The intelligence official described the build-up as a "slow drip" and a "slow ratcheting up of pressure" Ukraine has declared martial law - which means the military takes control temporarily It has cut diplomatic ties with Russia, offered weapons to anyone who wants them and declared an overnight curfew for Kyiv

• Consequently, Air Vice Marshal Bell says planners need to take political and ethical landscape in which the Kremlin operates into consideration if it ever gets into a fight
• Conscription requires young men and women to serve for a limited time in uniform
• He chaired an emergency Cobra meeting earlier and will give a televised statement later on the UK's response to Russia's "unprovoked attack"
• Shmyhal said countries were developing a policy of “new pragmatism” despite all the political challenges

Russian troops have rarely taken control of new settlements in recent months "We divided our systems for different types of threats," he says, though of course this means relying on the West for ammunition and maintenance Ukraine's intelligence service, the SBU, reported on Tuesday it had found and deactivated "two robotic online surveillance cameras" that it says were hacked by Russia to spy on Kyiv's defences and scout out targets

Ukraine No evidence that Ukrainian POWs died in plane crash

Calls have recently come from senior figures on both sides of the Atlantic for the UK to be prepared in case of a potential war between Nato forces and Russia Earlier this week, Gen Sir Patrick Sanders, the outgoing head of the British army, said its 74,000-strong ranks need to be bolstered by at least 45,000 reservists and citizens in order to be better readied for possible conflict Earlier this month, its civil defence minister told a defence conference "there could be a war in Sweden"

• But he was making the point that if war broke out troop numbers would be too small
• A Russian pensioner has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison for sharing a post on social media about the casualties suffered by the armed forces in Ukraine
• Prominent Russian Telegram channels Baza and 112 said a drone attacked the Slavenft-Yanos oil refinery in Yaroslavl at 7am local time 4am GMT
• Ukraine has declared martial law - which means the military takes control temporarily
• But both of these demands would break key Nato principles, namely that the alliance should be open to any European country that wants to join and that all Nato members should be sovereign nations

Ukraine uses German-made Gepard anti-aircraft guns to tackle incoming drones, while Soviet-era Buk systems are used against cruise missiles and US-made Patriots against hypersonic Kinzhal missiles https//euronewstopcouk/what-does-ukraine-invasion-mean-for-ushtml published in Le Monde quotes Ukrainian officials who said Russia still has in its stockpile around 1,000 ballistic or cruise missiles, and is able to make around 100 more per month - such as Kalibrs and Kh-101s At least 32 people have died in Ukraine's capital in that time, 30 of them in one attack - on 29 December, when Russia launched one of the largest ever aerial attacks of this war The UK has been threatened with a "military response" by Russia after pledging to send long-range missiles to Ukraine Right now, such scenarios tend to exercise only the minds of Ministry of Defence war-gamers and military thriller writers

Opposition to Russia's demands

After 2,000 anti-tank weapons were delivered last week and 30 British troops arrived to teach Ukrainian forces how to use them, the phrase "God Save the Queen" began trending on Twitter in Ukraine Some bars and restaurants in Kyiv were offering free drinks to anyone who had a UK passport For now the UK appears likely to stick to sanctions rather than engaging in direct military action unless a Nato ally is attacked, although some Conservative MPs have called for the Government to provide air support to Ukraine In terms of military aid, the UK has trained 22,000 Ukrainian troops under Operation Orbital since 2015, supporting both Ukraine’s army and navy Forces are on standby in eastern Europe, and Nato is working with Ukraine to modernise its forces and protect it against cyber attacks

The Netherlands has joined the IT coalition to aid Ukraine in its war efforts, Ukraine’s defence ministry said today The diminishing prospects for a deal leave congressional leaders with no clear way to approve a White House request for 110bn in emergency funding for Ukraine, Israel, immigration enforcement and national security needs The Democratic president said in a statement that the policies proposed would “be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in our country” The US is planning to station nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in 15 years amid a growing threat from Russia, according to a report Warheads three times as strong as the Hiroshima bomb would be located at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk under the proposals, the Daily Telegraph reported Balazs Orban, chief political aide to the prime minister, said Hungary sent a proposal to the EU over the weekend showing it was open to using the budget for the aid package if other "caveats" were added

What sanctions will the UK impose on Russia

Russia has denied plans for military action, but an estimated 100,000 troops have amassed on the border It said Nato allies were sending additional ships and fighter jets to eastern Europe to reinforce defences and increase deterrence, in response to the continuing build-up of Russian forces Mr Johnson said the UK and its allies would agree a "massive package of economic sanctions" in a bid to "hobble" the Russian economy, warning that the West would need to cease its dependence on Russian oil and gas

There is increasing scepticism in Kyiv that the Russian military Il-76 transport plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war Anton Gerashchenko, a popular blogger and adviser to the internal affairs ministry, said that Russia’s version of events was unconvincing He quoted a local Belgorod channel ‘My Belgorod’ which reported that the plane had taken off from Belgorod and was heading in the other direction when it came down The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said on Wednesday that everyone onboard a military transport plane that crashed in the region earlier on Wednesday had died, Reuters reports

• Regional governor Mikhail Yevrayev said there was no fire, no casualties and anti-air defences had shot the drone down
• The Russian president said his goal was the “demilitarisation” of Ukraine, warning that if the West were to interfere they would endure “consequences they had never seen”
• Downing Street has ruled out any move towards conscription, saying the army service will remain voluntary
• The diminishing prospects for a deal leave congressional leaders with no clear way to approve a White House request for 110bn in emergency funding for Ukraine, Israel, immigration enforcement and national security needs
• Russia's ambitions, he said, were not just about seizing territory but "about defeating our system and way of life politically, psychologically and symbolically"