Russia has assembled a fleet of hundreds of vessels to covertly ship its oil. With so many ships at sea, the idea of using some to cause havoc may be proving irresistible to the Kremlin.

The new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte currently does not see any danger of a Russian attack on the defence alliance's territory, but looks to the future with concern. "No fear for now," he said in an interview with dpa when asked whether NATO countries should be afraid of Russia,

NATO’s secretary-general says he wants to discuss ways to put Ukraine in a position of strength for any future peace talks with Russia during a meeting Wednesday with Ukraine’s president and a small number of European leaders.

The first speech by NATO’s new secretary-general, Mark Rutte, on December 12 was ominous for more than one reason. The obvious one was what Rutte explicitly wanted to tell us. He said we are “not yet at war but definitely no longer at peace.

Moscow has warned Donald Trump against resuming the testing of nuclear weapons when he takes office, saying it would “not rule anything out” in response to US aggression. Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister who oversees arms control, noted that Mr Trump refused to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty during his first term.

NATO is calling for a probe into the downing of an Azerbaijan commercial aircraft as suspicions mount that a Russian air defense system was responsible for the crash.

NATO's secretary-general Mark Rutte has said he wants to discuss ways to put Ukraine in a position of strength for any future peace talks with Russia.

North Koreans suffering mass casualties says US as Zelensky set for £1bn arms boost - South Korea, Ukraine and the US previously accused Pyongyang of sending thousands of soldiers to help Russia

The Russia-linked tanker which damaged an undersea electricity cable on Christmas Day also dropped sensors in the English Channel, sources have said.

KYIV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec 27 that “several” wounded North Korean soldiers died after being captured by Ukrainian forces, as he accused Russia of throwing them into battle with “minimal protection”.