Russia-Ukraine war live: Putin regime ‘threatening world with nuclear catastrophe,’ says Ukraine

4.00pm BST

Here is a summary of today's events:

• Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday urged the EU allies to expedite deliveries of promised air defence systems. “I conveyed a sense of urgency regarding the delivery of already pledged military aid, including air defence systems,” he said on X after his meeting with the EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

• Russia on Thursday held former deputy defence minister Pavel Popov on fraud charges in the latest arrest of a high-ranking military official. Moscow has arrested at least nine army officials in recent months in the midst of its Ukraine offensive, in what some analysts have called a purge of military figures seen as corrupt.

• Ukraine’s mission to the IAEA said Monday’s attack by Russia on its energy infrastructure was intended to paralyse the operation of power facilities. “It is a deliberate decision by the Putin regime to threaten the world with nuclear catastrophe,” Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, said on Telegram messenger.

• A Ukrainian F-16 jet was destroyed in a crash on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported citing a U.S. official. The official said it looked like the incident had not been caused by enemy fire and was likely the result of pilot error.

• Ukraine’s top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Thursday he spent several days on the eastern Pokrovsk front that has seen an intensified Russian push recently. Syrskyi said on Facebook that Russia was throwing everything it could into its assaults, trying to break through Ukrainian defences.

• Russia said Thursday that it took two more east Ukrainian villages - in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions - as its forces continue their advance deeper into the country.

• Ukrainian air defences shot down about 15 drones launched by Russia in its third attack on the Ukrainian capital in four days, Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said on Thursday.

3.53pm BST

A Ukrainian F-16 jet was destroyed in a crash on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported citing a U.S. official.

The official said it looked like the incident had not been caused by enemy fire and was likely the result of pilot error.

Ukraine’s air force did not immediately respond to Reuters’s request for comment about the report.

Updated at 3.53pm BST

3.36pm BST

Russia on Thursday held former deputy defence minister Pavel Popov on fraud charges in the latest arrest of a high-ranking military official.

Moscow has arrested at least nine army officials in recent months in the midst of its Ukraine offensive, in what some analysts have called a purge of military figures seen as corrupt.

Investigators said Popov had enriched himself while overseeing the construction of the army-themed Patriot Park outside Moscow - built to glorify Russia’s military.

“A criminal case has been opened against former vice minister of defence of the Russian Federation, reserve general Pavel Popov,” Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement.

3.08pm BST

Ukraine’s top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Thursday he spent several days on the eastern Pokrovsk front that has seen an intensified Russian push recently.

Syrskyi said on Facebook that Russia was throwing everything it could into its assaults, trying to break through Ukrainian defences.

“Fighting is exceptionally tough,” he said, adding that Ukraine had to constantly use unorthodox methods to strengthen its positions.

2.38pm BST

Ukrainian foreign minister urges EU to expedite deliveries of air defence systems

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday urged the EU allies to expedite deliveries of promised air defence systems.

“I conveyed a sense of urgency regarding the delivery of already pledged military aid, including air defence systems,” he said on X after his meeting with the EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

“The EU is an important pillar of the coalition to support Ukraine and I welcome the intention of a number of EU member states to respond to Ukraine’s call and advocate for lifting restrictions on the use of weapons on all legitimate military targets in Russia in their bilateral dialogues with other members of the coalition.

“I am also grateful to EU member states who have promised to step up relevant efforts and provide additional equipment and resources for Ukrainian energy system.”

Updated at 2.45pm BST

2.18pm BST

Putin regime 'threatening the world with nuclear catastrophe', Ukraine says

Ukraine’s mission to the IAEA said Monday’s attack by Russia on its energy infrastructure was intended to paralyse the operation of power facilities.

“It is a deliberate decision by the Putin regime to threaten the world with nuclear catastrophe,” Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, said on Telegram messenger.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Monday it had struck electricity substations in nine Ukrainian regions and gas compressor stations in three regions.

The IAEA has urged both sides to refrain from fighting around nuclear plants to avoid a catastrophic incident, and IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said after visiting Russia’s Kursk nuclear power plant on Tuesday that there was a risk of a nuclear accident there.

Updated at 2.29pm BST

1.40pm BST

An analyst has warned that diverting some of Ukraine’s most capable forces from the east is a gamble for Kyiv, even though by capturing a chunk of Russian territory, Ukraine has embarrassed the Kremlin and reshaped the battlefield.

“This all carries considerable risk, particularly if an effort to over-stretch Russian forces results in overstretching the smaller Ukrainian forces,” according to Ben Barry, senior fellow for land warfare at the IISS.

An attempt to create a foothold in Kursk would further extend the more than 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line, adding to the challenges faced by the undermanned and outgunned Ukrainian forces. Defending positions inside Russia would raise serious logistical problems, with the extended supply lines becoming easy targets.

“The Russian system is very hierarchical and stiff, so it always takes them a significant amount of time to adapt to a new situation,” Lange said, “but we will have to see how Ukraine can sustain there, once Russia has adapted and comes with full force.”

1.09pm BST

When he was wounded in fierce fighting near the eastern city of Bakhmut in March last year, Ukrainian soldier Yevhenii Korinets thought he was going to die.

“I had almost said goodbye to life,” he told Reuters in the town of Reshetylivka. “There was one thought in my mind: ‘I’m 25, I haven’t been anywhere, haven’t travelled anywhere, haven’t seen the world and now I’m dying’.”

Seventeen months on and Korinets’ life has turned around.

The former military paramedic, whose left leg was amputated at the hip, qualified for the national sitting volleyball team and spoke during a break from training with fellow athletes ahead of the Paralympics in Paris which opened on Wednesday.

“Now I am travelling, I’ve been everywhere: the United States, China, countries like that, and obviously Europe too,” Korinets said in early August during a break in drills in a gym in central Ukraine.

He is one of around 140 Ukrainian athletes competing at the 2024 Paralympic Games, a competition that has taken on added significance after Russia’s full-scale invasion that has left thousands of soldiers and civilians with life-altering injuries.

12.20pm BST

The Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba , said today as he visited Brussels that “Ukraine’s successes in Kursk demonstrate that it is capable of regaining the initiative and prevailing on the battlefield.”

“We need more bold decisions to capitalize on this momentum,” he stressed.

11.59am BST

Here is a summary of today's events so far:

• Ukraine has stepped up calls for permission to use western-supplied weapons against military targets inside Russia. Ahead of a meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said long-term security for Europe began with “short-term bold decisions for Ukraine”.

• A Ukrainian mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency has warned attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure puts nuclear plants at risk. It said in a note on Thursday: “Russian attacks pose a significant risk to the stable operation of nuclear facilities in Ukraine and the safety of millions of people.”

• Ukrainian air defences shot down about 15 drones launched by Russia in its third attack on the Ukrainian capital in four days, Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said on Thursday. Drone debris damaged the windows and doors of an apartment building and caused a fire in a non-residential building which was extinguished, Popko said in a statement after the latest Russian airstrikes on Ukraine, which were mainly overnight.

• Russia said Thursday that it took two more east Ukrainian villages - in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions - as its forces continue their advance deeper into the country. The defence ministry said Russian forces captured the village of Mykolaivka, around 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, as well as the settlement of Stelmakhivka in the neighbouring Lugansk region.

11.56am BST

Russia claims two more east Ukrainian villages

Russia said Thursday that it took two more east Ukrainian villages - in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions - as its forces continue their advance deeper into the country.

The defence ministry said Russian forces captured the village of Mykolaivka, around 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, as well as the settlement of Stelmakhivka in the neighbouring Lugansk region.

Russian forces have been making steady and determined advances towards the logistics hub of Pokrovsk - once home to some 60,000 people - over recent months.

Outnumbered Ukrainian forces awaiting more Western military aid have struggled to hold back their assaults.

11.20am BST

In Germany, trains laden with battle tanks passing her window awakened dark fears for Kathrin Ruck, who on Sunday will vote for a party which promises to bring an end to the war in Ukraine by halting Germany’s weapons shipments to Kyiv.

“I’m scared that one day this war will be directed against Germany,” said the legal secretary, 50, from Sonneberg in Thuringia, a region which until 1990 was occupied by the Soviet army as part of communist East Germany.

“That’s no problem for Russia”, she told Reuters.

Though there is no indication the tanks she saw were heading to Ukraine, such fears have helped push the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance from a standing start a few months ago to second or third place in polls ahead of state parliament elections this Sunday in the eastern German states of Thuringia and Saxony.

10.38am BST

Russian attacks pose risk to nuclear facilities and safety of millions of people, Ukraine says

A Ukrainian mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a note on Thursday: “The Russian Federation continues to deliberately target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, intending to disrupt the operation of the country’s nuclear power plants, which provide most of Ukraine’s electricity.

“Russian attacks pose a significant risk to the stable operation of nuclear facilities in Ukraine and the safety of millions of people.”

The mission said that as a result of Monday’s attack, three out of four power units of the Rivne nuclear power plant were disconnected from the grid. Another nuclear power plant, the South Ukrainian, was forced to decrease its output.

“Due to fluctuations in the national power grid caused by Russia’s attack, at 1710 (EEST}, power unit 3 of the South Ukrainian NPP was disconnected from the grid,” the mission added.

Updated at 10.50am BST

10.24am BST

Faced with the reality of the occupation of Russia’s territory, the state propaganda machine has sought to distract attention from the obvious military failure by focusing on government efforts to help over 130,000 residents displaced from their homes, an analyst tells AP.

State-controlled media cast the attack on Kursk as evidence of Kyiv’s aggressive intentions and more proof that Russia was justified in invading Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Tatiana Stanovaya, senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center., noted that while many Kursk residents could be angry at the Kremlin, the overall nationwide sentiment could actually favor the authorities.

“While it’s certainly a blow to the Kremlin’s reputation, it is unlikely to spark a significant rise in social or political discontent among the population,” she said. “The Ukrainian attack might actually lead to a rallying around the flag and a rise in anti-Ukrainian and anti-Western sentiments.”

9.51am BST

Russia’s Monday drone and missile attack forced Ukraine to disconnect several nuclear power units from the grid, a Ukrainian mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Thursday.

The mission said in a note to the IAEA that Russia continued to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, intending to disrupt the operation of its nuclear power plants and posing a significant risk to the stable operation of nuclear facilities.

9.34am BST

Ukraine steps up calls at Brussels summit for use of western weapons inside Russia

Ukraine has stepped up calls for permission to use western-supplied weapons against military targets inside Russia.

Ahead of a meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said long-term security for Europe began with “short-term bold decisions for Ukraine”.

Ukraine wanted permission to use western weapons to strike “legitimate military targets” in the depths of Russia, mainly airfields used to launch bombers, he said.

“If we are supplied with a sufficient amount of missiles, if we are allowed to strike we will significantly decrease the capacity of Russia to inflict damage on our critical infrastructure and we will improve the situation for our forces on the ground.”

He was supported by the EU’s high representative for foreign policy, Josep Borrell, who described Kuleba’s meeting with 27 EU foreign ministers as an “important moment in order to make everyone understand why” restrictions should be lifted.

“The restrictions have to be lifted in order for the Ukrainans to target the places where Russia is bombing them, otherwise the weaponry is useless.”

Since the start of the war in Feb 2022, Borrell said that Russia had fired against Ukraine more than 14,000 drones, almost 10,000 missiles and “many more” glide bombs.

Updated at 9.55am BST

9.18am BST

The European Union’s top diplomat on Thursday ramped up pressure on Ukraine’s international backers to lift restrictions on the use of weapons they provide the conflict-ravaged country to allow its armed forces to strike targets inside Russia.

The U.S. restricts the use of long-range ballistic missiles it provides to Ukraine and some EU members also limit the use of their weapons. Ukraine is desperate to target airfields and other military installations inside Russia that are used to stage attacks on its armed forces and civilians.

“We need to lift restrictions on the use of weaponry against Russian military targets, in accordance with international law,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said as the bloc’s foreign ministers gathered in Brussels to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The weaponry that we are providing to Ukraine has to have full use, and the restrictions have to be lifted in order for the Ukrainians to be able to target the places where Russia is bombing them. Otherwise, the weaponry is useless,” Borrell told reporters.

8.55am BST

Several Nato countries have called for lifting restrictions on Ukraine’s use of weapons supplied by western allies, especially long-range missiles and Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, said that while Russia was using long-range weapons against Ukraine, allies should “let Ukraine fight with whatever it has, with whatever we have delivered them and let’s deliver them more”.

What we know about Russia’s war on Ukraine on day 918 since the invasion, at a glance, read it here:

Related: Ukraine war briefing: Calls within Nato to clear long-range strikes against Russia

8.47am BST

Ukrainian air defences shot down about 15 drones launched by Russia in its third attack on the Ukrainian capital in four days, Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said on Thursday.

Drone debris damaged the windows and doors of an apartment building and caused a fire in a non-residential building which was extinguished, Popko said in a statement after the latest Russian airstrikes on Ukraine, which were mainly overnight.

Kyiv regional governor Ruslan Kravchenko said the drones caused no damage to critical infrastructure in the Kyiv region, and city and regional authorities reported no casualties.

Falling debris also caused a fire on the grounds of a private enterprise in the central region of Cherkasy and emergency services were tackling the blaze, the regional governor said.

8.36am BST

Good morning and welcome to our blog covering the Russia-Ukraine war as it’s just reported that one civilian was killed and another two were injured in Ukrainian shelling of the town of Shebekino in Russia’s Belgorod region, governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Thursday. More details on that soon.

Meanwhile EU foreign ministers are gathering in Brussels for an informal meeting with Ukraine and the Middle East dominating the agenda.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba , is expected to attend in person to press for his country to be allowed to use western-supplied weapons on Russian territory.

In other developments:

• Ukraine’s military has said it carried out attacks on two oil storage facilities , causing a fire on Wednesday at the Atlas oil depot in the southern Rostov region and the Zenit oil facility in Russia’s Kirov region, some 1,500 km (930 miles) northeast of the border with Ukraine.

• Russia’s foreign ministry announced 92 additions on Wednesday to its list of Americans banned from entering the country . They include 11 current or former staff members of the Wall Street Journal — including its Editor in Chief, Emma Tucker. She had repeatedly criticised Russia for the arrest and conviction on espionage charges of WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich, who spent 16 months behind bars before being released in August in a prisoner exchange.

• The Ukrainian air force has said it downed two missiles and 60 drones during an overnight attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv , the third attack in four days.

• Top US and Chinese officials will wrap up talks in Beijing after a third day of meetings on Thursday that were intended to ease simmering tensions between the two superpowers ahead of the US election in November. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and their teams gathered behind closed doors at a lush resort on the outskirts of the Chinese capital. One item on the agenda was their contrasting views over Ukraine amid China’s friendly relations with Russia.