north of annexed Crimea — during the first week of the war.
A senior pro-Russian official in the region has said its formal bid to become part of the Russian Federation was likely to be launched “towards next year”.
Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-backed Kherson Military-Civilian Administration, suggested a referendum could be held on the matter, after initially ruling out a public vote.
Moscow has introduced the rouble in Kherson, and on Monday Russian news agency Tass said grain exports had begun.
“We have space to store [the new crop] although we have a lot of grain here. People are now partially taking it out, having agreed with those who buy it from the Russian side,” Mr Stremousov said.
Mr Stremousov also said the administration was working on providing supplies of sunflower seeds to local and Russian processing plants.
Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing its grain from the territories Moscow has occupied since the invasion in February.
As Ukrainian soldiers converge on Kherson, Russia’s war effort is being seriously hampered by “devastating losses” of its mid and junior officer ranks, Britain said.
In an intelligence update on Monday, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said the loss of a large number of the younger generation of professional officers will likely exacerbate Russian Army problems in modernising its command-and-control structure.
The MoD also said that Russian battalion tactical groups being rebuilt with survivors from other units are likely to be less effective on the battlefield due to a lack of junior leaders.
“Russia has likely suffered devastating losses amongst its mid and junior ranking officers in the conflict,” the MoD said.
“Brigade and battalion commanders likely deploy forwards into harm’s way because they are held to an uncompromising level of responsibility for their units’ performance.
“Similarly, junior officers have had to lead the lowest level tactical actions, as the army lacks the cadre of highly trained and empowered non-commissioned officers who fulfil that role in Western forces.”
A chronic lack of credible platoon and company commanders “is likely to result to a further decrease in morale and continued poor discipline” among Russian troops, the MoD said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a five-hour journey to the eastern city of Kharkiv on Sunday, his farthest venture out of the capital since Russia invaded on February 24.
His sought to assert the strength of Ukraine’s position in the region during his rare frontline visit.
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Rescuers carry the body of civilian from a residential building damaged by shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city, is feeling the strain after coming under heavy Russian bombardment. Reuters -
Ukrainian troops help an elderly man out of a damaged apartment building after an air strike in the city of Slovyansk in Donbas region. AFP -
A school bus carrying Ukrainian refugees leaves Kharkiv. EPA -
The pain of war hits this woman hard shortly after her apartment building in Slovyansk was damaged by Russian shelling. AFP -
A crater scars the road surface in Slovyansk, Donbas. AFP -
A Russian soldier oversees the loading of steel on to a Russian ship at Mariupol port in Ukraine. AP -
European Council President Charles Michel, right, and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, left, talk before the second day's session of an extraordinary meeting of EU leaders to discuss Ukraine, energy and food security, in Brussels. AP -
Rescuers extinguish a fire at a meat factory, amid fighting in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
A man waits to collect water in Mariupol. AFP -
Ukrainians cross a makeshift bridge built next to a destroyed structure, in the Kharkiv region. EPA -
A destroyed tank in Mariupol. AFP -
People charge electronic devices outside a theatre building, in Mariupol. Reuters -
Pensioner Gennady Ivanov, 83, sits outside a residential building heavily damaged by shelling, in Mariupol. Reuters -
Ukrainian firefighters try to extinguish a fire at a house that was hit by Russian strikes, in Kharkiv. AP -
Russian Navy sailors of the Black Sea Fleet prepare to raise a sunken Ukrainian warship at the sea port, in Mariupol. AP -
A Ukrainian soldier in the city of Lysytsansk, in the eastern region of Donbas. AFP -
A boy, Yarik, plays in a playground in front a building destroyed during attacks, in Irpin. AP -
Two Ukrainian soldiers enjoy a tender off-duty moment near the village of Stoyanka, Kyiv region. GettyImages -
A girl in Kyiv looks at Russian weapons used in the attack on Ukraine. Reuters -
Children play on a destroyed car in a residential area of Mariupol. AFP -
Demonstrators hold Ukrainian flags at a charity telethon in support of Ukraine, in Berlin. Reuters -
Ukrainian servicemen near Zaytseve village in Donetsk, Ukraine. EPA -
A shell hole near a destroyed building in Zaytseve village. EPA -
In the Saltivka district of Kharkiv, writing on the vans reads "warning, shelling" and "warning, passing by for civilians is prohibited". AFP -
A heavily damaged residential building in the Saltivka district of Kharkiv. AFP -
Ukrainian servicemen inspect a Russian amphibious vehicle near Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine. AP -
A rocket launcher belonging to a "Donetsk People's Republic" militia is fired from its position not far from Panteleimonivka, eastern Ukraine. AP -
The damaged building of the economics department of Karazin National University in Kharkiv. AFP -
Karazin National University in Kharkiv came under heavy Russian bombardment. AFP -
Ukrainian troops approach a destroyed military vehicle in the village of Rus'ka Lozova, north of Kharkiv. AFP -
A bridge is a destroyed near Rus'ka Lozova, north of Kharkiv. AFP -
A building after a Russian military strike in the town of Marinka, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Donetsk region. Reuters -
An employee mows the lawn near a destroyed warehouse refrigerator, belonging to the Chanta factory, in Novi Petrivtsi, near Kyiv. AFP -
Defiant Ukrainian service members ride on top of a military vehicle, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, on the road connecting Kostiantynivka and Bakhmut, in Donetsk region. Reuters -
Vladimir Mihailovich, a solar plant manager, surveys a crater after the business in Merefa on the outskirts of Kharkiv was hit by Russian shelling. Reuters -
A KA-52 helicopter gunship fires rockets on a mission at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. AP -
Locals walk past a road damaged by shelling in a residential area in Kharkiv. EPA -
Diana, on the train, waves to her mother Viktoriya and sister Kseniya as she leaves Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine. AP -
Yana Skakova and her son Yehor, who fled from Lysychansk, sit in an evacuation train in Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine. AP
Defending forces pushed Russian troops back from positions near the city, Ukraine’s second-largest, several weeks ago.
“I feel boundless pride in our defenders. Every day, risking their lives, they fight for Ukraine’s freedom,” Mr Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app after visiting soldiers stationed in Kharkiv.
He said he had dismissed the regional head of the country’s security agency, the SBU, for his poor performance.
“He did not work to defend the city from the first days of the full-scale war but thought only of himself personally. What were his motives? Police are investigating,” Mr Zelenskyy said.
