Russia has been holding military exercises in Belarus, close to the border with Ukraine. The drills followed a build-up of Russian troops – estimated by the US to be between 169,000 and 190,000, which includes rebels in eastern Ukraine – along Ukraine’s
The Greek coastguard said 239 passengers and 51 crew had been on the ferry, owned by Italian firm Grimaldi Lines. Most of the passengers were Italian nationals, according to Ionian islands governor Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou, while the crew were both Greek and Italian.
He said it was not clear what form a pretext for an attack could take, but that possibilities include “a fabricated so-called terrorist bombing inside Russia, the invented discovery of a mass grave, a staged drone strike against civilians, or a fake
Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier told the UN Secretary-General in a phone call there was “currently little evidence of Russia disengaging”, while his defence intelligence chief Lt-Gen Jim Hockenhull said that, on the contrary, Russia was continuing to build up its forces.
There has long been concern that, rather than a full-scale invasion, Russia could use less obvious means to destabilise Ukraine, for example through cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure. President Biden said on Tuesday the US was prepared to respond to any such move.
Mr Lavrov’s comments, made in a meeting with Mr Putin, are being seen as a clear concession that talks could ease the tensions. But analysts say that without either side moving over the thorny issue of Ukraine potentially joining Nato, there is
Mr Kuleba said Ukraine had, on Friday, demanded answers from Russia about their intentions under the rules of the Vienna Document, an agreement about security issues adopted by the members of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which includes
Across Ukraine, foreign citizens are now making hurried plans. Stuart McKenzie, who’s lived in Kyiv for 28 years and runs a successful business, hopes to get his wife and two sons out on a flight. But he is ready, if necessary, to
That leaves the ball in law enforcement’s court. As of 21:00 local time, no arrests had been made and no fines issued. The blockade has cost millions of dollars in lost trade each day; during the court proceedings, representatives from the automotive
There are fears that if Russia tries to invade Ukraine, the exercises put the Russian military close to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, making an attack on the city easier. Russia says its troops will return to their permanent bases after the drills