James FitzGerald
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

And it's with that quick recap of some of today's key events that we'll close this live coverage.

The day started with news of an attack on Odesa, before our focus returned to Ukraine's ongoing counter-offensive. As the Nato chief put it a short time ago, it's "early days".

• Make sure your next destination is our report on the mystery surrounding a top Chechen commander fighting for Russia
• And look back on the relatively rare attack on Odesa by heading here

Thanks for following along with us today - you've been reading the words of Nicholas Yong, Ece Goksedef, Dulcie Lee, Emma Owen and me. Until next time.

Image source, Reuters

Here's a summary of the latest developments from Ukraine:

• A minister in Kyiv has reported "extremely fierce battles" in the country's counter-offensive
• Hanna Maliar said soldiers advanced by distances of 200m to 500m towards Bakhmut, and 300m to 500m in the direction of Zaporizhzhia. We're not able to verify this independently
• Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg observed that the military manoeuvre was still in its "early days"
• Mystery surrounds the health of a top Chechen commander who's been active for Russia in Ukraine. The Kremlin says it's concerned after a report that Adam Delimkhanov was wounded

• At least three people have been killed and several others injured in a relatively rare alleged Russian attack on Odesa, and three more civilians were killed overnight in the eastern Donetsk region
• Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said his country would enter the war if it was shown aggression. He earlier said Belarus had started taking delivery of Russian tactical nuclear weapons
• UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi's visit to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was delayed - he's due to inspect water levels after a major dam breach nearby last week

Russia is preparing to allow suspected or convicted criminals to fight in neighbouring Ukraine.

The lower house of parliament, the State Duma, today voted to give its initial backing to legislation that would let the defence ministry to sign contracts with a limited number of criminals.

Those who do sign up would be exempt from criminal liability upon completion of their contract.

Moscow's forces have suffered heavy losses since the start of the war and the Wagner mercenary group was previously allowed to recruit convicts. Now the defence ministry looks set to follow a similar plan.

Ukrianians now understand that Russia is "not just the enemy, but people who came to Ukrainian lands to destroy everything", a Ukrainian government official says.

Speaking to the BBC about the country's counter-offensive, Serhiy Leshchenko, adviser to the president's chief of staff, admits that it is "not easy to go".

While Ukraine has made some progress in the Donbas region, Russia is a "strong enemy" with "a lot of ammunition", he says. This has escalated the situation on other frontlines, Leshchenko adds.

Leshchenko also labels a claim from Russian President Vladimir Putin - that he started the war to defend the people of Donbas - as the "biggest fake of 21st century".

Image source, EPA

The Nato chief says it's still "early days" in Ukraine's counter-offensive.

"We do not know if this will be a turning point in the war," Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels. "The more gains Ukraine makes, the stronger their hand will be at the negotiating table."

He also said the next Nato summit - which will be held in Vilnius in early July - "will make clear that Ukraine's future is in Nato".

Kyiv has been eager to join the military alliance of Western nations - something Russia vehemently opposes.

We told you earlier that a visit to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant by the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog appeared to have been delayed. Rafael Grossi was planning to check nearby water levels after a major dam breach on 6 June caused levels in a reservoir to fall.

It's worth explaining that the power plant has shut down four reactors since last September, amid fighting - after Russian troops occupied the area including the power plant itself.

The power plant needs a certain level of water to keep the reactors in cool shutdown - in other words to reduce the residual heat from the shutdown reactors, to cool the spent fuel, and to cool the emergency diesel generators if the plant loses off-site power.

Satellite images from before and after the incident showed how sharply water levels have dropped in the Dnipro river.

Image source, Copernicus Sentinel-2/Reuters

Image source, Copernicus Sentinel-2/Reuters

Reports that a top Chechen paramilitary commander has been injured are of "great concern", the Kremlin says.

Responding to questions about the health of Adam Delimkhanov, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged reporters to wait for "real truthful information".

Earlier, a post from Zvezda TV - which is run by Russia's defence ministry - said Delimkhanov sustained injuries but was alive.

The circumstances remain unclear, and the BBC has been unable to verify the report.

Ukraine considers Delimkhanov to be the head of Chechen volunteer units fighting in Ukraine, and a close ally of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

Image source, Reuters

Oksana Torop, Svyatoslav Khomenko & Kateryna Khinkulova
BBC World Service

Image source, Ukrainian army

Ukraine's long-awaited attempt to take back the territories in the east and south of the country, occupied by Russia for the past 18 months, is now in full swing.

A key figure in planning and executing this operation is Gen Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine's 49-year-old commander-in-chief. Little known until recently, his popularity now rivals that of President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Gen Zaluzhny, or "our Valera" as friends and old classmates like to call him, was appointed commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian military in July 2021.

Those who know him well say the appointment, pushed through personally by President Zelensky, came as a surprise to the general and many others too as his promotion involved climbing several steps on the career ladder.

• Read more about him here

As we've been reporting, relatively rare missile strikes in Odesa killed at least three people overnight.

Locals in the Black Sea port city have started the clean-up. Take a look at the following pictures showing damage in a church.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Image source, Reuters

Here is the latest on the war in Ukraine:

• Ukraine's counter-offensive has led to some advances and "extremely fierce battles", a minister in Kyiv has said
• Hanna Maliar said soldiers advanced by 200m to 500m towards Bakhmut, and 300m to 500m in the direction of Zaporizhzhia. We're not able to verify this independently
• The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi's visit to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant today has been delayed - he was due to inspect water levels after the Kakhovka dam breach
• Three civilians have been killed in Donetsk and three others killed in Odesa where multi-storey buildings collapsed in Russia's attacks overnight. The search under the rubble in Odesa continues
• There is a uncertainty over the state of Chechen commander Adam Delimkhanov - Russian military TV says he's wounded and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said he couldn't contact his "dear brother", asking for help to find him

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko says Belarus would enter the conflict in Ukraine if there was aggression against the country, Russian state-owned news agency Tass reports.

He also says that his country has started taking delivery of Russian tactical nuclear weapons - shorter-range, less powerful nuclear weapons that could potentially be used on the battlefield.

A close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko claimed that some of the weapons are three times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the Second World War in 1945.

Image source, EPA

Lukashenko, who has allowed Russian forces to use his country as a base in the invasion of Ukraine, has said the nuclear deployment would act as a deterrent against potential aggressors.

The deployment is Moscow's first move of such warheads outside Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Image source, Reuters

An update now from Ukraine's deputy defence minister, who's given a further picture of her troops' latest advances.

Hanna Maliar has posted to say, external that soldiers have advanced by distances of 200m to 500m in the direction of Bakhmut.

And they've moved forwards by 300m to 500m in the direction of Zaporizhzhia, she adds. "Extremely fierce battles" have unfolded, she says.

You may recall that Bakhmut was the site of the longest, bloodiest battle of the war so far.

• Ukrainians remember Bakhmut, city of salt and sparkling wine

That report of an injury to a Chechen commander comes after yesterday's claim that a top Russian officer had been killed in Ukraine.

The apparent death of Maj Gen Sergei Goryachev was reported on Tuesday by pro-Kremlin military blogger Yuri Kotenok.

A Russian-installed official in an occupied area of Ukraine later acknowledged the report, offering his condolences. "The army has lost one of its brightest and most effective military commanders, who combined the highest professionalism with personal courage," wrote Vladimir Rogov, external.

The Kremlin is yet to confirm Goryachev's death, and the BBC has not verified the report itself. However, Russian military bloggers have proven an insightful source of information during the war. Notably, President Vladimir Putin met a group of them yesterday.

Image source, Reuters

One of the top commanders of the Chechen paramilitary group fighting in Ukraine has been injured, according to Russian military TV.

Adam Delimkhanov was wounded but still alive, according to a post from Zvezda TV, external - which is run by Russia's defence ministry. It cited information from the press office of the Duma (Russia's lower house of parliament), of which Delimkhanov is also a member.

The circumstances remain unclear, and the BBC has been unable to verify the report. Zvezda later quoted the Duma speaker as saying that Delimkhanov was "alive and well".

Ukraine considers Delimkhanov to be the head of Chechen volunteer units fighting in Ukraine, and a close ally of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Kadyrov himself wrote that he could not contact Delimkhanov, and asked for help finding his "dear brother".

On Monday, the Russian defence ministry signed a contract with the Chechen paramilitary unit to bring it under direct control.

Image source, Ukraine's general prosecutor's office

Ukraine has accused Russia of attacking a vehicle near the two countries' shared border, and killing six people.

Ukraine's general prosecutor's office writes on Telegram, external that the attack happened yesterday, in the north-eastern Sumy region. It says the victims were two civilians and four forestry workers.

The office says an investigation has been launched. The BBC hasn't been able to independently verify the claims, and Russia hasn't commented.

Image source, EPA

We've been focusing on the overnight attacks so far today, but don't want to lose sight of the bigger picture. Earlier we told you about President Putin's latest comments, and in case you missed them, here are a few of yesterday's other developments:

• Russia shared footage - believed by the BBC to be genuine - showing its troops have captured multiple Western-made military vehicles
• A prominent Russian military blogger said a high-ranking Russian commander had been killed in Ukraine - although official sources are yet to confirm this
• Ukrainian officials warned of price increases of staple products such as soy beans, corn and wheat will likely increase as a result of flooding from the Kakhovka dam breach last week
• Traces of cholera and E. coli were detected in the floodwaters of the River Dnipro after the dam breach – but no outbreak of infectious diseases has been recorded so far

Why Russia has hit Odesa againpublished at 10:10 British Summer Time 14 June 2023

10:10 BST 14 June 2023

Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor

Image source, Ukrainian armed forces/Reuters

Odesa was a prize target for Russian forces from the start of this war and it has come under periodic and deadly attack. This latest bombardment is clearly in response to Ukraine's military offensive further east - proving that Russia still has the ability to hit Ukraine's biggest cities.

Until now, much of Russia's bombardment of Odesa has targeted its strategic port, which is vital to Ukraine's grain exports through the Black Sea.

Residential areas have been hit, too - but the centre of this historic, cosmopolitan city has largely escaped some of the worst of the damage. Two art museums were hit last year but the opera and ballet theatre continues to run and has a full summer programme.

Among the buildings hit overnight were a McDonald's restaurant and shops in the city centre - as well as a residential complex and a shopping chain's warehouse. As with the previous night's deadly attack on Kryvyih Rih, this is Russia showing it can still bomb where and when it chooses.

Here's what we know so far about the overnight Russian attack on the Black Sea port of Odesa:

• At least three people have reportedly been killed and another 13 injured
• Ukraine says it came under fire from 10 missiles and 10 drones overnight, most of which were shot down. Three civilians were also killed in the Donetsk region
• Among the buildings hit in Odesa were a warehouse, restaurants and shops
• The strategic port is vital to Ukraine's grain exports through the Black Sea, but it has come under fire relatively infrequently during the war
• The strikes come as Ukraine's counter-offensive continues, with officials claiming around a square mile (3 sq km) of territory have been gained in the past three days

Russia is yet to comment on the latest alleged attack.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

The Ukrainian side appears to have confirmed that a visit by the UN's nuclear chief Rafael Grossi to check on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been delayed (see our earlier update).

A senior government official told the Reuters news agency: "He's waiting to be able to travel safely". The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, didn't say when Grossi would travel. Russian news agencies say the visit has been postponed by a day.

Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Tuesday.

The IAEA wants access to a site near the plant to check water levels, amid concerns caused by major flooding following last week's Kakhovka dam breach.

The Institute for the Study of War is a US-based group that provides daily updates on the war in Ukraine.

It reports on changes to the front lines using a mixture of sources, including military intelligence and footage published online.

Its latest update, external says that Ukraine made "limited territorial gains" yesterday.

As our last post says, the Ukrainians claim to have taken back a square mile over the past three days.

On Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that a long-promised Ukrainian counter-offensive was under way - with the intention of taking back territory held by occupying Russian troops.