Russian President Vladimir Putin told his US counterpart Donald Trump Saturday that Moscow was ready to hold a fresh round of peace talks with Kyiv after June 22, once the sides complete exchanging prisoners and soldiers' bodies.

KYIV: Ukraine has received 1,200 bodies of its soldiers killed in the war with Russia, Ukrainian officials responsible for exchanging prisoners of war said on Saturday.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine has a clear path to victory. The Ukrainian drone attack last week and the Russian air raids on Friday don't change that.

Russia has launched 479 drones against Ukraine in the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the three-year war, according to the Ukrainian air force. The air force said early on Monday that it had downed 460 drones as well as 19 missiles launched overnight.

After Ukraine’s drone strikes on Russian air bases, the two sides talked for about an hour in Istanbul, and a halt to the fighting seems out of reach for now.

A "two week" deadline imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump to see if Russia is serious about peace in Ukraine has been and gone, with Moscow's escalation of attacks on civilians during this period failing to draw the slightest condemnation from the White House.

Russia has maintained a delicate balancing act in the Middle East for decades, trying to navigate its warm relations with Israel even as it has developed strong economic and military ties with Iran

Russia and Ukraine swapped prisoners of war on Saturday. Moscow returned 1,200 Ukrainian soldiers' bodies but claims it received no Russian war dead from Kyiv.