Iran conflict could open opportunities for Russia to possibly become a power broker to help end the confrontation.

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.

It is designed to make the West think a Kremlin victory is inevitable.

Ukraine's president said that troops maintained their defensive lines along more than 1,000 kilometers of the front.

"Even if you're on the ground, it's very difficult for you to count casualties," said Marina Miron, a postdoctoral researcher at King's College London.

The Russia Day holiday marks the country's 1990 declaration of sovereignty, more than a year before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Ukrainian MiG-29 strikes Russian drone hub, ammo depot in Zaporizhzhia direction, releases video ・Ukrainian military denies NYT claims about Russian presence in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast ・Russia preparing strategic reserves for conflicts beyond Ukraine,

Russian forces have advanced into Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions, in fresh bid for Ukrainian land beyond what Moscow's already annexed.