Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Kyiv has sent Moscow an offer to hold another round of peace talks next week, and that he wanted to speed up negotiations for a ceasefire.

Russian air defense units intercepted 13 drones flying towards Moscow in under two hours, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported at around 1:46 a.m. local time on July 19.

Ukraine said Saturday it had evacuated 43 of its citizens recently deported from Russia who were being held in Georgia in dire conditions, accusing Moscow of "weaponizing" deportations. At least 56 Ukrainians,

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country had proposed holding a meeting with Russia next week, more than a month after the previous round of direct talks.

Ukraine was pounded by hundreds of Russian bombs overnight into Saturday in a fiery scene that claimed the lives of at least eight civilians and wounded 31 others — leaving behind a trail of

Putin’s refusal to compromise on Ukraine, say analysts, is a colossal error costing Russia regional influence, lucrative energy markets and its place in the world.

At least three people have died following another widespread air bombardment by Russia. Two people were killed in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, the regional governor, Sergiy Lysak, said, while a woman died of her injuries after being rescued from a burning apartment in Odesa, according to emergency services.

In June, Russia's Defense Ministry reported downing a total of 2,368 Ukrainian drones, with an average of almost 79 drones per day across the month. Thus far in July, the Defense Ministry said it has downed 1,533 Ukrainian drones, with a daily average of 90 drones.

Russia has launched overnight attacks on four Ukrainian cities, injuring at least 15 people and targeting energy infrastructure.

Macron says new package of EU sanctions on Moscow is ‘unprecedented’ - EU says will raise the costs so ‘stopping the aggression becomes only path forward for Moscow’