It’s been another big week in the conflict, with world leaders met for a NATO summit and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to the UK to attend a European Political Community meeting. 

We haven’t been able to bring you live coverage today, but here’s an overview of where the war stands at the moment to kick off the new week… 

Secret labs across Ukraine building ‘robot army’ to fight Russia

Ukraine is hoping to assemble swathes of cheap, unmanned drones that it hopes will kill Russian troops and save its own wounded soldiers and civilians.

An ecosystem of laboratories in hundreds of secret workshops across Ukraine are building this robot army at a fraction of the cost it takes to import similar models.

Estimates believe around 250 defence startups across the country are creating the killing machines at secret locations that typically look like rural car repair shops.

Costing around $35,000 (£27,000) to build, employees at startups like those run by entrepreneur Andrii Denysenko can put together an unmanned ground vehicle called the Odyssey in four days from a shed.

The 800kg Odyssey prototype can travel up to 18.5 miles (30km) on one charge of a battery the size of a small beer cooler.

It acts as a rescue and supply drone but can be modified to carry a remotely operated heavy machine gun or sling mine-clearing charges.

Russia and China conclude naval drills

Russian and Chinese ships used joint naval exercises in the South China Sea last week to successfully rehearse several combat drills, Russian state media reports. 

Russia’s Pacific Fleet was cited as saying that the two navies had carried out about 30 combat exercises, including joint artillery firing at sea, coastal and air targets, and joint search and rescue operations at sea.

The drills, dubbed “Maritime Cooperation 2024”, have now concluded. 

China and Russia declared a “no limits” partnership in 2022 when President Vladimir Putin visited Beijing just days before he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine.

Russia’s Kharkiv advance halted, Zelenskyy says

While speaking at the European Political Community summit, Mr Zelenskyy said Ukraine had halted Moscow’s forces completely in Kharkiv. 

The Ukrainian president made the comment while trying to convince leaders to help with Kyiv’s air defence capability.

“We have stopped the Russian advance on Kharkiv – period,” he said.

“Putin has sacrificed tens of thousands of his citizens but has achieved nothing significant,” he added.

Russia launched a surprise attack on Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region in May, opening up another front for Ukraine to defend.

Trump and Zelenskyy have ‘very good phone call’

On Friday, Donald Trump and Mr Zelenskyy had a “very good phone call”, according to the former US president, after he promised to end Russia’s war with Ukraine if he was re-elected.

Mr Zelenskyy “congratulated me on a very successful Republican National Convention and becoming the Republican nominee for President of the United States”, he said in a post on the social media app Truth Social.

The pair agreed to “discuss at a personal meeting what steps can make peace fair and truly lasting”, according to Mr Zelenskyy in a post on X.