Ukraine

Russia said on Wednesday it would resume its participation in a deal freeing up grain exports from Ukraine, reversing a move that world leaders warned would increase hunger globally.

The cost of Russia's military mobilisation and the impact of Western sanctions are set to blow a hole in the government's budget forecasts and drain Moscow's reserves to their lowest level in years, according to analysts' latest calculations.

Olena Zelenska told thousands of investors, entrepreneurs and tech workers gathered for the annual Web Summit in Portugal that Russia "puts technology at the service of terror".

A senior Ukrainian official predicted "the heaviest of battles" to come for the partially Russian occupied strategic southern province of Kherson and said Moscow's military is digging in to face advancing Ukrainian forces.

More than 100 Ukrainian women are testifying to their government regarding their traumatic experience with the Russian soldiers.

The EU on Monday stepped up its military support for Kyiv by launching a mission to train 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers and providing 500 million euros more for weapons.

The European Union prepared to slap sanctions on Iran on Monday over a human rights crackdown and several ministers warned of separate, new sanctions if Tehran's involvement in Russia's war on Ukraine was proven.

Intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces was taking place around two towns in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, Bakhmut and Soledar, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday.

The first group of such volunteer recruits arrived in July and more than 5,700 have already taken the course.

Leaders from the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations have assured Ukrainian officials that they will continue to provide financial support for Ukraine as it battles invading Russian forces, Germany's finance minister said on Thursday.

IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said Ukraine's financing needs in 2023 will range between $3 billion and $4 billion a month.

Putin has stated that peace talks can now start but that the annexed areas are not on the table.

Tens of thousands of Russians have fled since Putin sent troops to Ukraine in February and then announced a nationwide military call-up in September.

The United Nations General Assembly voted on Monday to reject Russia's call for the 193-member body to hold a secret ballot later this week on whether to condemn Moscow's move to annex four partially occupied regions in Ukraine.

The UN secretary-general, as the leading defender of the world body's values, bluntly denounced the annexations.

Victoriia Maslova abandoned her herbal cosmetics factory in the Ukrainian town of Bucha on the first day of Russia's invasion of the country, fleeing to Poland with her mother and three younger brothers when rockets began hitting a nearby airport.

France has repeatedly been in critics' sights over its lower level of military support to Ukraine compared with allies.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia on Thursday of "nuclear blackmail" over its seizure of the Zaporizhzhia power plant in southern Ukraine.

Russians opposed to the war in Ukraine or fearful of being sent to fight there have fled to Kazakhstan in their hundreds of thousands, but many are finding new problems on arrival.

A Russian-installed official in Ukraine poured scorn on Moscow's generals on Thursday and suggested its defence minister should shoot himself because of failures in the Ukraine conflict, in a highly rare public rebuke of the Kremlin's top brass.

Ukraine says recaptured vast tracts of key Kherson region

Ukraine to join Spain and Portugal in 2030 World Cup bid

The head of the European Union's powerful lending arm has urged leaders not to backslide on climate targets amid the energy crisis and signalled a joint action plan from the world's top development banks at next month's COP 27 summit and on Ukraine.

In an abandoned tower block damaged by Russian shelling in Ukraine's second city, Olga Kobzar plans to tough out winter for as long as she can without electricity, water and central heating by lighting the gas stove in her kitchen for warmth.

Russia on Tuesday fined TikTok for failing to delete content that violates Russian laws on 'LGBT propaganda' and streaming service Twitch for hosting a video interview with a Ukrainian political figure that Moscow said contained 'fake' information.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has often come under fire for his controversial tweets, and this time it is Ukraine's president whom he has managed to displease.

A 27-year-old Russian rapper who was against Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine took his own life to avoid being drafted into the war.

The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) executive board will consider Ukraine's request for $1.3 billion in additional emergency funding on Friday as Russia's war against the country continues, two sources familiar with the matter said.

A Russian woman reportedly stabbed her 4-year-old daughter and tried to take her own life after learning that her husband was to be conscripted.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets in Russia to hold demonstration against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.