A number of people have been recognised in this year’s New Year Honours list, including some who worked on the UK’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
They include senior diplomats Melinda Simmons, ambassador in Kyiv, and Deborah Bronnert, ambassador in Moscow, who were awarded damehoods.
The UK started withdrawing some embassy staff from Kyiv in January, shortly before the war started, but Simmons remained in Kyiv till late February, and stayed on in Ukraine for a while longer before returning to London.
Louenna Hood, a nanny from Cambridgeshire who raised more than £190,000 and delivered essentials for people fleeing Ukraine, receives a British Empire Medal.
Russia launched another wave of missile attacks hitting cities across Ukraine in the run-up to the new year.
The mayor of the capital, Kyiv – Vitaly Klischko – said there had been several blasts in the capital, causing at least one death. A hotel has also been damaged.
The attacks happened two days after Russia carried out one of the largest air strikes since the start of the war.
