Ukraine’s brigades record videos of flag-raisings in a series of villages but its fundamental challenge of a lack of combat aircraft remains

• Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates

Two things stand out with Ukraine’s counteroffensive more than a week under way. Ukraine is pushing forward at several points, mostly along the southern front but also in the east. And in some places, its army is making incremental but real gains, liberating villages near the frontline.

In the last week Ukraine has attacked on the western edge of the Zaporizhzhia sector, where the frontlines meet the Dnipro River at a point; again south of Orikhiv 18 miles east and, most significantly, either side of a Russian salient at the border between Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk oblasts.

Russian president says Russia needs to ‘fight enemy agents’ inside its own territory; Maj Gen Sergei Goryachev killed by cruise missile. This live blog is closed

What we know on day 475 of the way

A fire broke out at an oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region overnight, Russia’s RBK news outlet reported, citing the local city administration.

RBK reported that the fire was now contained and its cause was not immediately clear.

This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com.

Ukraine says it has retaken seven villages in counteroffensive; 41 people still missing after collapse of Kakhovka dam

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US secretary of state Antony Blinken says Ukraine should expect ‘robust’ political and practical support from the Nato summit. This live blog is closed

• Ukraine accuses Russia of destroying another dam

Here are some of the latest images sent to us from Kherson over the news wires.

Ukraine has issued this video which shows footage from the liberation of Storozheve.

Russian forces open fire on boat carrying flood evacuees, killing three; Ukraine claims to have liberated three frontline villages in western Donetsk

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Ukraine’s armed forces have claimed to have liberated three frontline villages in western Donetsk, almost a week after the launch of counteroffensive operations. Soldiers were shown in video footage raising the Ukrainian flag over the village of Blahodatne, south of the town of Velyka Novosilka, one of the main axes of the counteroffensive so far. Troops from another brigade filmed themselves with their unit’s banner in Neskuchne. Later on Sunday, Kyiv said a third village, Makarivka, had been taken.

Three civilians were killed and 10 others wounded after Russian forces opened fire on a boat carrying flood evacuees to the Ukrainian-controlled city of Kherson. A 74-year-old man used his body to shield a woman from Russian fire and was hit in the back, Reuters reported. Two of the 10 people wounded were law enforcement officers.

The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary force, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said his fighters will not sign contracts with the Russian defence ministry, hours after the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, sought to bring volunteer detachments under its control. “Wagner will not sign any contracts with Shoigu,” Prigozhin said on Sunday, adding that the minister “cannot properly manage military formations”. Wagner was completely subordinated to the interests of Russia, Prigozhin said, but its command structure would be damaged by reporting to Shoigu.

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jet in Kherson region, where the breach of the Kakhovka dam has led to major flooding. Russia also repelled three Ukrainian attacks in the Zaporizhzhia region, the ministry said, while the Tass news agency reported Russian air defence systems shot down a Ukrainian missile near the Russian-controlled port city of Berdiansk on the Sea of Azov.

Russia’s defence ministry said Ukraine had made an unsuccessful attempt to attack a vessel of its Black Sea fleet which was protecting natural gas pipelines. The ship was monitoring the situation along the TurkStream and Blue Stream pipelines route in the Black Sea, it said.

Russian forces blew up the Khakhovka dam to prevent Ukrainian troops from launching an offensive and advancing in the southern Kherson region, according to Kyiv’s deputy defence minister. Hanna Maliar said the action was also intended to help Russia deploy reserves to the Zaporizhzhia and Bakhmut areas.

Russia and Ukraine have simultaneously swapped nearly 100 prisoners each. The Ukrainian prisoners included members of the national guard and border guards who had been in action in several places, including near the city of Mariupol and the Chornobyl nuclear power plant.

Russia’s defence minister has awarded medals to soldiers after Moscow said its forces had destroyed four German-made Leopard tanks and five US-made Bradley fighting vehicles while repelling a Ukrainian counteroffensive. Sergei Shoigu was shown on state television awarding the Hero of Russia gold star, Russia’s highest military honour, on Sunday to soldiers who said they had destroyed enemy tanks and armoured vehicles.

Two drones crashed early on Sunday in Russia’s Kaluga region – one near the village of Strelkovka, another in the woods in the Medynsky municipal district, according to the governor of the region, Vladislav Shapsha. There were no casualties and only minimal damage, he said on Telegram.

A US citizen arrested in Russia on drugs charges this week is a military veteran and musician who has lived in Moscow for nearly a decade. Travis Michael Leake and a friend, Valeria Grobanyuk, were arrested in a drug raid that has the potential to further ignite tensions between Washington and Moscow. “I don’t understand why I’m here,” said a man shown on camera and identified by Russian state media as Leake. “I do not admit my guilt.”

Soldiers filmed raising Ukrainian flag and banner in villages, a week after launch of counteroffensive

• Russia-Ukraine war: latest news updates

Ukraine’s armed forces have claimed to have liberated three frontline villages in western Donetsk, almost a week after the launch of counteroffensive operations.

Soldiers were shown in video footage raising he Ukrainian flag over the village of Blahodatne, south of the town of Velyka Novosilka, one of the main axes of the counteroffensive so far. Troops from another brigade filmed themselves with their unit’s banner in Neskuchne. Later on Sunday, the deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said a third village, Makarivka, had been taken. It was believed to have been retaken on Sunday morning.

Three people killed and 10 wounded after a boat heading to Kherson is shelled; about 100 captured soldiers from each side are returned

Russian forces blew up the Khakhovka dam to prevent Ukrainian troops from advancing in the southern Kherson region, Kyiv’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said on Sunday.

Ukraine has accused Russian forces of blowing up the dam from inside its associated hydroelectric power station. The site has been under Russian occupation since the early weeks of the invasion in February last year.

UK Ministry of Defence says Ukraine has ‘likely made good progress’ in some areas but that progress is ‘slower’ in others. This blog is now closed

The latest intelligence update from the UK’s Ministry of Defence said over the past 48 hours “significant” Ukrainian operations have taken place in several sectors of eastern and southern Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces have “likely made good progress” and “penetrated the first line of Russian defences”, the MoD added. However, in other areas “Ukrainian progress has been slower”.

Russian president says beginning of offensive ‘is evidenced by the use of strategic reserves’. This live blog is closed

• Seismic data adds to evidence Ukraine’s Kakhovka dam was blown up

Russian military bloggers are saying that overnight the Ukrainians were making another attempt to break through Russian lines in occupied Zaporizhzhia in the area of Orikhiv.

The claims have not been independently verified.