The war in Ukraine could escalate into a direct confrontation between the U.S. and Russia, according to the Pentagon. General Gregory Guillot, the head of the U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) issued the warning to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee.

Volodymyr Zelensky has challenged Vladimir Putin to meet him in Istanbul, Turkey, this week in a bid to bring the conflict in Ukraine to an end - though it is not clear if the Russian leader will atte

The attacks came a day before a Russian-proposed cease-fire was to take effect and as Moscow prepared to welcome foreign dignitaries for a parade.

The Russian economy is in an increasingly precarious state as a result of a shift to a war mode and of Western sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, a report by the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE) said on Tuesday.

A Ukrainian military spokesperson said the deployment signals that Russian forces are facing some trouble in Chasiv Yar.