Officials in Russia say drones launched by Kyiv have hit Kazan, a city more than 600 miles from Ukraine which hosted an international economic summit two months earlier. Video on social media shared Saturday showed the drones striking apartment blocks in the capital of the Russian republic of Tatarstan where a meeting of the Moscow-led BRICS bloc took place in October.

The Russian embassy in London on Saturday described Britain's planned transfer to Ukraine of more than 2 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) backed by frozen Russian assets as a "fraudulent scheme".

The Ukrainian energy network has been so battered by Russian attacks that officials are seeking out new options to prevent a crisis, like renting floating power plants and scavenging scrapped ones from the region.

Moscow and Kyiv have failed to agree on a deal brokered by Azerbaijan to continue Russian gas exports to Europe via Ukraine, a senior source at the Azeri energy company SOCAR told Reuters on Friday.

The United States has accused China of supporting Russia in its war against Ukraine, highlighting that Beijing's actions contradict its claims of pursuing peace. Source: US Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Robert Wood during the UN Security Council meeting on 20 Details: Wood emphasised that China's support for Russia goes against the principles of the UN Charter.

Reclaiming Kursk is high on Moscow's agenda but comments by Valery Gerasimov failed to address the continuing presence of Ukrainian troops on Russian soil.

NATO’s secretary-general says he wants to discuss ways to put Ukraine in a position of strength for any future peace talks with Russia during a meeting Wednesday with Ukraine’s president and a small number of European leaders.

US President-elect Donald Trump has said he’ll quickly negotiate an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. This has got NATO allies wondering if he’ll withdraw US support for the government in Kyiv and force it to accept a permanent Russian occupation of Ukrainian land.

Russia and Ukraine have not reached an agreement on the continuation of Russian gas transit through Ukraine to Europe, despite Azerbaijan's mediation efforts. Source: Reuters, citing a senior source in the Azerbaijani energy company SOCAR Details: The EU and Ukraine are said to have asked Azerbaijan to facilitate negotiations with Russia on a gas transit agreement,

At least three loud blasts were heard in Kyiv shortly before sunrise. Falling missile debris caused damage and sparked fires in three districts, the city administration said.

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said Moscow will control the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions next year.