Soldiers in Ukraine raised flags in two spots near the administrative border between Donetsk Oblast and Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on Thursday after Russia claimed to capture the territory, according to Ukraine 's 20th Corps.

Ukraine says it’s doing everything it can to ensure new supplies of weapons reach troops on the front line, including military aid promised by western allies. Officials say Russia has amassed some 160,000 troops along the front as they press ahead with their summer offensive.

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke by phone with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Among other topics, they discussed the possibility of a new meeting between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul,

Experts worry Russia could raise the stakes in its attempted invasion by employing battlefield nuclear weapons

Since Russia's invasion began, more than 100 religious leaders and activists have faced persecution for opposing the war.

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky are considering a deal that involves Washington buying battlefield-tested Ukrainian drones in exchange for Kyiv purchasing weapons from the US.The Ukrainian president said his latest talks with Mr Trump focused on a deal that would help each country bolster its aerial technology.

The Kremlin currently lacks a clear strategy for responding to the US ultimatum regarding the war in Ukraine, while key Russian oil buyers - China, India, and Türkiye - are cautiously assessing the risks of possible secondary sanctions,

Welcome back to another edition of My Take 5, your weekly round-up of top international news. This week we are covering Trump’s possible U-turn on Putin, Estonia and the Baltics get ready with HIMARS,