Ukraine war latest: Explosions heard in Kyiv as Russia unleashes deadly drone and missile barrage

Your questions answered: Can Ukraine advance further inside Russia?

Ukraine does not appear to be letting up on its surprise invasion of the Kursk border region in Russia which began earlier this month.

Ukraine's audacious military incursion into Russia' Kursk region - the first such action by a military power since 1941 - appears to have caught President Putin by surprise.

Although it is unclear what Ukraine is ultimately seeking to achieve, Ukraine has stated that it does not intend to "hold" ground, so its current occupation is temporary.  

But what next? If Ukraine had planned to push further into Russia it would probably not have blown three key bridges across the Siem river which would have been vital to Ukraine's further plans.

Instead, it looks likely that Ukraine was seeking to seize the initiative, to demonstrate that Russia is not in control of the war, and to force Russia to respond to the attack by transferring forces from the frontline in the Donbas thus relieving pressure on embattled Ukrainian forces. 

Destroying the bridges would make it more difficult for Russia to counterattack and expel Ukrainian forces.

Although Ukraine could push further into Russia, it would create an increasing logistics challenge to keep those forces resupplied, and also divert scarce resources from the front-line.

Militarily the incursion into Kursk might appear risky, but it is probably designed to apply political pressure on President Putin, albeit we have yet to see whether the military or political objective prevails!

Ukraine urges Western allies to permit use of long-range weapons on Russia

A top Ukrainian official is calling on allies to allow long-range attacks on Russia with Western-supplied weapons in the wake of today's strikes.

Russia launched a barrage of missiles and drones at Ukraine this morning, in one of the largest attacks on the country in weeks.

At least three people have been reported dead, with energy infrastructure allegedly targeted in three Ukrainian regions.

There have also been reports of disruption to water supply in Kyiv.

Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president's chief of staff, has asked Western allies to allow long-range use of their weapons.

So far in the war with Russia, this has not been permitted.

Mr Yermak said: "Such a decision will accelerate the end of Russian terror."

These photographs detail the aftermath of what was allegedly a Ukrainian drone strike on the Saratov region of Russia early on Monday morning.

Russian officials say that homes were damage and flights have been restricted in the region after the strike, which injured one woman.

Moscow claims it destroyed nine drones over the area, which is around 560 miles from the Russian border with Ukraine.

Kyiv has yet to respond to allegations of strikes on Russia today.

Fifteen regions hit by Russian strikes, says Ukrainian PM

We're just hearing from Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal after a barrage of Russian strikes on the country early on Monday.

He said 15 regions were struck by missiles and drones, with explosions heard in the capital Kyiv.

As of now, three people are reported dead - with more wounded.

Mr Shmyhal said: "The enemy used various types of weapons: drones, cruise missiles, and Kinzhals."

Kinzhals are understood to be hypersonic missiles - Russia believes they are almost impossible to shoot down, though Ukraine has previously claimed to have successfully downed them.

Meanwhile, officials in three regions have reported that energy facilities were struck in the barrage.

Russia claims Ukraine targeted oil refinery

A Ukrainian drone attempted to strike an oil refinery in a Russian city early on Monday morning, Moscow has claimed.

Mikhail Yevrayev, regional governor for Yaroslavl, north of Moscow, said there had been no casualties.

He also said no damage had been reported.

Meanwhile, the Russian defence ministry claimed today that its air defence systems destroyed 20 drones launched by Ukraine overnight.

It alleged nine of the drones were destroyed over the Saratov region, three over the Kursk region and two each over the Belgorod, Bryansk and Tula regions.

It added single drones were destroyed over the Oryol and Ryazan regions.

Kyiv has yet to respond to allegations of strikes on Russia today.

Before we continue our regular updates and analysis, we've put together an overview of the biggest developments over the last week.

Kursk invasion

Ukraine's invasion into the Russian border region of Kursk continues nearly three weeks after troops punched through the border in a move that stunned Vladimir Putin and his top military brass.

Officials say Ukrainian forces have so far taken around 100 square kilometres (62 square miles) of territory in Kursk since the invasion began. On Sunday night, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his forces had advanced up to three kilometres (1.86 miles) in the region and had taken control of two more settlements.

More than 121,000 people have been evacuated from nine border districts in the region, Russia's emergencies ministry said.

In the past week, Ukrainian forces have hit three bridges, several airfields and an oil depot in Kursk in a sign that they plan to keep up the tempo of their attacks.

A Russian official said on Friday that Mr Putin had formulated a response to the attacks on his territory - but a major Russian retaliation is yet to materialise, despite the president's promise of a "worthy response".

Aim of the offensive?

The idea of creating a "buffer zone" was first voiced by Mr Putin after Moscow launched a new offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region in May, aimed at protecting its border regions.

Instead, it now appears to be Mr Zelenskyy who is pursuing a "buffer zone" with the Kursk invasion to prevent Russia from firing into Ukrainian towns and villages.

The Ukrainian president also said he was replenishing an "exchange fund" of Russian prisoners which would support the return of captured Ukrainians to the country. However, he said the invasion had other goals he could not disclose.

And with Kyiv insisting it has no plans to hold captured Russian territory after the offensive, US officials are still trying to determine Ukraine's longer-term aims.

Attack in neighbouring region

At least six people were killed, and a dozen others injured, in Ukrainian attacks in the Russian region of Belgorod, which lies adjacent to Kursk, on Sunday, according to a Russian official.

Regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said Ukrainian shells hit the town of Rakitnoye overnight, causing the deaths of five people, while a later drone attack on the village of Solovyovka allegedly killed one person. 

Sky News could not independently verify the claims.

Prisoner exchange 

Ukraine and Russia exchanged 115 prisoners, including many Russian soldiers captured inside Kursk, as the country marked Ukrainian Independence Day on Saturday.

The prisoner swap was the first of its kind since Ukraine launched its offensive over the Russian border earlier this month - and the seventh since the start of the war.

The release was brokered by the United Arab Emirates, which has maintained relations with Moscow despite global condemnation of the conflict.

Russians released from Kursk were in Belarus, the Russian defence ministry said, while pictures showed a group of smiling Ukrainians as they were released at an unknown location.

-SKY NEWS