Ukraine

An invasion could start with aerial bombing that would make departures difficult and endanger civilians, the White House said on Friday.

A host of other countries have also urged their nationals to leave Ukraine.

Moscow has repeatedly denied any plans to invade Ukraine despite massing more than 100,000 troops near the border.

Russia's foreign ministry on Friday accused Western countries of spreading false information.

In his first significant comments on the crisis in several weeks, he said America's goal was to use a confrontation as a pretext to impose more sanctions on Russia.

He also said the US was ignoring Russia's concerns about Nato alliance forces in Europe.

Tension is high over a Russian troop build-up close to Ukraine's borders.

Russia denies Western accusations that it is planning an invasion, nearly eight years after it annexed Crimea and backed a bloody rebellion in Ukraine's eastern regions.

Mr Biden said there would be "enormous consequences" for the world if Russia made a move on the nation, which sits on its south-western border.

His comments came as other Western leaders repeated warnings that Russia would pay a heavy price for invasion.

Russia has accused the US and others of "escalating tensions" over the issue and denies it plans to enter Ukraine.

However, Moscow has built up troops at the border, with some 100,000 Russian soldiers deployed in the region.

Asked at a news conference about the threat of a Russian invasion, he said: "My guess is he will move in, he has to do something."

But he warned that the Russian leader would pay a "serious and dear price" for "testing" the West.

Moscow denies planning to attack or invade but has built up its forces.

It is estimated to have about 100,000 troops close to Ukraine's borders.

After a meeting that lasted for seven hours on Monday, both sides agreed to continue efforts to reduce tensions.

But there was no sign of a major breakthrough following the talks.

Around 100,000 Russian troops are believed to be near the border with Ukraine, prompting fears of an incursion and warnings from the West.

The US has said there would be sanctions if Russia were to attack Ukraine.

Russia, meanwhile, has warned the US not to "underestimate the risks" involved in Moscow's confrontation with the West.

It comes after leaked remarks suggested Iran knew immediately that it had struck the plane.

Ukrainian TV aired an exchange between air traffic control and a pilot who was landing as the jet crashed.

The Iranian pilot allegedly states he saw a flash like missile fire in the sky, and then an explosion.

Iran initially denied responsibility for the downing on 8 January that killed 176, but Ukraine's president said the conversation proved the country knew the flight had been hit by a missile.

According to the Ukrainian Government, the Parliament will be asked to grant visa-free access for 14 more countries.

They include Samoa, Palau, Nauru, Solomon Islands and the Marshall Islands.

Currently, passport holders of these five countries are eligible for electronic visas as are all those from other Pacific Island countries apart from Papua New Guinea.

The Government said expanding the list of countries for visa-free travel was the key for opening the world for Ukrainians.

The country's security service, the SBU, said it had obtained data that points to a link with an attack on the nation's capital, Kiev, in December.

Ukrainian firms were among the first to report issues with malicious software on Tuesday, before the virus spread.

Moscow denied any involvement, adding that the allegations were "unfounded".

The virus, which disrupted IT systems across the globe, froze computers and demanded a ransom be paid in the digital currency Bitcoin, which is untraceable.

He is Joseph Stone, 36, according to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Special Monitoring Mission. There was no further detail released about Stone.

It is the first time a member of an SMM patrol has been killed while on duty.

Stone died and two other monitors were injured on Sunday after an explosion damaged a mission vehicle near Pryshyb in eastern Ukraine. A mine might have triggered the blast.

At a news conference Monday, the head of Russian air and Space forces, Andrei Koban, said that analysis of the data refuted the widely-accepted conclusion that the aircraft was shot down by a BUK missile from within territory held by Russian-backed rebels.

"The fact that Ukrainian authorities have still not published the information they have, we can concluded that if it was a BUK that was launched at the (Malaysian Airlines flight), this must have been launched from a location with the Ukrainian forces," Koban said.