First Thing: Putin’s warning follows suggestions US may lift restrictions on Ukraine using long-range weapons. Plus, Bernardine Evaristo on the books of her life
Good morning.
Vladimir Putin has said that a western move to let Kyiv use long-range weapons against targets inside Russia would mean Nato would be “at war” with Moscow.
How do the US and UK see things? Blinken and the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, say Russia is escalating the war by accepting weapons from Iran. “The escalator here is Putin. Putin has escalated with the shipment of missiles from Iran. We see a new axis of Russia, Iran and North Korea,” Lammy said.
What’s the latest in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? Russian troops have recaptured a swathe of villages in the Kursk region, dealing a significant blow to Ukraine’s military incursion into Russia.
What do the UN’s aid figures say? In July, an average of 100 trucks entered each day, largely through the southern Kerem Shalom crossing. This number halved in August, while just 147 trucks have entered so far in September, although the UN added that there may be gaps in the reporting because of the dangers of staff monitoring aid entry at crossing points.
How many aid workers have been killed in Israel’s offensive? An estimated 280 humanitarian workers, most employed by Unrwa, have been killed in Gaza, according to the UN’s office of humanitarian affairs.
