Marita Moloney
Live reporter

We're wrapping up our live coverage now, thanks for joining us.

Today's developments from Ukraine largely centred on reports from Kyiv that a number of settlements were reclaimed from Russian control.

As the BBC's Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse explains, this counter-offensive is still in its early phase and this is reflected by the Ukrainians attacking in multiple areas with modest gains.

You can read a detailed analysis of how today's events unfolded and what this means in terms of Ukraine's counter-offensive by our security correspondent here.

Today's page was edited by James Fitzgerald and myself, and written by Jack Burgess, James Harness and Ece Goksedef. We'll be back tomorrow with more live updates on the conflict in Ukraine, so until then, goodbye for now.

Image source, Reuters

We're going to pause our live coverage of the conflict in Ukraine shortly, but before we do, here's an overview of what's been happening today:

• Ukraine says its forces have liberated several villages from Russian occupation, after President Zelensky confirmed on Saturday that a counter-offensive had begun
• A fifth village in the Zaporizhzhia region has reportedly been reclaimed, after the recapture of Storozheve, Blahodatne, Neskuchne and Makarivka were announced since the weekend
• As the BBC's Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse notes, it appears officials in Kyiv are delaying the announcement of liberations until they’re certain settlements have been recaptured
• Russia is yet to confirm any retreat and Ukrainian gains in this early stage of the counter-offensive have so far been modest
• Meanwhile, 95 more Ukrainians have been released in a prisoner swap with Russia, Zelensky has said
• Fighting on the ground is continuing, with officials reporting the deaths of five citizens in Ukraine since yesterday
• Elsewhere, Vladimir Putin has made an appeal on Russia's national day for citizens to unite through patriotism during a "difficult time"

Image source, POOL VIA VGTRK

Earlier, we brought you comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who appealed for patriotism at what he called a "difficult time" for his country.

He made the speech to mark Russia's national day today, during which he also visited a military hospital near Moscow.

Putin, accompanied by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, spoke to soldiers wounded in Ukraine and then presented the servicemen with awards, Russia's state news agency Tass reported.

We can bring you some comments from the United Nations secretary general now, who has been speaking about the deal that allows Ukraine to export grain across the Black Sea.

Antonio Guterres says he is concerned that Russia will quit the deal, which currently allows the safe wartime export of grain and fertilisers from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, on 17 July.

Moscow has been threatening to walk away from the deal, known as the Black Sea grain initiative, if obstacles to its own grain and fertiliser shipments are not removed.

"I am concerned and we are working hard in order to make sure that it will be possible to maintain the Black Sea initiative and at the same time that we are able to go on in our work to facilitate Russian exports," Guterres told reporters earlier.

• Want to know more about the grain deal? You can read our explainer here

Image source, .

As we've been reporting, Ukraine say its forces have reclaimed several settlements from Russian control since President Zelensky announced the start of his country's counter-offensive over the weekend.

The map below shows the four villages liberated since then: Storozheve, Blahodatne, Neskuchne and Makarivka. It should be noted that troops have also said they regained Novodarivka, in the Zaporizhzhia region, earlier this month.

It's worth us stating that the settlements recently retaken by Kyiv are relatively small - and that the BBC hasn't been able to independently verify these claims.

Image source, .

Earlier the BBC spoke to Ukraine's former President Petro Poroshenko, and asked him about future elections in the country.

Poroshenko said that on the first day of the Russian offensive he told President Zelensky: "You are not my opponent anymore...we are soldiers."

"The future, elections...we can speak about that when all Ukrainian soil is free from Russia occupants," he told the BBC's Yalda Hakim.

An uprising in 2013 eventually overthrew the country's previous pro-Russian government, and subsequently Poroshenko was elected in 2014, but he was then beaten by Zelensky in the 2019 election.

Image source, AFP

Elsewhere, the Russian defence ministry has signed a contract with a Chechen paramilitary group that's been playing an important role in fighting in Ukraine.

The Akhmat special forces are described as Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov's private army. Kadyrov publicly supports Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.

The ministry has ordered all so-called "volunteer" units to sign such contracts, to bring them under its control.

Analysts see it as an attempt to limit the power of the founder of the Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Prigozhin has played a huge role in the war in Ukraine as well, but lately he has been fiercely critical of the Russian military establishment.

He said yesterday his fighters would not sign such a contract, adding that they were more effective fighting independently.

Five civilians have been killed and at least 17 wounded in Russian strikes on Ukraine since yesterday, local authorities have been reporting via the messaging app Telegram.

• Kherson region: Three people were killed and 12 more injured on Sunday after Russian attacks, regional military officials announced earlier today
• Donetsk region: One civilian was killed yesterday, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported this morning. He also said two civilians were wounded by an air strike on Avdiivka
• Kharkiv region: Two civilians were wounded early this morning, regional governor Oleh Synyehubov said
• Zaporizhzhia region: One man has been killed and at least one person wounded in attacks on the small town of Orikhiv, regional military chief Yuriy Malashko has said

Image source, Reuters

Ukraine's military intelligence says Russia is preparing to evacuate a town in Crimea after the breach of the Kakhovka dam put a local chemical plant in jeopardy.

Armiansk sits in the corridor linking Crimea (occupied by Russian troops since 2014) to the rest of Ukraine.

Just like the rest of the peninsula, the local chemical plant depends for its water on the North Crimea Canal, which - until a few days ago - was fed by the giant Kakhovka reservoir.

Now the reservoir has shrunken, after the dam that had created it was blown up.

According to Ukrainian military intelligence, external, the Russian occupiers are planning to evacuate the entire town of Armiansk. It's also quoting reports that Russia may put a full halt on the plant's production, claiming engineers have been laying explosives in the facility.

It suggests the Russian occupiers may be preparing to sabotage the plant (in a "false flag" operation), which could release two-hundred tonnes of ammonia and cause another human-made disaster.

Image source, Reuters

Let's continue with the topic of the Kakhovka dam for now. The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog is travelling to Ukraine to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky after last week's breach.

"On my way to Ukraine to meet President Zelensky and present a programme of assistance in the aftermath of the catastrophic Nova Kakhovka dam flooding," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi tweeted, external.

"I will assess the situation at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and conduct a rotation of ISAMZ with a strengthened team."

ISAMZ is the IAEA's monitoring presence at the nuclear plant - which is Europe's largest.

Image source, Reuters

We can bring you an update now on the breach of the Kakhovka dam in a Russian-controlled area of southern Ukraine last week - an incident which unleashed massive flooding.

Ten people are now known to have died following the incident, according to Ukraine's interior minister.

“Eight Ukrainian citizens were killed in Kherson region and two in Mykolayiv region,” Ihor Klymenko told Ukrainian media today.

Klymenko added that another 42 people have been declared missing.

• You can read more on what we know about the Nova Kakhovka incident here

Image source, Coordination HQ for the Treatment of Prisoners of War/Reuters

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says "95 more of our guys" were returned from Russian captivity yesterday - bringing the total to 2,526 since last February.

"We will not leave any one of us, nothing of Ukraine, to the enemy," he adds in his Telegram message, external.

Earlier, Andriy Yusov - a defence intelligence spokesperson - described the latest prisoner swap with Russia as a difficult one.

He explained that the exchange involved communicating with the Russian Defence Ministry but also other entities - such as the Wagner private military group and the Chechen special purpose unit Akhmat.

The BBC has not been able to independently verify these claims.

Image source, Sputnik/Reuters

Turning from the former Ukrainian leader to the current Russian one...

President Vladimir Putin has been speaking at a lavish ceremony in the Kremlin on Russia's national day.

He appealed to Russians' patriotic pride to unite the country during what he described as a "difficult time". He went on to discuss what Moscow calls the "special military operation" in Ukraine.

Today is a public holiday in Russia and Putin said the day "marks the inseparability of our centuries-old history, the greatness and glory of the fatherland".

Russia Day commemorates the adoption of the country's declaration of state sovereignty on 12 June 1990.

As we've been reporting, Ukraine says it's taken back a cluster of settlements during its counter-offensive.

Storozheve, in the west of the Donetsk region, is not far from the settlements of Blahodatne, Neskuchne and Makarivka - whose recapture was announced over the weekend. Troops have also said they regained Novodarivka, in the neighbouring Zaporizhzhia region, earlier this month.

Ukraine’s former President Petro Poroshenko has been speaking to the BBC in Kyiv - and says this operation is the start of a much bigger offensive planned by Ukrainian forces.

"It's a difficult job," he says. "This is just the beginning - because Russia built a very deep defence area, up to 40, 50km. And this is a difficult job because Russia is still very, very strong."

He adds: "But this is a successful reconnaissance. [There are] very, very few brigades already involved in the operation, but this is only one piece of the possible offensive operation of [the] Ukrainians."

Ukrainian troops say they've taken back another village from occupying Russian troops - the fifth settlement in a flurry of recent announcements.

Novodarivka was recaptured on 4 June, writes the Zaporizhzhya detached territorial defence brigade in a Facebook post, external.

The brigade says "multiple attempts" by the Russian side to snatch back the settlement since that day have been unsuccessful.

Modest gains with counter-offensive still in its early phasepublished at 13:35 British Summer Time 12 June 2023

13:35 BST 12 June 2023

James Waterhouse
Ukraine correspondent in Dnipro

When reading about these latest advances claimed by Kyiv, it's worth bearing in mind this note of caution from our Ukraine correspondent.

The sight of soldiers once again hoisting Ukrainian flags in liberated settlements is an exciting one for the country and its allies.

What we will hear less about is, where progress has been slower, or non-existent. This counter-offensive is still in its early phase. It’s reflected by the Ukrainians attacking in multiple areas with modest gains.

They’re still costly as well. In the southern Zaporizhzhia region in particular, a lot of men and equipment have been lost as Kyiv tries to probe for a weakness. Building heavy fortifications also plays to a Russian strength as they’ve had months to prepare.

Moscow also has the upper hand when it comes to air superiority. Neither side has deployed their main forces yet. When Kyiv decides to, it’ll hope it brings more than the liberation of villages.

A video released by Ukraine's 35th Separate Marine Brigade shows servicemen walking through Storozheve - which they claim to have liberated from Russia.

They unfurl a flag, chanting: "Glory to the marine brigade... glory, glory glory."

During the soldiers' search of the village they find an abandoned vehicle with a "Z" painted on the side, which is a symbol used by the Russian military.

Image source, 35th Separate Brigade of Marines/Facebook/Reuters

If you're just joining us, here are the latest developments in the Ukraine war today:

• A fourth village - Storozheve in the Donetsk region - has been liberated from Russian occupation, Ukraine claims
• Ukraine also says its forces have advanced between 250m and 700m on the flanks of Bakhmut in the last 24 hours
• Moscow is yet to confirm any retreat, but Russia's defence ministry has acknowledged Ukraine's counter-offensive in Donetsk
• Ukrainian forces "liberated multiple settlements in western Donetsk", the US-based Institute for the Study of War group has said
• However, the counter-offensive is still in its early phase and gains so far have been modest
• The adviser to Ukraine's defence minister, Yuriy Sak, tells the BBC that Ukraine's long-awaited counter-offensive is causing "losses on both sides". However, he also claims the Russians are "taking much, much more considerable losses". The BBC has been unable to verify this
• Elsewhere, Russia's forces have blown up another dam, this time in the Zaporizhzhia region, Kyiv claims

Russia's defence ministry has also acknowledged Ukraine's counter-offensive in Donetsk, and has given some details about it.

It says on Telegram that in the last 24 hours, Ukrainian forces have continued to attempt offensive operations in the south Donetsk direction.

It adds that Russian forces repelled two attacks by the Ukrainian army. The BBC has not verified this claim.

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that a long-expected counter-offensive from Ukraine had begun but Kyiv had so far "not reached their aims in any area of combat".

Image source, Getty Images

Ukraine says its forces have advanced by distances of between 250m (820 ft) and 700m (2,230 ft) on the flanks of Bakhmut in the last 24 hours.

"Positional warfare continues in the Bakhmut sector," the spokesman of the army's Eastern Forces Command is quoted as saying by local media. "The enemy also tries to counter-attack, but unsuccessfully."

The eastern city has been the site of the longest and possibly bloodiest battle of the war so far. The Russian paramilitary group Wagner had claimed to have captured it late last month.

Ukrainian advances in the direction of the city were also reported last week.