LIVE - Updated at 10:28
Turkish president echoes line take by Kremlin in saying European attitude towards Vladimir Putin has led to halting of gas supply.
Jailed Russian opposition politician and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny's chief of staff said worsening prison conditions were threatening his health.
In a post on his Twitter and Instagram accounts, Navalny wrote last week via his lawyers that he had been sent to a punishment cell for a third time in August in revenge for his political activity. The prison service did not respond to a request for comment.
Navalny's cell is reported to be two by three metres wide with a table, chair and bed which is folded from 6am to 10pm.
His chief of staff, Leonid Volkov, told Reuters:
Suddenly, three weeks ago, they started to dramatically worsen his conditions, which actually poses an enormous threat to his health, because no normal person could spend a long time in that 'special' cell. And for Alexei, who had just survived the poisoning, it is especially dangerous."
Suddenly, three weeks ago, they started to dramatically worsen his conditions, which actually poses an enormous threat to his health, because no normal person could spend a long time in that 'special' cell.
And for Alexei, who had just survived the poisoning, it is especially dangerous."
Volkov, who keeps in touch with the opposition leader through lawyers, said that Navalny is still "mentally and physically very fit".
He added:
The fact that Putin is losing (the war), and is getting less and less predictable, makes the situation more dangerous."
Navalny is serving eleven-and-a-half years in prison for parole violations, fraud and contempt of court charges, which he denies.
His Anti-Corruption Foundation is preparing to turn the upcoming local elections in Moscow into an anti-war vote.
1/15 Hi! Don't laugh, but I'm back in the SHU. They let me out Sunday night, and Monday afternoon they locked me up again, making no secret of the fact that I won't be getting out of this hole again. I finally know what I'm in jail for though! In this regard, a little statement.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed Europe's energy crisis on sanctions it imposed on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine - a line taken by the Kremlin itself.
He said European nations were "harvesting what they sowed" by imposing economic restrictions on Russia, Agence France-Presse reports.
Erdogan added:
Europe's attitude towards Mr Putin, its sanctions, brought Mr Putin - willingly or not - to the point of saying: 'If you do this, I will do that.' He is using all his means and weapons. Natural gas, unfortunately, is one of them."
Europe's attitude towards Mr Putin, its sanctions, brought Mr Putin - willingly or not - to the point of saying: 'If you do this, I will do that.'
He is using all his means and weapons. Natural gas, unfortunately, is one of them."
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday blamed Russia's halting of gas deliveries to Germany via the Nord Stream pipeline on "sanctions that were imposed against our country".
The Swiss government has agreed to offer financial help to the publicly owned electricity group Axpo, Agence France-Presse reports.
It is the latest European energy company to require state aid after Russia's war in Ukraine sent gas prices soaring.
Axpo, which requested temporary government help last week, will have access to credit line of 4bn Swiss francs ($4.1bn) to ensure liquidity amid the energy crisis.
The Federal Energy Office said:
The government responded favourably to avoid putting Switzerland's energy supply in jeopardy."
It added that Axpo was an electricity firm of "systemic importance" for the country.
Russia's economy is expected to contract by 2.9% this year before returning to growth in 2023-24, according to its economy minister Maxim Reshetnikov, as quoted by the Tass news agency.
In its base case scenario, Russia's economy ministry said it expected a 0.9% GDP contraction in 2023, up from predictions of a 2.7% decline made just last month, Reuters reports.
Reshetnikov said the economy would return to periods of growth on a quarterly basis from as early as the end of this year.
The economy ministry also forecast 2.6% growth in 2024, down from 3.7% it had predicted in August.
Reshetnikov said the economy was on course to post GDP growth in excess of 3% a year after 2024.
This new forecast is a significant improvement from the predictions made just last month when the economy ministry forecast a 4.2% contraction for 2022 and a 2.7% fall in GDP in 2023.
Reshetnikov said expectations had improved as the Russian economy continued to weather the fallout from western sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine better than expected.
Finnish state-owned energy company Fortum said it has signed a bridge financing arrangement with Finnish government investment company Solidium for ?2.35bn ($2.34bn/£2.02bn) to cover collateral needs in the Nordic power commodity market.
It comes after the Finnish government on Sunday unveiled plans to offer up to ?10bn in guarantees to the power industry after Russia's Gazprom shut the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, worsening Europe's energy shortage.
Fortum chief executive Markus Rauramo said in a statement:
The ongoing energy crisis in Europe is caused by Russia's decision to use energy as a weapon and it is now also severely affecting Fortum and other Nordic power producers."
The Finnish government said:
The arrangement is aimed at strengthening Fortum's liquidity reserves and thereby securing Finnish energy supply."
The first instalment of the one-year loan would be ?350m and it needs to be withdrawn by 30 September for the arrangement to remain effective, Fortum said.
The effective annual interest cost for the bridge financing, including arrangement and commitment fees, would be 14.2%, it added.
Russia's biggest natural gas pipeline to Europe will not resume pumping until Siemens Energy repairs faulty equipment, Gazprom's deputy chief executive Vitaly Markelov has told Reuters.
Gazprom said on Friday that the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would remain shut as a turbine at a compressor station had an engine oil leak, sending wholesale gas prices soaring.
When asked when Nord Stream 1 would start pumping gas again, Markelov said: "You should ask Siemens. They have to repair equipment first."
Siemens Energy said an engine oil leak at the last remaining turbine in operation at the Portovaya compressor station did not warrant keeping the pipeline closed.
In a written statement, Siemens Energy said:
We cannot comprehend this new representation based on the information provided to us over the weekend. Therefore, until further notice, our assessment is that the finding communicated to us does not represent a technical reason for stopping operation. Such leaks do not normally affect the operation of a turbine and can be sealed on site."
We cannot comprehend this new representation based on the information provided to us over the weekend.
Therefore, until further notice, our assessment is that the finding communicated to us does not represent a technical reason for stopping operation. Such leaks do not normally affect the operation of a turbine and can be sealed on site."
President Vladimir Putin attended large-scale military exercises on Tuesday involving China and several other Russia-friendly countries, Kremlin, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told local news agencies.
Agence France-Presse reports:
Putin was meeting with defence minister Sergei Shoigu and military chief of staff Valery Gerasimov at the Sergeevski military range and could observe the final phase of the military exercises later, Peskov was quoted as saying. The military drills, called Vostok-2022, started on 1 September and are due to take place until 7 September across several training grounds in Russia's far east and in the waters off its eastern coast. According to Moscow, more than 50,000 soldiers and more than 5,000 units of military equipment, including 140 aircraft and 60 ships, will be involved in the drills. Participating countries include several of Russia's neighbours, as well as Syria, India and key ally China. Similar drills were last held in 2018.
Putin was meeting with defence minister Sergei Shoigu and military chief of staff Valery Gerasimov at the Sergeevski military range and could observe the final phase of the military exercises later, Peskov was quoted as saying.
The military drills, called Vostok-2022, started on 1 September and are due to take place until 7 September across several training grounds in Russia's far east and in the waters off its eastern coast.
According to Moscow, more than 50,000 soldiers and more than 5,000 units of military equipment, including 140 aircraft and 60 ships, will be involved in the drills.
Participating countries include several of Russia's neighbours, as well as Syria, India and key ally China.
Similar drills were last held in 2018.
In his farewell speech from Downing Street in London this morning, outgoing prime minister Boris Johnson referenced the early delivery of weapons to Ukraine.
PA Media reports that Johnson added that the "early supplies of weapons to the heroic Ukrainian armed forces" may "very well have helped change the course of the biggest European war of 80 years".
He praised his government for getting "this economy moving again from July last year despite all the opposition".
Johnson continued:
We have and will continue to have that economic strength to give people the cash they need to get through this energy crisis that has been caused by Putin's vicious war. . And if Putin thinks that he can succeed by blackmailing or bullying the British people, then he is utterly deluded."
We have and will continue to have that economic strength to give people the cash they need to get through this energy crisis that has been caused by Putin's vicious war.
. And if Putin thinks that he can succeed by blackmailing or bullying the British people, then he is utterly deluded."
A senior Ukrainian presidential adviser has claimed Ukraine's forces are conducting counteroffensive actions in the east and south-east of the country.
Counteroffensive actions by the Armed Forces of Ukraine are taking place not only in the south of Ukraine, but also in the east and southeast," Oleksiy Arestovych said on his Telegram channel late on Monday evening. Since the beginning of the operation to liberate the south of Ukraine, our military has liberated several settlements on the western bank of the Dnieper. These are subtle movements on the map. But the beginning of counteroffensive actions on different sectors of the front on our part speaks of a change in the situation as a whole." Arestovych claimed Russian forces on the right bank of the Dnieper are in "operational encirclement", and predicted that within a month their position will be "extremely difficult".
Counteroffensive actions by the Armed Forces of Ukraine are taking place not only in the south of Ukraine, but also in the east and southeast," Oleksiy Arestovych said on his Telegram channel late on Monday evening.
Since the beginning of the operation to liberate the south of Ukraine, our military has liberated several settlements on the western bank of the Dnieper. These are subtle movements on the map. But the beginning of counteroffensive actions on different sectors of the front on our part speaks of a change in the situation as a whole."
Arestovych claimed Russian forces on the right bank of the Dnieper are in "operational encirclement", and predicted that within a month their position will be "extremely difficult".
Here are some of the latest images sent to us over the newswires from Kharkiv.
Russian energy giant Gazprom said it will ship 42.4m cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Tuesday, a figure unchanged from Monday, Reuters reports.
Further reaction from the Kremlin on its expectations of relations with Britain under the soon-to-be new prime minister, Liz Truss.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by the state TASS agency:
Judging by statements made by Madame Truss when she was still foreign minister... one can say with much certainty that no changes for the better are expected."
UK's defence secretary Ben Wallace will be going to Germany this week to discuss longer-term funding for Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence says.
Support for Ukraine ???? goes beyond the here and now.
Defence Secretary @BWallaceMP will head to Germany this week to discuss longer term international funding for Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/toEgCoIeZs
The latest from the UK's Ministry of Defence:
Ukraine's offensive operations in the Kherson region continued over the weekend. On 05 September 2022, the Odesa Journal reported 27 sorties by Russian uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) on the west bank of the Dnipro, compared to an average of 50 a day throughout August. On 21 August 2022, Ukrainian forces reported shooting down three Russian Orlan-10 tactical UAVs in a single day. In recent years, Russian doctrine has given an increasingly prominent role for UAVs, particularly to spot targets for its artillery to strike. UAVs can be vulnerable to both kinetic effects - where they are directly shot down - and to electronic jamming. In the face of combat losses, it is likely that Russia is struggling to maintain stocks of UAVs, exacerbated by component shortages resulting from international sanctions. The limited availability of reconnaissance UAVs is likely degrading commanders' tactical situational awareness and increasingly hampering Russian operations."
Ukraine's offensive operations in the Kherson region continued over the weekend. On 05 September 2022, the Odesa Journal reported 27 sorties by Russian uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) on the west bank of the Dnipro, compared to an average of 50 a day throughout August.
On 21 August 2022, Ukrainian forces reported shooting down three Russian Orlan-10 tactical UAVs in a single day.
In recent years, Russian doctrine has given an increasingly prominent role for UAVs, particularly to spot targets for its artillery to strike. UAVs can be vulnerable to both kinetic effects - where they are directly shot down - and to electronic jamming.
In the face of combat losses, it is likely that Russia is struggling to maintain stocks of UAVs, exacerbated by component shortages resulting from international sanctions.
The limited availability of reconnaissance UAVs is likely degrading commanders' tactical situational awareness and increasingly hampering Russian operations."
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 6 September 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/wrTBURFCJR
???? #StandWithUkraine ???? pic.twitter.com/gpVzBLzH7j
Gazprom has introduced some confusion around the reasons for the closure of the Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline.
Yesterday, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesperson, told journalists that sanctions "introduced against our country by western countries including Germany and the UK" were to blame for Russia's failure to deliver gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
"Other reasons that would cause problems with the pumping don't exist," Peskov was cited by the Interfax news agency as saying.
But Reuters reported on Tuesday that Gazprom's deputy chief executive officer, Vitaly Markelov, went back to the original reason for the closure - maintenance problems - when he said it would not open until Siemens Energy repaired faulty equipment.
"You should ask Siemens. They have to repair equipment first," Markelov said on the sidelines of Eastern Economic Forum in Russian Pacific port of Vladivostok, when asked about when the pipeline could start pumping gas again.
The Russian defence ministry is in the process of buying millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea to support its invasion of Ukraine, according to a newly downgraded US intelligence finding.
A US official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said on Monday that the fact Russia was turning to North Korea demonstrated that "the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions".
US intelligence officials believe that the Russians could look to purchase additional North Korean military equipment in the future. The intelligence finding was first reported by the New York Times.
The finding comes after the Biden administration recently confirmed that the Russian military in August took delivery of Iranian-manufactured drones for use on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Related: Russia buying millions of rockets and shells from North Korea, US intelligence says
US president Joe Biden has said Russia should not be designated a state sponsor of terrorism, a label Ukraine has pushed for amid Russia's ongoing invasion while Moscow has warned it would rupture US-Russian ties.
Asked if Russia should be designated a state sponsor of terrorism, Biden told reporters at the White House on Monday: "No."
Some US lawmakers have also pressed for the designation.
An expert mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is set to release their findings from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in a detailed report later on Tuesday.
Four of the six UN mission members at the plant have left the site and the remaining two IAEA experts will stay on a permanent basis, the UN nuclear watchdog said.
A statement released on Monday read:
Director General Grossi will on Tuesday issue a report about the nuclear safety, security and safeguards situation in Ukraine - including the findings from the mission to the ZNPP - and later the same day brief the United Nations Security Council about the mission to the plant."
Zaporizhzhia city administrative head, Oleksandr Starukh, said via his Telegram channel on Monday:
Today, the IAEA mission left the Zaporizhzhya NPP, so we are currently waiting not only for a report on the current situation, but for clear decisions. The nuclear power plant and the area around it must be demilitarised as soon as possible."
Ukraine's president President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reiterated that the conclusions of the mission should be presented on Tuesday, adding: "I hope they will be objective."
The backup power line at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine has been disconnected to extinguish a fire, officials said on Monday.
Due to a fire caused by shelling, the [backup] line was disconnected, that is the last line linking the ZNPP/ZTPP hub to the power system of Ukraine," Ukrainian operator Energoatom said. As a result, the plant's sixth and last functioning reactor was disconnected from the grid.
However the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the line itself was not damaged. "The ZNPP continues to receive the electricity it needs for safety from its sole operating reactor," it said.
The back-up line "will be re-connected once the fire has been extinguished", the UN nuclear watchdog added.
Hello and welcome back to the Guardian's live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
I'm Samantha Lock and I will be bringing you all the latest developments for the next short while. Whether you've been following our coverage overnight or you've just dropped in, here are the latest lines.
An expert mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is set to release their findings from the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in a detailed report later today.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has said Russia should not be designated a state sponsor of terrorism, a label Ukraine has pushed for amid Russia's ongoing invasion while Moscow has warned it would rupture US-Russian ties.
It is 7.30am in Kyiv. Here is where things stand:
Ukraine's southern offensive has prompted Kherson separatists to "pause" a planned referendum on whether to become part of Russia. Russian state news agency Tass reported that the head of Kherson's Russian-appointed authorities, Kirill Stremousov, said plans for a referendum on joining Russia had been "paused" because of the security situation.
Ukraine has repelled Russian offensives in the east as well as hindering Russian positions near Kramatorsk, a key town in eastern Donetsk region, its armed forces claimed. In a situational update, it also claimed that Ukrainian troops had successes in disrupting Russian crossings near Kherson and in using long-range artillery in Kharkiv. In a rare acknowledgment of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, Russia said it pushed back assaults in Kherson.
The backup power line at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine has been disconnected to extinguish a fire, officials said on Monday. "Due to a fire caused by shelling, the [backup] line was disconnected, that is the last line linking the ZNPP/ZTPP hub to the power system of Ukraine." As a result, the plant's sixth and last functioning reactor was disconnected from the grid, Ukrainian operator Energoatom said. However the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the line itself was not damaged. "The ZNPP continues to receive the electricity it needs for safety from its sole operating reactor," it said. The back-up line "will be re-connected once the fire has been extinguished", the UN nuclear watchdog added.
Four of the six UN mission members at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant have left the site, Energoatom, Ukraine's state enterprise operating all four nuclear power stations in the country, has said. The remaining two IAEA experts will stay on a permanent basis, it said. The agency is drawing up a report to be released this week.
Liz Truss's imminent arrival as British prime minister has been greeted with scorn from the Kremlin and praise in Ukraine. "I wouldn't like to say that things can change for the worse, because it's hard to imagine anything worse," Vladimir Putin's chief spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said when asked if Moscow expected any shift in relations with Britain. "But unfortunately, this cannot be ruled out." Ukrainian politicians offered an exuberant welcome. "In Liz, we Truss" tweeted Ukrainian deputy Rustem Umerov. "Mrs Truss is a solid supporter of Ukraine. Hope for a fruitful ongoing partnership between the UK and Ukraine." President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was "looking forward to the start of cooperation" with Truss.
Ukraine has sought political backing in Brussels for the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Russian military and political leaders for their role in the war. Several Ukrainian leaders attending a conference on war crimes accountability in the European capital on Monday argued for a court dedicated to prosecuting high-level Russian perpetrators, in addition to the International Criminal Court.
Russia will not resume in full its gas supplies to Europe until the west lifts its sanctions against Moscow, the Kremlin said, as gas prices surged on Monday and the pound and euro slumped. Speaking to journalists on Monday, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesperson, blamed sanctions for Russia's failure to deliver gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. "It is these sanctions imposed by the western states that have brought the situation to what we see now."
A Russian court has sentenced journalist Ivan Safronov to 22 years in prison on trumped-up treason charges, a record sentence that has shocked those who gathered to protest against his imprisonment. Safronov, a former defence reporter for the Kommersant and Vedomosti dailies, was tried on secret evidence.
A court in Moscow also stripped the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta of its print media licence, effectively banning the newspaper from operating inside Russia. Editor-in-chief, Dmitry Muratov, said the ruling was "a political hit job, without the slightest legal basis". He said the paper would appeal.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, approved a new foreign policy doctrine based around the concept of a "Russian World", a notion that conservative ideologues have used to justify intervention abroad in support of Russian-speakers. The 31-page "humanitarian policy", published on Monday, says Russia should "protect, safeguard and advance the traditions and ideals of the Russian World".