LATEST HEADLINES

• At least six people were killed in a Russian missile strike on an apartment building in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown of Kryvyi Rih, officials said. At least 25 people were wounded in the attack on the central Ukrainian city, with others thought to still be trapped under the rubble. READ MORE BELOW

• Ukraine claims to have recaptured seven villages from Russian forces along the frontline in the country's southeast since starting its long-anticipated counteroffensive. President Zelenskyy said that despite rain and fierce fighting, Ukrainian forces were making progress. He declared: "We have movement and that is crucial... The enemy's losses are exactly what we need." READ MORE BELOW

• U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was too soon to say exactly where Ukraine's counteroffensive was going, but added Washington was confident that Kyiv will continue to have success in taking back land seized by Russia.

• President Emmanuel Macron said France had promised more military assistance to Ukraine to bolster its counter-offensive, having already intensified its delivery of ammunitions, weapons and armed vehicles.

• President Zelenskyy has promised action after seeing the "unsatisfactory" results of an inspection he ordered into all Ukrainian shelters after three people were killed when they were unable to access one during a Russian air strike in Kyiv.

• The breach of the huge Kakhovka dam on Ukraine's Dnipro river will have a huge impact on global food security, lead to a rise in food prices and could cause drinking water problems for hundreds of thousands, the UN's aid chief said. 

• The U.S. is concerned that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is planning to deliver more weapons to Russia after DPRK leader Kim Jong Un vowed to bolster strategic cooperation with Moscow. Kim had used Russia's national day to say his nation would "hold hands firmly with the Russian president... to fulfil the grand goal of building a powerful country."

IN DETAIL

Deadly missile strike hits Zelenskyy's hometown

A Russian missile strike killed at least six civilians in an apartment building in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown on Tuesday.

Residents gathered outside the burnt-out apartment block after the early-morning attack in Kryvyi Rih, close to the massive reservoir emptied last week by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam that flooded vast swathes of southern Ukraine.

Officials said at least 25 people were wounded and others could still be trapped under the rubble of the five-story apartment block.

One survivor, Olha Chernousova, said she was thrown out of her bed by a violent blast wave, but escaped onto her balcony to wait for rescuers. "I thought I would have to jump into a tree," she said.

"Russian killers continue their war against residential buildings, ordinary cities and people," Zelenskyy, who was born in the city, said on Telegram. 

Moscow denies intentionally targeting civilians, but has stepped up missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks amid the launch of Kyiv's long-awaited counteroffensive to recapture Russian-held territory.

Starting last week, the offensive is still in its early days, with tens of thousands of fresh Ukrainian troops and hundreds of Western armored vehicles yet to be committed.

Ukraine has already captured more ground than at any time since November, but it has yet to pierce Russia's main defensive lines, which Moscow has had months to prepare.

After a week of giving little or no information about its offensive, Ukraine said on Monday it had recaptured seven settlements so far. 

Troops have advanced up to 6.5 km and seized 90 square km of ground along a 100 km-long stretch of the southern front line, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said.

Russia has not acknowledged any Ukrainian gains and says its forces have repelled advances since June 4.

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