Q&A: What next in the tensions between Russia and Ukraine?

The Government has told Russia that naval exercises off the Irish coast are "not welcome", but Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has accepted that they are legal

Members of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces, volunteer military units of the Armed Forces, train in a city park in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022. Dozens of civilians have been joining Ukraine’s army reserves in recent weeks amid fears about Russian invasion. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Mounting tensions between Ukraine and Russia has led the UK and the US to begin withdrawing some staff and dependents from the embassy in Kyiv.

Here we look at the background to the situation and what might happen next: