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Russia has filed “pre-trial claims” against Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland over the Nord Stream pipeline explosions, accusing the West of trying to “sweep the matter under the carpet”, Reuters is reporting.

The multi-billion dollar pipeline that carried natural gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea was ruptured by a series of blasts in September 2022, seven months after Russia invaded Ukraine.

In Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine, residents have clung on to hope until the bitter end. Now many are saying goodbye to their homes

Valeria Tanashchuk packed up a few last belongings from her home. Going in the evacuation van waiting outside: her daughter Nicole’s favourite bear, clothes, items of furniture and a microwave oven. Staying behind: her mother Marina’s collection of detective novels, a wall poster with the Ukrainian alphabet written on it, and a pair of furry slippers.

“We don’t want to leave. But would choice do we have?” Tanashchuk asked, as a thunderous boom echoed nearby. “The explosions get worse every day. They are louder and more frequent.” What would she do next? “I don’t have a concrete plan,” she said. “I will try and find work somewhere. We had hoped until the end that everything would be OK.”

Ukrainian president tells press conference with Ursula von der Leyen that Ukraine plans to use EU loan for air defence, energy and weapons purchases

Ukraine’s “victory plan” in the war against Russia depends on quick decisions being taken by allies this year, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday during a visit by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

Zelenskyy told a joint press conference with von der Leyen that Ukraine planned to use a proposed multi-billion dollar European Union loan for air defence, energy and domestic weapons purchases.