Colchester Council has shown its solidarity with Ukraine by lighting the town hall blue and yellow, the colours of the Ukrainian flag, as the crisis in eastern Europe intensifies.

The move to illuminate the council building came after Russian forces continued to advance through the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv.

In a social media post, Colchester Council also attached a link to the UK government website which provides information and advice for family members of British nationals in Ukraine.

Other organisations in Colchester have also shown their support, with Colchester United published a Twitter post reading “United with Ukraine”.

Members of Parliament throughout Essex took to social media to give their views on the situation, posts on social media, with Will Quince, Conservative MP for Colchester, saying he was “appalled and alarmed” by the developments in eastern Europe.

Home Secretary and MP for Witham, Priti Patel, shared a link to the Lviv Application Centre on Twitter to encourage those eligible for a family migration visa to apply.

Before the invasion, a Ministry of Defence spokesman said Colchester-based troops would not sent over to reinforce Ukrainian forces as Ukraine is not currently a member of NATO.