Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Russian forces make some gains in Bakhmut

March 31, 20233:22 PM UTCUpdated ago

[1/8] Civilian cars and military vehicle destroyed amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, are seen in front of the apartment buildings in the town of Bucha, before the first anniversary of its liberation, outside Kyiv, Ukraine March 30, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

March 30 (Reuters) - Ukraine acknowledged some Russian gains inside the eastern battlefield city of Bakhmut, while insisting it was inflicting greater losses on the Russian attackers than its own forces were taking in defence.

DIPLOMACY, NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND MILITARY AID

* Russia's FSB security service said it had detained a reporter for U.S. newspaper The Wall Street Journal on suspicion of spying for Washington. It accused U.S. national Evan Gershkovich of gathering information classified as a state secret about a military factory.

* The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog visited Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and said there had been a significant increase in the number of troops in the region of the plant and it could no longer be protected.

* Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow was still talking to the International Atomic Energy Agency head about the idea of a safety zone around the Zaporizhzhia plant, Russian news agencies reported.

* China's military is willing to work together with the Russian military to strengthen strategic communication and coordination, the Chinese defence ministry said.

ON THE BATTLEFIELD

* The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group acknowledged that fighting for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut had inflicted severe damage on his own forces as well as the Ukrainian side.

* Reuters could not verify battlefield reports.