Russian president Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to find ways in which Russia can launch new offensive operations on Ukraine to capture Kyiv, said Ukraine’s commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
These include Russian offensives launched from Belarusian territory to capture the Ukrainian capital and its surrounding areas, Syrskyi said.
Another scenario includes a strike from Russia's bordering Bryansk region towards Ukraine’s Chernihiv region, which is the most probable scenario, he said.
This comes as Ukraine struck a satellite centre in the Moscow region being used to gather intelligence for Russian forces for the second time on Tuesday, president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
In a post on Telegram, Zelensky said his forces had attacked the Dubna space communications centre some 500km from the Ukrainian border.
He said the site was used for reconnaissance and ? for coordinating the activities of Russia's forces in Ukraine. It also came under Ukrainian attack last ?week, the Ukrainian military's General Staff said.
Sweden’s Saab signs $2.54bn Gripen fighter jet deal with Ukraine
?Swedish defence equipment maker Saab signed a contract to deliver 16 Gripen E fighter aircraft to Ukraine in a deal ?worth about 24.6bn Swedish ?crowns.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the agreement reached with Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson involved the purchase of 16 Gripen E aircraft and included technical support.
Saab said deliveries of the ?aircraft were scheduled for 2029-2030.
In ?remarks on the Ukrainian presidential website, Zelensky said deliveries of Gripen C/D aircraft would begin early ?in 2027.
Zelensky said he had discussed implementation of the agreement and broader defence cooperation with Swedish defence minister Pal Jonson during a meeting in Kyiv on Tuesday, including drone and missile-defence projects.
Russian forces seize villages in Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv, claims Moscow
Russian forces have taken control of the settlements of Kopani in the Zaporizhzia region of Ukraine and Ukrainske in the northeastern Kharkiv region, state news agency RIA reported on Wednesday, citing the Defence Ministry.
The Independent could not independently verify the battlefield reports.
Russia approved secret China military training at top level, sources say
China's covert military training of Russian forces last year was personally approved by president Vladimir Putin's defence minister and directly involved at least four Russian and Chinese generals, according to two European officials and documents seen by Reuters.
The officials said the involvement of such high-ranking individuals in training linked to the Ukraine war signalled the importance for Russia ?and China of such cooperation, which has caused alarm in Europe even as Beijing has denied it took place.
A classified Russian document seen by Reuters directly referred to an internal decree issued by defence minister Andrei Belousov in August, 2025.
It said that, in accordance with a decision by Belousov, a delegation from Russia's armed forces travelled to China to participate in training exercises at People's Liberation Army (PLA) facilities.
The report and a second one described and displayed images of Russian soldiers being lectured by a Chinese instructor, looking at a model nuclear reactor, and being taught about "chemical reconnaissance", "radiation reconnaissance" and protecting ventilation systems from contamination.
The inclusion of radiological, biological and chemical warfare training underlined the strategic nature of the exchanges, one of the European officials said, noting that the topic was particularly sensitive for militaries in ?general.
Watch: Birds in Ukraine build nests with fibre optic cable
Starmer says UK has learnt lessons from Ukraine as he announces defence plan – ICYMI
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has said his government has learnt “the lessons of Ukraine” and will ramp up spending on drone technology.
Sir Keir said: “(We are) learning the lessons of Ukraine in order to modernise our military, equipped to fight the wars both of today and tomorrow.
“We’re backing this by putting in more than £5 billion pounds into drones and autonomous weapons – that is the largest ever UK investment in this technology.”
He said the military will also invest in “low-cost, one-way attack drones” which have proved so effective in the Ukraine war.
Sir Keir added that the plan would mean “driving real reforms within the Ministry of Defence to get greater value from our investment”, including by “reducing non-military spending on civil service staff”.
Putin's troops exhausted and Russian battlefield offensive declining, says Ukrainian military chief
Ukrainian forces are witnessing signs of exhaustion among Russian soldiers and it is reflecting on the battlefield, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.
In comments to TSN Ukrainian television, Syrskyi said there were indications that Russian troops were exhausted and the intensity of front-line battles was declining.
He said Russian frontline activity had declined by ?30 per cent while Ukrainian forces pressed on with a campaign of long-range strikes against Russian targets, mainly linked to the oil industry.
Russia attacks fuel stations in Dnipropetrovsk, killing one, says Kyiv
Russia attacked five retail fuel stations in Ukraine's southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, killing a woman, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on the Telegram messaging app on Wednesday.
Three other women, one of them pregnant, were injured in the strikes, Hanzha said, adding that equipment had been damaged at all of them and the attacks had caused fires.
In the past 24 hours, Russia also hit four stations in the northern Chernihiv region, regional governor Viacheslav Chaus said.
Russia has been striking fuel stations, but the drone attacks have intensified recently, with Ukrainian authorities in frontline Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions reporting nearly daily attacks.
Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to the defence minister, said on Sunday that Russia aimed to "destroy all our frontline filling stations" in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russia's logistics.
"Civilian filling stations have absolutely no impact on military fuel supplies, therefore, the aim of the attacks is to terrorise the civilian population," he said on Telegram.
Watch: Zelensky mocks Putin’s 15 failed deadlines to capture Donbas
Opening of Russia-North korea bridge likely delayed, says US think tank
Russia and North Korea are unlikely to open a road bridge connecting their countries soon, despite an earlier target of mid-June, US think tank 38 North said.
Satellite imagery has showed Russian-side facilities unfinished.
The 850-metre (2,789-ft) bridge, which ?will connect to Russia's highway system, was agreed during Russian president Vladimir Putin's visit to Pyongyang in June 2024, and will be a first road link between the two. The Russian embassy in ?Pyongyang had said in April that it would open on June 19.
Analysts say the bridge could eventually increase logistics activity by more than 40 per cent and help North Korea reduce its heavy reliance on China by deepening economic ties with Russia.
38 North, citing satellite imagery, said on Tuesday that the bridge over the Tumen River appears complete and North Korean border facilities are largely finished, but much more work is needed on the Russian side before the crossing can become operational.
The North Korean side has a large warehouse, parking lot, paved access roads and what appears to be a completed frontier post, while Russia's probable customs complex is far less advanced and is likely to be at least three times larger, the think tank said.
Russia's transport ministry declined to comment. The North Korean embassy in Moscow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russia launches more than 150 drones and missiles in overnight attack
Russia launched one missile and 151 drones at Ukraine in an overnight attack, according to the daily update from Ukraine’s Air Force.
Ukrainian defences detroyed or jammed the missile and 130 of the drones across the north, south and east of the country.
Strikes by 17 drones were recorded at 16 locations – and there have so far been no reports of any casualties.
As of 7:30am local time (5:30am BST), the attack was ongoing, the air force said.