Ukraine-Russia war live: Kiev thwarts latest drone and missile attacks by Putin's forces as Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant strikes again

Ukraine and Britain have signed a framework agreement for cooperation in the defense and arms production sectors, officials in Kyiv said. This is part of the war effort to build Ukraine's domestic weapons industry through cooperation with allies.

The document was signed at a military industry conference in Kiev, attended by around 30 British defense companies to discuss possible joint ventures with Ukrainian arms and defense manufacturers.

“It is the first intergovernmental cooperation agreement,” Oleksandr Kamyshin, Ukraine’s minister for strategic industries, told reporters after the signing ceremony.

“Today, British companies are working with Ukrainian companies and looking for ways to produce more weapons together.”

Greg Hands, Britain's trade policy secretary, said he hoped the deal would bring Ukraine gains on the battlefield and also benefit its struggling economy in the longer term.

Kiev shot down dozens of Putin's drones and two guided missiles as Ukraine was accused of attacking a Russian-controlled nuclear power plant.

The Ukrainian Air Force claimed 14 of 17 attack drones launched from Moscow were shot down and two of several guided missiles targeting Odessa and Mykolaiv were destroyed.

The attack damaged the energy infrastructure in Mykolaiv and disrupted power supply for several hours. According to the military, there were no fatalities in the attacks.

A major war in Europe is “no longer a fantasy” and the continent should prepare for war with Russia, the EU’s top diplomat has warned.

“Russia is threatening Europe,” both through its ongoing war in Ukraine and through hybrid attacks on EU member states, Josep Borrell said.

“There is no doubt that war is looming all around us,” Mr Borrell said. “A high-intensity, conventional war in Europe is no longer a fantasy.”

Volodymyr Zelensky invited US presidential candidate Donald Trump to Ukraine and said he was open to his proposal to end the war.

However, the Ukrainian president expressed skepticism about proposals to hand over the captured region to Russia, saying such a deal would pave the way for further Russian conquests in the future.

“If the deal is that we simply give up our territories, and that is the idea behind it, then that is a very primitive idea,” Mr. Zelensky said The Politico.

“I need very strong arguments. I don’t need a fantastic idea, I need a real idea because people’s lives are at stake.”

Russians in the city of Orsk gathered for a rare protest on Monday, demanding compensation after the collapse of a dam and subsequent flooding in the Orenburg region near the border with Kazakhstan.

Protests are an unusual sight in Russia, where authorities are cracking down on any form of dissent following President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Hundreds of people gathered outside the administration building in Orsk on Monday, Russian state news agency Tass said, while videos shared on Russian social media channels showed people shouting “Putin, help us” and “shame.”