Ukraine behind new pipeline explosion in Siberia that supplies Russian military-industrial complex, source claims * Russian troops tasked to create 10-kilometer buffer zone in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine's spy chief says * Ukrainian drone strikes reported at Russian MiG plant,

Russia fired a record 741 drones and missiles in its largest aerial attack against Ukraine on Wednesday in a significant escalation. Zelenskyy condemned the attacks, adding that it speaks volumes to the Kremlin’s sincerity in its claims of wanting to end the war.

Russia launched a large-scale aerial assault on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday, marking a second consecutive night of ferocious attacks on the country, as Russia ramps up its bombardment more than three years into the war.

A Russian drone barrage targeted the center of Kharkiv on Friday, injuring nine people and damaging a maternity hospital in Ukraine's second-largest city, officials said.

Between January and June, the number of Russian drone and missile attacks exceeded 23,000, a roughly 605% increase compared to the same period last year.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio emerged from a 40-minute meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday with an acknowledgment that talks between Moscow and Kyiv for peace in Ukraine have not progressed much.