A push for a new ceasefire in eastern Ukraine broke down late on Thursday, with Moscow and Kyiv blaming one another for the escalating tensions. Russia accused Ukraine of submitting "absolutely absurd" proposals, and Ukraine complained "all initiatives of the Ukrainian side were rejected" by Vladimir Putin's government.

       A statement by Ukraine's delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), which also includes Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), read: "Unfortunately, all initiatives of the Ukrainian side were rejected by the Russian Federation under contrived pretexts."

       Kyiv said Moscow had rejected proposals including prisoner swaps, reopening a checkpoint and expanding a joint communications centre.

       Moscow, pointing out a proposal to add Germany and France to the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination, a group tasked with implementing ceasefire agreements, dubbed Kyiv's proposals "absolutely absurd".

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       Boris Gryzlov, Russia's envoy in the contact group, said: "In such conditions, the Donetsk, Lugansk (separatist authorities) and the OSCE considered it impossible to continue talks. We are understanding of this decision."

       Ukrainian troops have battled Russian-backed forces in its east since 2014.

       The tension between the two nations, which once were the two biggest republics of the Soviet Union, has continued to deteriorate after Russia seized and annexed Crimea, a Black Sea peninsula, in 2014.

       There are fears that Russia is planning to invade Ukraine, which Russia denies.

       Russia has amassed more than hundreds of thousands of troops on the border with Ukraine, and there have been warnings an escalation could lead to the worst war since the Second World War.

       Kyiv told parliament last week it had spotted more than 94,000.

       Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said: "Our intelligence analyses all scenarios, including the worst.

       "It notes that the likelihood of a large-scale escalation from Russia exists.

       "The most likely time to reach readiness for an escalation will be the end of January."

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       The UK's Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said: "The worst scenarios, in terms of a full invasion, would be on a scale not seen in Europe since World War Two."

       The unsuccessful ceasefire talks follow a two-hour virtual summit between Mr Putin and US President Joe Biden on Tuesday where the Russian leaders insisted Moscow "has the right to defend its security".

       The Ukrainian defence minister said the vessel, which as per the FSB later headed back, was a search-and-rescue ship with no weapons on board.

       Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters: "Negotiations on a peaceful settlement have practically hit a dead end.

       Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said this week the UK is ready to rise up to the challenge of protecting Ukraine from Russia.

       He claimed: "This is an international effort to persuade President Putin not to use those troops to invade or threaten the sovereignty of Ukraine.

       "And that international effort includes everything from -diplomatic, economic, and potentially defence capabilities to try and make sure it deters any aggression."

       It is currently not clear whether there will be new talks to try to get the ceasefire pushback on track.