TOP HEADLINES

• Russian shelling killed at least 13 people in Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, according to governor Valentyn Reznychenko. More than 20 buildings were damaged in Marganets, a city across the Dnipro river from the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, where there have been other reports of shelling. READ MORE BELOW

• Britain says Russia has "almost certainly" established a major new ground force to support its war. Called the 3rd Army Corps, it is based out of the city of Mulino, east of Russia's capital Moscow, UK officials said in an intelligence update.

• A senior Ukrainian official suggested explosions at a Russian air base in Crimea, which killed one person on Tuesday, could have been the work of partisan saboteurs. Kyiv has denied responsibility for the incident deep inside the Russian-occupied peninsula, while Moscow insisted the blasts were caused by exploding ammunition rather than Ukrainian fire. READ MORE BELOW

• Fifteen bodies have been buried in Bucha after they were found four months following the withdrawal of Russian forces from the area. The town's mayor said all the people who were shot and exhumed from a mass grave there had torture marks on them.

• The head of Ukraine's state nuclear power firm has warned of the "very high" risks of shelling at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the Russian-occupied south, adding it was vital Kyiv regain control over the facility before winter. READ MORE BELOW

• U.S. President Joe Biden has signed documents endorsing Finland and Sweden's NATO membership, the most significant expansion of the Western military alliance since the 1990s.

• Washington has earmarked $89 million to help Ukraine equip and train 100 teams to clear landmines and unexploded ordnance, the U.S. State Department has announced. 

• Russia's finance ministry has announced that the government has received a request for extra state spending of around 5 trillion roubles ($82.99 billion) annually for the 2023-2025 period.

• With the threat of obligatory gas rationing looming in Germany, its network regulator, which would be in charge of rationing in the event of a supply emergency, has received scores of exemption requests from across the country's industries, reflecting fears of potential production cuts and subsequent losses. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday gas prices would not come down again quickly. 

• Ukraine saw big increases in its agriculture exports in July, with grain, oilseed, and vegetable oil shipments rising by 22.7 percent versus June, pushing its output to 2.66 million tonnes, which is thanks to renewed wheat and barley shipments that had been stalled due to the conflict. 

IN DETAIL

Deadly shelling, nuclear risk

Ukraine's general staff reported widespread Russian shelling across several regions on Wednesday, with bombardments killing 13 people in the central Dnipropetrovsk region overnight.

With the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the Russian-occupied south just kilometers away from one of the worst-hit towns in Dnipropetrovsk on Tuesday evening, the head of Ukraine's state nuclear power firm warned of the "very high" risk of shelling at Europe's biggest nuclear site. 

Shelling last week by Russian forces had damaged three lines that connect the plant to the Ukrainian grid, Energoatom's chief Petro Kotin said, adding that Moscow was pushing to connect the facility to its own grid.

"The risk is very high" of shelling hitting containers storing radioactive material, he said.

Both Ukraine and Russia have said they want technicians from the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to visit Zaporizhzhia.

Russia has asked for IAEA chief Rafael Grossi to brief the UN Security Council on Thursday on Russia's accusation of attacks by "the Ukrainian armed forces on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and their potential catastrophic consequences," diplomats said.

Ukraine has denied the Russian assertion that its forces attacked the plant.

Crimea airbase blasts

A senior Ukrainian official suggested a series of explosions at a Russian air base in Crimea on Tuesday could have been the work of partisan saboteurs, as Ukraine denied responsibility for the incident deep in Russian-occupied territory.

Huge plumes of smoke could be seen in videos posted on social media from Crimea, a holiday destination for many Russians. Russia used Crimea as one of the launch pads for its February 24 attack.

Russia said the explosions, at least 12 according to witnesses, were detonations of stored ammunition, not the result of an attack.

Zelenskyy did not directly mention the blasts in his daily video address on Tuesday but said it was right that people were focusing on Crimea.

"We will never give it up... the Black Sea region cannot be safe while Crimea is occupied," he said, repeating his government's position that Crimea would have to be returned to Ukraine.