Tensions between Russia and NATO have escalated further after a stark warning from Belgium’s defence minister, who said any nuclear strike on the alliance would lead to the destruction of Moscow.

Documents show Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro drafted a letter asking Russia for missiles, radars and upgraded aircraft as U.S. forces amass in the Caribbean.

Russian forces are close to taking the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk after a pincer movement almost totally encircled it while small groups of highly mobile Russian units penetrated the city, according to Russian military bloggers.

Ukraine accuses Russia of "systematic energy terror" as the global atomic energy watchdog warns Moscow's latest strikes jeopardize nuclear plants' safety.

Eyewitnesses said traffic lights were out in central Moscow, causing traffic jams and delays. However, airports and railway stations — with the exception of Paveletsky Station — were reportedly operating normally.

The Russian test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile and a nuclear-powered torpedo capable of triggering “radioactive tsunamis” should have the West worried.

Russia fired one of its largest drone and missile assaults against Ukraine overnight, killing three people, including a 7-year-old girl, and cutting power to thousands as winter approaches,

Russia said on Thursday that any dialogue with Japan regarding a peace treaty to formally end World War Two could only begin once Tokyo abandoned what Moscow described as a damaging "anti-Russian" stance.

Documents show Maduro drafted letter asking Russia for missiles, radars and upgraded aircraft as U.S. forces amass in the Caribbean.

Ukraine launched drone attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, disrupting air traffic across the country and sending several drones towards Moscow for the third night in a row, Russian authorities claimed on Wednesday 29 October.