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Western officials believe they have evidence that Chinese companies have secretly supplied weapons to Russia in what could amount to a significant escalation of Beijing’s involvement in the Ukraine war.

A new report obtained by allies points to a Chinese company sending a range of purpose-built military drones to Russia for testing, with the ultimate destination being Ukraine, The Times understands.

The deal occurred last year, according to a western official, who was unable to disclose the name of the company. However, they said there was “clear evidence now that Chinese companies are supplying Russia with deadly weapons for use in Ukraine”.

“While the Chinese government might not admit it, they are going to struggle to keep their increasing support under wraps,” added the official, appearing to accuse Beijing of being involved or aware of the delivery.

They also confirmed a Reuters report from earlier in the week that Russia is believed to have established a weapons programme in China to develop and produce long-range attack drones for use in the war against Ukraine.

Open-source seismic recordings published on Wednesday and Thursday, among them by the Norwegian seismic monitoring group NORSAR, picked up 13 explosions around Toropets taking place during or in the hours after the Ukrainian attack. Each “seismic event” registered at between 2.0-2.8 magnitude, with energy comparable to a small earthquake, news reports said.

Outlying homes in three villages located a half kilometer or less from the north fence of the facility were damaged, according to news reports. Some local social media reported the village Tsikarevo, less than 300 meters from Toropets’ northeastern security fence, was completely destroyed. The local television news platform RBC-TV reported fires had surrounded and consumed several villages and towns, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes.

Social media recorded smoke and fires burning throughout the day, and explosions continuing for hours as individual munitions cooked off. Some video showed people identifying themselves as residents of Tsikarevo and stating they had no way to escape the conflagration but by boat via a nearby lake, because explosions at Toropets had flattened nearby forests and made all roads impassable.

Japan's Defense Ministry reported that it scrambled fighter jets after two Russian patrol aircraft were detected flying in circles around the country.

Although the Russian planes did not enter Japanese airspace, their proximity raised significant concerns. This incident marks the first such military activity around Japan since 2019, when Russian bombers breached Japanese airspace.

The Russian Tu-142 aircraft were tracked traveling from the sea between Japan and South Korea towards the southern Okinawa region, according to Digi24.

They then proceeded north over the Pacific Ocean, reaching the northern island of Hokkaido. In response, the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force launched an urgent interception of the Russian planes.

The Russian aircraft also flew over the disputed Kuril Islands, known as the "Northern Territories" in Japan.

On September 12, Russian forces continued their counterattacks across the Ukrainian bulge in the Kursk region but achieved only minor successes. The limited progress is likely due to ongoing Ukrainian offensive operations and defensive counterattacks in the area, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, gave his strongest hint yet that the White House is about to lift its restrictions on Ukraine using long-range weapons supplied by the west on key military targets inside Russia, with a decision understood to have already been made in private.

Speaking in Kyiv alongside the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, Blinken said the US had “from day one” been willing to adapt its policy as the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine changed. “We will continue to do this,” he emphasised.

Blinken said he and Lammy would report back to their “bosses” – Joe Biden and Keir Starmer – after their talks on Wednesday with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The foreign secretary suggested Iran’s dispatch of ballistic missiles to Moscow – revealed this week – had changed strategic thinking in London and Washington. It was a “significant and dangerous escalation”, he said.

He added: “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 urged China “not to throw in its lot” with what he called “a group of renegades”.

British government sources indicated that a decision had already been made to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow cruise missiles on targets inside Russia, although it is not expected to be publicly announced on Friday when Starmer meets Biden in Washington DC.

The two leaders are planning to discuss the war in Ukraine, and how it could be ended, as part of a wide-ranging foreign policy discussion, though they will avoid an intense focus on any individual weapons system, as the aim of the conversation is strategic.

The United States is unlikely to stop supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia, regardless of the presidential election, Admiral Rob Bauer, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, said at a conference in Seoul, according to Bloomberg.

He also noted that Donald Trump made it clear in his debate with Kamala Harris that he wants the war to end. Furthermore, both the Democratic and Republican parties advocate for continued assistance, the admiral said.

"I think it’s unlikely in that light that the US as a country will stop supporting Ukraine," Bauer said.

The situation on the left flank of the Ukrainian grouping in Russia’s Kursk Oblast has deteriorated, as Russian forces have begun active assault operations.

Source: the DeepState analytical project

Details: Russian troops have launched active assaults by initially moving armoured vehicles across the Seym River, followed by crossings over smaller rivers.

DeepState experts also recorded the movement of a Russian armoured convoy from Korenovo toward Snagost, with ongoing intense fighting there.

The United States will soon officially notify Ukraine of its permission to use ATACMS short-range ballistic missiles inside Russia.

The War Zone reported on this with reference to the House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman.

Currently, the U.S. government is expected to officially announce the decision, which will allow Ukraine to use ATACMS missiles inside Russia.

“I talked to Blinken two days ago, and he is traveling with his counterpart from the UK to Kyiv to basically tell them that they will allow them to hit Russia with ATACMS,” Michael McCaul, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, stated.

Ukraine struck the Moscow region on Tuesday in its biggest drone attack so far on the Russian capital, killing at least one woman, wrecking dozens of homes and forcing around 50 flights to be diverted from airports around Moscow.

Russia, the world’s biggest nuclear power, said it destroyed at least 20 Ukrainian attack drones as they swarmed over the Moscow region, which has a population of more than 21 million, and 124 more over eight other regions.

At least one person was killed near Moscow, Russian authorities said. Three of Moscow’s four airports were closed for more than six hours and almost 50 flights were diverted.

Sumy Regional Administration has announced mandatory evacuation from three settlements in the Shostka district – Hlukhiv, Svesa, and Esman.

As of September 7, 242 people, including 50 children, had already been evacuated from these settlements.

About a week ago, a police unit called "White Angels" was formed in the region. They will provide evacuation assistance using three armored vehicles, reported Volodymyr Artiukh, head of the regional military administration.

He also mentioned that an evacuation railcar will continue to operate from Shostka to Kyiv.

Each of these settlements is located approximately 10 km from the Russian-Ukrainian border.

On August 20, Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko reported that 45,000 people would need to be evacuated from the Sumy Oblast in the future, noting that this is not an urgent evacuation.

Russian prisoners of war (POWs) held in Ukrainian camps are no longer allowed to make phone calls to their relatives, Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets announced on national television on Sept. 7.

Lubinets said that the ban does not violate the Geneva Conventions, as Russian POWs can still send written letters to their families.

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Earlier in March, the petition calling to ban phone calls for Russian POWs received the needed 25,000 signatures. However, the Ukrainian parliament rejected the proposal back then, saying that phone calls "serve an important informative function, providing objective information to Russians that they should not be afraid to surrender."

Russian soldiers who have surrendered or have been captured in Ukraine are kept in four POW camps. Conditions there adhere to international laws, particularly the Geneva Conventions, according to Lubinets.

Multiple reports and witnesses show that Ukrainian POWs in Russia are most often kept in horrible conditions, subject to torture, beatings, and starvation.

However, Lubinets latest address comes amid the recent increasing number of Russia’s violating the rights of Ukrainian POWs.