Last month was the deadliest since Putin launched his full-scale war on Ukraine three and a half years ago. In July alone, 286 civilians were killed and another 1,388, according to official data.

However, since the fullscale invasion in 2022, 1.6million youngsters have been cut off from the outside world and are effectively being held hostage by Russia. Abducted children were sent to at least 56 facilities - 13 in Belarus and 43 in Russia or occupied Ukrainian territory.

Moscow casts doubt over peace talks after bombing US factory in new wave of strikes - Moscow demands to be directly engaged on questions of security concerning Ukraine and Europe

The European Union's foreign policy chief says the possibility of Ukraine ceding land to Russia as part of a peace deal to end their three-year war is "a trap" set by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Sergey Lavrov told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker in an exclusive interview Friday that the Ukrainian leader had rejected Trump's proposed terms for a deal.