Jonathan Beale
Defence correspondent

There have already been sightings of Western supplied armour inside Russia, since Ukraine launched its new offensive earlier this month.

They include US-supplied Bradley and Stryker armoured vehicles as well as German-supplied Marders. There have been no images shown so far of either UK Challenger Tanks or US Abrams tanks over the border.

However, Western military experts have highlighted the success of the Ukrainian offensive for its use of what they call “combined arms manoeuvre” – using troops alongside armoured vehicles, artillery and tanks as well as electronic warfare and drones – to attack.

That was something missing form last year’s Ukrainian offensive in the South and East of the country - which was impeded by heavily mined Russian fortifications making it difficult and dangerous to operate armour.

One of the 14 UK supplied Challenger 2 tanks was destroyed in that thwarted offensive. The British supplied tanks have been operated by Ukraine’s 82nd Air Assault Brigade, who were first trained in the UK in how to operate the Challenger 2. It’s known that Ukraine has used some of its best trained and best equipped units to conduct its attack over the border.

Jonathan Beale
Defence correspondent

Image source, PA Media

More now on the news that British tanks have been used in Russia.

The government says there has been no change in policy and that the Ukrainians have always had the right to use the weapons supplied by Britain as it chooses.

The one exception is over the use of long-range Storm Shadow missiles. They were originally supplied with the caveat that they were not to be fired at targets inside Russia.

Officials have been discussing whether those rules could change following repeated pleas from President Zelensky for western countries to lift the restrictions on the use of long range weapons.

The UK was one of the first countries to supply Ukraine with western-made main battle tanks. It gave Ukraine 14 Challenger 2 tanks last year to help with Ukraine’s unsuccessful summer offensive in 2023.

Jonathan Beale
Defence correspondent

A UK source has confirmed to the BBC that Challenger 2 tanks have been used in Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia.

The Ministry of Defence says it’s not commenting on what specific UK supplied weapons are being used.

But an MoD spokesperson said that under the UN Charter Ukraine has a clear right to self defence against Russia’s illegal attacks and "that does not preclude operations inside Russia".

That includes the use of main battle tanks which a UK source said was now being used in the Ukrainian offensive.

The Kiel Institute for the World Economy collates data into a Ukraine Support Tracker - with the latest data set covering up to June 30 2024 at which point the US was still the top provider of aid. You can read that here, external

The chart below depicts figures relating to military aid as of February this year.

As we've been reporting this morning the UK's Ministry of Defence has confirmed that Ukraine can use British weapons on Russian soil.

While we don't know exactly whether or what weapons might be used by Ukrainian forces moving forward, various types have been donated by Western countries so far.

Among these have been Javelin and Nlaw anti-tank missiles donated by the US and UK.

The US and Norway have also provided the Nasams (National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) for air defence.

In July we looked in detail at the weapons donated to Ukraine at that point - you can read more about that here.

Image source, BBC/ Source: Saab, Getty Images

We've received photos from various regions within Ukraine over the past couple of days - in some of these servicemen can be seen making preparations and sheltering from shelling.

Stay with us and we'll bring you more images as they come through to us on the news desk.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Ukraine's air force says it shot down all 29 drones launched overnight by Russia which targeted eight Ukrainian regions, with one person killed and 13 injured.

Russia also launched three kh-59 guided missiles during the attack, Ukrainian officials said in a statement, adding that only minor damage was reported.

The governors of the Kyiv, Poltava and Kirovohrad regions say there were no casualties or damage to buildings while in the central region of Cherkasy, debris damaged the windows of one business.

In the southern region of Mykolaiv, five drones were downed while in neighbouring Kherson, eight drones were shot down. The governor of Kherson says various attacks in region had killed one person and injured 13.

Ukraine’s bold move restores lost confidencepublished at 10:07 British Summer Time 15 August

10:07 BST 15 August

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

Ukraine’s surprise cross-border incursion has gone some way towards restoring Western confidence in its land warfare capabilities.

For months the narrative has been fairly depressing for Ukraine and its allies: a slow, incremental Russian advance in the Donbas, a relentless bombardment of its cities by Russian drones and missiles, a looming uncertainty over a possible second Trump presidency and a loss of US military aid.

True, Ukraine has successfully driven the Russian navy out of the northwest corner of the Black Sea.

It has also shown it can hit targets like distant airfields and ammo depots deep within Russia.

But the failure of Ukraine’s summer offensive last year led many to conclude that on land at least, Ukraine was ultimately on a losing trajectory.

We still don’t know of course, how this incursion will end. For Putin and the Kremlin, it is certainly intolerable and they will be in no mood to make concessions to Kyiv.

But for now, Ukraine has shown itself more than capable of managing "combined arms warfare" – using all the elements like tanks, artillery, air defence etc – drawing praise from numerous western military experts.

As we've been reporting, President Zelensky said yesterday that Ukrainian troops had advanced 1-2km further into the Kursk region of Russia since Wednesday morning. Russia claimed it had stopped any further advances.

Yesterday, the country's deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk said there were plans for a "security zone" in Kursk to protect Ukraine's borders. She added that there were Russian civilians within the zone - who are under the protection of humanitarian law.

In a Telegram post she outlined that humanitarian corridors would be created for civilian evacuation both towards Russia and towards Ukraine.

International humanitarian organisations would also be admitted into the zone, she added.

In a subsequent post, published last night, she referred to a 24 hour hotline for Kursk residents who need humanitarian aid or who want to evacuate to Ukraine.

It's been 10 days since Ukraine's surprise attack into Russia, with troops advancing up to 18 miles (30km) into the Russian region of Kursk.

This is the first major offensive on Russian soil by Kyiv since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

As this map shows, Ukraine has focused its push into Russian to the north-east of Ukraine.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has condemned the offensive as a "major provocation", with almost 200,000 people evacuated from border districts such as Belgorod.

Stay informed on the ever-changing situation on the ground with this maps feature from our Visual Journalism Team, which tracks how military control of Ukraine has changed over the past two-and-a-half years of fighting.

A little more now about the UK's donated weapons.

The policy means that anti-tank missiles, artillery, armoured vehicles and other UK weapons could be seen on the Russian battlefield.

But the UK's Storm Shadow missiles will remain off limits for use beyond Ukraine's borders.

Downing Street has previously said these long-range missiles can only be used for conflict within Ukraine's borders.

Ukrainian forces can use British weapons on Russian soil when defending itself, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

An MoD spokesperson says Ukraine has a "clear right of self-defence against Russia's illegal attacks...that does not preclude operations inside Russia".

"We make clear during the gifting process that equipment is to be used in line with international law," they added.

Sir Ben Wallace, the former Conservative defence secretary, has been reported as previously saying that all weapons supplied by the UK, except long-range Storm Shadow missiles, can be used within Russia.

Image source, Reuters

Ukraine's incursion into Russia began on Tuesday 6 August. This was acknowledged by President Zelensky over the weekend via a video address.

Yesterday Zelensky said their forces had progressed in several directions - with the country's top military commander saying they had captured more than 100 Russian soldiers. Ukraine said it controlled around 1,000 sq km (386 sq miles) of Russia and 74 towns and villages.

Russia has repeatedly said it has prevented Ukrainian forces from advancing further.

Belgorod was the second Russian region to declare a state of emergency - the governor said it followed 23 drone attacks in 24 hours.

As always we'll be closely following any developments so keep checking in with us here.

Cachella Smith
Live reporter

Welcome back to our live page on the Ukraine war - since yesterday we have learnt that the UK's Ministry of Defence has said Ukraine will be "free to use" British weapons on Russian soil

As a reminder, over the weekend President Zelensky confirmed a cross-border offensive that had been launched days before.

Yesterday, Ukraine said their forces have moved forward in several directions while Russia has repeatedly said it has prevented them progressing further into the region.

We'll be bringing you more on this throughout the day as well as further analysis from our correspondents.

Stay with us and we'll have a recap of the key points from yesterday with you shortly.

Steve Rosenberg
BBC Russia editor

Image source, SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Ukraine’s offensive inside Russia has been going on for more than a week. The longer it continues, the greater the pressure will be on the Russian leadership and, potentially, the greater the damage to President Putin’s authority.

Through his two and a half decades in power, Putin has cultivated the image of "Mr Security", the only man in this vast country capable of keeping Russians safe and secure.

His so-called "special military operation" (the full-scale invasion of Ukraine) was presented to the Russian people as a way of boosting Russia’s national security.

Two and a half years into this war there isn’t much sign here of "safe and secure".

There is more Nato on Russia’s borders, with Sweden and Finland having joined the Nato Alliance; Russian towns are coming under regular Ukrainian drone attack; now Ukrainian soldiers are seizing Russian territory.

Through his choice of language, Vladimir Putin is trying to show the Russian public that there is no need to panic.

When referring to the Ukrainian incursion he has avoided using the word "invasion". Instead, he has spoken of “the situation in the border area” or “the events that are taking place”. The Kremlin leader has also called the Ukrainian offensive “a provocation”.

But what will the Russian president do next?

• We are pausing our live coverage now but you can read Steve Rosenberg's full analysis here

Image source, Reuters

We've been bringing you updates throughout the day as Ukraine continues its incursion into Russia. We'll soon be pausing our coverage, but here are some of today's main developments:

Ukraine’s advance: President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had moved forward in several directions. Ukraine's top military commander - Oleksandr Syrskyi - said its forces captured more than 100 Russian soldiers. Ukraine said it's planning a humanitarian corridor in Kursk to let civilians escape the fighting. As it stands, Ukraine claims it controls around 1,000 sq km (386 sq miles) of Russia and 74 towns and villages

Russia’s response: Russia has repeatedly said it's prevented Ukrainian forces from advancing further into the region. State TV has been showing pictures of Russian tanks being loaded up to be sent to Kursk region. But Russia has not been able to stop the advance.

Control of a Russian town: Ukraine's commander-in-chief has claimed that his troops are in full control the Russian border town of Sudzha. The BBC is unable to independently verify this. A Ukrainian television report filmed inside the Russian town of Sudzha showed Ukrainian soldiers removing a Russian flag from a local school.

A state of emergency: A second Russian region – Belgorod – declared a state of emergency, with its governor today saying it suffered 23 drone attacks in a 24 hour period

As the Ukrainian incursion into Russia has entered its second week there are still certain unknowns around what is happening in Kursk.

Vitaliy Shevchenko, BBC Monitoring's Russia Editor, has unpacked some of the biggest questions about when the incursion could end and whether Ukraine or Russia has the upper hand.

Take us to this border region - what is the border like now?

It is a predominately rural area mostly used for farming, not much happening there really - until now. Russians are saying that 180,000 people are being evacuated and it is a massive operation to keep them supplied.

Will Russia use nuclear weapons?

Nuclear weapons are there to deter people, not necessarily be used. One thing I've learnt from watching Putin for more than two decades now is that he doesn't like to act under pressure.

Who has got the upper hand, who is winning?

Thinking back to how it started, Ukrainians would be happy that they are still fighting but they are tired - can you imaging living for over two years with constant air raids, losing electricity, no running water, darkness?

Why is Zelensky doing this, when will he stop?

The longer Ukrainians stay in Kursk, the more difficult it is going to get. Russia is a huge country and Ukrainian's are operating in enemy country where logistics are difficult, it's a huge gamble. This is by no means over but things can still go sour.

Russia building defences in Kurskpublished at 17:50 British Summer Time 14 August

17:50 BST 14 August

By Benedict Garman and Paul Brown

Satellite images from the Kursk region show Russian trenches being constructed over the past week following the start of the Ukrainian incursion.

BBC Verify has identified five locations where these defences can be seen. The structures began to appear on satellite imagery in the days after Ukraine crossed into Kursk on 6 August and are located less than 10km from the Kursk nuclear power plant.

Such defences are usually built to deter military advances, particularly the progress of armoured vehicles.

The trenches are located approximately 45-50kms from the border and the furthest we have observed Ukrainian forces operating within Kursk in verified video is around 28km from the border.

An online video verified and geolocated by the team also shows the construction of one of the trenches, with heavy machinery next to a long stretch of piled earth running parallel to a main road.

It is likely that there are more defences under construction, but heavy cloud cover over the area in recent days has obscured satellite imagery and means BBC Verify cannot get clear view of the ground.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukrainian forces now control 74 settlements in Kursk and are continuing their advance. We’re not aware of any specific statement by Russia on the trenches, but Moscow has repeatedly said it has prevented Ukrainian forces from advancing further into the region.

As we've been reporting, Russia continues to insist that it is pushing Ukraine out of its territory - directly contradicting Kyiv's assertion that it is pushing forward.

According to Russia's defence ministry, Ukraine has lost up to 2,300 servicemen since it launched its incursion more than a week ago, as well as 37 tanks and several other military vehicles.

The Russian foreign ministry's special envoy, Rodion Miroshnik, is accusing Kyiv of deliberately derailing any possible peace negotiations and says they are currently a non-starter.

We haven't been getting a lot of photos from Ukraine and Russia - but here are some of the latest that we've seen today:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA