Ukraine Repurposing Abandoned Russian Equipment

Military vehicles abandoned by Russian forces in Ukraine now account for "a large portion" of the military vehicles Ukraine is using in the Russia-Ukraine war, according to UK defense officials.

The UK Ministry of Defense said in a Friday intelligence update that Russian troops' "failure" to destroy their military vehicles and other weaponry before withdrawing from the battlefield "highlights their poor state of training and low levels of battle discipline." The defense ministry predicted Russia will "likely continue to lose heavy weaponry" as the war continues.

UK defense officials estimated Ukraine has captured 440 or more Russian tanks and about 650 additional armored vehicles in the months since Russia first invaded Ukraine in late February.

"Over half of Ukraine's currently fielded tank fleet potentially consists of captured vehicles," the defense ministry said.

More Missile Strikes Hit Zaporizhzhia

Russian missiles continue to strike Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian officials report.

On Thursday, two missile strikes hit civilian apartment buildings, killing at least 11 and wounding many others, regional official Oleksandr Starukh said on Telegram.

Two more strikes hit the town Friday, Starukh said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called this "conscious crime" a "deliberate attack on civilians" on his Telegram.

One hit the courtyard of a high-rise building, destroying the residential building and utilities. One victim with shrapnel wounds was given medical care.

Hours later, another missile strike hit the regional center and the surrounding area.

On Telegram, Starukh said residents are in shelters due to the "risk of repeated shelling."

There are also reports of Russian shelling in Enerhodar, a town near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, causing electricity, water and internet disruptions in the area.

IAEA Teams Onsite at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

The head of the United Nation's nuclear watchdog is onsite at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine amid concerns over nuclear safety at the plant.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi confirmed Friday that the first rotation of the IAEA staff at the plant.

The IAEA said another "reinforced" team of experts from it's Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhia (ISAMZ) are on the scene to ensure the safety and security of the plant.

"Mr. Grossi said that the team will continue its indispensable mission and will support, once agreed, the nuclear safety and security protection zone around the site of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant," the IAEA said in a tweet.

Grossi met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Thursday to discuss the situation at the plant amid Russia's ploy to seize control of ZNPP.

"This is a particularly dangerous moment for the safety and security of the ZNPP," Grossi said in a statement.

Over 500 Civilian Bodies Found in Kharkiv

More than 500 civilian bodies have been recovered throughout the Kharkiv region since the beginning of September, a Ukrainian official said.

During a news briefing Thursday, Serhii Bolvinov, head of Kharkiv Oblast police's investigative department, said 534 civilian bodies, including 19 children, have been recovered in liberated areas of Kharkiv since Sept. 7.

Many of those bodies recovered, 477, came from the mass burial site in the liberated city of Izium.

Police have also found 22 locations they believe were used a torture chambers in the liberated region, Bolvinov said.

There were several detention centers holding civilians and prisoners of ware in almost all major Russian-held cities, he added.

"Russian units set up such places of detention of civilians and prisoners of war in almost all the settlements where they were based," Bolvinov said in a news briefing Thursday.

He added that the most common torture techniques were electric shock and severe beatings with sticks and other objects based on witness accounts. There are cases of pulling out nails and using gas masks to restrict breathing, Bolvinov said.

Bolvinov said police are also investigating reports that Russian solider set up headquarters in a private house in the village of Pisky-Radkivski, east of Izium. He said witnesses heard screams and pleas for help from the house's basement.

This report comes amid ongoing war crimes investigations in areas of Ukraine that were liberated from Russian occupation since the invasion began.