Here’s a quick recap of the latest developments:

• Ukrainian forces continue to advance in their incursion into Russia’s Kursk region but have been slowed down by Russian reinforcements.
• The Russian military has kept pushing into eastern Ukraine and is positioning itself to take the Donetsk region as fierce battles rage.
• Russia said the Kursk offensive meant there would be no negotiations to end the war “until the complete defeat of the enemy”.
• Ukraine mounted one of its largest-ever strikes on Moscow last night, with Russian officials saying all 45 one-drones launched at Russian territories, including the capital, were shot down.
• Ukraine said its air defences shot down 51 drones and an air-launched cruise missile from Russia, but two ballistic missiles made impact.
• China’s Premier Li Qiang said at a meeting in Moscow that Beijing is ready to work with Russia to strengthen all-around practical cooperation.
• India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is heading to Ukraine on Friday, among other things to discuss a peaceful resolution to the war.

The ruling militaries in the three West African nations of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have written to the UN Security Council to denounce Ukraine’s alleged support for “terrorism” perpetrated by rebel groups in the Sahel region.

As part of a new grouping called the Alliance of Sahel States in the wake of military coups in the three countries, they urged the 15-member council to “take responsibility” for Ukraine’s actions and to prevent “subversive acts” that threaten regional and continental stability.

This comes after the Ukrainian military intelligence agency spokesperson said Malian rebels had received “necessary” information to conduct an attack in July, during which rebels said they killed at least 84 Russian-backed Wagner mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers over days of fierce fighting.

#AESinfo | 🇧🇫🇲🇱🇳🇪
🔴 #Urgent : Les pays de l’AES saisissent le Conseil de sécurité face au soutien présumé de l’Ukraine aux terroristes

Dans une lettre adressée au Président du Conseil de Sécurité des Nations Unies, les Ministres des Affaires étrangères du Burkina Faso, du Mali… pic.twitter.com/N5itG9wVKg

— AES INFO (@AESinfos) August 20, 2024

Translation: ESA countries refer Ukraine’s alleged support for terrorists to the Security Council In a letter addressed to the President of the UNSC. 

Ukraine’s military says Ukrainian forces are using US-manufactured HIMARS rocket systems to destroy pontoon bridges and engineering equipment in Russia’s Kursk region, targeting logistics in its major cross-border incursion.

Russian officials have said Ukraine has damaged or destroyed at least three bridges over the Seym River since Kyiv launched a major assault into western Russia on August 6 advancing up to 28-35 kilometres (39.15 miles).

“Where do Russian pontoon bridges ‘disappear’ in the Kursk region? Operators … accurately destroy them,” Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces said on Telegram messenger.

The statement said US-manufactured HIMARS rocket systems were used. It was first official statement from Kyiv that Western weapons are part of the unprecedented offensive.

Washington has made no direct comment regarding the use of US-made weapons in Kursk region, while saying its policies had not changed and that Ukraine was defending itself from Russia’s attacks.

Hungary’s foreign minister has reassured that the country’s energy supply is not in danger amid the ongoing fighting in Sudzha in Russia’s Kursk region.

“Hungary’s energy supply is secured,” Peter Szijjarto said in a Facebook video, adding that other pipelines transport sufficient amounts of gas.

The Ukrainians say that their advance is ongoing, but it has slowed down.

They have taken control of some 93 settlements so far and are continuing to expand, but it’s right down to a matter of only a few hundreds metres a day in some places.

Thirteen NATO nations have given permission to use Western weapons inside Russia. That means tanks, artillery systems and infantry fighting vehicles. So, Ukraine is using all that it has to leverage and try to push forward.

The Russians are bringing in reinforcements and trying to slow down the advance, and they have succeeded in quite a few places.

Premier Li Qiang said at a meeting in Moscow that China is ready to work with Russia to strengthen all-round practical cooperation, according to Chinese state media.

China is ready to elevate its partnership with Russia, Li said while chairing a meeting between Chinese and Russian heads of government including Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Xinhua news agency added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed in May to deepen their “comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation entering a new era”.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kyiv on Friday to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and says he will be discussing putting an end to the war with Russia.

He said in a post on X that he would “share perspectives on the peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict” while trying to develop bilateral relations.

“As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region.”

I will be visiting Ukraine at the invitation of President @ZelenskyyUa. This visit will be an opportunity to build on the earlier discussions with him and deepening the India-Ukraine friendship. We will also share perspectives on the peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 21, 2024

The UK’s Ministry of Defence cites a report by the Russian investigative journalism outlet Vazhnyye Istorii as saying that an unusual new Russian specialised unit has been deployed into Kursk.

According to the ministry, some of its members used to be specialist soldiers like early-warning radar operators who are now being employed away from their previously high-priority areas, which “likely demonstrates continuing personnel shortages”.

“Russia continues to develop new units and recruit more personnel to sustain its mass attritional warfare approach against Ukraine,” the ministry said, adding that Russia’s ability to generate higher-capacity units could be compromised.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 21 August 2024.

Find out more about Defence Intelligence’s use of language: https://t.co/RuyUBJmVx3#StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/gpmQHF0fEe

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) August 21, 2024

No opinion polls on Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk have been made public in Ukraine yet, but an observer claims that spirits are “unexpectedly” high among servicemen.

“On the front line, the morale boost is simply colossal,” Mykhailo Zhirokhov, a military analyst based in the northern city of Chernihiv, told Al Jazeera, adding, “Which is unexpected to me because people are still fighting in Donbas and theoretically, their lives didn’t get any easier.”

Kyiv’s success in Kursk, however, does not nullify Moscow’s advances in Donbas.

Read more here.

The Ukrainian Air Force has been extremely active in Kursk and over Kursk, seeking out and trying to destroy the bridges over the same river.

Now three civilian bridges have already been destroyed. The Russian military threw a pontoon bridge over the river in order to try and get supplies in. That bridge was destroyed.

A second military bridge has been thrown over the river to try and keep the Russian units on the near side of the river supplied.

Now this bridge is being targeted. Also, the equipment the Russians are bringing up to try and build even more bridges – just in case this one gets blown up – are also being targeted by the Ukrainian Air Force.

So this is a battle now for the Russians to try and keep their forces supplied and for the Ukrainians to try and deprive them of those supplies because, at one stage, if those units aren’t resupplied, they’ll either have to surrender, retreat or be overrun.