The Republican leader of the U.S. Senate said on Monday the chamber could begin work this month on a bill imposing stiff sanctions on Russia - and secondary sanctions on countries that trade with Russia - over its war in Ukraine.

I would expect next week that the Senate will start moving the sanctions bill,” said Graham, an ally of President Trump but also a firm backer of Ukraine’s war efforts.

Russia bombarded Ukraine’s second-largest city with massive strikes in the early hours of Saturday, its mayor said, one night after Moscow carried out one of the war’s largest aerial assaults on Ukraine.

One of Ukraine's largest cities, Kharkiv is located just a few dozen kilometres from the Russian border and has been under constant Russian shelling during more than three years of war. "Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack since the start of the full-scale war,

A large Russian drone-and-missile attack has targeted Ukraine’s eastern city of Kharkiv, killing at least three people and injuring 21