Russian troops regained control from Ukraine of the village of Nikolayevo-Darino in Russia's western Kursk region, the Defence Ministry said on Monday.

As the EU agrees to extend sanctions on Russia by another six months, the Russian Defence Ministry has said its forces captured the east Ukrainian town of Velyka Novosilka in the Donetsk region, a key defensive hub for the Ukrainian army.

Russia claims to have captured the strategically important Ukrainian town of Velyka Novosilka, as Vladimir Putin’s forces continue their push in the Donetsk region.While Moscow’s claims could not be independently verified,

Russian forces have retaken 63.2% of the territory captured by Ukraine in the Kursk region of western Russia, the Russian defence ministry said on Friday.

Russia on Sunday said its forces had captured the east Ukrainian town of Velyka Novosilka in the embattled Donetsk region, almost three years into their offensive.

Kyiv says it struck a Russian oil refinery and a microchip factory in attack which Moscow says contained 120 drones

Russia launched at least 61 drones over Ukraine on the night of 24-25 January, whilst Ukrainian forces confirmed to have downed 46 them. #EuropeNews

Oleksandr Syrskyi credited Ukraine's attacks on "industrial enterprises" that manufacture ammo, missile parts, and other weapons deep inside Russia.

Russia’s military on Tuesday said it would retaliate against Ukraine after Kyiv attacked Russian regions by firing six US-made ATACMS ballistic missiles, six UK-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles and launching one of the biggest drone attacks to date.

As snow fell in a wooded area of Ukraine, the long-range attack drones accelerated one by one down an unlit, abandoned road and their whirring engines propelled them into the night sky. The unmanned aircraft carrying explosive warheads are part of a Ukrainian campaign of long-range drone attacks that aim to inflict blows on Russia far behind the front line as Moscow's troops advance in the east.

Ukraine drones hit an oil refinery east of Moscow in a mass attack on Russia, according to military sources. The oil plant in Ryazan, 120 miles south east of the capital, was targeted, as was a microelectronics production plant in Bryansk, western Russia, according to Ukraine’s military.

Flows of gas via the Turkstream pipeline unaffected after air defences downed the drones, defence ministry in Moscow says