Russia-Ukraine war: 'Putin's henchmen' threatening UK, Britons warned; Moscow's troops reach key Ukrainian city

We're pausing our live coverage of the war in Ukraine for now, but if you missed anything, here are the key events from today:

• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said it's impossible for Ukraine to win against Russia on the battlefield;
• His finance minister also announced that Budapest would hold up a massive G7 loan for Ukraine;
• The head of MI5 warned the UK is at risk from an increased threat from "Putin's henchmen" who want to see "mayhem" on British streets;
• The UK sanctioned troops in a Russian unit and their commander for the use of "barbaric chemical weapons" on the battlefield in Ukraine;
• Russian troops are continuing their advance in eastern Ukraine, according to Moscow, capturing one village and reaching the outskirts of a major city

Before we go, here's a look at the battlefield situation:

A guided bomb attack in the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv has killed two people, according to officials. 

Russian forces struck a "densely populated district", regional governor Oleg Sinegubov said. 

At least three people were injured, he added. 

Over in Moscow, Vladimir Putin is hosting Nikol Pashinyan, the Armenian prime minister, at the Kremlin.

The meeting takes place on the sidelines of the Commonwealth of Independent States summit, with discussions set to be dominated by the normalisation of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, in which Russia takes a particular interest.

Armenia's ties with its longtime sponsor and ally Russia have grown increasingly strained after a lightning Azerbaijani military campaign last September, in which it captured the long-disputed Karabakh region from Armenia.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that it is impossible for Ukraine to win against Russia on the battlefield, as he stressed the need for a ceasefire. 

Hungary is among the most supportive European nations of Vladimir Putin's regime in Russia, consistently opposing sanctions and frustrating the European Union, NATO and as (recently as today) the G7 (see 1.46pm post). 

Speaking at a news conference in Strasbourg, Mr Orban added that both direct and indirect communication is needed between Kyiv and Moscow - and suggested a third party mediates between them.

Sir Keir Starmer will head to Berlin on Saturday for talks with leaders from the US, France and Germany.

Number 10 said the prime minister, Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz will discuss the war in Ukraine and worsening conflict in the Middle East.

The meeting will send a strong signal of continued military support for Ukraine, a German government source told the Reuters news agency. 

The summit promises to drive home the message that Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot hope to play for time and wait for Western support to cease, the source added. 

The Middle East is also on the agenda. 

By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent 

An American pensioner has been sentenced to nearly seven years in a Russian prison after being convicted of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine.

Stephen Hubbard, 72, was accused of signing a $1,000-per-month contract with a Ukrainian territorial defence unit in the city of Izyum in February 2022.

He was captured by Russian forces in April that year, shortly after the war began.

It is unclear when or how he arrived in Moscow.

After a trial was held behind closed doors in Moscow's highest city court, journalists were allowed to witness the verdict - which was delivered yesterday.

Read more of Bennett's report here:

Hungary will hold up a $50bn (£38bn) G7 loan for Ukraine until after the US presidential election next month, its finance minister has said. 

Budapest is able to indirectly hold up the deal by delaying its own decision on the timing of the renewal of EU sanctions against Russia.

That's because Washington needs the EU to revise its timeframe for the renewal of sanctions to every three years for it to contribute some $20bn (£15bn) to the G7 loan, matching the European Union's contribution, EU officials have said.

"We believe that this issue, the prolongation of the Russian sanctions, should be decided after the US elections. We have to see in which direction the future US administration is going with this issue," finance minister Mihaly Varga said. 

Hungary is among the most supportive European nations of Vladimir Putin's regime in Russia, consistently opposing sanctions and frustrating the European Union and NATO over aid for Ukraine and accession of Kyiv and other neighbours to the alliance. 

Viktor Orban, the country's leader, is also a close ally of US presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has signalled a massive drawback of American financial and military assistance to Ukraine if he wins the race for the White House next month. 

By Jason Farrell, home editor 

The UK is at risk from an increased threat from "Putin's henchmen" who want to see "mayhem" on British streets, the head of MI5 has warned. 

Ken McCallum, its director-general, said his team had "a hell of a job on its hands" and painted a picture of a multifaceted threat facing the UK, with resurgent terrorist organisations such as Al Qaeda and IS, in addition to state terrorism from countries such as Iran and Russia.

More than 750 Russian diplomats, many of them spies, have been expelled from Europe since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.

While this has dented Russian intelligence services, Mr McCallum said they are on a "sustained mission to generate mayhem on British and European streets" with "arson, sabotage and more".

He had a message to criminals considering taking on work for hostile states, saying: "If you take money from Iran, Russia or any other state to carry out illegal acts in the UK, you will bring the full weight of the national security apparatus down on you. It's a choice you'll regret."

Vladimir Putin turned 72 yesterday. 

In Donetsk, one of the regions the Russian president and his regime have illegally annexed in Ukraine, some pro-Russian locals came out to celebrate. 

Some waved Russian flags, while others posed with posters with slogans that read: "Why would we want such a world if Russia is not there?"

Ukraine is investigating another case of alleged Russian abuse and execution of prisoners of war, human rights officials have said.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian human rights commissioner, sent letters to the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) yesterday over aerial footage which allegedly showed Russian forces torturing and executing three unarmed Ukrainian POWs in the Donetsk region.

He highlighted that the highest levels of the Russian military command appear to be tolerating Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

The head of the Ukrainian department for combating crimes in conditions of armed conflict, Yuri Bilousov, said last week that Ukraine had evidence indicating that Russian forces have executed 93 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) on the battlefield since the start of the full-scale invasion - and that 80% of the recorded cases occurred this calendar year.