Moscow pounded Ukrainian power infrastructure with drone and missile strikes on Saturday and Kyiv launched a deadly strike of its own on southwestern Russia, a day before talks involving senior European and U.S. officials aimed at ending the war were set to resume.

The Kremlin says any peace deal must cede to Russia the entire eastern Donbas region, including territory Ukraine still controls — a nonstarter for Kyiv.

MOSCOW, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said on Friday that a ceasefire in Ukraine is only possible after Kyiv's forces withdraw from the entire Donbas region, with the area they currently control taken over by Russian National Guard,

Russia launched a huge attack on Ukraine overnight as the country marked Armed Forces Day on Saturday, Ukraine's air force said.

KYIV, Ukraine -- KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “hasn’t read” a U.S-authored peace proposal aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine was expected to give its latest peace proposals to U.S. negotiators Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, a day ahead of his urgent talks with leaders and officials from about 30 other countries supporting Kyiv’s effort to end the war with Russia on acceptable terms.

By Dmitry Antonov and Andrew Osborn MOSCOW, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Ministry called on Thursday for Britain to disclose what a British soldier killed in Ukraine was doing there, and accused London of directly helping Kyiv to carry out attacks which it said were "acts of terrorism" on Russia.

In a war increasingly fought in the shadows, a claimed strike by Vladimir Putin’s forces on a hidden nerve center of Ukraine has sent shockwaves through the conflict, signaling a dangerous escalation beyond the traditional battlefield.