Ukraine understands the need to co-operate with Russia on grain exports, according to a member of the Ukrainian parliament who represents areas around Odesa and the Black Sea.

As we've been reporting, ships carrying grain have been able to leave Ukraine's Black Sea ports for the first time in months after a deal between Ukraine and Russia was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.

Oleksiy Goncharenko tells the BBC: "There is a humanitarian reason so we can understand it.

"Definitely we don't want to see co-operation of the world with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, but there are things which are acceptable. And grain is probably one... because millions of people throughout the whole planet are dependent [on] the food, we don't want to see millions of people starving."

One of the ships, the Turkish-flagged ship Polarnet, has arrived in the northern Turkish port of Derince, three days after leaving Ukraine. The vessel is carrying 12,000 tonnes of grain and is expected to unload its cargo later on Monday. Below you can see it arriving.

Image source, REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

Ukraine's nuclear agency Enerhoatom says the Russians are "blackmailing the entire world" with threats to blow up the Zaporizhzhia power plant.

In a post on messaging app Telegram, external, Enerhoatom says Maj Gen Valery Vasiliev - the head of Russia's radiation, chemical and biological defence forces - has said "there will be either Russian land or a scorched desert".

"We have mined all the important facilities of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant," Vasiliev has said, according to Enerhoatom.

Russia in turn is accusing Ukraine of shelling the plant. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says the West should push Kyiv to stop its "extremely dangerous" shelling, Reuters reports.

"We expect the countries that have absolute influence on the Ukrainian leadership to use this influence in order to rule out the continuation of such shelling," Peskov is quoted as saying.

This BBC has not been able to verify the claims from either side.

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has called for international inspectors to be given access to the Zaporizhzhia power plant, after Ukraine and Russia accused each other of shelling the site over the weekend.

One of President Vladimir Putin's closest allies claims "attaining peace on our terms" is the aim of Russia's war in Ukraine - or the "special military operation", as Moscow describes its invasion.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev now serves as deputy chairman of Russia's security council.

He's been telling Russian media outlet Tass he believes the West has a long-term plan to destroy Russia.

Medvedev claims the 2008 war in Georgia, the enlargement of the Nato military alliance westwards and the Ukraine war is part of an attempt by the United States and its allies to destroy Russia.

"The goal is the same: to destroy Russia," he says.

Hugo Bachega
Reporting from Kyiv

Image source, .

Ukraine says the nuclear power plant complex in Zaporizhzhia, for now, is safe.

But concerns remain high, with both sides trading accusations.

Ukraine says Russian attacks over the weekend damaged three radiation sensors and left a worker injured. A reactor had to be disconnected from the system.

Russia has blamed Ukraine for the attacks.

The site has been under Russian occupation since the beginning of March, but Ukrainian technicians are still running it.

In his nightly address, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky again accused Russia of waging “nuclear terror” and urged countries to impose more sanctions on Moscow.

Image source, .

Ukrainian forces have again shelled the Antonivskiy bridge in the Russian-controlled city of Kherson in the south, according to Russian news agency Interfax.

It has damaged construction equipment and delayed the reopening of the bridge, the agency report quotes a Russian-appointed official as saying.

The bridge is one of only two crossing points for Russian forces to territory they have occupied on the western bank of the Dnipro river in southern Ukraine in what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in the country.

It has been a key target for Ukrainian forces in recent weeks.

Kyiv used high-precision rockets - supplied by the US - to try to destroy it in possible preparation for a counter-offensive to retake Russian-controlled areas of the south.

Kirill Stremousov, the Russian-appointed deputy head of Kherson's city administration, told Interfax there had been no "critical damage" from the latest shelling.

He did not say how long this would delay its planned reopening.

Image source, REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is the largest in Europe.

It was seized by the Russians early in the Ukraine war - in March - but kept its Ukrainian employees.

Russian forces currently hold the plant and surrounding areas, close to Ukrainian-held territory. It consists of six pressurised water reactors and stores radioactive waste.

Over the weekend, Ukraine and Russia have both accused each other of shelling the plant, which has prompted warnings of "the very real risk of a nuclear disaster" from the International Atomic Energy Agency.

UN Secretary General António Guterres has today said "any attack to a nuclear plant is a suicidal thing".

The power plant is in the city of Enerhodar, in the south-east of Ukraine along the left bank of the Dnipro River.

The UK defence ministry says Russia is using the area to launch attacks - taking advantage of the "protected status" of the nuclear power plant to reduce the risk of overnight attacks from Ukrainian forces.

Image source, .

The UK's Ministry of Defence says Russia is "highly likely" to be deploying anti-personnel mines along its defensive lines in eastern Ukraine's Donbas.

The mines have the potential to "inflict widespread casualties" among both Ukraine's military and local civilians, the MoD says in its regular intelligence update, external.

In Donetsk and Kramatorsk, Russia has "highly likely attempted the employment of PFM-1 and PFM-1S scatterable anti-personnel mines", the defence ministry says on Twitter.

The MoD says these are commonly called the "butterfly mine" and describes them as "deeply controversial, indiscriminate weapons".

The BBC has not been able to verify this information.

Image source, .

The grain ships leaving Ukraine's waters are a sign of a rare diplomatic victory in a war that's raged for more than five months.

About 20 million tonnes of grain have been stuck at the ports since February - causing global shortages, high prices and worries of famine.

Under a deal brokered by Turkey and the UN last month, Russia agreed not to target ships in transit, while Ukraine said it would guide vessels through mined waters.

The deal, set to last 120 days, can be renewed if both sides agree.

The complex arrangement seems to be working, at least for now.

The success of this deal is vital for Ukraine - and the rest of the world.

If the deal holds, Ukraine expects to export up to three million tonnes of grain per month.

• Why does the world need grain to be shipped from Ukraine?

Image source, Getty Images

Two more ships loaded with grain have set sail from Ukraine's Black Sea ports, as part of the deal reached with Russia brokered by the UN and Turkey.

Officials from Turkey's defence ministry say the first vessel, the Sacura, which left the port of Pivdennyi, was carrying soybeans to Italy.

They say another ship, the Arizona, has left Chernomorsk with corn bound for southern Turkey.

About 20 million tonnes of grain have been stuck in Ukraine because of the Russian invasion, leading to shortages and higher food prices in other countries.

But after the deal was signed to allow safe passage, the first ship to leave Ukraine since February headed for Lebanon last week.

On Sunday, four more ships carrying grain and sunflower oil left the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk via a safe maritime corridor.

They sailed to Turkey for inspection as part of the agreement, to make sure they were not carrying weapons.

Two then docked in Turkey, while the others headed to Italy and China.

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres says he hopes international inspectors will be allowed access to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Ukraine and Russia have both accused each other of shelling the site, prompting warnings of a “very real risk of a nuclear disaster” from the UN’s nuclear watchdog.

Zaporizhzhia, in south-east Ukraine, is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and was seized by the Russians in March but kept its Ukrainian employees.

“Any attack to a nuclear plant is a suicidal thing,” Guterres says.

Image source, .

Hello and welcome back to our live coverage.

We'll be bringing you the latest developments on the war in Ukraine.

But first, a quick update on what's been going on:

• The UN secretary general has called for international inspectors to be given access to the nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia
• Ukraine and Russia have both accused each other of shelling the site
• Meanwhile, Ukraine's Southern Defence Forces have reported successful missile and artillery strikes on key bridges and Russian army bases and munitions depots in the Kherson Region in the south of Ukraine
• A positive development has been the safe passage of five grain ships from Ukraine's ports since a deal was brokered by the UN and Turkey
• Another two grain ships have left Ukraine today

We'll give you more details as they come in.