Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

© Reuters. Ukrainian servicemen drive near Bakhmut, as Russia's attack in Ukraine continues, in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, September 7, 2022. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

(Reuters) - Ukraine hailed a lightning counteroffensive it said had recaptured swathes of its territory in the east and south, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the capital, Kyiv, to pledge more aid.

FIGHTING

* President Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces reclaimed 1,000 square kilometres (385 square miles) of territory in the south and east since Sept. 1.

* Heavy fighting was reported in areas near the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station after Ukraine said it might have to shut down the plant to avoid disaster.

* On his visit to Kyiv, Blinken said the war was at a "pivotal moment" and pledged $2.2 billion in new security assistance.

* Ukraine is using its modern Western weapons to devastating effect, striking hundred of Russian targets with the U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

GRAIN DEAL

* The United States sees no indication that a U.N.-brokered Ukrainian grain export deal is unravelling, the White House said, after Russian President Putin raised fears Moscow could withdraw support.

* Too few ships are arriving in Ukraine to quickly clear mountains of grain built up over months of war despite a U.N.-backed sea corridor, threatening to drive up global food prices and leave the country's cash-strapped farmers struggling to plant crops.

ENERGY AND SANCTIONS

* The price cap that G7 countries want to impose on Russian oil to punish Moscow should be set at a fair market value minus any risk premium resulting from its invasion of Ukraine, a U.S. Treasury Department official told reporters.

* A proposed European price cap on Russian gas goes against European and Hungarian interests, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said, ahead of an emergency meeting of European Union energy ministers.

* The United States imposed sanctions on an Iranian company it accused of coordinating military flights to transport Iranian drones to Russia and three companies it said were involved in the production of Iranian drones. Iran has denied supplying drones to Russia.