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Ukraine said it hit a drone command unit in the Kursk region, amid reports of fresh attempts to cross into Russia. Sunday's attack on the unit was located near the Russian village of Tyotkino, according to the Ukrainian general staff. Multiple Russian military bloggers also reported that Ukrainian forces had attempted to cross into the village, posting images - as yet unverified by the BBC - of vehicles breaking through tank traps on the border. The reports come after Moscow claimed in April to have regained control of the entire region, nine months after a Ukrainian forces launched a surprise...

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump have met inside St Peter's Basilica ahead of Pope Francis' funeral. The White House described the 15-minute meeting as "very productive" and a Ukrainian spokesman said the pair will meet for a second time later on Saturday. Trump and Zelensky are attending the service in Vatican City alongside other heads of state and royals including Prince William, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron. Their meeting comes one day after Trump said Russia and Ukraine were "very close to a deal", following talks between his envoy Steve...

Russia has attacked at least eight Ukrainian energy facilities since March 18 when Moscow says it halted such attacks, a senior Ukrainian presidential official said on Wednesday. Ihor Zhovkva, speaking on national television, also said that, contrary to Russian statements, no preconditions were discussed with U.S. officials as they agreed a Black Sea truce with Russia during talks in Saudi Arabia this week. The Kremlin said earlier that a number of conditions must be met before the Black Sea maritime security deal negotiated with the United States can be activated.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his generals have an artful knack for keeping the Russian military bear off-balance. On Sunday, they renewed their offensive in the Russian Kursk Oblast, once again catching the Russian high command, Kremlin, and many pundits by surprise. Reports of a demoralized Ukrainian army fighting to retain terrain captured during the August Kursk offensive — of which at least 40 percent has been lost — have circulated among western media and Russian milbloggers since November. So too reports that Ukraine’s 155th Mechanized Brigade — trained and equipped by France — was under-resourced in “first person view...

Russian vodka enthusiasts are seething after the Finance Ministry implemented a 17 percent price hike for a half-litre bottle on New Year's Day. Russia holds the title as the world's largest vodka producer, accounting for over 30 percent of global production. Domestic consumption makes up more than 90 percent of Russia-made vodka, making it one of the country's most beloved beverages. As of January 1st, a bottle will now set consumers back 349 rubles (£2.53), up from 299 (£2.16) - a jump of 50 rubles. This follows a 6.4 percent increase in June 2024, meaning that within the last six...

Furious Russians have been shown bitterly complaining about the soaring cost of groceries in a revealing clip which underlines the parlous state of the nation’s economy almost three years in Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. And the clip, uploaded to X by a Russian blogger and shared by among others former Ukrainian Interior Ministerial adviser Anton Geraschenko, demonstrated that ordinary Russians are feeling the pinch. In it, the narrator says: “Oh my God! Shaving foam costs 570 rubles [£4.39] already. What a horror. A couple of months ago I bought it for only 250 rubles [£1.77].” He then asks one...

Ukraine has launched a fresh offensive in Russia's Kursk region, the Russian Defence Ministry says. In a statement, the military said efforts to destroy the Ukrainian attack groups are ongoing. Officials in Ukraine have also suggested an operation is under way.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Kremlin-connected businessman who controls the notorious Wagner mercenary group, has accused “decision-makers” in Russia of treason for not providing his troops and military units of Russia's regular armed forces with ammunition needed to fight in Ukraine. "A criminal group did not give us ammunition,” Prigozhin said in a five-minute audio statement posted on Telegram on April 26 in which he reiterated his claim that ammunition is being stockpiled in depots but not delivered to the battlefield. Prigozhin claimed his troops have no ammunition to fight against Ukrainian artillery because of "treason" by unspecified top Russian officials, pledging...