Russia said Saturday that it had unleashed hypersonic missiles against an arms depot in Ukraine, the first use of the next-generation weapons in combat, after Kyiv's embattled leader pressed for "meaningful" talks to halt an invasion now in its fourth week.

Moscow also said its troops had broken through Ukrainian defenses to enter the strategic

Dozens of soldiers were killed after Russian troops struck a Ukrainian military barracks in the southern city of Mykolaiv, witnesses told AFP on Saturday while a rescue operation was underway. 

"No fewer than 200 soldiers were sleeping in the barracks" when Russian troops struck early Friday, a Ukrainian serviceman on the ground, 22-year-old Maxim,

Activists in Kazakhstan said Saturday they were refused permission to hold a rally against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as tensions over the war spill into Moscow's neighborhood.  

Kazakhstan, which enjoys traditionally cordial relations with the West, is seeking a balance between distancing itself from the Kremlin's brutal campaign in Ukraine and

Russia used its newest Kinzhal hypersonic missiles on Friday to destroy an underground missile and ammunition storage site in western Ukraine close to the border with NATO member Romania, in what analysts said was the first use of such weapons in the world.

The Defense Ministry made the announcement on Saturday, with the escalation coming on the