Russia has warned that Finland and Sweden's widely-expected bid to join Nato would lead to "militarisation" of the region - and that Moscow would respond if Nato deployed nuclear weapons near its borders.

Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Russia knows that Nato wants to "militarise everything within reach", Interfax news agency reported, while another Russian news outlet, RIA, quoted him as saying that the proposed Nato expansion would cause a "political reaction" from Russia.

That reaction would be based not on emotion, but on a thorough analysis of the situation, he said.

As we've been reporting, Sweden and Finland are both expected to attend a Nato meeting today as guests, with their decision on whether to apply expected in the next few days.

The Kremlin has threatened some sort of response to such an application - but has been vague about exactly what that might look like.

The head of Ukraine's military intelligence has said the war with Russia will reach a turning-point in mid-August and is likely to be over by the end of the year.

In an interview with Sky News, external, Major General Kyrylo Budanov said that "the breaking point will be in the second part of August" and "most of the active combat actions will have finished by the end of this year."

"As a result, we will renew Ukrainian power in all our territories that we have lost including Donbas and the Crimea."

He added that Russia losing the war will lead to a coup against Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he claimed was already underway. The BBC has not verified this claim.

He also claimed that President Putin was in a "very bad psychological and physical condition and he is very sick." Such a claim has not been substantiated.

Image source, Reuters

More now on reports that Ukraine has forced Russian forces to withdraw from Kharkiv - apparently "winning the battle" for the city, as a respected US think tank describes it, external.

The latest agency reports lend some credence to the claim, with a spokesman for the Ukrainian General Staff quoted by AFP as saying that in the region, the "enemy's main efforts are focused on ensuring the withdrawal of its units from the city of Kharkiv".

Meanwhile, Reuters journalists say the north-eastern city has been quiet for about two weeks.

Moscow is still reported to be bombarding nearby areas, however - including Dergachi, some 10km north of Kharkiv - and late on Friday, reports in the Russian media said Russian forces had hit an arms depot in the region.

Capturing Kharkiv was a key Russian objective, and city was heavily shelled during the invasion, leading to hundreds of civilians being killed. In his latest video address, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine's forces were doing everything possible to liberate the country.

This was the moment the BBC's Laura Bicker and team were forced to run for cover from Russian shelling in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The crew were filming in a village in the country's south east, not far from the front line.

Additional Ukrainian forces have been deployed to the area in recent weeks to prevent Russian troops from advancing.

The fact that Russia has only succeeded in imposing a pro-Russian leadership in one Ukrainian city - Kherson - highlights the failure of Russia's invasion to make progress in terms of its political objectives in Ukraine, according to the UK's Ministry of Defence.

In its latest update, it says that the Russian-imposed military-civilian administration in Kherson has announced it will ask for the region to be included into Russia through holding a referendum.

It says that if such a referendum is carried out, Russia will "almost certainly manipulate the results to show a clear majority in favour of leaving Ukraine".

However, the fact that Russia has only succeeded in imposing a pro-Russian local leadership in one Ukrainian city, it adds, highlights the failures of its original plan to place "the majority of Ukraine's regions under long-term pro-Russian authority".

Joe Inwood
Reporting from Lviv

Ukraine has "likely won the battle of Kharkiv" - according to the Institute for the Study of War.

In its latest assessment of the conflict, the respected military analysts say Russia was prevented from encircling Ukraine's second city - and has now given up on attempts to do so.

Kharkiv, in the north east, is sometimes called a fortress city. In this war, it has earned that name.

Since the start of the invasion, capturing it has been a key strategic aim of Russian forces.

But more than two months in, not only have they failed to do so - but according to the US-based think tank - they have abandoned the attempt all together.

Ukrainian troops are believed to have pushed them back to the international border, with claims their proxy forces - those from the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk "people's republics" - are being delayed from entering Russia.

But, this does not appear to be a full-blown retreat - as was seen around the capital Kyiv.

An important moment in the war, rather than a turning point.

Nick Beake
Reporting from Brussels

For decades, Finland and Sweden have been Nato's closest partners without being inside the organisation.

Membership would mean if Russia were to attack them it would be treated as an attack on all Nato countries. A final decision is expected from the Finns and Swedes in the coming days.

If they join, Russia would face Nato member states from the Arctic down to the Black Sea.

Moscow claims further Nato expansion would be a hostile move and represent a further threat to its security - and is promising to respond. Finland and Sweden’s applications would have to be approved unanimously by the current 30 Nato members.

So far Turkey has been the only one to speak out against such a move – claiming both countries harbour “terrorist organisations” – which is taken to be a reference to Kurdish militant groups.

It’s unclear whether this is temporary opposition from Ankara or a potentially bigger hurdle in a Nato expansion process.

Sweden and Finland are attending an informal meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Berlin later today.

Despite not being members of the Western military alliance, both countries are expected to apply for membership in response to the invasion of Ukraine and so have been invited to attend the meeting.

Moscow has said it would view either country joining the alliance as a threat. It would bring an end to decades of neutral status by Sweden and Finland that dates back to the Cold War.

Turkey, another Nato member, is also attending today's meeting.

But on Friday, it became the only member state to voice opposition to Sweden or Finland's potential membership.

Image source, President of Ukraine

Some more now from the address delivered by the Ukrainian president a few hours ago.

Zelensky referred to the blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports, something experts say could trigger a global food crisis.

That's because - prior to the invasion - Ukraine exported a large amount of agricultural products around the world.

Zelensky repeated his accusation that the blockade was part of a deliberate strategy by Moscow to cause chaos.

He said Russian officials were "openly threatening the world that there will be famine in dozens of countries".

Directly addressing Western leaders, he asked: "What political instability and migration flows will this lead to? How much will you have to spend then to overcome the consequences?"

Image source, Reuters

Ukraine's president delivered his usual late-night address earlier, and spoke about a range of topics including the situation in Mariupol.

Taking the port city in the south is key to Moscow's war aims - it is strategically positioned and so Russia's military has been bombarding it for months.

The city's final defenders have been holed up in the Azovstal steelworks, and Zelensky said a "large number" of wounded needed to be evacuated.

"Very complex negotiations are under way on the next phase of the evacuation mission - the removal of the badly wounded [and] medics," he said.

"We are doing everything to evacuate all the others, every one of our defenders," Zelensky said.

He added that Kyiv was using "influential intermediaries" in the negotiations, but did not give further details.

We're resuming our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. As the country wakes up on Saturday, there appears to be little sign of a resolution to the conflict. Here's the latest:

• Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says "very difficult negotiations" are ongoing with Russia over the evacuation of wounded fighters from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol
• In his nightly address, he says a "large number of people" are in need of immediate rescue from the facility. The plant is the final point of resistance in the southern port city, which has been virtually destroyed in the fighting
• Zelensky also thanks the countries that have sanctioned Russia and provided Ukraine with aid. "This is the only recipe for defending freedom," he says
• Elsewhere, foreign ministers from Nato countries will meet later as Sweden and Finland move closer to joining the Western defensive alliance. Russia has said their admission would be deemed a threat
• And world leaders have reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire, with the US and 10 South East Asian nations issuing a joint statement urging a peaceful resolution. Germany made a similar statement on Friday

We'll bring you updates and analysis here throughout the day.