Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Ukrainians to be vigilant ahead of Independence Day on Wednesday, which also marks six months since Russia’s invasion, as fresh blasts hit Crimea and a missile wounded 12 civilians near a nuclear power plant in the south.

Russian crops, fertilizer must move ‘unimpeded’: UN chief

Fighting

• Four children were among the wounded in the missile strike in Voznesensk, 30 km (20 miles) from the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant, said the governor of the Mykolaiv region.

• A drone struck a building in a “failed” strike near the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Russian-annexed Crimea, said the Moscow-appointed governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev.

• In the eastern region of Donbas, Russian forces have approached the outskirts of the town of Bakhmut but have not broken into the built-up area, Britain’s defence ministry said.

• Russia’s defence ministry accused Ukraine of poisoning some of its servicemen in the Russian-controlled part of the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia in late July. An adviser to Ukraine’s interior ministry said Russian forces may have eaten expired canned meat.

• Reuters could not independently the confirm battlefield reports.

People

• Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk turned his sights on rival heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury after beating Britain’s Anthony Joshua on a split-points decision to retain his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts in the “Rage on the Red Sea” in Jeddah.

Diplomacy, economy

• Two Russians and a Ukrainian caught trying to enter a military plant in central Albania were suspected of espionage, Albanian authorities said. One of the Russians was trying to take photos, the defence ministry said.

• Caspian Pipeline Consortium has suspended oil loadings from two of three single mooring points at its Black Sea terminal Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka for inspections, two people familiar with the loadings told Reuters.

• The United Nations is working with the United States and European Union to overcome obstacles to Russian food and fertilisers reaching world markets, said UN chief Antonio Guterres.

• The Russian-controlled part of Zaporizhzhia region is exporting up to 7,000 tonnes of grain a day, Russian-installed authorities said.

• US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo warned that Russian entities and individuals were attempting to use Turkey to bypass Western sanctions, during a call with Turkey’s Deputy Finance Minister Yunus Elitas.