We’re just days away from Victory Day, when Moscow is due to hold a parade on 9 May to mark the victory of the Soviet Union and allies over Nazi Germany.

President Vladimir Putin said in remarks published on Sunday that Russia had sufficient strength and resources to take the war in Ukraine to its logical conclusion, though he hoped that there would be no need to use nuclear weapons.

Ukrainian forces are reported to have launched a new incursion into Russia's Kursk border region, where Kyiv officials had hoped to gain leverage in peace negotiations. Russian military Telegram channels reported that Ukrainian troops breached the Russian border near the village of Tetkino.