War latest: Ukraine destroys Russian bridge in Kursk region; Putin's forces capture territory in Donetsk (2024)

Five villages in Russia's Belgorod will be evacuated due to ongoing Ukrainian attacks, the region's governor has said.

Writing on Telegram, Vyacheslav Gladkov said entry to the areas would not be allowed.

"From August 19, we are closing entry to five settlements in the region, resettling residents and helping to remove property," he said.

Yesterday, Russia's Emergencies Ministry declared a "federal level" state of emergency in the Belgorod due to ongoing Ukrainian attacks.

A regional-level state of emergency had been declared earlier in the week, and the change in status suggested a worsening situation in the region.

A Ukrainian lion with "shellshock" is being driven 1,400 miles to start a new life in the UK.

Yuna has psychological issues and coordination problems after debris landed near her enclosure in January, according to a Kent animal sanctuary.

Yuna and male lion Rori - who's also said to be traumatised following a "massive attack" on Kyiv - are the first of five lions being rescued.

Read the full story here...

Footage has emerged of the moment a bridge in Kursk was destroyed.

Ukrainian air force commanderMykola Oleschuk shared the clip on Telegram, saying forces had taken part in "combat operations" in the Russian region.

He said Ukrainian pilots had hit "enemy strongholds", equipment, logistic centres and supply routes with the "high precision strikes".

"Thank you to the pilots and everyone who ensures the combat work of aviation," he added.

It comes after Russian state media reported a key bridge over the River Seym in the area had been destroyed by Ukraine.

The destruction had made civilian evacuations harder, TASS news agency reported, citing Russian security officials.

A man has admitted to being a member of Russia's Wagner Group but claimed he was only "pretending" to be involved.

Piotr Kucharski pleaded guilty to membership of a proscribed organisation between 15 September and 28 October 2023 at the Old Bailey today.

As he entered his plea, the 49-year-old said: "Guilty that I was pretending that I was a member of the organisation."

Dan Pawson-Pounds, prosecuting, said: "There is no evidence that Mr Kucharski actually travelled to the location he claimed to have gone to, or engaged in the activities relating to the Wagner Group, so that is why the charge has been framed in the way it has."

Simon Gledhill, defending, said: "In short, he told people, and gave the impression that, he was a member of the group rather than being an actual member."

Kucharski listed his address as Watford, Hertfordshire, but he said after the hearing that he was from Poland.

He was convicted and served a 15-year sentence for armed robbery in Poland, the court was told.

He remains on conditional bail.

Who are the Wagner Group?

The group was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in September 2023, making it a criminal offence to belong to or support the group in the UK.

The group became a focus of the war in Ukraine in 2022, with its recruits helping Russia in the battle of Bakhmut - one of the bloodiest of the conflict.

Its former leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, later organised a march on Moscow in an attempt to oust senior Russian military leaders over the treatment of his mercenaries and the handling of war.

But, his attempted mutiny failed. He was later exiled by Vladimir Putin and died in a plane crash a short time later.

Three police officers have been injured in a drone attack in the Mykolaiv region, Ukraine's national police has said.

In a post on Telegram, the force said the officers were in the southern Ukrainian area to document the aftermath of previous Russian attacks when a drone hit their car.

It said they all received "explosive injuries" and were undergoing treatment.

It also shared images purporting to show the damaged vehicle.

Russia has summoned Italy's ambassador in Moscow after journalists entered the Kursk region.

The Russian foreign ministry said the official had been summoned over an "illegal border crossing" by a team of correspondents from Italian state broadcaster RAI.

It said the team had reported from Ukrainian-held parts of Kursk earlier this week.

"A strong protest was expressed to the ambassador in connection with the actions of the film crew of the Italian state television and radio company "RAI", which illegally entered the territory of the Russian Federation to cover the criminal terrorist attack of Ukrainian militants in the Kursk region," it said on Telegram.

"In gross violation of Russian legislation and elementary rules of journalistic ethics, the Italian correspondents used their stay in our country to whitewash the propaganda support for the crimes of the Kyiv regime."

It said the actions of the journalists fell under Russia's criminal code and authorities were taking steps to "establish the circ*mstances of the crime".

On Tuesday 6 August, Ukrainian forces launched their invasion of Russia's Kursk region.

The offensive came as a shock, with Russian officials scrambling to respond as troops and armour poured across the border.

The Ukrainian operation has been taking place under tight secrecy, with participating forces reportedly only told about it a day before it began.

Since then, fighting has continued and Ukraine has been able to advance further into the region.

Yesterday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his troops had captured the largest Russian town to date - an area called Sudzha.

Now, Ukraine's military has released footage purporting to show day one of the Kursk offensive.

In the clip, a Ukrainian tank fires at the Sudzha border crossing terminal.

At least three Russian soldiers are seen signalling their surrender before a larger group exit the rubble of the terminal.

An even larger group of Russian prisoners are seen walking towards Ukrainian territory.

Ukraine is "strengthening" its positions in Russia's Kursk region, but the frontline is still its "top priority", Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

In a post on X, the Ukrainian president said the information came from a report by the armed forces commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.

Briefing Mr Zelenskyy via video link, Mr Syrskyi said Kyiv's forces were advancing 1km to 3km in the Kursk region.

He also reported fighting in the area of Malaya Loknya - some 11.5km from the Ukrainian border.

Posting about the report, Mr Zelenskyy said: "The Kursk region operation - we are strengthening our positions and replenishing 'exchange fund' for Ukraine. I am grateful to each of our warriors."

"The frontline remains our top priority, particularly the Pokrovsk and Toretsk directions," he added.

Earlier today, Ukraine ordered the evacuation of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region.

The order comes as Russian forces continue to push along the frontline in a bid to capture more territory in Ukrainian-controlled areas of Donetsk.

Ukraine has destroyed a bridge over a river in Russia's Kursk region, Russian state news agency TASS has reported.

The bridge, which crosses the River Seym, links areas of Kursk that are still controlled by Russia and areas where Kyiv has made advances.

Its destruction has made civilian evacuations harder, TASS reported, citing Russian security officials.

A mass evacuation is currently under way in the Glushkov district in the region, which is hometo around 20,000 people.

Earlier today, reports started to emerge that the bridge had been partially damaged in an attack.

The Kremlin-aligned Mash Telegram channel then reported the bridge was struck by a rocket and had collapsed.

Russian and Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on the attack.

Last week, Ukraine launched a surprise invasion of Kursk, with Volodymyr Zelenksyy saying yesterday that his troops had captured the town of Sudzha in the region.

Ukraine has set up storage facilities to hold and send aid to Russian civilians in Kyiv-held parts of Kursk, the country's interior minister has said.

The units have been set up in the northern part of Ukraine's Sumy region, which is on the Russian border and where Kyiv's troops launched their incursion from.

Ukraine has said it has taken control of 82 settlements in Kursk after it launched its cross-border attack on 6 August.

"The citizens abandoned by Russia are mostly elderly people, people with disabilities, and families with children," minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram.

"They needfood, water and medicine," he added.

During a trip to the Sumy region, Mr Klymenko said about 150 food parcels had been sentto civilians in the area.

Kyiv officials have said they plan to create evacuationcorridors from the Kursk region and to open access tointernational humanitarian missions.

Russia has called the Ukrainian incursion a "majorprovocation" and vowed to retaliate with a "worthy response".