The strikes occurred in a strategic maritime corridor, raising concerns about energy security and navigational safety.

Ukraine’s chief negotiator, in an exclusive interview, says conceding sovereign territory is off-limits in peace talks.

Ukraine says it used sea drones to strike two oil tankers that are part of Russia’s sanctioned shadow fleet and were a few dozen kilometres off the coast of Turkey.

"If this is true, then we have a major problem, Houston," wrote Estonian lawmaker Marko Mihkelson, in response to the report.

In a series of hardline statements -- his most extensive comments on the latest U.S.-proposed peace plan to date -- Putin repeated some of Russia's most hardline demands, including that Ukrainian troops must withdraw from territory Moscow claims. Putin ruled out signing any ceasefire deal before Ukrainian troops withdraw.

Roscosmos confirmed damage to the launchpad in Baikonur on Thursday. Footage of the launch shows its service bay likely fell into an exhaust trench.

Even if a peace can be reached, it won’t be easy to solve the problem of Ukrainian civilians languishing in Russian jails. This is one prisoner’s story.

Russia's state communications watchdog threatened on Friday to block WhatsApp entirely if it fails to comply with Russian law, news agencies reported.