A total of 106 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been released in another major exchange with Russia. The eight officers and 98 soldiers released fought in the battle for Bakhmut. The bodies of two foreigners and a Ukrainian were also returned to Ukraine.

The battle for Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine has been notable for several reasons, its length, its savagery and for the man who's pressed the fight for the Kremlin, the mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Dispatches from Ukraine. Day 456. Russian forces launched more than 36 Iranian Shahed drones across Ukraine last night.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko says there have been "blasts in the capital"; Ukraine claims to have shot down all but two of the Russian drones moving towards the city. And how long can the West pay for the war?

Putin is in a panic over the expected Ukrainian counteroffensive, which may already be in its preliminary “battlefield-shaping” stage. He doesn’t know, any more than the rest of us do, when the offensive will be launched,

Ambassador Kelin’s claims come after reports that Russian forces on the ground are poorly equipped and without proper training The Russian ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin has claimed that Russia has not yet started acting “seriously” in Ukraine.