All UK troops are to be withdrawn from Ukraine this weekend as Russia could invade “at no notice”, a defence minister has said.

Small numbers of British personnel have undertaken Operation Orbital training missions in the eastern European country since Russia’s seizure of Crimea in 2014 , including around 30 deployed recently to train the Ukrainian military on anti-tank missiles.

The order to return home comes as all British nationals in Ukraine are advised to leave as soon as possible.

Some 130,000 Russian troops are massed on the Ukrainian border and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned on Friday that an invasion could be “imminent”.

US president Joe Biden will urge Russia’s Vladimir Putin to de-escalate the situation in phone talks on Saturday. Russia has repeatedly denied planning to invade.

Read more: Independent