Ukraine has been littered with mines since Putin invaded the country in 2022, posing a devastating risk to civilians.

Antonina Kulhava, a humanitarian deminer, tells Maira Butt how she is trying to make her country safer:

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday told reporters that both Russia and Ukraine had expressed interest in a limited ceasefire involving grain and energy.

Former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer was “too tough” in his rhetoric towards Russia, President Donald Trump has claimed amid ongoing tensions between the Kremlin and allies of Ukraine.

Mr Trump also suggested recent warnings by European countries about the threat posed by Vladimir Putin were “too nasty”.

French president Emmanuel Macron said, last week, he had asked his government to draw up plans to safeguard critical infrastructure, including sensitive defence industry sites, against drone attacks and cyber attacks in the face of what he described as an intensifying Russian hybrid threat.

A Russian military Mi-8 helicopter made a brief incursion into Polish airspace from Kaliningrad, the Polish Army Operational Command said on Wednesday.

All but five of Russia’s 32 major oil refineries have been hit by Ukrainian drone attacks, costing the country an estimated $20bn.

Experts tell Maira Butt that Zelensky has brought the reality of Putin’s invasion to the doorstep:

Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Russia was planning a new major attack on his country.

“There's intelligence right now that Russia is preparing a new massive attack against Ukraine," the Ukrainian president wrote in comments about his meeting with Britain’s Andy Burnham.

He said that there could not possibly be any discussion of easing sanctions against Russia "when Ukrainians live every day under the threat of missile and drone attacks".

Zelensky said Ukraine was in constant communication with its allies on securing new anti-aircraft defences

Russian forces have long unleashed large-scale overnight attacks by drones and missiles but have altered tactics in recent weeks, launching constant barrages throughout the day.

Andy Burnham has accused Russia of exploiting Brexit to sow division in the UK as he announced a new unit to tackle online disinformation.

The prime minister unveiled plans for a new National Centre for Information Defence to tackle Russian information warfare as he addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

He told world leaders that the UK and its allies had been subjected to an “industrial-scale assault” by hostile states, including Russia, to “prey on people’s fear”.

Russia attacked port and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine's southern Black Sea region of Odesa, the regional governor said on Wednesday.

Moscow also hit warehouses used to store medicines, household goods and food, Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.

On the heels of Andy Burnham’s comments to the UN general assembly on Tuesday, the Kremlin has accused the British prime minister of stoking ‘anti-Russian sentiment’.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Burnham's approach, and that of other European countries, was flawed.

"Well, the British Prime Minister said nothing new. That is the first point. The second is that stoking anti-Russian sentiment and fostering an atmosphere of total Russophobia is what Britain is doing. And now, presumably in unison with Britain, the Germans, the French and a number of other European states are doing the same thing," said Peskov.

"From our point of view, this is an utterly short-sighted policy. It in no way brings us any closer to any steps that might, in the long term, lead to a reduction in tensions and de-escalation on the European continent.”

With Volodymyr Zelensky in New York to discuss a potential ceasefire on energy infrastructure with the Trump administration, Peskov also assessed that the groups for wider Ukraine peace talks were still not in place.

He said there were no concrete details on plans to hold any high-level meeting on Ukraine, and that Zelensky would have to come to Moscow for future talks. Zelensky has previously ruled out such a trip.