War in Ukraine Why did Russia invade and whats happening now BBC Newsround

The fate of Ukraine has enormous implications for the rest of the continent, the health of the global economy and even America’s place in the world. If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at US President Joe Biden said Mr Putin had "chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering". Ukraine has declared martial law - which means the military takes control temporarily.

• It is very hard to measure the total impact the war has had, but there have been many casualties and parts of the country will need totally rebuilding.









• According to city officials, people will only be allowed to go outside to head to bomb shelters.









• "Our government tells us that [the] military operation is going pretty well," he said.









• Earlier today, a Russian official said air defences had thwarted a drone attack on the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery in the city of Yaroslavl.

That’s the response of many Russians to the sight of rockets and artillery shells hitting Ukrainian tower blocks that in their concrete uniformity could easily be in Moscow. The towns through which Russian armored vehicles are rolling, captured in shaky videos and accompanied by howls of horror, could be Voronezh or Krasnodar or any Russian city. Here’s where Ukraine has mounted multiple attacks this week in the apparent beginning of its long-planned counteroffensive. In the coming days, many others far from the field of battle maybe find themselves buffeted by ripple effects.

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As CBS News foreign correspondent Imtiaz Tyab reports, the draconian crackdown on speech led the last remaining independent Russian news channels to close their doors last week. In Belgorod, close to the Ukrainian border and just 80km (50 miles) from the now war-torn city of Kharkiv, local people are now used to convoys of military trucks roaring towards the front line. While queues to enter Finland are growing, Latvia and Estonia both say escaping enlistment is not grounds for asylum.

But clashes have also been taking place around Kyiv and the Black Sea port cities of Odesa and Mariupol. There have also been reports of troops landing by sea at the Black Sea port cities of Mariupol and Odesa in the south. Russian military convoys have crossed from Belarus into Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region, and from Russia into the Sumy region, which is also in the north, Ukraine's border guard service (DPSU) said.

Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 702

However, the ISW says Russia has made confirmed advances near the town and notes that several Russian sources claim its forces are trying to push Ukrainian troops out of positions in the Avdiivka Coke Plant, which occupies a key tactical position. Ukraine has continued ground operations on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River with heavy battles reported to be ongoing in the area around the village of Krynky, about 30km (19 miles) from the city of Kherson. Those standing against Mr Putin in the upcoming election, including anti-war candidate Boris Nadezhdin, have until Wednesday to gather the required number of supporters' signatures to back their campaigns. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who has been serving prison time since 2021 after leading street protests and starting a nationwide opposition movement, was recently moved to a penal colony in Russia's far north. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been highly critical of the EU's financial and military aid for Ukraine and has maintained close ties with Russia. A little earlier, we told you about a report in the Financial Times that the EU was proposing to sabotage Hungary's economy if Budapest blocks further aid for Ukraine this week.

• Those standing against Mr Putin in the upcoming election, including anti-war candidate Boris Nadezhdin, have until Wednesday to gather the required number of supporters' signatures to back their campaigns.









• Even those who did agree to answer the questions in Miniailo’s survey displayed a heightened level of fear and discomfort.









• Russia's defence ministry has denied attacking Ukrainian cities - saying it was targeting military infrastructure, air defence and air forces with "high-precision weapons".









• But for the majority who have stayed in Russia, life outwardly is pretty much the same as it always was.









• However in Russian media there has been no mention of the thousands of arrested protesters, or of the many more who took to the streets in support of Ukraine.

Some see even the most persecuted Russian activists as cowards, because the risk they face for resisting President Putin is nothing compared to being bombarded by his military. Ukrainians have no sympathy with those now protesting against the draft, if those same people did not come out against the killing of Ukrainian civilians. Since we spoke, Vladimir Putin has declared a partial mobilisation of Russian reservists - the first real test of support for his invasion. When Russia invaded its neighbour, she was serving a suspended sentence and one wrong move, even an anti-war comment, could have put her behind bars. The move has raised concerns among Russian opposition activists already abroad. "What this means, in short, is that the presumption against the use of force - which was the basis for the post-WWII world order, for anything other than defence - has been lost.

This week's call-up has confirmed that belief, as videos of men saying tearful goodbyes to their families pop up all over the country. "I think the West should ramp-up military assistance to Ukraine, that's the only option," Mr Gudkov says. So at a recent gathering in Vilnius, a slogan on stage called on those abroad to "be brave, like Ukraine", but the mood was subdued with a hint of helplessness. Mr Gudkov left Moscow well before the war, saying he was warned to go - or go to jail. Today, all prominent Russian opposition figures are either in custody, dead or in exile. "Of course, we feel this responsibility. We should have used the opportunity to change our country," former opposition MP Dmitry Gudkov accepts.

• Ukraine is under full-scale Russian invasion and is fighting for its very survival.









• "We need to give them weapons like Javelin anti-tank missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, ammunition and protective equipment. Every Nato nation should be helping them," he says.









• "In one sense, we are always in a 'pre-war' world, as wars can start from miscalculation, from hubris, or misunderstandings as well as deliberate design.









• It is firmly controlled by the Kremlin and pumps out relentless war propaganda.

"China likewise seeks reunification with Taiwan, and Iran, in its region, wants its 'place in the sun'. "However, the last months have seen some loud rumblings, and the sense that the inevitable tensions of a complex world may only be resolvable by war. "In one sense, we are always in a 'pre-war' world, as wars can start from miscalculation, from hubris, or misunderstandings as well as deliberate design. "Instead of fanciful talk about citizens' armies and national service, the West's military and political leaders might want to focus on tackling that threat head on, putting lead in NATO's pencil and persuading our allies to do the same." "The US has repeatedly warned of conflict escalation in the Middle East, and yet repeatedly acted in ways that have now made that outcome a reality (supported throughout by the UK). "There are no really good choices. A direct attack on Iran would be one way but that could also open Pandora's box. And we've already seen how little the retaliatory strikes on the Houthis in Yemen have achieved.

"Four months later the theatre of war is expanding with the US and its allies being drawn deeper into the region. https://pastelink.net/kw57c2j4 spoke to experts about whether World War Three is a possibility - and if we really are living in a "pre-war world". Sir Patrick added that the war in Ukraine was a "pressure point" and added that "we cannot afford to make the same mistake" as our predecessors who "stumbled into... ghastly wars", such as the First World War in 1914. A journalist, soccer fanatic and Shrewsbury Town fan, Will’s love for the game has withstood countless playoff final losses. After graduating from the University of Liverpool he wrote for a number of British publications before joining AS USA in 2020.

• More than 6,400 Russian have been arrested in anti-war protest in the past week, offering a considerable an overt opposition to Putin’s rule.









• “Surveys don’t show what people think, but what they are ready to say, how they are prepared to carry themselves in public,” Denis Volkov, the director of the Levada Center, the country’s premier independent polling and research organization, said.









• The defence secretary has warned we are moving to a "pre-war world", top military brass are talking about conscription and tensions in the Middle East show no signs of abating.









• But President Putin, who has all but squashed any opposition in his own country, will have taken note of how his autocratic neighbour in Belarus effectively crushed the protests there over the last two years.

This crackdown on free speech has led many media outlets to leave the country or go underground. On some level, the data likely reflect an impulse, whether born of fear or passivity, to repeat approved messages rather than articulate your own. “Surveys don’t show what people think, but what they are ready to say, how they are prepared to carry themselves in public,” Denis Volkov, the director of the Levada Center, the country’s premier independent polling and research organization, said.

• Before the war, Russia made demands including a promise that Ukraine would not join a group of countries called Nato.









• Some see even the most persecuted Russian activists as cowards, because the risk they face for resisting President Putin is nothing compared to being bombarded by his military.









• That’s the response of many Russians to the sight of rockets and artillery shells hitting Ukrainian tower blocks that in their concrete uniformity could easily be in Moscow.