Russia will not be submitting a film to compete in the Oscars this year, the Russian film academy has announced.

In a statement, external, the academy gave no reason for why it was not submitting entries.

But following the announcement, the head of the committee responsible for selecting a nomination from Russia, Pavel Chukhray, said he had resigned in the wake of the decision, according to quotes cited by Russian news agency Tass.

Russia is not ruling out sabotage as a reason behind the "unprecedented" damage to two key gas pipelines, a spokesman for the Kremlin has said.

We reported earlier that two leaks were found in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, shortly after another leak was discovered on the nearby Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

Both Russia-built pipelines run under the Baltic Sea near Sweden and Denmark and have been at the centre of the energy dispute between Europe and Russia.

Dmitry Peskov told reporters the Kremlin was very concerned with the situation, which he said requires a prompt investigation.

Image source, Reuters

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said that Russia has the right to use nuclear weapons "if necessary" and that this is "certainly not a bluff".

Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said Moscow will have to respond to threats if it is pushed "beyond its limits".

He warned that Russia would respond "without much consultation" as tensions rise with the West over discredited referendums taking place on whether Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory should join the Russian Federation.

Writing on Telegram, Medvedev said he believed Nato would "not directly interfere in the conflict even in this scenario".

As discredited referendums continue to take place today on whether occupied regions of Ukraine should join Russia, a so-called electoral commission in the Donetsk region is seen standing for the Russian national anthem.

"Don't expect many 'no' votes here," says the BBC's Eastern Europe correspondent Sarah Rainsford, who shared the video below.

New satellite images appear to show large numbers of vehicles leaving Russia attempting to cross the border into Georgia and Mongolia, following Russian President Vladimir Putin's order to mobilise hundreds of thousands of reservists for the war in Ukraine.

At one point on Sunday, there was an estimated wait of 48 hours to enter Georgia, with more than 3,000 vehicles queuing to cross the border, Russian state media reported.

Image source, Reuters

The Georgian capital Tbilisi had already seen an influx of around 40,000 Russians since Moscow invaded Ukraine on 24 February, according to government statistics, Reuters reported.

The Kremlin said yesterday that no decision had been taken on whether to seal Russia's borders to stop military-aged men fleeing the country.

Image source, Reuters

Adam Easton
Reporting from Warsaw

The Polish and Danish prime ministers are taking part in an opening ceremony for a new gas pipeline - named the Baltic Pipe - that will open a new link for Norwegian gas to Europe.

The ceremony is being held at the Goleniow gas compressor station in north-western Poland.

Poland has led the project to replace gas from its traditional main supplier Russia. Gazprom stopped supplying Poland in April.

Not only will Poland be able to import pipeline Norwegian gas via Denmark for the first time, countries to the south of Poland, including Slovakia and the Czech Republic, will also be able to be supplied.

Gas will start flowing in the pipeline on 1 October, and it is expected to reach its full capacity by the end of November.

Three offshore lines of the Nord Stream gas pipeline system have sustained "unprecedented" damage in one day, Nord Stream AG, the operator of the network, has said.

Sweden's Maritime Authority said two leaks had been found in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

Denmark is also restricting shipping after another leak on the nearby Nord Stream 2 pipeline was found.

Both pipelines contained gas under pressure, but neither of them was pumping gas to Europe at the time leaks were found.

The pipelines have been at the centre of the energy dispute between Europe and Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Nord Stream AG, the operator of the network, has said it is impossible to estimate when the gas network system's working capability will be restored.

There is a "realistic possibility" Russian President Vladimir Putin will announce the annexation of occupied regions of Ukraine when he addresses Russia's parliament on Friday, according to the UK’s defence ministry.

Discredited referendums have been taking place in occupied areas of the country over several days and are scheduled to end today.

Ukraine and the West say the result has already been decided by the Kremlin and will be used as an excuse for an illegal land grab.

“Russia’s leaders almost certainly hope that any accession announcement will be seen as a vindication of the ‘special military operation’ and will consolidate patriotic support for the conflict,” the defence ministry said, external.

But it adds that this hope will “likely be undermined by the increasing domestic awareness of Russia’s recent battlefield sets-backs and significant unease about the partial mobilisation announced last week.”

Image source, EPA

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the Ukraine war.

Here's a round-up of the main developments this morning:

• Vladimir Putin could announce the annexation of occupied regions of Ukraine when he addresses Russia's parliament on Friday, the UK's Ministry of Defence has said
• It comes as Russia stages a final day of voting in discredited referendums in occupied regions of Ukraine

• Ukraine and the West say the result has already been decided by the Kremlin and will be used as an excuse for an illegal land grab
• Meanwhile, two leaks have been found on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in Swedish and Danish waters, Sweden's maritime authority says

Stay with us as we bring you the latest news and analysis on the war.