Russia Ukraine War News LIVE Updates: Russia, Ukraine blame each other for shelling near nuclear plant

Ukraine's interior minister said on Thursday that Ukraine had to be ready for any scenario at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant that has been hit by shelling, including evacuating people from the area.

Ukraine says fresh Russian shelling of Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant damaged 'several radiation sensors': AFP

Ukraine's overseas creditors backed its request for a two-year freeze on payments on almost $20 billion in international bonds, a regulatory filing showed on Wednesday, a move that will allow the war-ravaged country to avoid a messy debt default.

Russia and Ukraine accused each other of new shelling near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Thursday ahead of a UN Security Council meeting to address concerns over the facility's security.

The company closed all its restaurants in Ukraine and Russia in March, with McDonald's selling most of its restaurants in Russia to one of its local licensees in May.

McDonald's Corp said on Thursday it plans on reopening its restaurants in Ukraine over the next few months in an early sign of western businesses returning to the country, even as the conflict with Russia continues.

Russia has doubled the number of air strikes on Ukraine's military positions and civilian infrastructure compared with the previous week, Ukrainian Brigadier General Oleksiy Hromov said on Thursday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Western nations on Thursday to provide more money to help Ukraine's military keep fighting nearly six months after Russia invaded its neighbor.

Britain and Denmark on Thursday announced more aid to Ukraine in the form of money and weapons in connection with an international donor conference in Copenhagen on Thursday.

Russia struggles to replenish its troops in Ukraine

"Our continued support sends a very clear message, Britain and the international community remain opposed to this illegal war and will stand shoulder-to-shoulder, providing defensive military aid to Ukraine to help them defend against Putin's invasion."

"This latest tranche of military support will enable the armed forces of Ukraine to continue to defend against Russian aggression and the indiscriminate use of long-range artillery," Wallace said in a statement.

Britain will supply Ukraine with more multiple-launch rocket systems that can strike targets up to 80km (50 miles) away. Defence secretary Ben Wallace said the supply of weapons would help Ukraine defend itself against Russian heavy artillery. (Reuters)

As Russia continues to suffer losses in its invasion of Ukraine, now nearing its sixth month, the Kremlin has refused to announce a full-blown mobilization — a move that could be very unpopular for President Vladimir Putin. That has led instead to a covert recruitment effort that includes using prisoners to make up the manpower shortage. This also is happening amid reports that hundreds of Russian soldiers are refusing to fight and trying to quit the military.

Over the following days, about a dozen or so left the prison, according to a woman whose boyfriend is serving a sentence there. Speaking on condition of anonymity because she feared reprisals, she said her boyfriend wasn't among the volunteers, although with years left on his sentence, he “couldn't not think about it.”

The prisoners at the penal colony in St Petersburg were expecting a visit by officials, thinking it would be some sort of inspection. Instead, men in uniform arrived and offered them amnesty — if they agreed to fight alongside the Russian army in Ukraine. (AP)

Russian anti-aircraft defence systems thwarted Ukrainian attacks on the occupied Ukrainian city of Enerhodar and the nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, state-owned news agencies TASS and RIA reported on Thursday, citing the Russian-imposed authorities in Zaporizhzhia region. (Reuters)

Crimea holds huge strategic and symbolic significance for both sides. The Kremlin's demand that Ukraine recognise Crimea as part of Russia has been one of its key conditions for ending the fighting, while Ukraine has vowed to drive the Russians from the peninsula and all other occupied territories.

Analysts also said that explanation doesn't make sense and that the Ukrainians could have used anti-ship missiles to strike the base. If Ukrainian forces were, in fact, responsible for the blasts, it would be the first known major attack on a Russian military site on the Crimean Peninsula, which was seized from Ukraine by the Kremlin in 2014. Russian warplanes have used Saki to strike areas in Ukraine's south.

Ukrainian officials stopped short of publicly claiming responsibility for the explosions, while mocking Russia's explanation that a careless smoker might have caused ammunition at the Saki air base to catch fire and blow up.