Thomas Copeland
Live reporter

Ukraine has captured "hundreds" of Russian prisoners of war in Kursk, according to a senior Ukrainian government advisor.

Yuriy Sak tells the BBC's Newsday programme that "they will be exchanged at a later date for the Ukrainian prisoners of war kept by Russia".

Sak says one of the "tactical objectives of this operation" is to neutralise airfields in the Kursk region, which he claims have been used "to carry out over 2,000 attacks on the Ukrainian territory" this summer alone.

"We haven't been very vocal about the preparation stages and that assured us the element of surprise," says Sak, "so this gives us leverage, this makes our position stronger."

We're hearing further details of what has happened overnight both from Ukraine and Russia.

Earlier we reported that each side claimed to have successfully shot down drones.

Russia's Ministry of Defence posted on Telegram early this morning about a successful strike on Ukrainian Armed Forces in the border area of Kursk in Russia.

The update claims: "Army aviation crews on Mi-28NM helicopters carried out a strike at night on a concentration of manpower, armoured vehicles and automobile military equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces units in the border area of ​​the Kursk Region."

It adds that intelligence reports suggest all specified targets were destroyed.

Some more news now from what happened overnight.

In an update issued via Telegram this morning, Ukraine's air force say they shot down five drones launched by Russia in regions including Odesa and Poltava.

The statement also says that Russia struck with three ballistic Iskander-M missiles.

Andriy Raikovych, Kirovohrad Regional State Administration, says via Telegram that so far "no consequences have been recorded".

The Reuters news agency reports that the Kyiv governor has reported no damage or casualties.

Also on Telegram, the Russian Ministry of Defence posted this morning that they have "intercepted and destroyed five aircraft-type UAVs over the Black Sea".

They also claimed to have destroyed two unmanned boats that were "heading towards the Crimean Peninsula".

James Waterhouse
Ukraine Correspondent in the Sumy region

Image source, Reuters

Ukraine is increasing its footprint in Russia’s Kursk region. Its forces have crossed into the neighbouring Belgorod province and a major river crossing to the north has been destroyed.

But on the 11th day of its blistering offensive, the advance is inevitably starting to slow in the face of familiar Russian tactics.

Glide bombs are still dropped on Ukrainian positions and settlements across the border. You could feel the thud as one landed a mile from where we were.

Senior western officials have told CNN that Russia is redeploying thousands of troops to try and stem the Ukrainian tide. Most are thought to be untrained conscripts from other parts of the country.

While several brigades are moving across from Ukrainian front lines, their advances there are yet to slow.

Invading troops are now within almost 10km of Pokrovsk, an eastern town I have gradually watched be destroyed by Russian strikes over the past year. The mayor is urging people to evacuate.

As Ukraine looks to consolidate its gains on Russian soil, keeping hold of it may well be more challenging than its surprise capture with elite forces.

Kyiv will be encouraged by Moscow’s military reaction, but it might be too late for Pokrovsk.

Tom Bateman
State Department correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Washington is absorbing the impact of Ukraine’s lightning assault into Russia’s Kursk region as the scale of president Zelensky’s bold gamble emerges.

US officials are assessing how the incursion might reshape the political and military dynamics of the war, as well as the implications for Washington’s long-shifting stance on how Ukraine can use American-supplied arms.

The stunning raid, catching both Russian and apparently Western leaders by surprise, highlights one of the riskiest dilemmas for the Western-backed defence of Ukraine: president Biden has consistently tried to empower Kyiv to push back Russia’s invasion without risking an American escalation with Moscow.

As president Putin has always tried to portray the conflict as a war between Russia and the West, Biden has sought to put clear limits on US policy to deflate that narrative and prevent a conflagration.

But Ukraine’s Kursk assault - the largest incursion into Russia by a foreign military since World War Two, according to military analysts - has raised a series of urgent questions for the White House.

You can read my full piece here.

Francis Scarr
BBC Monitoring

From the start of this incursion, Russian state media has been following the Kremlin’s lead to try and put a brave face on, telling people that Ukrainian forces are being pushed back and authorities are working efficiently to rescue and evacuate civilians.

All of the daily updates, which are coming from the Russian defence ministry, are then amplified by state TV, which is where most Russians still get their news.

These updates suggest that Russia is on top of developments.

They are using phrases such as “the operation to destroy enemy forces continues” or “attempts by the enemy to break through have been repelled”.

That said, in these daily updates there are some details that do indicate an admission that Ukrainian forces are advancing.

Yesterday for example the defence ministry listed some names of the villages where fighting was ongoing, and if you compare them to the previous day, you could tell that Ukrainian forces had advanced by a couple of kilometres in the previous 24 hours or so.

The fact that president Putin has not publicly spoken on this issue since Monday I think says a lot, he tends to distance himself from bad news.

Image source, Getty Images

It was confirmed yesterday that Challenger 2 tanks donated by the UK had been used by Ukraine as part of its surprise incursion into Russia.

Here’s a quick recap of what else happened on Thursday:

• President Zelensky said Ukrainian troops were advancing further into Russia. He claimed they now have control of more than 80 settlements and have established a military administration in Sudzha, in the Kursk region
• We heard more about humanitarian corridors that Ukraine is looking to establish from a “security zone” both towards Russia and towards Ukraine. Work on the latter is ongoing alongside the military, the country's deputy prime minister said
• Russia’s Ministry of Defence said a co-ordinating council had been established to manage military security across Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk (regions which all border Ukraine). It came as a federal-level emergency situation was declared for Belgorod

Fighting has raged in Ukraine since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022. Russian forces have made small gains in recent months but now Ukrainian forces have staged a counter-offensive into Russia.

Here is a recap of recent significant events and the situation in Ukraine.

• Ukraine sends units into Russia - Ukrainian troops launched a surprise attack across the border in early August, advancing up to 18 miles (30km) into the Russian region of Kursk

Image source, .

• Russian incursion north of Kharkiv - At the beginning of May 2024, Russian forces crossed the international border to the north of Ukraine's second-biggest city, Kharkiv. Several villages were seized and thousands of civilians fled
• Russia grinds forward in the east - The incursion north of Kharkiv was some distance from the main front line in the east where Russia has continued its offensive operations and been edging forwards since October 2023
• Two and a half years of fighting - Russia's invasion began with dozens of missile strikes on cities all over Ukraine before dawn on 24 February 2022. Russian ground troops moved in quickly and within a few weeks were in control of large areas of Ukraine and had advanced to the suburbs of Kyiv

Kremlin aide Nikolai Patrushev has been quoted in Russia’s Izvestia newspaper as suggesting Nato and Western special services participated in the planning of Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region, the Reuters news agency reports this morning.

"The operation in the Kursk region was also planned with the participation of Nato and Western special services," the newspaper quotes Patrushev as saying.

"The statements by the US leadership that it was not involved in Kyiv's crimes in the Kursk region are not true... Without their participation and direct support, Kyiv would not have ventured into Russian territory."

Earlier this week, the White House said the US had no advance notice of the operation and had no involvement.

Cachella Smith
Live reporter

Welcome back to our continuing coverage of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Among key lines this morning is an interview with Kremlin aide Nikolai Patrushev for the Izvestia newspaper in which he is quoted as suggesting Nato and the West were involved in planning for the ongoing Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region of Russia.

This has been reported by the Reuters news agency.

Ukraine says its forces are continuing their advance into Russian territory, moving forward in several directions. It has also set up a military office inside Russia.

We’ll have more on that shortly along with a recap of what happened yesterday.

We’ll also be bringing you details of new developments and further analysis throughout the day so make sure to keep checking in with us here.