ukraine says its troops have pushed even further into russia in one of the most surprising developments of the war and captured over 100 russian servicemen today. it is the biggest foreign incursion into russia since the second world war. we will be live in sumy where ukraine launched its offensive, dive into how ukraine's strategy has worked so far, and what it could be planning next. and we will also take a closer look at how russian state media is covering the situation. also tonight, could ceasefire talks in doha be fruitful? the us is pushing for both sides to come to an agreement. israel has said it will send a delegation, but hamas has declined.

ukraine says its troops have pushed even further into russia and captured more than 100 russian servicemen, in what has become the biggest foreign incursion into the country since the second world war. ukraine's offensive began just over a week ago. president zelensky insists it is a temporary move aimed at easing pressure in the conflict with russia. as for president putin, it's still not clear what his reponse will be. with the latest, here's our ukraine correspondent, james waterhouse. no border checkpoint on this crossing to russia, just a burnt—out russian tank. a different assignment for ukrainian war reporter natalya nahorna. "this is a historical moment," she tells the camera in the city of sudzha. such a claim might be premature, but ukraine is talking up this land grab while it can. it's providing humanitarian aid and organising evacuations.

there are even plans to set up military offices. but on the battlefield, success always comes at a cost, as this injured soldier attests. translation: fear, adrenaline, you realise when you enter- their territory, how much we have suffered, how much our women and children have suffered, that now it's their turn. the head of ukraine's armed forces is having even more regular meetings with the president. translation: since the beginning of today, troops have advanced - around 1—2km in some directions. after the body blow of losing territory, russia is now moving resources to try and take it back. as fighter bombers drop glide bombs on ukrainian forces on its own soil, kyiv today claimed to have shot one of them down. the su34s are thought to be £30 million each. kyiv is trying to change the politics of this war by shaking

up the fighting itself. it's certainly done the latter. james waterhouse, bbc news, sumy region. let's speak to dan sabbagh, who is defence editor at the guardian and is currently in the north east of ukraine close to the border area with russia and where the ukrainian offensive was launched from. clearly it took the russian forces by surprise, this incursion from i just wonder where you are when you got the sense that something was developing. this got the sense that something was develoina. , . , ., got the sense that something was develo-ain. ,., ,., , developing. this all started tuesday of last week- _ developing. this all started tuesday of last week. they _ developing. this all started tuesday of last week. they surged _ developing. this all started tuesday of last week. they surged across . developing. this all started tuesday| of last week. they surged across the border, they didn't quite give us a time, but in any event, they lightly defended part of the international border where the war hadn't really been for a couple of years. there had been cross—border shelling, but

not serious fighting. it took the russians by surprise. no serious defences or anything like it. it was not something that was sort of picked up immediately, but by the end of that day, you were hearing, and actually one of the best sources of the news in the first week of the war, the russian community, the semi—independent military bloggers, they publish on the telegram social network, which is popular in russia and also ukraine. and they are often come although they are sort of pro—russian pro—war, pro—kremlin, they are also quite... they are also good and fairly reliable independent sources of information and they are reporting of ukrainians had seized a village to hear, a village there, and you quite quickly realise there's something to this. we published our first report late on tuesday. within a couple of days, you could see this is more than just a raid that ukraine had gone in. it was five km on the first day, and then ten and there was a sort of, you know, battle taking place

something like 30 km when the ukrainians blew up a russian convoy early in the war, dismantling those russian convoys near kyiv. but it seems from the early days the war being repeated this time on russian territory. it was clear that it was more than a raid within a couple of days. it's only in the last day or two, as your reportjust indicated that ukraine itself has been talking about acknowledging it and presidents landscaping referred to and even talking about some kind of medium—term deployment or longer—term deployments, humanitarian deployment and so forth in the occupied region.— in the occupied region. you've obviously _ in the occupied region. you've obviously been _ in the occupied region. you've obviously been speaking - in the occupied region. you've obviously been speaking to i in the occupied region. you'vel obviously been speaking to the people there amongst ukrainian service people come amongst the general population, how has this changed the attitudes, the mindsets of people that you have been speaking to? fin of people that you have been speaking to?— of people that you have been s-ueakin to? . ., , speaking to? on the civilian side, because one _

speaking to? on the civilian side, because one of _ speaking to? on the civilian side, because one of these _ speaking to? on the civilian side, because one of these happen - because one of these happen immediately, the administration says it wasn't more than advanced, and since, as soon as the incursion started, the russians retaliated and there was an immediate evacuation order living between 5—10 k in that area, people living within that had already been subject to an evacuation order, so they want to evacuate about 7000 people. it's a lightly populated area, agricultural villages here. so i went and saw some to place —— displaced people, 45 minutes to an hour �*s drive to the border. met some displaced people there. and what was surprising was that in most cases, not all but in most cases these are people who are facing the reality of being forced from their homes and maybe never going back to their homes come although who knows what will happen. but they were very strongly supportive of the incursion, thought it was absolutely the right thing to do, in effect saying ukraine had to do something

that attack was the best form of defence. within ukraine amongst the civilian population, it's gone down very well. on the military side, things are a bit more closed. there's much greater operational �*s secrecy, it's much more restrained than in other conflicts. we have other phases of the conflict. we have seen flag raisings over huge villages, videos of ukrainian flags being raised in villages but not too many. however, again, ithink here in this part of the country, the military are very happy and very excited with what's going on. the final question is i think what else is going on elsewhere in this war? and here it's a bit more complicated because russia has been really gaining ground in the east perhaps about a mile a week or something like this, remorseless advance that has been gaining pace over the last six weeks. so one of ukraine �*s

strategies will hopefully to try to divert some of those russian forces away, but on the other hand, some of those soldiers in that part of the world would ideally like some of the elite forces, some of the special forces that have gone over into ukraine over the last few days. defence editor of the guardian, really good to talk to you. thanks for your time. let's speak to dr patrick bury, former nato analyst, and a defence expert at the university of bath. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. just want to pick up on what was being said at the end, in terms of why a strategically, militarily, ukraine may have done this, and he was suggesting it was about taking the troops away from donbas are taking russian troops away from that region. do you agree with that valve is one of the strategic military aims of this is yellow good evening. it's definitely one. i think if you rewind a little bit this operation

to be successful would've had to have been carefully planned and that takes time. i think in fact one of the biggest indicators i've seen is watch president zaleski said last night that he welcomed the taking of 70 villages, as he added to the states and the exchange fund and i think that might have been the overarching strategic objective, to try to get some russian territory, maybe ideally the best course of action, the power plant which they got to within about 30 km of. and hope to exchange them. either in negotiations if they were to be forced on ukraine under a trump presidency or even a quick like like trade with the nuclear power plant which is held by the russians. there are possibilities. of course of the operational level, trying to draw off the pressure from the ukrainians, but also as mentioned as well, give a morale boost to the ukrainian army which has been under

a hell of a lot of pressure and also the people at home, the domestic audience. it is also the fact of getting onto russian territory is not a good look for president putin at all. it is a difficult one pr wise when he's presented himself as mr security. and i think the idea, the shaking up russia politically and undermine putin in the medium and undermine putin in the medium and short term is another objective from this. what do you make of the fact that we have seen western military hardware was part of this incursion, we've got some german, some us military hardware. and in the past, western forces have been squeamish about their equipment being used on russian soil, but it doesn't seem to have been any criticism this time around. in fact i wasjust criticism this time around. in fact i was just looking at a quote from the latvia foreign minister defending the you saying that ukraine self—defense covers the right to counterattack. ukraine self-defense covers the right to counterattack. absolutely.

the outcome _ right to counterattack. absolutely. the outcome of _ right to counterattack. absolutely. the outcome of this _ right to counterattack. absolutely. the outcome of this is _ right to counterattack. absolutely. the outcome of this is still- the outcome of this is still uncertain. we don't know how much is going to end, so we don't know what the lessons will be but there are a couple which i or going to hold no matter what happens. that the western kit has been used inside russia, german tanks, american stryker vehicles and the bradleys, which are an important piece of kit as well. being good to —— used to good effect. the whole western air defences which have put a bubble over these mechanized forces and made it more difficult for the russians to counterattack them. yeah, i think that is one of the big lessons. look, we can use this case, it works well. we can use it well with the 2023 offensive, they were going against really well—prepared defence of lines and it was difficult to break and use this kit, they proven that it works and they can use it well. and guess what, even when we do inside russian territory, there is not that much of an escalation. and there that raises

questions that are essentially about what about those attack missiles we've been looking for? what about using f—i6s? we are using our own ukrainianjets to you using f—i6s? we are using our own ukrainian jets to you divide support, it starts to open up those questions i think that's really important. the other one of course it shows is even if this... not that the ukrainians can regenerate this force out of nowhere, but of the parts of the border where there is no front line are fair game and could well be under threat. indie no front line are fair game and could well be under threat. we have to leave it there, _ could well be under threat. we have to leave it there, but _ could well be under threat. we have to leave it there, but good - could well be under threat. we have to leave it there, but good to - could well be under threat. we have to leave it there, but good to talk i to leave it there, but good to talk to leave it there, but good to talk to you. thank you. as we have been discussing — it seems that ukraine's offensive has caught moscow off guard. and if you were to look through the adverts on some of the russian job websites, you might get a similar impression. this is one of a number ofjob adverts for work in the kursk region preparing shelters, digging trenches and anti—tank barriers for a second line of defense. it pays $5,000 usd a month — but claims the work

is "not dangerous". "let's stand up to for the glory of our motherland!" it reads. meanwhile hosts and guests on russian state tv have continued to play down the ukrainian gains. translation: russian soldiers have again prevented ukrainian army - groups from breaking through deep into the kursk region. translation: the situation in the l region continues to be difficult. l but it's already clear that the enemy is beginning to run out of steam. the most that it is now doing is actively using drones. 0ur units are actively eliminating the enemy that has entered the region and gradually it will move backwards. the ukrainians haven't succeeded with their main objective, despite the ukrainian armed forces attack on the region. russia continues to advance in donbas. the morale of ukrainian soldiers continues to fall.

with me is francis scarr — he watches russian state tv as part of our bbc monitoring team. are you surprised by how much people are being told? image is so important for mr putin — and this isnt a good look thank you forjoining us here. that is the question. what are russian audiences hearing about what is going on in the region? the state media in russia _ going on in the region? the state media in russia is _ going on in the region? the state media in russia is obviously - going on in the region? the state media in russia is obviously very| media in russia is obviously very tightly controlled by the state. the tv channels, some of which we been watching have taken the lead from president putin who has been keen to downplay the significance of this whole situation. but using words like situation or circumstances. earlier today the defence ministry reads its daily statement which suggested they had a hold on the situation. 0n suggested they had a hold on the situation. on tv channels they spoke of ukrainian forces running out of steam and said that russian troops were actively eliminating them. i think they are keen to try to create

this image of a country really coming together in unity against this invading force. there have been reports of thousands of people coming together and providing aid and assistance to those who have to leave their homes. 0ther and assistance to those who have to leave their homes. other reports, more independent reporting on the ground suggest that some people thought they had almost been abandoned by the state and no real evacuation had been organised for them. they'd been simply left to their own devices. find them. they'd been simply left to their own devices.— them. they'd been simply left to their own devices. and image for someone like — their own devices. and image for someone like veteran _ their own devices. and image for someone like veteran putin - their own devices. and image for someone like veteran putin is . their own devices. and image for someone like veteran putin is so| someone like veteran putin is so important, isn't it? is used to being seen as the protector of mother russia. there is no getting away from the fact that it is having to be explained on state media that there have been foreign troops on their soilfor the first time there have been foreign troops on their soil for the first time since their soil for the first time since the second world war. that must have created some sort of scepticism amongst the audience. it’s created some sort of scepticism amongst the audience.— created some sort of scepticism amongst the audience. it's a massive blow to president _ amongst the audience. it's a massive blow to president putin's _ amongst the audience. it's a massive blow to president putin's image, - blow to president putin's image, when he started this securing russia

safety is what he described as a an aggressive west which is propping up the so—called regime and keyboard —— kyiv. it's really hard to see what russians are thinking when there is very little independent media, if any left inside the country. but i think, of course, people have been forced to recognise that this is a serious turn of events, and regardless of how it concludes, it is something that russian state media cannot span in a positive way in any kind of way, shape orform. we are watching pictures broadcast on state media couple days ago of this emergency meeting. i have heard others say that frederick putin... i was wondering how it's being interpreted, how it's being viewed.

indeed it interrupted the actor right —— acting governor who began speaking about the military situation and of course the figure this is not your people come this is not your business, this is the business of the defence ministry. they have televised and wanted to demonstrate the situation and it wasn't out of control and that this wasn't out of control and that this was in the grand scheme of his so—called military operation, but i think, as you pointed out, he is a man who is angry and annoyed by what has just happened. we man who is angry and annoyed by what hasiust happened-— hasjust happened. we will leave it there. we will _ hasjust happened. we will leave it there. we will keep watching - there. we will keep watching russian state media and let us know what is being said. thank you. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

you are watching the context on bbc

news. the us is stepping up pressure on israel and hamas to reach a ceasefire in gaza. there are hopes a new round of discussions in qatar tomorrow could help move the needle. israel has confirmed that it will send a delegation, and the director of the cia, william burns will also be there. but hamas will not. a senior hamas official has told the bbc that the group wanted a road map for implementing the agreement and would "not engage in negotiations for the sake of negotiations in order to provide cover for israel to continue its war", the official said. he also reiterated that the road map should be based on the proposed deal outlined by us presidentjoe biden at the end of may and accused israel of adding "new conditions". though it's reported that hamas negotiators will be briefed about the meeting after the talks in qatar. it comes amid the ongoing concern about the conflict spiralling into a wider regional conflict. the us secretary of state antony blinken was set to travel to the region on tuesday...but that

visit was cancelled. however us special envoy amos hochstein has been visiting lebanon. after meeting the lebanese speaker of the parliament, he said a ceasefire deal must be agreed now. there's no more time to waste, and there is no more valid excuses from any party for any further delay. "no more time to waste and no more excuses from any party", and with those worries about an imminent attack by iran, the stakes couldn't be higher. let's speak to dr menahem merhavy, fellow at the harry s truman institute for the advancement of peace at the hebrew university ofjerusalem. thank you forjoining us here in the context. it is two weeks since ishmael, the political leader of

hamas, was killed on a rainy and soil with iran blaming israel. can you explain what the thinking is in tehran at the moment? i you explain what the thinking is in tehran at the moment?— you explain what the thinking is in tehran at the moment? i think iran is in a great — tehran at the moment? i think iran is in a great dilemma _ tehran at the moment? i think iran is in a great dilemma now, a - tehran at the moment? i think iran is in a great dilemma now, a great| is in a great dilemma now, a great constraint. 0n the one hand it needs to save its honour, in a way and to show its proxies and its own population that it is not as vulnerable as it seems when he was taken out, when other commanders of hezbollah were taken out. so that's on the one hand. it's a very important in the iranian position to retaliate. iran doesn't want to be dragged into a war, regional war that will test its limits, and i think it's also is concerned about an american israeli retaliation that will turn into an all—out attack against its own nuclear facilities.

all—out attack against its own nuclearfacilities. so all-out attack against its own nuclear facilities.— nuclear facilities. so back in aril, nuclear facilities. so back in april. we — nuclear facilities. so back in april, we saw— nuclear facilities. so back in april, we saw the _ nuclear facilities. so back in april, we saw the drone - nuclear facilities. so back in - april, we saw the drone attack, did me, that was from iran, huge drone and missile attack that actually caused relatively little damage, no one was killed. is that the kind of response you would expect? weill. one was killed. is that the kind of response you would expect? well, i ran even opened _ response you would expect? well, i ran even opened another— response you would expect? well, i ran even opened another option. i response you would expect? well, i l ran even opened another option. yes, regionally, this is how i would imagine, in recent days, they have kind of leaked another kind of response, which is not military in the narrow sense of the word, and vectors to see a cease—fire between israel and hamas as an iranian achievement, and that way to actually gain its pride back without actually gain its pride back without actually shooting and without being vulnerable to attacks by israel in the united states.— vulnerable to attacks by israel in the united states. what do you think the united states. what do you think the chances of _ the united states. what do you think the chances of those _ the united states. what do you think the chances of those cease-fire - the chances of those cease—fire talks bearing any fruit are? they are set to begin hopefully tomorrow.

the us secretary of state was due to tone but hasn't now. namaste they will not attend. what are the chances of success? it’s will not attend. what are the chances of success?— will not attend. what are the chances of success? it's a great test to take. — chances of success? it's a great test to take, i _ chances of success? it's a great test to take, i would _ chances of success? it's a great test to take, i would say, - chances of success? it's a great test to take, i would say, but . chances of success? it's a great| test to take, i would say, but so far things don't look great, to say the least. hamas has not even sent a delegation, which means it's either trying to play a hand here or actually it's really doesn't see it as feasible. i, you know, ifi as feasible. i, you know, if i could kind of guess here it's that hamas will eventually send a mission to cairo and try to get a deal. and that way to defuse the whole situation because both hamas, hezbollah and iran think they want a letter —— a ladder to climb down with. letter -- a ladder to climb down with. ., ~' , letter -- a ladder to climb down with. ., ~ , ., ., with. you think they want to de-escalation. _ with. you think they want to de-escalation. clearly - with. you think they want to de-escalation. clearly lots l with. you think they want to | de-escalation. clearly lots of de—escalation. clearly lots of people worried about in alaska —— escalation, but your assessment does actually come as far as i ran is

concerned, de—escalation is the preferred option. concerned, de-escalation is the preferred option.— concerned, de-escalation is the preferred option. yes, i think for sure. preferred option. yes, i think for sure- from _ preferred option. yes, i think for sure. from the _ preferred option. yes, i think for sure. from the iranian _ preferred option. yes, i think for i sure. from the iranian perspective, this is very much the case, and not less so for hezbollah. it is a different situation because hamas is fighting for its life and hamas is really with its back to the wall, but he also has to justify everything that has happened in the last ten months to the people of gaza, so hamas is in a different situation, but both lebanon and iran come i think the leaders want to see a de—escalation as quickly as possible because in both countries, and different ways, the situation is really getting out of hand. the stakes are _ really getting out of hand. the stakes are certainly high. those talks do to begin tomorrow. we expect in qatar. thank you for joining us. fellow at the harry s truman to institute for the advancement of peace at the hebrew university ofjerusalem. thank you.

now, just after our little break, we are going to be finding out a little more about those two astronauts that went into space for eight days and might be there for eight months. do stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. temperatures have come down somewhat, particularly across the south, to what we had at the start of the week. but it's by no means going to be cold for the next few days, but it will be a bit more unsettled as this area of low pressure starts to work its way in as we head through tonight across scotland, northern ireland and then eventually the clouds thicken for northern and western england and also wales, with an increasing breeze. further south, it will be mostly dry with clear skies, variable cloud, and where we have any cloud cover then around 15 degrees the overnight low, but it will be milder further north than what we had the previous night, so a mild night across the board. thursday, then, we have this weather front crossing the country very slowly. some of the rain will be quite heavy

to start thursday across scotland, northern ireland into northwest england, north west wales. very slowly, it will work its way southwards and eastwards. behind it brightens up with blustery showers and some sunshine. ahead of it, it will be rather breezy, fairly cloudy, a little bit of brightness and still quite warm and muggy, 24—26 degrees here, but fresher the further north and west that you are. as we head through thursday night, that weather front does weaken, but it will slip its way southwards and eastwards. the odd heavier burst on it as it pushes off into the near continent. still a hang back of some warm and muggy air for the south east to start friday. 0therwise, further north it is much cooler and fresher. friday, then, doesn't look too bad. a lot of sunshine around. fresher air will have arrived across the southeast, too. will stay quite blustery across scotland, northern ireland — variable cloud, one or two showers, but some sunny spells as well. high teens in the north, 2a—25 degrees across the southeast. so not a bad day on friday, and indeed the weekend is looking pretty good as well. we're in between weather systems,

so a lot of dry and sunny weather thanks to a ridge of high pressure which will push in from the southwest. so light winds for many, just the chance of stronger breeze and the odd shower across the north and west of scotland. that's both on saturday and sunday, but a decent day on saturday. more sunshine the further south that you are, with lighter winds, bit of cloud in the northwest, the odd shower, more of a breeze. top temperatures 20—25 celsius, so pretty much where we should be for the time of year. we do it all again on sunday. another fine looking day to come with more sunshine further south with lighter winds. chance of a few more showers for the north and west of scotland, but most places even the north, will stay dry. those temperatures again, 20—21 in the north to 2a—25 degrees in the south.

hello, i'm sarah campbell. you're watching the context on bbc news. the world health organization says the outbreak of mpox in the democratic republic of the congo is a global health emergency, amid record levels of the infection. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's 0lly foster. sarah, many thanks indeed. kylian mbappe is making his debut for real madrid tonight. as champions league winners, they are in warsaw playing

in the uefa super cup against the europa league winners atalanta. against the europa league he has started up front flanked by viniciusjunior and rodrygo withjude bellingham sitting in behind them. just over half an hour gone its 0—0, real are looking for record sixth super cup win, they are currently level with barcelona on 5. manchester city's 0scar bobb has fractured a bone in his leg during training. the 21—year—old norwegian midfielder started for city in the community shield on saturday and was expected to play a part in their opening league game against chelsea on sunday. he is waiting to find out the full extent of the injury. bruno fernandes has signed a contract extension at manchester united. his current deal ran for another two seasons but he has signed a deal taking him through to 2027, with the option for a further

year on top of that.