Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country is not fighting against the people of Ukraine, but instead is facing down their leadership and outside forces who are using the country as a proxy. He claimed that Ukrainian soldiers are being used as cannon fodder by what he called the “neo-Nazi regime” in Kiev.

Freezing cold and electricity shortages “are not the worst thing,” she told the BBC Ukrainians are ready to withstand heating and power outages for years if the country is eventually allowed to join the EU, First Lady Elena Zelenskaya has claimed. She was interviewed by the BBC on Friday.

Attempts to agree a deal have stalled as some member states called it “too generous” to Moscow EU leaders failed once again on Friday to reach an agreement on setting a price ceiling for Russian crude oil shipped by sea, sources told Bloomberg.