Key points
- Big picture:What you need to know as war enters new week
- Ukrainian city under attack tells families to evacuate
- Third bridge 'attacked' in Russian region of Kursk
- Michael Clarke:Battle of bridges is about to begin
- Putin 'in a position he never dreamt of in his worst nightmares'
- Sean Bell:Humiliated Putin will respond ruthlessly to Ukrainian masterstroke
- Listen to the Daily above and tap here to follow wherever you get your podcasts
- Live reporting by Katie Williams
'No change' in UK's position on Storm Shadow missiles, says No 10
Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman says there has been "no change" in the UK's position on Ukraine using Storm Shadow missiles inside Russia's borders.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to use the missiles to attack targets deep inside Russia that could speed up the end of the war.
But Britain, along with other Western governments, have so far rebuffed Kyiv's requests amid fears of escalation.
Asked about Storm Shadow missiles and whether Ukraine is permitted to use them in Kursk as part of its push into Russia, a No 10 spokesman said: "We are providing military aid to support Ukraine's clear right to self-defence."
Asked about discussions between the UK and overseas partners, including the US and France, the spokesperson added: "We also have an ongoing dialogue with our allies about a co-ordinated effort between us all to do the same thing and be united in our support for Ukraine.
"So, more broadly, yes, there are conversations always happening between ourselves."
Pokrovsk residents have a 'week or two' to evacuate in face of Russian advances
Civilians in Pokrosvk in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region have just a week or two to flee their homes as Russian troops make rapid gains, a Ukrainian official has said.
A key target city for Moscow, fighting around Pokrovsk remains the heaviest in eastern Ukraine.
Several clashes were reported in the area last week as Kyiv pushed on with its shock invasion of Russia's Kursk border region.
Serhiy Dobriak, the head of Pokrovsk's military administration, said residents should leave as quickly as they can.
They have "a week or two, no more", he told RadioLiberty's Ukrainian Service.
He said authorities have capacity to evacuate at least 1,000 people per day, but only around half that amount is currently leaving.
Some 53,000 people, including nearly 4,000 children, remain in the city.
More than 121,000 people evacuated from Kursk districts
More than 121,000 people have been evacuated from nine border districts in Kursk, Russian media is reporting, citing the country's emergencies ministry.
Ukrainian troops launched a cross-border invasion into the region nearly two weeks ago, in a move that shocked Vladimir Putin and his top military leaders and left them struggling to push Kyiv's forces back.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier that he was briefed by his top military commander that Ukraine was achieving its goals in Kursk.
800,000 Russian soldiers will be in Ukraine by end of year - report
Kyiv predicts Moscow will have around 200,000 extra forces in Ukraine by the end of the year, according to a report.
Forbes Ukraine cited deputy defence minister Ivan Havryliuk as saying some 800,000 Russian troops were expected in the country by the end of 2024.
Currently, there are around 600,000 soldiers in occupied areas of Ukraine, he said.
Analysts at the Royal United Services Institute say Russian forces have been expanding in size despite suffering heavy casualties, and the Kremlin believes it can sustain the "current rate of attrition" through 2025.
'If you don't want to see the war, you have to end the war'
An adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russians must force Vladimir Putin to enter peace talks on "fair terms" if they don't want to see the war on their doorstep.
Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the president's office, claims that Mr Putin's own forces are "destroying civilian infrastructure" in the Kursk border region and "looting shops and civilian homes".
"Accustomed to seeing the war as a television show, Russians are now seeing it up close and personal," he said in a post to X.
"You can no longer turn away, we will not allow it.
"If you don't want to see the war, you have to end the war by forcing your 'leadership' to make peace on fair terms."
Mandatory evacuation for families in Donetsk city - as Russia claims capture of another town in region
A mandatory evacuation order for families with children has begun in the city of Pokrovsk in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, as Russian forces advance.
Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk regional administration, said a decision was made to "forcibly evacuate children" with their parents or guardians after an emergency meeting on the situation.
"When our cities are within range of virtually any enemy weapon, the decision to evacuate is necessary and inevitable," he said in a post on Telegram.
Meanwhile, Russian media is citing the defence ministry as saying Russian forces have captured the Donetsk town of Zalizne.
Sky News cannot independently verify the claim.
Russian troops have been inching towards the key strategic hub of Pokrovsk for months.Its capture would compromise Kyiv's defensive abilities and supply routes, and would bring Russia closer to its stated aim of capturing the entire Donetsk region.
This was the situation on the ground in the region as of Friday:
No peace talks after Ukraine invasion, Putin aide says
Ukraine's attack on the Kursk region means Russia is not ready to hold peace talks for now, an aide to Vladimir Putin has said.
Moscow is not withdrawing its earlier peace proposals, but the invasion into Kursk means holding peace talks now would be "inappropriate", Yuri Ushakov said in a video statement broadcast bythe SHOT news outlet.
Mr Putin said in June that Russia would end the war in Ukraine only if Kyiv agreed to drop its NATO ambitions and hand over four provinces claimed by Moscow.
Kyiv swiftly rejected the offer, with a Ukrainian presidential adviser saying last week that the Kursk invasion was required to convince Moscow to start "fair" peace talks.
Mykhailo Podolyak said Ukraine had no interest in occupying Kursk, but it had to force Russia to start talks on Kyiv's terms.
"We need to inflict significant tactical defeats on Russia," he said. "In the Kursk region, we clearly see how the military tool is objectively used to convince the Russian Federation to enter into a fair negotiation process."
Analysis: Battle of bridges is about to begin
The attacking of a third bridge in the Russian region of Kursk will hinder Moscow's efforts to stop Ukraine's advance, our defence and security analystProfessor Michael Clarkesays.
Russia says a third bridge has been struck in Kursk, on the border with Ukraine, which Kyiv invaded two weeks ago.
The strikes against the three main road bridges in Kursk leave Russia with just a pontoon bridge to transfer its forces, Prof Clarke says.
While it won't stop Russia altogether, it will "restrict their ability to reinforce" and a "battle of the bridges is probably about to begin".
Prof Clarke explains the disadvantage of being left with only a pontoon bridge is it is prone to congestion because it has just one track. That makes it a "very good target" for the enemy, he adds.
He says he doesn't believe Volodymyr Zelenskyy's claim that Kursk was invaded to create a buffer zone to protect Ukraine.
"The buffer zone at the moment is 30 miles long in a frontier that is actually almost 1,200 miles long. In that respect it's irrelevant," he says.
What Ukraine really wants, according to Prof Clarke, is to demonstrate it isn't carrying out a mere "raid" of the Russian region but that it's "going to hold on to this territory until you stop us".
"And so far, the Russians are mobilising a lot of troops but nothing important," he adds.
Third Kursk bridge attacked by Ukraine, Moscow says
Russia says Ukraine has attacked a third bridge in the Kursk region invaded by Ukraine two weeks ago.
It says Kyiv's forces struck and damaged a bridge over the Seym river yesterday.
Details of the latest bridge attack were revealed in a video statement from a representative of Russia's investigative committee, which was posted on the Telegram channel of Russian state TV anchorVladimir Solovyov.
A Ukrainian commander said yesterday that its airforce had destroyed a strategic bridge over the Seym riverin Kursk - the second attacked by Ukraine since Friday - limiting the supply capacity of aRussian group opposing the Ukrainian advance.
Putin meets Azerbaijan's president to discuss 'international and regional problems'
Vladimir Putin has travelled to Azerbaijan's capital of Baku to meet his counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, in his first visit since the invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago.
The Russian president arrived in the country yesterday for a two-day visit, during which talks will be focused on "international and regional problems", the Kremlin said.
It comes as Russian forces are scrambling to tackle a surprise attack by Ukraine into Kursk, which Volodymyr Zelenskyy says is aimed at creating a buffer zone to protect his country.
The meeting follows reports in June of the EU and Ukraine asking Azerbaijanto facilitate discussionswith Russia on a gas transit deal.
The EU has cut most of its Russian gas imports but some central European countries still depend on gas from Russia via a pipeline that crosses Ukraine. This includes Austria, which still receives most of its gas through this route.
