Russia’s foreign minister has cast fresh doubt on peace talks, questioning “the legitimacy” of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to sign any future agreements after targetting a US factory in a large bombardment on Ukraine.

Russia's nuclear shield should be strengthened in coming years due to the "colossal threats" facing the world's biggest nuclear power, the head of Russia's state nuclear corporation said on Thursday.

The Ukrainian Air Force says Russia has launched a major aerial attack on Ukraine, firing 574 drones and 40 missiles.

Russia is facing "colossal threats" that mean it must continuously improve its nuclear weapons "shield," the chief of the state atomic energy agency warned.

A Russian state-backed messenger application called MAX, a rival to WhatsApp that critics say could be used to track users, must be pre-installed on all mobile phones and tablets from next month, the Russian government said on Thursday.

Moscow has resisted a Putin-Zelensky summit and security guarantees for Ukraine. Trump’s claims that the Kremlin’s position has changed has left analysts puzzled.

Russia has yet again ignored Donald Trump’s bid to hold a summit between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky and said attempts to resolve security issues for Kyiv without Moscow’s participation was a “road to nowhere”.

Moscow is preparing to raise taxes and cut spending as it tries to maintain high defence expenditure with Russia's economy creaking under the weight of financing the more than three-year war in Ukraine,