Moscow pounded Ukrainian power infrastructure with drone and missile strikes on Saturday and Kyiv launched a deadly strike of its own on southwestern Russia, a day before talks involving senior European and U.S. officials aimed at ending the war were set to resume.

The Kremlin says any peace deal must cede to Russia the entire eastern Donbas region, including territory Ukraine still controls — a nonstarter for Kyiv.

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said on Friday that a ceasefire in Ukraine is only possible after Kyiv's forces withdraw from the entire Donbas region, with the area they currently control taken over by Russian National Guard,

Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine overnight into Saturday, firing 653 drones and 51 missiles across the country as it marked Armed Forces Day, Ukraine’s air force said

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine was expected to give its latest peace proposals to U.S. negotiators Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, a day ahead of his urgent talks with leaders and officials from about 30 other countries supporting Kyiv’s effort to end the war with Russia on acceptable terms.

Russia's Foreign Ministry called on Thursday for Britain to disclose what a British soldier killed in Ukraine was doing there, and accused London of directly helping Kyiv to carry out attacks which it said were "acts of terrorism" on Russia.

Ukrainian drone attack in southwestern Russia killed two people as parts of Ukraine went without power after Russian assaults on energy sites hours before peace talks were to restart in Germany.

Ukraine struck an oil tanker belonging to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet in the Black Sea on Wednesday, according to an official in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).