LATEST HEADLINES

· Russia and Belarus began joint military exercises on Monday, triggering fears in Kyiv and the West that Moscow could use its ally to launch a new ground offensive. They will conduct air force drills from January 16 to February 1 using all Belarus military airfields and began joint army exercises involving a "mechanized brigade subdivision," the Belarusian defense ministry said. READ MORE BELOW

· The Kremlin said British tanks promised to Ukraine will "burn" on the battlefield. "The special military operation will continue. These tanks are burning and will burn," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

· Pavel Muraveyko, first deputy state secretary of Belarusian Security Council, said the situation on the country's southern border with Ukraine was "not very calm" and that Ukraine has been "provoking" Belarus.

· Ukraine saw little hope of pulling any more survivors from the rubble of an apartment block in the city of Dnipro, after the building was hit during a major Russian missile attack, with dozens of people expected to have died. Valentyn Reznichenko, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, said on Monday that 35 people were confirmed dead so far and the fate of 35 more residents remained unknown.

· Ukrainian forces are fighting to retain control of Soledar in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar said, contradicting Russian claims that Moscow's forces had captured the small town.

· Vladimir Putin has followed up Russia's claims to have taken Soledar, a salt-mining outpost home to 10,000 before the conflict, by calling it a major success. "There is a positive dynamic, everything is developing according to plans," Putin said, in an interview broadcast Sunday. "I hope that our fighters will please us more than once again."

· Europe is set to ban imports of Russian oil products on February 5 in a move that is already causing massive shifts in global diesel trading. Buyers are rushing to fill European oil storage tanks with Russian diesel, with flows this month on track to hit a one-year high.

· Vkusno & Tochka, the Russian successor brand to McDonald's, has applied to have its trademarks registered in neighboring Kazakhstan following the U.S. company's exit from its market, the Kazakh government said on Monday.

· The cargo ship MKK 1, traveling from Ukraine to Turkey, was grounded in Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait on Monday and traffic in the strait was suspended but no damage was reported, shipping agents Tribeca said.

·  NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine could expect more heavy weapons following Kyiv's requests to its allies for the vehicles, artillery and missiles it says are key to defending itself. "The recent pledges for heavy warfare equipment are important – and I expect more in the near future," he told Germany's Handelsblatt.

IN DETAIL

Ukrainian fears as Russia and Belarus start joint military exercises

Russia and Belarus began joint military exercises on Monday, which have triggered fears in Kyiv and the West that Moscow could use its ally to launch a new ground offensive in Ukraine.

Russia used its neighbor Belarus as a springboard for its attack on Ukraine last February.

The two allies will conduct air force drills from January 16 to February 1 using all Belarus military airfields and began joint army exercises involving a "mechanized brigade subdivision" on Monday, the Belarusian defense ministry said. Minsk says the air drills are defensive and it will not enter the war.

"We're maintaining restraint and patience, keeping our gunpowder dry," said Pavel Muraveyko, first deputy state secretary of Belarusian Security Council, according to a post on the Belarusian defense ministry's Telegram app on Sunday.

Muraveyko said the situation on the country's southern border with Ukraine was "not very calm" and that Ukraine has been "provoking" Belarus.

"We are ready for any provocative actions on the part of Ukraine," he said.

Moscow denies that it has been pressuring Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to take a more active role in the conflict in Ukraine. Ukraine has continuously warned of possible attacks from Belarus and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week that the country must be ready at its border with Belarus.

Belarus has conducted numerous military exercises since Russia bgan what it calls its "special military operation," both on its own and jointly with Russia. Together with Moscow, Minsk has also been bolstering the drills with weaponry and military equipment.

Unofficial Telegram military monitoring channels have been reporting a series of fighters, helicopters and military transport planes coming to Belarus since the start of the year - eight fighters and four cargo planes on Sunday alone. The Belarusian defense ministry said only that "units" of Russia's air forces have been arriving in Belarus.