Russian and Ukrainian negotiating teams will again meet in Istanbul, Turkey, on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed, for the first such meeting since President Donald Trump set a 50-day deadline for a ceasefire to be reached.

Russia has advanced around Pokrovsk for many months, but has so far failed to entirely encircle or seize control of the city.

The country of Russia bombarded the Eastern European nation of Ukraine overnight ahead of a scheduled Monday Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting

Russia has launched one of its largest aerial assaults on Ukraine in months, targeting Kyiv overnight into Monday.

The move to curb anti-corruption agencies risked "endangering the values of freedom, democracy in our country and the future of our children," one Ukrainian told NBC News.

Kyiv said the French fighter, one of six in its air force, was performing a flight mission but was not shot down by Russian fire.

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War noted that cooperation with China has allowed Russia to bypass Western sanctions on imports of electronics for drone production. Ukraine’s military intelligence estimates that Russia receives up to 65% of components for its Geran drones from China. Beijing rejects the claims.