Severodonetsk

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has given a rare TV interview, telling The Bbc That " we didn't invade Ukraine".

" We declared a special military operation, " he told Steve Rosenberg , " because we had absolutely No Other way of explaining to The West That dragging Ukraine into Nato was a criminal act. "

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, Mr Lavrov - One of Russia 's highest-level politicians - has given only a few interviews to Western media.

" Russia is not squeaky clean. Russia is what it is. And We Are not ashamed of showing who We Are , " he answered when asked about accusations That Russian troops were targeting civilians.

He repeated the official Kremlin line That there were Nazis in Ukraine and said Western nations were pushing UN officials to amplify fake News - Without giving any evidence to back up The Claim .

Thursday also saw a symbolic visit to the Ukrainian Capital , Kyiv, by the leaders of Germany, France, Italy and Romania, who delivered a high-profile show of support for The War -torn country.

Ukraine's leadership has expressed fears That - as The War drags on with No End in Sight - support from Western powers could fall away.

But The Four European leaders, who arrived to The Sound of Air Raid sirens, publicly backed Ukraine's war effort and condemned scenes of destruction as they toured a ruined suburb of the Capital .

This is a significant Step - Russia will almost certainly react angrily to any moves to admit Ukraine.

EU leaders are preparing to make a decision next week on Ukraine's request to become a candidate. It is likely to be given the Green Light , although The Process from candidacy to membership can take years.

The Kyiv visit came as Russian troops were continuing their assault on The Key city of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine.

Capturing Severodonetsk - and its twin city of Lysychansk - has been a top military goal for Russia for weeks, as the Kremlin seeks to control all of the wider Luhansk region.

Like many Ukrainians trying to leave Russian-occupied areas, Andriy was forced to go through a process called filtration, which essentially involves interrogating The People trying to Get Out .

A Number of citizens have told The Bbc they were punched and electrocuted during this process before they were allowed to leave cities such as Mariupol in the south-east.

When Andriy first joined the queues for filtration, a Russian soldier noticed his beard. He instantly assumed it was A Sign Andriy was a fighter with The City 's Azov regiment.

" Is it you and your brigade killing Our Guys ? " Andriy was asked. He replied he had never served in the army, he started working directly after graduating, but " they didn't want to hear it".

The Russian soldiers went through his phone, asked about his political views and eventually discovered a video he had shared on Instagram of a speech President Zelensky had given.

Then came the beating. " He Hit Me in the throat, " Andriy said of One of The Soldiers .

We've been reporting for some time about the issue of Russian energy. The country is One of the biggest exporters of oil and gas in The World - and many European nations rely on its supply.

But the EU has taken steps to reduce its supply on Russian energy since The Invasion .

Now, Russian firms are hitting back. Gazprom, for example, has halved its supply to Germany.

Commenting on The Move , The Defiant boss of the state-controlled Gas Giant said it was simply a case of " our product, our rules".

Just as tanks and troops were beginning to gather on the Ukrainian border at the start of 2022, Ukrainian director Tanu Muiño was building The Set for a Music Video in Kyiv.

He had been asked by the award-winning British Rock Band Foals to direct the video for their the recent single.

The Band were aware of The Rising tensions, but decided to fly to Kyiv anyway after speaking to The Crew .

" No-One really thought there would actually be a conflict. The Vibe was That it was sabre-rattling, " frontman Yannis Philippakis told The Bbc .

" The Day was quite joyous. The video itself is really fun and we went out afterwards in Kyiv and had a Big Night .

" When you contrast That with what's going on now, and how all of That youth and optimism has been brutalised and truncated and people are having to leave. . it's just horrific. "

Source of news: bbc.com