Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived Wednesday in Washington on his first foreign trip since Russia's invasion, with US leaders hailing him as "heroic" and pledging to provide new missile defense systems.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy headed to Washington yesterday to meet President Joe Biden, address Congress and seek “weapons, weapons and more weapons” in his first overseas trip since Russia invaded Ukraine 300 days ago.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet US leader Joe Biden and address Congress in Washington on Wednesday, a visit the White House said will send Russia a strong message of Western unity.

Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday said the situation in Russian-held parts of Ukraine was “extremely difficult” while his Ukrainian counterpart drove home the message by visiting a frontline town that Russia has long tried and failed to capture.

Moscow launched a “kamikaze” drone attack yesterday, hitting key infrastructure in and around Kyiv, hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Belarus, fuelling fears he will pressure his ally to join a new offensive on Ukraine.

Heating has been fully restored to Kyiv after the latest Russian bombardment that targeted water and power infrastructure, the capital’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said yesterday.

Ukraine yesterday worked to restore electricity and water supplies after Russia’s latest wave of attacks pitched multiple cities into darkness and forced people to endure sub-zero temperatures without heating or running water.

Russia fired more than 70 missiles during yesterday’s morning rush hour in one of its biggest attacks on Ukraine since the start of the war, forcing Kyiv to introduce emergency power cuts nationwide, Ukrainian officials said.

A Russian rocket hit a residential building today in the southern Ukraine city of Kryvyi Rig, killing two people and injuring five, the region's governor said.

Ukrainian forces staged their heaviest shelling attack in years in the country’s Russian-controlled east yesterday, Moscow-installed officials said, as both sides ruled out a Christmas truce in the nearly 10-month-old war.

Russia ruled out a "Christmas ceasefire" after nearly 10 months of war in Ukraine and rejected a call by Kyiv to start withdrawing troops by Christmas as a step to end Europe's biggest conflict since World War Two.

Ukrainian forces shot down 13 drones yesterday, officials said, as Russia launched its first major drone attack on the capital Kyiv in weeks and the United States considered sending its advanced Patriot air defence system to help Ukraine.

Russia yesterday dismissed a peace proposal from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that would involve a pullout of Russian troops, saying Kyiv needed to accept new territorial “realities”.

The world must "rethink nuclear safety" after Russia's seizure of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, Ukrainian energy minister German Galushchenko told AFP ahead of a Tuesday conference in Paris.

Russian forces pounded targets in eastern and southern Ukraine with missiles, drones and artillery, Ukraine’s General Staff said yesterday, while millions remained without power in sub-zero temperatures after further strikes on key infrastructure.

Russian forces pounded targets in eastern and southern Ukraine with missiles, drones and artillery, Ukraine's General Staff said yesterday, while millions remained without power in sub-zero temperatures after further strikes on key infrastructure.

Russia launched what it calls a special military operation in Ukraine because its concerns around peace accords between Kyiv and Russian-backed separatists were ignored, Russian news agencies quoted the Kremlin spokesman as saying yesterday.

The southern Ukrainian city of Odesa was left without power yesterday following a night-time attack by “kamikaze drones” launched by Russia, authorities said, as the US announced new military aid for Kyiv and vowed to disrupt Russian ties with Iran.

The Russian Nobel Peace Prize laureate who heads the organisation Memorial slammed President Vladimir Putin's "insane and criminal" war in Ukraine as he accepted his award in Oslo on Saturday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday said the West’s desire to maintain its dominance on the world stage was increasing the risks of conflict.