Live
Ukraine Russia war
Russia 'builds nuclear warheads for indestructible Poseidon super torpedo'
Russia has produced the first nuclear warheads for the Poseidon super torpedoes that it claims are "practically indestructible," according to Russian news agency Tass.
"The first Poseidon ammunition loads have been manufactured, and the Belgorod submarine will receive them in the near future," an unidentified defence source reportedly told the state news agency.
President Vladimir Putin first announced what would become known as Poseidon in 2018, claiming it was a fundamentally new type of strategic nuclear weapon with its own nuclear power source.
He claimed the range of the torpedo would be unlimited and that it could operate at extreme depths at a speed many times that of any submarine or other torpedoes.
"They are very low noise, have high maneuverability and are practically indestructible for the enemy. There is no weapon that can counter them in the world today," Putin said.
However, a US official said as recently as November that tests of the torpedo had likely been hampered by technical issues.
Ukraine 'staving off Wagner assaults in Soledar'
Ukrainian forces are fighting to retain control of Soledar in eastern Donetsk, deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said on Sunday - contradicting Russian claims that it had captured the small town.
It comes as the UK Ministry of Defence said that Ukrainian Armed Forces "almost certainly maintained positions in Soledar, north of Bakhmut, in the face of continued Wagner Group assaults" as of Sunday.
Soledar has been the site of bloody fighting in recent weeks. The head of Russia's notorious Wagner mercenary group claimed his forces had captured the town on Saturday.
Wagner mercenary dodges rifle fire and tracker dogs in high-stakes escape into Norway
A Russian mercenary commander fled from Russia into Norway by creeping past watchtowers, dodging rifle fire and scrambling away from tracker dogs.
Andrei Medvedev claimed that at around 2am on Friday he climbed two barbed wire fences guarding the Russia-Norway border in the Arctic, and then ran across the frozen Pasvik River.
"I heard dogs barking behind me, the spotlights came on and shots were fired at me," the former Wagner unit commander said. "I just ran towards the forest."
This frozen wasteland is where Russia and Nato face off and is one of the most heavily guarded areas in the world. Watchtowers equipped with searchlights stud the border, and armed guards with dogs mount regular patrols.
Read the full report by James Kilner.
Russia and Belarus launch joint air force drills
Russia and Belarus began joint air force drills on Monday, sparking fears that Moscow could use its ally to launch a new ground offensive in Ukraine.
Belarus has insisted the drills are defensive but Moscow used its neighbour as a springboard for its invasion of Ukraine last February.
Minsk has conducted multiple military exercises since then and has been bolstering the drills with weaponry and military equipment.