Ukraine

"We are not attacking Russian territory," Zelensky said, adding: "We are preparing a counterattack to de-occupy the illegitimately conquered territories." He made the remarks on Sunday after talks in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, reports the BBC.

In particular, about 70,000 people have moved from the eastern Donetsk region to safer areas within the country under the mandatory evacuation, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the statement. Among them are some 8,000 children and more than 3,000 people with reduced mobility.

At the meeting held on Monday, they unequivocally condemned terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border attacks. Both sides emphasised that the rules-based international order must respect sovereignty, territorial integrity, transparency, and peaceful resolution of disputes.

In his address to the nation from Moscow's Red Square to commemorate the erstwhile Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during the Second World War, Putin said Russia was defending its sovereignty, reports the BBC. He likened Ukraine's democratically elected government to the Nazis that were defeated in World War Two, accusing the West of forgetting who defeated the Nazis.

In capital Kiev, Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said nearly 60 drones had been launched by Russia on Monday, adding that 36 were destroyed, the BBC reported. Klitschko added that five people had been injured by falling debris from downed drones. This was the fourth attack in eight days on Kiev and came just 24 hours before Russia's Victory Day, which commemorates the erstwhile Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during World War Two.

In drone footage released by Ukraine's military, Bakhmut can be seen ablaze as what appears to be white phosphorus rains down on the city, BBC reported. White phosphorus weapons are not banned, but their use in civilian areas is considered a war crime. They create fast-spreading fires that are very difficult to put out. Russia has been accused of using them before as well.

One billion euros has been allocated to the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said. Half of the funding will come from the EU budget, while the other half will come from leveraged additional financing, Xinhua news agency reported. ASAP is part of a.

The video shows plumes of white smoke rising into the night sky over the Grand Kremlin Palace, a 19th century building serving as the official working residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, RT reported. No sound can be heard in the video but witnesses claimed on Telegram that they heard at least one loud blast resembling "thunder rumbling".

Officials said two Ukrainian drones attempted to strike Kremlin early on Wednesday morning, but the raid was thwarted, RT reported. The President was not hurt in the "terrorist attack", and the Kremlin complex did not suffer any damage, Putin's office said, as per the report.

By the end of this year, Ukraine aims to perform between 30 per cent and 35 per cent of the alliance's standards, Reznikov was quoted by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency as saying, Xinhua news agency reported.