Ukraine war latest: Russia takes 'strategically important' town - as it creeps towards major population centres (2024)

Vladimir Putin's recent trip to Azerbaijan was an "effort to shift focus away" from Ukraine's Kursk attack, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said.

The Russian president recently spent two days in the country where he tried to present himself as an "effective diplomat", the research group said.

The content and presentation of the visit did not stray beyond the usual, but...

"The timing of this visit is noteworthy given the ongoing situation in Kursk Oblast and the Kremlin's continued efforts to downplay the Ukrainian incursion's magnitude and impact," ISW said.

They added: "Russian state media focused on Putin's trip to Azerbaijan, amplifying minute details, likely in part to divert attention from the uncomfortable situation in Russia by saturating the information space with a showcase of the Kremlin's global diplomatic engagement and alleged successes."

Away from the battlefield, Ukraine has passed a law paving the way to ban the Russia-linked minority Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in the country.

Kyiv has cast the UOC as complicit in the Kremlin's invasion.

They have accused it of aiding Moscow's 30-month assault by spreading pro-Russian propaganda and housing spies.

A new bill passed in parliament bans the Russian Orthodox Church and the government will assemble a list of "affiliated" groups who will face similar treatment.

Russian security services (FSB) have detained a scientist over suspected treason, according to reports.

A scientist in Moscow allegedly carried out suspected cyberattacks on behalf of Ukraine, Interfax news agency has said.

The distributed denial-of-service attacks were said to have been carried out on critical infrastructure on behalf of Ukrainian security services, it quoted the FSB as saying.

It was added that the scientist sent money to the Ukrainian military, as well as gathering information on Russian armed forces.

The suspect, the FSB claimed, had confessed, although it was not immediately clear when the arrest was made.

Russian media outlets published what they claimed was footage of the scientist's detention.

Footage also shows a man arrested in a snow-covered city, suggesting they had been detained some time ago.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the situation in the east, near Toretsk, is "difficult", amid Russian advances in the region.

There have been 14 combat clashes reported in the Toretsk area and 34 in the Pokrovsk sector since the start of the day, Ukraine's general staff said.

Russia has sent more troops to Pokrovsk today, according to the Ukrainian army, to support the offensive there - seemingly in an effort to capitalise on momentum.

In our 13.37 post we mentioned that Russia had taken Niu-York, which is less than six miles (10km) from Toretsk, and this morning we reported on the evacuation of the nearby Pokrovsk (8.05am post).

Despite successes in its Kursk invasion, Kyiv has struggled in its east, losing ground to Russian forces.

"The Ukrainians have been under tremendous pressure [there] for several months, but it's becoming intolerable now at Toretsk - which is quite a small place but it's important because it's close to Pokrovsk and Chasiv Yar," Sky News' military analyst Professor Michael Clarke said.

The latter, Prof Clarke said, is important because it is high ground that controls movement towards Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, and Pokrovsk is important because it is a transport hub and controls movements north and westwards.

Prof Clarke added: "They're struggling to maintain their hold on the area.

"And that's the problem here... Kramatorsk and Sloviansk are the really important places, if Russia gets them, it gets the whole of the Donbas."

Russia has summoned a senior US diplomat to protest the presence of American journalists in Kursk.

Moscow has complained about the "provocative actions" of journalists in the region.

On 6 August, Ukraine launched an incursion into Russia, taking many by surprise.

Now, the Russian foreign ministry has said it told US Charge d'Affaires Stephanie Holmes that reporters had illegally crossed into the region too.

It added that Russia intended to prosecute them.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was recently freed in a historic prison swap - after being jailed on alleged espionage charges.

Russia has claimed to have taken control of the Donetsk town of Niu-York.

Moscow described the town as a strategically important logistics hub, in eastern Ukraine.

While Russia refers to Niu-York as Novgorodskoye - the Russian spelling of the settlement's Soviet-era name - Ukraine gave it back its original name in 2021.

In a statement, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed to have "liberated" the town.

Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian military said that heavy fighting was under way in the Toretsk sector, including in Niu-York.

Sky News has not verified Russia's claims, but if true it would show Moscow is creeping ever closer to the larger population centres in the region.

Over 122,000 Russians have fled the border regions amid Ukraine's Kursk invasion, according to Russian media.

Residents have left their homes in huge numbers following Kyiv's surprise counter-punch, TASS said, citing the Russian Emergencies Ministry.

Mr Zelenskyy has previously said that his forces have captured 1,250sq/km (480 square miles) and 92 settlements in Kursk so far.

Ukraine has a "wide-open" opportunity to seize more Russian territory in their Kursk invasion, but risks Moscow making more gains inside Ukraine, says military analyst Professor Michael Clarke.

After a "fairly static" period, Prof Clarke said the war in Ukraine had entered a new stage of "dynamism" on the back of the Kursk invasion.

"I think this Kursk [attack] might get quite big, quite quickly, because the area to the west is almost wide-open to the Ukrainians now they've taken down the bridges off the Seim River.

"I wouldn't be at all surprised if they [Ukraine] go westwards."

But he warned any move of the Ukrainian counterpunch west would require a larger commitment of troops and resources.

With this, they "take a bigger risk", Prof Clarke said, as Moscow continues to make gains in eastern Ukraine.

Most recently, Russia took the Niu-York settlement.

Prof Clarke warned the likes of Toretsk was in "grave danger" and could fall within a matter of hours as well.

Satellite images appear to show pontoons being used to replace destroyed bridges in the Kursk region.

Amid Ukraine's unexpected lightning incursion into Russia, launched on 6 August, Kyiv has struck three bridges in the now contested region since Friday.

Satellite images by Planet Labs, analysed by The Associated Press, show what appear to be pontoon bridges in two different positions along the Seim River.

The first bridge appeared between the town of Glushkovo and Zvannoe on Saturday, only to be gone in images taken yesterday.

On Monday, smoke could be seen rising along the banks of the river nearby - often a sign of a strike.

Another pontoon bridge was visible around 1.1 miles (1.8km) east of one of the bridges destroyed on the Seim, in other images taken since Friday.

The pontoons were likely built by Russian troops trying to supply forces battling against the Ukrainian advance south of the river.

Sky News has not independently verified the images.