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.

Volodymyr Zelensky has called on the US to convince “sceptics” in Europe that Ukraine should be invited to join Nato.For the first time the Ukrainian president indicated that Kyiv could accept Russian control over some of its territory in order to end the “hot phase of the war”,