Fighting raged in and around Bakhmut as Ukraine mocked Russian claims to have captured the administrative centre of the eastern Ukrainian city, saying Russian forces had raised a victory flag over "some kind of toilet". Russia, which launched its invasion of its neighbour on Feb. 24 last year partly in response to what it said was NATO’s aggressive expansion, will on Tuesday see Finland, with which it shares a 1,300-km (810-mile) border, joining the alliance.
