The Kremlin is focusing its fire on Pokrovsk, a gateway to the Donetsk region, which Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, has long coveted.

Russia fired one of its largest drone and missile assaults against Ukraine overnight, killing three people, including a 7-year-old girl, and cutting power to thousands as winter approaches,

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte of hypocrisy after he claimed Moscow was working with China and others to undermine global rules. Zakharova demanded NATO publish a list of the so-called “global rules” it defends,

The European Union on Friday made it harder for Russian citizens to enter Europe’s ID-check free travel area due to Russia's continued war on Ukraine, increasing acts of sabotage blamed on Moscow and the potential misuse of visas.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called the incursions "hybrid warfare", and while she has not said Russia was responsible for all the incidents, she said it was clear Russia's aim was to "sow division" in Europe.

In rural Ukraine, attack drones are assembled in secret to strike deep into Russia. These drones target oil refineries, fuel depots, and military hubs, stretching Moscow's air defenses.

Hungarian President Viktor Orbán got a chuckle out of Donald Trump when he declared it would take a "miracle" for Ukraine to win the war against Russia.

The United States fully backs the European Union using frozen Russian assets as a tool to support Ukraine and end the war with Russia, a U.S. source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Friday.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has "ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the recruitment of these young men into these seemingly mercenary activities," a government spokesman said. The statement did not say which side of the conflict the South Africans were fighting for.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Friday rejected allegations of "treason" over plans for several of the far-right party's lawmakers to visit Russia next week. The trip has attracted severe criticism from conservative German politicians due to Russia's war with Ukraine.