Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his country will keep seeking Nato membership despite Russian opposition and scepticism from some Western leaders.

In a news conference alongside Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday, Zelensky adds that "many journalists and many leaders are hinting a little to Ukraine that it is possible not to take risks, not to constantly raise the issue of future membership in the alliance, because these risks are associated with the reaction of the Russian Federation".

"I believe that we should move along the path we have chosen," he says.

The remarks come after the Ukraine's ambassador to the UK backtracked on earlier comments he had made to the BBC, in which he said Ukraine was willing to be "flexible" on its ambition to join Nato.

Image source, Getty Images

Viktoriia Zhuhan
BBC Ukrainian

Pink heart-shaped helium balloons, fresh tulip bouquets for sale on every corner, and tightly-packed shopping malls.

It would look like a perfectly normal Valentine’s weekend in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv if not for the constantly alarming breaking news.

Ukrainians rushed to media websites and there were renewed discussions about grab-and-go bags - but they didn’t line up near cash machines or grocery stores.

The only queues I saw this weekend were in front of popular restaurants downtown.

Don’t get me wrong though: there was also a “march for unity” in the capital this weekend, and civilians are still signing up for training in a new part-time reserve army.

Normal life and preparing “for the worst” no longer contradict one another, and it seems like news about flight changes and foreigners being advised to leave are just another brick in the wall Ukraine seems to have been facing for a while now.

Image source, Getty Images

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will speak to US President Joe Biden later today, with the call expected to take place at 17:30 GMT, a White House official says.

Earlier, the PM said: "I'm going to be doing everything I can to help the diplomatic process. I'll be talking to various leaders, including Joe Biden, very soon."

Image source, Getty Images

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he expects Russia to make serious efforts to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine, adding Germany and its western allies are prepared for serious dialogue with Russia over European security.

Speaking during a press conference in Kyiv alongside Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, Scholz says there is "no reasonable justification" for the Russian military build-up on Ukraine's borders and urges Moscow "to take up the existing offers of dialogue".

He adds Germany and other western nations are ready to impose "very far-reaching and effective sanctions" in the event of any Russian incursion into Ukraine.

Scholz also notes that “no other country has supported Ukraine as much financially as Germany”, and Germany will offer the country another credit of €150m (£125m).

Speaking alongside the German Chancellor, Zelensky says "Ukraine’s security is the security of all of Europe".

Image source, Getty Images

The Russian and Ukrainian delegations to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) will meet in Vienna on Tuesday to discuss Moscow's buildup of troops near the Ukrainian border, it has been announced., external

Ukraine and several other Baltic states called for the summit to discuss "unusual military activity" in Belarus after Russia failed to respond to a formal request for information about its military build-up on Sunday.

The 1990 Vienna Document requires the 57 members of the OSCE to share information about their military forces and notify each other ahead of any major activities or training operations.

The announcement follows reports on Monday morning that a senior Russian official had told the country's RIA news agency that Moscow had refused a request to take part in a meeting called for by Ukraine.

Konstantin Gavrilov, head of Russia's mission to the organisation, earlier said Moscow's diplomats would not take part in the meeting scheduled for Monday afternoon.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, did not comment directly on the request on Monday, but told reporters "I would like to emphasise once again that we are talking about the movement of Russian troops on Russian territory".

Diplomatic efforts are continuing today, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.

Tomorrow he's due to head to Moscow for talks with President Putin.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters

Image source, Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters

UK assessment of Ukraine crisis looks bleakpublished at 14:23 Greenwich Mean Time 14 February 2022

14:23 GMT 14 February 2022

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

The UK government has made it clear this morning it has seen no signs Russia is stepping back from the prospect of invading Ukraine.

Boris Johnson described the situation as extremely concerning. He has cancelled plans to be travelling around the UK overnight – instead he’ll be back in London later and will receive briefings from intelligence chiefs about the latest situation.

The Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is also hosting a meeting of the Cobra committee at the moment. The committee meets to discuss emergencies and significant events.

The government here has said it will continue to explore every possible avenue to talk Russia out of an invasion. But at the moment, the assessment in London seems quite bleak.

Image source, Neil Reavely

More than a dozen countries, including the UK, have urged their citizens to leave Ukraine as the threat of a Russian invasion grows.

But some - like English teacher Neil Reavely - are choosing to stay. The 48-year-old has lived in Dnipro, in central Ukraine, for more than 11 years.

He has two young children, aged three and four, who are British and is in the process of divorcing from his wife so says he needs to stay in Ukraine while he tries to get custody.

"This city is my home, having given up everything to move here," he tells the BBC. "I’ve made a lot of friends here – all of them locals. I only know one British person here."

With many flights cancelled, Neil also questioned how Brits were expected to leave the country.

"People in Dnipro are rather calm about the whole situation – that’s the outward impression, a sort of stoicism," he says. "They've lived with this constant threat from Russia ever since the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk were annexed by Russia [in 2014]."

While his family in the UK are worried, Neil says people in Dnipro are trying to carry on with normal life and "most people here don’t think anything is going to happen".

"People are still going to parties. I’m supposed to be going to football tomorrow," he says.

"Schools are open as normal. The markets are open. Nobody is packing up shops. It’s just another day with Russia as a neighbour."

Petr Kozlov
BBC Russian, Moscow

Russia’s ruling party, United Russia, wants the country’s parliament to vote on whether to recognise the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk republics in eastern Ukraine.

Donetsk and Luhansk People’s republics proclaimed their independence from Ukraine in May 2014 but have not been internationally recognised.

Ukraine and the West accused Russia of providing them with military support. Russia has always denied officially assisting the separatists.

United Russia is backed by President Vladmir Putin and is the largest party in the State Duma, holding 326 out of 450 seats.

Earlier, a similar proposal was submitted by a much smaller faction of the Communist party but suggesting a more direct route to recognition.

The communists wanted to ask President Putin to recognise the two republics immediately while United Russia wants to hold consultations with the Ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs, as well as other government agencies first.

It is possible that both proposals may be voted in their first reading on Tuesday.

Russia has been issuing Russian passports to the residents in the separatists’-held regions of Ukraine.

Joel Gunter
BBC News

As tensions mount between Russia and Ukraine there are families who are still displaced and living in a town made of metal containers after war broke out in 2014.

Liudmyla Bobova is one of 175 people still living in the "module city" about half an hour's drive from the centre of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine.

She fled here from Molodohvardiisk, a small mining town a stone's throw from the Russian border eight years ago when Russian-backed separatists seized much of the Donbas region by force.

Liudmyla told us in Ukrainian that the accommodation is depressing but she is grateful to be here.

"Before the war, my life was full. But all I need here is my own home, and life will be full again."

The BBC asked the Ministry for Reintegration - created in 2016 and tasked with caring for internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Donbas - to respond, but they declined to answer questions.

Read the stories of other families living in the module city.

Image source, Getty Images

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has told President Vladimir Putin that "there always is a chance" of reaching a security agreement with the west during an appearance on state TV.

During the carefully choreographed discussion, the Russian president asks Lavrov: "Is there a chance to reach an agreement with our partners on key issues or is it an attempt to drag us into an endless negotiation process?"

Lavrov replies that "possibilities are far from being exhausted, they certainly should not continue indefinitely, but I would suggest continuing and ramping them up".

The 71-year old also observed that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is due to arrive in Moscow on Tuesday.

"All right," Putin says in response.

The comments come as Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin Russia's military drills in neighbouring Belarus are coming to an end.

Moscow pledged last month its troops would leave the country after the drills had concluded and its ambassador to the UK, Andrey Kelin, reiterated that promise during an interview with the BBC last week.

Image source, EPA/RUSSIAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTRY

In the wake of last week's tense meeting between UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Downing Street says: "no-one was under any illusions about what can be achieved in a single meeting".

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's official spokesman says Truss's Moscow discussions were "an important opportunity to present our understanding of the situation and to hear directly from the Russians on their position".

They add the UK government will explore all opportunities to take a diplomatic path and stand ready to have further discussions with their Russian counterparts at all levels in the interest of de-escalating the Ukraine crisis.

Downing Street stresses it is "crucial" that it takes these opportunities so the Russian government is in no doubt about the UK and Nato's position.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair a full meeting of the Cobra emergency committee tomorrow to consider the UK's response to the Ukraine crisis, No 10 says.

In the meantime, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will chair a Cobra meeting today, following Friday's warning for UK citizens to leave Ukraine.

"The prime minister will receive a security briefing from his intelligence chiefs today," a spokesman adds.

The UK Prime Minister will cut short a trip to the North West of England in light of the situation in Ukraine, No 10 says.

Boris Johnson will not stay overnight in Cumbria, instead returning to Downing Street, a spokesman adds.

Olga Ivshina
BBC Russian Service

Recent polls suggest about half of Russians believe war between Russia and Ukraine is unlikely.

But it doesn’t mean people are not afraid of it happening.

The general mood is that Russia is being dragged into a war against its will.

Only 4% think Russian officials are in charge of the current crisis. People mostly blame Nato and the West for provoking tension.

“Whatever happens in the world, America is to blame”. This message has been broadcast by pro-Kremlin media for decades now and it seems to have rooted deep in the minds of many here.

Youngsters are often more critical towards Putin and his administration than older Russians.

But attitudes towards the Ukraine crisis are quite united.

Even though some people are afraid of war, they seem quite prepared that it may happen.

Russians see it as part of a wider conflict with the West, which, they believe, has been actively going for some time now.

As global diplomatic efforts continue in a bid to ease tensions over the Ukraine crisis, Downing Street says are no signs Russia will back down, with No 10 "gravely concerned” about the prospect of an invasion.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman says the UK will explore "every possible avenue" to talk Russia back from this path.

Downing Street says Johnson would want Parliament to be updated if any invasion takes place - raising the prospect of a recall given that Parliament is currently in recess.

Johnson adds that his defence secretary was "right to say" that the West must be united against Russian aggression.

Asked if he agreed with Ben Wallace's claims there was a "whiff of Munich" and appeasement in actions against President Putin so far, the UK prime minister insists he was "absolutely right to say it's very important that we've got to be strong, and we've got to be resolute and we've got to be united."

He says it is particularly important to show a united front when it comes to economic sanctions.

"The UK, as you know, has been in the lead in bringing our allies together so that there's a tough package of sanctions," he says.

"It's very, very important that the West should stand united, particularly that Nato has done it.

"It's been pretty encouraging to see the way countries have pulled together."

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the "evidence is pretty clear" that Russia is planning an invasion of Ukraine.

On a visit to Scotland he says there are troops massing on the Ukrainian border and "all sorts of other signs that show that there are serious preparations" going on.

He says this is a "a very, very dangerous, difficult situation" but "there is still time for President (Vladimir) Putin to step back".

He is calling for more dialogue and urges Russia to avoid a "disastrous" invasion.

Katy Austin
Business Correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

The UK is among the countries urging its citizens to leave Ukraine now while there are still commercial means available - but there is no government repatriation scheme in place.

Wizz Air is continuing to operate all of its flights to and from Ukraine as normal but says it is closely monitoring the situation.

It is advising passengers with booked flights to regularly check for further information.

On Sunday, KLM said it would stop services to Ukraine and Germany's Lufthansa is also considering suspending flights.

According to data company Cirium, there were 3,776 scheduled flights into Ukraine from European airports in January, with 98 from the UK.

Cirium says Ryanair was the largest airline flying between Europe and Ukraine, followed by Wizz Air. The BBC has contacted Ryanair for comment.

Many carriers have avoided eastern Ukraine since the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014 and there are relatively few planes over Ukraine itself.

If you're just joining us or need a recap here's the latest on the tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

• Russia has gathered about 100,000 troops close to Ukraine's borders and a reported 30,000 more are engaged in military exercises in Belarus. Russia denies it plans to invade Ukraine
• More than a dozen countries, including the UK and the US, are urging their citizens to leave Ukraine
• The UK's armed forces minister says he believes Europe is closer to war than it has been for 70 years but there are still opportunities "to let diplomacy win through"
• The German chancellor is set to meet the Ukrainian President in Kyiv later as part of efforts to defuse tension
• Russia wants assurances Ukraine will never be allowed to join Nato - the world's most powerful regional defence alliance - but its members oppose this

• Leaders from the G7 group of the world's richest countries warn Russia will face "massive" economic sanctions if they invade
• Ukraine's PM says his government is offering £420m to airlines to keep flights going through the uncertainty