Ukraine war latest: Third Russian bridge 'attacked' - as Putin 'in position he never dreamt in worst nightmares' (2024)

Ukrainian civilians have been forced to flee Pokrovsk as Russia intensifies its attacks in the east.

Moscow's forces were said to be bearing down on the city, despite Kyiv's recent lightning incursion into the Kursk region hoping to take pressure off the frontline.

Local authorities said Russian troops were advancing so quickly that families had been ordered to leave the 53,000-strong city, and nearby towns and villages.

Some cried as they waited to board trains to escape the fighting.

Resident Natalya Ivaniuk said the noise of explosions from Russian attacks filled the air while she and her daughters, age 7 and 9, fled their home in the nearby village of Myrnohrad, which is less than six miles from the front line.

"It was terrifyingly scary. We barely got out."

Ukraine's military said its troops were subjected to dozens of attacks by Russian forces around Toretsk and Pokrovsk on Monday, with some stretching into the night.

It said there were 63 skirmishes around Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub and important defensive stronghold in the Donetsk region.

Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine, where heavy fighting continues in the east.

Ukraine's military said its troops were being subject to dozens of attacks by Russian forces around Toretsk and Pokrovsk, where Moscow is gaining ground.

A mandatory evacuation order for families with children has begun in the city of Pokrovsk.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's offensive in Kursk continues. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged allies to loosen curbs on usingforeign-supplied weapons inside Russia, saying the incursion shows Kremlin threats of retaliation were a bluff.

But Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman said there has been "no change" in the UK's restrictions on Ukraine using Storm Shadow missiles in Russia.

On the ground, a "battle of bridges" may be about to start in Kursk, according to defence and security analyst Professor Michael Clarke, after Ukraine targeted a third Russian bridge in the region.

Over in Moscow, an aide to Vladimir Putin has said Ukraine's incursion means Russia is not ready to hold peace talks.

And Kyiv has suffered its fifth missile attack overnight, Ukraine's military said, with preliminary data showing air defence systems wereagain successful in repelling the strikes.

That's all our live coverage on the war in Ukraine for now.

We will be back if there are any major developments this evening. If not, we'll be back tomorrow with all the latest updates.

Before we go, here's a reminder of today's key events:

• A "battle of bridges" may be about to start after Ukraine targeted a third Russian bridge in the region of Kursk, defence and security analyst Professor Michael Clarke said;
• 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;
  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;
• 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;
• Elon Musk has denied gifting a Tesla Cybertruck to a Chechen warlord;
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a clear indication as to the goals of the two week-old invasion for the first time last night, saying he wanted to create a buffer zone for his country.

Lithuania has today started building a military base that will accommodate up to 4,000 German troops once it's completed by the end of 2027.

It will be the first permanent foreign deployment for the German military since the end of the Second World War.

Lithuania's chief of defence,Raimundas Vaiksnoras, estimated it would spend more than a billion euros building the base over the next three years.

Amid fears Russia could eventually decide to invade other neighbouring countries, Mr Vaiksnoras said it would give "reassurance to our population andas deterrence, to push the Russians out".

The base will be located near the capital Vilnius, which is about 150 miles from the Russian border and 12 miles from Belarus, a staunch supporter of the Kremlin.

German defence ministerBoris Pistorius compared the posting of 4,000 troops to allied forces being stationed in West Germany during the Cold War - a move that was also designed to defend Europe in the case of a Soviet attack.

Russia says it is banning 32 experts and employees at British thinktanks.

Moscow has accused them of pushing an anti-Russian line in Western policy circles, Reuters reports.

People on the list of those banned, which has been published on the Russian foreign ministry's website, have also been accused of spreading disinformation designed to discreditMoscow.

We told you earlier that Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, was visiting Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine later this week.

We now have a little bit more detail on Mr Modi's visit to Kyiv, scheduled for 23 August.

The Ukrainian presidential office said on Telegram that the two leaders would discuss the countries' relations and multilateral cooperation.

"This is the first visit of the head of the Indiangovernment to our country in the history of bilateralrelations", the office added.

Ukraine claims to be making advances after launching a shock invasion into Russia's Kursk border region, in a move which has embarrassed Vladimir Putin's top military brass.

Readers have been sending in their questions to our senior correspondents and military experts for their take on the latest developments.

Today, Jane in Shropshire asks:

What is success for Ukraine in their invasion into Russia?

Oursecurity and defence analyst Michael Clarke says:

This incursion is, by definition, a temporary military manoeuvre, designed to put pressure on Russian strategy and gain some military leverage.

It will end when the coming battle of Kursk has reached a point where Ukrainian forces judge that they can still leave the pocket without being too badly mauled by Russian forces, who will be trying to cut them off from their escape route back into Ukraine.

But that point may be some weeks away.

Success and failure will be an essentially political judgement: did Ukraine's Kursk offensive relieve Russian military pressure elsewhere - particularly in the Donbas around Chasiv Yar, Toretsk, Niu York and Pokrovsk, where Ukrainian forces are under real pressure? Did it increase support for Kyiv in the West? Did it affect the mood around Putin and the confidence in the Kremlin that they would win this war sooner or later?

Those will be the metrics by which this bold initiative will eventually be judged.

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."

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.