Olga Ivshina
BBC News Russian

A former Russian paratrooper has published a book describing his experiences on the front line during the first months of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Pavel Filatyev, a 33-year old junior sergeant, writes about chaos, heavy losses, total lack of preparation and negligence in Russia's army in the most detailed account yet from a Russian soldier of the invasion.

“All our training existed only on paper, our equipment was hopelessly outdated. We even still have the same fighting tactics as our grandfathers!”, he writes.

Filatyev describes how his unit was poorly equipped and physically exhausted when it stormed the city of Kherson.

“Like savages, we ate everything there: Oats, porridge, jam, honey, coffee… We didn’t give a damn about anything, we’d already been pushed to the limit,” he says.

He says the soldiers had no idea why the war was taking place.

“We had no moral right to attack another country, especially a nation which is the closest to us,” he writes.

Since publishing the book earlier this month, Filatyev has had to flee Russia, fearing repercussions.

Image source, Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the United Nations must ensure the security of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant occupied by Russian forces.

His comments follow talks with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who is currently visiting the city of Lviv in western Ukraine.

Zelensky has also held talks today with Turkey's leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Zelensky wrote on Telegram: "Particular attention was paid to the topic of Russia's nuclear blackmail at the Zaporizhzhia NPP."

"This deliberate terror on the part of the aggressor can have global catastrophic consequences for the whole world," he says.

Zelensky adds: "Therefore, the UN must ensure the security of this strategic object, its demilitarisation and complete liberation from Russian troops."

Image source, Reuters

Russian forces have been continuing to shell residential areas in Ukraine's second city Kharkiv, with at least ten people reported killed overnight.

Local officials say seven people were killed in attacks on Wednesday evening. Another three people died in a pre-dawn rocket attack on the city this morning, according to local emergency services cited by Reuters.

The agency said a tram depot and a dormitory were hit.

Image source, Reuters

Survivor Bohdan Oliinyk told the news agency rescuers saved his wife and two children who were inside a four-storey dormitory that was hit.

"I was on the couch then, but got up three minutes before this explosion and went outside. Maybe God saved me somehow," Oliinyk said.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is the biggest in Europe.

Russian forces have occupied the site since early March, and Ukraine says the situation at the plant is "approaching critical".

The UN's nuclear watchdog has called for an immediate end to any military action near the plant, warning of a "very real risk of a nuclear disaster".

The Russians have been urged to hand control of the plant back because of the dangers, and some staff there have told the BBC they're "being kept at gunpoint".

Nato is the latest international organisation to call for UN inspectors to be let into the plant, claiming its seizure posed a serious threat to Ukraine and neighbouring countries.

Officials say the plant could be cut off from power as Moscow tries to redirect electricity to Crimea, which it annexed eight years ago.

Read in full: Preparing for the worst at Ukraine nuclear plant

As we mentioned in our opening post, Russia's foreign ministry has dismissed a proposal by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to demilitarise the area around the Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine.

Guterres earlier this month called for Russian forces to withdraw from the facility and for "a safe perimeter of demilitarisation".

The plant was seized by Russia in March, but has retained its Ukrainian employees. Both sides have blamed one another for shelling it in recent days - raising fears of a serious incident.

A spokesman for the Russian foreign ministry Ivan Nechayev described Guterres's proposal as unacceptable, claiming it would make the facility "more vulnerable".

"That is the very reason that the proposals (on demilitarisation) are unacceptable," Nechayev said today.

"Implementing them would make the power station even more vulnerable."

Russia says it is keeping some troops at the plant to ensure its smooth running and security.

Image source, Reuters

Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of the Ukraine war.

Here are the main developments so far today:

• UN secretary general Antonio Guterres is in Ukraine to meet the country's president Volodymyr Zelensky
• They will discuss ways to find a political solution to the war, increasing Ukraine’s grain exports and the risk of catastrophe at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has been occupied by Russian forces since early March
• Guterres also plans to visit the Black Sea port of Odesa on Friday, where grain exports have resumed from Ukraine under a deal brokered by the UN and Turkey
• Earlier, Russia's Foreign Ministry dismissed a proposal by Guterres to demilitarise the area around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
• Heavy shelling has been taking place around the nuclear facility in recent days, with both sides blaming each other

• Elsewhere, Russian forces are continuing to shell residential areas in Kharkiv, with at least nine civilians killed and dozens injured overnight