Ukraine-Russia war LIVE updates | Putin tells Erdogan Russia could create 'gas hub' in Türkiye

Russian media and local officials have reported the deaths of five soldiers following the "partial" mobilisation order from President Vladimir Putin. Five people from the poor, industrial Chelyabinsk region in Western Siberia have died since their call-up, the press service of the regional government said

Belarussian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on Thursday warned that her country's authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko was "trying to legalize the permanent deployment of Russian troops on Belarus territory."

Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not discuss the Ukraine war during their bilateral meeting, according to the statement released by the Kremlin. Earlier, Erdogan indicated that he was ready to mediate in the conflict, saying diplomacy could offer a chance for "a fair peace" that would stop the bloodshed.
 

Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed governor of Ukraine's Kherson region has asked the residents to evacuate amid fighting between Russian and advancing Ukrainian forces.

In a video statement on the Telegram app on Thursday, Saldo also publicly asked for Moscow's help in transporting civilians into Russia.

Russian foreign ministry summoned envoys of Germany, Denmark and Sweden to express "bewilderment" over Moscow's exclusion from a probe into Nord Stream pipelines leaks.

"The heads of the diplomatic missions of Germany, Denmark and Sweden in Moscow have been summoned to the Russian foreign ministry in recent days," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said it "expressed bewilderment" over the lack of an official response to a request from Russia's Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to involve Russian energy giant Gazprom and "representatives of the competent departments" from Russia in the investigation conducted by Berlin, Copenhagen and Stockholm. 

"At the same time, there are reports that other countries including the United States are participating in the probe," it added.

The envoys were told that if Russian experts are not involved "Moscow will proceed from the fact that the named countries have something to hide or they are covering for the perpetrators of these terrorist acts", the ministry said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the start of a regional summit in Kazakhstan, where he defended Ankara's ties with Moscow. 

Turkey has been facing tremendous pressure from West comply with sanctions they imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

However, Erdogan refused, offering NATO member Turkey as a neutral venue for possible truce talks, and approving a range of agreements that have seen the value of exports to Russia more than double in recent months.

Meanwhile, Putin told Erdogan that Moscow would consider developing a 'gas hub' in Turkey, with Russia's supplies to Europe disrupted by sanctions introduced amid Russia's ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Russian missiles rained down on 40 Ukrainian cities and towns as the conflict continue to escalate. This was considered to be retaliation after the United Nations General Assembly resolution called Russian occupation of Ukrainian regions "illegal".