Thousands of miles from the frontlines in Ukraine, where the Kremlin's war machine is steadily grinding forward, Russian forces face a potentially catastrophic situation in the West African nation of Mali as Al-Qaeda-loyal militants close in on the capital.

Moscow’s attacks on gas supplies, the main source of warmth for most Ukrainian households, could plunge millions into the cold.

Years of conflict have taken their toll and the war of attrition is continuing on the homefront - but Ukrainians are fighting back hard by trying to keep morale high

Kyiv has ramped up its drone attacks deep inside Russia, aiming to knock out oil refineries, depots and pipelines and cripple Moscow's biggest source of funding for its war in Ukraine. Two industry sources told Reuters Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiysk halted oil exports on Friday after a Ukrainian drone attack.

Nadia Pishko's childhood was about survival. Growing up in Lviv, Ukraine she experienced mass starvation in the 1930's. And during World War II, she and her family fled the country as the Germans and Russians closed in.

Ukraine’s top military commander says he has visited troops holding the front line in the key eastern city of Pokrovsk, which is besieged by a bigger Russian force, to coordinate operations in person.

On an ill-advised stroll in the woods near the Russia-Ukraine front line, Ukrainian drone pilot Dmytro heard the sickening whine of a Russian quadcopter. He had been on the other side of this scene many times,

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said at the start of a meeting on Ukraine and defense cooperation that Kyiv needs to overcome what will be a “very difficult, very tough winter.”

A Ukrainian commander says the Russian army has overrun three settlements in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region.

Russia has carried out a wave of attacks on Ukraine overnight which President Volodymyr Zelensky said had killed at least four people. Zelensky added that about 430 drones and 18 missiles were used in attacks on “civilian infrastructure”.