Russia on Thursday ordered a British diplomat to leave the country over allegations of spying, charges that were dismissed as "baseless" by the U.K.

Russia's Federal Security Service, known by its Russian acronym FSB, alleged the member of embassy staff had worked for British intelligence. It did not provide evidence.

The Kremlin said Thursday that Ukraine was running out of options to strike a deal to end almost four years of war with Russia, as thousands were without heating in Kyiv in -12C temperatures following waves of Russian strikes on the country's energy grid.

"The situation is deteriorating day by day for the Kyiv regime," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, including AFP, adding that Ukraine's "corridor for decision-making" was "narrowing".

The nationwide protests challenging Iran's theocracy appeared to be being smothered Thursday, a week on from authorities shutting the country off from the world and escalating a bloody crackdown that activists say killed at least 2,615 people.

In Iran's capital, Tehran, witnesses say recent mornings saw no new signs of bonfires lit the night before or debris in the streets. The sound of gunfire, which had been intense for several nights, has faded. Meanwhile, Iranian state media announces wave after wave of arrests by authorities, targeting those it calls "terrorists" and also apparently looking for Starlink satellite internet dishes, the only way to get videos and images out to the internet.

President Donald Trump is set to meet Thursday at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose political party is widely considered to have won 2024 elections rejected by then-President Nicolás Maduro before the United States captured him in an audacious military raid this month.

Less than two weeks after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges, Trump will host the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Machado, having already dismissed her credibility to run Venezuela and raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in the country.

Demonstrations broke out in Iran on Dec. 28 and have spread nationwide as protesters vent their increasing discontent over the Islamic Republic's faltering economy and the collapse of its currency. Dozens of people have been killed and thousands arrested as the daily protests have grown and the government seeks to contain them. While the initial focus had been on issues like spikes in the prices of food staples and the country's staggering annual inflation rate, protesters have now begun chanting anti-government statements as well.

Here is how the protests developed:

Russia said it was seriously concerned by the arrival of NATO military personnel in Greenland, a mineral-rich island in the Arctic that U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to seize.

"The situation unfolding in the high latitudes is of serious concern to us," the Russian embassy in Belgium, where NATO is headquartered, said in a statement published late Wednesday.

Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday as tensions remained high with the United States over Tehran's bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.

The closure ran for over four hours, according to pilot guidance issued by Iran, which lies on a key East-West flight route. International carriers diverted north and south around Iran, but after one extension, the closure appeared to have expired and several domestic flights were in the air just after 7 a.m.

The European Union will dedicate most of a massive new loan program to Ukraine's military needs over the next two years while also injecting billions into its war-ravaged economy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday.

EU leaders agreed last month to loan Ukraine 90 billion euros ($105 billion) to help cover its needs in 2026 and 2027. Kyiv would only have to pay the money back once Russia ends its war and pays reparations for the damage it has inflicted over almost four years.

Britain's government is expected to approve a "mega" Chinese Embassy close to London's financial district after years of controversy and political wrangling over the potential security risks it poses to the U.K.

Lawmakers from across the spectrum have urged planning officials to reject China's application for the new embassy. Critics fear the proposed new building, on a huge site close to London's financial district and crucial data cables, will be used as a base for espionage. Others say the supersized embassy — set to be the biggest Chinese Embassy in Europe — will pose a heightened threat of surveillance and intimidation to Chinese dissidents in exile.

Russia launched a second major drone and missile bombardment of Ukraine in four days, officials said, aiming again at the power grid amid freezing temperatures in an apparent snub to U.S.-led peace efforts as Moscow's invasion of its neighbor approaches the four-year mark.

Russia fired almost 300 drones, 18 ballistic missiles and seven cruise missiles at eight regions overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media.