President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukrainian military personnel shot down Iranian-designed Shahed drones in multiple Middle Eastern countries during the Iran war, describing the operations as part of a broader effort to help partners counter the same weapons used by Russia in Ukraine. He made his first public acknowledgment of the operations Wednesday in remarks to reporters that were embargoed until Friday. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces took part in active operations abroad using domestically produced, battle-tested interceptor drones.

Russia's Defense Ministry claims its forces have taken control of the entire Luhansk region in Ukraine. However, a Ukrainian military official denies this, stating that small areas are still held by Ukrainian forces. Russia has previously made false claims of advances. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is preparing for talks with U.S. envoys trying to mediate an end to the conflict. A Russian drone strike killed four people in Ukraine's Cherkasy region on Wednesday. Ukraine's air force says it downed 298 drones in overnight attacks.

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.

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 launched more than 300 drones and missiles in a nighttime attack on Ukraine's power grid. The assault knocked out heating to more than 5,600 apartment buildings in Kyiv. Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported on Tuesday that nearly 80% of these buildings had just regained heat after a previous attack. Ukraine is facing one of its coldest winters with temperatures in Kyiv dropping to minus 20 degrees Celsius or minus 4 Fahrenheit. Ukrainian officials meanwhile are in the U.S. for peace talks. They aim to finalize documents for a proposed peace settlement that focuses on postwar security and economic recovery.

U.S. proposals for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia meet many of Kyiv's demands, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. On Monday, he said that while the drafts look solid, neither side is likely to get everything it wants. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff held productive talks with Ukrainian and European representatives. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces have struck deep inside Russia, targeting an oil terminal, pipeline, and military assets. These attacks aim to disrupt Russia's war effort. Russia continues targeting Ukraine's energy sector, trying to deprive civilians of heat and water during winter.

Ukrainian soldiers on the front line doubt that peace talks can end the war with Russia. Explosions from Russian weapons keep them almost always underground, and nothing on the Eastern Front suggests an end is near. Soldiers' skepticism over diplomatic peace efforts is rooted in months of what they see as broken U.S. promises to end the war quickly. Suggestions to exchange territories confuse and frustrate them. Some soldiers believe a brief pause in hostilities is more likely than peace. As the war drags on, soldiers train intensively, knowing there's no way back.

Ukrainian soldiers are expressing little hope for a diplomatic solution to the war with Russia as U.S. President Donald Trump's deadline arrives for the Kremlin to stop the killing. It was unclear Friday what steps Trump intends to take. He is eyeing a possible summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the conflict. His efforts to pressure Putin have delivered no progress so far. Russia's army is advancing deeper into Ukraine and it is bombarding cities. In eastern Ukraine, a commander says Moscow isn't interested in peace. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán says Europe should lead efforts to end the conflict.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukrainian forces are holding back a concerted summer push by Russia's bigger army to break through defenses along parts of the front line. He says Ukraine has thwarted Russian efforts to get into Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region. He says the situation has also improved in the northeastern Sumy border region. Analysts say Russia has recently made only incremental gains in its slow and costly advance against Ukrainian defenses. With the war now in its fourth year after Russia's February 2022 invasion of its neighbor, the effort is draining resources on both sides, although Russia can sustain the fight for longer while Ukraine seeks further support from Western partners.

Ukrainian forces claim to have stopped Russia's advance into the northern Sumy region, stabilizing the front line near the border. Ukraine's top military commander said on Thursday that this success has prevented Russia from redeploying 50,000 troops, including elite units, to other areas. Russian officials have not commented on the claim. Fighting continues along the 1,000-kilometer front line, with Ukraine relying on drones to counter Russia's slow but costly advances. In Donetsk, Russia claims to have captured two villages as part of its offensive. Both sides are also launching long-range drone strikes, causing injuries and damage across multiple regions.