Prelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Day 703 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

Paris has "identified a coordinated maneuver by Russia" to spread false information about France and the alleged presence of French "mercenaries" fighting on the side of Kyiv in Ukraine, the French Ministry of Defense announced today.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Russia was "playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners" after Moscow accused Kiev of downing a military plane carrying dozens of its own captured soldiers.

Heading into another winter of Russia's full-scale war of aggression, we stand firm in our commitment to long-term political, financial and military support to Ukraine.

The Nordic-Baltic solidarity with Ukraine was strongly manifested in Oslo at the Nordic-Ukrainian Summit just before Christmas, and in January this year when Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited all three Baltic states.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Thursday that any "pauses" in Ukraine's defence against the Russian invasion would only help Moscow to re-arm and allow it to "run us over".

Zelensky spoke in Estonia on the second leg of a Baltic tour aimed at boosting flagging support for his country's almost two-year long fight against Russia.

Day 664 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

"The entire Black Sea coast became Russian after the Russo-Turkish Wars". This was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the beginning of his annual press conference, where he answers selected questions from citizens and journalists.

It has been almost two years since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Over the past few weeks, Russian troops have launched a major offensive targeting Avdiyivka, a city in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region that Moscow also claims as its territory.

Ukraine's foreign minister said yesterday that the country won't "back down" in its fight against Russia, despite doubts over U.S. support and minimal progress on the front line.

"We have to continue, we have to keep fighting. Ukraine is not going to back down," Ukraine's top diplomat Dmytro Kuleba told Kiev's NATO backers in Brussels.

"Ukraine has so far managed to recover half of the lands seized by Russia, and this is a great victory." This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a press conference ahead of this week's two-day meeting of the foreign ministers of the countries of the pact at the headquarters of the alliance in Brussels.