A large Russian aerial strike on Ukraine has again left half of Kyiv's residential buildings without heating or power as temperatures across the country continue to hover around -10C. Drones, ballistic and cruise missiles targeted several locations in Ukraine, including Kyiv, Dnipro in the centre and Odesa in the south. Air raid alerts in the capital lasted for most of the night. On Tuesday, sirens rang out again as Russian drones and cruise missiles approached the capital. President Volodymyr Zelensky said a significant number of targets had been intercepted.

Kim Jong Un declares AI military drone development a'top priority' North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un has said the use of artificial intelligence is a "top priority" in modernising his country's increasingly sophisticated weapons technology and building up drone capabilities, state media reports. During a visit to the Unmanned Aeronautical Technology Complex in the capital Pyongyang on Thursday, Kim presided over performance tests of multipurpose drones and unmanned surveillance vehicles, North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Friday. Kim also called for "expanding and strengthening the serial production capacity of drones". The visit to the aeronautical complex comes just a week after Kim oversaw another test of a new solid-fuel rocket engine designed for intercontinental ballistic missiles, which he hailed as a "significant" expansion of Pyongyang's nuclear capabilities. North Korea's military power includes nuclear-armed ballistic and cruise missiles, an increasing stockpile of nuclear weapons and a nascent spy satellite programme, according to the United States Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

How is Russia replenishing its military? What is a'coalition of the willing'? How China forgot promises and'debts' to Ukraine How are Europe, the US pulling apart on Ukraine? On Sunday, Russia launched its largest drone and missile attack since the war began, firing a total of 823 projectiles into Ukraine. The attack killed at least four people, wounded 44, and caused damage to a key building in Kyiv's government district, making it the first on the site since the full-fledged war began in February 2022.

Ukraine's European allies marshalled resources this week to provide the besieged country with air defences against drones and ballistic missiles. The European Union also announced an 18th round of sanctions designed to sever all remaining Russian energy imports, and proposed a fivefold increase in the common defence budget to boost EU defence research and procurement. European leaders convinced the United States to symbolically rejoin the 52-nation Ukraine Defence Contact Group coordinating defence donations, but not as a donor. It was the first such meeting attended by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth since February, when he told EU members that pushing Russia out of Ukraine's internationally recognised territory was unrealistic. As the ideological chasm between the EU and the US over Ukraine widened, Russia continued to pound Ukrainian defenders, making a few inroads.

With Operation Spider's Web, Ukraine inflicted the worst attack on Russian air power since World War II. The final damage is yet to be determined, but one tally is nine Tu-95s and three Tu-22M3 bombers gone, along with an A-50 "Mainstay" radar plane and an unlucky An-22 transport plane. Whatever the final count, the strategic impact is clear. Never before have drones taken out a big chunk of a nuclear-capable bomber force. Unlike tanks, Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot replace his bombers because none are still in production.

Ukraine has destroyed Russian strategic bombers in an unprecedented undercover drone operation while Russia launched its biggest-yet air raid on Ukraine's cities and intensified attacks on its northern region of Sumy, when the two sides met for peace talks in Istanbul. The two respective drone operations were emblematic of how direct peace talks, which began on May 15, have not abated the intensity of the conflict and may have deepened it. Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly pledged a response. Russia's drone-and-missile attack on Saturday night involved 472 Shahed kamikaze drones, four cruise missiles and three ballistic missiles. Ukraine neutralised 385 aerial targets, its air force said, including three of the cruise missiles.

Russia has targeted Ukraine for a second consecutive night with drones and missiles, killing at least 12 people as the two countries pursue a major prisoner swap. Ukraine's air force said on Sunday that Russian forces attacked Ukrainian regions with 298 drones and 69 missiles overnight, one of the largest aerial attacks of the war. "Most regions of Ukraine were affected by the hostile attack. Enemy air strikes were recorded in 22 areas, and downed cruise missiles and attack UAVs (drones) fell in 15 locations," the air force said on Telegram. Ukraine's security service reported that at least four people were killed and 16 were injured in the capital, Kyiv.

Tehran, Iran – Iran's army and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have been showcasing and testing new defensive and offensive weapons in large-scale military exercises for the past three months. The country is preparing for another tumultuous year amid threats by the United States and Israel to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities, critical energy infrastructure, and military sites. Iran is also promising a third iteration of its major military strikes on Israel, in retaliation for Israeli attacks amid the devastating war on Gaza. The exercises – Eqtedar, Zolfaqar and Great Prophet – have been held across Iran, the Sea of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean. The weapons tested show Iran intends to maintain its defiance of Israel and the West, refusing to negotiate with US President Donald Trump under his "maximum pressure" policy and continuing to advance its nuclear programme.

US warships came under sustained missile and drone attack from Houthi fighters as they sailed off the coast of Yemen, the Pentagon has confirmed, with the armed group claiming it attacked the US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and two US destroyers. Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder said on Tuesday that the United States military's Central Command (CENTCOM) forces "successfully repelled multiple Iranian backed Houthi attacks during a transit of the Bab al-Mandeb strait", which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Ryder told reporters at a news conference that two US-guided missile destroyers – the USS Stockdale and USS Spruance – were attacked by at least eight one-way attack drones, five antiship ballistic missiles and three antiship cruise missiles. All the Houthi drones and missiles "were successfully engaged and defeated", and neither of the US Navy ships were damaged or personnel hurt, he said. Ryder added that he was not aware of any attacks against the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

The Russian navy's Black Sea Fleet has been forced to rebase nearly all its combat-ready warships from occupied Crimea to other locations, and its main naval hub is becoming ineffectual because of attacks by Kyiv, Ukraine's navy chief said. Vice-Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa said Ukrainian missile and naval drone strikes had caused heavy damage to the Sevastopol base, a logistics hub for repairs, maintenance, training and ammunition storage among other important functions for Russia. "They were established over many decades, possibly centuries. And clearly they are now losing this hub," Neizhpapa told Reuters in a rare interview in the port city of Odesa ahead of Ukraine Navy Day on Sunday. More than 28 months since Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv has dealt a series of stinging blows to Moscow in the Black Sea although Ukrainian ground troops are on the back foot across a sprawling front.