Month: February 2022

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Vladimir Putin putting Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert is an attempt to distract people from “what’s going wrong in Ukraine”, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said. Mr Wallace said Mr Putin was engaged in a “battle

Reuters Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia’s military to put its deterrence forces, which include nuclear weapons, on “special alert”. He told defence chiefs it was because of “aggressive statements” by the West, amid widespread condemnation of his invasion of Ukraine. The announcement does not mean Russia intends to use the weapons. The US immediately condemned

Getty Images Ukrainian forces are battling Russian troops on the streets of Ukraine’s second-city Kharkiv, according to local officials. Regional governor Oleh Sinegubov said light vehicles had entered the city, as he urged its 1.4 million residents to stay indoors. The advance came after missiles rained down overnight. A nine-storey residential tower was hit, emergency

EPA The EU, US and their allies have agreed to cut off a number of Russian banks from the main international payment system, Swift. “This is intended to cut off these institutions from international financial flows, which will massively restrict their global operations,” a German government spokesman said. Russia is heavily reliant on the Swift

Getty Images Russian assaults on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv have been met with fierce resistance, as the Ukrainian military says it has fought off several attacks. The military said in a Facebook post early on Saturday that an army unit managed to repel Russian forces near its base on a major city street. In a

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. A defiant Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged European countries to do more to help as he urged his citizens to resist Russian invasion. The second day of fighting saw tanks enter the capital, Kyiv, for the

Getty Images British airlines have been banned from landing at Russia’s airports and from crossing its airspace, the Russian civil aviation regulator has said. Russia said the move is a response to “the unfriendly decisions by the UK aviation authorities”. On Thursday, the UK banned Russia’s national airline Aeroflot from landing in Britain. The measure

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Ukraine’s leader has said a “new iron curtain” is falling and closing Russia off from the “civilised world” after it invaded its neighbour. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine’s task was “for that curtain not to fall” on

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Russian forces have launched a military assault on neighbouring Ukraine, crossing its borders and bombing military targets near big cities. In a pre-dawn TV statement Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia did not plan to occupy Ukraine

Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Ukraine has urged its citizens living in Russia to leave the country immediately amid growing fears of war. In addition to the order affecting more than three million people, Ukraine mobilised its military reserves and was set to declare a state of emergency. Ukraine’s moves came as Russian troops, ordered

Russian defence ministry Amid reports of more Russian troops moving closer towards Ukraine’s borders, President Vladimir Putin has insisted that Russia’s interests and security are non-negotiable. He gave a video address, hours after US President Joe Biden warned of “the beginning of a Russian invasion”. Russia was always “open for direct and honest dialogue”, he

EPA Germany has put a stop to a key Russian gas pipeline following Vladimir Putin’s orders to send troops into Ukraine. On Monday the Russian president recognised two breakaway Ukrainian regions as independent states and ordered Russian troops to deploy to both. Western nations largely see the action as a pretext for a wider invasion.

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Boris Johnson says he will unveil a “first barrage” of economic sanctions against Russia later, after it sent troops into eastern Ukraine. The PM said the UK would “hit Russia very hard” after it sent soldiers into

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has recognised breakaway rebel regions in Ukraine’s east as independent states. The self-declared people’s republics of Donetsk and Luhansk are home to Russia-backed rebels who have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014. Russia’s

Getty Images Boris Johnson is due to set out his plans to scrap all remaining Covid legal restrictions in England, including the requirement to isolate. His meeting with the Cabinet ahead of updating MPs in the Commons has been delayed, however. Mr Johnson said the end to restrictions will “mark a moment of pride as

Getty Images The Queen has tested positive for Covid, Buckingham Palace has said. The monarch is experiencing “mild cold-like symptoms” but expects to continue “light duties” at Windsor over the coming week, the palace said. “She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines,” it added in a statement. The