Moscow claims an advance in Kharkiv region; Ukraine says it foiled plot against Zelenskiy

Kyiv says 70 drones, cruise and hypersonic missile were used in attacks by Russia

• At a glance: what we know on day 529 of the invasion

Japan’s prime minister has hit out at Russian threats to use nuclear weapons as the country marked the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima today.

Around 140,000 people died in Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 and 74,000 in Nagasaki three days later, when the US dropped atomic bombs on the two Japanese cities days before the end of World War II.

Japan, as the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings in war, will continue efforts towards a nuclear-free world. The path towards it is becoming increasingly difficult because of deepening divisions in the international community over nuclear disarmament and Russia’s nuclear threat.

Given this situation, it is all the more important to bring back international momentum towards realisation of a nuclear-free world. Devastation brought to Hiroshima and Nagasaki by nuclear weapons can never be repeated.

There is a real risk that the government’s general licence – or ‘free pass’ – for the legal sector encourages UK lawyers to adopt a ‘business as usual’ approach and keep profiting from working for clients sanctioned in relation to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Multi-wave overnight attack said to be in retaliation for successful strikes against Russian naval vessels

• Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates

A multi-wave overnight assault on Ukraine said to be in retaliation for successful strikes against Russian naval vessels killed four people and destroyed a blood transfusion centre even as the country’s air defences shot down 30 out of the 40 cruise missiles and tens of Shahed drones.

Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the regional military administration in the eastern Kharkiv oblast, said that along with two fatalities in his region, four people had been injured, while Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned a “guided air bomb” strike against a medical facility as a war crime of “beasts”.

Zelenskiy condemns attack on blood transfusion centre as ‘war crime’; Moscow vows retaliation over strike on Russian tanker in Kerch Strait

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The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, says Russia has attacked a blood transfusion centre in the country as he condemned the fatal strike as a “war crime”. A separate attack struck a key factory, both incidents coming just hours after Kyiv hit a Russian tanker in the Kerch Strait. Russian forces struck the blood transfusion centre in the Kharkiv region of north-east Ukraine, Zelenskiy said, adding that “dead and wounded are reported”. A “guided air bomb” hit the centre in Kupiansk, a city a few dozen kilometres from the Russian border, he said.

Ukraine carried out a drone strike on a Russian tanker in the Kerch Strait, a day after one of Moscow’s warships was hit in the Black Sea. A video released by Ukrainian authorities appeared to show an unmanned sea drone striking the side of the 141-metre Russian-flagged Sig under the darkness of night. The strike was the second such naval attack in a 24-hour period, after the scuppering of a Russian landing ship on Friday outside the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said Moscow would retaliate.

Russia says it has captured the settlement of Novoselivske in north-eastern Ukraine, where Kyiv has reported increased attacks. Footage from the Russian army showed Novoselivske completely destroyed, with white smoke billowing over crumbling buildings. Ukrainian army spokesperson Ganna Malyar said Russian troops were aiming to draw Ukrainian resources to the east, as Ukraine pursues its counter-offensive in the south.

There were reports of explosions in several cities including Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia with air alerts. Ukraine said Russia fired ballistic and Kinzhal missiles into cities with some reports indicating Russian forces were firing missiles from inside Belarusian territory. Zelenskiy’s spokesperson Iuliia Mendel tweeted: “Right now the missile attack is at Kyiv, Vinnutsia, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy regions. But the alert is all over Ukraine.”

Zelenskiy has promised a fresh round of institutional “cleaning”, a reference to his campaign to show western partners that Kyiv has moved on from a history of deep-rooted corruption. “Next week will be a continuation of our work on cleaning state institutions of those who tried to drag from the past all those old habits, old schemes that weakened Ukraine for a very long time, for decades,” he said. Zelenskiy gave no details about who might be a target.

Talks have started in Saudi Arabia to find a peaceful settlement to Russia’s war in Ukraine. It is hoped this weekend’s meeting of national security advisers and other senior officials from about 40 countries – but not Russia – will reach agreement on principles of how to end the conflict. Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office and his main envoy for the talks in Jeddah, said: “I expect that the conversation will be difficult, but behind us is truth, behind us goodness.”

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• Russia-Ukraine war at a glance

More on Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visiting troops in Ukraine, via AFP:

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has visited a combat zone in Ukraine to inspect a command post and meet senior military officers, the army said Friday.

Belarusian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, is close ally of Vladimir Putin and EU says regime is ‘accomplice in Russia’s unprovoked war’

• Russia-Ukraine war at a glance

Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, citing the country’s air force, reports: “At night, air defence forces shot down all 15 ‘Shahed’ drones, which the Russian Federation released over Ukraine.”

Serhiy Kruk, the head of Ukraine’s state emergency service, has posted to social media images of bloodied and injured emergency workers and damaged emergency equipment in Kherson as a result of what Ukraine claims has been a “double tap” attack near a church.

Kyiv defended itself against eighth consecutive nightly drone attack; Ukrainians in Russian-occupied territory being forced to assume Russian citizenship, study finds

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Ukrainians in occupied territories who refuse Russian passports face threats, intimidation and possible detention or deportation, Yale study says

Ukrainians living in Russian-occupied territory are being forced to assume Russian citizenship or face retaliation, including possible deportation or detention, a new US report has said.

Yale University researchers found that residents of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions were being targeted by a systematic effort to strip them of Ukrainian identity.

Tis live blog has now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage here

Reuters has a quick snap that a Russian drone strike caused “serious” damage at Ukraine’s Danube port of Izmail.

Ukraine’s emergency services have issued some photographs showing overnight damage to buildings in Kyiv region.