Since the Russian army attacked Ukraine, thousands of civilians have been killed and cities reduced to rubble, while millions of Ukrainians have fled their homes.

However Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has told the BBC: “We didn’t invade Ukraine”.

Mr Lavrov, who is one of President Putin’s closest allies said: “We declared a special military operation because we had absolutely no other way of explaining to the West that dragging Ukraine into Nato was a criminal act.”

He repeated the official Kremlin line that there were Nazis in Ukraine. Russian officials often claim that their military is “de-Nazifying” the country.

Huw Edwards presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Steve Rosenberg.

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