Ukraine officials make claim Russian volunteers are refusing to serve in combat conditions after their counter-offensive

• What we know on day 201 of the invasion

Kirill Stremousov, who is one of the leaders of the Russian-imposed authorities in occupied Kherson in southern Ukraine, has posted to Telegram this morning a message that references the reported territorial losses for Russian forces to the north, while striking a defiant tone about the future of Kherson. The post reads:

Stremousov is at his workplace in Kherson. Kherson is and will be a Russian city. No one is going to surrender the city, let alone retreat.

Along the entire perimeter of the Kherson region, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation has built lines of defence and nothing threatens the city of Kherson and the Kherson region.

Disruption to water and energy supplies is routine and the liberating troops have found bodies of civilians showing signs of torture

Air sirens sounded throughout the day in Kharhiv. At least four Russian missiles hit the north-eastern city in two attacks on Monday, killing at least one person, injuring others and causing further disruption to the city’s electricity and water supply.

While the liberation of Russian-occupied parts of the Kharkiv region has been celebrated by Ukrainians across the country, the situation in the city – which was half surrounded by Russian forces until just a week ago – has in some ways become more precarious.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities have reported finding the bodies of civilians with apparent signs of torture, as prosecutors gathered more evidence of potential war crimes.

Mayor of Kharkiv says strike that knocked out power and water was act of ‘revenge’ by Russia

• Russia-Ukraine war – latest updates
  

Russia targeted infrastructure facilities in central and eastern Ukraine on Sunday evening in a response to a dramatic Ukrainian counter-offensive in Kharkiv province that has reshaped the war and left Moscow reeling.

The mayor of Kharkiv city, Ihor Terekhov, said a strike had knocked out power and water to much of the city, in what he described as an act of “revenge” by Russia for Ukraine’s recent battlefield successes. There were reports of blackouts in Dnipro, Poltava and other eastern cities, potentially affecting millions of civilians.

Cruise missiles hit infrastructure in what Ukraine says is revenge attack over recent rapid gains

• Russia-Ukraine war – latest updates

Russian strikes have knocked out power and water to much of the Kharkiv region, plunging its cities into darkness and cutting power in hospitals in what Ukraine described as an act of “revenge” by Russia for its recent battlefield successes.

Over the last few days, Ukrainian forces have recaptured the majority of Russian-occupied territory in the region in a lightning offensive.