British tanks used in Kursk as Putin’s troops forced to dig trenches – live

Ukrainian refugees may be fuelling a rise in entries for A-level Russian, it has been suggested.

A-level exam data shows there were 1,044 entries for the subject this summer, up from 827 in 2023 – a 26% increase.

It means that entries for the subject are now at their highest level since 2018, when the number stood at 1,160.

Sir Ian Bauckham, Ofqual’s chief regulator, said: “It’s difficult to be precise about why exactly you see changes in these lesser taught languages, but I think we can all imagine that some Ukrainian refugees who came to the UK over the last couple of years – many of whom are proficient in Russian – may have chosen to enter A-level Russian, and done that using their school or college as an exam centre.

“So it’s likely that that kind of change is behind the changes that you see in entry figures for subjects like Russian.”

Teenagers who came to the UK when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 with knowledge of Russian are likely to have started A-level courses in the autumn of that year and would be receiving their results this summer – two years later, which is the usual length of an A-level course.

Ukraine’s top commander says Kyiv has set up a military commandant’s office in the occupied Kursk region of Russia.

Oleksandr Syrskyi said Ukrainian forces have taken up to 1.5km (0.93 miles) of territory in the region in the last 24 hours  – and are still advancing.

Mr Syrskyi told Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a video published by the Ukrainian leader that Kyiv’s forces had advanced 35km (21.7 miles) into the Kursk region since launching its attack last week.

A Russian MP has insisted that the Ukraine is ‘provoking and poking’ her country to use ominous nuclear weapons threats.

Maria Butina appeared on Newsnight, insisting that Ukraine’s goal was to “escalate the conflict”, and that any ‘captured’ Russian territory would quickly be taken back.

“Russia will do everything to protect its territory”, she said. “They’re attacking nuclear plants…yes, they’re provoking a nuclear conflict..they have no understanding of what it’s going to be.”

“By trying to get PR points from the West, they actually put in danger the whole world.”

“There has been no change in UK government policy, under Article 51 of the UN Charter Ukraine has a clear right of self-defence against Russia’s illegal attacks, that does not preclude operations inside Russia.

“We make clear during the gifting process that equipment is to be used in line with international law.”

A Russian-American ballerina has been jailed for 12 years in Russia for donating £40 to a charity supporting Ukraine.

Ksenia Karelina pleaded guilty at her closed trial in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, where her case was heard by the same court that convicted Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich of espionage in July.

Her supporters say she had donated £40 to Razom for Ukraine, a New York-based charity that provides humanitarian aid to children and elderly people in Ukraine

Russia has sent forces of its Eastern military district to Mongolia to participate in joint drills, state news agency TASS said on Thursday, quoting the defence ministry.

Moscow, currently fighting a 10-day-old incursion by Ukrainian forces into western Russia, has continued to stage joint military exercises with foreign partners throughout the Ukraine war.

British tanks have been used by Ukrainian troops in their cross-border assault into Russia just over a week ago, The Independent understands.

British Challenger 2 tanks were used during the shock Ukrainian incursion, according to a UK source, in the first time they have been rolled out on Russian territory.

The UK agreed to give Ukraine 14 of its Challenger 2 tanks in January 2023 in a move that prompted Germany and the United States to follow suit with their versions.