The latest attacks come as the Kremlin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to move towards a peace settlement with Ukraine but that Moscow's priority was to "achieve our goals". "President Putin has repeatedly spoken of his desire to bring the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible. This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy," he said in a televised interview. It has been nearly three-and-a-half years since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a new round of talks with Moscow, aimed at restarting negotiations that halted last month.

A Ukrainian drone attack at an industrial plant in central Russia has killed three people and injured 35 others, a Russian regional governor has said. Alexander Brechalov, head of the Udmurt Republic, said in a post on Telegram on Tuesday that the attack took place at a factory in Izhevsk city. Ten of the wounded were in a serious condition, he noted. There was no immediate official comment from Kyiv. But a Ukrainian security official confirmed the attack, telling the news agency Reuters that the Kupol plant had been hit, with a fire breaking out as a result.

Ukraine managed to not only humiliate the Kremlin by boasting of taking out more than a third of all Russian missile carriers in a spectacular drone attack but also to rewrite the rules of modern warfare, analysts say. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, Kyiv used inexpensive drones at the weekend to destroy Russian nuclear-capable bombers worth billions of dollars in an operation carried out after months of planning. "Spider's Web" dealt a blow to Russia more than three years after its invasion of Ukraine, and the operation will now be studied closely by militaries around the world as a new strategy in asymmetric warfare.

The Ukrainian Air Force said on Telegram that its air defences downed 38 out of 46 Shahed-type attack drones launched by Russia. They were shot down over a number of regions and cities including Kyiv, Odesa, Kherson, Sumy, Kharkiv and Poltova. The air force added that Russia also launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile and a Kh-31 air-to-surface missile. Ukraine and Russia regularly launch overnight drone raids on each other's territory. The latest wave of drone strikes comes as Moscow claims gains in eastern Ukraine.

In Ukraine, a 23-year-old lorry driver was killed after a Russian air strike on a grain convoy in the Sumy region overnight, local officials have said. Prosecutors said four others were injured in the attack after one lorry caught fire and around 20 others were damaged. Ukraine's air force also said it had destroyed eight out of 11 drones used by Russia, adding that grain and agriculture facilities had been targeted in the Mykolaiv region as well. Sumy borders Russia's Kursk region, where Ukraine has been carrying out a military incursion for nearly a month. Progress has slowed in recent days, but Ukraine claimed last week it controlled 1,294 sq km (500 sq miles) of territory - including 100 settlements.

A Ukrainian drone attack has set an oil depot in Russia's southern region of Rostov alight, the authorities said. On Wednesday, regional Governor Vasily Golubev confirmed the overnight strike, saying on the Telegram messaging app that firefighters were extinguishing the blaze at the depot in Rostov's Kamensky district, with no casualties reported. Russia's Ministry of Defence earlier said air defence units destroyed four drones over the region overnight, without mentioning the attack on the oil depot. Three tanks were burning at the oil depot after two drones fell in the area, according to the Baza Telegram channel, which is close to Russian security services. Ukraine's strike marked its latest attack on Russian oil and gas facilities in retaliation for attacks on its energy infrastructure.

Russian journalist Boris Maksudov has died after sustaining injuries in a drone attack in southeastern Ukraine's Zaporizhia region. Maksudov, who worked for Russian state television Rossiya 24, was wounded on Wednesday and taken to hospital. Initially, defence officials said he was in stable condition. However, he later died of shrapnel wounds. "Boris Maksudov died a hero's death, like a brave fighter," Dmitry Kiselyov, the CEO of the Russian media group Rossia Segodnia, said, according to state-run news agency RIA Novosti.

KYIV/WASHINGTON – The United States said Thursday that Iranian military trainers had been sent to Crimea to assist Russian forces using Iranian-made drones to attack targets in Ukraine, adding a new international element to a war that has already worsened some geopolitical tensions. Ukrainian citizens endured the first day of nationwide scheduled power outages since the war began eight months ago so repairs could be made to damaged or destroyed energy plants as winter approaches. This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software. Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites. If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see this support page.