Russia has this month broken its record for aerial bombardments of Ukraine three times. The expansion of its air campaign came after Kyiv in March accepted an unconditional 30-day ceasefire proposed by the U.S. but Moscow effectively rejected it.

By Tom Balmforth and Yuliia Dysa KYIV (Reuters) -Russian forces have captured four villages in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region, the local governor said, the latest battlefield setback for Kyiv as it seeks to hold territory and avoid handing Moscow the advantage in any peace talks.

Ukraine and Russia, earlier this month, agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war and civilian detainees each in a rare moment of cooperation in more than three years of war.

The Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other regions came under a massive Russian drone-and-missile attack Sunday that killed at least 12 people and injured dozens.

Russian drones and missiles again bombarded cities across Ukraine on Saturday night into Sunday morning despite the completion of a major prisoner exchange.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has pledged to help Ukraine develop its own long-range missile systems that would be free of any Western-imposed limitations on their range and targets as the Kyiv government fights to repel Russia's invasion.

BERLIN (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Wednesday as Ukraine seeks further military support amid a recent escalation in Russia's bombing campaign, despite U.S.-led efforts to end the war.

KYIV — Russia and Ukraine will meet next Monday in Istanbul for a second round of peace talks if the Kremlin produces its promised memorandum of terms for an agreement. After the first round of direct talks on May 16 in Istanbul, Russia and Ukraine agreed to prepare memorandums detailing their conditions for peace.

The textbook "Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: 8th and 9th Grades" has been published and will be used in schools across Russia.

The production facility has reportedly been mass producing Sirius and Orion drones for Putin's army since 2023.