Dozens of Russian diplomats and embassy staff have left Chisinau after being expelled by the Moldovan government last month.

The Moldovan government said it would expel 45 Russian diplomats and support staff members in July because of "ongoing tensions and unfriendly actions".

The total will be cut to just 25 - a figure closer to the number Moldova has at its Moscow embassy.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 the Moldovan government has accused Moscow of spying and backing opposition groups.

Moscow denies the allegations, and foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moldova’s "unfriendly step" would not go unanswered.

Image source, .

Adam Easton
Warsaw correspondent

The Polish authorities have arrested two Russian citizens for distributing materials supporting the Wagner mercenary group.

The men, identified only as Alexei T and Andrei G, were detained after they had pasted about 300 leaflets containing a link to a recruitment website for Wagner in public places in the Polish cities of Krakow and Warsaw last week, the Polish special services said in a statement.

The men received more than 3,000 individual piece of propaganda material from Russia's secret services and were to be paid just under $5,000 (£3,900) for distributing them.

They had planned to leave Poland on Saturday but were detained last Friday.

The pair have heard charges relating to conducting espionage activities and face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.

The special services say the activity was part of what it calls Russia’s “hybrid war” against Poland that is designed to increase the sense of threat among Poles.

Earlier we reported that German Finance Minister Christian Lindner arrived in Kyiv to discuss providing Ukraine with financial, humanitarian and military aid.

Here he is pictured meeting the city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko.

Image source, Reuters

How Ukraine is adapting on the battlefieldpublished at 12:14 British Summer Time 14 August 2023

12:14 BST 14 August 2023

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Ukraine is seeking out innovative ways to compensate for the very slow progress of its summer counter-offensive.

Ukrainian commanders quickly realised that Russian defences, notably their minefields backed by artillery, were going to take an unacceptably high toll of casualties if Ukraine kept trying to force a way through with armour.

So now Kyiv is taking a longer, more strategic approach.

On the ground, in Zaporizhzhia province - where it still hopes to break through Russian lines to the coast - Ukraine’s sappers are showing extraordinary bravery as they painstakingly clear a path on foot through the minefields. This could well take months.

Concurrently, Ukrainian long-range drones and missiles are increasingly hitting Russia’s rear supply lines, fuel and ammunition depots and bridges. A recent attack by a Ukrainian sea drone on the Russian naval base at Novorossiysk shocked Russian navy commanders who thought they were safely out of range.

None of this is expected to achieve quick results though.

With the war looking set to enter a second winter, Moscow is very likely to once more attempt to break Ukraine’s morale by hitting its electricity and other critical supplies with wave after wave of missiles.

Image source, EPA

As we reported earlier, Moscow is hosting a week-long international military forum to showcase Russian artillery systems.

President Vladimir Putin spoke at the forum a short while ago, telling attendees that Russia was "open" to technological and military cooperation with other countries.

He says Russia was committed to cooperating with those who defend their national interests and would be willing to work with the Kremlin to build "an equal indivisible security system" which would protect each state.

Putin said he expected important agreements and export contracts to be signed "on the side lines of the forum". Roughly 60 countries are due to attend the conference, according to Russian media.

What's happening with the Russian rouble?published at 11:37 British Summer Time 14 August 2023

11:37 BST 14 August 2023

Theo Leggett
International business correspondent

The value of the rouble has been falling steadily for months. A year ago, a US dollar would buy you 60 roubles. Now, it would buy you 100.

So what’s going on? The immediate cause is a weakening economic backdrop.

The government is spending more than it earns, in part due to military spending, and sanctions are continuing to take their toll.

The value of Russia’s exports has dropped. This is partly due to an international price cap on its oil sales, and European nations weaning themselves off Russian gas.

At the same time imports from countries such as China and Turkey have increased. But the rouble is not a popular form of payment, and hard currency is scarce.

We’ve been here before, of course. The value of the rouble plummeted in the early days of the conflict, briefly trading at 126 to the dollar.

It rallied quickly – as the central bank hiked interest rates, the government limited currency withdrawals and transfers of money abroad, and energy prices rocketed.

Now there are signs of further intervention – with the central bank coming under heavy political pressure to raise rates once again.

Image source, Ukraine interior ministry

Two Ukrainians have been killed and 10 wounded after the latest wave of Russian attacks.

Two people were killed in the Zaporizhzhia region after Russian missiles hit the town of Stepne in the early hours, the interior ministry said, external earlier. Three people were rescued from under the rubble.

Elsewhere, three people were hospitalised after Russian air strikes hit Kherson last night, the regional military administration head said, external.

"Two men, aged 48 and 44, were seriously injured, while an 85-year–old woman had moderate injuries", he added.

In Kharkiv, two people were injured after a missile attack on Sunday, according to the region's own military chief, external. Another two people were injured in Donetsk, external that same day.

And in Odesa - as we've been reporting - three people were wounded when three waves of Russian missiles and drones hit overnight.

Image source, German Federal Ministry of Finance

Germany Finance Minister Christian Lindner has said his country will "stand by Ukraine's side, shoulder to shoulder", on his first visit to Ukraine since the start of the war.

Lindner arrived in Kyiv to talk with Ukrainian officials about how Germany can provide financial, humanitarian and military aid.

His visit comes as Germany is under pressure to give Kyiv long-range Taurus missiles to boost its counter-offensive.

But the German government has so far held back, concerned that the missiles could reach Russian territory and widen the conflict.

Image source, EPA

A week-long international military forum showcasing Russian artillery systems has opened in Moscow today.

Almost 60 countries are due to attend the conference, according to the Russian state-backed news agency TASS.

Contracts worth more than 433 billion Russian roubles ($4.3bn; £3.4bn) are expected to be signed over the next seven days, the Russian defence ministry says.

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has been seen arriving by helicopter.

That overnight attack on Odesa comes after a deadly assault on southern Ukraine yesterday.

A baby aged just 22 days, her 12-year-old brother and their parents were among seven people killed by Russian shelling in the Kherson region.

Bombs hit their family home in the village of Shyroka Balka, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said.

Another village resident and two men in neighbouring Stanislav were also killed and 13 others injured.

Kherson was one of four regions in Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed to have annexed last year.

Ukraine's military reclaimed the western part of the region in November but Russian troops have continued to shell the area from across the Dnipro river.

• Read more here

We mentioned earlier that Russia's been accused of launching a wave of drone and rocket attacks against Ukraine's southern port city of Odesa overnight.

Here's a look at the scene afterwards.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, Getty Images

Ukraine says its troops have recaptured territory around the war-ravaged eastern city of Bakhmut.

Deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar says Ukrainian forces made the advances last week, as the country wages a long and bloody counter-offensive.

Roughly 3 sq km (1.2 square miles) were "liberated" in Bakhmut, Maliar adds.

Yesterday, Ukraine's armed forces said troops successfully repelled Russian advances in the east and south.

But speaking today, Maliar says Russia increased its activity in Kupyansk and Lyman in the east of the country as a response to the counter-offensive, adding that Ukraine was facing "powerful resistance" in the south.

Image source, Reuters

Russia's currency has fallen below 100 roubles to the US dollar - its lowest level since March 2022.

Its value has slumped steeply so far this year.

It's been facing pressure, with imports rising faster than exports, and military spending growing due to the war in Ukraine.

The currency's value swung violently in the immediate aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 - first plummeting, before surging, aided by a steep rise in oil and gas prices.

Russia's central bank has said that a key interest rate increase is possible at its next scheduled meeting. It insisted that it saw no threat to Russia's financial stability.

Image source, tate Emergency Service Of Ukraine

At least three people were wounded in a Russian missile attack in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, according to regional governor Oleh Kiper.

The strike caused several fires to break out and windows in buildings were “blown out by the blast wave”, Kiper wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukrainian officials said they intercepted three waves of Russian missiles and drones overnight.

"The enemy attacked Odesa region three times during the night, using two waves of attack drones, a total of 15, and eight Kalibr-type sea-based missiles," the Operational Command South said.

James FitzGerald
Live reporter

Welcome to our live coverage. You join us after the Russian currency has fallen below 100 roubles to the American dollar - its lowest level for 16 months.

The slump comes after the Russian economy was targeted with sanctions by Western nations, following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

There are also developments in the conflict itself to bring you - with fresh Russian strikes in southern Ukraine and reported gains by Kyiv’s troops.

Jamie Moreland, Barbara Tasch, Adam Durbin, Malu Cursino, Aoife Walsh, Laura Gozzi, Emily McGarvey and I are following the action from the BBC’s London newsroom.