Moscow has previously pulled mercenaries into its war effort in Ukraine and now appears to be recruiting much further afield.

Russia has removed a senior general in Ukraine for giving misleading reports about the progress of the war as Defence Minister Andrei Belousov tries to clear out poor commanders, pro-Russian war bloggers and Russian media said.

Russia has removed a senior commander from his post for making false claims about the progress of the war in some parts of eastern Ukraine, according to military bloggers and Russian media.

Tit-for-tat moves this week included the use of American-made ballistic missiles to strike inside Russia, and new nuclear threats from Moscow. Neither appear to have influenced the war on the ground.

Russia likely used ballistic missile from 'Kedr' complex to strike Dnipro, intelligence says Russia plans to launch mass production of Oreshnik missile, Putin says North Korea received anti-aircraft missiles,