Russia: Russia said on Saturday that its forces had taken control of five more settlements over the past 24 hours, while Ukraine reported overnight strikes on a number of Russian military facilities, including drone command posts, a training ground and a logistics facility.
The Russian Defence Ministry said in a report that its forces had struck ammunition depots, energy and transport infrastructure, drone assembly and storage sites, as well as cargo ships transporting Ukrainian military supplies.
Russian air defence forces shot down seven guided aerial bombs, a rocket from a US-made HIMARS multiple-launch rocket system and 936 fixed-wing drones, the ministry said.
Among the fixed-wing drones, 344 were intercepted and destroyed over Leningrad, Novgorod and the Black Sea overnight, it added.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on Saturday that its air defence forces had neutralised three missiles and 138 drones launched by Russia overnight.
Timur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, said on Saturday that Russian drone attacks had damaged nine civilian facilities in four districts of the region over the past 24 hours.
Regarding peace talks, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Saturday that the specifics of preparing the next round of trilateral talks involving Russia, the US and Ukraine were not being discussed.
At the same time, he expressed confidence that the pause between rounds would not be prolonged.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had stated earlier that Moscow did not rule out the possibility of a new round of trilateral peace talks in October.
Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov has also confirmed that a new round of trilateral talks is planned for next month.
Delegations from Ukraine, the United States and Russia previously held two rounds of talks in Abu Dhabi on 23–24 January and 4–5 February, followed by another round in Geneva on 17–18 February, in an effort to find a path towards ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The trilateral negotiations subsequently stalled and have remained suspended.
Current reporting indicates that both sides continue to exchange long-range strikes while diplomatic efforts remain uncertain. Ukraine has also expressed support for resuming trilateral negotiations, although concrete plans for such a meeting have not been finalised.