US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Russia could be ready to invade Ukraine within days, while administration officials have estimated the Kremlin has already built up 70 per cent of the force needed for a ground assault.
Premier Daniel Andrews has stood by Victoria’s roadmap out of lockdown on the same day the state broke the national record for the most local coronavirus cases in a 24-hour period.
Thousands of Sydneysiders enjoyed their first taste of normality in more than three months as the Harbour City emerged from its 106-day lockdown on Monday.
Travelling to northern New South Wales could be off the cards even when the state reaches 70 per cent double-dose as local leaders fear the region will become “deeply vulnerable” to “a major influx of newly freed Sydneysiders”.