Kyiv said it was committed to the search for peace, but that it was waiting for a memorandum from the Russian side setting out their proposals.

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.

Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election on Sunday between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner will succeed President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term.

Credit ratings agency Moody's affirmed Ukraine's 'Ca' rating on Friday, citing the long-lasting impact of the war with Russia on its economy and finances, as well as uncertainties over peace negotiations with Moscow.

Russia dramatically intensified missile and drone attacks across Ukraine this month in an effort to sap Ukrainians’ morale – but it is also stepping up ground attacks in many areas along the long frontline,

Almost 400 port infrastructure facilities have been damaged as a result of Russian attacks during more than three years of war. Seaports are critical for Ukraine, which ships more than 90% of its exports by sea.

China on Saturday criticised as a "double standard" attempts to link the defence of Ukraine with the need to protect Taiwan from a Chinese invasion - a thinly veiled reference to a speech by French President Emmanuel Macron in Singapore on Friday night.

The Dropkick Murphys is a punk band from Quincy, Massachusetts. The band includes Casey, Tim Brennan on guitar, keyboards and vocals, Jeff DaRosa on guitar, banjo, and mandolin, James Lynch on guitar and vocals, Matt Kelly on drums, Kevin Rheault on bass, and Campbell Webster on bagpipes.

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.