Ukraine war round-up: Explosions in Crimea and Soviet relics torn down

Images show a Russian arms depot in occupied Crimea bursting into flames, just one week after Ukraine claimed a successful strike on a similar target nearby.

The military site can be seen in a video being rocked by a string of blasts on Tuesday morning, a devastating strike that Russia blamed on "sabotage".

Ukraine has not admitted to the attack.

Annexed by Russia in 2014, the Crimean peninsula has until now largely avoided being caught up in the latest conflict.

But if Kyiv turns out to be behind the blasts, it could signal a dramatic new front opening up in the war - almost six months in.

Read our full story here.

Dispute over RAF jet's polar flight

A RC-135W Rivet Joint was conducting a "routine operation" over international waters, the UK said

The UK is denying one of its military jets flew over Russian airspace in the Arctic Circle yesterday.

Moscow accused the surveillance aircraft of "deliberate provocation" in its flight path.

But it was simply part of a "routine operation" that "at no time" entered Russian airspace, the UK's Ministry of Defence maintains.

Read our report on the RC-135 Rivet Joint's flight here.

Estonia tears down Soviet relics

Estonia, a Baltic EU nation bordering Russia, is removing military mementos of its Soviet past from prominent places.

First to be targeted was a T-34 model tank, which on Tuesday workers removed from its plinth in the city of Narva.

The Red Army replica will still be viewable to the public - but in the Estonian War Museum.

Estonia says it is because of brewing tensions in the largely Russian-speaking city, but Moscow describes it differently: a "war on history."

Kick-off in Kyiv

Two of the teams that played in the cancelled campaign last season will be unable to compete in 2022-23

Ukraine's football season ground to a halt when Russia launched its invasion earlier this year.

"A missile hit our training ground - there's nothing left of where we used to play," goalkeeper Denys Sydorenko told the BBC.

But now - after six months of silence on the pitch - players are lacing up their boots once again.

Following a presidential order, Ukraine's Premier League is to resume next week.

The BBC's Sophie Williams reports from Kyiv.

UN food ship departs for East Africa

MV Brake Commander is destined for Dijbouti

And in the Black Sea, a vessel loaded with wheat leaves the Ukrainian port of Odesa bound for the Horn of Africa.

It is the first ship chartered by the UN Food Programme to make the trip since a deal brokered between Russia and Ukraine last month.

Experts hope its cargo - 23,000 tonnes of wheat - will relieve the famine in East Africa that has worsened as a result of the Black Sea blockade in the last months.

Read more here.