Trump has reaffirmed his intention to broker peace in Ukraine, declaring earlier this month that “Putin wants to meet” and that such a meeting is being set up. In the past, he has criticized U.S. military aid for Ukraine and even vowed to end the conflict in a single day if elected.

Russia says it has detected a shift from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and his team towards recognising the "realities" on the ground in Ukraine, and sees this as a welcome sign as it prepares to study his plan for ending the war.

Russia welcomes signals coming from President-elect Donald Trump over the Ukraine conflict, less than a week before the Republican takes office.

Ukraine said it came under a massive Russian missile attack on Wednesday morning that forced emergency power cuts across large swathes of the country.

Ukraine introduced emergency power cuts in six regions amid what authorities described as a "massive" Russian missile strike, the national grid operator said on Wednesday.