Russia on Friday said its air defenses destroyed 216 Ukrainian drones overnight across several regions and over the Black Sea, while Ukrainian officials reported multiple Russian strikes that killed and injured civilians in Kyiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Kirovohrad.

The South African government says it will investigate how 17 of its citizens were tricked into fighting as mercenaries in the Russia-Ukraine war after they asked for help to escape the conflict in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.

Ukraine accuses Russia of "systematic energy terror" as the global atomic energy watchdog warns Moscow's latest strikes jeopardize nuclear plants' safety.

Defense Ministry says its forces pushed deeper into Ukrainian defenses, claims control of Orestopil, along with 7 other settlements during past week - Anadolu Ajansı

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia has deployed about 170,000 troops in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, aiming to capture the city of Pokrovsk.

South Africa’s government said on Thursday it will investigate how 17 of its citizens joined mercenary forces in the Russia-Ukraine conflict after the men sent distress calls for help to return home.

Russia is ready to resume peace negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul, Russian state news agency TASS cited a foreign ministry official as saying on Wednesday.

Almost four years of conflict have taken their toll and the war of attrition is continuing on the homefront - but many Ukrainians are fighting to keep morale high.