The British government announced that it had dropped tariffs on all goods from Ukraine while imposing a ban on the export of products and technology to Russia that could be used to repress Ukrainians.

It came in response to a direct request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to support the Ukrainian economy, the UK's international trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said in a statement., external

The UK had reduced all tariffs on goods from Ukraine, including key Ukrainian exports like barley, honey, tinned tomatoes and poultry, Trevelyan said.

"We stand unwaveringly with Ukraine in this ongoing fight and will work to ensure Ukraine survives and thrives as a free and sovereign nation," she said in a statement.

The UK also announced an export ban on products and technology to Russia. The products targeted could include interception and monitoring equipment and "will close any existing loopholes to ensure that Russia is not buying these goods from the UK."

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If you're just joining us or need a quick update, here's a round-up of the latest events in Ukraine.

• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Western arms shipments to Ukraine mean Nato is "in essence engaged in war with Russia" and there is "considerable" risk of the conflict going nuclear
• Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba responds that Lavrov is just trying to "scare the world off supporting Ukraine"

• Russia earlier said it had attacked six railway facilities in central and western Ukraine, with the aim of blocking the supply of foreign weaponry to Ukraine
• At least five people were killed and 18 wounded in the attacks, local officials said
• President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address to the nation that it is impossible to predict when the war will end, but he claimed Ukraine's victory was inevitable
• In Kherson, the only major city that Russia has taken and continues to occupy, Russian armed men seized control of the council building, the mayor said

• The White House says an ex-gymnast identified as Putin's mistress could still face sanctions, after a report emerged that American officials were concerned that targeting her could ire Putin

This is now Jude Sheerin in Washington DC and Max Matza in Seattle signing off. Our colleagues Yvette Tan in Singapore and Meryl Sebastian in Delhi will bring you all the latest updates as they emerge.

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The US on Monday launched a website for Americans to file applications to sponsor Ukrainians seeking to temporarily flee to the US.

The Department of Homeland Security last week announced the Uniting for Ukraine initiative, which allows Americans to financially sponsor Ukrainian refugees.

The website is only open to potential sponsors in the US. It includes links to forms that prove an individual's financial ability to be a sponsor.

The US has said that Ukrainians arriving will not go through the normal refugee process, but will instead be granted humanitarian parole that allows them to remain in the US for two years.

Around 15,000 Ukrainians who lacked proper identification documents have arrived at US border crossings in the past three months, an unnamed senior US official told CBS News - the BBC's partner in the US.

Last week the Biden administration announced that beginning on Monday, Ukrainians who lack travel papers will be required to go through the Uniting for Ukraine programme in order to be allowed entry.

Image source, Tass

Swimming world governing body Fina has launched an inquiry after a Russian swimmer banned for appearing at a pro-war rally raced in a competition over the weekend.

Evgeny Rylov, a double Olympic backstroke gold medalist, appeared at a rally in Moscow last month where speakers, including Vladimir Putin, praised the invasion.

He was handed a nine-month ban for the move and lost a sponsorship from Speedo.

But on Sunday, he raced in Russia's national swim championship.

“Fina is aware that Mr Rylov competed in the Russian Championships this weekend and has launched an internal review to ascertain whether Fina sanctions or rules have been broken,” the organisation said.

“The outcome of this review will be announced in due course”.

The president of the All-Russian Swimming Federation, a critic of Rylov's ban, previously said that he was exempt from the event because it was not officially sponsored by Fina this year.

Finland and Sweden are gearing up to announce at the same time in May that they want to join Nato, local media report.

Both Nordic nations are militarily non-aligned, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine has prompted increasing public support for joining the Western defensive alliance.

Finnish newspaper Iltalehti says it believes the leaders of Finland and Sweden plan to meet in the week of 16 May and announce that they will apply to join Nato.

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto declined to comment, but repeated his view that he would prefer it if Finland and Sweden made similar choices, Reuters reported.

The Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, citing sources close to the matter, also said it believed the two countries would make announcements that week, at the same time as each other.

It cited sources saying the US and Britain had promised Sweden increased military presence and "strong political" support during the application process.

Russia has warned of a nuclear build-up in the Baltic should Finland and Sweden join Nato.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

India has been under pressure to help isolate Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. But it has long-standing defence ties to Moscow.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, visiting the US, has said that while India would like to be a "good friend" to Western countries, it needed to protect its interests and ensure its security.

Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute shows that India is one of the world’s largest buyers of weapons. And since 1992, about two-thirds of its military equipment has come from Russia.

It has diversified its sources of weapons in recent years, buying more equipment from other countries.

But if you look at the period from 2016-21, Russia continued to be by far the largest supplier of weapons to India, accounting for twice as much as the next biggest supplier, France.

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White House press secretary Jen Psaki denied at Monday's daily press briefing the US was deliberately holding off on sanctioning the woman believed to be Putin's girlfriend.

"We're continuing to review sanctions," Psaki said when asked why Russian politician and ex-gymnast Alina Kabaeva had not yet been targeted.

"No-one is safe from our sanctions," Psaki continued.

"We've already of course sanctioned President Putin, but also his daughter and his closest cronies, and we will continue to review more," she added.

There have been calls for the US to sanction the 38-year old Olympic gold medalist, as the US has done to Putin's two adult daughters.

Putin is known for being intensely private about his personal life, and has never acknowledged any romantic relationship with Russia's "secret first lady", as she has been dubbed in the Russian and foreign press.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, US officials have withheld sanctions on Kabaeva due to concerns that Putin would view it as a personal attack.

It would be viewed as "so personal a blow to Mr Putin that it could further escalate tensions between Russia and the US", the Journal wrote.

Lavrov also acknowledged there's a possibility of the conflict escalating to nuclear weapons, though he also sounded a hopeful note about the prospects of a peace accord.

Speaking to the Russian First Channel on Monday, he said Moscow wanted to avoid "artificially" elevated risks of such a conflict.

"This is our key position on which we base everything. The risks now are considerable," Lavrov said.

"I would not want to elevate those risks artificially. Many would like that. The danger is serious, real, And we must not underestimate it."

Lavrov also accused President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine of "pretending" to negotiate, calling him "a good actor”.

"If you watch attentively and read attentively what he says, you'll find a thousand contradictions," Russia’s top diplomat said.

The foreign minister said last week that Moscow was committed to avoiding a nuclear war.

On Monday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted that Lavrov’s latest comments were an indication Russia had lost its "last hope to scare the world off supporting Ukraine”.

"Thus the talk of a ‘real’ danger of WWIII. This only means Moscow senses defeat in Ukraine," he tweeted.

Days after the invasion began back on 24 February, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his nuclear forces to be on alert.

The US and its Nato allies have said they do not want direct military intervention in Ukraine, in order to avoid the risks of a Third World War.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said deliveries of Western weaponry to Ukraine mean that the Nato alliance is "in essence engaged in war with Russia”.

In an interview aired on Monday, he said: "These weapons will be a legitimate target for Russia’s military acting within the context of the special operation.”

Lavrov also told state television: "Nato, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy. War means war."

Image source, Getty Images

If you're just joining us, here's a round-up of the latest events in Ukraine.

• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Western arms shipments to Ukraine mean Nato is "in essence engaged in war with Russia" and there is "considerable" risk of the conflict going nuclear
• Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba responds that Lavrov is just trying to "scare the world off supporting Ukraine"

• Russia earlier said it had attacked six railway facilities in central and western Ukraine, with the aim of blocking the supply of foreign weaponry to Ukraine
• At least five people were killed and 18 wounded in the attacks, local officials said
• President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address to the nation that it is impossible to predict when the war will end, but he claimed Ukraine's victory was inevitable
• In Kherson, the only major city that Russia has taken and continues to occupy, Russian armed men seized control of the council building, the mayor said
• Officials in the Russian-backed separatist region of Transnistria in neighbouring Moldova reported explosions at the state security ministry, saying it appeared to have been hit with rocket-propelled grenades
• But Ukraine's defence ministry said it was a "planned provocation" by Russia aimed at fomenting war in the region
• Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has confirmed the UK is giving Ukraine "a small number" of Stormer armoured vehicles, fitted with launchers for Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles
• The UK also said it estimated that about 15,000 Russian military personnel had been killed since the war began and a quarter of the invasion force was no longer "combat-effective"

Image source, Getty Images