The Latest Breaking News from Maria Zakharova

Ukraine welcomed the U.S. decision to provide cluster munitions, with Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov outlining “five key principles” that he said would govern the use of the controversial weapons.

As the war enters its 493rd day, these are the main developments.

Russia on Saturday blamed Kosovo, the United States and European Union for escalating tensions in the Balkans and said it was watching with concern after violent clashes between Kosovan police and protesters opposed to ethnic Albanian mayors.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy likened the ruins of Ukraine's eastern city of Bakhmut with the destruction of Hiroshima in World War Two, as he attended the Group of Seven summit in the Japanese city on Sunday.

Russia on Thursday said a move by the Czech government to cancel Soviet-era decrees that granted the Russian embassy free use of land in Prague and other cities was illegal and pledged to take measures to defend its own interests.

A deal allowing Ukraine to export crops from key ports via the Black Sea is to be extended, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the Turkish-brokered agreement to extend a pact to allow shipments of grain from Ukraine to the global market for…

Russia confirmed on Wednesday that a deal to allow Ukraine to export its grain safely across the Black Sea, despite Russia's war in Ukraine, had been extended for two months.

The chief of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner on Saturday asked Moscow to let him hand over his positions in the hotspot city of Bakhmut to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Read our live blog to see how all the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).

Russian state news agency Tass says the car of a prominent pro-Kremlin novelist exploded in Russia on Saturday, wounding him and killing his driver

More than 20 people confirmed dead in wake of Russian aerial bombing of Ukrainian cities on Friday morning

Russia does not intend to take the path of nuclear escalation in its standoff with the West over Ukraine but others should not test its patience, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.