Trump has reaffirmed his intention to broker peace in Ukraine, declaring earlier this month that “Putin wants to meet” and that such a meeting is being set up. In the past, he has criticized U.S. military aid for Ukraine and even vowed to end the conflict in a single day if elected.

Russia says it has detected a shift from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and his team towards recognising the "realities" on the ground in Ukraine, and sees this as a welcome sign as it prepares to study his plan for ending the war.

Trump has echoed Moscow’s rhetoric, which has described its ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine as a response to planned Nato membership for Kyiv

Authorities in western Ukraine said early Wednesday that critical infrastructure was targeted in a Russian missile attack after air alerts sounded across the country. The airstrikes came a day after Ukraine said it had carried out its largest aerial attack on Russian territory since Moscow's February 2022 invasion,

The occupying Russian forces, which have a significant advantage over the Ukrainians, are intensively fighting to encircle Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, according to Viktor Trehubov, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Chortytsia group,