The Ukrainian president says his forces have recaptured the strategically important village of Klishchiivka on the southern flank of the key frontline city of Bakhmut. “Today I would like to particularly commend the soldiers who, step by step, are returning to Ukraine what belongs to it, namely in the area of Bakhmut,” Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address on Sunday. Officials shared a video of Ukrainian forces displaying flags including the blue and yellow national flag, with ruined buildings and the sound of ongoing fighting in the background. Overnight Ukraine claims to have shot down all 17 cruise missiles fired into its territory by Russia. The air force also reported that 18 out of 24 “Shahed” drones were downed. Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, also reports that four people have been injured near a bus station in Beryslav in Kherson region, and that a recreational facility in Odesa region was set on fire during an attack, but that there were no casualties. The Ukrainian government decided to dismiss six deputy defence ministers on Monday following the appointment of a new defence minister earlier this month. The government gave no reason for the dismissals. Those removed from their post included Hanna Maliar, who has frequently issued public updates on Russia’s war against Ukraine. Rustem Umerov was appointed defence minister less than two weeks ago to replace Oleksii Reznikov. Earlier Maliar had issued a lengthy update on Telegram, claiming that Ukrainian forces have repelled Russian attacks in a number of areas, including in the Kupyansk, Bakhmut, and Marinka directions. Maliar also gave new figures for the amount of territory recaptured by Ukraine. She said 2 sq km had been captured around Bakhmut, and in the past week, and that 51 sq km had been recaptured there since the start of the counteroffensive. Russia called on the UN’s highest court in The Hague on Monday to throw out a case that centres around claims by Moscow that its invasion of Ukraine was carried out to prevent genocide. The request was made at the start of hearings dealing with the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court. Ukraine brought the case just days after the Russian invasion on 24 February last year. Kyiv argues Russia is abusing international law by saying the invasion was justified to prevent an alleged genocide in eastern Ukraine. Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Belgorod region in Russia, reports that power supplies have been cut to the villages of Glotovo and Bezymeno near the border with Ukraine after shelling. He said there were no casualties. Roman Starovoyt, governor of neighbouring region Kursk in Russia, reported on Telegram that a woman had been injured by cross-border fire into the village of Tetkino. Russia said it repelled Ukrainian drone attacks over several parts of Crimea, outer Moscow and two border regions on Sunday. Russia occupied and unilaterally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Russia scrambled a MiG-31 jet fighter on Monday to intercept a US Navy P-8A Poseidon patrol plane approaching its airspace over the Barents Sea, the Russian defence ministry said. Georgia, without providing evidence, on Monday accused a senior Ukrainian official of plotting to overthrow the Black Sea nation’s government by organising mass unrest. Bulgaria’s defence ministry said on Monday it had sent a special unit to inspect and deactivate a drone carrying explosives which landed on Sunday evening in the Black Sea town of Tyulenovo. Following inspection the team from Bulgaria, a Nato member, will decide how to dispose of it Ukraine plans to sue Poland, Hungary and Slovakia over bans on Ukrainian agricultural products, Politico quoted Ukrainian trade representative Taras Kachka as saying in an interview published on Monday. Western firms that continued to operate in Russia since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine have generated billions of dollars in profits, but the Kremlin has blocked them from accessing the cash in a bid to turn the screw on “unfriendly” nations, the FT reports. China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, will begin a four-day visit to Russia for security talks on Monday. A United Nations report said on Monday that the human rights situation in Russia had significantly deteriorated since it invaded Ukraine in February last year, describing a “systematic crackdown” on civil society organisations. “Russian authorities have severely curtailed the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression, both online and offline, and have fundamentally undermined the independence of the judiciary and the guarantees of fair trial,” said a copy of the report seen by Reuters. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was on his way home from Russia on Sunday, ending a six-day trip that triggered global concerns about weapons transfer deals between the two countries. Kim began his journey back onboard his armoured train from the Primorye region in Russia’s far east after a farewell ceremony at the train station, Russian state news agency RIA said. After entering Russia on Tuesday in his first overseas trip in more than four years, Kim met Russian president Vladimir Putin, visited key military and technology sites and pledged to step up military and economic cooperation. US oil and gas multinationals are facing fresh questions over their trade with Russia after Russian customs records revealed that more than $7.1m (£5.7m) worth of equipment manufactured by Halliburton has been imported into the country since it announced the end of its Russian operations. Last September Halliburton, one of the world’s largest providers of products and services for oil and gas exploration, sold its Russian office to local management amid pressure on all US companies to cease their trade after the invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine will be able to conduct more attacks on Russian ships, a Ukrainian minister who has played a key role in building the country’s drone industry told Reuters after a recent series of sea raids. “There will be more drones, more attacks, and fewer Russian ships. That’s for sure,” the digital transformation minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, said. Poland is set to ban the entry of passenger cars registered in Russia starting on Sunday, state-run Polish news agency PAP has reported. Poland’s interior minister, Mariusz Kaminski, said the ban was a further part of sanctions imposed on Russia and its citizens in connection with the war in Ukraine.