Ukraine brought home a new group of prisoners of war from Russia on Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, saying it brought to more than 1,000 the number of returning soldiers as agreed at talks in Turkey.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is stalling over a ceasefire. Meanwhile, Trump has changed his mind about sending weapons to Ukraine.

Ukraine has seen the first anti-government protests since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion over three years ago, as a move by President Volodymyr Zelensky to curb anti-corruption agencies sparked fury across the nation.

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.

Kyiv’s attack on the powers of anti-corruption agencies was described by an European official as a ‘serious step back’ for its EU membership

Russia has dramatically escalated its drone war on Ukraine, now routinely launching hundreds of drones nightly. -A German general warns that due to a massive increase in domestic production, Russia could soon launch swarms of up to 2,

Russia has advanced around Pokrovsk for many months, but has so far failed to entirely encircle or seize control of the city.

Russia is set to spend 6.3% of its GDP on defense this year — a post-Cold War high.