Russia-Ukraine war: Ukraine offensive moving towards Mariupol, minister says – as it happened

The centre of the fighting in Ukraine has switched to the road to Mariupol where the Ukrainian offensive is slowly pushing back Russian forces, with British Challenger tanks ready to join battle, a minister in Kyiv has said.

Vladimir Putin confirmed that Russia has deployed its first tranche of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. He said nuclear weapons would only be used in the event of a threat to the existence of the Russian state. Speaking at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, the Russian president also said there was a “serious danger” that the Nato military alliance could be pulled further into the Ukraine war. But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying Russia was ready for further talks on arms control.

A delegation of African leaders began a peace mission in Kyiv on Friday, undeterred by what Ukraine said was a barrage of Russian missiles intended to greet them in the Ukrainian capital. Volodymyr Zelenskiy reportedly said after meeting African leaders that peace talks with Russia would be possible only after Moscow withdraws its forces from occupied Ukrainian territory.

The Ukrainian air force said on Friday it destroyed six Kinzhals, six Kalibr cruise missiles and two reconnaissance drones, with the chief of the Kyiv military administration stating they were all intercepted over the Kyiv region. Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said there was no damage in the capital and reported an explosion from air defence in the central Podil district.