Russia controls around a fifth of Ukrainian territory, half a year after invading its neighbour.

Its troops have been grinding forward in the east - now controlling all of Luhansk and much of Donetsk, which comprise the Donbas region.

Ukrainian forces are trying to push back their enemies in the south. Russian infrastructure has also been targeted in occupied Crimea in recent days, although Ukraine has not claimed responsibility.

Large areas around Kyiv were retaken in early April after Russia abandoned its push towards the capital.

The Russians have suffered heavy losses of personnel and weaponry, although the exact numbers on both sides are unknown.

See more from our Visual Journalism team here.

Image source, .

Image source, .

Quentin Sommerville
Reporting near Kherson

In quick order, the artillery crews of the 59th brigade leap from their truck and unshackle their Soviet-era howitzer, planting it firmly in dry soil of a wheat field eight miles from Russian positions on the Kherson front line.

A single enemy shell flies overhead, landing in a nearby field. The men don’t break pace, and return fire immediately.

Almost six months ago, three days into Russia’s invasion, the brigade called into their HQ asking for resupplies and were met with shock.

“We thought you’d been wiped out,” their command said.

Today - Independence Day - is little different than any other. It is still a vicious fight, their howitzers bear the scars of the Russian artillery barrages, the barrels are peppered with shrapnel.

The men too have suffered, last week a number were killed in a Russian attack.

Yet more is expected from them.

Ukraine has said it will launch a counter-offensive here, in the hope of taking back the city of Kherson, the only city the Russians have captured west of the Dnipro River. While it is under enemy control, the city of Odesa and the country’s access to the Black Sea remain at risk.

But the Russians have dug in and won’t be easily removed.

Foreign military aid has made a difference, yet more will be required to match Russia’s relentless artillery strikes if there’s any hope of securing the breakthrough Ukraine needs in this war.

Image source, UN

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says the world depends on his country's independence.

Fresh from a meeting with his British counterpart Boris Johnson, Zelensky is addressing the UN Security Council on the 31st anniversary of his country's release from Soviet rule.

Russia objected to Zelensky taking part in today's meeting in New York remotely - saying it was a procedural issue - but was outvoted.

Zelensky levels a number of allegations at Russia over its invasion, saying it had put the world "on the brink of radiation catastrophe" after turning the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant into a conflict zone.

Russia has previously thrown the same accusation at Ukraine.

Zelensky goes on to argue that Russia's "insane aggression" is causing "artificial hunger" around the world, due to blockages to Ukraine's important grain exports.

And he says Moscow's invasion had resulted in energy poverty for tens of millions of people.

Image source, Getty Images

A little earlier the US confirmed $3bn (£2.5bn) of further military support for Ukraine - but a Ukrainian MP says even that might not be sufficient.

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze told the BBC the resources already given to Ukraine haven't been enough to go on a counter-offensive and "ensure that we are freeing our territories".

Speaking ahead of the US announcement, Klympush-Tsintsadze added that Ukraine was grateful for all the aid delivered so far, but cited figures suggesting as much as $400m (£340m) was being spent by Kyiv every day on the war effort.

We're just getting some pictures of Boris Johnson's time with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky during his surprise visit on the country's Independence Day.

Let's take a look:

Image source, No 10

Image source, No 10

Image source, Reuters

Image source, No 10

Image source, Reuters

Boris Johnson, who has made his third surprise visit to Kyiv since the war started, has been accused of a lack of public appearances following his resignation as prime minister on 7 July.

Here are some of the things he's been doing in recent weeks:

• 11 July: makes first public appearance since quitting as Tory leader, visiting a medical research centre in London
• 20 July: attends final session of Prime Minister's Questions, signing off by saying: "Mission largely accomplished, for now"

• 26 July: presents a leadership award to Ukraine's President Zelensky during a virtual ceremony
• 30 July: hosts a wedding anniversary party in Gloucestershire with wife Carrie
• 1 August: attends funeral of former Northern Ireland First Minister David Trimble
• 12 August: visits an Airbus factory in north Wales
• Also in August: goes on two holidays - to Slovenia and Greece - amid accusations of leaving a power vacuum during the UK's cost-of-living crisis

Ministers including Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi have denied allegations that the government has been "missing in action" over the summer.

Ukraine support key to Johnson's legacypublished at 15:20 British Summer Time 24 August 2022

15:20 BST 24 August 2022

Ione Wells
Political correspondent

There are three main things Boris Johnson wants his legacy to be - getting Brexit done, the Covid vaccine rollout, and the UK's support of Ukraine.

I once asked a close ally of his whether they thought, when he resigned, he'd stir up trouble on the backbenches for the next prime minister.

They argued he only would if he felt his successor "went soft" on the UK's response to the Ukraine war.

Johnson also said in a BBC Radio 4 interview the only thing that would make him consider resigning would be if he were asked to give up support for Ukraine.

Clearly, that turned out not to be the case.

It's unlikely anyone would have pushed him to give up his support - given it was one of the few things to actually unite the Conservative Party towards the end of his tenure.

Both candidates to be the next prime minister have pledged to continue support, but Johnson did have a close relationship with President Zelensky that may be harder to emulate.

When the Ukraine war was in its early weeks, and there were scenes of terror on our screens every evening, those who witnessed calls between them remarked on the fact they were still exchanging jokes and references to Shakespeare plays they enjoyed.

Image source, Getty Images

As Boris Johnson visits Kyiv, Downing Street confirms the UK will give a further £54m in military aid to Ukraine.

Some 200 drones will be sent to Ukraine to improve long range surveillance and defensive targeting ability, No 10 says.

The package also includes 850 micro-drones, which are launched by hand and are specifically designed for use in towns and villages to detect approaching enemy forces.

Downing Street says military personnel can be trained to fly the helicopter drones, which are smaller than a mobile phone and can feed back live images, in under 20 minutes.

The UK will continue training Ukrainian military personnel and will be teaching them how to use minehunting vehicles to detect explosives off-shore in the coming weeks.

James Waterhouse
Kyiv correspondent, BBC News

Image source, PA Media

Boris Johnson has visited President Zelensky in Kyiv on Ukraine’s Independence Day.

Appearing next to his Ukrainian counterpart, Mr Johnson claimed unity was “growing” among Western countries in relation to continued military support, despite reports European support could “dry up” because of the cost-of-living crisis.

“While people are paying energy bills, people in Ukraine are paying with blood,” said Mr Johnson, who added that British households would “have to endure the cost-of-living crisis” in order to counter Russia’s “inevitable manipulation of energy prices”.

“The hardships are real, but we need to fix the underlying issue which is dependence on Russian gas,” he added.

When asked by the BBC just how independent his country was, President Zelensky said “Ukraine is as independent as possible", and stressed that the unity inside the country mustn’t be lost.

President Zelensky then unveiled a plaque for the British prime minister on his new “alley of bravery” outside the Ukrainian parliament.

With a heavy security presence, the pair then went for a walk through the centre of Kyiv.

Image source, Boris Johnson / Twitter

We're getting a little more from Boris Johnson on his surprise trip to Kyiv as Ukraine celebrates 31 years of independence from the Soviet Union.

"What happens in Ukraine matters to us all. That is why I am in Kyiv today," Johnson says in a tweet, external.

"That is why the UK will continue to stand with our Ukrainian friends. I believe Ukraine can and will win this war."

The outgoing UK prime minister is in the Ukrainian capital as part of the country's marking of Independence Day, Downing Street says.

We'll bring you more as we get it.

People across Ukraine have been marking Independence Day - a day which coincides with the six-month anniversary of the Russian invasion.

In the western city of Lviv, dignitaries and families have attended a ceremony at the graves of fallen soldiers in Lychakiv cemetery, 31 years after liberation from Soviet rule.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Jonathan Beale
BBC defence correspondent

Neither Russia nor Ukraine is likely to achieve any decisive military action in Ukraine this year, the UK's head of military intelligence has told the BBC.

But we should be wary of thinking in binary terms - that people are winning or losing - or thinking it is a stalemate, says Gen Sir Jim Hockenhull.

Russia, he says, is clearly trying to generate more forces after suffering significant losses.

It's also having to redeploy some of its troops from the Donbas to the south, where he says it is under significant pressure from Ukrainian forces in and around Kherson.

But Hockenhull still says it is unrealistic to expect a decisive shift in the south in the coming months.

Image source, Russian Defence Ministry

Could Russian President Vladimir Putin really resort to nuclear weapons if he doesn't get what he wants?

Hockenhull says this is watched "very, very closely".

Russian military doctrine, unlike that of the West, includes the use of tactical, or battlefield, nuclear weapons for military operations.

While he believes it is unlikely tactical nuclear weapons will be used imminently, Hockenhull says it is something he will continue to watch.

Will Vernon
BBC News, Moscow

Russian officials and state TV have made almost no mention today of the six-month anniversary of the start of Russia’s “special military operation,” as the Kremlin likes to call it.

It’s possible that the authorities are not keen to emphasise the extent to which the campaign has become drawn out – certainly for much longer than the Kremlin intended.

State TV channels were leading their news bulletins on Ukraine, but, as usual, the coverage focused on alleged Ukrainian ‘crimes,’ such as shelling of civilian areas, and Russia’s diplomatic efforts to resolve the situation around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Western countries have accused Russia of endangering the site. There was, though, some mention of Ukrainian Independence Day today.

On one of the main political talk shows on Russian TV, 60 Minutes, host Olga Skabeyeva remarked on Ukraine’s independence, bellowing that Kyiv in fact “totally and completely relies on the US,” and is therefore, apparently, not independent.

This is a common narrative in Kremlin propaganda – that Ukraine is a puppet of the West, used as a weapon against Russia.

The authorities also chose today to arrest Yevgeny Roizman. The former mayor of the city of Yekaterinburg was one of the last remaining prominent opposition politician in Russia – all others have either been jailed, killed or have fled abroad.

Roizman has been highly critical of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A source told Russian news agencies that a criminal case had been opened against the former mayor for ‘discrediting the Russian armed forces,’ a common charge used against anti-war activists here.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov says he "had no idea" that after achieving independence his country would one day be at war with Russia.

Speaking in a live interview with Ukrainian TV, Reznikov said that after the USSR collapsed in 1991 he was "sure we'd be friends with our neighbours".

"Trust me, I had no idea that our closest neighbour would turn out to be the most impudent and cunning one," he says.

The Ukrainian defence minister used imagery from JRR Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings to add that he was convinced of Ukraine's victory.

Russian troops have been referred to as "Orcs" (the soldiers of the Dark Lord of Middle Earth) on social media by Ukrainians since the invasion.

"We're with the power of light, and light is definitely more powerful than darkness," says Reznikov.

"We will defeat the Orcs, and trust me, the country of Mordor will disintegrate into separate statelets.

"We will definitely see its disintegration. And we'll stay united and independent."

One of Russia's last remaining opposition voices has been detained by police, in the latest crackdown on dissent by the Kremlin.

Yevgeny Roizman, a former Mayor of Yekaterinburg near the Ural mountains, was arrested on charges of "discrediting the Russian army", security services said.

The offence, introduced by authorities after the invasion of Ukraine, can carry a sentence of five years in prison.

Human rights lawyer Pavel Chikov wrote on Telegram that Russian courts had so far dealt with about 3,500 cases of alleged discrediting of the armed forces. Almost all those tried have been found guilty.

Roizman was seen being led away from his home by officers in balaclavas and put into a waiting police van. He said he was being arrested "basically for one phrase, 'the invasion of Ukraine'".

An prominent ally of the jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Roizman resigned his post as mayor of Russia's fourth largest city in 2018 after lawmakers voted to abolish his post. He alleged it was a politically motivated move against him.

Image source, Reuters

It's a big day in Ukraine, which is marking 31 years of freedom from Soviet rule - as well as six months since an invasion by Russia.

Here's a quick look at what's been happening today.

• President Zelensky vowed to "liberate" all occupied Ukrainian territory, without "concession or compromise"
• President Biden has confirmed $3bn (£2.5bn) of fresh US military support for Ukraine - the biggest American package yet - which will help Ukraine to acquire weaponry and equipment
• Other Western leaders have again shown their public support for Ukraine; European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Europe was with Kyiv "today and in the long run", while European Parliament President Roberta Metsola hailed Ukraine's "brave fight"
• Independence celebrations were scaled back as Zelensky warned of Russian attacks, but things have been relatively quiet so far
• The Russian defence minister admitted that Moscow's assault had slowed down - but claimed it was only to avoid civilian casualties

Image source, EPA

US President Joe Biden confirms the US is sending Ukraine nearly $3bn (£2.5bn) in a fresh package of weapons and equipment.

It's the biggest tranche of American security assistance sent to Kyiv to date, a statement from Biden says.

He adds that the money will allow Ukraine to acquire air-defence and artillery systems and munitions, as well as radars and other hardware.

On the six-month anniversary of the invasion, Biden says Ukrainians have "inspired the world with their extraordinary courage and dedication to freedom".

Ukraine will remain a "sovereign and independent nation", he adds.

Rob Cameron
BBC Prague Correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

A large sculpture of a hand giving the "up yours" sign has appeared in front of the Russian embassy in Prague, on the six-month anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The lifelike, outsized, female hand appears to have been set in concrete in a hole dug in the small park in front of the embassy, in Prague's sixth district.

The fingernails are painted in the yellow and blue colours of Ukraine's flag.

A group calling itself "the Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune, Prague Chapter" has claimed responsibility for the work.

The artist, Jan Slovencik, said in a statement the surface material was deliberately lifelike and represented those who were suffering most in the conflict - "the older women of the region who have witnessed the horrors of unjustified war more than once in their lives".

Creative director Joseph Ali Tehranian said it sent a double message: "From one side it says 'peace and victory', and from the other... well, let's just say it should be crystal clear."

The park was renamed Boris Nemtsov Square several years ago on the anniversary of the opposition politician's murder, while the stretch of road in front of the Russian consulate next door was renamed Ukrainian Heroes' Street following the invasion.

Image source, Getty Images

There is "no easy fix" to cost-of-living issues caused by the war in Ukraine, warns UK armed forces minister James Heappey.

"If we let Russia off the hook, if we remove support from Ukraine, if we remove the sanctions, that doesn't all of a sudden bring Europe back to where it was 18 months ago," he tells the BBC.

Heappey suggests the energy issues brought about by the invasion are now entrenched as "Putin has shown that he will use the Russian gas supply as a lever over Europe to get his will".