Ukraine round-up: Afghan commander and Russia gas cut fears

Russian troops continued shelling several Ukrainian regions on Monday, killing six people and injuring 31 in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said.

Russian strikes were also reported in the north-eastern Sumy and southern Odesa regions.

Meanwhile, the death toll from Sunday's Russian rocket attack on a five-storey apartment block in eastern Ukraine rose to 30. A number of people were feared trapped under the rubble in the town of Chasiv Yar, the country's emergency services said.

As many as 7,200 Ukrainian service personnel have gone missing since the start of the Russian invasion, Ukraine's ombudsman Oleh Kotenko said. Most of them were in Russian captivity, he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree, making it easier for Ukrainians to get Russian citizenship. Russia is trying to tighten its grip on areas of southern and south-eastern Ukraine it has seized since invading on 24 February.

Germany fears Russia gas cut may become permanent

Analysts now question how secure Russia's gas supplies to Europe actually are

Russian natural gas supplies to Germany via the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 1 have been halted for 10 days for annual maintenance work.

But German Economy Minister Robert Habeck warned that EU countries had to be prepared in case gas shipments did not resume.

He has accused the Kremlin of using gas "as a weapon" in response to EU sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

Mr Habeck admitted Germany had become too dependent on Russian gas.

In mid-June Russia's state gas firm Gazprom cut gas flows through Nord Stream 1 to just 40% of the pipeline's capacity. It blamed a delay in the return of equipment being serviced by Germany's Siemens Energy.

Pipeline maintenance is normal every summer, when gas demand is lower than in winter, but the worry is that Russia may not turn the taps back on.

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The Afghan refugee commanding Ukrainian troops

Jalal Noory was just a child when he escaped civil war following the Soviet invasion of his country Afghanistan, in 1979.

He ended up in Ukraine - now his second home where he has built a new life.

Almost 25 years later he woke up witnessing the Russian invasion of Ukraine and he only had two options: ''to defend or die''.

Kawoon Khamoosh visited him in his dugout in the trenches of Kyiv.

Scotland pauses super sponsor scheme

The super sponsor scheme bypassed the need to match Ukrainian refugees with private hosts

The Scottish government has announced a three-month pause in its super sponsor scheme for Ukrainian refugees.

No new cases will be accepted from Wednesday to allow staff to deal with a recent increase in visa applications.

It comes a month after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told BBC Scotland there were no plans to pause the scheme.

Scottish Labour said the pause was "deeply disappointing" while the Tories said it highlighted the SNP's "shoddy planning and lack of foresight".

Scotland has taken in more than 7,000 Ukrainians seeking refuge since the Russian invasion, two-thirds of whom applied under the super sponsor scheme.

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In better news for refugees, one Scottish council is planning to bring 200 empty homes back into use for them.

North Lanarkshire Council will use £5m ($6m) of Scottish government funding to reinstate two tower blocks which were earmarked for demolition.

The flats in Airdrie and Coatbridge will be refurbished to "a high standard".

The aim is to allow people fleeing the Ukraine war to live in their own homes rather than hotels.

War in Ukraine: More coverage

• BUCHA: The man who came back from the dead

• WATCH: Russian woman rescued from a Kyiv bomb site

• UKRAINE: In maps: Battles raging in east Ukraine

• READ MORE: Full coverage of the crisis