Belarus will ban imports of a number of goods from the European Union and the United Kingdom as a response to "illegal external sanctions".

The situation around Ukraine has escalated, in part because of the actions of the European Union, which is acting as a "warmonger" and attempting to disrupt Russia's "sphere of influence".

If the opposition seized power in Belarus, it would bring NATO troops to the Russian border.

The EU has described as speculation the Financial Times' information that a number of its members were initially sceptical of US intelligence about Russia's plans to "invade" Ukraine, the European Commission has said.