President Vladimir Putin yesterday insisted Russia was defending the “motherland” by its war in Ukraine, as Moscow staged a show of force at a military parade marking the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany.

Russian President Vladimir Putin used a major patriotic holiday Monday to again justify his war in Ukraine but did not declare even a limited victory or signal where the conflict was headed, as his forces continued to pummel targets across the country with few signs of significant progress.

For more than two months, Dr Farad Ali-Shakh has spent his waking hours tending wounded Ukrainian soldiers and civilians. He also treats injured Russians, albeit reluctantly, who could be part of future prisoner exchanges.

The world will do everything possible to ensure that Russian President Vladimir Putin loses his war in Ukraine, including keeping Moscow under sanctions for years, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said late on Sunday.

As many as 60 people were feared to have been killed in the Russian bombing of a village school in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, the regional governor said yesterday.

The Group of Seven leaders said in a joint statement on Sunday that they will reinforce Russia's economic isolation and "elevate" a campaign against Russian elites who support President Vladimir Putin.

As many as 60 people were feared to have been killed in the Russian bombing of a village school in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, the regional governor said on Sunday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is gathering evidence for a possible war crimes investigation into attacks it says it has documented by Russia on healthcare facilities in Ukraine, it said in Kyiv on Saturday.

Russia's most senior lawmaker on Saturday accused Washington of coordinating military operations in Ukraine, which he said amounted to direct U.S. involvement in military action against Russia.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday a media report that U.S. intelligence aided Ukraine to take out Russian generals is not accurate.

The Kremlin yesterday said there will be no Victory Day celebrations in Ukraine’s Mariupol, a strategic port city that Russian troops claimed control of last month.

The European Commission has proposed changes to its planned embargo on Russian oil to give Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic more time to prepare for the shift in their energy supplies, three EU sources said yesterday.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has devastated hundreds of hospitals and other medical institutions and left doctors without drugs to tackle cancer or the ability to perform surgery, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

Russia yesterday said Western aid to Kyiv had slowed its offensive in Ukraine but would not thwart its victory, as conflicting reports emerged about efforts to rescue civilians from a besieged steel plant in the devastated city of Mariupol.

Russia said on Thursday that its artillery struck multiple Ukrainian positions and strongholds overnight, killing over 600 fighters.

The United States has provided intelligence that has helped Ukrainian forces kill many of the Russian generals who have died in the Ukraine war, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing senior US officials.

The European Union’s top official on Wednesday called on the 27-nation bloc to ban oil imports from Russia and target the country’s biggest bank and major broadcasters in a sixth package of sanctions against Moscow for its war in Ukraine.

Humanitarian organisations worked to evacuate more civilians from the devastated Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on Monday but hundreds of people remained trapped in the Azovstal steel works, the last stronghold of resistance to the Russian siege.

Around 100 civilians evacuated from the ruined Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol were due to arrive in a Ukrainian-held city on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, after US Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a surprise visit to Kyiv.

Russian forces pounded Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region yesterday but failed to capture three target areas, Ukraine’s military said, while Moscow said Western sanctions on Russia and arms shipments to Ukraine were impeding peace negotiations.