UK to expel Russian defence attache as sanctions escalate

Home secretary announces closure of several Russian diplomatic premises after pattern of ‘malign activity’ in Britain and Europe

EU reaches deal on using profits from Russia’s frozen assets for Ukraine

10% of the windfall profits will fund non-lethal aid to assuage EU member states that do not wish to fund arms

David Cameron: west has not learned lesson of Ukraine and must get tougher

Foreign secretary will say too few states have stepped up to spend on defence, take on Iranian proxies or champion women’s rights

Lithuanian minister: Western military training personnel could go to Ukraine

Gabrielius Landsbergis also backs David Cameron and Emmanuel Macron on standing up to Putin

Putin watches Russian military parade featuring a solitary, Soviet-era tank

The Victory Day celebrations commemorate the second world war, but highlight the drain of the war in Ukraine on Russia’s military

Russians try to break through Ukrainian defence lines north of Kharkiv

Kyiv says initial attacks repelled as Russia seeks to intensify pressure on Ukraine’s second city

Russian attack on Kharkiv continues as Moscow says it has taken five villages

Ukraine says it is pushing back against assaults and battling for control of territory

‘You say you are a musician, they beat you more’: the Ukrainian sax player who survived Putin’s torture prisons

Yuriy Merkotan played in a military band and, after being caught up in the Mariupol siege, spent nearly two years in various jails

Lithuanians vote in presidential election amid security fears in Baltic region

Gitanas Nausėda, the incumbent, has led polls in campaign focused on war in Ukraine and threat from Russia

Ukraine facing ‘difficult’ situation in Kharkiv region, military chief says

Ukrainian commander admits his forces are on the back foot as Russia claims to have taken more villages

‘We tell them to go’: civilian life on the edge of Russia’s advance in eastern Ukraine

As Putin’s forces press towards ruined Chasiv Yar, Ukrainians try to survive under bombardment in the shadow of the frontline

Russians having ‘tactical success’ in advance on Kharkiv, Ukraine says

Kyiv replaces commander overseeing north-eastern Kharkiv frontline in effort to turn the tide as fighting continues

Biden signs bipartisan bill banning import of Russian uranium

Ban, to begin in about 90 days, is White House’s latest effort to apply pressure on Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine

Tuesday briefing: How Russia’s advance on Kharkiv might end

In today’s newsletter: A major new attack on territory known for Kyiv’s biggest victory has led to a sense of Ukraine’s prospects viciously unravelling, town by town . Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First Edition

Andrei Belousov: Putin picks trusted technocrat to run defence ministry

Loyalist economist who ‘thinks years ahead’ inherits Kremlin’s biggest challenge as it prepares for the long haul in Ukraine

Zelenskiy calls for more air defences as Blinken arrives in Kyiv

Plea comes as US secretary of state makes first visit to Ukraine since new aid package was passed by Congress

MPs urged to change law so frozen Russian assets can help aid Ukraine

Kremlin critic Bill Browder says US-style legislation would give UK power to confiscate money to support Ukrainian military efforts

Blinken delivers message of US support to Kyiv as thousands flee Kharkiv region

US secretary of state promises long-awaited $60bn Ukraine aid package will make ‘real difference on battlefield’

Intensifying war increasing threat to Ukraine economy, EBRD warns

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development cuts growth forecasts for regions it operates in, saying war ‘casting long shadow’

Antony Blinken’s rock performance in Kyiv bar divides opinion in Ukraine

US secretary of state took to stage with his guitar to perform Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World