Ukraine

US President Joe Biden on Monday made a trip to Kyiv organised in strict secrecy, promising $500 million in fresh arms deliveries and "unwavering" American support ahead of the first anniversary of Russia's invasion.

Putin was observed fidgeting with his legs restlessly during a meeting which led to a rise in further speculations about his health.

The European Union is urgently exploring ways for its member countries to team up to buy munitions to help Ukraine, following warnings from Kyiv that its forces need more supplies quickly.

World leaders are meeting at the Munich Security Conference with conflict still raging almost a year after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.

Britain's support for Ukraine will not change if the main opposition Labour Party wins power in an election next year, Labour leader Keir Starmer said during a visit to Ukraine on Thursday.

As a Soviet army conscript, Vasil Slabun helped in the clean-up of radioactive material after the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk has issued clarification on why he restricted Ukraine's access to its Starlink satellite internet service for military purposes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged allies to be speedy in sending more military help as NATO defence ministers met on Wednesday and Russia bombarded the eastern front line in what appeared to be the early salvoes of a new offensive.

The eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut was facing heavy artillery fire as the NATO chief backed reports from local officials that a major new Russian offensive had begun, days before the first anniversary of Moscow's invasion.

Since the start of the war, Western governments have stalled on Zelensky's appeals for aircraft.

European leaders jostled for the opportunity to host the Ukrainian leader during his trip.

Ukraine has threatened to boycott the event if Russian athletes are allowed to compete.

Ukraine's leader pressed at British heart strings when he evoked "the so few" pilots defending his skies from Russia's invasion.

Britain must set out a new strategy to boost military production and overhaul wasteful procurement to better support Ukraine and signal to Russia that things can only get worse, opposition Labour's defence policy chief said on Tuesday.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said personnel changes on the border and front line will bolster Ukraine's military efforts amid uncertainty over the future of his defence minister, just as Russia advances for the first time in six months in the east.

Ukraine has sent letters to companies that back the International Olympic Committee urging them to keep Russian athletes out of the Paris Olympic Games, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday.

The EU on Friday pledged to support Ukraine "every step of the way" in its quest for bloc membership as top officials gathered in Kyiv for a highly symbolic summit.

Air raid sirens wailed on Friday morning as European Union and Ukrainian leaders gathered for a summit, with Kyiv set to win pledges of further support but not a promise of quick accession to the wealthy bloc.

Ukraine is calling for Russian athletes to be entirely banned over their country's brutal invasion of Ukraine

Earlier Thursday, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace cautioned that supplying Ukraine with fighter jets would not be a "magic wand" in the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday warned that Russia was building up its troops to take "revenge" on the West nearly a year into Moscow's invasion.

Ukraine urged the European Union on Thursday to impose more sanctions on Moscow, as some of the bloc's top officials visited Kyiv in a show of solidarity that offered no quick path to membership during Russia's invasion.

Following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year, Britain trumpeted new legislation requiring property-ownership disclosure aimed at cracking down on Russian oligarchs and corrupt elites laundering illicit wealth.

Andrew Bagshaw, 47, and Chris Parry, 28, were reported missing in early January after having set out for the town of Soledar.

The apparent threat came in a phone call just ahead of the invasion on February 24, according to a new BBC documentary to be broadcast on Monday.

The European Union wants swift accountability for "horrific" crimes in Ukraine, EU justice ministers said on Friday, even as they differed over the methods in a debate about how to bring prosecutions, seek evidence or fund war damage repairs.

The latest wave of Russian attacks came as the Kremlin said it perceived the tanks "as direct involvement in the conflict".

Russia said on Thursday it saw the promised delivery of Western tanks to Ukraine as evidence of direct and growing U.S. and European involvement in the conflict.

Ukraine -- which had pleaded for heavy Western tanks for months -- welcomed the twin announcements, with President Volodymyr Zelensky urging they be delivered quickly.

Two British nationals were killed while rescuing an elderly woman amid heavy fighting in Soledar, Ukraine.