Russia-Ukraine updates: Russian missiles hit close to nuclear reactors: IAEA director

Ukrainian forces attempting to repel the Russian invasion have put civilians in harm's way by establishing bases and operating weapons systems in populated residential areas, including in schools and hospitals, Amnesty International said Thursday.

The London-based international human rights group published a new report detailing such tactics, saying they turn civilian objects into military targets.

"We have documented a pattern of Ukrainian forces putting civilians at risk and violating the laws of war when they operate in populated areas," Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard said in a statement. "Being in a defensive position does not exempt the Ukrainian military from respecting international humanitarian law."

Between April and July, Amnesty International researchers spent several weeks investigating Russian airstrikes in the Kharkiv, Donbas and Mykolaiv regions of Ukraine. The organization inspected strike sites, interviewed survivors, witnesses and relatives of victims of attacks, as well as carried out remote-sensing and weapons analysis. Throughout the probe, researchers found evidence of Ukrainian forces launching strikes from within populated residential areas as well as basing themselves in civilian buildings in 19 towns and villages in the regions, according to Amnesty International.

The organization said most residential areas where Ukrainian soldiers located themselves were miles away from front lines, with viable alternatives that would not endanger civilians, such as nearby military bases or densely wooded areas, and other structures further away. In the cases documented, Amnesty International said it is not aware of the Ukrainian troops asking or assisting civilians to evacuate nearby buildings in the residential areas, which the organization called "a failure to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians."

Amnesty International, however, noted that not every Russian attack it documented followed this pattern. In certain other locations in which the organization concluded that Russia had committed war crimes, including in some areas of the city of Kharkiv, the organization did not find evidence of Ukrainian forces located in the civilian areas unlawfully targeted by the Russian military.

The first commercial vessel carrying Ukrainian grain under a wartime deal has safely departed the Black Sea, the United Nations said Wednesday.

The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni set sail from the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Monday, with more than 26,000 tons of Ukrainian corn on board. The vessel docked off the coast of Istanbul late Tuesday, where it was required to be inspected before being allowed to proceed to its final destination, Lebanon.

A joint civilian inspection comprising officials from Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the U.N. inspected the Razoni on Wednesday morning, checking on the cargo and crew. After three hours, the team cleared the ship to set sail for Lebanon, according to the U.N. said.

"This marks the conclusion of an initial 'proof of concept' operation to execute the agreement," the U.N. said in a statement Wednesday.

It's the first commercial vessel carrying Ukrainian grain to safely depart the Black Sea since the start of Russia's ongoing offensive, and the first to do so under the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative. Last month, Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements with Turkey and the U.N. to allow Ukraine to resume its shipment of grain from the Black Sea to world markets and for Russia to export grain and fertilizers.

In a statement Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Razoni's journey a "significant step" but noted that "this is only a first step."

No other grain shipments have departed Ukraine in the last two days and officials on all sides have offered no explanation for that delay.

The U.N. said Wednesday that three Ukrainian ports "are due to resume the export of millions of tons of wheat, corn and other crops," but didn't provide further details.

Since Russian forces invaded neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, the cost of grain, fertilizer and fuel has skyrocketed worldwide. Russia and Ukraine -- often referred to collectively as Europe's breadbasket -- produce a third of the global supply of wheat and barley, but a Russian blockade in the Black Sea combined with Ukrainian naval mines have made exporting siloed grain and other foodstuffs virtually impossible. As a result, millions of people around the world -- particularly in Africa and the Middle East -- are now on the brink of famine.

Two-thirds of residents have fled eastern Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast since the start of Russia's invasion in late February, according to the regional governor.

Speaking to Ukrainian media on Tuesday, Donetsk Oblast Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said some 350,000 residents remain in the war-torn region.

During his Tuesday evening address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the hostilities in Ukraine's east "hell."

"It cannot be described with words," Zelenskyy said.

Ukrainian forces cannot yet "completely break the Russian army's advantage in artillery and manpower, and this is very noticeable in the fighting," he added.

Last month, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 200,000 civilians must be evacuated from the Donetsk Oblast before the weather gets colder, as there is no proper electricity or gas supply in the area for residents to heat their homes. Russian forces are also destroying heating equipment, according to Vereshchuk.

Zelenskyy has ordered the mandatory evacuation of Donetsk Oblast residents, urging them to leave as soon as possible. Those who comply will be compensated.

"The more people leave [the] Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill," he said.

Although many refuse to go, Zelenskyy stressed that "it still needs to be done."

Mandatory evacuation from Donetsk Oblast began on Aug. 1. The first two trains evacuated 224 people to the central Ukrainian city of Kropyvnytskyi, according to local officials.

-ABC News' Edward Szekeres, Yulia Drozd, Fidel Pavlenko and Yuriy Zaliznyak

A ship carrying 27,000 tons of corn has left the Ukrainian port of Odesa and is expected to arrive in Turkey on Wednesday, according to a statement issued by the Joint Coordination Centre, Black Sea Grain Initiative.

The ship, adorned with the flag of Sierra Leon, left Odesa on Monday morning and is ultimately destined for Lebanon, according to the JCC.

The route will follow a humanitarian corridor, the JCC said.

The JCC is responsible for carrying out inspections on inbound and outbound vessels in Istanbul to ensure there is no unauthorized crew or cargo, according to the statement.

The arrival of the shipment from Ukraine is a beacon of hope amid the ongoing invasion from Russia. Since the war began, shipments of grain out of Ukraine, considered one of the breadbaskets of the world, have all but stalled -- leading experts to fear a possible food shortage that could plunge millions into malnutrition.

Preparations and planning for ships that can export grain and similar foodstuffs from the three ports in Ukraine are still continuing, according to the JCC, which described the feat as a "historical" humanitarian mission. The initial run to move significant volumes of commercial grain is expected to last 120 days.

"The JCC 's work is critical to implement the Black Sea Grain Initiative that helps address global food security," the statement read. "The Initiative is focused on exporting grain, other foodstuffs and fertilizers, including ammonia, from Ukraine."

-ABC News’ Engin Bas