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,

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