In London, Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has been speaking about the war in Ukraine, and violence against women during conflict.

He says we must not sleepwalk into thinking this situation is going on in a far away land, and that it does not affect us.

He says the first lady's visit must "shock us awake again", and she "must make us listen" when says women in Ukraine are being raped by Russian soldiers, and people's lives are being destroyed.

"It is our duty to keep the spotlight on you, to keep shaking the world awake to the horrors Russia is committing," he says.

He says the UK needs to keep supporting Ukraine because "if Putin wins, other nations will be in his sights".

Away from Westminster, in Bucharest, Jens Stoltenberg has just started his press conference.

He is appearing alongside Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba who begins by saying the last time he met his three words were "weapons, weapons, weapons".

It saves people from torture, Kuleba says.

He adds: "I would like to thank you and the alliances for helping us.

"Today I have three other words, which are faster, faster and faster. We appreciate what has been done, but the war still goes on.

"Decisions on weapons and production lines have to be made faster.

"This is what we have been discussing, how to speed up everything."

Image source, HoC

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is speaking now ahead of an address from Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska at Westminster.

He extends a warm welcome to the first lady, and says Parliament is "extremely privileged" to have her there.

In the last few moments Nato has released a statement reaffirming support for Ukraine, adding it will never recognise Russia's "illegal annexations".

It says Russia's "persistent" attacks on Ukranian civilian and energy grids are "depriving millions of basic human services".

Allies will assist Ukraine as it repairs energy infrastructure and protects people from missile attacks, Nato's statement, released on the first day of a two-day meeting of foreign ministers, adds.

Image source, UK Parliament

We're still waiting for Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska to address MPs in the UK Parliament. She will be speaking at a committee room within the Palace of Westminster.

Among those gathering to hear from Zelenska is Boris Johnson, the former UK prime minister who has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine.

Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska will address MPs and peers shortly in the UK's Parliament.

We'll be bringing you the latest updates, but you can also watch a live stream by pressing the play button at the top of this page.

An early winter chill means temperatures in Ukraine are struggling to climb above freezing.

BBC Weather's Louise Lear explains.

Joe Inwood
BBC Newsnight International Correspondent in Moldova

Image source, EPA

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been felt around the world, but few countries have been impacted as severely as Moldova.

The small eastern European nation sits on Ukraine’s western border and initially received more refugees per person than any other country.

Inflation here is running at more than 30%, in large part due to the spiralling cost of energy and food. The impacts here, however, are more complicated than elsewhere.

During the Soviet era, countries were bound together not just by politics, but by infrastructure. Power lines and gas pipes were deliberately routed across borders, an attempt to bind the USSR together.

That has left Moldova almost uniquely exposed to attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure; a missile strike in Odesa can plunge Moldova's capital Chisinau into darkness.

Image source, EPA

The country’s deputy prime minister has warned people to prepare for days of rolling blackouts.

I met Andrei Spinu in his darkened ministry - the government says saving power is the best way to remove the threat of Russian energy blackmail, for that is exactly what they say they are facing.

He told me his country was facing “hybrid war”, waged by Moscow and their local proxies. Russia has been trying to put pressure on the government in Chisinau, in an attempt to weaken their support for Ukraine and derail their attempts to move towards the EU.

In general, that pressure has come in the form of rising prices. Today, they fear Russian missiles may make it all the more immediate.

Jonathan Beale
Reporting from Bucharest

Image source, EPA

This Nato foreign ministers meeting is designed to present a united front – a show of solidarity and practical support for Ukraine as Russia targets its energy grid and infrastructure.

Jens Stoltenberg accused Russia of using winter as a weapon of war.

He said Nato allies would do more to help repair Ukraine's infrastructure and to provide air defence systems against Russian missile attacks.

Ukraine’s foreign minister – who’ll brief ministers on the latest situation - has already called for the West to step up its supply of weapons and ammunition.

The US is expected to announce a new package of aid for Ukraine to help restore electricity supplies – with millions of civilians already affected by power outages.

Support is also likely to include help for neighbouring Moldova which is also suffering the consequences.

Britain’s foreign secretary accused President Putin of trying to freeze Ukraine into submission.

But James Cleverly said the Ukrainian people had already proved they were resilient, and Russia would not succeed.

It has been a busy morning as foreign ministers gather in Bucharest for a Nato summit - with Ukraine top of the agenda.

• Russian strikes on Ukraine's power infrastructure are leading to scheduled and emergency blackouts
• Concerns are now also firmly on helping Ukraine deal with the winter months as temperatures fall
• Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, in Bucharest, says Russia is trying to "freeze Ukraine into submission"
• A country-wide air raid siren was signalled briefly this morning. There have been no confirmed reports of any missile strikes
• Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg warns Europe has to prepare for more refugees as he expects more strikes on Ukraine's infrastructure
• Elsewhere, war crime prosecutors, police and residents have exhumed six bodies from a mass grave in the village of Pravdyne - around 30 miles outside of Kherson
• Later this afternoon, Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska will address UK MPs in London
• We may also hear more on the Nato memberships of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden

Image source, EPA

For anyone who hasn't been closely following the course of the war recently, the situation on the ground in Ukraine has entered a quiet phase in terms of territorial gains and losses in recent weeks.

Since the dramatic recapturing of Kherson in mid-November, fierce fighting continues on both the southern and eastern fronts, but poor weather conditions have prevented major offensives from either side.

However, Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure has continued apace - with millions around the country being intermittently left without power in freezing conditions.

Image source, .

In the east of the country, the region referred to as the Donbas, there have been no major gains or losses since October - when Ukraine recaptured the area around the city of Lyman.

Russia has claimed some victories around the city of Bakhmut, where the Kremlin-controlled Wagner mercenary group has been leading its offensive.

Image source, .

In the south, the Dnipro river remains the dividing line between Ukraine and Russian areas of control, after Ukrainan forces regained the key city of Kherson on 11 November.

Russia still controls the vital Zaporizhizhia nuclear power plant, which is located across the river from the city of Zaporzhiazhia, itself in occupied territory.

Image source, .

Image source, Getty Images

Foreign ministers attending a Nato meeting in Bucharest, Romania, have gathered for an official photo.

It followed the official greeting from the head of the military alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, and the Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu.

Later today, Stoltenberg will give an address to delegates following his earlier remarks that Russia's Vladimir Putin is using winter as a weapon of war in Ukraine.

Let's take a look at comments from some of the other foreign ministers making their way into Bucharest's grand Palace of Parliament building for the Nato meeting.

Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani says his country must do its part to help Ukraine over winter.

Nato should agree a package of non-lethal aid to help Ukraine over the next few months, according to the Czech Republic's Jan Lipavský.

Moving away from the topic of winter, Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis says Nato is not running low on tanks.

Finally, Slovakia's Rastislav Káčer says Ukraine's bid for Nato membership will be discussed at the summit.

He adds: "We need to take this seriously and help Ukraine going through the process of coming as close as possible to membership, and then when we are ready, so the transition to full membership will be very smooth."

We'll bring you more details when we get them.

Just how harsh is winter in Ukraine?published at 12:42 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2022

12:42 GMT 29 November 2022

Simon King
BBC weather presenter and meteorologist

Image source, Getty Images

Ukraine has certainly seen the winter weather bite recently and there is no sign of that freezing grip disappearing.

The average temperature in Kyiv at the end of November is around 2C.

But, over the coming week the daytime maximum temperature will struggle to get above freezing with forecasts of -5C up to 0C.

If you consider the wind chill factor then it may actually feel more like -10C at times. Night-time minimum temperatures will be just as low.

While there will occasionally be some sunny spells, on the whole it will remain very cloudy with further snow likely over the coming days as well.

Unfortunately, as the residents of Ukraine will know, this is just the start of what can be very cold winter weather across the country.

Much colder air is already locked in across Siberia and if a Bora wind (a strong north/north-easterly wind) develops it will get considerably colder with temperatures potentially down to -20C.

Find Kyiv's weather full forecast here.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is also in Bucharest for the Nato summit - he's just been speaking to reporters.

He said Russia's Vladimir Putin had been "attempting to weaponise energy supplies right from the very start of this conflict".

"This targeting of civilian infrastructure of energy infrastructure is obviously designed to try and freeze the Ukrainians into submission," he said.

Cleverly said the tactic would not be successful as Ukrainians had shown "a huge amount of resilience and we will continue to support them through the difficult months".

He also reflected on his own visit to Kyiv last week where the city was "plunged into darkness because of the specific targeting of the energy infrastructure".

Jessica Parker
Reporting from Kyiv

Let's turn to Kyiv now, where doing business nowadays can be hard.

We’ve been out talking to people at a market in the Obolon district and nipped into a bakery to get a coffee and get warm.

One minute later the lights were out, the oven is off and the coffee machine is no longer working as the power went out.

The staff at this family bakery, like Ludmilla, say it’s difficult to work like this and they have no idea when electricity will return.

Some outages are scheduled - known about by residents and businesses in advance. This one wasn’t.

But, they’re doing the best they can, selling pies and loaves that have already been made, hoping power will return.

People in Ukraine are preparing for the winter ahead, as Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg says Russia is trying to use the cold weather as a weapon of war.

Average temperatures for January in Kyiv can drop as low as -6C, with the month's highest average just -1C.

Let's take a look at some of the pictures we're getting:

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

In the last hour or so air raid alerts were issued across the whole of Ukraine.

The all-clear has been sounded by Kyiv and several other regions, and there are no immediate reports of any new missile strikes.

According to news agency Reuters, Ukrainian officials have called for caution following a warning by President Volodymyr Zelensky that Russia could be preparing new attacks, almost a week after the last big wave of strikes.

We'll bring you any further updates as and when we get them.

Image source, AFP

Into the closing stages of Jens Stoltenberg answering questions in Bucharest and he is asked about a potential second wave of migration from Ukraine as the winter conditions worsen.

Recent figures show that since 24 February up until 22 September, more than 7.4 million refugees have fled Ukraine into Europe.

The Nato general secretary expects more to follow as key Ukrainian infrastructure continues to be hit.

"Many have crossed into Romania - that demonstrates how timely that we meet here," he says.

"We have to be prepared for more refugees coming into Europe. This is a war - a brutal war."

Image source, EPA

Jens Stoltenberg says President Vladimir Putin is "failing" in his war and as a result more attacks on Ukraine can be expected.

Since invading in February, he notes that Russia has given up ground around Kyiv, Khakriv and Kherson - adding that it is a "sign of weakness".

"That is the sign Russia is failing on the battlefield," he says as he walks into a Nato summit of foreign ministers.

"In response to that they are attacking civilian cities because they are not able to win territory and avoid Ukraine slowly liberating more and more territory.

"So, yes we can expect more attacks. No one can say exactly how many, but President Putin and Russia has demonstrated a willingness to inflict suffering and to a level of brutality we haven't seen in Europe since the Second World War.

"We know Russia is running low on ammunition that is why they have reached out to Iran."