Six months after invading Ukraine, Russia's military has a problem: not enough men; and too many dead and wounded. In response, the authorities are encouraging Russians to sign up as volunteer fighters. From Moscow, the BBC’s Will Vernon reports.

The Russian army needs more men

In Russia, restrictions on LGBT people are tightening. Last month, the Russian Parliament passed a new law banning so-called ‘LGBT propaganda’ amongst all age groups. Officials have linked the new clampdown with the war, saying Russia is also fighting Western culture and LGBT values in Ukraine. From St Petersburg, the BBC’s Will Vernon reports…

BBC: Russian LGBT under attack

Ukrainian forces are continuing to make advances around the city of Bakhmut in the east of Ukraine. Over the weekend, President Zelensky visited troops on the frontline near Bakhmut, and praised them for their "heroic tasks." Russia captured the city earlier this year after almost a year of intense fighting. The BBC was given exclusive access to a team of elite snipers, the Ghosts of Bakhmut, who are conducting night raids close to the city. Our Defence Correspondent Jonathan Beale sent this report...

BBC: The Ghosts of Bakhmut

The game of chess has long been associated with Russia. But, like in many other sports, the war in Ukraine has led to Russian teams and players being banned from international competitions. Now, the International Chess Federation, whose president is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, is due to hold a vote this weekend at a meeting in Budapest, that could lift all sanctions against Moscow. Ukraine and its allies are mounting a campaign to prevent that from happening. Our correspondent Will Vernon reports now on how the war in Ukraine is being played out on the international chessboard…

Ukraine & Russia: the battle for chess

A British businessman caught on camera confessing to illegally selling millions of pounds of luxury perfume to Russia is not facing criminal charges, the BBC has learned.
David Crisp was arrested last year but his case was later dropped by HM Revenue and Customs, the tax collecting agency which is also responsible for enforcing sanctions.
Selling luxury goods to Russia is a serious offence punishable by up to 10 years in prison but campaigners say the UK is far behind other countries when it comes to punishing violators. 
Our correspondent Will Vernon reports…

The prefume boss who made millions in Moscow - illegally

‘Depraved’ is the word Number 10 (/the UK govt) used to describe the escalating nuclear threats coming from the Kremlin. Following the decision by the US and UK to allow Ukraine to fire long-range missiles into Russian territory, President Putin announced he was lowering the threshold for the potential use of Russia’s nuclear weapons. Now, for the first time, a Russian military officer who served inside one of Russia’s top-secret nuclear bases has spoken out. The man fled the country after being threatened with deployment to the frontline in Ukraine. The BBC’s Will Vernon went to meet him at a secret location outside Russia…

Exclusive: Russian nuclear deserter speaks out

‘Depraved’ is the word Number 10 (/the UK govt) used to describe the escalating nuclear threats coming from the Kremlin. Following the decision by the US and UK to allow Ukraine to fire long-range missiles into Russian territory, President Putin announced he was lowering the threshold for the potential use of Russia’s nuclear weapons. Now, for the first time, a Russian military officer who served inside one of Russia’s top-secret nuclear bases has spoken out. The man fled the country after being threatened with deployment to the frontline in Ukraine. 

Report for BBC Radio 4's 'From Our Own Correspondent' programme

BBC FOOC: Russian nuclear deserter

Zelensky’s Christmas message

A Ukrainian official has told the BBC they hope a New Year prisoner exchange with Russia will happen ‘any day,’ although arrangements can fall through at the last minute. Petro Yatsenko, from Ukraine’s Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, said negotiations with Moscow have become more difficult in recent months since Russian forces began making significant advances on the frontline. Thousands of relatives of Ukrainian prisoners are now spending Christmas without their loved ones. 

Correspondent: Will Vernon 
Producer: Daniel Wittenberg

BBC: Will Russia release thousands of Ukrainians for Christmas?

Ukrainian officials say Russia is using prisoners of war it holds in captivity as leverage to recruit their families back in Ukraine as saboteurs. Russian agents use bribery and threats to force worried relatives to commit treason by firebombing military vehicles or revealing the location of air defences. The BBC has been told around half of all families of POWs have been approached by suspected Russian operatives. 

Correspondent Will VERNON

"Your husband's being tortured, and it's your fault"

Tanks & other weaponry prohibited under the Minsk Agreement roll down the streets of Donetsk just 15 minutes from the front line as the rebels celebrate the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany.

Victory Day in the self-proclaimed 'Donetsk People's Republic'

The German Chancellor and the Russian President stood side-by-side on Sunday to remember victims of the Second World War. Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin also held talks on the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine. President Putin claimed there has been real progress towards peace on the ground. But as our correspondent Tom Burridge reports, there is still no sign of real peace in the region. 

Civilians continue to suffer as the Ukraine conflict grinds on

"People will take up arms" - Poland prepares for war

BBC From Our Own Correspondent: Poland prepares for war

Ukrainians living in Poland have told the BBC that abuse and hostility towards them is on the rise. Poland initially welcomed around a million refugees who settled in the country following the full-scale invasion three years ago, joining another one and a half million already living in Poland. But surveys show there’s been a steep fall in the level of sympathy towards Ukrainians in recent months. From Warsaw, the BBC’s Will VERNON reports…

"F*** off back to Ukraine!" - Ukrainians under attack in Poland

Remote communities in Russia's far north prepare for the elections

Steve Rosenberg reports for BBC News from Dagestan, the volatile Russian republic that has produced ten times more IS fighters than Belgium

Dagestan: the volatile Russian republic that has produced ten times more IS fighters than Belgium

It’s 30 years since the tumultuous events of 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell, the Iron Curtain lifted and the Soviet empire began to crumble. Our Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg is bringing you a special series of reports on how Russia is trying to restore its influence. In this episode, Steve is in Latvia: a country once part of the USSR, now in the EU. But Russia’s still casting a shadow here.

Will Vernon

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