The UK has imported around £220 million worth of Russian oil since the Kremlin sent troops and tanks across the border into Ukraine in February.
Figures released on Wednesday show 1.9 million barrels of oil, or 257,000 tonnes, have been imported since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the latest stage of his eight-year occupation of Ukraine.
They flowed into the country on oil tankers from Russia tracked by environmental campaigners at Greenpeace.
They kept coming even after the Government said it would ban Russian oil imports; the UK will phase out its use of Russian oil but only by the end of the year.
Follow the latest updates below.
03:32 AM
Russia agrees with UN on evacuating civilians from steel plant
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Russian President Vladimir Putin met on Tuesday for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine, agreeing on arranging evacuations from a besieged steel plant in the battered city of Mariupol.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the Russian leader and UN chief discussed “proposals for humanitarian assistance and evacuation of civilians from conflict zones, namely in relation to the situation in Mariupol.”
Mr Dujarric said they also agreed in principle that the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross should be involved in the evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal steel complex.
Discussions will be held with the UN humanitarian office and the Russian Defense Ministry on the evacuation, Mr Dujarric said.
The meeting lasted nearly two hours and Putin and Mr Guterres sat at opposite ends of a long white table in a room with gold curtains bordered in red.
02:36 AM
Blasts heard in Russian city
A series of blasts sounded in the Russian city of Belgorod, near the Ukrainian border, in the early hours of Wednesday morning, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Fire engulfed the ammunition depot in the province following the explosions.
Mr Gladkov said no civilians were injured by the fire, which broke out at a facility near Staraya Nelidovka village.
01:51 AM
In pictures: Homes, towns destroyed as Russia’s invasion continues
01:39 AM
Chinese drone giant DJI suspends business in Russia and Ukraine
Drone giant DJI Technology Co Ltd will temporarily suspend business in Russia and Ukraine, becoming the first major Chinese company to halt sales to Russia since the invasion began.
“DJI is internally reassessing compliance requirements in various jurisdictions,” the company said in a statement late on Tuesday.
“Pending the current review, DJI will temporarily suspend all business activities in Russia and Ukraine.”
Although Western firms have pulled out of Russia in protest, many Chinese companies have not -mirroring Beijing’s stance of refraining from being critical of Moscow.
Ukrainian officials have accused DJI, the world’s largest maker of consumer and industrial drones, of leaking data on the Ukrainian military to Russia.
But last month DJI dismissed those accusations as “utterly false”.
01:33 AM
Today’s top stories
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Boris Johnson said he does not share concerns that Vladimir Putin will use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine as he suffers more losses
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Russian gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria have been cut off in an escalation of tensions between Moscow and the West
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Liz Truss will call for an increase in defence spending on Wednesday, saying the West has overseen a “generation of underinvestment” which led to the invasion of Ukraine
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The UK has imported around £220 million worth of Russian oil since the Kremlin sent troops and tanks across the border into Ukraine in February
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Russia has hinted at an invasion of Moldova, saying it “would like to avoid” intervening in the breakaway region of Transnistria but suggesting it might have to act
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Russian soldiers are forcing civilians to dig mass graves and bury the dead in exchange for food and water, the mayor of Mariupol has claimed
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Vladimir Putin is widely expected on Wednesday to scrap key governors’ elections in Russia set for this autumn because of Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine
