Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is taking "crazy measures" that threaten escalation far beyond Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) says, according to Russian media.

“Zelensky is taking foolish steps that threaten escalation far beyond Ukraine's borders," the SVR reports.

The agency accuses Zelensky of initiating "reckless moves "because he is primarily concerned with preserving his own position of power".

In its latest report,, external the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) says Ukraine might control closer to 800 sq km (308 sq miles) of Russian territory in the Kursk region – not the 1,000 Kyiv’s top military commander claims.

The ISW says that as of 12 August, Ukrainian forces have advanced "roughly 800 square kilometres".

However, the think tank explains, "ISW does not assess that Ukrainian forces control all of the territory within the maximalist extent of claimed Ukrainian advances".

Movement has been restricted for Ukrainian civilians within a 20km (12 mile) zone bordering Russia, Kyiv's general staff said on Tuesday, according to the Reuters news agency.

It added in a statement that this measure was needed due to intensifying fighting, Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups in the area.

Russia's overnight drone attack targeted energy infrastructure in Ukraine's Chernihiv region, according to the national grid operator.

Parts of the region, in the north of the country, suffered power cuts after the attack.

Power has now been restored, the operator says.

Image source, EPA

"Russia brought war to others, and now it is coming home," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last night.

In his regular evening address yesterday, Zelensky said it was "only fair to destroy Russian terrorists where they are, where they launch their strikes from".

"We see how useful this can be for bringing peace closer. Russia must be forced into peace if Putin wants to continue waging war so badly,” he added.

Zelensky said he had been briefed by Commander-in-Chief Olesksandr Syrskyy on "the operation in Kursk Region", and that 1,000 sq km of Russian territory was now under Ukrainian control.

The remarks by Syrskyy and Zelensky were the first time that any senior Ukrainian official had explicitly mentioned the Kursk incursion by name.

Image source, Getty Images

As we reported in our post a moment ago, Ukraine says its troops now control 1,000 sq km (386 sq miles) of Russian territory.

This is after Kyiv launched its biggest cross-border incursion since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Here's a quick recap of what's been happening:

• Kyiv's top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, says Ukraine has continued to "conduct an offensive operation in the Kursk region" seven days after its troops first set foot across the Russian border into the area
• In its latest report, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a well-respected think tank, suggests the region Ukraine has been able to control might be smaller than what Syrskyi has claimed - roughly around 800 sq km instead
• Thousands of people have been urged to evacuate the western Russian region for their safety, as President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of "committing crimes" and vowed to expel Ukrainian troops from its territory
• In his evening address on Monday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said any attack was justified to force Russia into ending its aggression
• Meanwhile in Ukraine, air raid sirens were activated across the country after reports of Russian airstrikes

We'll be bringing you the latest updates throughout the day.

Image source, Reuters

Ukraine's top commander has said Kyiv's forces control 1,000 sq km of Russian territory as they press their biggest cross-border incursion in two-and-a-half years of full-scale war.

Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said Ukraine continued to "conduct an offensive operation in the Kursk region" seven days after it began.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had brought war to others and now it was coming back to Russia.

But Russian leader Vladimir Putin described the offensive as a "major provocation" and ordered Russian forces to "to kick the enemy out of our territory".

A growing number of people have been evacuated from the western Russian region for their safety, with a further 59,000 told to leave.

Read more here.

Ukraine's air defences destroyed 30 of 38 Russia-launched drones overnight, the country's air force says.

Moscow also launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles. It is unclear what happened to the air weapons that were not destroyed.

This morning, all of Ukraine is under new air raid alerts with the threat of fresh air attacks, the air force says.

Russia's news agencies report that 14 drones Ukraine launched overnight were destroyed.

The drones were targeting Kursk, Voronezh and the Belgorod region. There was no information provided on how many drones Ukraine launched in total.

Jamie Whitehead
Live editor

Good morning and welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine, where the air raid sirens have been activated across the country.

According to the military, Kyiv has shot down 30 Russian drones in several parts of Ukraine.

In his nightly address to the nation yesterday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the incursion into Russia's Kursk region was meant to bring peace closer. But Russia's leader Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of "committing crimes" following the advance.

I'm here in London with Malu Cursino and Barbara Tasch, and we'll have updates from reporters and correspondents in Ukraine. Stay with us and we'll keep you updated.

We'll be pausing our coverage shortly, but before we go, here's a look at the latest developments:

• Vladimir Putin has vowed to “kick the enemy out” of Russia and says Ukraine will get a “worthy response” to its incursion

• Kursk’s acting governor Alexei Smirnov says Ukraine controls 28 villages in the region and that the “situation remains difficult”
• About 121,000 people have now been evacuated from Kursk and 59,000 others still need to leave, according to Smirnov
• Evacuations are also underway in Belgorod, another Russian border region
• Ukraine’s army chief says the country is continuing its offensive in Russia’s Kursk region and now controls around 1,000 sq km of territory there
• The US state department says it's concerned that "hundreds" of Iranian ballistic missiles might be transferred to Russia

If you'd like to continue reading about this story, you can find more of our coverage here.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia had to be "forced to make peace" as President Vladimir Putin wants to continue fighting.

In his nightly address, Zelenksy says that war was coming back to Russia after Moscow had taken it to other countries.

"Russia must be forced to make peace if Putin wants to fight so badly," Zelensky says.

"Russia brought war to others, now it's coming home. Ukraine has always wanted only peace, and we will certainly ensure peace," he adds.

Tom Bateman
Reporting from Washington DC

The US is describing Putin’s latest vow to punish Ukraine as “nothing new”, saying it’s not the first time he has “sabre rattled” and used “escalatory language”.

We reported earlier how the Russian president said Ukraine would get a “worthy response” for its incursion into Russian territory.

I’m in the daily US State Department news briefing in Washington and just asked Spokesman Vedant Patel what he made of Putin’s latest comments. He said if Russia wanted a solution it would be for its “forces to leave Ukraine”.

Patel was also asked if the latest reports about the Ukrainian advance changed anything in the US position.

He repeated comments the State Department made last week that the US supported Ukrainian forces being able to defend themselves against Russian action, and that nothing in their policy had changed.

The Ukrainecast team have been taking stock of this surprise cross-border offensive – the deepest advance by Kyiv since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Presenters Lucy Hockings and Vitaly Shevchenko are joined by BBC Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse to discuss whether this move marks a new chapter in the conflict.

Listen to the full episode here.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Washington DC

US authorities are concerned that "hundreds" of Iranian ballistic missiles might be transferred to Russia, US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel says.

"We've been warning of the deepening security partnership between Iran and Russia," he says.

"This partnership threatens European security."

Patel said that US and its allies are prepared to deliver a "swift and severe" response if it moves forward with the transfer of ballistic missiles, which would represent a "dramatic escalation" of Iranian support during the Ukraine war.

The US has previously accused Iran of supplying attack drones that Russia has used to target Ukrainian infrastructure – a charge that Iran denies.

Ukraine now controls around 1,000 sq km of territory in Russia's Kursk region and is continuing its military offensive, according to the country's army chief.

Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi made the announcement in a video shared by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Telegram.

Zelensky says he has ordered a "humanitarian plan" to be drawn up for the area.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis says he's signed a joint declaration with his Italian counterpart expressing "deep concern over Russia's aggression" in Ukraine.

But he adds that Moscow should be present at the next peace summit.

In mid-June, Switzerland hosted world leaders at a summit intended to craft pathway towards peace in Ukraine.

"We support holding a second peace summit that includes all parties, including Russia," Cassis says on X.

Russian state TV talks up Moscow's response to Ukraine offensivepublished at 16:23 British Summer Time 12 August

16:23 BST 12 August

Damien Sharkov
BBC Monitoring

Russian state TV has featured Ukraine's offensive prominently, albeit it has repeatedly sought to present its own military's response as robust, while painting Ukraine as the one suffering losses.

Morning TV news bulletins aired Defence Ministry footage purportedly showing Russian helicopters striking a "concentration of Ukrainian personnel and armoured vehicles" in Kursk Region.

Similar clips received airplay across daytime political shows, where Channel One presenter Olesya Loseva was quick to assure viewers that although the situation was "tense", Russia was "driving the enemy out".

"Attempts to break through our border are proving very costly for Ukraine," Loseva's co-host Ruslan Ostashko added, claiming Kyiv had suffered heavy casualties.

On state channel Rossiya 1, presenter and MP Yevgeny Popov reported that Ukraine had made an "attempt to break through" into another Russian region – Belgorod.

"The Russian Army detected the enemy approaching and has entered into battle," he declared.

In a later exchange by video call with a Kursk doctor, Ostashko was told that Russian medics in the area had enough support to cope.

"We are ready to help, our attitude is positive…We will win," she concluded.

James Waterhouse
Ukraine correspondent, reporting from Sumy

With all the caveats of this risky operation aside – and there are several – there is a whiff of optimism in the city of Sumy’s air.

That and a fair bit of dust and diesel fumes as military vehicles make their way towards the Russian border.

For the first time since the liberations of 2022, there is movement on the battlefield, and it’s not Russia doing the dictating and Ukraine the reacting, but vice versa.

"It is like in 2022,” agrees “Barman”, a Ukrainian soldier. We meet him pausing for a coffee at a popular petrol station.

“We’re in a fighting mood. It would be even better if civilians helped us even more with donations, because we can’t do it on our own.”

The Kremlin has promised a “tough response”, but Kyiv has framed this offensive as a reply of its own, with it claiming Russia has launched more than 2000 air strikes from Kursk this year, the very region it continues to march deeper into.

Ukraine's security service (SBU) has just issued a statement, saying that Russia was trying to "blamelessly" accuse Ukraine's military of war crimes amid its incursion in the Kursk region.

The SBU says it believes Russia may stage war crimes and accuse Kyiv of carrying them out.

"The Security Service of Ukraine warns that such attempts are futile and will not affect either the offensive actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or the opinion of our country's international partners," the statement reads.

A balance of risk versus reward for Ukrainepublished at 15:40 British Summer Time 12 August

15:40 BST 12 August

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

One week into Ukraine’s shock incursion into Russia and Volodymyr Zelensky’s gamble appears to be paying off – for now.

The Kremlin is humiliated, Kyiv’s morale has been lifted and there are signs that Russia may be forced to redeploy some of its forces from the Donbas to the south.

But the longer Ukraine’s forces remain inside Russia, the greater the risks. Perhaps the biggest one is that Russia deploys enough troops to surround and cut off the Ukrainian troops before it has time to withdraw.

Mass casualties or mass capture of prisoners would undo all the recent benefits to Ukrainian morale.

A senior British military source, who asked not to be named, said he was impressed by Ukraine’s use of "combined arms", ie going into Russia with not just light infantry but engineering, artillery and other supporting units.

But he cautioned there was also the risk now that Moscow will be so incensed by this attack on its homeland that it redoubles its own attacks on Ukraine’s civilian population and infrastructure.