Almost a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout the east and south.
Putin's forces pulled out of key positions in November, retreating from Kherson as Ukrainian troops led a counteroffensive targeting the southern port city. Russian drones have continued bombarding civilian targets throughout Ukraine, knocking out critical power infrastructure as wintersets in.
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Aug 30, 2022, 11:07 AM EDT
Russian forces shelling corridors leading to nuclear plant, Ukraine says
Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russian forces are shelling corridors the International Atomic Energy Agency mission would take to reach the Zaporizhzhia power plant in southeastern Ukraine.
Podolyak said Russian forces are probably shelling the path to ensure the IAEA mission pass through Russian-controlled territory to reach the plant.
-ABC News’ Yuriy Zaliznyak
Aug 29, 2022, 4:38 PM EDT
Zelenskyy vows to reclaim all territory lost to Russian forces
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday vowed to reclaim all territory lost to Russian forces.
Oleksandr Shulga looks at his destroyed house following a missile strike in Mykolaiv in the southern region of Ukraine, Aug. 29, 2022. Ukrainian forces have begun a counter-attack to retake the southern city of Kherson, which is currently occupied by Russian troops, a local government official said on Monday.
Afp Contributor#afp/AFP via Getty Images
An injured woman reacts following a missile strike in Mykolaiv, southern region Ukraine, Aug. 29, 2022.
Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images
"Ukraine is returning its own. And it will return the Kharkiv region, Luhansk region, Donetsk region, Zaporizhzhia region, Kherson region, Crimea. Definitely our entire water area of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, from Zmiinyi Island to the Kerch Strait," he said in his daily address. "This will happen. This is ours. And just as our society understands it, I want the occupiers to understand it, too. There will be no place for them on Ukrainian land."
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in Sloviansk, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Aug. 29, 2022.
Leo Correa/AP
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in Sloviansk, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Aug. 29, 2022.
Leo Correa/AP
Zelenskyy said his message to Russian fighters is that if they want to survive, it's time for them to flee or surrender.
"The occupiers should know, we will oust them to the border -- to our border, the line of which has not changed. The invaders know it well," he said. "If they want to survive, it is time for the Russian military to flee. Go home. If you are afraid to return to your home in Russia, well, let such occupiers surrender, and we will guarantee them compliance with all norms of the Geneva Conventions."
Aug 29, 2022, 3:00 PM EDT
White House calls for controlled shutdown of Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactors, DMZ around plant
White House spokesman John Kirby said Monday that Russia should agree to a demilitarized zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and that a controlled shutdown of the reactors "would be the safest and least risky option in the near-term."
Kirby also expressed support for the IAEA mission to the power plant.
"We fully support the International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Grossi’s expert mission to the power plant, and we are glad that the team is on its way to ascertain the safety, security and safeguards of the systems there, as well as to evaluate the staff’s working conditions," he said. "Russia should ensure safe, unfettered access for these independent inspectors."
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Aug 29, 2022, 1:33 PM EDT
Ukrainian forces launch major counteroffensive
Ukrainian forces have launched a major counteroffensive in multiple directions in the southern part of Ukraine, Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Operational Command, said Monday.
Humeniuk said the situation in the south remains "tense," but controlled.
Ukrainians have been targeting strategic Russian command posts and slowly advancing toward Kherson for weeks. Kherson was first major city in the south to be captured by Russian forces following the invasion.
Russian military issued a statement confirming the offensive and claiming Ukraine sustained heavy losses.
Meanwhile, at least 12 missiles have struck Mykolaiv, which remains under Ukraine's control in the south. Two people were killed and 24 were wounded, according to the governor of Mykolaiv Oblast.
