Russian and Ukrainian forces were engaged in intense fighting yesterday over the town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine -- a stepping stone in Moscow’s push to capture the entire Donbas region -- with the Russians appearing to have the upper hand.

Ukrainian forces are facing waves of assaults by Russian forces on the small salt-mining town of Soledar, Kyiv officials said yesterday, as Moscow strives to make its first breakthrough in the east in months.

Russia’s bombing of regions in eastern Ukraine killed at least two people overnight, local officials said yesterday, after Moscow ended a self-declared Christmas ceasefire and vowed to push on with combat until it reaches a victory over its neighbour.

Russia's overnight bombing of regions in eastern Ukraine killed at least one, local officials said on Sunday, after Moscow ended a self-declared Christmas ceasefire and vowed to push on with combat until it reaches a victory over its neighbour.

Ukrainians and Russians yesterday marked Orthodox Christmas under the shadow of war, as fighting persisted despite Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin unilaterally ordering his forces to pause attacks.

Artillery fire could be heard from the front line in Ukraine yesterday, even after the official start of a unilateral ceasefire declared by Moscow and rejected by Kyiv.

Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday ordered a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine to run during Orthodox Christmas, a move that war-battered Kyiv swiftly branded as “hypocrisy”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a ceasefire in Ukraine over Orthodox Christmas, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was planning to call up more troops for a major new offensive, even as Moscow was facing some of its biggest internal criticism of the war over a strike that killed scores of fresh conscripts.

Russia's defence ministry on Wednesday blamed the illegal use of mobile phones by its soldiers for a deadly Ukrainian missile strike that it said killed 89 servicemen, raising the reported death toll significantly.

Russian nationalists and some lawmakers have demanded punishment for commanders they accused of ignoring dangers as anger grew over the killing of dozens of Russian soldiers in one of the Ukraine war’s deadliest strikes.

Russia yesterday admitted dozens of its soldiers were killed in a Ukrainian strike on Russian-controlled territory in a bloody New Year’s weekend for both sides of the conflict.

Sixty-three Russian troops were killed in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv forces struck a camp using US-supplied Himars systems, the Russian defence ministry announced on Monday.

A fresh round of explosions rocked Kyiv less than an hour into 2023, after Russia had attacked Ukraine with missiles targeting the capital and other cities ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Russian strikes yesterday targeted Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, just hours before New Year’s Eve celebrations while President Vladimir Putin told Russians that “historical rightness” was on their side.

Ukraine yesterday said it repelled a night-time drone attack from Russia, a day after Moscow launched a new wave of missile strikes in the run-up to New Year celebrations.

Residents of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv were urged to head to air raid shelters early on Friday as sirens wailed across the city, a day after Russia carried out the biggest aerial assault since it started the war in February.

Russia fired scores of missiles into Ukraine early yesterday, targetting Kyiv, the northeastern city of Kharkiv, and other cities in a massive aerial bombardment that sent people rushing to shelters and knocked out power, Ukrainian authorities said.

Belarus said a Ukrainian missile fell on its territory yesterday, raising fears of the conflict spilling over, with the Moscow ally sending investigators to establish the cause of the incident.

Russian forces stepped up mortar and artillery attacks on the recently liberated city of Kherson in southern Ukraine yesterday, Ukraine’s military said, while also exerting constant pressure along front lines in eastern regions of the country.