Ukraine war latest: Kyiv's military corrects record after Trump asks Putin to 'spare surrounded troops'

Aftermath of Ukrainian drone attacks in Russia

Early this morning, we reported on drone attacks in Russia, which have been a common occurrence for several months now.

Footage shows fire and damage in the aftermath of the attacks across the country.

As well as Moscow, an oil depot was targeted in the Krasnodar area.

Ukraine says Putin claims its forces are encircled in Kursk are 'false'

We reported earlier on Donald Trump repeating Vladimir Putin's claims that Ukrainian troops in the Russian region of Kursk are now surrounded by Russian forces (see 13.40 post).

Ukraine's military has now rejected such suggestions as "false".

A statement says the troops were, in fact, pulled back to "more favourable" positions and that there is no risk of them being encircled.

Ukraine's general staff said: "Reports about the enemy's alleged encirclement of Ukrainian units in the Kursk region are untrue and are being created by the Russians for political purposes and to put pressure on Ukraine and its partners.

"The situation did not change significantly over the day.

"Combat actions in the operational area of the Kursk military grouping continue."

The statement adds Ukraine's forces have "regrouped".

It continues: "Our soldiers are repelling the enemy's offensive and inflicting effective fire damage from all types of weapons.

"Since the beginning of the day, 13 combat engagements have taken place in the Kursk sector.

"There is no threat of encirclement of our units."

G7 agrees on statement warning Russia of sanctions if it doesn't agree to truce

We reported diplomats at the G7 summit in Canada had agreed on a final statement to warn Russia - it just needed sign-off from the foreign ministers at the gathering.

They've now given that document the go-ahead, warning Russia to follow Ukraine in accepting Washington's proposal for a 20-day ceasefire or face further sanctions.

In the statement, they "reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine in defending its territorial integrity and right to exist, and its freedom, sovereignty and independence".

"G7 members called for Russia to reciprocate by agreeing to a ceasefire on equal terms and implementing it fully," it added.

"They emphasised that any ceasefire must be respected and underscored the need for robust and credible security arrangements to ensure that Ukraine can deter and defend against any renewed acts of aggression."

Officials had feared they wouldn't agree on a statement, which may have showed divisions that would play into the hands of Russia and China.

Analysis: 'They have to get out now' - Trump's alarmist plea to Putin not quite right, but time is running out

Donald Trump has presented his stance on the war as being the humanitarian figure who wants to stop the killing, our security and defence analyst Michael Clarke says.

But Trump's comments in our previous post referring to "thousands" of Ukrainian troops being cut off in Kursk are not quite right given the current situation, Clarke explains.

As we've been reporting, Ukrainians are losing their foothold on the region after Russia's advances, but Clarke said troops should still be able to get away.

"Certainly the Ukrainians are withdrawing from Kursk, they had about a 35km pocket to get out of, that pocket has narrowed today," he said.

"Some Ukrainians might have been captured - most of them, I think, can probably get away."

He added "the Ukrainians can escape" - albeit without all of their equipment or in properly formed units.

'I don't think they're in that situation' of being 'caught in trap'

While Ukrainian troops are acknowledging that the centre of the Kursk incursion has gone, they want to make sure forces are not "caught in a trap" where they either have to fight to death or surrender - something Vladimir Putin warned of yesterday, Clarke also said.

"I don't think they're in that situation at the moment, but undoubtedly, as we've been saying for the last 24 hours, if they're going to get out they have to get out now," he added.

"I think they will have done that yesterday, today and tomorrow."

Trump 'strongly requests' Putin spares lives of 'surrounded' Ukrainian troops

Donald Trump has posted on Truth Social again in the last few minutes.

He starts by saying his team had "very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia" on Thursday.

But he goes on to refer to "surrounded" Ukrainian troops - probably in the Kursk region of Russia, where the Kremlin's forces have been advancing against Ukraine's forces.

Despite the US president referring to "thousands" of troops being cut off, it's unlikely this is the case, according to Sky News' security and defence analyst Michael Clarke. 

"Certainly the Ukrainians are withdrawing from Kursk, they had about a 35km pocket to get out of, that pocket has narrowed today," he said.

"Some Ukrainians might have been captured - most of them, I think, can probably get away." 

That said, we've been covering here in the last few days how Ukrainians are losing their foothold in Kursk.

Yesterday, Sudzha was retaken by Russian forces. We saw footage earlier in the week of Ukrainian troops fleeing that key town.

Trump says: "AT THIS VERY MOMENT, THOUSANDS OF UKRAINIAN TROOPS ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY THE RUSSIAN MILITARY, AND IN A VERY BAD AND VULNERABLE POSITION. 

"I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared. 

"This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II. 

"God bless them all!"

Putin made Trump's chief negotiator wait in a classic power play - and sent him home with list of demands

Steve Witkoff didn't stay long in the Russian capital.

According to footage posted of his motorcade leaving and returning to Moscow's Vnukovo airport, he was here for little more than 12 hours. 

And for most of that, it seems, he was left waiting.

Witkoff, a former property mogul who has become Donald Trump's chief negotiator, had been dispatched to Moscow to deliver the US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire to Vladimir Putin.

His visit had been scheduled near the start of the week, following the US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia. 

But after arriving around lunchtime on Thursday, he was left twiddling his thumbs for at least eight hours before being called into the Kremlin.

Vladimir Putin was apparently too busy meeting someone else - Belarusian leader Aleksander Lukashenko - for a hastily arranged state visit that had been announced the day before.

Was ally's visit a classic Putin power play?

We don't know for sure if the timing of Lukashenko's visit was deliberate, but it certainly didn't feel like a coincidence. 

Instead it felt like a classic Putin power play. 

The Kremlin leader doesn't like to be backed into a corner and told what to do, especially on his own turf.

This felt like a message to the Americans - I'm the boss, I set the schedule and I'm not beholden to anyone.

He did eventually grant Witkoff that all-important face time, once night had fallen and behind closed-doors.

We don't know how long they spoke for, nor the exact details of their discussion, but I think we can make a pretty good guess given Vladimir Putin's comments earlier in the evening.

At a press conference alongside Lukashenko, he made it abundantly clear that he’ll only sign up to a ceasefire if he gets something in return.

And it's not just one thing he wants.

By the sounds of things, he still wants everything.

His comment regarding the "root causes" of the conflict suggests all of Russia's red lines remain - no NATO membership for Ukraine, no NATO troops as peacekeepers, and for Russia to keep all the territory it has seized. 

According to Russian media outlet Radio Mayak, Putin's meetings in the Kremlin finished at 1.30am.

Around half an hour later, Witkoff was back at the airport - leaving Russia, it seems - not with Putin's agreement but with a list of demands.

It's now up to Donald Trump to decide what to do next.

Trump: I'm going to get us out of this mess

Posting on his Truth Social site, Donald Trump has again insisted he will secure peace.

"Crooked Joe Biden got us into a real 'mess' with Russia (and EVERYTHING ELSE!), but I'm going to get us out," he wrote.

"Millions of people are needlessly dead, never to be seen again…and there will be many more to follow if we don't get the Cease Fire and Final Agreement with Russia completed and signed.

"There would have been NO WAR if I were President. It just, 100%, would not have happened."

Trump goes on to add, in block capital letters, that a "rigged and crooked" election made a huge difference to the US, referring to the 2020 election he lost.

There is no evidence that election was rigged.

Diplomats say G7 statement agreed after US tension concerns

Some more now from the G7 summit in Canada, where diplomats have said they've agreed on a joint statement designed to show unity.

The statement still needs approval from the foreign ministers at the gathering before talks wrap up.

"G7 members called for Russia to reciprocate by agreeing to a ceasefire on equal terms and implementing it fully," it said.

"They emphasised that any ceasefire must be respected and underscored the need for robust and credible security arrangements to ensure that Ukraine can deter and defend against any renewed acts of aggression."

After weeks of tensions between Washington and its traditional Western allies over Ukraine, there had been concerns a united front would be a struggle at the summit.

The crafting of this statement has been difficult, with differences over the language that should be used regarding Ukraine, the Middle East and China.

Ukrainians test unmanned ground vehicle

Ukrainian soldiers tested an unmanned ground vehicle at a training ground in Zaporizhzhia.

In some of the other latest images from the battlefield, servicemen could be seen putting a machine gun together in Kharkiv.

EU renews sanctions on Russian individuals - but Hungary keeps some off list

Sanctions have been renewed on Russian individuals and entities, but Hungary has managed to remove three off the list.

Hungary, which has maintained friendly ties with Moscow, had threatened to block the renewal unless certain individuals were delisted.

Two diplomats said Budapest initially asked for nine names to be taken off - including Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman - but other envoys managed to reduce that number to three.

They are:

• Russian sports minister Mikhail Degtyarev;
• Gulbakhor Ismailova (who is the sister of prominent businessman Alisher Usmanov);
• and businessman Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor.
• A fourth, businessman Vladimir Rashevsky, was excluded because of a weak legal case rather than pressure from Budapest.

Three others were left off because they have died.

For context: EU sanctions must be renewed every six months in a unanimous vote by the 27 member states' ambassadors.

The deadline was tomorrow, so the list has now been renewed until 15 September.

There are more than 2,400 individuals and entities on the EU's Russia sanctions list.

Ukraine begins work to monitor any potential ceasefire

There's no imminent sign of a ceasefire being agreed, but Kyiv has started work to prepare for that eventuality.

Ukraine's foreign minister said a team is being formed to monitor a pause in fighting, if one comes into force.

Andrii Sybiha told journalists: "We have already begun to form a national team that will develop appropriate procedures to properly monitor a possible ceasefire."

Russia says it has seized another village in Kursk

Russia continues to claw back territory in its border region of Kursk, where Ukrainians launched a surprise invasion last summer.

While Ukraine has kept a foothold in the territory since August, Russian forces have pushed back in recent days, with Vladimir Putin visiting this week and describing the battlefield as "under control".

Today, Moscow said it has recaptured the village of Goncharovka, one of a few settlements in Ukrainian hands.

There has been no comment from Kyiv yet.

Ukraine said it controlled about 100 settlements at the peak of its shock incursion.

Today, Russia says it has retaken 28 settlements in Kursk over the past week - and one across the border in the Ukrainian Sumy region.

Putin said he has instructed his commanders to complete the task of ejecting the last Ukrainian troops as soon as possible.

Moscow denies 'absurd' report it rejected Trump's envoy

Earlier, we reported Russia does not want Keith Kellogg - Donald Trump's initial envoy for the war - involved in top-level talks (see our 7.24 post).

But now the Kremlin has denied the report - first made by our US partner network NBC News - saying it has nothing to do with Kellogg's absence.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "It would be probably absurd to think that the Russian side would meddle into internal matters of the US. 

"We don't have even a slightest intention [to do so]. And we actually say that all contacts should be based on mutual respect.

"And proceeding from a mutual respect, we of course won't meddle in the internal matters of the US.

"It's up to them who to appoint and who not. So no, I can't confirm it all."

Trump envoy met Putin and agreed leaders will speak

The Kremlin has confirmed Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin late yesterday during his visit to Moscow yesterday.

What's more - spokesman Dmitry Peskov said they agreed Putin will speak with Trump, though the timing has not yet been confirmed.

"The exact time of the conversation between the two presidents has not yet been agreed upon," he told reporters.

"But at the same time, after Mr Witkoff conveys all the information received in Moscow to the attention of his head of state, then we will determine the timing of the conversation."

He also told TASS news agency there is an "understanding" in both countries that a "conversation between the presidents is necessary".

'Cautious optimism'

Peskov also said Putin has sent a message via Witkoff to Trump about his proposed 30-day ceasefire - and that there are grounds for "cautious optimism".

He added Putin was "in overall solidarity" with Trump on Ukraine, but there is a lot of work to do.

As we reported a little while ago (see 9.19 post), Witkoff has now left Moscow.

-SKY NEWS