Ukraine-Russia war: UK has no evidence of Beijing links to captured troops as Kyiv confronts China

Russia is showing “complete disrespect” for the peace talks regarding Ukraine, a European Commission spokesperson has said.

After Moscow’s forces continue to launch attacks on Ukraine - killing dozens of civilians in the past few days - spokesperson Anitta Hipper condemned Russia’s apparent lack of interest in peace.

"Now, when it comes to the actions that Russia is showing every day, including with the recent attacks that have killed at least 20 civilians, and as you said, 9 children included, Russia is showing a total disrespect for the talks. And it shows every day that it has zero interest to pursue this," Mr Hipper said according to European Pravda.

She said it is important "to ensure that we have a ceasefire, that we have just a long-lasting and comprehensive peace".

"But we cannot be naïve when we deal with Putin and when we see his murderous attacks on a daily basis," she added.

Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed for the first time that Ukrainian troops are active in Russia's Belgorod region.

In his nightly video address, Mr Zelensky said Ukraine's top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi had presented a report "on the front line, our presence in the Kursk region and our presence in the Belgorod region."

"We continue active operations in the enemy's border areas and this is absolutely justified. The war must return to where it came from," Mr Zelensky said.

"Our main objective remains the same: to protect our land and our communities in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions from Russian occupiers.”

Mr Zelensky later referred to operations in the area by Ukraine's 225th Assault Regiment and congratulated the unit for its performance.

Russian military bloggers have reported a number of battles in the Belgorod region between Russian and Ukrainian troops.

Russia launched 46 drones and an Iskander-M ballistic missile during an overnight attack, the Ukraine air force said this morning.

The air force shot down nine drones with another 31 drones not reaching their targets likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures, it said on Telegram.

It did not say what happened to the remaining six drones or the missile.

Russia's air defence units intercepted and destroyed 23 Ukrainian drones overnight over the border Kursk and Belgorod regions, the Russian defence ministry said this morning.

It did not comment on the reported Ukrainian incursion inside the Belgorod region.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine is ramping up drone production to the "maximum."

Ukraine will increase production for the "full range of drones: from Mavics to long-range drones," he said in his nightly address.

"We’re also expanding our domestic capacity to produce ground-based robotic systems. What we need is constant, stable growth in the production and supply of every necessary part of the unmanned component to our forces. And for this year, the outlook is promising," Mr Zelensky added.

Donald Trump has condemned Russia for “bombing like crazy” in the past week, after Moscow’s forces have continued deadly drone and missile attacks across Ukraine.

"I'm not happy about what's going on with the bombing, because they [the Russians] are bombing like crazy right now,” Mr Trump said, adding that it is “not a good situation”.

Speaking during a meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office, Mr Trump also referenced the recent peace discussions between Washington, Moscow and Kyiv.

“We're getting sort of close. But I'm not happy with all the bombing that's going on the last week or so. Horrible. It's a horrible thing," he said.

Over the weekend, Russia killed 20 people, including nine children, with a ballistic missile attack in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih.

A total of 33 people from Kryvyi Rih who were injured in the deadly Russian ballistic missile attack over the weekend remain in hospital, according to local authorities.

Among the injured are four children, two of whom are in a serious condition. Sixteen other adults are also in serious conditions.

The huge missile attack on Friday killed 20 people, including nine children. The city is still reeling in the aftermath of the strike, head of Kryvyi Rih city council Oleksandr Vilkul said on Telegram.

At least three people have been killed and 19 injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day, according to regional officials.

Moscow’s forces launched 46 drones overnight, according to the Ukrainian military, nine of which were shot down by air defences.

In Donetsk, two residents were killed by Russian shelling in Kostyantynivka and Hryshyno, the Kyiv Independent quoted regional governor Vadym Filashkin as saying.

One man was killed and five were injured in the Kharkiv region, while eight were injured in the Kherson region, the governors said.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, artillery and drone strikes wounded four.