Russia withdraws forces from Africa to fight Ukraine

Russian mercenaries operating in Africa have been sent home to aid in the fight against Ukraine.

Around 100 fighters from the “Bear Brigade” – a Russian private military company – had been active in Burkina Faso since May but have now returned to Russia to help with the defence of the Kursk region.

On Tuesday, the group’s Telegram channel said it would be returning to its base in Russian-occupied Crimea “in connection with recent events”, which is understood to be a reference to Ukraine’s cross-border assault that began on Aug 6.

Le Monde, the French newspaper, reported that Viktor “Jedi” Yermolaev, the commander of the Bear Brigade, contacted the outlet on Aug 22 to confirm that his soldiers had left the country.

“When the enemy arrives on our Russian territory, all Russian soldiers forget about their internal problems and unite against a common enemy,” Mr Yermolaev was quoted as saying.

The Bear Brigade troops were reportedly providing security for senior members of Burkina Faso’s military junta, which came to power in a coup d’état in 2022.

The West African nation has sought security partnerships with Russia due to an ongoing Islamist insurgency that has led to the displacement of over 2 million people since 2015.

04:13 PM BST

Today’s live coverage has ended

Today’s live coverage has ended. Here’s a roundup of the day’s events:

• Ukraine was reported to be fighting for control of two villages in the Kursk region of Russia.

• A Russian guided bomb strike on Kharkiv killed at least five people, including a child.

• Ukraine urged Mongolia to arrest Vladimir Putin when he visits the country next week.

• Russian mercenaries were redeployed from Africa to fight Ukraine.

• Vladimir Putin gave Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, Russia’s highest honour on the Belarusian leader’s 70th birthday.

04:06 PM BST

Ukraine fighting for control of two Kursk villages

Ukraine is fighting for control of two villages in the Kursk region of Russia, according to pro-Kremlin sources.

A geolocated Russian video shows Moscow’s forces attacking Ukrainian troops and armoured vehicles north of the towns of Nechaev and Nizhnyaya Parovaya.

In the footage, soldiers and tracked vehicles come under a bombardment from what appears to be artillery or drone fire. It is not clear whether the troops and equipment survived the barrage.

A prominent pro-Russian military blogger earlier claimed that both villages were under Ukrainian control, before later saying that Russian forces had retaken Nechaev.

Nechaev and Nizhnyaya Parovaya are around half a mile forward of the main Ukrainian front line, which in this sector is now around 25 miles from the Ukrainian state border.

Ukraine has captured over 500 square miles of Russian territory since it began its assault on Kursk on Aug 6. The rate of the advance has reportedly slowed in recent days, with no major changes being reported on Friday.

03:56 PM BST

Kharkiv attack death toll reaches five dead, with 40 injured

The death toll from a Russian guided bomb attack on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has reached five dead and 40 injured, local authorities said.

A14-year-old girl was among the dead, the city’s mayor said.

03:19 PM BST

Pictured: Aftermath of Russian strike on Kharkiv that killed four people, including a child

At least four people were killed, including a child, and 28 injured in a Russian guided bomb attack on Kharkiv, local authorities said.

02:58 PM BST

Ukraine urges Mongolia to arrest Putin

Ukraine has urged Mongolia to arrest Vladimir Putin when he visits the country on September 3.

Mongolia is a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) that has issued a warrant for the Russian leader.

“The Ukrainian side hopes that the government of Mongolia is aware of the fact that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal,” the foreign ministry said, adding “we call on the Mongolian authorities to execute the binding international arrest warrant”.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov, who previously stressed that Russia doesn’t recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC, told reporters during his daily conference call on Friday that the Kremlin has “no worries” about the upcoming trip: “We have a wonderful dialogue with our friends from Mongolia,” he said.

02:49 PM BST

Four killed and 28 injured in Russian strike on Kharkiv

At least four people have been killed, including a child, and 28 injured in a Russian guided bomb attack on Kharkiv, the city’s mayor said in an update on the strike that was reported earlier (see our post at 2.47pm).

In a renewed call on Western allies to allow long-range attacks on Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky said that the attack “would not have happened if our defence forces had the ability to destroy Russian military aircraft where they are based”.

Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, shared a video from the site of the attack, which showed flames and smoke rising from a multi-storey building.

“Russians attacked civilians again,” Mr Yermak wrote.

02:07 PM BST

Child killed in Russian attack on Kharkiv playground

A Russian guided bomb attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv killed at least three people, including a child, the city’s mayor said.

“In the Nemyshlianskyi district, the occupiers killed a child right on the playground,” Ihor Terekhov wrote on his Telegram channel.

“It was a girl. At least three more people in the area were wounded,” he added.

Mr Terekhov went on to say that two other people were killed in a “burning” high-rise building in the Industrialnyi district of the city.

01:34 PM BST

Ukraine urges residents to evacuate from Sumy

Ukrainian authorities have urged people living in 183 settlements in the Sumy region to evacuate due to constant Russian attacks.

Sumy’s military administration said: “The residents of 183 settlements in Sumy are subject to evacuation.

“It is currently dangerous to remain in these territories as the enemy keeps intensely attacking Sumy, deploying different kinds of armament, including guided aerial bombs, which is a threat to the civilian population of these communities.”

Sumy borders the Kursk region of Russia and has seen an increase in attacks since Ukraine began a major cross-border assault on August 6.

A drone attack on Sumy on Friday killed at least two people and wounded several others.

11:53 AM BST

Russians attack Pokrovsk ‘almost 60 times in one day’

Russian forces attacked Ukrainian positions near the key frontline town of Pokrovsk 58 times on Thursday, Ukraine’s general staff said on Friday morning.

In a statement, it said that the attacks took place near the settlements of Vozdvyzhenka, Zelene Pole, Myroliubivka, Hrodivka, Novohrodivka, Karlivka, Marynivka and Mykhailivka and that Russian forces failed to push Ukrainian units out of their positions.

Pokrovsk has become a focal point for Russia’s offensive in the Donetsk region. On Thursday, Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said that fighting in the area was “exceptionally brutal”.

The town is a crucial railroad distribution hub, which enables the supply of Ukrainian forces across the front line.

11:23 AM BST

Second person killed in Russian strike on Sumy

The body of a 37-year-old woman has been found after an overnight drone strike in Ukraine’s Sumy region, officials have said.

An initial nine people were wounded in the attack, before a later update confirmed that a 48-year-old woman had died in hospital (see our posts at 9.26am and 8.42am).

The victim was found under rubble by search and rescue teams.

The Sumy prosecutor’s office said the strike occurred around 1.30am local time and hit a building.

10:36 AM BST

Russian mercenaries ‘redeployed from Africa to defend Kursk’

Russian mercenaries operating in Africa have been sent to the Kursk region to defend against the Ukrainian assault, it has been reported.

According to French newspaper Le Monde, soldiers from the “Bear Brigade” had been active in Burkina Faso but have now returned to Russia to participate in the defence of Kursk.

Le Monde reported that Viktor “Jedi” Yermolaev, the commander of the Bear Brigade, contacted the newspaper on Aug 22 to confirm that his soldiers had left the country.

“All Russian soldiers forget about their internal problems and unite against a common enemy,” Mr Yermolaev was quoted as saying.

The Bear Brigade soldiers — believed to number around 100 — were reportedly providing security for senior members of Burkina Faso’s military junta, which came to power in a coup d’état in 2022.

10:10 AM BST

Putin confers Russia’s highest award on Lukashenko

Vladimir Putin has bestowed Russia’s highest honour on Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus.

On Friday morning, Putin congratulated the Belarusian leader on his 70th birthday and published a decree awarding Mr Lukashenko the Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First-Called.

The decree text stated that Lukashenko was given the award for “outstanding achievements in the development of relations of alliance and strategic partnership between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus”.

The Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First-Called was established by Peter the Great in 1698. It was removed from Russia’s honours system during the Soviet era, but reinstated in 1998.

09:45 AM BST

Pictured: Ukrainian troops in action

09:37 AM BST

Ukraine ‘building up’ troops on Kursk border

Ukraine is building up fresh forces on the border with Russia’s Kursk region, a military blogger loyal to the Kremlin has claimed.

Rybar, a Telegram channel with over one million followers, wrote: “The enemy is introducing troops into the territory of the Russian Federation as reinforcement units, and large concentrations of personnel are being recorded in the adjacent territory of Sumy Oblast.”

Ukrainian forces launched a cross-border raid into Russia’s southern Kursk region around three weeks ago, and have since captured more than 500 square miles of territory and 100 settlements.

Kyiv’s advance has slowed in recent weeks as Russia floods the area with better-trained soldiers than the conscripts that were originally put in place to defend Kursk.

Russia has managed to recapture the village of Korenevo, which lies next to a larger town of the same name, according to maps published by Deep State, an authoritative Ukrainian website.

But Rybar said Ukrainian forces continue to “advance” in the areas around the village, suggesting Kyiv may be trying to encircle Russian forces there.

09:26 AM BST

One killed in Russian strike on Sumy

An overnight Russian air strike on Ukraine’s Sumy region killed one person and injured several others, local authorities have said.

The region’s prosecutor’s office earlier reported that nine people were injured in the attack (see our post at 8.42am).

A later update confirmed that a 48-year-old woman had died in hospital.

09:22 AM BST

Russia forms new Kursk volunteer defence force

Russia has formed a new volunteer defence force to ensure law and order in its embattled Kursk region, its governor has said.

The unit will work alongside the military and the counter-terrorism operational headquarters, Alexei Smirnov said, adding that it would also offer humanitarian aid to residents.

Mr Smirnov said volunteers would sign six-month contracts, receive weapons and undergo training, and that officials in the region had begun recruitment efforts on Aug 24.

Ukrainian troops attacked the Kursk region on Aug 6 and has captured around 500 square miles of territory, according to Kyiv’s military.

In response, the Kremlin imposed a “counter-terrorism operation” in Kursk and two neighbouring regions. The move gives Russian authorities extra powers, such as listening in on phone calls, introducing checkpoints and commandeering vehicles.

09:01 AM BST

Russia attacks Ukraine with 18 drones and one ballistic missile

Russia launched 18 Shahed attack drones and one Iskander-M ballistic missile at Ukraine overnight, Kyiv’s air force said.

Twelve of the 18 drones were shot down, the force stated, adding that they were fired from the Russian cities of Primorsko-Akhtarsk and Kursk. The Iskander-M missile was reportedly launched from Russian-occupied Crimea.

One Russian attack injured nine people in Sumy (see our post at 08.42am), while another hit an industrial facility in Poltava.

A further strike hit another industrial facility in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

08:42 AM BST

Russian attack on Sumy injures nine people

A Russian overnight attack on Ukraine’s Sumy region injured nine people, local authorities said.

The Sumy region’s prosecutor’s office said: “The enemy launched an airstrike on a company [building] in Sumy on 30 August at around 01:30 using methods of warfare prohibited by international law.

“According to early reports, nine people were wounded in the attack. The firefighting operations are currently underway.”

08:35 AM BST

Pictured: Funeral for a Ukrainian F-16 pilot

People are seen crying over the flag-draped coffin of F-16 pilot Oleksiy Mes, who was killed during a massive Russian missile barrage on Monday.

US officials quoted by The Wall Street Journal said the crash was probably the result of pilot error and not enemy fire.

08:25 AM BST

Welcome to our live coverage

Welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. We’ll bring you updates as they happen throughout the day.