The big picture: What you need to know as the war enters another week
Here’s everything you need to know as Russia’s war in Ukraine enters a new week.
Pressure grows on West over long-range missiles
Volodymyr Zelenskyy continued to pressure the West over the past few days to allow Ukraine to use the long-range missiles they have been provided with to strike targets deep inside Russia.
No decision has been made after talks between Sir Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden in Washington last week.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that he could not discuss the details of why a decision was not made, but added: “There’s a debate about further missiles.
“And we are discussing that as allies, as you would expect us to.”
Prisoner exchange
On Saturday Russia and Ukraine each handed over 103 prisoners of war.
Moscow’s defence ministry said the Russian soldiers had been taken captive in Russia’s Kursk region – where Ukrainian forces captured territory last month in a major incursion into Russia.
Mr Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian troops were defending the Kyiv and Donetsk regions, Mariupol and Azovstal, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions.
Putin escalates rhetoric
Vladimir Putin issued an ominous warning on Friday in response to suggestions Ukraine may be given permission to strike Russian territory with Western-made long-range missiles.
The Russian president said such a development would put NATO “at war” with Russia.
He insisted it would “significantly change” the nature of the Ukraine conflict and amount to “nothing less than direct involvement of NATO countries”.
Russia expels six British diplomats
Russia expelled six British diplomats in Moscow on Friday, with its FSB security service claiming their activity indicated they were involved in spying and sabotage.
The diplomats were named on Russian state TV, which also showed photos of them.
However, a Whitehall source speaking to Sky News strongly rejected the characterisation that the individuals had been involved in spying and sabotage.
They said the expulsions were part of a wave of tit-for-tat expulsions that began when the UK expelled almost two dozen Russian officials from the embassy in London in the wake of the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent, and his daughter Yulia with novichok nerve agent in Salisbury in 2018.
US says Russia has received Iranian missiles
On Wednesday the US said it believes the Russian military has received shipments of hundreds of Iranian Fath-360 missiles.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken said he feared the short-range missiles would be used by Moscow “within weeks”.
Mr Lammy said the supply of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia was “definitely a significant escalation” and said the UK was “coordinating”.
Both Iran and Russia have denied the claims.
UK cracks down on Russian ‘shadow fleet’
On Wednesday the UK announced new sanctions against 10 ships in Russia’s “shadow fleet” of vessels it says illegally avoid Western embargoes on Russian oil.
The sanctions aim to further impact Moscow’s oil revenues, which the Foreign Office called “Putin’s most critical source of funding for his illegal war in Ukraine”.
It is the third time the UK has sanctioned individual vessels.
Russia begins ‘significant counteroffensive’
Moscow’s forces have begun a significant counteroffensive against Ukrainian troops who pushed their way into western Russia last month, pro-Moscow war bloggers said on Wednesday.
Ukrainian troops claim to control almost 500 square miles (around 1,300 square km) of the Kursk region after they launched a surprise incursion on 6 August.
But three milbloggers said Russian forces had begun a significant counteroffensive and have reclaimed territory in the region.
Mr Zelenskyy had told Sky News’ US partner network NBC last week that Ukraine will “hold” the territory as a key part of his “victory plan” to end the war.
We’re pausing our live coverage
That’s it for our live updates today. We’ll be back soon with more updates on the Ukraine war.
The main story was a Russian aerial bomb hitting a residential high-rise in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
Ukraine’s push to launch Western-supplied long-range missiles into Russia continued, as pressure mounts on the UK and US to make a decision.
And a married couple were killed by Russian missiles launched into Ukraine’s Odesa overnight, with one other person injured.
Read our latest recap of the situation in Ukraine below:
Zelenskyy: Rescue ‘still under way’ in Kharkiv – 35 now injured
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has given an update on the situation in Kharkiv after the Russian strike there.
In a statement on Telegram, Ukraine’s president said “rescue operations are still under way”.
“There was a fire, ceilings collapsed. It is known that people are trapped under the rubble,” the president said.
He also revised the number of injured.
He said: “As of now, 35 people are reported injured, including three children. All emergency services, rescue teams, medics, and utility workers quickly arrived at the scene, and aid is being provided to all those affected.”
The airstrike involved four aerial bombs – one on Kharkiv, and three in nearby villages, Mr Zelenskyy also said.
He added: “Today, Russian forces also hit our Sumy and Donetsk regions with such bombs.
“In total, there are no fewer than a hundred airstrikes of this kind every day.
“Just in the past 24 hours, 128 guided aerial bombs were used.”
He used the strikes to renew his argument for the West to allow Ukraine to strike at Russian military aircraft at their bases inside Russia.
“This is an obvious, sensible decision. We have already explained to all our partners why Ukraine truly needs sufficient long-range capabilities,” he said.
For context: President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Keir Starmer met in Washington this week to discuss whether or not to allow Ukraine to fire its long-range missiles on targets in Russia.
Vladimir Putin threatened that Russia would consider itself at war with NATO if such a measure was taken.
Number of injured rises to 41 after apartment building hit
Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, says at least 41 people have been injured after a Russian aerial bomb hit an apartment building in the city.
Earlier, we reported here how the number of wounded was thought to be at least 30 at first.
The mayor added the guided bomb hit the 10th floor of the building, with the fire spreading across four floors.
Twelve other buildings were also damaged in the same airstrike, he said.
Watch: High-rise building on fire after Russian aerial assault
Footage has emerged of a building on fire after being hit by a Russian aerial bomb.
The high-rise residential building in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine was hit this afternoon, injuring at least 30 people – including three children.
Kharkiv, one of Ukraine’s largest cities and a key industrial centre, is located near the Russian border and is constantly under attack from Russian bombs, missiles and drones.
Russian troops on frontlines proving a challenge for Ukrainians – UK MoD
The UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has outlined the struggles Ukraine is facing on multiple areas of the frontline.
In an update earlier today, it said Russian troops are continuing “high tempo” offensive operations.
“In Russia’s Kursk oblast, where Ukraine has maintained control of approximately 800-900 sq km of territory since mid-August 2024, Russian forces have begun a counter-offensive,” it said.
“Russian forces have attacked Ukrainian positions in the west of the salient and have highly likely retaken several villages,” it added.
That update comes after Russian forces claimed over the weekend they had taken control of the villages of Zhelanne Pershe and Dolynivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
“In eastern Ukraine, Russian forces have made gradual advances around Vuhledar and to the southeast of the logistics hub of Pokrovsk,” the MoD continued.
“However Russia has not advanced significantly towards Pokrovsk itself within the past week.”
Davey calls on Starmer to ‘unilaterally’ let Ukraine fire long-range missiles into Russia
Sir Ed Davey says Ukraine should be allowed to use the West’s long-range missiles “to attack Russian military bases in Russia”.
“They’re being used to wreak havoc on Ukraine,” the Lib Dem leader said at a party conference in Brighton today.
He said he had “no inside knowledge”, but he “wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve already taken a decision to use them collectively across NATO”.
Asked specifically if the UK should wait for approval from the US president, Sir Ed said: “If we have to do it unilaterally, I think we should.”
Sir Keir Starmer travelled to Washington DC to meet with President Joe Biden on Friday to discuss the matter, but no decision has been taken yet.
Both leaders are under pressure to allow Ukraine to fire into Russian territory, in particular after it was revealed that Iran supplied Russia with ballistic missiles.
Russian bomb injures at least 30 civilians
At least 30 people, including three children, have been injured after a Russian guided bomb hit a high-rise building in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine.
The bomb caused a fire in the residential building, local officials said on Telegram.
Kharkiv, one of Ukraine’s largest cities and a key industrial centre, is located near the Russian border and is constantly under attack from Russian bombs, missiles and drones.
“The rescue operation in Kharkiv continues. A Russian air strike,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an update on social media.
“An ordinary residential building, a multi-storey building, was damaged. There is a fire and rubble between the 9th and 12th floors,” he added.
“And the world must help defend Ukraine from Russian military aircraft, from dozens of guided bombs that take lives of Ukrainians every day. This terror can be stopped.”
Long-range missiles: What are they and what does Ukraine want to use them for?
Long-range missiles have been prominent in the war of late, as Ukraine continues to urge Western allies to give them the green-light to launch them into Russia.
It can be difficult to cram everything you need to know about the weaponry into each post about them – but in this one we’ll try to give you all the context you need moving forward.
What are long-range missiles?
They are, as the name suggests, missiles which travel further than other weapons at Ukraine’s disposal.
Specifically, there are two types of long-range missiles the UK and US could let Ukraine launch into Russia.
There is the Storm Shadow – a long-range cruise missile developed by British Aerospace and a French company, which carries a 450kg conventional warhead to a range of up to 200 miles.
Then there is the US Army Tactical Missile System – or ATACMS – a guided long-range weapon with a range of about 180 miles.
The Storm Shadow missiles have to be launched from fighter jets in the air, while the ATACMS can be fired from the ground.
Ukraine already has these missiles
You may have noticed that Volodomyr Zelenskyy is asking for permission to use long-range missiles, rather than asking for a supply.
That’s because the UK and US have already sent Ukraine long-range missiles – they just haven’t granted it permission to launch them into Russia.
Ukraine is currently only allowed to target Russian-occupied territory within Ukraine itself.
What does Ukraine want to use the missiles for?
Ukraine sees the ability to use long-range missiles behind enemy lines as a game-changer, allowing it to target Russian air bases, supply depots, and communication centres hundreds of miles over the border.
It argues this would help reduce Russia’s air superiority and weaken supply lines needed to launch daily airstrikes against Ukraine – with drones, missiles, and powerful glide bombs – and to sustain its military ground offensive into Ukraine.
Why is the West so hesitant to let Ukraine launch into Russia?
Ukraine’s Western allies are concerned about what Russia’s response might be.
Vladimir Putin has warned that he would see NATO countries allowing Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western-made long-range missiles as their “direct involvement”.
As we reported on Friday, he claimed this would put NATO “at war” with Russia.
Biden will speak to Zelenskyy about long-range missiles, says US adviser
Joe Biden will speak to Volodomyr Zelenskyy directly about long-range missiles later this month, according to his national security adviser.
Speaking remotely at a conference in Kyiv, Jake Sullivan said the matter of whether Ukraine will be given permission by Western countries to use its weapons to launch attacks deep into Russia was the subject of “intense consultations” among allies.
He said Mr Biden would speak to the Ukrainian president about the weapons and about a “substantial” new aid package Washington has been working on.
Mr Zelenskyy has said he wants to present Mr Biden with a “victory plan” during their next talks, which he believes will force Russia to end its war.
“I do think we need a comprehensive strategy for success in this war and that is what president Zelenskyy says he is bringing,” Mr Sullivan said, adding outgoing president Mr Biden was “eager for that conversation”.