Russia is closing in on a key town in Ukraine's defensive line made vulnerable by the loss of Vuhledar, the British defence ministry says. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has signed off on increasing Russia's military spending to almost a third of the total budget.

Russia is open to resuming nuclear tests for the first time since the Soviet era, one of Vladimir Putin’s senior ministers has said.“This is a question at hand,” Sergei Ryabkov told the Tass state news agency.