Russia on Thursday accused the United States of funding research into the development of biological weapons in Ukraine, as Moscow stepped up its campaign to gain control of key Ukrainian cities.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a televised briefing that "the purpose of this — and other Pentagon-funded biological research i

Russian forces on Thursday rolled their armored vehicles up to the northeastern edge of Kyiv, edging closer in their attempts to encircle the Ukrainian capital.

An AFP team saw plumes of smoke rise over the village of Skybyn, just a few hundred meters past the last checkpoint marking Kyiv's northeastern city limits.

Ukrainian soldiers described a

Russia and Ukraine on Thursday failed to find a breakthrough on a ceasefire and other humanitarian issues at the first high-level talks between the two sides since Moscow's invasion.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba met on the sidelines of a diplomatic forum in the Turkish resort city of Antalya for three-way