Russia strikes energy facilities in Kyiv as aid convoy heads for besieged town of Oleshky

Russia strikes energy facilities in Kyiv, port infrastructure near Odesa

Fleet of 25 buses with 750 seats prepared for Oleshky evacuations

Fleet of 25 buses with 750 seats prepared for Oleshky evacuations

Humanitarian aid is poised to roll into the stricken city of Oleshky, negotiators from both sides have said, after military units cleared landmines from the area where a localised ceasefire has held for three days.

Ukraine human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets and Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova, each wearing patches showing their nation's flags, met by night in video images released by Russian state TV channel Vesti.

"Is everything all right?" Lantratova asked in Russian in the clip. "Yes, we were warmly welcomed," Lubinets replied in Ukrainian.

In a post on X, Lubinets said a fleet of 25 buses with at least 750 seats stood ready to evacuate those seeking to leave.

Russia says it downed 1,043 Ukrainian drones overnight

Russia's air defence forces shot down 1,043 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions overnight, Russia's Interfax news agency reports, citing the defence ministry.

'Horrific' Russian drone strike kills 14 at Dnipro train station

The latest strikes come a day after a Russian drone slammed into a busy railway platform in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, killing at least 14 people in what President Volodymyr Zelensky called a "horrific" attack that demands action by Kyiv's allies.

 Another 14 people were wounded, six of them in severe condition with "multiple shrapnel wounds". The injured included an 11-year-old boy and a man with "both legs amputated", according to the local governor.

Russia strikes energy facilities in Kyiv, port infrastructure near Odesa

Russia has struck military facilities in Ukraine, the Russian defence ministry says on Telegram, adding that it hit energy infrastructure in and around Kyiv.

Moscow's army also hit the Dnipropetrovsk region, port facilities in the Odesa region and cargo vessels that it said were used by the military.

Welcome to our liveblog

An aid convoy started moving overnight towards the Russian-held town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine, carrying food and medical supplies among other items, the Russian newspaper Izvestia reports.

The move follows weeks of efforts to organise a relief operation for residents of the acutely deprived town, seized by Russian forces soon after Moscow's February 2022 invasion of its smaller neighbour.

Yesterday's main developments

 A Russian drone slammed into a busy railway platform in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday, killing at least 14 people in what President Volodymyr Zelensky called a "horrific" attack that demands action by Kyiv's allies.

 A Russian drone slammed into a busy railway platform in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday, killing at least 14 people in what President Volodymyr Zelensky called a "horrific" attack that demands action by Kyiv's allies.

A localised truce between Kyiv and Moscow held for a third day in the Russian-held town of Oleshky, where a humanitarian mission was expected to arrive on Friday, according to officials from both countries.

A localised truce between Kyiv and Moscow held for a third day in the Russian-held town of Oleshky, where a humanitarian mission was expected to arrive on Friday, according to officials from both countries.