Are Ukraine's neighbours safe?published at 13:30 Greenwich Mean Time 28 February 2022

13:30 GMT 28 February 2022

Mark Lowen
BBC News, Ukraine-Poland border

Image source, Getty Images

Cristina Onofras in Romania asks: "Are the countries around Russia and part of Nato safe, [and] for how long?"

Nato's eastern flank countries, bordering Ukraine, are worried. Lithuania declared a state of emergency and Sweden and Finland – though neither of them Nato members – joined the alliance’s emergency summit last week, and the US has increased its troop numbers in countries like Poland.

Some Poles I’ve spoken to near the border feel anxious about their own security - but their primary focus remains on helping Ukrainian friends or relatives on the other side, or those who have fled here.

What do Russian-speaking Ukrainians think about the war?published at 13:27 Greenwich Mean Time 28 February 2022

13:27 GMT 28 February 2022

Lyse Doucet
Chief International Correspondent, Kyiv

Man Chun Siu in London asks: "What do the Russian-speaking Ukrainians think about the current Russian invasion of Ukraine?"

We saw some scenes of celebration in areas of eastern Ukraine which have been controlled by Russian-backed separatists since 2014.

Some evacuees from this region told BBC colleagues of their happiness that Russia recognised Donetsk and Luhansk. But it is hard to know how much of a welcome there was.

Life became much harder for residents in these areas in the past eight years - they’ve been cut off from their families, even their pensions.

Speaking Russian does not mean being pro-Russian. Many Ukrainians speak both languages, including President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Can sanctions alone deter Putin?published at 13:23 Greenwich Mean Time 28 February 2022

13:23 GMT 28 February 2022

Lyse Doucet
Chief International Correspondent, Kyiv

Image source, Reuters

Aragorn in London asks: "Why do the US and EU believe that sanctions alone can deter Putin?"

The threats against Ukraine, and now the war against Ukraine have jolted the world. We've seen in recent days a slow but certain toughening of sanctions, restrictions, plus actions by countries and organisations worldwide that are unparalleled.

As Russia invaded Ukraine, a first tranche of sanctions came into force in one capital after another. They were welcomed by Ukrainians but mocked too, as simply not sufficient. And indeed, they didn’t change Vladimir Putin’s mind.

The West is now waking up to Russia’s resolve to occupy Ukraine. Some sanctions will take weeks, even months to bite, but some are now hitting Russia’s currency, stocks, the wealth of the rich oligarchs and sadly the lives of the poorest.

How and when will international military aid arrive?published at 13:15 Greenwich Mean Time 28 February 2022

13:15 GMT 28 February 2022

Mark Lowen
BBC News, Ukraine-Poland border

Christophe Borgia in Quebec, Canada, asks: "How and when will the military aid promised by various Western nations arrive in Ukraine? How could Western nations accelerate the delivery of this needed aid?"

Some military aid has already been sent. Poland has sent ammunition across the border, the US has already sent in some 90 tonnes of military assistance, Sweden is breaking with its tradition of not sending weapons to countries engaged in armed conflict, and now the EU has, for the first time ever, agreed to finance the purchase and delivery of weapons to a country under attack.

In terms of how it will be accelerated, Poland has offered to be a logistics hub for the deployment. Western nations are acutely aware of the need to quicken this, with Ukraine concerned that it's running out of ammunition.

Why did Russia choose to invade Ukraine now?published at 13:04 Greenwich Mean Time 28 February 2022

13:04 GMT 28 February 2022

Lyse Doucet
Chief International Correspondent, in Kyiv

Anna Sabalaske from Hawaii asks: "Does anyone know why Russia chose now to attack/invade Ukraine, rather than doing so a year ago or two years ago, or next year? Was there a 'triggering' factor to cause it to happen now?"

That is an important question and we still don't have all the answers. This war is often called Vladimir Putin’s war - it's widely believed he is the one driving it and no-one is clear how far he is able and willing to go to try to control a neighbour he says shouldn't exist as a country.

Many ask if he sensed a weakness in the Nato alliance, in the US in particular, after the messy debacle of the troop pull-out from Afghanistan and a Taliban takeover.

Many also speculate about the Russian leader's state of mind after the isolation and anxiety of the pandemic.

For the next little while, our correspondents will be answering some of your questions on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

We will put them to Lyse Doucet, who has been reporting from the capital Kyiv since the war began, and Mark Lowen on the Poland-Ukraine border.

Of course, we'll still bring you the most important news updates as this goes on.

Thanks for all the great questions you've sent in, and thanks for joining us.

Image source, PA Media

With talks currently taking place in Belarus between Russian and Ukrainian officials, we're now learning that Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich has been approached by Ukraine to help support their attempts to reach a "peaceful resolution" to the conflict.

The Russian billionaire's spokesperson said Abramovich was contacted by Ukrainian officials and "has been trying to help ever since".

Abramovich announced on Saturday that "stewardship and care" of Chelsea was being given to trustees of the club's charitable foundation.

The 55-year-old is one of Russia's richest people and is believed to be close to Russian President Putin.

Michelle Roberts
Digital health editor

Image source, Getty Images

Vital oxygen supplies to treat patients sick with Covid and other critical illnesses, and war injuries, are running dangerously low in Ukraine, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

Trucks have been unable to transport supplies from plants to hospitals within the country, including the capital Kyiv, meaning available stocks could run out within the next 24 hours.

The WHO said it is working with partners to get urgent shipments through Poland.

"The oxygen supply situation is nearing a very dangerous point," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge said.

The WHO said several manufacturing plants in Ukraine were also facing shortages of zeolite – a crucial, mainly imported chemical product that is needed to make safe medical oxygen.

Hospital services are also under threat from electricity and power shortages.

Image source, Getty Images

Dozens of civilians have been killed and hundreds more injured during heavy Russian shelling of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials say.

Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to Kyiv's interior minister, wrote on Facebook that Moscow's troops had bombarded residential areas with Grad missiles, saying: "Dozens have been killed and hundreds wounded!

"The whole world must see this horror! Death to the occupiers!"

It is not possible at this stage to say exactly how many civilians have been killed so far. The UN Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet said earlier today that at least 102 civilians had been killed, with a further 304 people injured.

"Most of these civilians were killed by explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and air strikes. The real figures are, I fear, considerably higher," Bachlet said.

Queues at cash points as sanctions start to hit Russiapublished at 12:26 Greenwich Mean Time 28 February 2022

12:26 GMT 28 February 2022

Jenny Hill
BBC News, Moscow

The Kremlin does not want the Russian people to think that these sanctions are going to bite, even though international experts are saying that they will, and deeply too.

We are seeing some effects already today - the rouble fell to a record low, we've learned that the stock exchange is not going to open and Russia's central bank has more than doubled its key interest rate.

Nevertheless, the Kremlin has reiterated that Russia was expecting these sanctions and it has prepared for them.

Beneath that of course there is going to be concern in the Kremlin, and Vladimir Putin is going to meet economic advisers today.

People are of course going to start noticing a difference. Already there have been queues at cash points, with people predicting perhaps even a run on banks.

Presumably in the coming days people will see the value of their savings start to fall, perhaps job losses - all that comes with such unprecedented sanctions.

Image source, PA Media

Surges in global oil prices prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine are being felt at the petrol pump in the UK.

The average price of petrol jumped to £1.51 a litre on Sunday, the RAC said, while diesel rose to £1.55.

Russia is the second-biggest exporter of crude oil, and while only 6% of UK imports come from Russia, there are concerns sanctions could restrict supplies worldwide and drive up prices.

If you're just joining us, or catching up on events, here are the latest developments on the fifth day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine:

• Talks have begun in Belarus between negotiators for Kyiv and Moscow but expectations are not high
• EU defence ministers are set to meet for discussions on the conflict
• Ukraine's President Zelensky has called for Russian troops to put down their weapons and for immediate EU membership

• Blasts were heard in Kyiv and Kharkiv this morning, while a residential building in the northern city of Chernihiv was hit by a missile

• Russia doubles its interest rate to 20% as its currency plunges and experts warn of a possible run on banks
• Russia's central bank has more than doubled its key interest rate to 20% from 9.5%
• Despite the financial hit the Kremlin says Russia will "ride out" economic sanctions

If you want more detail, you can read how Ukraine remains on alert and the latest here.

We've been gathering some of your questions on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and we'll shortly be hearing answers from some of the BBC's correspondents on the ground.

Lyse Doucet has been reporting from the capital Kyiv since the war began, while Mark Lowen is on the Poland-Ukraine border, as thousands flee the country.

We'll bring you the Q&A here from 13:00 GMT.

Pictures have started to emerge as Russian and Ukrainian officials meet to discuss the conflict at the Ukraine-Belarus border.

Ahead of the meeting, Ukraine's president said his country wanted an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops. Meanwhile, Russia says it wants to reach an agreement that benefits both sides.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Orla Guerin
Reporting from Kyiv

Image source, Reuters

As the curfew lifted at 8.00 on day five of the Russian invasion, small numbers of people began to emerge onto the sunlit streets in Kyiv.

Since the curfew was imposed on Saturday night, there has been a change in the city - more checkpoints, more sandbags, and more tension.

We drove past a blue Lada, stopped in the middle of the road. There were bullet holes along one side, and the driver was slumped, dead, over the wheel. He had been shot in the head.

Suddenly Ukrainian troops, in a concealed position, starting shouting at us to go. We don’t know the circumstances but it’s possible the driver was suspected of being a Russian saboteur. The security forces are hunting for them inside the city.

For some, today was a chance to try to flee. Mid-morning, as an air raid siren wailed, we met a group of about 30 students from India, rushing to the railway station, dragging their cases behind them.

They said they had heard reports that foreign students were being prevented from getting on trains. One medical student told me that in this time of war, they hoped all people would be treated the same. In any case they weren’t planning to rely on the train. They had booked their own bus.

Read more: Indian students stranded in Ukraine desperately seek help

Earlier, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace downplayed the nuclear "special alert" announced by Vladimir Putin, suggesting that the Russian president wanted to distract people from his forces' slower-than-expected progress in the invasion.

Wallace told the BBC: "We will not do anything to escalate in that area, we will not do anything to feed any miscalculation - we take it very, very seriously. But at the moment this is a battle of rhetoric that President Putin is deploying."

Now, the Kremlin has suggested comments from Foreign Secretary Liz Truss were the reason that Russia put its nuclear forces on heightened alert, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.

"There had been statements by various representatives at various levels about possible conflict situations and even collisions and clashes between Nato and the Russian Federation," said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Vladimir Putin.

"We consider such statements absolutely unacceptable. I will not name the authors of these statements, although it was the British foreign secretary."

It's not clear which comments by Truss the Russian government objects to, although on Sunday she said she would support individuals from the UK joining an international force to fight for Ukraine.

The EU's representative for foreign affairs and security policy is convening a meeting with the bloc's defence ministers to discuss the Ukraine conflict.

The agenda will centre on "urgent needs" and co-ordinating the bloc's assistance to the Ukrainians, according to a tweet posted by Josep Borrell Fontelles.

Earlier, Ukraine's President Zelensky called for the country's immediate accession to the EU.

President of the European Council Charles Michel has since responded, saying there are "different opinions and sensitivities within the EU on enlargement", according to the AFP news agency.

Russia has about $630bn (£470bn) in reserves - a stockpile of savings - built up from soaring oil and gas prices.

But because a lot of this money is stored in foreign currencies like the dollar, the euro and sterling as well as gold, a Western ban on dealing with Russia's central bank restricts Moscow from access to the cash.

In the wake of sanctions announced on Monday, the value of Russia's currency, the rouble, plunged by as much as 40% against the US dollar.

Will Walker-Arnott, senior investment manager at Charles Stanley, told the BBC that "it looks like Russia is increasingly becoming an economic pariah, increasingly isolated from the global financial system".

Putin's invasion isn't going to plan - what will he do next?published at 11:11 Greenwich Mean Time 28 February 2022

11:11 GMT 28 February 2022

Frank Gardner
BBC Security Correspondent

Russian President Vladimir Putin is now in a tight spot and that's dangerous.

This long-planned invasion of his neighbour is not going to plan, although his forces are making some progress in the south.

Beyond Ukraine's borders, the international reaction has been far swifter and more severe than he would have expected, inflicting serious damage on the Russian economy that could end up threatening his authority at home.

So what comes next? On the sanctions, Moscow will retaliate in some form - possibly with a major cyber attack on western institutions.

But Putin's more immediate task is to show he is winning in Ukraine.

Barring the unlikely chance of a peace deal, we can expect to see an intensification of the Russian offensive on Ukraine's cities.

Judging by previous Russian actions in Chechnya and Syria there will be scant regard for the safety of civilians, and Moscow still has some devastating weapons at its disposal that it has yet to use.

On the fifth day after Russian forces entered Ukraine, delegations from the two countries have begun talks aimed at ending the war.

The Ukrainian president's office says it wants an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces.

Meanwhile Moscow wants to reach an agreement that was in the interests of both sides, according to Russian negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky.

Before the meeting started, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Russian troops to lay down their weapons, and called for the EU to grant Ukraine membership of the bloc immediately.