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.
Sep 13, 2022, 2:21 PM EDT
300 settlements liberated in Kharkiv Oblast, deputy Ukrainian defense minister says
The Ukrainian Armed Forces said Tuesday that it liberated more than 300 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast.
Ukrainian soldiers have de-occupied 3,800 square kilometers since Sept. 6, according to Deputy Ukrainian Defense Minister Hanna Malyar.
According to Malyar, the Russian forces deprived local residents of any communication. They allegedly told residents Ukraine no longer exists, that the country already had a different president, and that Ukraine will not come for them.
Roughly 150,000 people have been freed from Russian control in recent days, according to Malyar.
About 1.1 to 1.2 million people are still living in areas occupied by Russian forces. Of those people, 300,000 are in Donetsk, 500,000 are in Kherson, and 350,000 are in Zaporizhzhia oblast, according to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.
-ABC News' Will Gretsky
Sep 12, 2022, 5:37 PM EDT
More than 20 towns and villages freed in 24 hours, Ukrainian military says
Russian troops have been surrendering en masse — even escaping the Luhansk region in stolen cars and bicycles, with some replacing their uniforms with stolen civilian clothes, according to a spokesperson for Ukrainian military intelligence.
"They understand the hopelessness of their situation," the spokesperson said.
More than 20 towns and villages have been freed in 24 hours as the Russian military and its local collaborators flee, the spokesperson said.
Russian troops are allegedly making attempts to contact Ukrainian officers in an effort to independently negotiate the surrender of their units, as long as they get assurance of being treated according to the Geneva Conventions, according to the Ukrainian military spokesperson.
So many have surrendered that the country is running out of space to accommodate Russian prisoners of war, a Ukrainian presidential adviser said on Monday.
-ABC News' Tomek Rolski
Sep 12, 2022, 1:09 PM EDT
Protection zone 'urgently needed' to end shelling near nuclear power plant
The International Atomic Energy Agency has established a presence at the site of the nuclear power plant in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia due to continued shelling in the region, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement Monday.
The mission, intended to ensure nuclear safety and security and to allow inspectors to take vital safeguard activities, has made clear of the "urgent and imperative goal" to halt the bombing and establish a protection zone surrounding the power plant, which is the largest in Europe.
The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar amid the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine, Sept. 11, 2022.
Stringer/AFP via Getty Images
In addition to the protection zone, the IAEA has established a second safety pillar that states all safety and security systems should be fully functioning and operating "normally and unhindered." During observations, the safety team observed military equipment and vehicles getting in the way of systems functioning optimally, Grossi said.
The third pillar of the safety plan states that operating staff must be able to perform their duties without undue pressure or duress -- an issue that has been raised many times since the Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia began in March, according to the statement.
The IAEA is also mandating the maintenance of constant off-site power supply so that the power plant does not lose crucial functionalities, including the cooling of reactors and spent fuel, as well as uninterrupted supply chains and transportation to and from the site, which will be "especially crucial" should backup generators be needed again.
Effective radiation monitoring systems -- both on and off site -- and emergency preparedness, as well as continued reliable communication with the regulator and others, were also safety pillars outlined in the plan.
"Despite the ongoing challenges of the war, we have continued to implement safeguards in Ukraine," Grossi said.
-ABC News' Joe Simonetti
Sep 08, 2022, 1:13 PM EDT
Blinken tours ravaged city in Bucha region
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stopped in a war-torn section of Irpin in the Bucha district as part of his trip to Ukraine.
The city's deputy mayor, Dmytro Nehresha, showed Blinken ruined buildings and streets still littered with debris from Russian strikes in the early weeks of the war.
The Russians have indiscriminately shelled this city. Nehresha described how young and vibrant the city once was.
Irpin was under Russian control for nearly a month before Ukraine won it back, he explained.
Khrystyna Podyryaka, the director of the War Crimes Investigation Unit for the national Ukraine Police, was also present for the stop. She told Blinken that the unit is investigating 30,000 war crimes, two-third of which directly involve civilians.
"There has to be accountability for those who committed atrocities," Blinken responded.
At one point, nearly all residents of Irpin had been evacuated. Despite the devastation, almost 80% have returned, Nehresha said.
The secretary expressed confidence that the city would be restored. Before Blinken departed, he was asked to sign an Irpin flag.
