TOP HEADLINES

• A drone was shot down over the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea fleet in Crimea, in Sevastopol, city governor Mikhail Razvozhayev wrote on Telegram, blaming the attempt on Ukrainian forces. "It fell on the roof and caught fire," he said, adding that there was no major damage or victims.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed that independent inspectors can travel to the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the office of France's President Emmanuel Macron said, as fears grow over fighting near the site. READ MORE BELOW

• In the eastern Donbas region, Russian forces have approached the outskirts of the town of Bakhmut, but have not yet broken into the built-up area, the UK defense ministry said. It added Russia had not made any major efforts to advance in the Zaporizhzhia or Kharkiv sectors, while in the southwest, neither Ukrainian nor Russian forces have made advances on the Kherson front line.​​

• The U.S. announced a new $775 million arms package for Ukraine aiming to help Kyiv turn the tables and begin regaining territory occupied by Russian forces. The new package includes a range of precision missiles, anti-armor weaponry, surveillance drones, artillery and mine-clearing equipment that could boost Ukrainian offensive operations. 

• Putin told Macron that Russia is facing obstacles in the export of its food products and fertilizer. "There are still obstacles to the mentioned Russian exports that do not contribute to the solution of problems related to ensuring global food security," the Kremlin said.

• Two more ships carrying grain have left Ukraine's Chornomorsk port, Türkiye's Defense Ministry said, bringing the total number of vessels to leave Ukraine's Black Sea ports under a UN-brokered grain export deal to 27.

• European gas prices soared to a new record high at the close of trading on Friday after Russia's Gazprom announced that the Nord Stream pipeline would be closed from August 31 to September 2 due to maintenance work.

• S&P joined Fitch in upgrading Ukraine's credit rating after the war-torn nation last week secured a two-year reprieve on its foreign debt from creditors. Boosting the country's credit score of foreign debt to CCC+ "reflects strong committed international financial support to Ukraine, coupled with eroding, albeit still relatively high, foreign exchange reserves," S&P Global Ratings said in a statement.

• A rights group has asked Switzerland to investigate an alleged attack on a Swiss photojournalist by Russian troops in Ukraine earlier this year, prosecutors confirmed. Ukrainian NGO Truth Hounds has asked Switzerland's Office of the Attorney General to probe an attack on Guillaume Briquet as a possible war crime, according to Civitas Maxima group that helped file the complaint.

IN DETAIL

Putin and Macron agree on Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant inspections 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed that independent inspectors can travel to the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the office of France's President said, as fears grow over fighting near the site.

The apparent resolution of a dispute over whether inspectors travel via Ukraine or Russia came as a U.S. defense official said Ukraine's forces had brought the Russian advance to a halt.

"You are seeing a complete and total lack of progress by the Russians on the battlefield," the official said, speaking on grounds of anonymity.

According to Emmanuel Macron's office, Putin had "reconsidered" his demand that the International Atomic Energy Agency travel through Russia to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear site.

The UN nuclear watchdog's chief, Rafael Grossi "welcomed recent statements indicating that both Ukraine and Russia supported the IAEA's aim to send a mission" to the plant.

Meanwhile, UN chief Antonio Guterres urged Moscow's forces occupying Zaporizhzhia not to disconnect the facility from the grid and potentially cut supplies to millions of Ukrainians.

The Kremlin said that Putin and Macron agreed that the IAEA should carry out inspections "as soon as possible" to "assess the real situation on the ground."

Putin also "stressed that the systematic shelling by the Ukrainian military of the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant creates the danger of a large-scale catastrophe," the Kremlin added.