Russia accused Ukraine on Friday of carrying out a missile strike on a supermarket in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, saying the attack killed two civilians and wounded two others.

Russia was once again in flames today as a suspected Ukrainian drone strike' devastated a chemical plant in Vladimir Putin's home city of St Petersburg, leaving a "pillar of fire". Huge repeated explosions were heard at the facility in Gatchina - which makes acetone that can be used for military explosives and rocket fuel.

The drone strike targeted the main aviation fuel facility in Engels city that supplies President Vladimir Putin's strategic nuclear bomber aircraft.

Ukraine's air force said on Friday Russia attacked it with 72 drones overnight though it downed 33 of them while 34 others disappeared from radar without reaching their targets.

A Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia claimed at least 13 civilian lives and injured around 30 others.

President-elect Trump said late Thursday that a meeting is in the works with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine. Why it matters: Trump said on the campaign trail that he would swiftly end the nearly three-year-old war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that North Korean forces fighting alongside Russian troops against the Ukrainian military have sustained 4,000 casualties, both killed and wounded in action. Source: Interfax-Ukraine news agency,