Moscow's international airports were temporarily closed due to safety concerns after air defense forces intercepted multiple Ukrainian drones.
British armed forces, including Royal Marine Commandos, intercepted the Russian shadow fleet oil tanker SMYRTOS in the English Channel, marking the UK's first such operation. The action aims to disrupt Russia's funding for its war in Ukraine, with the UK government highlighting the shadow fleet's role in sustaining Moscow's military efforts.
President Vladimir Putin has declared Russia's willingness to finalise a peace agreement with Ukraine based on US President Donald Trump's Anchorage proposals, provided Kyiv accepts necessary compromises.
Only 75 aircraft were deployed to support the invasion, observes Group Captain Murli Menon (retd).
The Ukrainian Air Force on Thursday said that Russia launched a massive missile attack on the city of Dnipro, involving intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
Ukraine's capital Kyiv came under a large-scale missile and drone attack overnight on December 27, with multiple explosions reported across the city and surrounding regions, one day ahead of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as diplomatic efforts continue to end the four-year-long war.
In a statement on X, Zelenskyy said emergency services were working around the clock to address the aftermath of the attacks, which included over 800 drones and 13 missiles, four of which were ballistic.
The modern war is about quality over quantity, points out Mihir S Sharma.
Glimpses of the tough Ukrainian resistance to the far bigger and more powerful Russian army.
A fire erupted in Russia's Kursk Nuclear Power Plant on Sunday after Ukraine launched a drone attack at one of Russia's biggest nuclear power plants, damaging a transformer and causing a fall in the output of one of its reactors by 50 per cent, Anadolu Agency reported, citing the plant's press service.
United States President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his special envoy Steve Witkoff would be visiting Moscow next week to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner might going with Witkoff too.
Ukrainian forces conducted large-scale drone strikes on several air bases deep inside Russia, destroying multiple combat planes, Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) said on Sunday.
During a bilateral lunch with the Ukrainian President in the White House, Trump reiterated his confidence in facilitating an end to the ongoing war.
He said both sides agreed to hold a meeting of senior advisers next week, led on the US side by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, before a proposed leaders' meeting in Budapest, Hungary.
Trump stated that Russia will face "severe economic consequences" if Putin doesn't show interest in de-escalating the Ukraine conflict.
In an interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin on Saturday, Putin said that such a move by Trump would "lead to the destruction of our relations. At least the positive tendencies that have appeared in these relations."
The White House on Thursday stated that United States President Donald Trump is 'extremely frustrated' with both Russia and Ukraine over the slow progress toward ending the ongoing war and is unwilling to engage in 'meetings just for the sake of meeting'.
Trump's one-on-one meetings with Putin during his first term were clouded with mystery. With only a translator inside the room, it was often unclear what exactly was discussed. Aides had a difficult time ascertaining if the two reached any agreements. After one such meeting, in Germany, Trump asked his interpreter to discard his notes.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that the country's airspace had been violated by "a huge number of Russian drones" which were shot down by its military.
Trump reiterated that he is not negotiating on behalf of Ukraine, but rather aiming to bring the parties to the negotiating table.
Speaking shortly after, Trump stated he had yet to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy but would do so imminently, along with other European leaders. He suggested a formal deal was not yet in place.
With days to go for the first anniversary of Vladimir Putin's brutal and cruel invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army is set to mount a fresh offensive and give the Kremlin's tyrant something to crow about after months of military defeats.
Whether Trump will actually press ahead with the oil sanctions remains unclear, since keeping Russian oil out of the world market risks high oil prices which could boomerang on the US economy and be damaging politically for Trump, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Trump has played throughout his career as a deal-maker who could deliver where others could not, and Ukraine represents the ultimate test of that image, notes Manish Dabhade.
Following the preliminary investigations into the crash of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8432 in which 38 passengers were killed near Aktau in Kazakhstan, it was revealed that a Russian missile was responsible for the crash, Euronews reported on Thursday, citing sources from the Azerbaijani government.
There is speculation that Russia's general has a goal of representing Putin with some battlefield progress ahead of the 'Victory Day' on May 9, CNN reported on Sunday citing military analysts and US officials familiar with intelligence assessments.
Officials said that Moscow has dispatched a panel of inquiry to probe into the incident.
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators convened in Istanbul on Friday for their first direct peace talks in over three years, amidst pressure from US President Donald Trump to resolve Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two.
United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday targeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the ongoing war in Ukraine and said that the United States has spent $200 billion more than Europe, while Europe's financial contributions are 'guaranteed' and the US gets no return.
In 2024, Russia made only modest territorial gains, controlling about 18% of Ukraine, while suffering massive casualties and equipment losses.
United States President Donald Trump on Thursday, while speaking at FII Priority Summit in Miami, warned that 'World War III is not far away' but claimed that his leadership would prevent it from happening.
Trump has made clear his intention to mediate a resolution between the two nations, emphasising the need for a swift de-escalation of violence.
Taking to Twitter, the ministry shared the intelligence update and said, 'Russian forces have continued their advance on Kyiv with the bulk of their forces now 30km from centre of the city.'
The Russian defence ministry said that Ukrainian forces hit six rockets of HIMARS at the temporary deployment point of one of the units of Russian armed forces in Makiivka region of Donetsk.
The point to note for India is that we must not panic. The United States may be our largest export destination, but high tariffs will not exactly mean gloom and doom. Sure, we can throw some morsels as we continue negotiating, but we must be firm that some red lines cannot be crossed, no matter what, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
"People's republics of Donbass approached Russia with a request for help. In connection therewith, I made the decision to hold a special military operation," Putin said in a special television address.
'Air raid alert in Kyiv. Residents should go to the nearest shelter,' tweeted The Kyiv Independent.
Putin is keen on establishing a good personal rapport with Trump and anchor a meaningful US-Russia partnership, realistic enough to accept that Trump is as good an American president as Russia would ever get, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The main body of the large Russian column advancing on Kyiv remains over 30km from the centre of the city having been delayed by staunch Ukrainian resistance, mechanical breakdown and congestion. The column has made little discernible progress in over three days,' tweeted the UK Ministry of Defence.
Further, the ministry spokesperson, Major General Igor Konashenkov, said that the Russian fighter jets and air defence systems have shot down 10 Ukrainian combat aircraft and helicopters over the past 24 hours.
