On what Ukraine’s troops are focusing on, he adds: Ukrainian forces are targeting bridges, ammunition depots and rail links with increasing frequency in the southern regions of Ukraine. Including the strategically important rail thrust linking Kherson to Russian-held Crimea, almost certainly using a combination of blockade, damage, degradation, denial, destruction and disruption effects to try to affect Russia’s ability to resupply itself logistically. The Foreign Office then adds that it believes the war is about to enter a “new phase”. Russia’s war in Ukraine is set to enter a new phase, with the fiercest fighting shifting to a roughly 350km front line running southwest from near Zaporizhzhia to Kherson, alongside the Dnieper River. Updated at 08.32 BST Important events Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature Pro-Russian forces in the Russian-held cities of Ukraine’s Luhansk region are using humanitarian aid to lure residents into providing personal data to participate in a referendum on joining Russia, Sergei Gaidai, the head of Luhansk’s military administration, said in his Telegram channel. . The post suggests that campaigns and data collection are being conducted at events offered to provide support and humanitarian aid to residents of the occupied territories. “Under the guise of providing food or building materials, the occupying power and the cooperating public movement organize meetings with the population of the newly occupied territories of the region,” Gaidai said in the post. According to Gaidai, Russian forces are “luring personal data, urging people to go to the so-called referendum” while “forcing people to exchange their will for food or drinking water.” The Guardian was unable to independently verify this information. Updated 14.09 BST Here are some of the latest images from photographers on the ground in Ukraine: A damaged apartment building in Kostiantynivka. Photo: Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters The ruins of a furniture factory after a rocket attack in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Photo: Sergey Bobok/AFP/Getty ImagesA young girl between barricades in front of the National Academic Theater in Odessa. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Updated at 13.13 BST Concerns are growing over the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after it was attacked by Russian anti-aircraft missiles on August 5. At the heavily damaged plant, according to a report on the Telegram account of Energoatom, Ukraine’s state nuclear energy body, emergency protection measures have been activated and one of the three operating power units has been shut down. The post said the plant remains under the control of the Russian military, but added that “Ukrainian personnel at the station continue to work and make every effort to ensure nuclear and radioactive safety.” The plant, which is the largest in Europe and the third largest in the world, produces energy for Ukraine and has been controlled by the Russian military since March 4, when Russian troops seized Energodar, the town where the plant is located. Updated at 13.13 BST

Summary

Hello, it’s 11:15 in London and 13:15 in Kyiv. Here’s a summary of the latest developments in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia is massing troops in southern Ukraine, but the purpose of the build-up is not yet clear, British intelligence has warned. The defense ministry says Russian forces could be preparing for a new attack or simply anticipating a counterattack from Ukraine. Meta, formerly Facebook, took down a network of Instagram accounts operated by a troll farm in St. Petersburg, Russia. 45 Facebook accounts and 1,037 Instagram accounts were taken down, and the report found that about $1,400 had been spent in rubles to pay for ads on Facebook and Instagram. A European Union plan to reduce natural gas use and help Germany wean itself off its dependence on Russia will take effect early next week, the bloc’s presidency said on Friday. Last week, EU member states agreed to cut natural gas use by 15% over the winter, with exceptions for some countries and despite opposition from Hungary. A top Russian ultrasound expert has been arrested on suspicion of treason, the state-controlled Tass news agency reported on Friday. Andrei Shiplyuk heads the hypersonics laboratory at the Novosibirsk Institute of Theoretical and Applied Engineering, according to the institute’s website, and in recent years has coordinated research to support the development of hypersonic missile systems, Reuters reports. Overnight Russian shelling in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast injured three people and destroyed residential buildings, including a kindergarten and a children’s art center, Kyiv Independent reports.

Updated at 11.21 BST Meta, formerly Facebook, has taken down a network of Instagram accounts that ran a troll farm in St. Petersburg, Russia, according to its latest global threat report, the Kyiv Independent reports. The accounts, which aimed to create a perception of online support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, posted pro-Russian comments on content shared by social media and media influencers. The physical troll farm operated out of an office building in St. Petersburg, which previously had 10 days of job postings for “spammers, commentators, content analysts, designers and developers” focused on social media platforms YouTube, Telegram and TikTok. The accounts targeted politicians, journalists, actors, celebrities and brands from around the world who strongly supported Ukraine. 45 Facebook accounts and 1,037 Instagram accounts were taken down, and the report found that about $1,400 had been spent in rubles to pay for ads on Facebook and Instagram. Updated at 10.25 BST Overnight Russian shelling in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast injured three people and destroyed residential buildings, including a kindergarten and a children’s art center, Kyiv Independent reports. The attacks left many thousands of people without power or water, as gas and water pipelines and the electricity grid were breached. Updated at 09.53 BST Oksana Pokalchuk, head of Amnesty International’s office in Ukraine, resigned from her role after a report published by the human rights group accused the Ukrainian military of violating international humanitarian law. The report, which has been criticized by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as well as Western diplomats, including the British and US ambassadors to Ukraine, accused the Ukrainian military of putting civilians at risk by stationing themselves in residential areas such as empty schools or citizens. buildings, meaning Russia will target urban areas that put civilian lives at risk in the crossfire. Announcing her resignation via Facebook, Pokalchuk said she had meetings with Amnesty International to discuss what they were going to publish, but said her contribution was “deleted” and replaced with what the organization published in its report on Thursday. “Unless you’ve lived in a country that’s been invaded by invaders and you’re tearing it apart, you probably don’t understand what it’s like to condemn an ​​army of defenders. And there are no words in any language that can convey that to someone who hasn’t felt that pain,” Pokalchuk said. Since then, the report has been used by Kremlin-run Russian media as a way to prove their false claims that Russian forces are only pursuing military targets in Ukraine. Despite ongoing criticism, Amnesty International said that while it condemned the Russian invasion, the report’s findings were based on evidence gathered during extensive investigations and that it would report on Ukrainian violations when it observed them. Updated at 14:00 BST Here are some of the latest images from photographers on the ground in Ukraine: Members of the Dnipro-1 regiment carry logs to fortify their position near Sloviansk, Donetsk region. Photo: David Goldman/APYulya, 33, and Roman, 36, say goodbye to each other as Yulya departs on a train and Roman’s front row rotation begins. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesThe funeral of Ukrainian soldiers Andrii Zhovanyk and Yurii Kovalenko in Kyiv. Photo: Reuters Updated at 08.32 BST

The war “will enter a new phase,” British intelligence warns

We have more from the UK Foreign Office. On what Ukraine’s troops are focusing on, he adds: Ukrainian forces are targeting bridges, ammunition depots and rail links with increasing frequency in the southern regions of Ukraine. Including the strategically important rail thrust linking Kherson to Russian-held Crimea, almost certainly using a combination of blockade, damage, degradation, denial, destruction and disruption effects to try to affect Russia’s ability to resupply itself logistically. The Foreign Office then adds that it believes the war is about to enter a “new phase”. Russia’s war in Ukraine is set to enter a new phase, with the fiercest fighting shifting to a roughly 350km front line running southwest from near Zaporizhzhia to Kherson, alongside the Dnieper River. Updated at 08.32 BST

Russian forces are massing in the south, the UK Foreign Office says

As we just reported, the UK Ministry of Defense has revealed that there is a significant build-up of Russian forces in southern Ukraine. However, the State Department said it was unclear whether these additional forces were for a new attack on Ukrainian soil or in anticipation of a Ukrainian counter-attack. He mentioned: Large convoys of Russian military trucks, tanks, towed artillery and other weapons continue to leave Ukraine’s Donbas region and head southwest. Equipment was also transported from Russian-held Melitopol, Berdyansk, Mariupol and from mainland Russia via Kerch…