Russia’s spy claims about expelled diplomats are ‘baseless’, UK says, as Putin ramps up row over Ukraine weapons – live

3.02pm BST

Russia’s investigative committee has opened a criminal case against the head of Ukraine’s armed forces over the incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, state-owned new agency Tass reports in Russia.

It says that as a result of action by Maj Gen Dmitry Krasilnikov , “a significant number of civilians were killed and wounded, residential buildings, civilian infrastructure facilities, and vehicles were destroyed and damaged. In addition, civilians living in the Kursk region were forced to leave their permanent places of residence.”

2.55pm BST

The European Commission has presented to EU ambassadors three new options to extend the sanctions renewal period covering Russia’s central bank assets, crucial to secure a $50bn G7 loan for Ukraine, Reuters reports EU diplomats said on Friday.

2.38pm BST

Nato said on Friday it strongly condemned a Russian missile strike on a civilian grain ship in the Black Sea on Thursday.

“There is no justification for such attacks. Yesterday’s strike shows once again the reckless nature of Russia’s war,” Reuters reports Nato spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah said.

Ukraine accused Russia on Thursday of using strategic bombers to strike a civilian grain vessel in Black Sea waters near Nato member Romania. It was the first time a missile has struck a civilian vessel transporting grains at sea since the start of Moscow’s invasion in February 2022.

2.30pm BST

Gabrielius Landsbergis , Lithuania ’s minister of foreign affairs, has been in Kyiv today meeting sneior Ukraine leaders including Volodymyr Zelenskiy , and has just posted to social media that he is not there to offer “thoughts and prayers”, instead, he says he is there “to commit to victory, as short as it takes.”

1.50pm BST

The Russian embassy in London has said in a social media post that “the investments that the UK promised to send to Ukraine, like all the previous ones, will likely go up in smoke in the Special Military Operation zone or, more probably, disappear down the bottomless pockets of the corrupt Ukrainian elites.”

1.38pm BST

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that the Kursk offensive “slowed” Russia’s advance in east Ukraine, AFP reported.

It gave the results we expected, to be honest. In Kharkiv region, the enemy has been stopped, the progress in Donetsk region has been slowed down, although it is very difficult there.

The Ukrainian president said there are 40,000 Russian troops fighting in the Kursk region.

Updated at 1.42pm BST

12.46pm BST

Earlier my colleagues Archie Bland and Dan Sabbagh put together this explainer on the issue of deploying “Storm Shadow” missiles in Ukraine for use against targets inside Russia.

Related: Storm Shadow missiles: what are they and why are they important for Ukraine?

12.30pm BST

The governor of Russia’s Bryansk region has claimed that air defences there have shot down seven Ukrainian drones in a day.

In his most recent update, Alexander Bogomaz wrote on Telegram “An attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using a UAV on the territory of the Bryansk region has been thwarted. There are no casualties or damage.”

12.24pm BST

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has posted to Telegram about the latest prisoner exchange with Russia. Ukraine’s president said:

Another return of our people, for which we always wait and work for. 49 Ukrainian men and women at home. These are soldiers of the armed forces of Ukraine, the national guard, the national police, the state border service, as well as our civilians.

I thank our entire team, which ensures the release of prisoners and hostages from Russian captivity. We have to bring home all our soldiers and civilians.

12.01pm BST

Suspilne, Ukraine's state broadcaster, is reporting that 49 captured Ukrainian service personnel and civilians have been returned from captivity by Russia.

Dmytro Lubinets , the Ukrainian parliament commissioner for human rights is quoted in reports saying “the state of health of the prisoners is very serious.”

11.45am BST

Ukrainian news sources are reporting that two people have been killed in an Russian airstrike in Yampil in Sumy region. Six others were injured, including a child.

11.07am BST

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has been giving his daily media briefing, during which Reuters reports he said president Vladimir Putin had delivered a clear message to the west about the consequences of allowing Ukraine to hit Russian territory with western long-range missiles, and that there was no doubt that Putin’s message had reached those it was intended for.

Updated at 11.41am BST

11.05am BST

UK: Russian spying claims about six expelled Moscow diplomats are ‘baseless’

The UK government has said that claims made by Russia’s security services about six members of British diplomatic staff it has expelled from Russia are “baseless”.

In a statement, the UK government said:

The accusations made today by the FSB against our staff are completely baseless. The Russian authorities revoked the diplomatic accreditation of six UK diplomats in Russia last month, following action taken by the UK government in response to Russian state directed activity across Europe and in the UK. We are unapologetic about protecting our national interests.

The announcement that Russia evoked the accreditation of six British diplomats in Moscow on accusations of espionage came as Keir Starmer was landing in Washington to discuss letting Ukraine use long-range missiles deep inside Russian territory.

The FSB security agency said on Friday it had taken the measure after uncovering documents showing that part of the Foreign Office was helping coordinate what it called “the escalation of the political and military situation” in Ukraine.

The Guardian’s political correspondent Kiran Stacey reports:

The Guardian understands the move was made several months ago, after the Metropolitan police charged a group of British men with planning an arson attack against Ukrainian-linked businesses on behalf of the Russian state. But it was only announced in a statement on Friday morning.

Russian media has named and published photographs of the six British members of diplomatic staff.

11.00am BST

Ashifa Kassam is the Guardian’s European community affairs correspondent

Rights campaigners say that as many 3,000 Ukrainian refugees living in Hungary have been affected by a new Hungarian decree that cancels state-funded shelters for refugees from western Ukraine.

The government issued the new decree in June, limiting state-funded housing to Ukrainian refugees that hail from areas it deems as war-torn. The decree entered into force late last month, essentially declaring swathes of Ukraine safe to return to.

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee, which works closely with affected groups, said approximately 3,000 Ukrainian refugees were affected by the new decree, leading to homelessness and the inability to access social services such as health care and education, which require a registered address in Hungary.

While the decree includes a stipulation that the government will review the situation monthly, rights campaigners pointed to a Lviv attack by Russian forces in early September and noted that, one week later, the Hungarian government had not modified its stance regarding refugees from this area.

This week Human Rights Watch, arguing that the decree breaches the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive that was triggered in March 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, urged the European Commission to “take immediate action” and initiate infringement proceedings against Hungary under EU law.

Lydia Gall , senior Europe and Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch said:

Leaving refugees fleeing a devastating war homeless not only flies in the face of Hungary’s international obligations but is also a worrying reminder of the government’s consistently inhumane and cruel policies with respect to people seeking safety in Hungary. The European Commission should press Budapest to do its duty and ensure that all Ukrainian refugees enjoy the benefits of temporary protection.

10.38am BST

In an operational update on its official Telegram channel, Russia’s ministry of defence has claimed, without providing evidence, that Ukraine has lost over 12,000 service personnel during its incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.

It claims that Russia has repelled three attempts by Ukrainian forces to break through in the Kursk region in the past day. It also claims that 12 members of Ukrainian forces inside Russia surrendered.

The claims have not been independently verified.

10.34am BST

EU threatens further sanctions on Iran over missile supply to Russia

The European Union has issued a statement saying that it “strongly condemns the recent transfer of Iranian-made ballistic missiles to Russia” and has threatened further sanctions.

It says:

This transfer is a direct threat to European security and represents a substantive material escalation from the provision of Iranian UAVs and ammunition, which Russia has used in its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.

The EU’s position on Iran’s involvement in Russia’s war has always been clear. The EU has repeatedly strongly cautioned Iran against transfers of ballistic missiles to Russia.

The EU will respond swiftly and in coordination with international partners, including with new and significant restrictive measures against Iran, including the designation of individuals and entities involved with Iran’s ballistic missile and drone programmes, and in this regard is considering restrictive measures in Iran’s aviation sector as well.

Earlier Reuters reported that France had summoned Iran’s chargé d’affaires in Paris to remonstrate over the transfer of the missiles from Iran to Russia.

10.12am BST

The Sky News security and defence editor Deborah Haynes has posted to social media to say that Whitehall sources have told her that the British government “strongly rejected a claim by Russia’s security service that the officials [expelled by Russia] had been involved in spying and sabotage.”

Haynes said the source told her that the expulsion of six British diplomats happened last month, and “is linked to a set of tit-for-tat expulsions”, suggesting it was not a direct Russian response to the British prime minister’s trip to Washington today or the threat that Ukraine will be authorised to use long-range British-supplied “Storm Shadow” missiles against targets inside Russia.

9.50am BST

Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform is carrying news of damages and injuries overnight. In Odesa region “falling debris from enemy drones” damaged windows in 20 residential buildings and a 74-year-old man was injured. In Kherson region two civilians were injured after explosives were dropped from a Russian drone.

9.31am BST

Russia ’s ministry of defence has said that its service personnel carrying out exercises in the Barents Sea have conducted tests of firing cruise missiles, and have also participated in exercises to simulate hunting and tracking down enemy submarines. It described the exercises as a success. Russia is conducting its largest naval set of exercises since the Soviet era.

9.23am BST

The head of Russia’s security council, Sergei Shoigu , visited North Korea on Friday and met with the country’s leader Kim Jong-un , Reuters reports, citing Interfax.

9.20am BST

Reuters has a quick snap that France is to summon Iran ’s chargé d’affaires in Paris over the country’s decision to supply further arms to Russia.

More details soon …

8.52am BST

Tusk: Putin's comments about long-range missiles 'show the difficult situation the Russians have on the front'

Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk has dismissed comments by Russian president Vladimir Putin about the risk of escalation if Ukraine is allowed to use longer-range Nato-supplied weapons to strike at targets inside Russian, as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been requesting.

Reuters reports that, speaking to the media, Tusk said on Friday morning:

It is necessary to take all events in Ukraine and on the Ukrainian-Russian front very seriously, but I would not attach excessive importance to the latest statements from President Putin. They rather show the difficult situation the Russians have on the front.

The Russian president has said that lifting long-range missile restrictions on Ukraine would mean that Nato countries would be at war with Russia. Taking questions from reporters in Moscow, Putin said: “If this decision is made, it will mean nothing less than the direct participation of Nato countries, the United States, and European countries in the war in Ukraine.”

Earlier today a key ally of Putin, the chairman of Russia’s State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin , echoed those words, claiming “The US, Germany, Britain and France are discussing the possibility of strikes using long-range weapons on the territory of our country. This is nothing but an attempt to camouflage and conceal their direct participation in military action.”

The UK prime minister Keir Starmer is in Washington today to meet with US president Joe Biden , where he is expected to seek US approval for a plan to allow Ukraine to utilise the British “Storm Shadow” missile to strike targets inside Russia.

8.45am BST

The UK government has reiterated that it sees it as “a significant escalation” that Iran has supplied Russia with more armaments. In a statement about UK prime minister’s visit to Washington today, the government said :

The prime minister has arrived in Washington to hold talks with US president Joe Biden today. In an extended meeting at the White House, the prime minister and the president will discuss a wide range of pressing international issues – including our ongoing support for Ukraine.

It follows the foreign secretary and US secretary of state’s visit to Kyiv this week, where they heard directly from President Zelenskiy about Ukraine’s current position against Russia’s ongoing barbaric invasion.

In a significant escalation, it was also confirmed this week that Iran has transferred ballistic missiles to Russia – bolstering Putin’s capability to continue his illegal war. The UK confirmed an extra £600m ($790m / €710m) of support for Ukraine yesterday, on top of the £3bn ($3.9bn / €3.6bn) a year for as long as needed confirmed by the prime minister in July.

The statement made no specific mention of discussing allowing Ukraine to use longer range weapons against targets inside Russia.

8.37am BST

The New York Times has been suggesting overnight that US president Joe Biden will be minded to approve the use of longer-range Nato-supplied weapons launched at targets inside Russia by Ukraine. It writes :

President Biden appears on the verge of clearing the way for Ukraine to launch long-range western weapons deep inside Russian territory, as long as it doesn’t use arms provided by the US, European officials say.

Britain has already signaled that it is eager to let Ukraine use its “Storm Shadow” long-range missiles to strike at Russian military targets far from the Ukrainian border. But it wants explicit permission from Biden in order to demonstrate a coordinated strategy with the US and France, which makes a similar missile. American officials say Biden has not made a decision, but will hear from UK prime minister Keir Starmer on Friday.

Biden has hesitated to allow Ukraine to use American weapons in the same way, particularly after warnings from American intelligence agencies that Russia could respond by aiding Iran in targeting American forces in the Middle East.

8.22am BST

Reuters reports Ukraine ’s air force said on Friday it shot down 24 of 26 Russia-launched drones overnight over five Ukrainian regions. The news agency cited to a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app.

8.15am BST

Putin ally accuses Nato states of 'direct participation in military action'

The chairman of Russia’s State Duma, the lower house of parliament, on Friday accused Nato of being a direct party to military action in Ukraine, suggesting it was already heavily involved in military decision-making.

The comments were made by Vyacheslav Volodin , a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, came a day after Putin warned that the West would be directly fighting with Russia if it allowed Ukraine to strike Russian territory with western-made long-range missiles.

Reuters quotes Volodin, accussing Nato of helping Ukraine choose which Russian cities to target, of agreeing specific military action, and of giving Kyiv orders:

The US, Germany, Britain and France are discussing the possibility of strikes using long-range weapons on the territory of our country. This is nothing but an attempt to camouflage and conceal their direct participation in military action.

8.13am BST

Zakharova: British diplomatic actions in Russia were 'aimed at causing harm to our people'

Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has said the British diplomatic mission in Russia had been engaged in activities “far beyond” the Vienna convention that were “aimed at causing harm to our people”.

Speaking to state-owned news agency Tass, she said:

We fully share the assessments of the activities of the British so-called diplomats expressed by the Russian FSB. The British embassy has gone far beyond the limits outlined by the Vienna conventions. But the most important thing is that we are not only talking about the formal side of the issue and the inconsistency with the declared activities, but about such actions aimed at causing harm to our people.

Zakharova did not produce any evidence to back up the assertion. Russia has claimed that a department in the British foreign office has been, Tass reports, “transformed into a special service for inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia.”

8.11am BST

Russia revokes accreditation of six British diplomats it accuses of spying

Russia’s FSB security service has revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats in Moscow whose actions it said showed signs of spying and sabotage work.

The FSB said on Friday it had documents showing that a British Foreign Office department in London was coordinating what it called “the escalation of the political and military situation” and was tasked with ensuring Russia’s strategic defeat in its war against Ukraine.

“Thus, the facts revealed give grounds to consider the activities of British diplomats sent to Moscow by the directorate as threatening the security of the Russian Federation,” the FSB said in a statement.

It added: “In this connection, on the basis of documents provided by the Federal Security Service of Russia and as a response to the numerous unfriendly steps taken by London, the ministry of foreign affairs of Russia, in cooperation with the agencies concerned, has terminated the accreditation of six members of the political department of the British embassy in Moscow in whose actions signs of spying and sabotage were found.”

The six diplomats were named on Russian state TV, which also showed photographs of them.

An FSB employee told Rossiya-24: “The English did not take our hints about the need to stop this practice [of carrying out intelligence activities inside Russia], so we decided to expel these six to begin with.”

Related: Russia revokes accreditation of six British diplomats it accuses of spying

8.11am BST

Welcome and opening summary …

Welcome to the Guardian’s ongoing live coverage of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Here are your headlines …

• Russia’s FSB security service has revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats in Moscow whose actions it said showed signs of spying and sabotage work. The six diplomats were named on Russian state TV, which also showed photographs of them

• Vladimir Putin has said that a western move to let Kyiv use longer-range weapons against targets inside Russia would mean Nato would be “at war” with Moscow . Putin spoke as US and UK top diplomats discussed easing rules on firing western weapons into Russia, which Kyiv has been pressing for, more than two and a half years into Moscow’s offensive. The Russian president has frequently accused Nato of being an active participant in the war

• The UK prime minister Keir Starmer has told Putin that he started the war in Ukraine and could end it at any time. Responding directly to threats by the Russian president, Starmer told reporters: “Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia can end this conflict straight away. Ukraine has the right to self-defence”

• Ukraine ’s air force said on Friday it shot down 24 of 26 Russia-launched drones overnight over five Ukrainian regions

• Russia says its forces have recaptured 10 settlements after it launched a counteroffensive in the Kursk region to push out Ukrainian troops who stormed across the border five weeks ago. With fierce fighting continuing, Russia’s defence ministry listed the names of 10 settlements it said it had retaken

It is Martin Belam with you today. You can contact me on martin.belam@theguardian.com .