Russian general has been killed in Ukraine, claims Russian military blogger Yuri Kotenok. The pro-Kremlin blogger has 442,000 followers on the messaging app Telegram.
Mr. Kotenok says Major General Sergei Goryachev died in a missile attack.
The news has yet to be confirmed by any Russian official source and the BBC has yet to verify the claim.
But many of Russia’s military bloggers have front-line experience. In the absence of official statements, they are the source of many critical and insider stories about the war in Ukraine.
According to Russian investigative media, Agentstvo, if the news is true, General Goryachev would be the first Russian general to be killed in Ukraine this year.
Missile attack overnight
An overnight Russian missile and drone attack killed 10 people in the southern Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was born in this city.
Dozens of people are reported to have been injured when a missile struck a five-storey apartment block in the city.
Video footage shows flames on every floor and several charred cars in the courtyard.
Drone attacks also hit civilian infrastructure around Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city in the northeast. However, no casualties were reported from there.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry claims that its troops captured German-made Leopard tanks and US-made Bradley armored vehicles during the fighting in southern Ukraine.
They released a video clip showing a Leopard tank and several damaged Bradley vehicles lying in a field.
The BBC’s verification team says the footage appears to be genuine and apparently relates to a fight last week in the Orikhiv region of Zaporizhia.
It is unclear whether the tanks and vehicles are still in Russian hands.
Ukraine, meanwhile, says the counteroffensive has begun after President Zelensky confirmed on Saturday that its forces had liberated more territory from Russian occupation.
The Kiev government says it has recently recaptured a total of seven villages.
According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, there have been 26 battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the past few days.
However, the Russian forces did not admit that Russia has retreated from these battles. Ukraine’s early gains after the counter-offensive began were considered small.
Iran increasing drone supply to Russia: British intelligence
Britain’s Ministry of Defense MoD has released its latest daily intelligence report on the Ukraine war which states:
It is “highly likely” that in recent months Russia has attempted to secure “a large number of unmanned aerial vehicles aimed at a one-way attack”.
Russia is receiving supplies of these drones from Iran and possibly “delivery of large shipments by ship” through the Caspian Sea, reducing smaller shipments by air.
By doing so, Iran is violating UN Security Council resolutions, the MoD says.
Russia aims to start producing these weapons itself, “almost certainly with the help of Iran,” which would give Russia a “relatively inexpensive long-range strike capability.”
Dam destruction will affect food security: UN
Following the collapse of the Kakhovka dam, Ukraine and the United Nations have warned of a major impact on global food security.
UN relief chief Martin Griffiths told the BBC there was widespread concern about environmental destruction in the area, which he described as the breadbox for the world.
Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi says the main crops to be affected are soybeans, corn, wheat, and sunflower oil.
He noted that this crisis will affect poor countries, especially in Africa.
Both indicate that it could take months or years for things to normalize.