FOOTAGE shows troops from Ukraine’s special forces fighting Russian soldiers in a desperate battle for the fortress city of Pokrovsk. Moscow has been pushing hard to capture Pokrovsk, dubbed

Vladimir Putin ordered plans to restart Russia’s nuclear tests after Donald Trump said last week that America would carry out new weapon trials. The Russian defence minister advised Putin to prepare “for full-scale nuclear tests” given the US president’s decision, sparking fears of a new nuclear weapons race.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian drones struck a major oil refinery in Russia’s Volgograd region for the second time in almost three months, Ukraine’s general staff said Thursday. Russian officials did not confirm the attack, although the local governor said drones started a fire at an unspecified industrial facility in the region.

Officials in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Kamianske say several people are injured after a "massive" Russian drone attack overnight. Elsewhere, the Kremlin has responded to Donald Trump's suggestion he will start nuclear weapons testing.

Ukrainian long-range drones have reportedly struck an industrial plant deep inside Russia, approximately 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) from the border, while Kyiv’s forces continue to fight an intense battle to repel a Russian advance on the strategic city of Pokrovsk in eastern Donetsk.

Russian Telegram channels have reported that a thermal power plant in the Russian city of Oryol has been hit in a drone attack. This information has later been confirmed by the Oryol Oblast governor.

KYIV/EASTERN UKRAINE, Ukraine (Reuters) -As buildings change hands in chaotic fighting in Ukraine's eastern stronghold of Pokrovsk, defending forces said this week that drones alone could not hold off Russian advances and more soldiers were needed to prevent the enemy infiltrating further.