Welcome to our live coverage of the Ukraine war.
Before we begin our regular updates and analysis, we've put together an overview of the biggest developments from the past week.
Kursk Offensive
As Ukraine continues its invasion of Russia's Kursk region, the Ukrainian Air Force has attacked two bridges in an attempt to disrupt Russian supply lines and reinforcements.
The footage showed explosions in two locations along the Sejm River, in Zvanoye and Grushkovo.
The Institute for War Studies said the Ukrainian offensive was putting pressure on Russian forces along the entire front.
According to the U.S.-based think tank, President Vladimir Putin will almost certainly try to retake Russian territory, which would require more personnel and equipment from elsewhere in the theater.
In the longer term, Putin will have to decide whether to devote resources to the long border with Ukraine, imposing “constraints” on theater-wide planning “that Russia has never faced before.”
One hurdle for Ukraine is Western permission to use the weapons, with the United States balking and even holding up a British request for permission to fire British Storm Shadow missiles at Russia, The Times reported.
However, Sky News understands that British Challenger 2 tanks have been deployed in Russia by Ukraine.
North Korea spoke out about the weekend incursion, saying it supported Russia and blamed the United States and Western countries for the attack.
What's behind the intrusion?
The Kiev authorities cited several reasons for the move, including:
Put Ukraine in a better position for future negotiations, including a land swap; Create a buffer zone between Russia and Ukraine's border regions; Destabilize the position of the Russian elite and Vladimir Putin; Make the Russian people feel closer to war and consider which government to support.
Analysts also say the offensive will relieve pressure on other parts of the front as Russia moves forces to defend Kursk.
How did Russia react?
Former UN Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown said the lack of a significant response from Russia last week was “surprising”.
He said Russia was likely to soon begin sending in large-scale troops to repel Ukrainian forces, but that the incursion had shown the “tricky nature” of Russia's “top-down” military.
By the time that move occurs, Ukrainian forces “may have had the opportunity to consolidate their positions enough to give a permanent feature to a largely stationary front,” he said.
Eastern Front Attack
One of the areas where Ukraine hoped to distract Moscow's attention with an attack on Kursk was the strategic centre of Pokrovsk.
Russian forces have been gradually advancing towards Donetsk for several months, and heavy fighting broke out last week just 10 kilometres (6 miles) from the city's outskirts, with the fighting showing no signs of abating.
“If the aim of Kursk was to divert Russian activity away from Donbas, it has so far failed,” said Yoann Michel, a French military expert and researcher at the IESD institute in Lyon.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine would not forget about the east “even for a moment” and promised new arms supplies to bolster its position.
Nuclear Threat
Last week saw the issuance of nuclear warnings, some with evidence and some without.
Ukraine and Russia have each claimed responsibility for a fire that broke out in a cooling tower at the Ukrainian-occupied Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant last Monday.
A drone dropped explosives on a nearby road on Saturday, and images posted by the Russian factory's manager showed a hole-sized dent in the road.
An inspection team from the International Atomic Energy Agency inspected the plant but found no damage to the nuclear facilities.
Meanwhile, Moscow has accused Ukraine, without providing any evidence, of preparing an attack on the Kursk nuclear power plant and developing a “dirty bomb” that could spread radioactive waste.
Kiev dismissed the “dangerous lies” as “crazy Russian propaganda” and reaffirmed its commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
President Vladimir Putin made a similar claim just before launching an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Then, in March of that year, Moscow claimed Ukraine intended to use a dirty bomb. Neither claim was substantiated.
