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Vladimir Putin says that thanks to Donald Trump, the US and Russia are starting to align.

Putin says he had "great respect" for Trump and was willing to meet him and it would be  "quite possible".

"In general, thanks to President Trump, relations between Russia and the United States are beginning to level out in some ways."

Speaking to reporters in Minsk, he also says Russia plans to cut military spending in the long term, according to state media. 

Russia is facing budgetary pressures due to increased defence spending, which has fuelled inflation, he says.

Moscow is also ready to hold a new round of peace negotiations with Ukraine, he says.

They could potentially take place in Istanbul, Turkey, although the time and venue had yet to be agreed. 

Putin adds Russia is ready to return the bodies of 3,000 more Ukrainian soldiers.

At negotiations in Istanbul on 2 June, Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange a total of 12,000 bodies of fallen soldiers. 

Earlier we reported that Ukraine's air force said it downed 359 drones overnight in Russia's latest aerial assault. 

We can now bring you photos showing the moment Ukrainian servicemen fired towards some of the drones to intercept them over Kyiv.

The air force said it also downed six of eight missiles, while there were four drones that weren't intercepted.

Russia said it downed 39 Ukrainian drones overnight.

At least five people have died after a Russian missile attack in the industrial city of Samar in Ukraine's southeast, officials have said.

Earlier reports said three people had died.

The attack, which was the second strike on the city in three days, also injured more than 20 others, according to regional governor Serhiy Lysak.

He said four of the wounded people were in a severe condition.

Officials have given no immediate details on the damage in the city.

The Kremlin has said Estonia's stated intention to let NATO allies' nuclear-capable aircraft use its territory was a direct threat to Moscow. 

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was responding to a question from a journalist from the Life news outlet who asked him about comments made by Estonia's defence minister. 

Tensions between Russia and the Baltic states which border it - Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia - have grown since Vladimir Putin began his invasion of Ukraine.

A Russian attack damaged energy infrastructure in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, according to its governor.

The attack on an "important power facility" caused power cuts in some settlements in the region, which is close to frontlines with Russian invasion forces, Oleksandr Prokudin said on the Telegram messaging app.

As we reported earlier, there was a NATO summit at The Hague on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The moment the head of NATO referred to Donald Trump as "daddy" stole the headlines, but the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war was consistently referenced despite not being the main item on the agenda.

Many leaders spoke out against Russia, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban aimed to distance NATO from the war, saying: "NATO has no business in Ukraine."

You can listen to what he and other leaders had to say below:

While Ukraine continues to hold back Russian advances, the world's attention has largely turned to dramatic developments in Iran.

It's now been two weeks since Israel launched airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, and almost a week since the US carried out its own attacks on the sites using stealth bombers and missiles.

The following day Trump announced a ceasefire had been accepted by Israel and Iran, only for both sides to claim each other had violated it within moments of it starting.

Here are some of the biggest developments from the past couple of days:

• The shaky ceasefire has held, with Israel framing it as a victory for neutralising Iran's nuclear threat, while Iran said it was "forced" onto Israel and Tehran's defensive response has been a success;
• Top Trump cabinet officials have maintained that US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities last week were a total success, with the president maintaining that the sites were "obliterated";
• Democrats have rallied against the president over his assessment of the strikes, claiming Trump has exaggerated their success without first seeing a full damage report;
• Meanwhile, the government in Iran has officially passed a law ending cooperation with the global nuclear watchdog;
• Donald Trump was in Europe for the NATO summit at The Hague where he suggested talks between the US and Iran could resume next week.
• At NATO, Trump also met President ZelenAG百家乐在线官网y of Ukraine and spoke about Vladimir Putin - check our recap of the summit for more of the developments relevant to the war.

You can read more on all the Iran developments by checking out our other blog here.

Russia says its troops have captured the village of Nova Kruhlyakivka, in Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region.

State news agency TASS reported the development earlier, citing the Russian defence ministry. 

The battlefield report could not be independently verified.

It comes after the Russian defence ministry claimed troops took control of the Ukrainian village of Shevchenko yesterday, which is close to a lithium deposit, along with another settlement called Novoserhiivka.

Three people have been killed and at least 14 others injured in a Russian missile attack on Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, according to its governor.

It was an attack in the region's city of Samar, and marked the second time it had been subject to a missile assault in the past three days.

The region, which borders Donetsk, has been the subject of significant Russian attacks as its troops are trying to claim ground there.

Overnight drone attacks have been a staple of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Both countries give updates on the number of drones launched at them every morning - today, Ukraine's air force said it downed 359 out of 363 drones and six of eight missiles, while Russia said it downed 39 Ukrainian drones.

To us, it's just numbers, but civilians on the ground are living in constant fear.

Volodymyr, a Kyiv resident, told us he and others are "constantly second guessing" whether they are about to be hit by a drone, which they often hear "buzzing" overhead as they try to sleep.

He grew emotional as he explained that his mother often skips saying "good morning" to simply check that he is still alive.