Kiev

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Kiev on Tuesday to mark the Europe Day celebration of peace and unity, as Ukraine delivered a symbolic retort to Moscow's Victory Day parade.

The head of the Wagner mercenary group said on Sunday that Russia had promised his fighters enough ammunition to stay in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, after threatening to pull out in scathing videos.

Rivalries between Yevgeny Prigozhin and the conventional army had boiled over during the battle for the now-devastated flashpoint, where Wagner is leading the assault.

Evacuations from the front line around Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant prompted safety warnings from the UN nuclear watchdog on Saturday, as a string of recent strikes escalate predictions of a looming spring counteroffensive.

Ukraine's air force claimed Saturday to have downed a Russian hypersonic missile over Kiev using newly acquired American Patriot defense systems, the first known time the country has been able to intercept one of Moscow's most modern missiles.

Moscow on Thursday accused the US of masterminding a drone attack on the Kremlin, a charge denied by Washington, and said Ukrainian sabotage on Russian territory had reached "unprecedented momentum".

Moscow said President Vladimir Putin was working from the Kremlin the day after the attack, which it said was a Ukrainian attempt to kill him.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at Amsterdam's airport late Wednesday for an unannounced visit to the Netherlands, with a trip to the International Criminal Court on his agenda, local media reported.

Dutch news agency ANP said Zelensky, making his first visit to the Netherlands, landed at Schiphol airport after attending a Nordic summit in Helsinki.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday it shot down two drones launched by Ukraine and accused Kiev of attempting to kill Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A fuel depot caught fire overnight in the Russian village of Volna, close to the bridge to the Crimean peninsula, the local governor said early Wednesday.

Russia launched its second large salvo of missiles at Ukraine in recent days early Monday, damaging buildings, killing two people and wounding 40 in the eastern city of Pavlohrad but failing to hit Kiev, officials said.

Air raid sirens began blaring across the capital about 3:45 a.m., followed by explosions as Ukrainian defense systems intercepted missiles.

A huge fire erupted in Moscow-annexed Crimea after a suspected drone attack hit an oil depot, as fighting intensified on the southern Ukrainian front and shelling deprived Russian border villages of power.