A barrage of Russian drone and missile attacks in Ukraine killed at least two people Saturday – including a 9-year-old girl – as Kyiv weighs whether to attend peace talks with Russia

Uncertainty meanwhile remains whether Kyiv diplomats will attend a new round of peace talks proposed by Moscow for early next week in Istanbul.

Aiming to create a "buffer zone," Russian forces have seized villages near Sumy, Ukraine’s northern regional capital. As 50,000 Russian troops accumulate on Ukraine’s border, the Sumy region prepares for a renewed large-scale offensive. More than 200 settlements are under evacuation orders after Russia advanced deeper into Ukrainian territory.

By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -Russia is prepared to consider a ceasefire in Ukraine to pave the way for a lasting settlement, but during any truce Moscow wants Western states to stop arming Kyiv and for Ukraine to stop mobilising troops,

A bipartisan pair of US senators met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday and urged stronger sanctions against Russia, while uncertainty swirls over whether the next round of peace talks will move ahead in the coming days.

A claim that President Vladimir Putin 's helicopter faced a combat incident during his visit to the Kursk region was concocted by Russia's authorities, it has been reported. Russia's Defense Ministry said that during Putin's trip to the border region where Kyiv previously staged an incursion, his aircraft came under fire from Ukrainian drones.

The country exported over £670 million worth of ammunition to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in 2022, albeit via third countries, it has been reported.

North Korea aided Russian president Vladimir Putin’s war effort in Ukraine by supplying more than 20,000 containers of munitions containing at least 100 ballistic missiles, a monitoring group of 11 UN members said.