Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he is awaiting White House approval for a major drone production agreement proposed by Kyiv last year. Speaking on Thursday, Zelenskyy said the deal would cover various types of drones and air defenses to protect against swarms of Iranian-designed Shahed drones. Countries are scrambling to modernize their air defenses after the Iran war exposed shortcomings. Russia has fired tens of thousands of Shaheds at Ukraine since it invaded its neighbor just over four years ago. Iran has responded to joint U.S.-Israeli strikes by firing the same type of drones at targets in the Middle East.

Russia and Ukraine have made competing claims about who is gaining ground, as Russian strikes keep hitting Ukrainian cities and U.S.-backed talks in Turkey were postponed. A Ukrainian general said Kyiv's forces push Russians back in parts of the Dnipropetrovsk region. Another Ukrainian officer tells the AP that troops have advanced more than 6 miles, while Russia's leader said his army expanded gains in the Donbas. There was no independent verification of either side's claims. Meanwhile, Russian glide bombs hit Sloviansk and killed four people and drone attacks wounded more civilians, a Ukrainian official said Tuesday.

Russia has provided Iran with information that could help Tehran strike American warships, aircraft and other assets in the region. That's according to two officials familiar with U.S. intelligence on the matter. The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, cautioned that the U.S. intelligence has not uncovered that Russia is directing Iran what to do with the information. Still, it's the first indication that Moscow has sought to get involved in the war that the U.S. and Israel launched on Iran a week ago.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says a Ukrainian delegation is set to meet on Thursday with U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys ahead of another round of trilateral talks with Russia. Zelenskyy told reporters on Wednesday that Ukraine's negotiator Rustem Umerov will hold talks with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Geneva. A round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran is expected to be held on the same day in the Swiss city.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Russia has not "broken Ukrainians" nor triumphed in its war. He spoke Tuesday four years after an invasion that has severely tested the resolve of Kyiv and its allies and fueled European fears about the scale of Moscow's ambitions. In a show of support, more than a dozen senior European officials headed to the Ukrainian capital to mark the grim anniversary. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, upended life for millions of Ukrainians, and created instability far beyond its borders. Zelenskyy said his country has withstood the onslaught by Russia's bigger and better equipped army. He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin has "not achieved his goals."

Russia's invasion of Ukraine four years ago launched Europe's biggest conflict since World War II. It has caused immense suffering for civilians and harrowing ordeals for soldiers while rewriting the post-Cold War security order. The fighting enters its fifth year on Tuesday. A U.S.-based think tank says that as many as 1.8 million soldiers may have been killed, injured or missing on both sides. Another think tank says Russia controls nearly 20% of Ukrainian land. The U.N. says at least 14,999 civilians have been killed in Ukraine.

The latest U.S.-brokered talks between envoys from Moscow and Kyiv over Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine have ended with no sign of a breakthrough. Both sides said Wednesday the talks were "difficult," as the war's fourth anniversary approaches next week. The negotiations in Switzerland were the third round of direct talks organized by the U.S., after meetings earlier this year in Abu Dhabi that officials described as constructive but which also made no major headway. Expectations for significant progress in Geneva were low. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of "trying to drag out negotiations" while it presses on with its invasion.

Russia has attacked Ukrainian cities again overnight as Ukraine accuses Russia of dragging its feet on new U.S.-brokered peace talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Washington is proposing talks next week in Miami or in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. He says Ukraine confirms it can attend but Russia is hesitating. Zelenskyy says major disputes still block a deal, including issues of occupied land and security guarantees. He also says Russia is ignoring a proposed ceasefire that impacts the energy sector. Ukraine's air force said on Thursday that Russia fired drones and missiles at Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Odesa. Officials report injuries, damaged homes and major heating outages in the Ukrainian capital.

A Russian drone has struck a home in Ukraine's Kharkiv region in an attack that killed a father and his three small children. Ukrainian officials said Wednesday that the family's pregnant mother was wounded but survived. The attack destroyed the house and trapped the family under rubble. The drone was identified as a Russian-made Geran-2. Ukraine's air force reported that Russia launched 129 long-range drones at Ukraine last night. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at an industrial plant in the Russian city of Volgograd. Officials said that eight Russian airports briefly suspended flights because of drone attacks.