"I think we have to face up to the fact that the Russians think they're in a state of war with us," Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, told Sky News on Nov. 27.

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Keith Kellogg, a former national security adviser and retired lieutenant general in the US military, to be special envoy to Ukraine and Russia in his second administration. Kellogg is likely to be at the centre of negotiations to end the ongoing war in Ukraine, should Russia and Ukraine agree to take part.