The military situation in eastern Ukraine is even worse than people believe, one of the country’s ministers has said.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine now needs heavy weapons to fight effectively against Russian invaders.

Kuleba, taking part in a live question and answer session with Twitter users, also said peace talks with Russia were not really taking place.

When asked about the southern regions and whether it would be acceptable to Ukraine to keep them but face continued security issues, Mr Kuleba said: “All of these regions have to be Ukrainian, full stop. It"s not even a subject of discussion”.