Russia expands its aims and Putin's tricky Tehran moment - Ukraine round-up

Russia's war aims have expanded beyond east Ukraine in response to the supply of longer-range Western weapons to Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

In an interview with Russian state media, he said that the "geography is different now", because Ukraine has access to weapons that can fire missiles over a longer distance.

Russia would now have to push Ukrainian forces further from the front line to ensure its own security, he said.

"We cannot allow the part of Ukraine controlled by [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky... to possess weapons that would pose a direct threat to our territory."

The West has supplied Ukraine with increasingly powerful weapons since Russia's invasion began, including the long-range Himars missile system which has brought Ukraine some success.

For two days running, Ukrainian forces have used the US-supplied weapon to hit a key strategic bridge in occupied Kherson, according to reports.

The first days of the war saw several missiles hit residential areas of Kyiv, as Russian forces tried - and failed - to quickly take the capital.

As the focus of the fighting pivoted east, residents have returned to Kyiv to find their homes destroyed.

The BBC's Anastasiya Gribanova went to see the damage caused by a Russian rocket in one of the first civilian targets in Kyiv to be hit.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin was keen to show he still has both friends and geopolitical influence when he flew to Iran this week for a summit with the Iranian and Turkish leaders.

It didn't all go to plan - his Turkish counterpart left him standing alone in front of the TV cameras for a long, awkward minute before appearing for the obligatory handshake and smiles.

Nevertheless, Mr Putin received a warm welcome in Tehran, with the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei explicitly supporting his "special operation" in Ukraine.

The Syrian civil war was top of the agenda, with the Russian leader commenting that the crisis can only be solved by adhering to the "basic principles of the respect of sovereignty".

"Russia is blackmailing us. Russia is using energy as a weapon," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday, announcing a target of cutting gas use across the EU by 15%.

The plan is voluntary for now, but could become compulsory if Moscow turns off the gas taps.

Russia supplied Europe with 40% of its natural gas last year, with some countries relying on Russia for more than that.

But supply has been reduced recently - the key Nord Stream 1 pipeline from Russia to Germany has been offline for maintenance and is due to be turned back on this Thursday, but some fear Moscow will not follow through on its promise.

Europe may be suffering intense heat at the moment, but winter is coming and a shortage of Russian gas could push energy prices even higher, including in the UK.