Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine overnight into Saturday with hundreds of drones, killing at least one person, part of a stepped-up bombing campaign that has dashed hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the more than 3-year-old war.

Russia has launched a massive overnight drone and missile attack on Ukraine, killing at least one person in Odesa.

Under a scheme first trialled last year and dubbed "Army of Drones: Bonus" (also known as "e-points"), units can earn points for each Russian soldier killed or piece of equipment destroyed. And like a killstreak in Call of Duty, or a 1970s TV game show, points mean prizes.

Russia now controls more than two-thirds of Ukraine’s Donetsk region — the main theater of the ground war. Russian forces have carved out a 10-mile-deep pocket around the Ukrainian troops defending the crucial city of Kostiantynivka, partly surrounding them from the east, south and west.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for talks with Russia next week to push forward ceasefire talks amid growing US pressure on Moscow to reach a deal. Ukraine’s Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine,

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says a meeting between himself and Russia's leader is the only way to ensure peace Ukraine has proposed a new round of peace talks with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said,