Good morning and welcome to our Ukraine blog as the time has just passed 10am in Kyiv and Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will be sworn into office at a lavish ceremony in the Kremlin later today, embarking on a record-breaking fifth term with more power than ever before.

As AFP writes, the 71-year-old has ruled Russia since the turn of the century, securing a fresh six-year mandate in March after winning presidential elections devoid of all opposition.

The inauguration will be broadcast live on most major Russian television channels from around midday (10.00BST), when a luxury motorcade will drive Putin to Moscow’s Grand Kremlin Palace.

After arriving, he will walk through the palace corridors to the ornate Saint Andrew Hall, where he will take the presidential oath and make a brief address to Russians.

Government officials and foreign diplomats in Moscow have been invited to the ceremony, including French ambassador Pierre Levy, who is expected to attend.

Other European countries including Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic have signalled that they will not send representatives amid soured tensions over the conflict in Ukraine.

Yesterday Ukraine urged its western allies not to recognise Putin as the “legitimate president” of Russia given his 87% landslide victory was criticised by most international observers and dismissed as rigged by opposition and rights groups.

The ceremony comes at an especially tense time for Russia’s diplomatic relations given that yesterday it announced tactical nuclear nuclear drills and threatened to strike British military facilities amid its anger over comments by senior politicians including Emmanuel Macron and David Cameron.