Negotiators for the warring sides in Istanbul appeared to make little progress on ceasefire terms or a possible summit between their presidents – with their meeting ending after less than an hour.

Russia and Ukraine discussed further prisoner swaps on Wednesday at a brief session of peace talks in Istanbul, but the sides remained far apart on ceasefire terms and a possible meeting of their leaders.

Vasily Astrov, expert on the Russian economy at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, told Newsweek that "inflation has really subsided markedly over the past few months. The outcome of this policy has been a marked cooling of domestic demand, with the welcome side effect of rapid disinflation.

Russia has launched one of its largest aerial assaults on Ukraine in months, targeting Kyiv overnight into Monday.

The top Ukrainian official confirmed that soldiers have already begun identifying the bodies of their own countrymen on the opposing side of the battlefields.

Confronted with heavy casualties in Ukraine and a wave of retirements, Russia is now struggling to find enough workers to keep its war economy running.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced a new anti-corruption bill for Parliament. This comes after he approved changes earlier this week to graft laws.

The shipments have allowed Russian weapons-maker IEMZ Kupol to increase its production of the Garpiya-A1 attack drone, despite the U.S. and E.U. sanctions imposed in October designed to disrupt its supply chain,