Russia-Ukraine updates: Russian missile strikes hit multiple Ukrainian cities
Dozens of injuries were reported in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
Russia has continued a nearly 19-month-long invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Recently, though, the Ukrainians have gone on a counteroffensive, fighting to reclaim occupied territory.
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Latest headlines:
Ukraine makes gain on occupied bank across from Kherson
Ukrainian troops have reportedly seized a small village on the Russian-occupied eastern bank of Dneipr after crossing the river from the liberated city of Kherson, according to Russian accounts on Tuesday.
A small Ukrainian force has managed to dig in to the village of Dachi after making a landing there a few days ago and are trying to expand the beachhead. Ukrainian troops in small boats crossed the river and landed at the base of the ruined Antonivskiy Bridge, which they destroyed last year.
Russian military bloggers reported very heavy fighting on Tuesday, saying Russian airborne units have been trying unsuccessfully to dislodge the Ukrainians for the past four days. Russian aviation and heavy artillery have been firing on the Ukrainian position.
So far, the Russian side claims some 70 Ukrainian soldiers are dug in, covered by intense artillery fire from across the river. The Russian accounts say Ukraine is trying to move reinforcements across. Video released by Ukraine also shows a Russian APC being destroyed in the village of Oleshkjy, further south, indicating the bank south of Kherson is now contested.
Ukrainian troops have also managed to advance and liberate Rivnopil, a village on the Zaporozhzhia front, breaking through after more than two weeks of fighting. It's notable because the Russians had been fighting hard to hold it.
Taken together the advance there, the landing in Kherson and advances near Bakhmut are small signs the Ukrainian counteroffensive may be starting to pick up steam and the Russians are coming under growing pressure.
-ABC News' Patrick Reevell
Military stopped 'civil war,' Putin says
The Russian military and security forces stopped what could have become a "civil war," President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.
"The Russian military in a difficult hour for the country stood in the way of turmoil, the result of which would be chaos," Putin said at an event for military units, adding that "the military and law enforcement officers of the Russian Federation actually stopped the civil war."
Defense Minister Shoigu, who the Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin's had sought to have replaced, was present at Tuesday's ceremony.
-ABC News' Tanya Stukalova
Russia closes case against Wagner Group leader
The Russian Federal Security Service on Tuesday dropped the criminal case investigating the rebellion by Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and his forces.
The FSB said it closed the case because it has been established that participants stopped actions directly aimed at committing a crime.
-ABC News’ Anastasia Bagaeva
Belarus was 'combat' ready during rebellion, president says
The military in Belarus was ordered to "full combat readiness" during the Wagner Group's rebellion in neighboring Russia, President Alexander Lukashenko said.
Lukashenko, a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was said to have helped broker a deal to halt the choatic rebellion by Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
"I will not hide, it was painful to watch the events that took place in the south of Russia," Lukashenko said Tuesday during brief remarks before a military presentation. "Not only me. Many of our citizens took them to heart. Because the fatherland is one."
The fatherland comment appeared to allude to Lukashenko's longstanding belief that Russia and Belarus share a special bond.
He added, "I gave all orders to bring the army to full combat readiness."
-ABC News' Victoria Beaule
Ukrainian forces appear to cross river into occupied Kherson
The Ukrainian military has landed troops on the Russian-held eastern bank of the Dnipro River across from the city of Kherson, according to Russian reports.
Media posted online by pro-Russian accounts suggested small boatloads of Ukrainian soldiers have managed to establish a small beachhead at the foot of the destroyed Antonivskiy Road Bridge that spanned the river before Ukraine brought it down last year.
The size of the Ukrainian force on the bank is unclear, but Russian accounts suggested it was relatively small.
Some Russian accounts posted dramatic video showing fighting on the eastern bank, including what appears to be a Russian armored vehicle firing intensively at Ukrainian soldiers as it recovers Russian wounded.
The video was undated but Russian reports suggested around several dozen Ukrainian troops landed on June 24 and Russian airborne units have been trying to dislodge them since.
Another video shows a small boat carrying perhaps a dozen Ukrainian soldiers landing by the ruined bridge, coming under shell fire.
The Russian military blogger account, Two Majors, reported a small group of Ukrainian soldiers had succeeded in digging in around the bridge. It noted Russian forces had been forced to pull back to a distance from the bank because their positions had been flooded after the Kakhovka dam was blown up earlier this month.
Russian military bloggers said Russian aircraft and artillery were firing on the Ukrainians Monday.
If Ukraine is able to keep hold of its foothold, it will put further pressure on Russia’s forces in the south, already battling to hold back Ukraine’s counteroffensive on the Zaporizhzhia front.
-ABC News' Patrick Reevell