At least four dead after Russian bomber crashes into block of flats

At least four people are reported to have died with others still missing after one of Russia's warplanes crashed into an apartment building in the southern Russian city of Yeysk.

One of the country's newest and most advanced warplanes collided with the high rise block on Monday after one of its engines caught fire during takeoff.

The death toll from the incident has risen to four with six still missing, according to local media reports.

Shocking photos show the moment that the plane crashed into the residential building, and the resulting aftermath has caused a fire spanning at least 2,000 square meters.

The Russian Defence Ministry said both crew members of the Su-34 bailed out safely, while pictures shared on Russian Telegram news channels showed one of the pilots descending under a parachute, illuminated by the blazing wreckage.

Local authorities in Yeysk, a port city across the Sea of Azov from Mariupol, said that the massive fire engulfed several floors of an apartment building and at least 15 flats were affected.

The Su-34 has a reported price tag of more than £43 million.

07:21 PM

That's all for tonight

Toady's top stories included:

• At least four dead after fighter plane crash

• Moscow enlistment ends after significant backlash

• At least eight killed in Russian drone and missile strikes

• Stop sharing photos of downed drones, Ukrainians told

• Iranian-made kamikaze drones target Kyiv

• Invasion fears as Russia sends 9,000 troops to Belarus border

06:52 PM

US says nations and firms working with Iran's drone program face sanctions

The United States has warned it would take action against companies and nations working with Iran's drone program after Russia used the imports for deadly kamikaze strikes in Kyiv.

"Anyone doing business with Iran that could have any link to UAVs or ballistic missile developments or the flow of arms from Iran to Russia should be very careful and do their due diligence - the US will not hesitate to use sanctions or take actions against perpetrators," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

06:49 PM

Pictures of fighter plane crash scene

06:34 PM

Russian MP declares war on South Park and Peppa Pig

Russian MP Alexander Khinshtein said cartoon shows were being used in a "hybrid war" against his country's values.

Giving a speech in Moscow, he said: "LGBT is nowadays a tool of hybrid war.

"The cartoon South Park. A paedophile who's a school chef appears in it.

"Peppa Pig - a seemingly very well known cartoon. In one episode a polar bear is drawing a portrait of her family and says 'I live with my mummy and my other mummy'."

06:27 PM

At least two dead and 15 injured in fighter plane crash

Russian reports say at least two people have died and 15 have been taken to hospital after a Russian fighter plane crashed into an appartment block in the Russian coastal city of Yeysk, near southern occupied Ukraine.

"At this time, two people have died and 15 are hospitalised," the local branch of the emergency situation ministry told news agencies, after images showed a nine-storey residential building engulfed by flames.

06:16 PM

Picture of pregnant victim of Kyiv drone attack

06:14 PM

More than 100 women freed in prisoner swap

06:12 PM

Zaporizhzhia plant on backup power after line cut

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is on backup power after its 750 kilovolt main power line was cut again this morning, the UN nuclear watchdog has said.

"For about ten minutes, one of the ZNPP's 20 emergency diesel generators started operating after this morning's loss of the 750 kV line, but it was soon switched off again as the back-up electricity system provided the necessary power," the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement.

The plant in occupied southern Ukraine is being powered by  a nearby coal-fired power plant.

05:53 PM

Criminal investigation opens into fighter jet crash

Russia has launched a criminal investigation into the crash of a Su-34 fighter jet in the southern city of Yeysk, the country's investigative committee said.

"Military investigators are establishing the circumstances and causes of the incident," it said.

Senior Ukrainian government advisor Anton Gerashchenko tweeted that at least one person had died.

"Combat plane lost control and fell on a residential building in Russian Yeysk city," he wrote.

"The plane carried ammunition. At least one person died, several were hospitalized. weapons fell on heads on their way to kill Ukrainians. Will this make them think and protest against war?"

05:50 PM

Fighter plane crashes into building in Russian city

A Russian fighter plane has crashed into a residential building in the southern Russian city of Yeysk.

Online footage showed a large fireball erupting from the nine-storey block with reports 45 flats were damaged.

The pilots had ejected and officials were trying to establish information about casualties on the ground, Russian media reported.

Yeysk is located on the coast of the Sea of Azov and near Russia's border with southern Ukraine.

RIA news agency said the plane was a Sukhoi Su-34, a supersonic medium-range fighter-bomber that crashed during a training flight from a military airfield.

TASS said the crash was caused by an engine fire.

Local emergency services said five floors of the apartment building were on fire, the upper floors had collapsed and about 45 apartments were damaged, according to Interfax.

04:52 PM

Belarus announces joint live fire exercises with Russia

Belarussian and Russian troops will conduct joint live fire exercises and anti-aircraft guided missile launches, Interfax reported.

"Military units from the formations are planned to be deployed at four training ranges of the Republic of Belarus in the eastern and central part of the country, after which they will start conducting combat training activities," a Minsk defence official said.

The Belarusian defence ministry said last week that Russian troops would deploy to the country to form a new "regional grouping" amid claims from Minsk that Ukraine is preparing to attack its territory. Belarus has offered no evidence of Ukraine's aggressive intentions.

Belarus is a close Russian ally that has provided logistical and political support to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Russian troops arrived in Belarus for what Moscow described as military exercises, shortly before launching cross-border attacks against the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on February 24.

04:40 PM

US and UK to work closer on sanctions against Russia

The United States and Britain will further their cooperation on sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine as well as on other targets, top financial officials for the two allied nations said in a joint statement on Monday.

"Over time, we expect to realize the benefits of our collaboration not only in relation to the sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but also across other common sanctions regimes," Andrea Gacki, the head of the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, and Giles Thomson, the head of Britain's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, wrote.

04:26 PM

Moscow enlistment ends, Russian media says

Moscow has stopped enlisting reservists to fight in Ukraine, the city's Chief Draft Officer Maxim Loktev told Russian news agency Interfax.

"Partial mobilisation measures have been completed in Moscow," his quote said.

"The objectives set by the Russian presidential decree and assignments of the Russian Defence Ministry have been completed in full.

"Moscow's assembly points for mobilised citizens stopped receiving mobilisation resources starting at 2pm on October 17."

He added: "At the same time, Moscow's draft centres are continuing to receive requests from volunteers willing to go to the zone of the special military operation.

"Individual decisions will be made regarding those volunteers."

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said earlier on Monday that the "assignment of the Ministry of Defence" had been "fully completed".

04:13 PM

EU investigating claims Iran sold drones to Russia

The EU is investigating Iran's alleged sale of drones to Russia as it warns of possible further sanctions on the regime.

The bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said: "We are following very closely this use of drones. We are gathering evidence and we will be ready to react with the tools at our disposal."

He spoke after chairing a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, where the bloc decided to slap sanctions on Iranian officials deemed responsible for the crackdown on anti-government protesters.

Borrell said that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba denounced the use of drones in a speech to the ministers via video-link from a bomb shelter.

03:58 PM

At least eight killed in Russian drone and missile strikes

Russian attacks on Kyiv and the northeastern region of Sumy killed at least eight people, Ukrainian officials have said.

The emergency services said the overall toll in the capital rose to four in the wake of Russian attacks that badly damaged a residential building.

"Four people died and three were taken to hospital," it said. Two rescue workers were also wounded, it added.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a pregnant wife and her young husband were among the dead in Kyiv.

Emergency services in Sumy said four people were killed and several more wounded in strikes that the governor said targeted energy infrastructure.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said Russian strikes hit energy facilities in Sumy and the central Dnipropetrovsk region.

03:36 PM

Ukraine put up $100,000 reward for the 'Butcher of Slovyansk'

A retired FSB colonel dubbed "The Butcher of Slovyansk" and was allegedly involved in the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 is the subject of a $100,000 capture reward.

Igor Girkin - who also goes by the name Igor Strelkov and more recently Runov - participated in the annexation of Crimea and in 2014 helped seize administrative buildings in Slovyansk and proclaimed the Donetsk People's Republic.

He is accused of involvement in the downing of MH17 over the Donbas on July 2014, which killed 298 people.

Ukraine Today reports rumours that Girkin, who returned to Russia in 2014, has now been mobilised in the Russian army.

03:25 PM

Sharing photos of downed drones 'helps Russia'

Ukrainians have been urged not to post photos of downed drones on social media as it lets Russia know if their attacks have succeeded or failed, a military instructor and journalist has said.

InfoCar editor-in-chief Pavlo Kashchuk issued the warning after Kyiv mayor Vitaliy Klitschko shared a photo with the wreckage of one of the drones used by the Russians to attack the capital city today.

He said the Iranian drones used by Russia are fully autonomous and fly a pre-programmed route to their assigned target linked to their serial number.

The Russian military do not know if it has successfully hit its assigned target or whether it flew the correct path until photos posted on social networks or in the media where a serial number is visible, he said.

He said on Facebook: "Even if the photo is not clear where the drone fell, the very fact that the drone number XX arrived in Kyiv is already very important information for the enemy - it means his route was correct and he bypassed the air defense on the way, so this route is at least possible today and throw a dozen more drones."

02:53 PM

Rescuers bring out cat from drone struck building

02:49 PM

Russia threatens to rip up grains deal if exports restrictions aren't eased

Russia has said the extension of a landmark Black Sea grain deal was dependent on the West easing restrictions on its agricultural and fertiliser exports.

Its defence ministry said in a statement that Russia's deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin today told UN Under-Secretary-General Martin Griffiths at a meeting in Moscow that extending the deal "directly depends on ensuring full implementation of all previously reached agreements."

The deal brokered by the UN and Turkey unlocked Ukrainian agricultural exports from its southern ports, helping avert a global food crisis.

Russia says the impact of Western sanctions on logistics, payments, shipping and insurance prevents it from exporting fertilisers and chemicals like ammonia and that easing those restrictions was a key part of the deal.

02:41 PM

Kyiv police fire at kamikaze drone

02:37 PM

River of sunflower oil after Mykolaiv drone attack

Russia has been accused of trying to destroy Ukraine's "food security" after launching a drone attack on a marine terminal in the southern port city of Mykolaiv.

A senior manager at the Everi terminal said the attack late on Sunday had damaged sunflower storage tanks and set leaking oil alight.

"This is an entirely civilian facility. There is no military," said Andriy, 47, who declined to give his surname.

He said the attacks were part of a Russian effort to "destroy the economy and to destroy food security".

02:21 PM

Kyiv drone death toll rises to four

At least four people have been killed by a kamikaze drone attack on a residential building in Kyiv, the city mayor has said.

Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram: "Four people have already died under the rubble of a house in the Shevchenkiv district of the capital, which was hit by a Russian terrorist drone.

"The rescuers discovered and retrieved another body – that of a dead man. Search and rescue operations are ongoing. There may still be people under the rubble. Three victims were hospitalised. Two of them are employees of the state emergency service."

Earlier it emerged a couple expecting a baby in three months were among those killed.

At least three people were also killed in the northeastern city of Sumy, after Russia launched its heaviest aerial bombardment of Ukraine's cities and infrastructure since the start of the war today.

02:17 PM

Hundreds of prisoners to be exchanged today

A Moscow-installed official has said Russia and Ukraine will exchange a total of 220 prisoners today in the latest prisoner swap between the two sides.

Denis Pushilin, the Kremlin-backed head of the eastern Donetsk region - one of four regions of Ukraine which Russia unilaterally proclaimed as its own territory last month - said 110 Ukrainians, mostly women, would be freed in turn for the release of 80 Russians he said were "civilian sailors" and 30 military personnel.

02:03 PM

Footage of police shooting down kamikaze drone

02:01 PM

Iran 'responsible for the murders of Ukrainians'

Kyiv has accused Iran of being complicit in the deaths of at least six Ukrainians after Russia launched dozens of kamikaze drones at cities and critical infrastructure sites today.

Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to Ukraine's presidential office, said on Twitter: "Iran is responsible for the murders of Ukrainians. Country that oppresses its own people is now giving ru-monsters weapons for mass murders in the heart of Europe.

"That is what unfinished business and concessions to totalitarianism mean. The case when sanctions are not enough..."

Tehran has denied supplying its Shahed-136 drones to Russia. The Kremlin has not commented.

01:26 PM

EU to train 15,000 Ukrainian troops and send €500m in new arms package

EU foreign ministers have agreed to set up a mission to train some 15,000 Ukrainian troops from next month and to provide an extra 500 million euros worth of funding for arms deliveries to Kyiv.

"Today, we step up our support to Ukraine to defend itself from Russia's illegal aggression," the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement following the meeting in Luxembourg on Monday.

The mission, initially set up to last two years, will "train the Ukrainian armed forces so they can continue their courageous fight", he added.

The ministers also agreed to provide another 500 million euros worth of funding for arms supplies to Kyiv, bringing the total amount earmarked for arms delivered to Ukraine to over 3 billion euros.

12:47 PM

Russian TV protest journalist flees the country

A former Russian state television journalist who protested against the war during a live broadcast has fled the country after being put on a wanted list, her lawyer has said.

"[Marina] Ovsyannikova and her daughter left Russia a few hours after departing from the address where she was under house arrest. They are in Europe now. They are fine. They are waiting until they can talk about it publicly, but for now it is not safe," Ovsyannikova's lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov told AFP.

12:41 PM

Four Russians held over 'taking pictures of classified facilities' in Norway

Norwegian police today revealed they arrested four Russians on suspicion of illegally photographing classified facilities last week, days before they caught two other Russians allegedly in possession of drones.

Security had been ramped up following a number of drone sightings close to the country's oil and gas infrastructure and the September 26 leaks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines off the costs of Sweden and Denmark.

"We're seeing the consequences of the new security situation in Norway," Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl told a news conference. "We can't rule out further cases."

Police said last week they had arrested a Russian-Israeli man a at border checkpoint with drones in his car on Thursday, and another Russian found flying a drone and in possession of cameras at an airport in the Arctic town of Tromsoe on Friday.

A statement from Nordland county police on Monday revealed the earlier arrests of three men and one woman on October 11. It said cameras and extensive photographic material had been seized from their car, but no drones were found.

A court on October 14 gave police permission to hold the four suspects in custody for one week.

12:37 PM

Russia launched 42 drone attacks across Ukraine

Russia launched 42 drone attacks across Ukraine today, of which 36 were shot down before they hit their targets, a senior government advisor has said.

Anton Gerashchenko, advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs, said five of the 30 that targeted the capital city got through.

12:29 PM

CCTV shows inside of Kyiv building struck by drone

12:27 PM

Russia reroutes supply lines after Crimea Bridge attack

Russia has increased supply flows via Mariupol in the wake of the Crimea Bridge blast, the Ministry of Defence has said.

Large queues of cargo trucks remain backed up near the crossing connecting the annexed peninsula to Russia more than a week after the explosion on October 8.

Western military officials have said Kyiv's Kherson counteroffensive could claim the entire region west of the Dnipro river this week after Russian supply lines from neighbouring Crimea were disrupted.

Mariupol is an occupied port city on the south east of the country and its road routes to Kherson go via Melitopol.

"Russian forces operating in southern Ukraine are likely increasing logistical supply flow via Mariupol in an attempt to compensate for the reduced capacity of the Kerch Bridge," the ministry said in an intelligence briefing.

"With the Russian presence in Kherson strained, and the supply routes through Crimea degraded, the ground line of communication through Zaporizhzhia Oblast is becoming more important to the sustainability of Russia’s occupation.

"The city of Melitopol is a junction of supply routes and hosts a major Russian aviation presence."

11:43 AM

Couple expecting first child killed in Kyiv drone attacks

A couple who were expecting their first child have been found dead following a Russian attack on a residential building in Kyiv, Anton Gerashchenko, advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, has said.

Calling for more air defences in Ukraine, he tweeted: "Bohdan and Victoria, 34, were both found dead. It is reported they were expecting their first child in a few months."

11:37 AM

Three dead in Sumy as 100s of towns left with no electricity

Hundreds of Ukrainian towns cut off from electricity with at least three people killed in the northeastern town of Sumy, Kyiv officials have said.

Russia launched five strikes in Kyiv and against critical infrastructure in the central Dnipropetrovsk and northeast Sumy regions, knocking out electricity to hundreds of towns and villages, said Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal.

"Hundreds of settlements were cut off as a result of the attack," he said.

Temperatures across Ukraine were forecast at between 11 and 17 degrees Celsius (52 to 63 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday.

11:32 AM

Mykolaiv drone strike was targeting Ukrainian 'food security'

Russia has been accused of trying to destroy Ukraine's "food security" after launching a drone attack on a marine terminal in the southern port city of Mykolaiv.

A senior manager at the Everi terminal said the attack late on Sunday had damaged sunflower storage tanks and set leaking oil alight.

"This is an entirely civilian facility. There is no military," said Andriy, 47, who declined to give his surname.

He said the attacks were part of a Russian effort to "destroy the economy and to destroy food security".

11:26 AM

Russia to get 'fair punishment' for its heaviest bombardment of Kyiv yet

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russia will receive "only fair punishment" following its heaviest bombardment of Kyiv and other cities since the start of the war.

He said on Telegram: "All night and all morning the enemy terrorizes the civilian population. Kamikaze drones and missiles are attacking all of Ukraine. A residential building was hit in Kyiv.

"The enemy can attack our cities, but it won’t be able to break us. The occupiers will get only fair punishment and condemnation of future generations. And we will get victory."

Ukraine's military said it had destroyed 37 Russian drones since Sunday evening, or around 85% of those involved in attacks.

11:16 AM

Russia claims it has hit 'all designated targets'

Russia's defence ministry has claimed it has hit "all designated targets" in its latest bombardment of Ukrainian cities which killed at least three people in Kyiv.

It also claimed to have thwarted an attempt by Ukraine to breach its defences in the southern Kherson region.

The ministry said: "During the day, Russia's armed forces continued to strike with high-precision long-range air and sea-based weapons at military command facilities and Ukraine's energy system.

"All designated objects were hit."

11:14 AM

At least 37 kamikaze drones downed, says Ukrainian air defence

Kyiv forces are reporting at least 37 Iranian-made kamikaze drones have been downed before reaching the capital city this morning.

Ukrainian air defence's latest update said 11 more Shahed-136 devices had been destroyed - nine by anti-aircraft artillery and fighter jets, and at least two by ground forces.

Kyiv Independent's defence reporter Illia Ponomarenko said five of the drones had hit Kyiv.

11:03 AM

At least three killed by drone strike on Kyiv residential building

At least three people have been killed in a Russian drone attack on a residential building in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv this morning, an official in the presidential office has said.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office, wrote on the Telegram messaging app that 19 people had been rescued from the residential building and rescue work was continuing.

Ukraine's interior minister reported several deaths across the country following the Russian attacks, but did not give a more precise death toll.

10:58 AM

Russia says it launched 'massive' missile attack on Ukrainian infrastructure

Russia's defence ministry has said it carried out a "massive" attack on military targets and energy infrastructure across Ukraine using high-precision weapons.

In its daily briefing the defence ministry said it had hit "all designated targets" in the latest bombardment of Ukrainian cities.

10:51 AM

Pictured: Drone attacks on Kyiv

10:46 AM

Russian attacks hit Ukrainian energy infrastructure

Russian attacks damaged energy infrastructure in Ukraine's central and northern regions on Monday, but the situation with the power system is under control and repair crews are fixing the damage, Ukraine's grid operator said.

The operator, Ukrenergo, urged Ukrainians in a statement on Telegram to be frugal in their use of electricity, especially in the evening, to reduce strain on the energy system.

"The Ukrenergo dispatch center does not rule out the possibility of introducing emergency shutdown schedules," it said.

10:44 AM

Military draft offices in Moscow to close on Monday

Russian army draft offices will close in Moscow on Monday, the city's mayor Sergei Sobyanin has announced, saying the Kremlin's mobilisation quotas to recruit reservists to fight in Ukraine had been completed in the capital.

"Gathering points for mobilised people will close on October 17 2022, at 2pm," Mr Sobyanin said on his website.

He added that "the tasks of the partial mobilisation" - announced just over a month ago - in the city had been "completed in full".

10:41 AM

Russia's Medvedev warns Israel against supplying arms to Ukraine

Russia's former leader Dmitry Medvedev has warned Israel against supplying weapons to Ukraine, saying any move to bolster Kyiv's forces would severely damage bilateral ties.

"Israel appears to be getting ready to supply weapons to the Kyiv regime. A very reckless move. It would destroy all bilateral relations between our countries," the former president and prime minister said on the Telegram messaging app.

10:32 AM

Russia's Iranian drones

10:25 AM

Several killed in other Ukrainian cities, says interior minister

Several people were killed in Russian air attacks in cities across Ukraine, Denys Monastyrskyi, the country’s Interior Minister, has said.

Mr Monastyrskyi told reporters there had been "a few" deaths including in other cities.

10:14 AM

Russia's use of Iranian drones is an 'escalation', says Austria's foreign minister

Any use of Iranian drones in Russia's war against Ukraine would mark an escalation of the conflict, Austria's Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg has said.

"These kamikaze drones that we are seeing in Ukraine apparently now - this is an escalation," he told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

He said providing equipment to Russia would amount to an active support for Moscow's war against Ukraine.

09:59 AM

At least one person killed in Russian attacks, says Kyiv mayor

A woman was killed in Russian drone attacks on Kyiv on Monday and one person was still trapped under the rubble, city mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

"Everything that is happening (here) is terrorism," he told reporters.

09:54 AM

Escalation in Ukraine 'deeply troubling', says new UN rights chief

The new United Nations rights chief voiced alarm at the escalating conflict in Ukraine when he arrived at his post on Monday, insisting that civilians must be protected.

"Any escalation in warfare is deeply troubling to us, and it's happening in Ukraine," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told reporters in Geneva on his first day on the job.

"We have received reports from our colleagues on the ground about these drone attacks," said Mr Turk.

"It is absolutely important that civilian objects, civilians, are not targeted," he said. "This is very difficult in densely populated urban areas."

09:40 AM

US embassy condemns 'desperate' Russian attacks on Ukraine

The US embassy in Kyiv has criticised the drone attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, saying that the United States stood with the Ukrainian people.

"More desperate and reprehensible Russian attacks this morning against civilians and civilian infrastructure. We admire the strength and resilience of the Ukrainian people. We will stand with you for as long as it takes," the embassy wrote on Twitter.

09:09 AM

Zelensky shares video of drone strike damage

Clouds of smoke engulf apartment blocks and emergency workers run through the streets in a video of the Kyiv drone strikes posted online by president Zelensky.

08:52 AM

Pictured: Drone strikes rock Kyiv

08:38 AM

EU investigates Iran involvement in Ukraine war

The European Union is seeking concrete evidence for any Iranian involvement in Russia's war on Ukraine, the bloc's top diplomat said on Monday.

"We will look for concrete evidence about the participation (of Iran in the Ukraine war)," Josep Borrell told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, adding Ukraine's Dmytro Kuleba would take part in the gathering.

08:31 AM

Attacks will not 'break' Ukrainians, says Zelensky

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Russia had launched a barrage of drone and missile attack across his country but that the attacks would not “break” Ukrainians.

“All night and all morning, the enemy terrorises the civilian population. Kamikaze drones and missiles are attacking all of Ukraine. The enemy can attack our cities but it won't be able to break us,” he said.

He confirmed a residential building in Kyiv had been hit, after the mayor of the capital said two people had been trapped under the rubble.

08:28 AM

Russian troops leave messages on suicide drones

'For Belgorod': that was the phrase written on an Iranian kamikaze drone used to attack Kyiv, according to a Reuters reporter on the scene.

The governor of the Russian region of Belgorod close to the border with Ukraine has accused Ukrainian forces of repeatedly shelling the region, and gunmen shot dead 11 people at a military training ground in the Belgorod region on Saturday.

08:13 AM

Kyiv lifts air raid warning

After nearly three hours Ukraine's capital has told citizens it is safe to emerge from shelters.

People are quickly reappearing on the streets and getting on with their day.

Along with the strikes that hit Kyiv, Ukraine's air force said it shot down 15 kamikaze drones coming from the south.

07:58 AM

Nuclear plant again forced on to back-up power

Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was disconnected from the national power grid on Monday following Russian shelling, prompting backup diesel generators to kick in, state nuclear energy firm Energoatom said.

"Russian terrorists once again shelled critical infrastructure substations in Ukraine-controlled territory, resulting in the shutdown of the last 750 kV ZNPP-Dniprovska communications line at 03:59," it said in a statement.

The plant has been forced several times to switch to back-up generators, driving objections from the UN's nuclear safety watchdog.

07:52 AM

Iran could step up support for Russia's army

The kamikaze drones used to attack Kyiv are thought to have been sold to Russia by Tehran.

There is increasing concern among Ukraine's allies of the impact Iranian support could have on the Russian army.

Over the weekend, the Washington Post reported that Tehran is considering stepping up its supplies to Moscow, including with the sale of short-range ballistic missiles. These would be the first sold to Russia by an outside nation since the start of the war.

Here the Wall Street Journal's chief foreign correspondent, Yaroslav Trimofov, wonders about the impact of the fresh deals on the wider Middle East.

07:30 AM

Pictured: Police try to shoot down drones

As residents run for cover, one man tries to blast the drones out of the sky.

07:26 AM

Residential buildings hit, says Kyiv mayor

The Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitshchko, said several residential buildings had been damaged in the attack.

Several blasts hit the district after 8am (0500 GMT), when many people were travelling to work or school, just over an hour after the first wave of explosions hit some residential buildings.

"Rescuers are on the site," Mr Klitshchko said on the Telegram messaging service, adding that as a result of what he said was a drone attack, a fire also broke out in a non-residential building.

07:22 AM

Fire breaks out at energy site after missile strike

There are reports that a missile landing in the Dnipropetrovsk region has caused a large fire at a local energy infrastructure facility - we'll bring you more as we get it.

07:07 AM

In pictures: Drone attack rocks Kyiv

06:34 AM

Pictured: Drone remains as Kyiv hit by strikes

05:42 AM

'Heavy fighting' rages in Donetsk region

Intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces is raging around two cities in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, Bakhmut and Soledar, Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Battles in the key Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which make up the larger industrial Donbas, were particularly intense at the weekend.

The city of Bakhmut has become a key Russian target after Moscow captured the industrial towns of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk in June and July. Soledar is located around 10 miles north of Bakhmut.

"The key hot spots in Donbas are Soledar and Bakhmut," Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address on Sunday.

"Very heavy fighting is going on there."

According to Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov, the heaviest fighting was occuring north of Bakhmut, asserting that Ukrainian forces had repelled Russian advances on the towns of Torske and Sprine in the past 24 hours.

05:02 AM

Just in: Explosions sound in Kyiv

Ukraine's capital of Kyiv has awoken to the sound of explosions this morning, according to reports.

There is little detail at this stage, but it is understood two explosions were heard in the city.

Air raid sirens sounded shortly before the two blasts, which occurred around 6.35am and 6.45am local time.

04:55 AM

Mobilised Russians marry in 'speed-wedding' at registry office

03:53 AM

Russia launches criminal investigation after gunmen kills 11 people

Two disgruntled soldiers shot dead at least 11 other conscripts at a training camp in Belgorod, southern Russia, the worst violence in the Kremlin's chaotic three-week mobilisation.

Photos allegedly from the shoot-out showed dead Russian soldiers lying across what appears to be a military shooting range. In one photo, paramedics treat a man with a serious gunshot injury.

Pro-war Russian officials had blamed the shooting on Ukrainian special forces but later reports said that two Tajiks mobilised into the army opened fire on other recruits.

Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on YouTube the gunmen opened fire after an argument over religion.

Read the full story by James Kilner here

03:02 AM

UN: War pushes millions of children into poverty

Four million children have been thrown into poverty across eastern Europe and Central Asia due to Russia's war on Ukraine and the consequential economic fallout, the UN children's agency said.

"Children are bearing the heaviest burden of the economic crisis caused by the war in Ukraine," UNICEF said on Monday.

"(The conflict) and rising inflation have driven an additional four million children across eastern Europe and Central Asia into poverty, a 19 per cent increase since 2021."

UNICEF drew its conclusions from a study of data from 22 countries. Russian and Ukrainian children have been most affected since Russia's invasion began in February.

02:41 AM

Russia sends 9,000 troops to Belarus border

Russia will deploy 9,000 soldiers to Belarus, the Belarusian ministry of defence has said, as Kremlin allies began to close embassies in Kyiv because of the risk of a ground assault.

Although Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian president, has insisted that Russian and Belarusian forces are deploying in his country on a purely defensive operation, Western analysts have said that may be a ruse to prepare for an attack on the Ukrainian capital.

Others speculated that the movements could be a feint to distract Ukrainian troops from the active front lines in the east and south.

"It's difficult to know if this is just an 'army in being' to tie up Ukrainian defenders that could be used in the south and east or something more serious," a Kyiv-based security source told the Telegraph. "Lots of embassies are leaving."

Read the full story by James Kilner here

02:21 AM

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• Intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces was taking place around two towns in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, Bakhmut and Soledar, Volodymyr Zelensky said

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• Moscow has accused Ukraine of blowing up the office of a pro-Russian separatist leader in the east, Alexey Kulemzin

• Russia will deploy 9,000 soldiers to Belarus, the Belarusian ministry of defence has said

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